Final Canvas -knowledge partner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final Canvas -knowledge partner - Essay Example one of the most effective tools for strategic management, which assisted Lab Vlieland in determining the potential problems that are likely to impact in future (Muehlhausen, 2013). Customer segment is one of the internal blocks of canvas model of Lab Vlieland, as the segmentation of customers allow the business to identify its key customers. Additionally, the company tends to focus over identifying the communities i.e. the targeted customers whom they serve products and/or services and maximize profitability of the business. Moreover, community members, knowledge partners, developers and employees of the organisation are the four key customer segment of Lab Vlieland. The knowledge partners of Lab Vlieland include travelling agencies, universities, sponsors, energy specialists as well as community members and volunteers. These knowledge partners will enable Lab Vlieland to get consultancy, supporting to provide efficient services as well as intelligence-based approach to attract large tourists. Apparently, developing strong connection with the communities will effectively ensure attractiveness of Lab Vlieland. Besides, developer is directly related to measuring the changing perception of the customers and engaged in research and development activities to provide maximum satisfaction to the customers. On the other hand, employees of the business engaged in producing products and/or services as per their requirements of customers (Diehl & Nikolou, 2013). Customer relationship is one of the most integral approaches of managing customers by forming effective communication with current and possible customers. In this regard, it is very essential for Lab Vlieland to retain its profitability objectives and attracts customers with various customer intimacy strategies for building a strong differential competitive advantage and improved engagement with the consumers. Furthermore, this will enable to develop a strong connection with the communities at large. Another

In the United Kingdom the big four supermarkets of Tesco, Asda, Essay

In the United Kingdom the big four supermarkets of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Wm Morrison have gained a steadily increasing - Essay Example In recent time some of the retail giants of United Kingdom like Sainsbury, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco have been accused of swindling the suppliers by paying them the bottom prices or finding some other way by which they can pressurise the suppliers to pay the cost of the unsold or perished goods. There are also other ways by which the suppliers are exploited that includes paying lower than the agreed price after the delivery of the order, delaying to pay them, make changes in the order at the last moment, making the suppliers to bear the cost, forcing the supplier to use certain specific expensive hauliers for delivering their goods and often ruining the supplier due to lack of cash flow. The supermarket retailers even pressurised the suppliers to pay for the shoplifted goods and making their profits to rise high, when they are expected to be lower. The study focuses on this issue. Supermarket competition Relentless rise in the supermarkets has given rise to the concern regarding thei r holdings over the suppliers and the customers. A research conducted by TNS Worldpanel, the market research group has concluded that the big four retail giants of UK Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco holds almost three quarter of the grocery market that amounts to about 74.4%. Tesco is the leading supermarket that holds the biggest share. The report suggests that for every ?8 the consumer spends ?1 goes towards the business of Tesco. In 2004 it has been recorded that the retail sector of UK amounts to almost ?246bn, which is more than the amount if the economies of Ireland and Switzerland are combined together. This implies that the retail sector offers quite a significant amount (BBC News, 2006). (Source: BBC News, 2006) According to the reports of the All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group, almost half of 278,630 shops in UK are managed and owned by a sole trader. These small local stores are losing their market because of the growth of the supermarkets that are gradually moving towards the convenience store format. As per the report of Association of Convenience Store for the last twelve months till June of 2005, 2000 independent convenience stores closed their operations owning to the growing competition of the supermarkets. The Office of fair Trading (OFT) has been investigating the two main issues firstly the competition that surrounds the worries regarding the competition in the supermarkets and abusing relationship between the supermarket and the suppliers. The OFT has claimed that there is no restriction on the grocery market, which prompts a widespread scorn from the action group and the local shops. OFT further states that there is no need of incorporating any type of reform in the ways the super markets are operating; though there are claims regarding application of bullying tactics by the four big supermarkets. According to the recent declaration of OFT there are significant indications regarding increase in the purchasing power of the cu stomer of the supermarket (BBC News, 2006). Area of Concern The corner and local shop areas are becoming the potential places for the growth of the supermarkets. The four big supermarkets face certain restrictive measures that pave the pathway for expanding their operations by following the convenient store format. This also helps the supermarkets to target the customers who are cash rich

Strategic Planning, Mintzberg

Strategic Planning, Mintzberg Roll of strategic planning and implementation Introduction According to Mintzberg et al (2003, p.10) ‘A strategy is the pattern or plan that integrates an organisations major goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole. A well formulated strategy helps to marshal and allocate an organisations resources into a unique and viable posture based on its relative internal competencies and shortcomings, anticipated changes in the environment, and contingent moves by intelligent opponents. Likewise Haberburg and Rieple (2008, p.6) defined strategy as ‘ a strategy is the set of actions through which an organisation , by accident or design, develops resources and uses them to deliver services or products in a way which its users find valuable, while meeting the financial and other objectives and constraints imposed by key stakeholders. In contrast White (2004, p.5) defined strategy as ‘a coordinated series of actions which involve the deployment of resources to which one has access for the achievement of a given purpose. Furthermore strategy ‘is a process of translating perceived opportunity into successful outcomes, by means of purposive action sustained over a significant period of time. Lynch (2000, p.8) defined corporate strategy as ‘ it is the pattern of major objectives, purposes or goals and essential policies or plans for achieving those goals, stated in such a way as to define what business the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is or is to be. Morden (2007, p.14) revealed, Strategic Management is concerned with the character and direction of the enterprise as a whole. It is concerned with basic decisions about what the enterprise is now, and what it is to be in the future. It determines the purpose of the enterprise. It provide the framework for decisions about people, leadership, customers or clients , risk, finance, resources, products, systems, technologies, location, competition, and time. It determines what enterprise should be capable of achieving, and what it will not choose to do. It will determine whether and how the organisation will add value, and what form that added value should take. Strategic management is also concerned with management planning and decision making for the decision making for the medium and long-term future. It is considered with the anticipation of that future and with the establishment of a vision or view of how the enterprise should develop into the future that it must face. Strategic Planning According to Marios I.Katsioloudes (2006) â€Å"Strategic planning is the process by which a system maintains its competitiveness within its work environment by determining where the organization is, where it wants to go, and how it wishes to get there. In other words, strategic planning involves examining what strategies will enable to corporation or association to prosper in future† Strategic planning is a process where you determine the strengths and weakness of your business. You also can set your companys goals, objective and mission statement during this process. We can say this that strategic planning is a management tool for organizing. Its also lead an organizing from where is now to future. A good definition is strategic planning is â€Å"the process of determining a companys long-term goals and than indentifying the best approach for achieving those goals.† Without a strategic planning an organization will never know where it going. Importance Strategic planning is a very important for an organization. And its help to achieve An organizations goals and its also helps to provide direction and focus for all employees. It points to specific results that are to be achieved and establishes a course of action for achieving them. A strategic plan also helps the various work units within an organization to align themselves with common goals. Strategic planning Process In the earlier 1970s, various large firms adopted an official top-down strategic planning model. With this model, strategic planning became a planned process in which top executives from time to time would prepare the firms strategy, and then communicate it down the organization for implementation. The following strategic planning process model discuses below. Mission | V Objectives | V Situation Analysis | V Strategy Formulation | V Implementation | V Control This process is most appropriate for strategic management at the business unit level in organization. For large corporations, strategy at the corporate level is more concerned with managing a selection of businesses. In the process outlined here, company or firm will be used to signify a single-business firm or a single business unit of a diversified firm. Mission A mission is important key factor of any organization. The mission often expressed in the form of a mission statement of any organization, which conveys a sense of purpose to employees and projects a company image to customers. In the strategy formulation process, the mission statement sets the mood of where the company should go. Objectives Objectives are actual goals that the organization will achieve, for example, an earnings growth target. The objectives should be challenging but achievable. They also should be considerable so that the company can monitor its progress and make corrections as needed. Situation Analysis Once the firm has specified its objectives, it starts with its current situation to set up a strategic plan to fulfil those objectives. Changes in the external environment and make new opportunities and new ways to achieve their objectives. An environmental scan is performing to find out the available opportunities. The situation analysis therefore involves an analysis of both the external and internal environment. The external environment has two dimensions: the macro-environment affects all firms and a micro-environment that affects only the firms in a particular industry. The macro-environmental analysis includes political, economic, social, and technological factors and sometimes is called PEST analysis. An important part of the micro-environmental analysis is the industry in which the firm operates or is considering operating. Michael Porter devised a five forces framework that is useful for industry analysis. We also can use SWOT Model to Analysis Companys internal and external situation. Strength and weakness use for internal analysis and opportunity and threats use for external analysis of any organisations as show in the diagram below. Strategy Formulation Once we get a clear image of the organization and its environment in hands, exact strategic alternatives can be applied. Infect different firms has different alternatives depending on their situation, there also exist generic strategies that can be applied across a wide range of firms. Control Once we applied the strategy, the results of the strategy need to be calculated and evaluated, with changes need to be required to keep the idea on path. Strategy implementation De Wit and Meyer (2005, p.278) revealed, the implementation of the strategy comprises a series of sub activities that are primarily administrative. If purpose is determined then the resources of a company can be mobilized to accomplish it. An organisational structure appropriate for the efficient performance of the required tasks must be made effective by information systems and relationships permitting coordination of subdivided activities. Furthermore the role of personal leadership is important and sometimes decisive in the accomplishment of strategy. Although we know that organisational structure and processes of compensation, incentives, control and management development influence and constraint the formulation of strategy, we should look first at the logical proposition that structure should follow strategy on order to cope later with the organisational reality that strategy also follows structure. When we have examined both tendencies, we will understand and to some extent be prepared to deal with the interdependence of the formulation and implementation of corporate purpose. According to Henry (2008, p.10) ‘effective implementations of strategies require the organisation to be sufficiently flexible in its organisational culture and design. Strategies need to be communicated, understood, and properly coordinated with the stakeholders inside and outside the organisation. In an age of collaboration, this may involve discussions with suppliers and partners. Although the leader of the organisation will ultimately be responsible for a strategys success or failure, their role should be to encourage and create an organisational culture which empowers managers to respond to opportunities. In this way each employee will be confident to try out new ideas and innovate without fear of reprisals. White (2004, p.618), the implementation of a successful strategy is to focus on the five Cs as the basic requirement needed to keep the separate units in any organisation to achieve the objectives of strategy. The five Cs are: Coordination, Communication, Command, Control and Conflict/consensus. Coordination: There should be coordination at every step of strategy making, certainly in the process of formulation and implementation between the stakeholders, different cooperating enterprises and organisational levels, and between different internal units within the enterprise itself. Communication: Coordination is only possible with the help of proper communication of information concerning objectives and threats, capabilities and threats, risks and threats. The accurate information must be communicated. Command: â€Å"It is passed downward, reflecting the hierarchy of authority which characterizes every organisation. It should be rarely given and only when absolutely necessary, in crises or to resolve a particular conflict. It is held in reserve for when is needed. Everyone should be aware of possibility of command but it does not have to be used. There are some occasions when decisive action is necessary, but most the time staff should be aware of what they need to do without being prompted. Control: It is often exercised indirectly and discretely, through incentive structures and globalization of a corporate culture. There are direct control systems in certain areas such as finance. It is better that all become committed to following the broad directions of the strategy without explicit instructions. The outlines of strategy provide the guidelines are internalized and do not require endless repetition. Each decision maker has their own domain or is of control, all well understood, and obtains from intervention on other domains unless invited or if there is a crisis. Conflict / Consensus: Honest disagreements are certain in any organisation. It is a vital aspect of any creative activity, since creative thinking means thinking outside the normal boundaries. If a new idea is to change behaviour, it needs to be argued out in the forum of enterprise where there will inevitably by those who cannot agree. Any proposal for change for change almost always invites conflict of kind, hostility from those opposed to a new way of thinking or to change.† Strategic Management Process Thompson and Strickland (2003, p.6) defined term strategic management â€Å"it refers to the managerial process of forming a strategic vision, setting objectives, crafting a strategy, implementation and executing the strategy, and then over time initiating whatever corrective adjustment in the vision, objectives, strategy, and execution are deemed appropriate. Strategic Vision: A strategic vision of a company reflects managements aspirations for the organisation and its business, providing a panoramic view of ‘what we are doing and giving specifics about its future business plans and giving specifics about its future business plans. It brings out long-term business purpose and shape the organisational identity. A strategic vision helps an organisation in a particular direction and in a strategic path for it to follow. Setting Objectives: ‘The purpose of setting objectives is to convert managerial statements of strategic vision and business mission into specific performance targets, i.e. results and outcomes the organisation wants to achieve. Crafting a Strategy: Strategy making brings into the critical managerial issue of how to achieve the targeted results in light of the organisations situation and prospects. Objectives are ends and the strategy is the means of achieving them. Implementing and Executing the strategy: Strategy implementation concerns the managerial exercise of putting a freshly chosen strategy into place. Likewise ‘strategy execution deals with the managerial exercise of supervising the ongoing pursuit of strategy, making it work, improving the competence with which it is executed, and showing measurable progress in achieving the target results.† Case: British Airways Airline industries and carriers are facing very hard time, because recession has affected the business and the industries have to reduce their prices and are not making well profit as compared to the past. As it is a worldwide fast growing industry making airlines more complex and challenging. Because of recession and increased number of unemployments in airline industries. British Airways is the UKs largest international airline, flying to 6 domestic destinations over 148 international destinations at multiple times, to the all best located airports. The major place of business is Heathrow, one of the worlds premier airport locations. BA also operates a worldwide air cargo business. But still British Airways had to restructured and make some serious strategic changes to avoid the bankruptcy or the closure. BA had his vision to achieve their goal and took effective and reasonable steps to compete in the market with its performance and operation under the last couple of years. Market fell from more than 30 per cent in 1998 to about 20 per cent in 2005. This year, BA announced the worst half-year losses in its history. During the six months to September 2009, the company face a  £292m ($485m) loss, compared with  £52m profits during the same period a year earlier. In order to survive and to make an easy recovery in this competitive environment and to attain a leadership in the industry BA has taken strong steps to upgrade the systems and technology, In order to increased the fleet size British Airways ordered 36 new long haul Aircraft on 27th September 2007 which includes 12 A380s,and 24 Boeing 787s. British Airways also ordered on 1st February 2008 Airbus A318s to run a premium services out from London City Airport to New York. This fitted luxury 32 lie flat beds in business class cabin. The increase in technology like online ticketing, online checking also enhances the BA business. Because customer has no need to stand in queue. Innovative flight service such as sleeper service will attract more customers. Introduction of the terminal 5 on the HEATHROW AIRPORT will help increasing of the flig hts of the BA and able to provide more relaxed environment to its customers. Possible merger of the BRITISH AIRWAYS and QANTAS AIRLINE could be the great opportunity to become absolute market leader of the world. Willie Walsh stated that British Airways had reduced 1,450 staff members since March 2009. They also reduced the overtime and 500 redundancies were made. Twenty percent of future capital expenditure is reduced this year from 725 million pounds to 580 million pounds and it will be the same through out this year. Mr. Willie Walsh also admitted that this structural change of British Airways is necessary for survival and long term success. British Airways managed with its comprehensive and proactive strategy to accelerate its return to profitability and economic welfare well in advance of its rivals. The airline announced that it is planning to raise  £680 million of liquidity through a  £350 million convertible bond issue and by gaining access to bank facilities which are currently used to provide guarantees to its pension funds. This will increase liquidity to approximately  £2 billion. Conclusion A successful and well-organized strategic plan can recognize the organisations strength, and related weaknesses, determining the new opportunity and with useful action resolve the problems. These can be either from the capabilities and expertise of an organisation or from the actual market demand. Successful strategy plan is when there is a continues perfection and effective use of time and resources. The role of manager is very important to make organisation profit-making or non- profit making with taking right decisions. He should think strategically rather than operationally. The main factor of strategic planning is that how the information gained, implement and used. References Mintzberg, H., Lampel, L., Quinn, J. Ghoshal, S. (2003) The Strategic Process, 4th edition, Prentice Hall publishing, New Jersey. White, C. 2004, Strategic Management, 1st edition, Palgrave Macmillan, New York Lynch, R., 2000, Corporate Strategy, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow Morden, T. 2007, Principles of Strategic Management, 3rd edition, Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot. Haberberg, A. Rieple, A. 2008, Strategic Management: theory and application, 1st edition, Oxford University Press, New York. De Wit, B. Meyer, R. 2005, Strategic Synthesis: Resolving strategy paradox to create competitive advantage, 2nd edition, Thompson, London. Henry, A. 2008, Understanding Strategic Management, 1st edition, Oxford University Press, New York. Thompson, A., Strickland A.J., 2003, Strategic Management: concepts and cases, 13th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York. Marios I.Katsioloudes Ph. D, (2006) Strategic Management, Global Cultural perspectives for profit and non-profit organisation, p 2, 6 Lynch, R., 2003, Corporate Strategy, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall, Harlow URL Source: www.investorwords.com/4774/strategic_planning.html Date of Access: 25th February 2010 URL Source: http://www.onlinebusadv.com/index.php?PAGE=14 Date of Access: 25th February 2010 URL Source: http://www.netmba.com/strategy/process/ Date of Access: 25th February 2010 URL Source: http://hrmadvice.com/assets/images/swotanalysis.jpg Date of Access: 25th February 2010 URL Source: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/about-british-airways/public/en_gb Date of Access 25th February 2010

Business trip :: essays research papers

It is highly recommended that company officials visit the countries to examine the markets where they are considering selling their products before any transaction occurs a company can familiarize itself with cultural nuances which may impact the design, packaging or advertising of the product. Moreover, traveling abroad allows one to locate and cultivate new customers, as well as improve relationships and communication with current foreign representatives and associates Typically, a successful business trip requires months of planning Proper Documentation Visas: Visas are required by many countries and cannot be obtained through the Office of Passport Services. They are provided by the foreign country's embassy or consulate in the United States for a small fee. The traveler must have a current U.S. passport to obtain a visa; many cases, a recent photo is required. The traveler should allow several weeks to obtain visas, especially if traveling to developing nations. It is important to note that some foreign countries require visas for business travel but not tourist travel. Therefore, when company representatives request visas from a consulate or embassy, they should notify the authorities that they will be conducting business. Business people should check visa requirements each time they travel to a ccountry because regulations change periodically. Contact an Export Assistance Center to learn about documentation requirements for the countries where you will be traveling. Vaccinations: Requirements for vaccinations differ by country. While there may not be any restrictions on direct travel to and from the United States, there may be restrictions if individuals travel indirectly, by stopping over in one country before reaching their final destination. Vaccinations against typhus, typhoid, and other diseases are advisable even though they are not required. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) maintains a fax-back system and a homepage to advise travelers of current and accurate country and region conditions. To receive a document dial 888-232-3299 and follow the prompts. The CDC internet address is http://www.cdc.gov. Foreign Customs: Since foreign customs regulations vary widely with each country, travelers are advised to learn in advance the regulations that apply to each country that will be visited. If allowances for cigarettes, liquor, currency, and certain other items, are not taken into account, they can be impounded at national borders. Business travelers that plan to carry product samples with them may be required to pay import duties. In some countries, duties and extensive customs procedures on sample products may be avoided by obtaining an ATA Carnet.

Cultural Similarities and Differences

The Indian culture has different languages, which include Hindi, Bengali, and Urdu. The officially recognized language is Hindi with other local languages not recognized by the central government. Texans officially use American English with various variations and accents. Australian languages Include Australian slang, Indigenous Australian languages, and variations of Australian English (Dally, 1998). Nigeria has over 50 indigenous languages with very many local dialects. The predominant languages are Your, Bio, Afro -Asiatic and Kanji. The official language is English ND Is used across all states to unite the people.Except India, the other three countries share a salary language (I. E. English) though It has small variations In accent and pronunciation. Family Systems Indians maintain close personal ties with their families including the extended family members. Family relationships are hierarchical and the father is the patriarchal leader of the family. All members have mutual obli gations to their families and they maintain deep rooted trust among all relatives (Maker, 2008). Nigerian maintain an extended family system with relationships guided by hierarchy and seniority.Individuals are obliged to give the extended family members financial assistance and guidance (Coelenterates. N. D). The American family unit Is nuclear with the extended family living away from it. Individualism is highly practiced. The family set ups across the four countries recognizes the father as the head of the family. The role of extended family members is emphasized in Nigerian and Indian cultures where people recognize the senior members of the society. Australian and Texan cultures emphasize individualism and the societies generate highly independent people. Behavioral NormsIn India, greetings follow seniority with the most senior person being greeted first. Though shaking hands Is common, men seldom shake hands with women because of religious beliefs and It Is mandatory to bid eac h person farewell Individually when leaving a group. In Nigeria, shaking hands is the most common form of greeting. Men 1 OFF other person's well being. Direct eye contact is avoided when meeting with older and senior members of the society and as a sign of respect one is expected to bow. Nigerian place importance to professional titles and surnames. In Texas greetings are casual, a handshake, a smile, and a hello are enough.Men use only handshakes but women and children may hug and shake hands even in formal settings. Introductions are very important before any communication. It is considered rude to call senior persons by their first name. Men are supposed to be polite to ladies, they pull chairs and open doors for them and ladies are expected to say a polite thank you in return (Celebrities, 2012). Australian forms of greetings are informal and brief; shaking hands is common in formal setups. Ladies generally do not greet each other. Australians maintain good relationships with a ll people as they are down to earth ND modest.Religion India is a secular state with a lot of religious diversity. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jansenism, and Schism are practiced by most of the people. Christianity is practiced by a minority. Texas has a wide range of religious diversity with Christianity being practiced by the majority. Adherence levels are very high and individual religious beliefs are tolerated. Religious diversity in Nigeria is great with Christianity and Islam being practiced by the majority. Native religions that believe in deities, spirits, and ancestral worship are spread throughout the country. The country constitution remunerates freedom of worship.Majority of Australians are Christians with Islam being practiced by a few. Traditional aborigine religious cultures are practiced by a few aborigines as the others have converted to Christianity. The country laws are tolerant to different religious beliefs. Across the four countries, religion influences the culture of the people with Christianity, Salamis, Hinduism, and Judaism being recognized and accepted by the societies. Freedom of worship is allowed by their respective constitutions; but in Nigeria emergence of radical Salamis has affected he culture of the societies living in the affected areas.Business Etiquette There are various ways in which business is approached in various societies. In Indian society, it is customary for all sides to personally know each other before any business transaction take place. Business meetings are planned by appointments and punctuality is kept as a sign of mutual respect. Negotiations are non confrontational and the final decision is made by the person with the most authority. Decision making is slow and informal and successful negotiations are concluded by a word of mouth and celebrated over a meal. Formal dressing during meetings is expected and shows respect.In the Nigerian culture, developing a personal relationship is essential before any business tra nsaction. Business is conducted in a formal setup and decision making involves all the stakeholders. Nigerian are overly suspicious and proceed with business cautiously. Punctuality for meetings is very important to Texans and it is a sign of disrespect to be late. There is little emphasis on small talk and business is conducted rapidly. To conduct business, an appointment is necessary in Australia. Business is conducted rapidly in a relaxed environment. Personal relationships and show of emotion is not important in their business transactions.Conclusion The culture across all the four countries is steeped with differences and similarities continually changing with advent of globalization and information technology. The family and religious inclinations of these societies fundamentally influences their behavior, norms, and way of thinking. The cultures have inherent mechanisms of maintaining their way of life. In all the cultures, younger members are expected to respect their elders and this maintains social order. Though fundamentally different, arioso cultures have a lot to teach and are universally almost the same.

Is Climate Change Naturally or Man-Made? Essay

First of all, for anyone that does not know what climate change is, it is a change in the world’s climate. A lot of people think weather and climate is the same thing but it is not. The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time. Climate is what the conditions are over relatively long periods of time. My belief of the issue is that climate change is man-made. I think everyone has heard of global warming or an ice age, but does anyone really consider it to be a serious factor in the world? We only have one earth and once we destroy it, it is over. We have to do something about it because it seems like every year temperature records are getting broken because the summers are getting hotter and hotter and the winters are getting colder and colder. It would be different if the climate change was being made naturally but it is not, the majority, if not humans are causing all of the change. So, we have to do something about it. Extreme man-made changes in the climate are a very serious matter. There are many different reasons of how climate change is man-made. One of the main reasons is the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases. There are different ways of increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases such as burning fossil fuels like coal or oil and gas in your cars. â€Å"Currently, burning fossil fuels emits about 6.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Since before the industrial revolution, which, began in the 18th century, concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased by 30 percent†. (Torfaen) All of that carbon dioxide is eating away at our o-zone layer making it thinner and thinner. Another reason why our o-zone layer is diminishing is because we cut down all these trees for agriculture, space to build things, and wood to make things with. Trees absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and the fewer trees that are there to absorb the carbon dioxide, the more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The effects of climate change depend upon how much change there is, how fast it occurs, and how easily the world can adapt to the new conditions. If the change is to rapid then that will leave some species of animals or plants to be extinct because they don’t have enough time to move or adapt. Other examples such as â€Å"Coral reefs: slightly warmer tropical water may kill the algae which reef animals use for food†.(Homeworktips) Increase in temperature in the climate is making a lot of the ice cap and icebergs melt in the north. Which is making the ocean rise more. â€Å"Mangrove swamps: Mangrove swamps are important breeding grounds for many animals that live in water. Increased ocean flooding may damage these areas by changing the supply of nutrients and the amount of salt.†(Homeworktips) What can we do about the climate change to prevent or reduce the effects? â€Å"Three basic strategies are available, abatement, adaptation, and geo-engineering.†(Homeworktips) Abatement is where we slow or stop the affect by making things more energy efficient. Burning less coal, oil and natural gases. Adaptation is where we adapt or change to our surroundings. Protecting the coast by putting up barriers or dykes. Geo-engineering is where we engineer or change the earth. For example, reducing the amount of sunlight that hits the earth by putting small particles in the high atmosphere to reflect more sunlight back into the earth. Things that an individual can do to reduce the chance of climate change. Choose a car that has better gas mileage, insulate your home better, carpool or drive less. Some other less effective but helpful action can be turning off unnecessary lights, plant trees, and recycle. â€Å"If the average citizen undertakes all of these actions, they can reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by about 3%, which equals just over half a ton of carbon dioxide per year.†(Homeworktips) Now some people believe that the reason of climate change is naturally made. These people do have some points but to say that it is more of a factor then humans is wrong (In my belief). Some of these points include volcanoes, continental drift, earth’s tilt, and ocean currents. Volcanoes can erupt and produce ash that will exceed into the stratosphere. The ash could combine with rain and make acid rain and kills crops but that is very minimal. Continental drift affects it because of the more land at the equator means more absorption, which means it will be hotter. Obviously the earth’s tilt has something to do with the climate change because the tilt is what makes out seasons. Ocean currents affect it because it takes far more energy to change the temperature or water then land or air. So the ocean insulates the costal climates, which means that the inland area is more subjected to extreme climate ranges. All those factors considered, that is still small being compared to all of the human-made factors. This one article talks about the radical decline in sea ice around the artic and being 70% human’s fault. But then a new study was done and it could be 95% human’s fault. The global warming that the humans are making is destroying the ice around the arctic. The loss of ice is affecting the wildlife such as polar bears and if nothing is done they will eventually die because they drown. They drown because they go swimming to look for fish and when they want to come back it is gone and then they drown because there is no land. There is a climate system called Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation (AMO), which was the dominant source of variability in ice extent. â€Å"The AMO is a cycle of warming and cooling in the North Atlantic that repeats every 65 to 80 years – it has been in a warming phase since the mid-1970s. There is something called the ice-albedo feedback, which means that when you have less ice, it means there’s more open water and therefore the ocean absorbs more radiation and will continue to warm.†(Guardian) Therefore saying all I have to say hopefully informed people about the climate and the different causes that change it. We only have one earth and once we destroy it, it is over. Extreme climate change is a very serious matter and should not be over looked. I guess you can say it is both but about 90-95% of the change is man-made.

Molecular Equation Definition in Chemistry

Molecular Equation Definition in Chemistry A molecular equation is a balanced chemical equation in which the ionic compounds are expressed as molecules instead of component ions. Examples One example of a molecular formula is: KNOMolecular Versus Ionic Equations For a reaction involving ionic compounds, there are three types of equations that can be written: molecular equations, complete ionic equations, and net ionic equations. All of these equations have their place in chemistry. A molecular equation is valuable because it shows exactly what substances were used in a reaction. A complete ionic equation shows all the ions in a solution, while a net ionic equation shows only the ions that participate in a reaction to form products. For example, in the reaction between sodium chloride (NaCl) and silver nitrate (AgNO3), the molecular equation is: NaCl(aq) AgNOThe complete ionic equation is: NaThe net ionic equation is written by canceling out the species that appear on both sides of the complete ionic equation and thus dont contribute to the reaction. For this example, the net ionic equation is: Ag

Careers in the Hospitality Industry

Careers in the Hospitality Industry Food Beverage Manager A number of Food and Beverage Managers start their career paths by taking up part-time jobs in fast food establishments, restaurants, hospitals, and hotels while still in school or college. This enables them to know more about their duties and gives them a clear idea of what the position entails.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Careers in the Hospitality Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They can then take up permanent jobs after obtaining relevant academic qualifications in hospitality management (Jobs in Hotels par. 1). Generally, an experience of between 3 and 5 years in the Food and Beverage section combined with a degree program in hospitality management can get one into this position. Roles A Food Beverage Manager ensures that quality services are provided at every point of sale in the Food and Beverage Section of any hospitality firm. The person therefore oversees and c oordinates all activities in the Food and Beverage Department. Other roles include ensuring that legislations set by authorities are complied with and customers and guests receive quality services. Qualifications Before one gets to this position, he/she must enroll for a certificate program that covers core areas in the hospitality industry, including customer service, responsible beverage vending, HRM, safety and sanitation, and dining room service. They are also required to have associates and bachelors degrees in hospitality management, a program that equips them with skills required in the hiring process, planning menus, staff training, management of large-volume kitchens and catering events, making purchases and stock management, marketing, and other associated skills. An advanced degree is a bonus. Restaurant Manager This position requires both education and work experience. After obtaining a college qualification in hospitality management, a person is expected to have work ex perience while furthering their education. A bachelor’s degree program is preferred while an advanced degree such a master’s or MBA is an added advantage. Roles A restaurant manager supervises all activities that take place in a hospitality facility, including procurement, production, and service delivery. He/she ensures that services are of high quality, he/she recruits and manages staff, and ensures brand standards are applied and that health and safety standards are satisfied.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Qualification Aspiring Restaurant Managers can enroll for a 2-year associate degree program in hotel/food and beverage studies up to BTS/HND standard or attain similar qualifications before proceeding to acquire a degree in hospitality management. They can then take up mid-level positions such as Food and Beverage Manager or Assistant Restaurant Manager. To enhance their resumes, it is important that one obtains an advanced degree such as MBA or master’s. Besides, the person must have significant senior level experience in managing a hospitality firm, preferably for five or more years. Reservations Manager To get into this career, a person should have a qualification in information technology and have a working knowledge of appropriate reservation systems. Besides, they should have training in hospitality management and be fluent in one or more official languages. Roles The main role of a Reservations Manager is to organize the reservations system, oversee the quality of services offered, and at the same time strive to maximize occupancy rates and average returns per room. He also manages staff working in the reservations department. Qualifications Besides having A-level qualifications, an aspiring Reservations Manager must also be qualified in a technology course, preferably information technology, up to HND level or similar. A degree is desired but a higher qualification can be an added advantage. They must have working knowledge of appropriate reservation systems, such as Fidelio, and be fluent in one or more official languages. Fluency in a second official language is a plus (CB salary par. 2). Finally, they must have between 2 and 5 years’ experience working in the hospitality industry, particularly in the reservations department. CB salary. â€Å"Hospitality Administration Management Major Entry Level Jobs.† 2012. Web.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Careers in the Hospitality Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Jobs in Hotels. â€Å"Hotel Management.† 2012. Web. JWU Providence. â€Å"Concentrations.† 2012. Web.

The Grim Sleeper Serial Killer Case

The Grim Sleeper Serial Killer Case For more than two decades, the Los Angeles Police Department worked to solve a series of 11 murders that occurred between 1985 and 2007 that were linked to the same suspect by DNA and ballistic evidence. Because the killer took an apparent 14-year hiatus between 1988 and 2002, the media dubbed him the Grim Sleeper. Here are the current developments in the trial of Lonnie Franklin Jr. Judge Blocks Defense DNA Evidence Nov. 9, 2015 - A proposed witness for the defendant in the Los Angeles Grim Sleeper case is not qualified to testify as an expert, a judge has ruled. Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy said the testimony of a so-called DNA expert could not be used at the upcoming trial of Lonnie Franklin Jr. Lawrence Sowers was prepared to testify that some of the DNA found at the crime scenes of victims attributed to Franklin belonged to convicted serial killer Chester Turner instead. Judge Kennedy ruled that Sowers woefully failed to meet the generally accepted methods of the scientific community in the area of forensic DNA analysis. During a week-long evidentiary hearing, Sowers buckled under fierce cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Marguerite Rizzo, who challenged him on his education, his calculations, and errors in his findings. When Sowers began to change his finding during the hearing, Franklins defense attorney Seymour Amster asked the judge to postpone the hearing. I do not feel comfortable, Amster told the judge, representing Mr. Franklin at this moment with Dr. Sowers on this case. An obviously frustrated Judge Kennedy denied the request. I’m not suspending this proceeding, Kennedy said. We have been in progress on it for days and days and days and days and days and we’re going to finish it. Franklin is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 15 on 11 counts of murder and other charges. Franklin Questions DNA Evidence May 1, 2015 - An attorney for the accused serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper believes DNA evidence in the cases of two women his client is suspected of killing belongs to another serial killer already on death row. Seymour Amster, attorney for Lonnie Franklin Jr., told the court that an expert hired by the defense connected DNA from two of the cases to Chester Turner, who was convicted of killing 14 women in the Los Angeles area in the 1980s and 1990s. At a pretrial hearing, Amster told the judge that the defenses case will revolve around the DNA evidence. He said his experts finding will produce lingering doubt in the minds of the jurors. Prosecutor Beth Silverman called the defense DNA findings outlandish. She said Turners DNA has been in the system for years and if any of the DNA evidence in the Franklin case was Turners it would have produced a match a long time ago. This guys taking it [the DNA] and doing his own abracadabra, Silverman told reporters, and coming up with a conclusion that is outrageous. The defense had requested DNA profiles of everyone who committed a violent felony during the 1980s and 1990s. Judge Kathleen Kennedy denied the motion, calling it a fishing expedition. Grim Sleeper Trial Date Set Feb. 6, 2015 - Nearly five years after a suspect was arrested in a series of Los Angeles murders known as the Grim Sleeper case, a trial date has finally been set. Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy said jury selection will begin June 30 in the murder trial of Lonnie Franklin Jr., who is accused of killing 10 women and one man from 1985 to 2007. The setting of the trial date came after members of the families of victims in the case spoke out in court demanding a speedy trial. The family members were able to do so under the provisions of a new California law, known as Marsys Law, which is a voter-approved bill of rights for victims of crime. The law allows family members to address the court and demand a speedy trial. Those who spoke during the hearing blamed Franklins attorney for the delay in justice, saying he has been dragging his feet. Prior to the passing of Marsys Law, it was up to the discretion of the judge if victims families were allowed to speak at court hearings, parole hearings, and sentencing. The prosecution also blamed the defense for the delays in the case. Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said Judge Kennedy has failed to hold the defense to deadlines. Franklins attorney, Seymour Amster, said it was the prosecution who was responsible for delays because they have not turned over evidence in the case for further DNA testing. Amster said a defense expert found DNA from another man and three of the Grim Sleeper crime scenes and wants to run tests on more pieces found at the scenes. There are rumors that Im trying to delay this thing, he said. Im really not. Im a strong proponent of do it once, do it right. Previous Developments Grim Sleeper Evidence Legal, Judge RulesJan. 8, 2014DNA evidence that linked a former Los Angeles garbage collector to at least 16 murders was obtained legally, a California judge has ruled. Judge Kathleen Kennedy ruled that DNA from Lonnie Franklin Jr. could be used at his trial in what is known as the Grim Sleeper serial killer case. Death Penalty Sought for Grim SleeperAug. 1, 2011Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a California man accused of the serial killings of women in a case known as the Grim Sleeper murders. Lonnie Franklin Jr. is facing charges in the murder of 10 women and attempted murder of another. More Victims Linked to Grim Sleeper?April 6, 2011Investigators in Los Angeles believe the Grim Sleeper serial killer, already accused in 10 murders, may be responsible for eight additional deaths. Police are looking for the publics help in identifying three possible victims of Lonnie Franklin Jr. from photos they found hidden at his home. Grim Sleeper Pictures Provide Few CluesDec. 27, 2010Suspecting more victims in the Grim Sleeper serial killer case, the Los Angeles Police Department released to the public 160 photographs of women found in the possession of the main suspect, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Although many of them have been identified, none have turned out to be victims. Grim Sleeper Suspect Pleads Not GuiltyAug. 24, 2010The man accused of killing ten women in South Los Angeles in the Grim Sleeper case has entered a not guilty plea to 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Lonnie Franklin Jr. also faces special circumstance charges making him eligible for the death penalty in California. Arrest Made in Grim Sleeper Serial Killer CaseJuly 7, 2010Using DNA from his son to identify him as a suspect, the Los Angeles Police Department has arrested a man suspected in 11 serial killings going back to 1985. Lonnie Franklin Jr., who once worked as a police garage attendant, was charged with 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder with special circumstances of multiple murders. Police Release Sketch of Grim SleeperNov. 24, 2009The Los Angeles Police Department has released a sketch of a man they suspect in at least 11 deaths since the 1980s in hopes of tracking down the serial killer. The suspect is known only as the Grim Sleeper due to the fact that he apparently took a 14-year hiatus. Reward Set for Grim Sleeper Serial KillerSept. 5, 2008Los Angeles detectives hope a $500,000 reward set by the city council last week will produce some new leads in the case of a serial killer they believe is responsible for 11 deaths over a two decade period. All of the victims, 10 women and a man, were black and were found near South Los Angeles.

Compare and Contrast the Work of Art Thutmose, Nefertiti and Portrait Essay

Compare and Contrast the Work of Art Thutmose, Nefertiti and Portrait Bust Of a Flavian Woman - Essay Example At this point the Romans took the Greeks possessions, art included. Though this form of art is borrowed from the previous works of the Greeks, it has characteristics that set it apart as an early ancient Roman artifact. To start off, there is the concept of idealized beauty. Greeks depicted most of their sculptures with Godly beauty, but in this bust we see a depiction of ordinary human beauty. Secondly, the sculpted woman is young as seen in the youthful features of the portrait. In the Greek art world, older persons in society were the ones worth of sculptures. In this case, however, we see that the artist chose to sculpt a younger woman. The bust has an Etruscan or Roman form because, unlike Greek sculptures, it includes head and shoulders only. Most of Greek artists believed that the head and the body cannot be separated. Finally, the portrait of marble stone and the hair structure utilizes the drilling technique, which is a characteristic of this error (Hartswick and Sturgeon 12 0). Nefertiti This portrait is created by the Egyptian sculpture, Thutmose. Geologists speculate that the work dates back to 1345 B.C. In 1912, a German geologist discovered Thutmose’s Studio and the Nefertiti. The error of the statue is made during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton. The Pharaoh at that time had imposed worship of the God of Sun on the people. The evidence from excavation shows that ordinary people did not uphold the Sun worship religion. In a sense, this religion was to cut the powers of the chief priest and eradicate all opposition to the Pharaoh. Therefore, the Pharaoh’s reign is a dictatorship. In this situation, there is a possibility that the artist Thutmose reserved his ideal depictions to impress authority. However, this sculpture is a deviation from the Amarna art as it derives more from Classical Egyptian art than it does from the strict Amarna art principles. Artists relied on geometry and color to depict personalities, especially royalties, as youthful. As the name suggests, the sculpture is a depiction of beauty, Nefertiti, the beautiful one has come. The portrait, made of limestone, has traces of gypsum on the surface (Lazzari and Schlesier 336). Comparison of Two Works of Art Both of these portraits include shoulders and heads. It seems that in both of these errors the head and the shoulders were enough to represent the sculpture of a person. However, the Nefertiti’s shoulders are vertically cut while the Flavian’s are horizontal. This may be an indication of varying approaches in portrait works applied by Egyptian and Roman artists. This aspect of contrast is, however, debatable as art critiques of such historians as Henri Stierlin and Edrogan Ercivan have come up with the claim that the bust of Nefertiti currently displayed is a fake. They lay their claims on the fact that the shoulders are vertically cut rather than horizontally as is Egyptian shoulder cutting culture. They also bring focus to the bus t’s incomplete, left eye. They claim this discrepancy does not make sense considering this in ancient Egypt was a sign of disrespect (Kleiner 58, 179). The use of color is also characteristic of the Egyptian portrait. Color according to many artists gives life to the lifeless forms. The apparent smile on the Nefertiti’s lips gets emphasis from the red color of her lips. The Flavian’s make up for their lack of color through the use of shadows. The

The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes Essay

The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes - Essay Example However, there is "una fuga de luces negras y circulos azules" (Fuentes 9) beyond his closed eyelids that forces him to open one eye and see, in turn, the fragmented reflection of his own face through the uneven sequins on his daughter Teresa's purse. "Trato de recordarlo en el reflejo; era un rostro roto en vidrios sin simetria, con el ojo muy cerca de la oreja y muy lejos de su par, con la nueca distribuida en tres espejos circulantes" (Fuentes 10). This encounter with his fragmented reflection is symbolic of his lived experience, which informs the reader's experience, throughout the novel; it is a startling encounter with the various fragments of the self, in addition to the fear, panic and ultimately, the truth that such an experience entails. Thus, it is not difficult to deduce that the three voices signify the fragmentation of the narrator. However, the reader is still left to wonder how the psyche has divided, what each voice means, and how the three are related. In some ways, the situation can be compared to the aftermath of the Civil War in the United States, where for decades Americans tried to see their fraternal conflict in perspectives of cause and consequence.

The offer from Big Ideas Limited for Project Management Limited Statistics

The offer from Big Ideas Limited for Management Limited - Statistics Project Example According to the initial agreement, BIL would pay PML a fixed consultancy fee of UKP10, 000. The level of participants is middle level managers with 2-3 years of work experience. It is assumed that they have basic knowledge concerning project management in general acquired in course of their management education prior to joining their jobs. A suitable medium to high-end star hotel with conference and teleconference facilities will be identified as the venue for the programme. This could preferably be based in London, or the outskirts, depending upon the cost factor. As the participants already have a basic knowledge of the subject matter, and a couple of years of experience, the conference will be held in a more interactive environment. The sessions will include the following: Ideally the participants should belong to one organisation for more effective analysis and project management solutions. However, in case such a large intake from a single client organisation is not feasible, a maximum of 5 organisations from the same or similar business environment (such as IT or ICT) will be preferred. PML will take up a marketing campaign to firm up the participant list well in advance. ... To achieve significant returns to the client, BIL To attain a breakeven performance financially in a worst-case scenario. Programme Contents As the participants already have a basic knowledge of the subject matter, and a couple of years of experience, the conference will be held in a more interactive environment. The sessions will include the following: FORENOON SESSION (0900 - 1315, with Tea break: 1130 - 1145) Inaugural - 30 minutes Presentation: "Effective Project Management - the Key to Organisational Success in the New Millennium" - by expert faculty - 60 min Brainstorming/Experience Sharing Session: Team-based (5 teams of 50 each): "Success Stories and Fiascos in Project Management" - 60 min Analysis and Presentations - by Team Leaders - 60 min Summing up and Lessons Learnt - by Program Anchor (management expert) - 30 min LUNCH: 1315 - 1400 POST-LUNCH SESSION (1400 - 1700) Presentation: "The Power of Technology and Innovation in Successful Project Management" - by expert faculty - 60 min Presentation: Case Study of a successful Project Management - by expert faculty - 60 min Ask the Expert: Teleconferencing with 3 management experts from Oxford, Harvard, and Wharton Business School (participants can query the experts) - 30 min Appraisal and Feedback: 30 min Participant Profile Ideally the participants should belong to one organisation for more effective analysis and project management solutions. However, in case such a large intake from a single client organisation is not feasible, a maximum of 5 organisations from the same or similar business environment (such as IT or ICT) will be preferred. PML will take up a marketing campaign to firm up the participant list well in advance. The campaign will

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Auditing - Essay Example These occurrences are known as subsequent events.1 There are two types of subsequent events which an external auditor must evaluate: Firstly, the auditors must consider those evidences which involved conditions with respect to those that existed at the date of the balance sheet and it would affect the financial statements. All the information that is achieved prior to the issuance of the financial statements should be taken into consideration. The second types of event are those events that did not existed even at the time of balance sheet. Some of these types of events are such that disclosing this information would save the financial statements form being misleading. The effects of the subsequent events can be seen in the assets such as receivables and inventories or in the estimation of liabilities because these kinds of events represent the functionalities which exist over a long period of time.2 After the balance sheet date is over, there is a time period when the auditors are c oncerned about completing their different phase of audits. This time period is known as subsequent period and this period extends till the date of the auditor's report. This period may vary from time to time depending on the situations. In addition to the main duties, it is also the task of the external auditor to conduct other auditing procedures and require adjusting and disclosing the essential financial events and occurrences so as to present a completely transparent report, according to the stated accounting principles.3 Solutions Further Audit Evidences This study is on the Platinum Pokie Club in Western Australia. The evidences in the subsequent period are giving for the external audit firm to analyze their outcomes. Audit evidences are basically the information that auditors use for arriving at a conclusion. Auditors do not examine all the information given because generally many of the information are cumulative in nature that is they occur over a long period of time and ma y sometimes be analyzed after the date of balance sheet during the subsequent period. Audit evidences are more reliable when they are receiving from external sources that are unbiased. The evidences acquired directly by the auditor are more authentic that information received indirectly. Moreover, information available in a documented form is trusted more than verbally transmitted information.4 The financial controller of the club reported on 5th august, before the auditor’s report, that Mr. Tan, the general manager has made fraudulent expenses claims of $ 40000 over 5 years. The profit and loss account for the five years during which Mr. Tan was working in the club should be properly analyzed. All the evidences supporting all the expenditures should be received and then estimate the actual amount of fraud expenditures. Moreover, the account details of Mr. Tan can be collected with the help of police authorities to see his bank balances. In the second evidence we see Ms. Pete rs taking legal action against the company and claiming medication and damage charge from the club. For this kind of even, solicitor's advice can be taken, so as to see the likelihood of the customer winning the case and estimate the costs that they would be incurring. The financial controller informed on 18th of August about some serious fire that occurred during a football celebration. For this the insurance money has already been received. But the problem is that the bistro and bar would remain close

Talktime Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Talktime Inc - Essay Example This depicts formal authority and establishes how critical decisions are to be made. As the company has grown over the years, it has added a lot of staff to its teams and majority of them are hired on a permanent basis. This has added to the cost for the organization because of the additional training cost and remuneration of the new employees. Besides that, the permanent employees that have been with the company for many years do not like changes and are extremely resistant if any new change is brought about. This has become extremely detrimental for the company. Talktime also has rigid rules and procedures that have to be followed under all circumstances and deviations from the usual is not encouraged. There is no delegation whatsoever and every action has to be taken with the permission of the boss and the employees are not given the authority to do any thing at their own discretion. The tall structure of the organization also fosters a great degree of centralization where all the power and authority lies with the top management; this has brought about inefficiency and slow decision making. As Talktime is a telecom company, it has to keep abreast with the latest technological advances to be innovative and provide the best to its customers. However in recent years, it has been lagging behind in this department because the top management has huge job responsibilities and it is difficult for them to keep up technologically and make timely decisions. Talktime's organizational structure has brought about an individualistic culture where employees are only concerned with themselves and lack of communication causes a lot of friction and conflict in groups and teams. Employees are usually required to do mundane routine tasks and not empowered to initiate something on their own. There's also workforce diversity that causes jealousy and conflict among them. The reward system is also very rigid; very rarely is an employee rewarded in the form of a bonus or the like for a job well done; they are just paid their monthly salaries. This has made employees extremely de-motivated and frustrated and they feel threatened by any co-worker performing better than them and getting positive feedback from the manager. Conflict often arises when teamwork is essential and difference of opinion surface. This conflict results in poor performance and hampers the growth of the organization as a whole. The departments are inter-related and often two departments are working simultaneously or one department is dependant on the other, to begin work. The goals of each department are different and conflict occurs when the best solution for one department is harming the other department. Other than that, the resources of the organization are also limited and when two departments require the same resources, conflict occurs when one department feels that its needs are more important than the other. All this leads to constant quarreling, anger and bad performance overall. This is the reason why Talktime's performance has been suffering over the recent years and negative word has spread about it in the industry. As a human resource manager, the first thing that needs to done is to restructure the organization. The tall structure has been pre-dominant for many years and it is time now to bring about a change. It will be replaced by a flat structure where there are fewer

Principles of Employment Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Principles of Employment Relations - Essay Example c issue discussed by critics - â€Å"A broad survey of academic studies shows that while unions can sometimes achieve benefits for their members, they harm the overall economy.†(Sherk, 2009). In modern times there are number of concept associated with the existence of Union in various parts of the globe. If one analyzes the present scenario, union’s role in the modern world is of labor cartels. â€Å"A labor cartel restricts the number of workers in a company or industry to drive up the remaining workers wages, just as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) attempts to cut the supply of oil to raise its price.† (Sherk, 2009). To ensure smooth functioning of the companies, top management in various cases agreed upon to pay out high salary to their employees by affecting their overall profit or by increasing the price of their offerings. Economic study finds that a range of activities of the unions might do well to their members but as an issue of concern it constantly harm consumers in general. Not only that, the actions of Union sometimes hampered the job opportunity for the deserving candidate as well. Although there are number of negative point of views about the role played by the unions in the job market, economy and development of the country, there is some positive side as well. In this paper the main objective is to focus on the role played by the union in Australian economy and how the role of the union changes over the duration of time. The Australian Workers Union over the course of time has demonstrated both positive and negative sides of trade unionism. At times unions have bravely opposed to employers and various organizations’ decisions which were against the benefit or the poor workers. As a matter of fact, the Australian union over a long period of time was not interested to get involved into direct bargaining with their employers but was always committed to ensure national wage-fixing practices of Australian industrial

Talktime Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Talktime Inc - Essay Example This depicts formal authority and establishes how critical decisions are to be made. As the company has grown over the years, it has added a lot of staff to its teams and majority of them are hired on a permanent basis. This has added to the cost for the organization because of the additional training cost and remuneration of the new employees. Besides that, the permanent employees that have been with the company for many years do not like changes and are extremely resistant if any new change is brought about. This has become extremely detrimental for the company. Talktime also has rigid rules and procedures that have to be followed under all circumstances and deviations from the usual is not encouraged. There is no delegation whatsoever and every action has to be taken with the permission of the boss and the employees are not given the authority to do any thing at their own discretion. The tall structure of the organization also fosters a great degree of centralization where all the power and authority lies with the top management; this has brought about inefficiency and slow decision making. As Talktime is a telecom company, it has to keep abreast with the latest technological advances to be innovative and provide the best to its customers. However in recent years, it has been lagging behind in this department because the top management has huge job responsibilities and it is difficult for them to keep up technologically and make timely decisions. Talktime's organizational structure has brought about an individualistic culture where employees are only concerned with themselves and lack of communication causes a lot of friction and conflict in groups and teams. Employees are usually required to do mundane routine tasks and not empowered to initiate something on their own. There's also workforce diversity that causes jealousy and conflict among them. The reward system is also very rigid; very rarely is an employee rewarded in the form of a bonus or the like for a job well done; they are just paid their monthly salaries. This has made employees extremely de-motivated and frustrated and they feel threatened by any co-worker performing better than them and getting positive feedback from the manager. Conflict often arises when teamwork is essential and difference of opinion surface. This conflict results in poor performance and hampers the growth of the organization as a whole. The departments are inter-related and often two departments are working simultaneously or one department is dependant on the other, to begin work. The goals of each department are different and conflict occurs when the best solution for one department is harming the other department. Other than that, the resources of the organization are also limited and when two departments require the same resources, conflict occurs when one department feels that its needs are more important than the other. All this leads to constant quarreling, anger and bad performance overall. This is the reason why Talktime's performance has been suffering over the recent years and negative word has spread about it in the industry. As a human resource manager, the first thing that needs to done is to restructure the organization. The tall structure has been pre-dominant for many years and it is time now to bring about a change. It will be replaced by a flat structure where there are fewer

Verbal Communication Essay Example for Free

Verbal Communication Essay Verbal and nonverbal communication can affect the way that communication is interpreted among many people throughout society and within the criminal justice system. Communication is the best way to relay information whether it is verbal or nonverbal. Both of these forms of communication can be effective throughout the criminal justice system from police situations, courtroom settings, and correction facilities to a juvenile facility. Verbal and nonverbal communication can be valuable when there is a police situation. In a situation such as a robbery, the witnesses would use both verbal and nonverbal communication in order to help the police with the investigation. Witnesses are most likely to use body language such as putting their head down, not looking directly at the officer or crossing their arms during an interrogation. They would also use gestures with their hands to identify different descriptions of a suspect or the scene of the crime. Witnesses are also likely to tell the investigator verbally what they saw. In a police situation where an officer or the chief of police is making a public announcement verbal communication would be the most important and the most used form of communication when making a public announcement. While making a public announcement, the officer or chief of police will have to verbally inform the public of whatever the situation is going on. Verbal communication would be the primary choice when it comes to testifying in court. Verbally, all parties in the court room setting would use this form of communication to get information throughout the courtroom. The attorneys will communicate verbally among each other, the witnesses, the jurors and the judge. An example of the communicating verbally when testifying would be the attorneys questioning the person that is on the stand which would be a witness or the defendant in the case. When the witness or defendant is giving their testimony it will be communicated to the attorneys, jurors and the judge in order for jury to come to a verdict in the case. I do also believe that nonverbal communication can be used when testifying. Nonverbal communication while testifying would include not looking directly at the attorney who is asking the questions. In a corrections facility both verbal and nonverbal are factors when dealing with your peers, inmates or other employees within the facility. Depending on the situation, I believe that both of these communication methods are able to be  used successfully to communicate with one another. When dealing with the inmates, using nonverbal communication could work just as well as verbal communication. Most of the time, once an inmate sees a worker or correction officer they will know what is to be done without the officer speaking a word to them. Then, there are times where officers will have to use verbal communication, to get a direct order across to an inmate. In particular, if a hostile situation that is taking place and they have to take in control of the situation. When dealing with other employees in the facility, officers can communicate with each other through verbal communication or nonverbal if they want to become discreet around the inmates. Most of the time, the employees may be verbal through walkie talkies or in person with one another. In a juvenile facility, verbal communication may be the best way to communicate with the juveniles. Juveniles may find it very hard to listen to direct orders coming from superiors but, communicating to them verbally will have a better outcome than trying to communicate with them nonverbally. Juveniles will respond to nonverbal communication such as gestures from the officers. Juveniles dealing with other juvenile inmates, they would use nonverbal communication. Many times juvenile facilities will have gangs or multiple juveniles who are friends or associates before they came to the juvenile facility. These juveniles will use nonverbal communication to communicate with each other under the radar of the officers. They may use gang hand signs, body gestures or possibly the way that they wear their clothing. If a juvenile rolls their sleeve up on their shirt, this could be a way of communicating with other juveniles telling them what gang they are a part of or if they are trying to pick a fight. Verbal communication between the juveniles in the facilities is also used. Juveniles would most likely speak in code to one other so the officers would not know what they are saying to each other. Speaking in code is a big form of communication among the juveniles in the detention centers. This could leave the officers out of the loop or distract them from leads on possible escapes or fights that are going to take place. Among all of these areas of the criminal justice system, all of them deal with verbal and nonverbal communication. Both forms of communication verbal and nonverbal are effective in all areas in the justice system. Police situations, courtroom settings, corrections facilities and juvenile facilities all use these forms of communication  different to make them effective for their use. Communication is a key part in making all areas of the criminal justice system function with clarity and understanding.

Perceptions of ESL Teachers in Taiwan

Perceptions of ESL Teachers in Taiwan SYNOPSIS This study investigates ESL program teachers experiences, perceptions, attitudes and use of classroom assessment in Taiwan. It is aimed to explore teachers understanding of classroom assessment and their assessment strategies; moreover, to examine whether there are any relationships between teachers experiences, perceptions and use of classroom assessment in private ESL schools in Taiwan. Thirty teachers across three private ESL schools were surveyed using a questionnaire. Among 30 teachers, 4 teachers volunteered to participate in the semi-structured interviews. Data collected from questionnaire and interview provides the researcher with an insight into teachers perceptions, attitudes and use of assessment methods in their classroom. The results show that ESL program teachers were positive about the effectiveness of classroom assessment and formative assessment strategies and had a tendency to use positive feedback to encourage learners to improve their language ability. Most teachers had more than 3 years of teaching experience in teaching English and placed focus on formative assessment in order to meet schools policy, learners needs, and parents demands. There is a need to do further research in such unique educational context, so-called ESL schools in Taiwan, to explore teachers difficulties and needs; moreover, to provide support, such as teachers in-service training, which may lead to benefiting learners. Aim This mixed methods research is designed to investigate ESL private school teachers perceptions, attitude and use of classroom assessment in Taiwan. Two instruments are used in this research, including a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, to explore teachers experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of classroom assessment and their own assessment strategies. Rationale and context This study has been motivated by two factors: first, in 2010, Dr. Rea-Dickins introduced the central characteristics of classroom assessment in Language Testing and Assessment (LTA) course, such as providing learning opportunities for learning or language awareness and nurturing language, which helped me to gain new knowledge about the concept of assessment for learning, in terms of formative assessment. After reading several research studies in relation to classroom-based assessment, I recognize the benefits of assessment, particular with formative assessment, and how teachers can monitor learner progress, inform teaching and support learning through using multiple assessment methods in the classroom. I have the desire to understand whether English teachers use various formative assessment methods, such as teacher and peer feedback, scaffolding and assessment to help learners enhance learning or they mainly focus on grading and recording learning progress. The second factor is related to the fact that we have relatively little knowledge at ESL private school teachers classroom assessment practice and their understanding and attitude toward assessment in Taiwan; moreover, this is an area in which it appears that may have an impact on young learners in learning English. Assessment plays a central and important role both in teaching and learning. Teachers use their own assessment practices, which may have the potential influence on their learners learning, to assess and improve learners language ability. In addition, assessment is synonymous to exams and tests for most teachers, pupils, and parents In Taiwan where traditional paper-and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"pencil assessment remained as the main source informing learners learning (Yip, 2005). Edelenbos and Kubanek-German (2004) also point out the assumption that formal testing is generally referred to the only assessment methods a teacher uses. McNamara (2000) noted that traditional paper-and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"pencil language assessment and performance assessment are two major forms of assessment. In other words, English teachers tend to use the latter to know how their learners use their existing language knowledge related in a given context and to measure learners language ability at the end of a certain period of teaching and learning through the former. As can be seen, the notion of assessment is generally associated with testing and it seems to be under-developed in fields of applied linguistics and general education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate how English teachers perceive the concept of classroom assessment and what assessment methods they use in their classroom in Taiwan. 1.2.1 English learning environment in Taiwan In 1997, the Ministry of Education (MOE) implemented educational reform and introduced the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum (NYIC) which has greatly influenced the syllabus and materials design of elementary and high schools in Taiwan. One of the major changes is that pupils, who used to begin learning English in junior high schools (age 11), start to learn English as a Foreign Language in grade 3 (age 9) in elementary schools. English instructions were officially incorporated into elementary school education which brought more business opportunities on English learning and teaching due to the increasing demand for English learning. Such changing situation has also impact the age of learning English in Taiwan, where children now start to learn English at an early age. In addition, according to The Guidelines of English Learning Area in Grade 1-9 Curriculum, the new English syllabus reflects a more communicative orientation and places focus on teacher-learners interactions. It also aims to create an enjoyable learning environment to motivate learners to speak English in English classroom. This appears to suggest that teachers should use more formative assessment methods, in terms of encouraging learners to improve learning and providing more language learning opportunities to them. Furthermore, learners are expected to achieve three goals in Grade 1-9 Curriculum: To equip with basic communicative competence and apply it into real-life situations. To develop learning strategies and be able to learn language effectively and autonomously. To gain knowledge about foreign cultures and be able to respect different cultures. The adjustment in English curriculum is consistent with the current trend in research studies of English as an Additional Language (EAL). Teachers are acting as supporters to scaffold and motivate learners to enhance learning during the whole learning process. In addition, Taiwanese government empowers local schools and teachers to choose teaching materials, such as textbooks, to meet learners needs; moreover, it begins to value pupils individual differences. By doing so, teachers may be able to choose appropriate tasks and activities for their learners and focus on individual learning. As can be seen, teachers are now generally increasing the use of formative assessment strategies to assist learners learning in the classroom in Taiwan 1.2.2 Formative Assessment in language classrooms in Taiwan Generally, English teachers in Taiwan are required to correct all the errors in all students work, including worksheets, textbooks and practice books, due to the pressure from the schools and parents. Such demand from schools and parents is one of major sources of pressure for teachers in Taiwan. As can be seen, teacher feedback, particularly with written feedback, appears to be seen as one major part of teachers routine work. Huang (2006) reports that in Taiwan most English teachers use teacher feedback, as a formative assessment method, on learners grammatical errors in writing. In addition, portfolio assessment is a common assessment tool used by English teachers in Taiwan. Tsai (2004) and Wang (2002) both indicate that teachers use portfolio assessment as an instrument to assess learners achievement rather than improving learning; moreover, Wu (2007) points out that instead of using portfolios assessment in a formative way most teachers use it for summative purposes, in terms of recording each learners achievement. Furthermore, Yip (2005) reports that traditional standardized tests remain the main source of informing and measuring learners learning for most English teachers in Taiwan. As can be seen, the potential of classroom assessment may not have been identified in the language assessment literature and assessment has not reached its full potential in English classrooms in Taiwan. Organization of this research In the next chapter, literature on relevant issues involves definition and functions of classroom assessment and assessment of young learners are reviewed. Methodology of data collection and analysis and a discussion of ethical, validity and reliability issues are introduced in Chapter 3, followed by the presentation of the findings and discussion derived from the results of both questionnaire and interview data. Chapter 5 summaries the research findings and provides limitations and future research. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Introduction This research has explored teachers attitudes, perceptions, and use of assessment in classrooms. In this chapter, limitations of the study will first be discussed, followed by Implications for pedagogy and this study. 5.2 Limitations of the study There are several limitations and problematic aspects in the methodology. First, one limitation in this research is the small size sample (N=30) which may influence the reliability of the result in relation to the correlationship between teachers years of teaching experience and their assessment methods. Size of the sample is vital  for an accurate estimate of the relationship between variables. In addition, without classroom observation, it is difficult to examine teachers day-to-day assessment practice and the whole process of assessment. Observation plays a significant role in confirming teachers interview responses with their actual assessment practice in the classroom. Follow-up interviews are also important in gaining some insight into the behavioural patterns and assessment practice of teachers during the assessment process by providing explanations of their instructional and diagnostic behavior and assessment strategies. The involvement of a larger questionnaire sample size, classroom observation and follow-up interviews may lead to increase reliability of the data and a better and completed understanding of teachers assessment practice in classrooms. 5.3 Implications for pedagogy and teacher training All 5 interviewed teachers indicate that they gain new information about assessment through meeting with teachers from the same grade, for instance, all grade 1 teachers have a meeting to discuss teaching ideas and lesson plans once a week. However, there seems to be an insufficiency level of in-service training activities for meeting the needs of ESL program teachers. Teachers recognize the importance of developing knowledge, competence, capacities and classroom assessment strategies in order to improve teaching and learners learning. This may suggest that there is a need to provide continuing professional development (CPD) and training courses to update new knowledge and information, in relation to planning for teaching, practical approaches and assessment, and more importantly to reflect on their own teaching. 5.3 Implications for further research There is a critical need for more studies to investigate ESL program teachers difficulty in implementing classroom assessment strategies in schools and their diagnostic competence, in terms of their observational and interpretative ability, during classroom teaching. Due to teachers decision-making, assessment cognition network (Yin 2005) and teacher diagnostic competence (Edelenbos and Kubanek-German 2004) are key elements in supporting and assessing learners in classrooms. Moreover, their capacities, knowledge and beliefs may have an impact on how they assess learner performance during the teaching and their diagnostic competence, including the skills they use to guess what learners want to say and the abilities to provide language samples of learners language growth, may influence the amount of language learning opportunities they provide for individual learner during the teaching and learning. Furthermore, further research is needed in exploring teachers representation and implementation of classroom assessment to reveal factors which influence teachers perceptions and interpretation of assessment. In addition, ESL program teachers use of the materials, which involve standardized and teacher made tests and a set of assessment instruments, should also be examined, in terms of the reliability and validity of teacher assessment. Finally, the scope of so-called ESL school teachers classroom assessment perceptions and strategies research should be expanded to include other Asia countries, such as Korea and China. 5.4 Conclusion The focus of this research is to investigate so-called ESL school teachers perceptions, attitudes and use of classroom assessment in Taiwan, an EFL context. A mixed methods approach is used to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, including questionnaire and interview data. This study provides a window to reveal how teachers , who aim to enhance Taiwanese learners English ability through adopting ESL curriculum and teaching materials to teach learners in an EFL context, perceive the construct of classroom assessment, their attitudes toward assessment and use of assessment methods. The results show a strong emphasis on formative, as opposed to summative, assessment practice among 30 teachers across 3 private ESL schools; moreover, the data suggests a need for CPD courses to improve teaching and learning and to prevent teachers from suffering burnout and emotional exhaustion.

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Divorce Essay -- Sociology

1.0 Introduction Cohabitation is and has been a norm in almost all societies in the world. It has been perceived as the stepping stone to marriage by the modern generation. In Whitman, (2003), cohabitation has grown so widely that there is one cohabiting couple out of 7 marriages in 2010 as compared to 1 out of 90 marriages in 1960. According to her, the attitude towards the whole of marriage institution has changed drastically over time. In the same article, currently in the US, of 3 single women, 1 chooses to live with their partners before marriage as compared to the 1950’s where only 1 out of 10 chooses so. Another statistics reveal that, the number of cohabitating partners have increased exponentially from 430,000 in 1960 to 5.4 million couples in 2005 (Fowler, R, 2008). From this shocking statistics, we ought to find out the advantages and disadvantages of cohabiting. Firstly, the meaning of cohabitation and marriage must be clearly defined before more research is done. From the Concise English Dictionary (9th Edition), cohabitation come from the word ‘cohabit’ which is defined as â€Å"live together, [especially] as husband and wife without being married to one another† while marriage is defined as â€Å"the legal union of a man and woman in order to live together and often to have children†. In today’s terms, long-term cohabitation is more known as an alternative to marriage. Couples now prefer cohabitation because of the ‘freedom’ and the ‘guarantee of compatibility’ that it allegedly offers. However, the issue about cohabitation that is questioned is the stability of the relationship. We know that cohabitation is recognized by any country in the world as a legal union of a man and woman. The question arises, ‘Will cohabitat... ...ation’, Family Matters, pp. 24-27, viewed 26th January 2012, Popenoe D., Whitehead B.D. (1999), ‘Should we live together? What young adults need to know about cohabitation before marriage.’ THE NATIONAL MARRIAGE PROJECT : The Next Generation Series, New Jersey, viewed 14 January, 2012, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, (1995), 9th ed, Oxford University Press Inc., New York. Whitehead, B.D. and Popenoe, D. (2000), ‘Sex without strings, relationships without rings’, The State of Our Unions, The Social Health of Marriage in America, The National Marriage Project, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, p. 13, New Jersey. Whitman, S. (2003), ‘Shacking up: The smart girl's guide to living in sin without getting burned’, Broadway, Washington.

Brontës Depiction of Women in Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontà « uses the female characters to convey her views on Victorian conventions of womanhood. She does this initially by using first-person narrative to help us see the characters in their true form. In this essay I'm going to explain how Brontà « uses the character Jane as porthole for her own views and beliefs. During the period Jane Eyre was set, the 1840's, it was conventional that women were inferior to men and were not entitled to their own opinions or freedom of mind. Brontà « uses Blanche Ingram as an example of a typical woman of the time and the consequences of being so are shown throughout. Brontà « argues this view in her preface that ?conventionality is not morality,? this means that what society may think is widely accepted and respectable, is not necessarily what is right, and she creates Jane Eyre as an example of a woman who believes just this but who has, in the end, become more successful than Blanche. Women in the 19th Century were expected to be beautiful and accomplished or they were nothing. Their decisions were made for them and their work was in the home. Charlotte Brontà « thought this immoral and believed that women should be admired for who they are, not what they look like. To highlight this point she uses the character Blanche Ingram, a young lady ?moulded like a Dian?. When reading of Blanche, we are not presented with a complimentary description, for although many other people may describe her as a beautiful, young and accomplished woman, we hear her description from the voice of Jane, who evidently tends to analyse people with a much deeper meaning than just their appearance, and although Jane does admit that Blanche is young and beautiful, she also describes her to be self-centred and inconsiderate towards others - including Mr. Rochester - to who she appears to show no emotion. This is noticeably illustrated when Jane has been observing Blanche and notes that ?her laugh was satirical and so was the habitual expression of her arched and haughty lip?. The choice of the word ?habitual? shows us that this sort of action is typical of her and that she often acts haughty and satirical. The reader immediately feels contempt for Blanche after this observation, as it portrays her to be arrogant and pretentious, especially as it was an action made towards Adele, who is a described to be a sweet young girl who Jane is fond of. Brontà «'s Depiction of Women in Jane Eyre :: essays research papers In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontà « uses the female characters to convey her views on Victorian conventions of womanhood. She does this initially by using first-person narrative to help us see the characters in their true form. In this essay I'm going to explain how Brontà « uses the character Jane as porthole for her own views and beliefs. During the period Jane Eyre was set, the 1840's, it was conventional that women were inferior to men and were not entitled to their own opinions or freedom of mind. Brontà « uses Blanche Ingram as an example of a typical woman of the time and the consequences of being so are shown throughout. Brontà « argues this view in her preface that ?conventionality is not morality,? this means that what society may think is widely accepted and respectable, is not necessarily what is right, and she creates Jane Eyre as an example of a woman who believes just this but who has, in the end, become more successful than Blanche. Women in the 19th Century were expected to be beautiful and accomplished or they were nothing. Their decisions were made for them and their work was in the home. Charlotte Brontà « thought this immoral and believed that women should be admired for who they are, not what they look like. To highlight this point she uses the character Blanche Ingram, a young lady ?moulded like a Dian?. When reading of Blanche, we are not presented with a complimentary description, for although many other people may describe her as a beautiful, young and accomplished woman, we hear her description from the voice of Jane, who evidently tends to analyse people with a much deeper meaning than just their appearance, and although Jane does admit that Blanche is young and beautiful, she also describes her to be self-centred and inconsiderate towards others - including Mr. Rochester - to who she appears to show no emotion. This is noticeably illustrated when Jane has been observing Blanche and notes that ?her laugh was satirical and so was the habitual expression of her arched and haughty lip?. The choice of the word ?habitual? shows us that this sort of action is typical of her and that she often acts haughty and satirical. The reader immediately feels contempt for Blanche after this observation, as it portrays her to be arrogant and pretentious, especially as it was an action made towards Adele, who is a described to be a sweet young girl who Jane is fond of.