Principles of Management Essay

1. Discuss three (3) different methods of effecting change. Use practical examples from your experience or knowledge, and describe your experience in implementing change. Change will not be effortlessly implemented without an implementation plan or a framework. Change is often implemented in order to resolve issues, concerns, or setbacks to make situations or conditions more desirable. (National Defense University, 2008) It must then follow a process, called research, in order to identify what changes are to be made and how changes are to be implemented. The initial step is to identify the problem or the issue that is to be resolved through change. Next, there should be sufficient background information that supports the pressing need for change. Then it is time to come up with several changes that are suited to solve the problem. Once the most important plan of change is determined, the question of how the change will be implemented should be answered. This includes the plan of action, rules and regulations, etc. Overall, the implementation plan abovementioned solidifies the need to implement change, and becomes a guide to direct an organization in realizing its goals by lessening confusion and ambiguity. Another method to effect change is to involve everyone concerned. In this way, individuals easily accept and adapt to the changes lessening pressure, stress, confusion, and chaos. Moreover, information circulated for everyone involved should be clear, extensive, flexible, and reasonable. For instance, there is a need to revamp the structure of organization through reappointment. Therefore, laying out the reasons for such action is important. These reasons should be evenhanded and logical. Reappointing, hiring, or even laying off should also be reasonable and explicated to employees. The change should also be open to pleas and petitions from employees with consideration to accomplishments, position, character, etc. The entire process is most effectively done through a meeting, with the aid of a well-researched and written report containing all necessary information. (Actalpha, 2008) In this way, change in the structure of the organization, as an example, is unquestionable and easily accepted due to facts. Personally, being informed about future changes makes it easy to accept expected results and outcomes, and lessens fear, resistance and difficulties to implement changes. Lastly, it is most important to set rules to follow on how everyone is to observe the changes implemented. Consistency is vital in allowing effortless adaptation of changes and the facilitation of submission to these changes. Monitoring and supervision would assist in accomplishing this method of change management. (Caroll, 2008) 2. Why are most organizations and individuals resistant to change? What can managers do to facilitate change? As the saying goes, change is inevitable. Although organizations cannot avoid having to implement changes every now and then, its members are more often than not resistant to change. This is because change is accompanied by adjustment and undeterminable outcomes. For organizations, resistance to change is mainly caused by the fear of loss or defeat once changes are implemented. (Bacal, 2008) Organizations and its members are driven by success and the accomplishment or realization of organizational goals and objectives. The primary purpose of change is to improve organizational structure and atmosphere; however, there is always the fear of failure or a letdown if changes that are implemented backfires and does not prove to be sufficient nor appropriate to develop and redirect the organizational situation. To lessen these fears, ambiguity, or apprehensions regarding organizational changes, the manager should be able to utilize his command to facilitate change. As aforementioned in order to answer the previous question, managers should be able to assure the organization and its members that a change is necessary. Assessing all the aspects related to change is also needed. It is the most basic and the most important process in facilitating change. This is carried out through extensive research analysis, plan mapping, formulation of action plans or process maps, etc. These written reports and plans shall be distributed to everyone involved who will be affected by the planned changes to be implemented. Once information is distributed to the members of the organization, managers should conduct a training program or a seminar workshop to initiate a discussion about the issues related to the type of change, and to prepare members of the organization for changes in roles and responsibilities, rules and regulations, salary, etc. through training and workshop. (Southeast Association of Facilitators, 2007) After the training program or seminar workshop, the management is now able to implement the changes formally. At this point, rules and regulations should be observed strictly and consistently in order to sustain the transition from the old to the new working situation or environment.

Aging Workforce in Singapore Essay

Populations in many developed countries are ageing, and Singapore is no exception. The first batch of post-war baby boomers will reach 65 years of age by 2012. The number of seniors will increase from 8.4% in 2005 to 18.7% in 2030 (refer to Table 1). According to the 2010 Population Report,  The proportion of residents (i.e. citizens and PRs) aged 65 and above increased from 7.0% of the resident population in 1999 to 8.8% in 2009. Correspondingly, the number of younger residents aged 15-64 for every resident aged 65 and above (i.e. the old-age support ratio) fell from 10.1 in 1999 to 8.3 in 2009 (refer to Table 2). (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2010, p. 4) Today, one out of every 12 Singaporeans is aged 65 or above. By 2030, this ratio will become one out of five. On January 2011, the parliament has passed down the new employment law of changing to retirement age from 62 to the age of 65 from January 2012. This is a good news to many Singaporeans who felt that they are still capable of working beyond the retirement age of 62 (Nayak, 2011, para. 3). An ageing population brings both challenges and opportunities, having tremendous effect on all parts of our society – individuals, families, communities, businesses and government. Therefore, we ought to prepare early for the challenges of an ageing population to ensure the well-being of our seniors and their families to provide the first line of support. At the same time, we must be ready to seize the economic opportunities that will emerge from the demographic shift. Aging Workforce in the Hotel Industry With relevance to the major demographic trends, aging population, this revolution will change the face of our labour market. Correspondingly, the workforce is not only ageing, but also growing at a much slower pace. Increasingly, companies are facing problems in recruiting replacements for retiring employees. This is a reality that companies have to grapple with and adapt to. Nevertheless, not all companies are being affected equally nor are they moving at the same rate to identify and address how the ageing trend will be impacting their businesses. Impacts In the hospitality industry, service is the factor that differentiates hotels from its competitors. Therefore with a large amount of aging workforce in the frontline, it will bring down the image of the hotel in terms of appearance; a younger worker would look fresher and have a better appeal to guests. As a guest of a hotel overseas, he or she would be preferred to be served by younger workers than people of an old age. As older employees are naturally more prone to illnesses, they would tend to take more medical leaves thus decreasing the manpower. When one gets sick, it affects the employees’ mood to work and thus less concentration when working. This in turn reduces the efficiency of the operations of hotels. In addition, the needs and interest changes with aging workforce. According to the study by Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) (2010), â€Å"rising health and insurance costs, concern about physical abilities, and adaptability/willingness were ranked as the top three challenges† (p. 3). With the ever changing preferences and needs of the society, hotels have to constantly upgrade their standard of services. However, older employees may not be equipped with latest skills and knowledge needed to achieve the hotel’s competitive advantage. Thus, there is a need to constantly upgrade the skills of their older employees. Older employees are more resistant to changes and improvements. This may be mainly due to their thinking of already having the appropriate experience and knowledge and there is no need for further training, especially in the situation of â€Å"leapfrogging†, where a younger worker is put in charge of a more experienced worker. Many hotels will have an advantage by having a large pool of elderly employees. It is mainly because there are many job positions which young employees would be unwilling to take up. Most time, foreigners would be hired to fill up the rest of the job vacancies that do not appeal to the young employees; however, hotels can have another avenue of recruitment – the elderly workforce. This will give hotels a great advantage to handpick the best candidates out of the pool of elderly workforce. In hotels, there are certain positions that elderly employees occupy, for example managerial positions. Being loyal to the company, they would not want to leave their positions easily as compared to the younger workforce who usually job hops for a better pay. This relieves the hotel’s need to constantly recruit and train new workers, thus helping to cut the costs during the process of recruitment and training. Challenges A) The Human Resource (HR) unit has a challenge to allocate the older employees in suitable positions that is beneficial for both the hotel and the aging workforce. The HR unit also has to ensure that the hotel would maintain a good image and increases their productivity. There is also a need for the HR unit to create a supportive culture for the older workers in order to manage such diverse workforce. B) Keeping older employees motivated at work along with the right attitude is important when serving their customers. In addition, with the older employees being more prone to illnesses, hotels have to struggle with ways to keep their costs low and at the same time provide adequate medical benefits for them. During such periods it is more crucial for managers and supervisors to show them care and patience. C) Values tend to change from one generation to another as well as during different life stages. The thinking of the older generation is more conservative than those of the younger generation. It would thus be a challenge for the hotels wanting the older employees to improve their values in their job scope. With a more conservative mindset and thinking, they would be afraid to try new things and be more innovative. In turn, the hotel will lose its competitiveness if new changes are adopted. Hence, the HR unit in a hotel has to place their older employees in the most relevant training to help them prepare for changes in their current jobs. Besides that, older employees would normally take a longer time to adapt to changes, thus the management has to work out appropriate schedules to help their employees to have a proper balance with their job and trainings. D) Older employees tend to have more skills and knowledge in the industry due to the experiences they have gone through. Retaining this skills and knowledge is critical for hotels to ensure that the younger generation will also have these basic skills and knowledge as a platform for them to have an advantage over their competitors. E) Although there is a need to retain these skills and knowledge, there will definitely be a time when one has to retire. However, the aging workforce is usually reluctant to leave their positions as they are emotionally attached to the hotel. This would be a challenge for the hotel to find ways to recruit younger employees, without resulting in excess manpower and high costs, especially for positions in the higher management. If the hotel were to retain most of the older employees, they may miss opportunities on recruiting young employees who can be a more valuable asset to the hotels which helps to bring their standards to a higher level. Solutions It is time for employers to start responding to the potential consequences of the ageing workforce on their businesses. If not well-prepared, employers may find themselves suddenly faced with labour loss, experience and expertise that will be difficult to offset, given the relatively small pool of new employees. With many companies facing the same problem, competition for new talents is likely to surface. A) Hotels can have interviews to know which areas older employees would prefer to work in and the languages they can speak. With the information gathered, hotels will be able to know their strengths and weaknesses which help to determine where to allocate each individual. With the proper job assignment, hotels will be able to maintain a good image, by reassigning the older employees with language barriers to the backhouse such as room attendant. This allows them to be in their comfort zone and after getting used to their task, the productivity will be maximized in both the frontline and backhouse. B) In order to keep older employees engaged and motivated, it is vital for the HR department to maintain constant communication with the older employees and understand any problems, issues and concerns that they are encountering. By treating their employees like family members, it may be a major job happiness-driver for them and thus motivating them to do better for the hotel. Besides that, communication and treating each other with respect ensures that the spirit of their employees is always high. Through job empowerment, employees will have more decision making responsibilities and hence they will feel more respected as an employee as they are given a chance to handle more difficult situation on their own. As for medical benefits, hotels can pay a certain percentage of their medical fees. For example, the hotels will pay 50% of their employee’s medical fees while the other 50% is paid by the employees. C) Facing the challenge that older generation is more conservative, companies can focus on creating a positive work environment for older employees by allowing flexible hours, more communication and constantly motivating them. Some of the actions can be allowing the older employees to have an option to consider different jobs and different sets of responsibilities. Some older employees may wish to devote their later career years to jobs that allow them to develop new competencies. Others may want jobs that are less demanding, these older employees may be interested in making transitions to different jobs within the company or make lateral moves or even to lower positions with a pay reduction. Other than that, the hotel can allow them to have a choice over the number of hours worked and provide them with flexible schedule for trainings. For example, older employees work on reduced-hours such as part-time or job sharing, so as to schedule the rest of their time for trainings that are a rranged for them. D) To retain the skills and knowledge, the older employees can train and guide the younger employees before they retire to ensure that the skills and knowledge are passed down. After retirement, they can come back and help out by overlooking and having workshops to give further training that is needed. E) To attract the younger people, creative ways are needed. For example, the hotel can come up with a program like the popular show â€Å"The Apprentice† by Donald Trump to search for the best employee. However, we must ensure there is no excessive pool of manpower and costs are kept low. The hotels can allow their older employees to be on-call workers or have flexible work schedules. On-call workers are employees who are called to work only when needed, although they can be scheduled for work for several days or weeks in a row. In days when the hotels need a massive number of employees, the on-call workers will be called back. By providing flexible work schedules, older employees are allowed to plan their work schedules with the choice over the number of hours worked. This will prolong the retirement period for older employees by allowing them to work but at a lesser duration, so that younger employees have the chance to excel and there will not be a surplus or shortage in th e manpower. Case Study: Royal Plaza on Scott The Royal Plaza on Scott is a 5-star leading hotel in Singapore. 50% of the hotel 300 employees are classified under the mature and older category. The company recognized the importance of mature employees and has sets out strategy as Singapore faces human capital challenge of managing a mature and older workforce. According to Fiat (2010), The mature employees are valuable assets to the organization as they are able to share their wealth of experience with the younger employees. The hotel taps on their expertise by pairing the mature employees with the younger generation of new hires to provide guidance and encourage cohesiveness. The hotel also implemented a buddy system where a new mature employee is paired with a younger co-worker or vice versa to work together and learn from each other. For example, younger employees may learn from mature and older employees on how to handle difficult customers while guiding their older colleagues on the effective usage of technology at the workplace. (TAFEP, p. 45) Royal Plaza on Scott has developed recruitment strategies like implementing Flexible Working Arrangements (FWA), where there is a flexible work arrangement which includes flexi-time, part time, job shares and compressed workweeks. Health benefits and programmes will also be implemented including regular health screening, health talk, yoga courses, sushi-making classes and others. This is to encourage for a healthy work life balance. Another great strategy used is to set up a Recreational Committee that was assigned to take care of the well being of co-worker. This committee will be in charge of organizing health awareness events, initiatives to create awareness of healthy lifestyle as well as to bond employees of difference generations (TAFEP, 2010, p.46).

Accessing the Online Student Edition of the Glencoe IPC Textbook

Accessing the Online Student Edition of the Glencoe IPC Textbook Go to www. glencoe. com Select Texas from the pull-down â€Å"state† box Click student/parent Select â€Å"science† from the pull-down menu Click enter Select Texas Science Select the first book: Introduction to Texas Integrated Physics and Chemistry The following URL should appear in the address bar http://www. glencoe. com/sites/texas/student/science/index. html Put your cursor over the â€Å"Online Student Edition† and you will get a roll-over menu:Sample Full Version Select â€Å"Full Version† and type in the following: Select â€Å"Contents in Brief† Select â€Å"Table of Contents† At this point you will be able to navigate throughout the book. The other features can be accessed in a similar manner. Accessing the Online Student Edition of the Glencoe IPC Textbook Go to www. glencoe. com Select Texas from the pull-down â€Å"state† box Click student/parent Select â₠¬Å"science† from the pull-down menu Click enter Select Texas ScienceSelect the first book: Introduction to Texas Integrated Physics and Chemistry The following URL should appear in the address bar http://www. glencoe. com/sites/texas/student/science/index. html Put your cursor over the â€Å"Online Student Edition† and you will get a roll-over menu: Sample Full Version Select â€Å"Full Version† and type in the following: TXIPC 9UKASp73hu Select â€Å"Contents in Brief† Select â€Å"Table of Contents† At this point you will be able to navigate throughout the book. The other features can be accessed in a similar manner.

Management of Organizations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management of Organizations - Research Paper Example This also includes fulfilling the requirements for activities such as recruitment of new members of management teams, establishing business relationships with other organizations and coming up the best platform for increasing the intellectual property rights of an organization. To be successful in delivering the best for this career, it is essential that become enlightened on a number of key skills. These skills are as stipulated below. It is clearly vital to note that this job requires one to be very excellent in making quality business strategies. To be successful here, it is necessary that I have excellent qualitative and quantitative skills. In addition, as a key member of an organization, I should also have excellent electronic commerce skills. This will facilitate smooth execution of business functions globally hence increasing the companies competitive advantage (Miles,

Paper on a graphic designer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paper on a graphic designer - Essay Example He went to Toyko University of the Arts with the objective of turning into an artist yet wound up majoring in Nihonga (the "conventional" style of Japanese painting that consolidates customary Japanese masterful traditions, methods and subjects) he got a Ph.D. in Nihonga yet got to be unbiased with the profoundly political impacts. Murakami started to investigate contemporary imaginative styles, methodologies, and media. Takashi accepted Japans contemporary workmanship was "a profound assignment of Western patterns" and he was really miserable with the condition of craftsmanship in Japan. The majority of his initial work was done in the soul of social feedback and parody1. Takashi Murakami is a creator of own authentic style that shaped the contemporary art and is seen widely through the acknowledged brands. In 1990s art was varied and eclectic. Takashi Murakami’s contribution was a worthy and bright part of it. He managed to bridge anime, fine art, graphic design, pop culture and fashion2. Takashi Murakami was dissatisfied with the current state of contemporary art so he decided to change it. In the course of the most recent 20 years the Japanese craftsman Takashi Murakami has accomplished religion status. The works of art that first put him on the social guide in the 90s were portrayals of lively, verging on showy, toon like characters vigorously affected by Japanese anime and manga. His work, running from sexual to cutesy, just indicates his traditional preparing in Nihonga, an old and customary style of Japanese painting. Murakamis quality isnt simply making workmanship that speaks to Japans Otaku sub-society (male devotees of sci-fi, anime, manga, and feature recreations), it is his reception of a craftsmanship meets-trade ethos. Murakamis marketing business KaiKai Kiki join s his craft into shopper products. His most popular coordinated effort is a constrained release line of cowhide totes for

Collective Bargaining at West University Case Study

Collective Bargaining at West University - Case Study Example In this case it seemed that the school was the one opposed to allowing the workers to unionize or allow another union to speak on their behalf. As employees there is another disturbing aspect to living and working in a right-to work state. Under that law a company can terminate an employee without cause, wrong-doing, or explanation; being part of a union would allow for a level of job security that many businesses may be disagreeable with. After all if the majority of their employees become part of unions then their freedom to down size their staff becomes more and more limited. A survey conducted showing that more than 50% of employees not presently in any kind of union, suffer from feelings of vulnerability, which negatively effects their efficiency and productivity in the workplace (Larsen, 2011). In this case the law found in favor of the RAs and CDAs, so in this case the law seemed to be on the side of the union. 2. Do you think teaching assistants should be considered employees ? Yes, even if their labor is exchanged for credits, school related funds, and because it looks good on their transcripts and resumes in the future, student workers should still be qualify as employees. The contention involves the necessity of employers to allow employees to freely unionize. However by proving that teaching assistants, RAs, and CDAs are not, actually, employees then the laws regarding unionization and collective bargaining would, simply, not apply to them (McHugh, 2011).The time that they spend is not their time, they are given schedules, duties, and responsibilities that they must complete in order to complete their job. However, they are still required to be treated with respect, consideration, and in ways conducive to the rules and policies that apply to all employees. If they are not considered employees then there are no realistic protections for how they are treated and the condition under which they may work. They are employees and just because they may not a lways be paid via actual monies they should still have the right to question how they are treated and have the right to negotiate the duties of their job expectations. According to the research the turnover rates of RAs is quite high, the hours, lack of perks, the aggression, and retaliation of disgruntles students who do not respect their authority makes the job unbearable and not worth it, essentially. The University may save monies in the long run by listening to the demands of the staff members, making changes to solve issues, and limit the turnover and wasted training costs over the course of the school year. 3. Do you think management's reaction to employee interest in unionization differs if the employer already has a high union density among other employee groups? Yes, I think that it does make a difference. In today’s modern society right-to-work states have the freedom and privilege of terminating their staff without any reason or cause, which relieves them of any r esponsibility to their employees. When employers already have a number of involved unions it limits their ability to thin out their staff as they see fit. They may become eager to discourage further unionization for that reason. In the case presented, and as mentioned before, the school is working so hard to verify that the segment of their staff that wants to unionize cannot and they cannot be represented by another

International managment (Vodafone) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International managment (Vodafone) - Essay Example As the company claims, Vodafone is the company that loves change. So, driven by the desire to constantly change and expand, in 2010 Vodafone entered into agreement with a Libyan state owned mobile network, Almadar Aljadid (Al-Madar) (Al-Madar, 2010). The agreement implied that Al-Madar would have access to Vodafone’s products while Vodafone would be able to use Al-Madar’s network to provide mobile telecommunication services in Africa. For this agreement one of the target population groups of Vodafone were multinational companies, for whom Vodafone’s service would solve a number of communication problems. However, as public uprisings started in North Africa, Vodafone faced a public relations disaster. Vodafone was blamed for impacting the Egyptian society because of cooperating with Egyptian ex-President Mubarak (ESG Insider, 2011). In February the company, experiencing pressure from the government of Egypt, had to close its nationwide network. At the same time, o n behalf of the regime, the operator spread anonymous text messages to service users that encouraged people not to oppose the existing regime and, on the contrary, fight against those willing to change the rule. It should be remembered that Al-Madar company, through which Vodafone was providing its services in Africa, is owned by Col. Gadaffi’s eldest son. So Al-Madar, in an attempt to limit communication between the rebels, shut down its mobile phone network. Therefore, it can be concluded that it was not Vodafone who closed the network. Nevertheless, the company itself does not refuse the fact of sending text messages that called for loyalty to the regime. Allnutt (2011), an editor-in-chief of Radio Free Europe, believes Vodafone’s shutting down the networks to be a human rights... Recent popular uprisings in North Africa have shaken both the MENA countries and the global society. The demonstrations against non-democratic governments paralyzed or slowed down operations of many multinational corporations. However, to some extent it might be said that the very same multinational corporation played certain role in the development of the conflicts. International companies are frequently blamed for undermining development and exacerbating inequality and poverty in the developing countries. Furthermore, they leave no space for operations of small and middle-sized domestic companies, thus transferring money â€Å"that could be put towards poverty eradication into the hands of the rich†. Another point of view is that revolutions in North Africa have purely social roots – unemployed want to have jobs and those who works want to earn living wages. In any case, the result is clear – companies have to embrace change and adapt to the innovations, whethe r they impact the company positively or negatively in the short run.

National Labour Relations Act Research Proposal

National Labour Relations Act - Research Proposal Example The entire issue of trade unions among employees in civilised states especially in United States of America has raised endless debate among professionals and other critical thinkers and scholars. Despite discussing on the role and the significant of trade unions among employees, scholars have as well researches on the factors that led to the formation and development of trade unions in United States of America and other developed and developing countries. The subsequent essay will therefore explore and analyse on the importance of trade unions in United States of America and other developed countries. The essay will as well provide a comprehensive research proposal that will seek to train employees and employers on the content the national labour relations act The labour unions are often recognised organisations and movements that are comprised of workers hailing from single industry, employed by a particular business and performing a single job to a specific profit making and non-pr ofit making organization. Some of these unions are instrumental in granting employees a bargaining power to negotiate and agree on better and favourable terms and conditions of employment and remuneration. Compared to individual negotiation between an employee and employer, trade unions give employees and lower class organisation workers more agitation power and influence over their employers. The issue of forming, managing, and joining trade unions in United States have raised continuous debates among stakeholders from varying professional background Problem Statement It is the right of employees to become affiliates and active members of specific trade unions to voice their concerns, grievances, and front their interest and demands to their employees. Similarly, NLRA prohibits employers and managers from either suspending or dismissing their workers because of joining trade unions or because workers have engaged in trade unions strikes and demonstrations. During the epoch of the e conomic depression in United States of America, employers could recruit workers easily while employees found it difficult and challenging to secure another employment. Most workers were as a result less attentive and less interested in forming and in participating in unions’ strikes resulting to less than 10% of people becoming trade unions members by 1933. On the other hand, the NLRA provided the workers the rights and power of becoming members of trade unions thus enabling them to have a collective bargaining power with their bosses through preferred unions’ representatives. As a result, the United States of America constitution and the NLRA Act protected workers from exploitation or mistreatment by their employers. The introduction of NLRA therefore resulted in tremendous growth and development of trade unions membership in America and other developed countries such as United Kingdom (Sloane & Witney, 2010). Literature Review The NLRA Act offers and guarantee worker s protection and right to form, join, and become members of labour unions in order to collectively bargain on matters regarding their working hours, wages, as well as working conditions. Trade unions as well offers avenue for negotiation and interaction between employers and employees. NLRA further prohibits employers from taking punitive and strick actions or measures against employees who wish to become and participate

International business contest Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International business contest - Research Paper Example where there are sizeable potential consumer concentrations. Demographic segmentation refers to the practice in which the company focuses on age, gender, marital status and similar characteristics. It's the most popular strategy or basis for segmenting the market though its complicated nature at times necessitates fist hand information about customer behavior (Rivlin, 2003). While variables associated with demographics can be easily obtained and the related metrics would readily lend to interpretations, there is still a very demanding process of data gathering and storage to be retrieved when needed for a variety of purposes such as cross checks and extrapolation studies. Egypt can be identified as a country which consists of most population in the Middle East and the 3rd in the African Continent. Thus out of the total population 99% of them are concentrated on major cities of Cairo and Alexandria which centered on the banks of Nile. Therefore Company need to basically focus its attention on those greatest cities in order to successfully mark et the Washing Machine. Consumer demographics also involve age and lifecycle studies. Economic factors include the relative value for money concept. Egypt is mainly depends on the agriculture, tourism, media and petroleum exports. However the rapid growing population and the liberal economic policies have increased the economic growth of the country. Therefore it is obvious that economically speaking Egypt population would influenced by a strong desire to save on time and money with their busiest life style (Bolbol, Fatheldin, & Omran, 2005). Thus their demand patterns for washing machines are essentially determined by the degree of necessity to save time. This economic proposition is said to be much stronger than many other concerns. This argument has been put forward by some market analysts as a stage of transformation that ultimately leads to copied lifestyles. 2. Political Profile 2.1. Government The political dispensation of the country is a republic. Thus it includes Executive arm of the State and a Head of the government. It is a Presidential Republican State where the executive power and the legislative power are shared by both the Government and People's Assembly. Since the year of 1953 the Republican form of government has been exercising the power in a more transparent system which allows eighteen political parties to conduct their activities in order to capture the government power in a more democratic way. The ruling party of the government is National Democratic Party. Thus the term of the government will not be more than five years. But any time if the President wishes he can dissolve the parliament by promulgating an order. So the government and legislative activities are mostly based on the executive pow

Training and Development Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Training and Development Bachelor - Essay Example That was how it all started. The place did undergo some change towards the end of the second generation Hank's tenure. This was more out of necessity to survive, thrive and make it a source of living while facing intense competition from the mushroomed pizza corporate. They opened one more store in the town, introduced contemporary and extremely upbeat customer seating facilities; added washrooms modernized the kitchen with the state-of-art equipment, introduced computerization, and changed the lighting and created an ambience which is ideal for an excellent meal. The upgrade Hank's pizza store could give any pizza corporate outlet a run for its money. The third generation Hank joined the father after finishing an MBA. His first setout was a mission for the business. The mission is to be the first and the only eat out choice of the town and also expanded the number of outlets from two to six, business multiplied four times over a period of six years and there seemed no looking back for the Hank's pizza store. But still something bothered the junior most Hank and he constantly felt that there were losing out business to other pizza chains stores. Hank with his latest management knowledge did try and put an effort to figure out what was amiss with the business while managing the operations of the business. Good amount of time was spent balancing the cash books, ensuring there were no stock outs and creating innovative marketing plans to increase pitfalls and ensure return customers. But still there was something amiss. To identify the problem and find solution for it, Hank III hired a management consultant and gave a free rein to them to identify the problem. On studying Hank IIIs style of functioning, it became evident that Hank III was looking at the business from the operations perspective and not from the customers' perspective. The consultants deputed mystery customers to identify and rate customer experiences at various store locations. The consultants, after a four week study identified that the customers were comfortable going to a specific store and undertook focus group studies to identify the reasons thereof. (Keer ti) Focus Group Studies - What are they Focus group is a form of qualitative research. In this method of research a group of people are asked about a product of an idea from their individual perspective focusing on various attributes. (Wikipedia) A great deal of information can be achieved by conducting focus group studies. (Free Management Library) They came up with an astonishing fact which did not strike Hank III till then which was that the customer experiences were not uniform across the six stores and the expectations built at each store of the next possible experience was different and hence the strong customer location loyalty was being built which was good for an individual store but harmful overall to the business. To arrest this trend the consultants recommended that there be training department set up and train the different categories of staff so that the Hank's Pizza store delivered uniform customer experiences and WOW at all store locations and they identified the following training programs be conducted as a pre-cursive before embarking on a new marketing initiative. 1. The customer promise 2. Managing Customer experience 3. Customer orientation 4. Service orientation 5. Service with a

The impact of the Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

The impact of the Industrial Revolution Essay The Industrial Revolution (1870 to 1920) led to various improvements in the social and economic conditions of the Canadians. The Industrial Revolution basically brought in a lot of positive changes for the people and after this only, progress in various fields such as agricultural and manufacturing, etc. became visible that in turn brought an overall improvement in the lives of the people by improving their social and economic conditions. However, it was not just Canada that benefited the impact of the Industrial Revolution but the entire world was able to reap the benefits. The most important and prevalent feature of the Industrial Revolution was the generation of wealth that led to modernization of the living style of the people. However, in the case of Canada the people who had more capital than the others became wealthier while the other population remained the same. The reason behind this was that the people who have capital made a different social class in the society while the working force (the labor force) of Canada did not get many benefits and only the people from the business class were in the position to survive well. The school going children were taught to be more obedient and to be punctual i. e. the mannerism that must be adopted at work was inculcated in the students. This therefore proves that the most emphasis that was given during this era was on how to generate more profits for the employers and the ways in which productivity could be increased. The employer mostly regarded their employees as machines and made them do work like machines as they wanted the best of their effacing at work. However, the workers who worked hard for the employers’ whole day were not even compensated fairly. It was however true that some of the provinces in Canada greatly benefitted from the Industrial Revolution that took place from 1870 to 1920, however some of the provinces such as Maritime Provinces of Canada suffered heavily and this was mainly because this was the hub for ship building but now after this Revolution the ships were mostly built with steel and not with wood. However, not enough equipment was available to the workers in this area in terms of technology due to which it lost its importance economically. Other than this, there were many other provinces such as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where the technology for not available for the progress of the people but in the areas where technology was available, they progressed heavily. British Columbia was one such place in Canada that progressed economically after the Industrial Revolution. Mining, forestry and agriculture were the three main areas that made the most revenue for the economy of Canada and it was when Canada began to import these especially timber to the rest of the places in Canada further improved the transportation system in Canada as the introduction of trains further enhanced the conditions in the country. Later in 1911 when the hydro electricity was introduced, it further aided in making the economy more strong and as Ontario and Quebec were the hub of the powerhouses during 1980’s, these two places progressed rapidly and also resulted in a very rapid growth in the population. This was because the people who used to work in the farms previously moved onto the cities in order work as they could see large opportunities of work in the cities especially in the factories. However, due to this the rent of the houses became higher due to which the people had to share houses with the others and due to this the working class also began to send their children for work in order to fulfill their needs and this led to the exploitation of the children until a law was passed by the Factory Act that banned the employers to hire boys and girls below twelve and fourteen years of age. The progress in Canada made the classes of people more evident especially the high class and the working class. The people in Canada who were oppressed the most were basically the people who were from the working class and this is because previously their main source of income was from the farms they worked. Moreover, they were most dependent on the pigs they owned so that they could sell them and make their living especially in the winter season when work is not available readily. However, it was the wealthier group in Canada that banned the ownership of the livestock that enforced the people to buy commodities. I would therefore conclude by saying that the impact of the Industrial Revolution (1870 to 1920) on the social and economic conditions Canadians was both favorable and unfavorable but the classes that were affected by the former or the latter were actually the ones who had to face the outcomes. The business class was the one that benefitted the most but the working class was actually exploited. (Francis, Jones Smith, 2006). Reference Francis,D. R. , Jones, R. Smith, D. B. (2006). Journeys: A History of Canada. Thomson.

Prisoners Rights Essay Example for Free

Prisoners Rights Essay Societies over time have defined human rights through a variety of documents that have sought to protect the rights of people. The Geneva Convention is an example of these documents. These documents not only firmly establish rights, but also ensure that countries that adopt these laws are responsible for ensuring rights are respected and followed. Unfortunately, not all governments obey these documents. In the case where war occurs, the Geneva Convention has been especially disregarded and ignored. As a result, agencies such as Amnesty International have stepped in to fight for those prisoners whose rights have been broken. Amnesty International has become one of the most successful agencies, freeing and helping thousands of people who have been imprisoned unfairly. The rights for different kinds of prisoners in different countries are still being debated to this day. These prisoners include prisoners in detention centers and prisoners of conscience. Some people think that someone who has infringed on other’s human rights should not have valid rights themselves. Despite this, prisoners are allowed rights, such as conditions of confinement, limited privacy, safety from other prisoners, food and water and medical attention if necessary. Many prisons still deny one or more of these rights, and continue to this day to torture, kill and/or discriminate against prisoners. One of the most globally recognized laws regarding prisoners is the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention is a set of rules written in 1929 and revised in 1949, which focuses on the rights of prisoners of war. Prisoners of war are specifically soldiers captured and held captive by the enemy army. The Geneva Convention states that prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for taking direct part in hostilities. Their detention is supposed to prevent further participation in the conflict and should not be a form of punishment. The term ‘Prisoners of war’ only applies to international armed conflict. These prisoners must be released and sent back to their country without delay at the end of the war. They must be treated humanely in all circumstances and should be protected against any act of violence, intimidation insults and public curiosity. Despite this, many governments have failed to acknowledge the convention and in some cases, have resulted in prisoners being tortured and even killed. In Guantà ¡namo Bay, Cuba, there is a detention center at its naval base, set up by the United States. From 2002, the prison has been holding prisoners who have been suspected of being terrorists or having ties to terrorists. They are held in order for the government to try and get information out of them. The Americans also set up another detention center in Abu Ghraib, Iraq in 2004. George Bush, who was president of the USA at the time, described the men held in these prisons not as prisoners of war, but as unlawful combatants and claimed that the Geneva Conventions protections did not apply to them. A lot of people have argued that the prisons should not be allowed, due to the fact that most prisoners have been tortured, sexually abused, drugged, and harmed by many other violent acts to get information. There are still no laws that protect these prisoners and the USA has gotten many negative judgments from all around the world. A lot of global campaigns and agencies are currently working to fix this issue. Prisoners of Conscience are people who are believed to have had already had their rights stripped from them. More specifically, they are people who have been imprisoned for expressing ideas about their lifestyle, belief, race, or religion in a non-violent way and have been denied due process. Due process is the system where a person is procedure where a person goes through a fair trial in the normal judicial system where he/she is innocent until proven guilty. There are agencies and campaigns worldwide that go to extreme extents to get prisoners of conscience publically recognized and hopefully released. Amnesty International is one of the most well–known and successful non-governmental campaigning organizations that works to monitor and protect human rights all over the world. The organization began with one man’s outrage and his courage to do something about it, this man being British lawyer Peter Benson. He is looked at as a hero, not only within the organization. Their main focus are Prisoners of Conscience. The organization has over 3 million members and supporters and was founded in London 1996. Their objective is to â€Å"conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.† Amnesty International think of themselves as advocates for prisoners and the word ‘amnesty’ refers to being forgiven for a crime or other offence. Prisoners’ rights is just one segment of human rights, but is still just as important as children’s or elderly rights. Prisoners everywhere, from those in Guantà ¡namo Bay to prisoners of war should have valid rights if they don’t already. Having legal rights or laws is the first step, but putting the law in action is what really matters. Although there are a number of countries that ignore these documents, there are also countries that abide by them and are great examples of fair humanity. Agencies, organizations and campaigns work for these changes all around the world and with the help and support of every day people, they can hopefully change the world for the better.

The Car Rental Industry In The Us Economics Essay

The Car Rental Industry In The Us Economics Essay The car rental industry is a multi-billion dollar sector of the US economy. The US segment of the industry averages about $18.5 billion in revenue a year. Today, there are approximately 1.9 million rental vehicles that service the US segment of the market. In addition, there are many rental agencies besides the industry leaders that subdivide the total revenue, namely Rent-A-Car, Dollar Thrifty, Budget and Vanguard. The rental car industry is highly consolidated which naturally puts potential new comers at a cost-disadvantage since they face high input costs (since companies in this industry have revenues of billions of dollars), with very low possibilities of economies of scale. Moreover, most of the profit is generated by a few firms including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis. For the fiscal year of 2006, Enterprise generated $7 billion in total revenue. Hertz came in second position with about $3.9 billion and Avis with $2.75 in revenues. During this year, revenues were about $20 billio n, with the top six companies having combined market shares of over 90 percent. Competition in this industry goes beyond nationally, companies are expanding globally, and for example Rent-A-Car is operating in the U.S, Canada, U.K, Ireland and Germany. In the U.S market there is a strong competition between the six largest companies, especially between Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hertz for the rental facilities in airports. The level of vertical integration in the industry has been reduced in the last decades, by letting these companies more flexibility in the market and leading to higher profit margins. In fact, among the industry players only Hertz is vertically integrated through Ford. The market size of this industry is large so there is high demand for renting, but due to the very strong competition, the profit margin is not so high or attractive, moreover, it is best attained by economies of scale. Competitiveness has risen to such an extent that, according to Business Travel Ne ws, vehicles are being rented until they have accumulated 20,000 to 30,000 miles until they are sent for sale to the used car industry. What is competition like and how strong are the competitive forces? There are many factors that shape the competitive landscape of the car rental industry. Competition is fierce not only because the market is saturated and well guarded by industry leader Enterprise, but competitors operate at a cost disadvantage along with smaller market shares since Enterprise has established a network of dealers over 90 percent the leisure segment. On the corporate segment, on the other hand, competition is very strong at the airports since that segment is under tight supervision by Hertz. Competitively speaking, the rental car industry is a war-zone as most rental agencies including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the major players engage in a battle of the fittest. The five competitive forces Competitive Rivalry Among Sellers There are many factors that drive competition within the car rental industry. Over the past few years, broadening fleet sizes and increasing profitability has been the focus of most companies within the car rental industry. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis among the leaders have been growing both in sales and fleet sizes. In addition, competition intensifies as firms are constantly trying to improve their current conditions and offer more to consumers. Hertz, for example, integrates its Never-Lost GPS system within its cars. Enterprise, on the other hand, uses sophisticated yield management software to manage its fleets. The Potential Entry of new Competitors Entering the car rental industry puts new comers at a serious disadvantage. Over the past few years following the economic downturn of 2001, most major rental companies have started increasing their market shares in the vacation sector of the industry as a way of insuring stability and lowering the level of dependency between the airline and the car rental industry. On one hand, this action has ensured the success in the long run of the existing firms; on the other hand it has made it much more difficult for new entrants to join this market. Existing firms such as Enterprise, Hertz and Avis carefully monitor their competitive radars in order to be ready to attack any potential new entrant in the market. Another barrier to entry is created because of the saturation level of the industry. In 2006, Enterprise had a rental location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the US population. Because of the network of dealers Enterprise has established around the nation, it has become relatively s table, and most importantly, less reliant on the airline industry compared to its competitors. The Threat of Substitute There are many substitutes available for the car rental industry. From a technological standpoint, renting a car to go the distance for a meeting is a less attractive alternative as opposed to video conferencing, virtual teams and collaboration software with which a company can immediately setup a meeting with its employees from anywhere around the world at a cheaper cost. In addition, there are other alternatives including taking a cab which is a satisfactory substitute relative to quality and switching cost, but it may not be as attractively priced as a rental car for the course of a day or more. While public transportation is the most cost efficient of the alternatives, it is more costly in terms of the process and time it takes to reach ones destination. Finally, because flying offers convenience, speed and performance, it is a very attracting substitute; however, it becomes an unattractive alternative in terms of price relative to renting a car. On the business segment, car rent al agencies have more protection against substitutes since many companies have implemented travel policies that establish the parameters of when renting a car or using a substitute is the best course of action. Generally, the threat of substitute is reasonably low in the car rental industry since the effects the substitute products have do not pose a significant threat of profit erosion throughout the industry. The Bargaining Power of Buyers An interesting trend that is currently underway throughout the industry is forcing car rental companies to adapt to the needs of corporate travelers. This trend significantly reduces supplier power or the rental firms power and increases corporate buyer power since the business segment is extremely price sensitive, well informed about the industrys price structure, purchase in larger quantities and they use the internet to force lower prices. The Bargaining Power of Suppliers Supplier power is low in the car rental industry. Because of the availability of substitutes and the level of competition, suppliers do not have a great deal of influence in the terms and conditions of supplying the rental cars. Because the rental cars are usually purchased in large quantities, rental car agents have significant influence over the terms of the sale since they possess the ability to play one supplier against another to lower the sales price. Another factor that reduces supplier power is the absence of switching cost. That is, buyers are not affected from purchasing from one supplier over another. What forces are at work to change industry conditions? One of the most important forces in the car renting industry is the use of internet in companies. Internet has made possible instant linking between renting stores in different locations and provides a lower distribution and inventory cost. What is more, improvement in technology and the installation of different tools, including the GPS system in rented cars has made this industry more competitive for customers. The installation of specialized software in the facilities where cars are given for rent, for checking preferences of customers in different regions, gives details about what cars are mostly preferred and how many of them should be in that store, reducing storage costs. Which companies are in Strongest/ Weakest positions? As a moderately concentrated sector, there is a clear hierarchy in the car rental industry. From an economic standpoint, disparities exist from a number of dimensions including revenue, fleet size and the market size each firm holds in the market place. For instance, Enterprise dominates the industry with a fleet size of approximately 600,000 vehicles along with its market size and its level of profitability. Hertz comes in second position with its number of market shares and fleet volume. In addition, Avis ranks third on the map. Avis is among one of the companies that is having issues recovering its revenue margins from prior to the economic downturn. For instance, in 2000 Avis returned revenues of approximately $4.23 billion. Over the course of the next several years following 2000, the revenue of Avis has been significantly lower than that of 2000. As a way of reducing uncertainty most companies are gradually lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and emerging t he leisure market. This trend may not be in the best interest of Hertz since its business strategy is highly linked to the airports. What strategic moves are rivals likely to make next? Since this industry operates in very narrow profit margins, it is very important to predict what the competitors next moves will be in order to be as prepared as possible. In 2007 there were some developments in this industry which were concerning Rent-A-Cars executives. These developments included a possible merger between Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and Vanguard Car Rental as well as direct attacks on Enterprises off-airport rental markets and insurance company clients by Hertz, the second rental company in the industry. Avis uses its OnStar and Skynet system to better serve the consumer base and offers free weekend rental if a customer rents a car for five consecutive days. What are the key factors for competitive success? There are many key success factors that drive profitability throughout the car rental industry. Capacity utilization is one of the factors that determine success in the industry. Because rental firms experience loss of revenue when there are either too few or too many cars sitting in their lots, it is very important to efficiently manage the fleets. This success factor represents a big strength for the industry since it lowers if not completely eliminates the possibility of running short on rental cars. Efficient distribution is another factor that keeps the industry profitable. Despite the positive relationship between fleet sizes and the level of profitability, firms are constantly growing their fleet sizes because of the competitive forces that surround the industry. In addition, convenience is one of the crucial attributes by which customers select rental firms. Another key success factor that is common among competing firms is the integration of technology in their business proc esses. Through technology, for instance, the car rental companies create ways to meet consumer demand by adding the convenience of online rental among other alternatives. Furthermore, firms have integrated navigation systems along with roadside assistance to help their customers find the desired location easier and faster. Is the industry attractive or unattractive and why? There are many factors that impact the attractiveness of the car rental industry. Because the industry is moderately concentrated, it puts new market entrants at a disadvantage. What is more, existing companies in the industries can take measures to attack new entrants. Because of the risks associated with entering the industry among other factors, it is not a very attractive sector of the marketplace. From a competitive standpoint, the leisure market is 90 percent saturated because of the active efforts of Enterprise to dominate this sector of the market. On the other hand, the airport terminals are heavily guarded by Hertz. Realistically speaking, entry in the industry offers low profitability relative to the costs and risks associated. For most consumers, the main determining factors of choosing one company over another are price and convenience. Because of this reason, rental firms are forced to offer more to the consumers for less just to remain competitive. Based on the impact of the five forces, the car rental sector is not a very attractive industry to potential new market entrants.

Draconian Internet Laws in Australia :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

  Ã‚   The Internet is a revolutionary new medium that has provided people the world round a new medium of communication.   In "cyberspace" as the Internet has been nicknamed, everyone can have a voice and it is relatively easy for one person to reach a very large audience.   In addition to revolutionizing the way messages are broadcasted, cyberspace has also revolutionized peer-to-peer communication.   E-mail and instant messaging have become a very convenient method of communication for many people, oftentimes replacing the use of telephones and conventional postal mail.   However, the new methods of communication emerging on the Internet have also created a new communication medium for criminals.   Many criminals have found e-mail to be a safer method of communication as opposed to the telephone as it is impervious to wiretaps.   Instances of criminal use of cyberspace include espionage and drug trafficking.   Cyberspace has also led to the rise of a new form of cr ime - cybercrime.   Such crimes include child pornography and online stalking.      The Internet is an international medium, therefore, it cannot be regulated by any one government, however, as crimes committed using the Internet have serious ramifications within real world borders, it is necessary that governments of affected nations take safeguards to protect its citizens.   The way in which governments prevent crime on the Internet, however, has become a point of contention for many people.   For example, privacy advocates in the United States oppose the Federal Bureau of Investigation's implementation of "Carnivore" a program that reads all e-mail passing through mail servers on which it is installed.   They argue that while Carnivore's purpose is to intercept correspondence between criminals, it invades the privacy of all Internet users as it allows the FBI to monitor all e-mail that passes through a system1.   However, of all the nations implementing precautions to prevent cybercrime and crime committed with the aid of the Internet, Australia's are per haps the most draconian.      On November 25, 1999, the Australian Parliament passed laws permitting the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) - the counterpart to the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - to gain access to private computer systems and alter data for surveillance purposes without the knowledge of the owner of the computer.   It is important to note also that the ASIO is not subject to the Privacy Act of 1988.   This makes many Australian citizens uneasy that the government may now not only to monitor their actions on the Internet but also to compromise their computer systems.

E-commerce †the legal considerations Essay -- Computer Science

E-commerce – the legal considerations ===================================== There are lots of legal considerations and I've tried to include some of the main ones. Although e-commerce can mean a lot of things, here I've related it to actually selling items on a website (although a lot of the legal considerations would need to be considered even if you were not selling on the web. Data protection considerations ============================== The Data Protection Act lays down lots of rules that must be adhered to. If this is a website for a company that is already trading and keeps customer data then they should already be registered with the Information Commissioner but you may need to review what's been registered. The main points you need to consider is that for any data you collect on the site you must:  · Deal fairly with the info  · Tell the customer what data you collect  · Tell them what you are going to do with it  · Keep it safe and secure This should be set out in the website's terms and conditions (and you should link to it at the main point where you collect the data) Website terms and conditions ---------------------------- The site must have comprehensive terms and conditions and you will need to link to these wherever applicable (eg if you are selling there should be a check box that the consumer ticks to say "I have read the terms and conditions etc etc". Things the terms and conditions should contain include:  · Data protection act considerations (as explained above)  · Terms and conditions of use including copyright notice, general disclaimer, liabilities (or non-liabilities – especially in terms of credit card fraud)  · Full name, address, email etc of the trader, VAT number, Company number, member of trade organisation (if you are selling)  · A clear privacy policy explaining what you do with information collected on the site. This privacy policy must also set out if you use cookies on the site and what you use them for. This is all topical at the moment with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regs 2003  · A clear "conditions of sale" which includes details of when the contract is actually formed (ie the order represents the offer and the email back confirming dispatch represents the acceptance) - avoid any mistakes like the Argos TV for  £3.99  · Clear returns policy .. ... encouraging more internet sales. At the same time, credit card companies are including "credit card fraud" insurance, again reassuring consumers Mobile connectivity =================== Handheld PDA, WAP services and wireless hotspots are all making web access easier Intelligent sites and targeted marketing ======================================== Sites are becoming more technologically advanced allowing companies to target customers with specific products depending on their recorded preferences or previous buying habits. One of the best examples of this is Amazon who instantly provide other book recommendations based on your purchase or on the purchases of other customers who bought the same book. Similar data collection also allows companies to do targeted email campaigns ensuring the right product is marketed to the right person (well that's the intention anyway!!) This practice is being taken one step further with Googles planned g-mail which will automatically scan the content of a users personal emails and then deliver further targeted mails based on their content (but which is subject to a lot of criticism at the moment about privacy rights)

College Admissions Essay: The Experience that Changed My Life :: College Admissions Essays

The Experience that Changed My Life    I volunteered with Outreach Kenya Development Volunteers for three months in Bungoma, Kenya. As a team of six volunteers, we lived with a traditional Kenya family and shared in their daily experiences. Our primary focus this summer was AIDS education. We reached over 7,000 Kenyans about the potential dangers of HIV/AIDS. We used a secondhand vehicle bought by OKDV during the summer of 2000 and an old TV and generator to educate Kenyans. We traveled throughout rural western Kenya and reached people of all age groups and backgrounds. One day, we would teach a group of two hundred high school students whereas on another day, we educated a women's group of ten members. As well, using funds collected from private donors throughout the academic year, we built the first public library in Western Province, Kenya as well as a preschool in Kabula village (the village we lived in this summer). OKDV also worked with several women's groups to set them up with capital so that they could start up t heir own sewing shops and schools. By providing them with initial capital, they were left to their own creative and business skills to make efficient use of resources.    I don't think there are enough words to describe the amazing experience I had this summer. I believe my whole perspective on life has changed for the better. After living in a developing country for three months, I have realized just how most of the world lives. It was as though I got a true glimpse of the human condition. There are so many poignant images that appear in my mind when I think of Africa; street children begging for money, AIDS patients wasting away in the darkness of a tiny room, stacked skulls at genocide sites in Rwanda and many more. But what gives me hope and keeps my spirits optimistic are the positive images; people welcoming me into their homes, laughing and playing with children who don't even speak the same language as I do and many more. Even though Africa is a continent of contrasts, my summer experience helped me shatter my own stereotypes of the land and offered me an honest glimpse into the lives of ordinary Africans. Not only did I get a glimpse at their lives but also got to make a difference in their lives.

Pe Reflection

This semester has been great for me in terms of personal fitness. I have had the good fortune of having gym class and a foods class in the same semester. In combination I can stay fit and make healthy food choices which are key to being healthy. I am sure when I recap on my semester in PPL20 I will remember things I have learned, memorable moments, things that have really affected me as a person, some things that I did not enjoy and things I will remember in 5 years. There are a few things I have learned this semester in this class.I feel like the most things I have learned came from health class as we did not have a proper class to do units too in depth. I learned a lot about different drugs and their different names, short term effects, long term effects and legal status. We also learned about steroids and the different kinds of steroids. We also learned about a lot of different side effects and different dangers of steroids. I also learned about how to achieve success without ster oids. I also learned how to play badminton a lot better by placing the birdy away from the opponent on every hit and not hitting it in the middle.In the weight room I was able to apply what I learned from last year and from outside of school to be efficient in the weight room and finish lots of sets in a period of time. I felt pretty comfortable in most units that we studied. I think the biggest challenge for me was to play badminton because I am not really good at that sport. But I did feel like I really did improve a lot with the technique and where to place the birdie. I really enjoyed playing ringette and hockey because I do not play them often but I feel I should.I felt most comfortable in indoor sports that we did in class such as basketball, indoor soccer, and volleyball. I think I did well in those units because those were the sports I was most familiar with so it was easy to adjust to. I wish we could have gone more in depth in the rugby unit because I really do want to imp rove in the sport. I did have some difficulty in games of low organization because they would be usually sports or activities I have never played or heard of before so it would make it harder to adjust to the play style of the game. There were a few memorable moments throughout this semester in gym class.One memorable moment is when we had a lot of international students in our gym class and one of the Iraqi students got angry at Walter and said â€Å"You no good. † which is funny because didn’t know English well at the time. Other than that I do not think there were any other memorable moments during this semester in gym class. I think I have learned some things in this class that have affected me as a person. Most importantly something that really affected me as a person is that it is not how much you lift, it’s how you lift it is an important one since it will help me plenty when I am working out.Another important thing that has affected me is learning about what to do when working out. What I mean by that is to start with the bigger muscles and multi-joints first. It is going to save me lots of time on wasted workouts that do not work my body to their full potential. Another thing that has affected me as a person is understanding the true definition of character. Character is what people do when no one is watching, means that you shouldn’t act like one person when people around and then act like a completely different person when no one is watching. There were something’s that I did not enjoy while participating in this class.One thing for sure was basketball. I did not enjoy it because there was a large skill gap in out class so the good players were pretty much the only players that could touch the ball. I did not enjoy many of the games of low organization as I would much prefer to play sports I am familiar with but sometimes some of the games were fun. Sometimes I didn’t like badminton because it felt like we w ere playing it a lot during that month. There are a few things that I think that I will remember in 5 years. It all comes from the health unit we did at the end. I will definitely remember all the dangers of drugs.What I learned will help me make better decisions in the future. What we learned about steroids will also stick with me for a while. The dangers of steroids outweigh the benefits by a lot and it is not worth taking when you can be a natural athlete. In conclusion this semester has been great as I stated in my introduction. It has helped me become a better person and a better athlete. I will be able to use what I have learned this semester in class to assist me in next year’s gym class if I decide to take it and even to apply what I have learned to use from day to day.

Two Love Stories

My audience for this essay is the young students at Enterprise State Community College, who enjoy a good love story about young love. I hope my essay will tell the key points of the similarities and differences of two major love stories that became movies in the end of the twentieth century, and open their eyes to what makes a love story. That is not just the good times, but the hard problems that come with life. Life is easier having someone to deal with the hard problems beside you.Both these movies tell the difficulties of real love and I hope my essay will attract my audiences hearts. Outline Thesis: The Notebook and A Walk to remember are both amazing love stories written by Nicholas Sparks that hit the big screen in the end of the twentieth century. These movies have a lot of similarities and differences, such as the relationship between the two couples, the time period they take place, and the age group of the couple. I. The first way that the notebook and a walk to remember a re similar and different is by the relationship of the two couples. A.In the Notebook The young couple had an up and down rough romance that lasted a lifetime, ending in death in each others arms. B. In A Walk to Remember the young couple had a short relationship that felt like a lifetime but ended early in the death of Jamie. C. The similarities between the two couples in the movies is that both couples are young and in love, dealing with life issues. II. The second way these movies are similar and differ, is by their society standards of their families and their time period. A. Both couples in the movies have to deal with an acceptance in each others families due to social standards.B. The Notebook takes place in the mid sixties during the time of war. C. A walk to Remember takes place at the end of the eighties beginning of the nineties. III. The third way that A Walk to Remember and The Notebook similiars is by the feelings of the love in young couples hearts, but they differ by where the couples stand in life. A. In A Walk to Remember the couple is still in high school facing teenage dilemas and bullies. B In The Notebook the couple is out of high school facing life changing choices. C. In both movies the couples are coming to age and planning what might become of their futures.Two love stories â€Å"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being â€Å"in love† which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident†- St. Augustine.The Note book and A Walk To Remember are both a mazing love stories written by Nicholas Sparks, that hit the big screen at the end of the 20th century. These movies have a lot of similarities and differences such as the romance between the two couples, the time periods the love stories take place in, and the age group of the couples. The first way that The Notebook and A Walk To Remember similar and differs is by the relationship between the two couples. In The Notebook Allie and Noel had an up and down rollercoaster of a relationship that ended up lasting a life time, and ending in their death at the same time in each other arms.In A Walk To Remember Jamie and Landon got together, fell in love and then where only together for a short period of time that felt like an eternity to them. Their relationship ended in the death of Jamie when she was only eighteen. The similarities between the two couples is that in both movies the couples are young, in love, and dealing with life challenging issues. Such as Allie developed Alzheimerâ⠂¬â„¢s and Noel stayed by her side until their last moment on earth, and Jamie has cancer that ended up killing her. These reasons make the relationships of the two couples intertwine and vary in there own unique way.The second way these movies similar and differ is by their society standers of their families and the genre in which they take place. When I say they are similar I mean by the fact that in both movies the girls come from a more moral family, and the boys come from a more laid back type of living style. In both cases the girls’ parents disapprove of their daughter’s decision of their romances. In The Notebook Allie’s parents are higher class, and believe that Noel is not good enough for their daughter because of his low wage lumber job and his unplanned future .In A Walk To Remember Jamie is a preachers daughter whose father believes she should spend her last moments on earth in god’s name instead of spending her time with Landon who is a slac ker and likes to spend his time partying. These movies differ by the genre that they take place during. The Notebook takes place in the 60’s during the time of war. While, A Walk To Remember takes place in the early 90’s at the end of the millennium. These movies both hit the concept of young lovers coping with the decisions of betraying their families and their lovers.The third way that A Walk to Remember and The Notebook similar is by the feelings of true love in the hearts of the young couples, but they differ by where the couples stand in life. In A Walk to Remember the couple is still in high school facing teenage dilemmas and high school bullies, such as Landon’s own friends. In The Notebook the couple is out of high school and trying to figure out what they are going to do to carry out their life together or separate.. For instance Allie is off to a university to receive a degree, while Noel is off to the army to fight for the freedom of America.In both m ovies the couples are coming to age and dealing with what might come of their futures. In both relationship there are many up and downs that they have to work out to make their relationships work, dealing with heart braking issues that tested their faith in love. In The Notebook they didn’t agree on much in fact, they rarely agreed on anything. They fought all the time and they challenged each other every day, but in spite of their differences they had one important thing in common, they were crazy about each other.Both of theses movie were about ever lasting love, although they had a lot of differences, such as the distance of the two couples, the time period, and where the couples stood in life, they focused on the same concepts. In both movies the girls had life threatening diseases, different social classes, and both couples were coming of age. Search for love, for it is the most important ingredient of life. Without it, you life will echo emptiness. With it, your life wi ll vibrate with warmth and meaning. Even during any hardship, love will shine through. -Nikita Koloff. No matter the hardship between both couples they both made the love work.

Riordan Enterprise Risk Management Plan

Riordan Manufacturing is a Fortune 1000 company that specializes in the plastic injection molding industry. They are an international company with facilities in California, Georgia, Michigan, and China. Their products include beverage containers, plastic fan parts, and custom plastic parts. Riordan prides themselves on their industry leading research and development (University of Phoenix, 2009). The following Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) plan was developed for Riordan Industries, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The goal of this plan is to help mitigate any legal liability on the part of Riordan by implementing the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework (Jennings, 2006). Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative Dispute Resolution is a way of resolving differences outside of the courtroom. This includes anything from informal negotiations, to formal written arbitration (Jennings, 2006). Currently, Riordan keeps an attorney on retainer but does not have a dispute resolution in process, thus if a conflict were to escalate, they would not have a resolution plan in process. It is in Riordan’s best interest to have a mediation process in place to help settle disputes. The reasoning is mediation is cheaper than other dispute resolution methods, especially litigation, and it protects the confidentiality of the parties involved (Peters and Mastin, 2007). Riordan’s internal legal council will work directly with the law firm on retainer to develop a mediation process with varying levels of triggers based on levels of risk. In doing so, Riordan should set up a process for which their internal legal department can handle the brunt of the load to further reduce costs. Enterprise Liability Enterprise Liability suggests that those who profit from a risk should also bear the cost of accidents that arise from that risk (Keating, 2001). With manufacturing plants in several locations, including internationally, there is significant risk of an accident, of which Riordan would be liable for. Riordan provides employees with basic training and an employee manual outlining relevant laws (University of Phoenix, 2009). However, there currently is not a monitoring system or a proactive detection system in place to detect any transgressions. In the employee manual, Riordan outlines a rigorous discipline system. However, when looking through employee records, there is no record of any discipline associated with employees who violated the attendance policy (University of Phoenix, 2009). This leads to speculation that Riordan does not follow any of their discipline policies. If these records were obtained in a legal dispute it would leave Riordan extremely vulnerable. Employee records should be centralized and controlled area where they can be properly maintained. Product Liability Product Liability is defined as, â€Å"Legal responsibility of the manufacturers, wholesellers, retailers to the buyers or users of the damages or injuries caused by the use of defective products† (Legal-Explainations. com, n. d. ). With several manufacturing locations, Riordan focuses on quality and the elimination of defects in its manufacturing process by applying ISO 9000, and the Six Sigma standards for production, shipping, and quality control (University of Phoenix, 2009). However, they have no company-wide standards in place for dealing with quality control. For example, the Pontiac site has internal memos discussing quality control issues, yet no one took accountability to take action. Riordan will assume a significant amount of risk if it is discovered that they were aware of the quality control issues, yet took no action. Riordan should immediately implement a whistle-blower policy to encourage employees to report any compliance or quality control issues. In addition, Riordan should set up a team of individuals to work with an independent third party to handle these reports. International Law Riordan’s China location is a joint venture with their Chinese partners handling everything from labor, capital, regulations, and hazardous waste cleanup. The officers and directors of Riordan have no real authority over their Chinese partners, nor do they have any legal counsel there for support (University of Phoenix, 2009). Riordan should extend their internal legal department to include staff with expertise in Chinese regulatory compliance. Tangible Property Tangible Property is defined as the type of property we can see and touch (Jennings, 2006). At each of Riordan’s locations, they maintain a variety of angible property, such as: general office equipment, transportation equipment, and information technology equipment. Riordan must develop a better system to track the purchase, and use of this equipment, including management of leases, maintenance, and general accounting guidelines. Riordan also maintains a supply of raw materials at each location. However, there is not currently a process in place of investigating any missing material (University of Phoenix, 2009). It is recommended that Riordan develop a process for documenting the full inventory process from delivery to use in order to assist any investigation into missing materials. In addition, Riordan needs to develop a much more robust security and emergency plan to protect these assets from theft or other damages. Intellectual Property Intellectual Property or Intangible property is defined as bundles of rights with respect to goodwill, trade names, copyrights, patents, trade dress, trade secrets (Jennings, 2006). Riordan maintains various trademarks, patents, copyrights, software, and trade secrets. The protection of these assets is imperative to their future. Riordan needs to develop a system to identify their existing intellectual property and how to protect that property, such as: restricted areas to store data, encryption, and conduct background checks on employees – especially those with access to sensitive materials, and the use of non-disclosure agreements. In additions, copyrights, patents and trademarks must be registered and maintained (Jennings, 2006). Legal Forms of Business Riordan is a corporation with, â€Å"unlimited duration, free transferability of interest, limited liability for shareholders/owners, continuity, and centralized management,† (Jennings, 2006). This eliminates personal liability from officers, directors, and shareholders with the exception of negligence (Jennings, 2006). However, they are expected to act in the best interest of the company. This includes following all applicable tax laws and regulations. Riordan must address the varying finance and accounting systems that each location currently uses. The existing process is slow and because of the manual data entry increases the chance of error. Riordan should implement one accounting system for the entire company to use. While expensive upfront, this system will cut down on the amount of manual work that is needed and over time will significantly reduce cost. In addition, Riordan is a publicly traded company, which means it must comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 (Jennings, 2006). With Riordan’s current finance and accounting systems, this would be extremely difficult. Governance Corporate governance is defined as a way in which a company protects itself with a framework of rules and practices by which the Board of Directors ensure accountability, fairness, and transparency (BusinessDictionary. com, n. d. ). Riordan needs to elect a Board of Directors to oversee the management of the company; in addition they will provide guidance for the senior management and any external auditors. As Riordan implements the ERM framework, the board should be consulted to make updates for the amount of risk they want to assume and adjust policy as they see fit. ? References BusinessDictionary. com. (n. d. ). BusinessDictionary. com. Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/corporate-governance. html Jennings, M. M. (n. d. ). Business: It's Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment (7th ed. ). Keating, G. C. (2001). The Theory of Enterprise Liability. Vanderbuilt Law Review. Retrieved from http://law. vanderbilt. edu/publications/vanderbilt-law-review/archive/volume-54-number-3-april-2001/download. aspx? id=2846 Legal-Explainations. com. (n. d. ). Legal-Explainations. com. Retrieved from http://www. legal-explanations. com/definitions/product-liability. htm Peters, R. J. , and Mastin, D. B. (2007, May – July). To mediate or not to mediate: That is the question. Dispute Resolution Journal, 62(2), 14-21. University of Phoenix. (2004). Riordan Manufacturing [Computer Software]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Simulation, Law 531 website.

Vacant Chapter 9 Love

The words are ringing in my ears: â€Å"I love you.† It occurs to me I may have misheard. It's the only possible explanation. â€Å"So, you're okay? Don't listen to those girls, Emily.† I'll just pretend those three little words aren't hanging in the air – regardless of whether they were actually said. â€Å"Ethan, did you hear what I just said?† What do I say? I have no idea how to approach this, so I just stare at her wide-eyed. After a few moments, I feel warmth creeping up my thigh and realize its Emily's hand. At first, it's an attempt to get my attention, but as her hand ascends, I realize the intent is not so innocent. â€Å"We have to go. It's time to go,† I say, stilted, like Rain Man talking about his Kmart underwear. I grip the steering wheel for dear life because if I don't, the car and my life will go careening into the abyss. I've spent all this time convincing myself that Emily and I could never be anything but friends. Knowing that she may feel the same about me as I feel about her will complicate things, and I suddenly feel trapped. It's so quiet as we drive, that I hear a small plinking that would go unnoticed otherwise, but as I near the duplex, the sound the car is making increases. I briefly wonder if it's because the plink is getting worse or the quiet is just so intense. I make a mental note to find the origin of the plinking before putting too many more miles on the car. I should be thinking about the woman sitting next to me and her recent declaration instead of small pings, but I'm not†¦ I can't. If I do†¦ no. I can't think. I'm not even sure how I get here, but I'm sitting in the middle of my bed, having an argument with myself. It's no surprise that I'm winning. â€Å"She told you she loves you.† â€Å"She says she loves to cook. She loves lots of things.† â€Å"She's in there and you're in here.† â€Å"You really need to clean the ceiling fan blades.† I can't help but roll my eyes at myself. When I finally exit my room, the apartment is dark and quiet. Emily is asleep on the couch with a tight grip on the blankets. Little does she know she's gripping at my heart the same way. The notebook on the side table catches my eye, and I can't help but snoop. As I near it, I see there are several wads of paper strewn across the floor – discarded because they weren't perfect. The top piece, still clinging to life in its spiral bindings, is flawless. Dear Ethan – Sitting down to write this, I've never felt more like a young girl than I do right now. For the past two years, I've looked at you every day in hopes that someday – you'd feel for me, what I feel for you. But now I see that we perceive different things regarding our relationship. Maybe it could be classified on my part as hero worship, but I'd like to think I'm smarter than that. I think I know the difference between infatuation and love. I know there is a difference in our ages, but who cares? My heart has no idea how old your heart is. I just know that if I don't tell you, it will fester inside me, and I'll die a slow painful death. I've only ever loved my mom and never really knew what it was like to care for another person until I met you. I didn't fall in love with you that first day, but after many months of learning to appreciate your care and concern, I could see how kind your soul – your whole being is. That's when I knew another kind of love existed. It isn't the type of love between family members, or a crush, but a true love that is unconditional and lasting, a love that I can no longer hide. I know you probably don't return these feelings, but I couldn't go another second without you knowing. I understand if it makes you uncomfortable, and I'll find another place to live if you feel like we can no longer be friends. Love always, Emily I tightly clutch the notebook page in my hand. How can she do this to me? Doesn't she know what she's done? No†¦ it's not right. Not now, and without any further thoughts, I'm out the door.

Language Skills Essay

I started the Celta  course in September 2011; therefore my only Teaching Practice has been to a group of 16 Level 1 students. This particular group is lively, engaged and eager to learn. It was clear that if after a session they had not learnt new vocabulary or mastered a tricky grammar rule they were disappointed. For the purpose of this assignment I have chosen an article from the Reader’s Digest January 2012 entitled ‘If I ruled the World’ by Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage. I think this text has several advantages; it is suitable for all cultural backgrounds and also gives students descriptions and insight into British culture. The language I think is appropriate for Level 1, neither too easy nor too difficult. With the chosen text students will be able to practice reading skills such as skimming for gist, reading for comprehension and scanning for information. The text can also be used to give students practice in the productive language skills – speaking and writing, discussion in class about what students would do if they ruled the world and for homework they could research for example the history of Stonehenge. Although not a specific requirement of this assignment students may learn new vocabulary and it reinforces the unreal conditional, which we covered during one of the Teaching Practices in November. I would introduce the topic of discussion for the day’s lesson by asking students to talk about heritage sites in the UK giving Stonehenge (show a picture) as an example Ask if any of them had visited Stonehenge or any heritage sites. I would also test students’ knowledge of the vocabulary needed to answer the comprehension questions i.e. deciduous species, parochial, etc. First Reading In the first exercise I would give the students a sheet with the gist questions and ask them to read through them. Then, I would ask the students to skim the text individually in about 5 minutes and ask them to work in pairs to answer the following questions: 1. Who wrote the article? Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage 2. What do you think the article is about? What Dr Thurley would do if he ruled the world? Second Reading Now I would ask the students to look over the detailed task questions, then scan and read the text again and answer the questions in pairs: 1. Simon Thurley would plant a trillion trees, which would be good for climate change. What else would it be good for and what do trees represent in the world? Because they make the world more beautiful as they are always moving and growing and mark the change of the seasons. Trees are the lungs of the world. 2. How would Simon Thurley made sure that every child in the world had a sense of history, identity and belonging? By teaching children the history of the place they live in to give them roots. Everyone needs a sense of belonging and a knowledge of historical background can make a big difference in attitude. 3. Why would Simon Thurley open all our old canals and train lines? We could put freight back on barges and reinstate train halts in villages across the country so as to decrease the number of lorries and cars using the roads causing pollution and traffic jams. 4. Why would Simon Thurley impose a tax on all businesses that put up Christmas decorations before 10 December? He would do this as he believes that Christmas is a time that should be short and special. Also there are many people who cannot afford to spend a great deal at Christmas and they feel alienated by the commercial frenzy. He would then use the revenue from the taxes to help less fortunate families over the Christmas period. 5. Why does Simon Thurley think that although a tunnel under Stonehenge would be expensive it is a priority and should be undertaken in the near future? Because having the main road so close, 25 yards, means that the monument is subject to fumes and noise. 6. Does Simon Thurley believe that the money donated to charities is used or purpose that it was intended? No he thinks that a lot of the money goes towards administrative costs and donors need to be confident that their money will make a difference. 7. How would Simon Thurley make it easier for everyone to get on with their lives? By making it illegal to ban things that people do in the privacy of their own homes. He would repeal five banned things a year and have less interference. 8. Does he think it is a good thing for anyone person to rule the world and why? No he does not because absolute power corrupts absolutely. Whilst the students are working in pairs I would monitor and help if necessary. After they have completed the task I would ask individual students to give their answers. I could at this stage reinforce the grammar of the unreal conditional â€Å"If I ruled the world I would†¦.† and then open up the discussion and ask students to discuss in pairs what they would do if they ruled the world and then open the discussion to the whole group with an exchange of ideas. As homework I would ask students to look up The English Heritage Internet site and pick a monument or building of historical importance in this country and describe it.