Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Operations Management - Essay Example Market segmentation process involves the identification and grouping of similar needs of the market. Segmentation than helps the marketing team in devising better marketing plan for different groups and better satisfying their needs. Derby Castle is a historical monument of UK. The marketing team has the task of inviting attention of more and more people towards the interesting features of this castle so that they feel like visiting this monument again and again. This will help in good revenue generation and will help in the maintenance of this castle. It is highly likely that different set of people come here with different purposes. For example a team of school children would love to play in the sprawling green lawns the whole day while a research scholar will spend his day in studying the architecture and other historical features. Visitors to Derby Castle can be categorized as;†¢Ã‚  Researchers: This segment prefers to learn about the historical facts, architectural features etc. †¢Ã‚  Students: This segment too could be here on a learning mission or may just be here on a picnic tour. But the ‘learning’ needs of students are vastly different from ‘research’ needs of researchers.†¢Ã‚  Art Lovers: This segment is more interested in the artistic features of Derby castle.†¢Ã‚  Young Couple: Youth desirous of spending some solitary moments in the company of their chosen ones can make use good use of the gardens of the Castle.General tourists happen to be on a sightseeing spree. For them attractive features i.e.

Les Miserables Essay Example for Free

Les Miserables Essay Les Miserables (the title is the same in French and English) is the most well-known of Victor Hugo’s novels. It describes the miserable life of French workers, and especially their children. Hugo calls for social action to improve the unfortunate poor’s lives. This excerpt describes the character Marius, and how he has worked very hard to succeed in life. Excerpt from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Misery is the same with anything else. As time passes, it gradually becomes bearable. Marius had emerged from the narrow passage of his life; now the path widened out a bit. Through sheer hard work, courage, and a strong will, he had managed to earn around seven hundred francs a year. He had learned English and German. Thanks to Courfeyrac, the man who introduced him to his publisher friend, Marius held a position in the literary department of the publishing house, where he filled the useful role of utility. He wrote prospectuses, translated articles from journals, annotated publications, compiled biographies, and so on. His net gain, year in, year out, was seven hundred francs. He was able to survive on this income. How? Not badly. Here is how he lived. For a yearly rent of thirty francs, Marius lived in a miserable little room without a fireplace in the Gorbeau tenement. There was only a bare minimum of furniture which belonged to him. He paid the old woman who took care of the building a sum three francs a month to sweep his room, and bring him some warm water, a fresh egg, and a small loaf of bread every morning. This egg and bread cost him between two and four cents, because eggs varied in price. At six o’clock in the evening, he went downstairs to eat dinner at Rousseau’s in the Rue Saint Jacques. He had no soup, but he ate a plate of meat for six pennies, half a plate of vegetables for three pennies, and a dessert for the same price. As for bread, he could eat as much as he liked for three pennies, but instead of wine, he drank water. Then he paid at the counter, where Madame Rousseau sat majestically, a large woman with a pleasant face. She would smile as Marius handed the waiter a one penny tip. Then he left the restaurant. For a total of sixteen cents, he got a dinner and a smile. †¦.. Marius had two complete suits, one of them old, that he wore for everyday use, and the other one new, which he wore on special occasions. Both suits were black. He owned only three shirts: the one he had on, another one that was in the bureau drawer, and the third one that was at the laundry woman’s. When they wore out, he replaced them with new ones, but generally, his shirts were ragged, so he buttoned his coat up to his chin. To reach this stage of prosperity, it had taken Marius many hard, difficult years: years of barely getting by, and years of trudging along. He had never once given up. He had struggled and done without, he had been through every hardship, except going into debt. Instead of borrowing money, he went without food. There had been many days of fasting. During all his hard times, he actually felt encouraged, and sometimes he even felt a certain inner strength. In addition to the memory of his father, Marius carried the memory of Thà ©nardier in his heart. He envisioned the man surrounded by a halo, the brave sergeant Thà ©nardier who had saved his father, a colonel, when he found him among the cannon fire and bullets at Waterloo. Marius always kept the memory of this man together with the memory of his father, and he felt great admiration for them both. It was a bit like a form of worship in two steps. The high altar was reserved for his father the colonel, and the low one for Thà ©nardier. His feelings of gratitude for the man were strengthened by the knowledge that Thà ©nardier had suffered a horrible misfortune. Marius found out that as an unlucky innkeeper, Thà ©nardier had gone bankrupt. After learning this, Marius made countless efforts to track down the miserable Thà ©nardier, who had disappeared. Marius blamed and hated himself for not being able to locate him. He felt that the only debt his father had left him was to succeed in finding Thà ©nardier. Marius felt it was his duty to pay him that tribute. â€Å"After all,† he thought, â€Å"when my father lay dying on the battlefield, it was Thà ©nardier who was able to find him through the smoke, and carry him away on his shoulders. Yet he owed Thà ©nardier nothing, whereas I, who owe so much to Thà ©nardier, cannot get to him in his time of darkness and suffering. I cannot, in my turn, restore him to life. Oh! I will find him!†

The Reality of Political Realism Essay -- What is Politics?

When discussing whether or not a nation-state should enter a war and when to do so, three beliefs on foreign policy and war exist. The three different diplomatic stances are that of pacifism, just war theory, and political realism. Political realism, or realpolitik as it is often referred to, is the belief war should only occur when it is in the national interest of the particular nation-state. Henry Kissinger, a political realist, in his book Diplomacy argues that realism is the only logical answer. Just war theorists, along with pacifists, on the other hand oppose these arguments and therefore critique of this form of diplomatic action. To construct a valid understanding of the realist perspective the arguments Kissinger puts forth in his book Diplomacy will be examined, and then a critique of those arguments will be offered through a just war theorist perspective. Policy differences between Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt lead to different actions and desires. These differences were substantial, and so were their different views on foreign policy. Roosevelt became a president more determined to lead the United States (US) by its national interests. Roosevelt was the first president to insist it was America's duty to make its influence felt globally. Although, Roosevelt only intended to relate the US to the rest of the world through the US's national interests. Roosevelt envisioned the US as a power like no other and felt obligated to draw on its strengths to prevail against other countries as necessary if their interests collided. Whether those strengths be that of embargo, diplomatic actions, or hostile confrontation, Roosevelt believed if it was in the nation's interest to attain this particular goal then so be it. I... ...on-states that held the same religious beliefs. Europe maintained peace through a balance of power from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. This balance of power was enacted following the conclusion of the thirty years war. For as perfect as realpolitik is the reoccurring problem of it is the fact you cannot separate humans from morality. Inevitably making political realism impossible as a form of diplomacy that could be widely accepted. To support the United States in an occupation against Canada because it would widely help American economics, offer resources, etc. would evidently be the right thing to do according to realpolitik. Yet, moralistic Americans view Canadians as their allies and neighbors. There is no just reason to wage war with Canada. A just reason based on morals will be more widely supported than that of just national interests.

Same Sex Marriage Should be Legal Essay -- Homosexual Couples Should H

Marriage is the sacred bond between two people who love and cherish one another. Traditionally this bond has been held between man and woman. With so many changes in the world, there are more openly homosexual people in our society. Though people have become more accepting of the existence of homosexuality, gays and lesbians are still considered unequal when it comes to marriage. Homosexual couples should have the same rights to marry as heterosexual couples. Denying this right is unjust and is discrimination towards a group of people. Same-sex marriage has become more of a political issue when it really should be left up to one’s own personal and religious beliefs. Even though there are a few states that recognize legal same-sex marriage or domestic partnership, couples still have to face feeling inferior because of the little to no benefit they are given, while heterosexual marriages have an abundant of rights, privileges and benefits. If it is our constitutional right to get married to the person our choice then let it be. It should not matter what the next person feels because they have the right to feel the way they want to feel just as a person can fall in love and marry their significant other. Marriage is supposed to unite two people together for better and worse for the rest of their lives. Why would anyone want to deny another person the opportunity to commit their life to another person regardless of gender? According to a chart by Christine Vestal, a staff writer at Stateline.org, there is only six states that allow same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. New Jersey and Connecticut are the only two states that recognize civil union for same-sex couples al... ...d religion. Many may feel that it is simply tradition for a man a woman to be married and homosexual marriage is just not the norm. On the other hand, what I just mention was also not normal and yet we as a nation have overcome them. It has taken time and great effort to win these rights and the privilege to make our own choices. Today many are more open-minded and tolerant of the existence of homosexuality and homosexual couples and there are a handful of states that are more accepting of the ideal of same-sex marriage. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the nation accepts this. Works Cited Oison, Theadore B. â€Å"The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage† Newsweek 09 Jan, 2010: Web. Saunders, Cat. â€Å"Gay Marriage? Absolutely!† The News Time July 2000: Web. Vestal, Christine â€Å"Gay marriage legal in six states† Stateline 04 Jun, 2009: Web.

The Precepts of Ptah Hotep

Precepts of Ptah Hotep Even though The Precepts of Ptah Hotep is one of the oldest documents in the world, the precepts are still relevant to social customs today. To be more specific, the 19th precept is one that I agree with and believe is beneficial to everybody. It states: â€Å"Be not of an irritable temper as regards that which happens at your side; grumble not over your own affairs. † I believe this precept is beneficial because it focuses on being positive and not on being negative, and it shows respect to yourself and to others.Precept number 19 tells us not to focus on the things that go wrong with our lives and not to complain. It's saying to let things go and to not dwell in the past. This precept ties into the whole reason for social codes. Social codes, like The Precept of Ptah Hotep, are meant to be followed; and as Collin said, if for some reason one is broken by a person, that person should be able to fix it, to make up for the wrong they have done by not grum bling about it, but instead working to fix it. This precept is very much like the well known saying â€Å"Hakuna matata† used in the popularDisney movie, The Lion King. The saying means no worries and is used in the movie to tell a character not to dwell in the past and be sad about things that he cannot change, but instead to be happy about the present. If you do dwell in the past and grumble about bad things that have happened to you, people will not want to be around you because of your negativity. It is disrespectful to only talk about the bad things that you have experienced when you are around other people. If you can never let things go, you will not be fun to hang out with and will end up alone. ink this precept is very beneficial to everybody because it relates to how you treat others and yourself, which I think is a very important thing to understand how to do respectfully. It is important to me because it is something I believe I can do better at. For example, if I have a soccer game and we lose, I usually try not to dwell on the fact that we lost, although sometimes I can't help it. There isn't really any point in getting myself or my team down that we lost because it won't help anyone do better in the next game. It would be a very disrespectful thing to bring not Just myself, but others own into the dumps.The smart thing to do would be to congratulate my team for trying, and to Just focus on getting better. I believe that the 19th precept from The Precepts of Ptah Hotep is one of the most important. It not only stresses respect for the individual and the majority, but also on being positive. I think that everybody can improve on letting things go and instead of complaining, trying to improve things. People can benefit by following precept 19 by being more fun to be around and making yourself and others happier. The Precepts of Ptah Hotep By ccbb43

Careful Writers Make Good Bedfellows (or at Least Good Housemates)

Careful Writers Make Good Bedfellows (or at Least Good Housemates) Careful Writers Make Good Bedfellows (or at Least Good Housemates) Careful Writers Make Good Bedfellows (or at Least Good Housemates) By Mark Nichol I was interested to read about a recent University of Michigan study that concluded that people who are highly judgmental about writing errors tend to be more introverted and have less pleasant personalities than those who are more forgiving about people’s flawed writing skills. The tools of the study were a questionnaire that, when answered by research subjects, enabled researchers to identify the people as introverted or extroverted and to rate them as having easygoing or difficult personalities, along with a set of fake responses to housemate ads. The study concluded that introverts and difficult people were less likely to respond to people who had sent error-ridden replies than extroverts and people with more appealing personalities. Overall, both introverts and difficult people were more likely than extroverts and people who rated higher on healthy personality qualities to be judgmental about errors. However, the study made a distinction between two types of writing errors: typos, or typographical errors (such as typing mkae instead of make), and grammos, or grammatical errors (such as confusing your and you’re). The study did not pertain to more substantial errors of grammar and syntax such as dangling or misplaced modifiers (or to usage or style errors), but it found that typos were more likely to irk those whose questionnaire responses identified them as introverts, while people determined to have negative personality traits tended to be bothered more by grammos. Would you be less likely to respond to an email by a prospective housemate whose message was full of errors? I certainly would, which apparently identifies me as an introverted jerk- or as an editor, which is perhaps the same thing. Why? Because typographical errors indicate carelessness (I make them, too, but I generally identify and correct them before I publish), and I don’t want a careless housemate. I am more forgiving of grammatical errors, because I know that writing skill does not necessarily correlate with intelligence, though I would be concerned about a lack of compatibility with someone who does not know the difference between your and you’re. Careful writing is important in business communication, and a response to a housemate ad is, in one respect, a business communication, because it involves financial transactions (sharing the costs of rent, utilities, and at least some household supplies). A potential housemate who does not bother to run spell-check before sending me an email is failing to demonstrate diligence. And though I strive not to let grammatical errors annoy me (otherwise, I would have to forgo reading for leisure), I can’t help judging those who do not exercise care in writing. If you bother to write a job application carefully or to proofread an email before you send it to a colleague, you are likely careful about your correspondence when you seek to be chosen as a housemate (which is, in a sense, like being hired). Whether you choose to be diligent when sending a text message or an email to a friend or posting to social media is up to you (though I assume subscribers to these posts are more likely than the general population to do so). My role as an editor is to help a writer communicate. Communication is, of course, also the writer’s key objective, whether one is writing a book or an email message. The same degree of diligence is not required for one as for another, but demonstrating some level of effort to clearly convey one’s message, regardless of the message, is one’s primary duty as a writer. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:60 Synonyms for â€Å"Walk†7 Patterns of Sentence Structure

Interconnecting the Network of Networks

Interconnecting the Network of Networks Introduction The global telecommunications trend has witnessed a gradual shift from the traditional practice where national telecommunications service providers formed a monopoly both on the international and national markets. This traditional system is referred to as â€Å"network of networks†. The modern practice, however, has witnessed change whereby system integrators have been formed to offer services to the end users.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Interconnecting the Network of Networks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These integrators interconnect between each other’s services and customize their services for individual end users’ good. The system has been referred to as â€Å"system of systems†. This paper explores in detail the new trend being witnessed in the market and analyzes its general impact as well as carries out a future analysis of the systems integration industry. Im pact of systems integrators on responsibility issues Systems integrators will basically play an integral role of influencing relative price reductions to the end users. As the practise is today, consumers incur a lot of expenses in trying to obtain all round service through integrating numerous service providers. In order to acquire the right mix and integration, such integration would be too costly for individual or corporate users as it would also mean they hire expertise to help them out in achieving this goal. However, with the availability of systems integrators, users will no longer need to bother about choosing a portfolio of individual providers and determining each of their prices before integrating right choice of mix. There would equally be no reason for end users to incur extra costs and time hiring IT experts to execute their local integration (Noam para 5). The integration of systems, to a larger extent, would also result in improved service provision and therefore enh ance quality on the part of users. The service integrators will particularly come up with tailor made services which will exactly suit users’ needs and therefore enhance their service provision or general satisfaction. The array of services will also be varied, including e-mail, data sources, transaction programs, bulletin boards, as well as audio and video publishers. Others will also include personal information screening, users groups, data storage services and, for residential users, customers’ telecommunications node within their premises’ vicinity. The provision of all these services and many others in one stop will enable consumers obtain their right choice of quality and mix without harboring doubts on quality because they will have a choice of demanding for what they think they rightfully require (McCauley 19). Heightened competition is also likely to be witnessed across the telecommunications industry as a result of these service integrators. The liber ation of the industry has limited government regulations which mainly existed to advance monopolistic policies and rules that aimed at protecting the national telecommunications service providers against any form of competition.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, with the new trend where markets are defined more along customization and tailor made services rather than the traditional generalized delivery of service, entry into the market of other small scale service providers has brought about competition. Every service integrator is seeking to improve on delivery and service provision as a whole so as to win more customers. As a result, the system integrators have assumed the role of agents for end users against carriers. Where particular carriers are providing poor services, the service integrators intercept in order to protect their end users against such below par service s. In other words, traditional problems that were associated with price, quality, market power and privacy have all been eliminated as a result of the competition witnessed in the market today. The level of government control has also reduced considerably with the shift from traditional national telecommunications service reliance to systems integration. The market and indeed the industry have generally been liberalized and therefore many players have been encouraged to enter. The relaxation of strict barriers that discouraged investors from venturing into the industry have also seen national governments do away with archaic laws that prohibited others from competing with the national telecommunications service providers. On the negative side though, the competitive pressure being exerted by systems of systems will definitely affect costs and prices in general. Although to the end user things are becoming more and more affordable, there is a huge challenge faced by systems owners on their capability to maintain the redistributive system that has traditionally existed. Generating subsidies as well as trying to transfer them internally from one user category to the other within the same service carrier is becoming impossible. Among the reasons identified to be affecting the existence of such an arrangement is the inability to sustain an internal redistribution given that there could be other carriers lacking redistributive burdens, and which could be targeting the subsidizing users. Residential users may equally pay a much higher share compared to large users like corporate organizations because cost shares amounting from the substantial joint expenses and costs may inversely be allocated to demand elasticity. Additionally, the corporate organizations which are generally categorized as large users have more than one option thus making them have greater elasticity. The inelastic customer will be more disadvantaged because the current trend of price rebalancing wi th reference to total costs incurred will exceed its objective (Harrigan 638).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Interconnecting the Network of Networks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The confronting of these issues There have been witnessed several attempts and efforts which aim at confronting all the issues that were raised by Naom 9 years since he wrote his article on the emerging telecommunications trends. Firstly, public telecommunications operators are trying to protect their local markets by barring entry of systems integrators while at the same time they are attempting to venture into the international market. In essence, public telecommunications carriers from different countries are together forming a global systems integration forming dominant alliances. This trend has particularly been shaped up by the realization that private systems integrators, particularly from the United States of America and Japan, offer competitive services which can easily jeopardize the public telecommunications operator’s position. Authorities from different countries are also trying to come with new regulations that effectively address developments that come with the emerging telecommunications trend. There are difficulties, however, in addressing this whole issue because there is also need for allowing freedom and liberation to thrive in an industry that has for long been governed through monopoly. Some regulations imposed by authorities with the intention of opening up the market for free and fair play for all have, to the contrary, ended up curtailing on competition. The dynamism of the information technology has further compounded efforts to derive long time rules for the common good of all users. The highly innovative industry has seen inventions come up within short intervals that incidentally render the immediate former innovations and advancements obsolete. The future of systems integratio n Systems integration has a very enormous potential which remains largely underexploited. Restrictions still being witnessed in the name of providing barriers to market entry by large state-owned telecommunications carriers undermine its capabilities. However, as the information technology industry in general continues to expand with fast innovations, systems integration will most likely be the choice of many in the years to come. Globalization has brought about the need for people to rely more on information than has ever been the case. Many people continuously search for information sources that can satisfy their own unique quest without necessarily having to deal with a service that is too general and time consuming. The customized services for end users are more appealing to the consumers and offer them with the flexible choice of selecting packages that appropriately serve their needs. The high service quality that comes with systems integration is also likely to play an import ant role in establishing it as the future system of choice. As the competition amongst players intensifies, the ultimate consumer becomes the beneficiary because systems integrators are improving on their general service delivery to ensure they attract a large market. Prices are also relatively cheap as compared to the network to network system which apart from being costly is too rigid to suit customer demands (Sarkar, Cavusgil and Aulakh, 361).Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technology and the future of university education Naom’s predictions through his article titled â€Å"Electronics and the dim future of the university† have actually come to pass. The classic university set up has gradually been altered by the information technology through its immense capabilities (Piccoli, Ahmad and Ives 401). Through innovations experienced in the information technology sector, the need to have physical universities as centers of knowledge has been phased out and instead new trends, as predicted by Naom, are emerging (Fletcher, Sigmund and Wisher 96). The changes so far have witnessed long distance or virtual classes take precedent in the modern days where video and internet equipment are used together to relay recorded lectures to students. Often, the students go about their normal studies but from remote locations that could even mean different countries or continents. The physical distance that existed in the traditional days has been eliminated and modern universities now have wider coverage than ever before. Further changes are expected to effect Naom’s observations back in 1995 even as the highly dynamic IT industry develops fast, improved, and reliable services (Noam para 4).. Conclusion The telecommunications sector has undergone a lot transformation in the recent past following the gradual improvement of the information capability. The internet in particular has made it possible for traditional telecommunications services to pave way for a new trend of systems integrations which basically improves on service delivery and quality of telecommunications services. A majority of public telecommunications operators have been exposed to competition from the systems integrators following the removal of monopolistic laws that shielded the mostly state-owned operators. The trend has seen the national and public telecommunications carriers concentrate on international operations as they interconnect their services with ot her international operators to form a global integrated system. The extent of IT effects has also affected the manner in which institutions of higher learning like universities operated traditionally, causing new trends and practices where learners no longer need to converge at a central location for purposes of taking their studies. Fletcher, James Douglas, Sigmund Tobias and Wisher Robert A. Learning anytime, anywhere: Advanced distributed learning and the changing face of education. Educational Researcher. 36.2 (2007): 96-102. Web. Harrigan, Kathryn Rudie. Formulating vertical integration strategies. The Academy of Management Review. 9.4 (1984): 638-652. Web. McCauley, Herbert N. Deceloping a corporate private network. MIS Quarterly. 7.4 (1983): 19-33. Web. Noam, Eli M. Beyond liberalization: From the network of networks to the system of systems. Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, n.d. Web. Noam, Eli M. Electronics and the dim future of the university. Columbia Institute f or Tele-Information, August 18, 1995. Web. Piccoli, Gabriele, Ahmad Rami and Ives Blake. Web-based virtual learning environments: A research framework and a preliminary assessment of effectiveness in basic IT skills training. MIS Quarterly. 25.4 (2001): 401-426. Web. Sarkar, M. Baenitz., Cavusgil S. Tamer and Aulakh Preet S. International expansion of telecommunication carriers: The influence of market structure, network characteristics, and entry imperfections. Journal of International Business Studies. 30.2 (1999): 361-381. Web.

The Computer Ate My Blog… and Other Excuses That Don’t Work

The Computer Ate My Blog†¦ and Other Excuses That Don’t Work Last week, I wrote a draft of a blog and saved it to my â€Å"My Blog† folder, planning to return to the piece to edit it before my Monday publishing time. Due to my speaking and traveling schedule, I knew I would not have any wiggle room on this one. When I went to pull up the blog on Monday, however, it was not in the folder where I saved it. The document path showed up in my â€Å"Open Recent† list but alas, it would not open. I missed a publication date for the first time in years. And you probably don’t care why, do you? â€Å"Excuses, excuses. Blah blah blah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Really, all you care about is that you’re reading this blog, now. Imperfection My blog is not the only thing I dropped in the past week. Over the weekend, for instance, I was in charge of many aspects of the Foundations Weekend Training with the Wright Foundation in Chicago. One of my roles was making sure the sales table was staffed. I knew there were some gaps in the schedule, and I never addressed them fully prior to the training, figuring we’d work something out over the weekend itself. Sunday rolled around and there was no more time to spare. All of a sudden we had an urgent situation on our hands. People were starting to come to the table to sign up for programs, and we did not have people there to help them. Oops. I was in a bit of trouble from the people supervising me. Finding Solutions Together Thankfully, there were other people in the room who could help. We put our heads together, trained people on what they needed to be trained on, and covered the gap in staffing. I learned a lot over the weekend about how to handle mistakes. People do not like to hear excuses and explanations of why you made the mistake. They want you to acknowledge the drop and figure out a solution. And they want to stay in relationship with you as you fix the mistake. In the past, when I have made mistakes, I have often defaulted to ineffective excuses and defenses, not wanting to be seen as unreliable. I have believed that if a mistake is my fault, I will be fired or abandoned. If I could put responsibility on someone else, then, in my world of mistaken beliefs, I would not have to â€Å"take the blame.† As you’ve probably gathered, I have spent plenty of time and energy beating myself up, which means I have not been paying attention to the people around me who could help think through options  and even be part of the solution. Celebrating Mistakes I’ve been told for a long time to â€Å"celebrate mistakes†Ã‚  (I even wrote a blog about it), and I have not been doing a great job of it. But this past weekend, I got an inkling of how to do that. At this Foundations Weekend, I figured out more than how to staff the sales table. I learned that I am unlikely to be fired for making mistakes if I take responsibility for quickly finding a solution. I tapped into the joy of teamwork when something needs fixing. And I discovered that I can manage to remain pleasant and delightful to be around even when I’ve done something wrong! So yeah, I lost my blog. But I’m not complaining. I wrote what I hope is a better one, and now the other topic seems like yesterday’s news. I am looking forward, with no excuses.

Human resource management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human resource management - Assignment Example It helped staff to serve customers from different cultures better, and was complemented by cultural training which focused on some of these differences in more detail. Human resource management has become a frequently used phrase, both in academic research and in organisation practice. The term is familiar world-wide, and is the subject of writing or research frequently. From 2000 to 2006 alone, the number of publications using the term â€Å"human resource management† increased by 427%. This result is substantial, given the field first began towards the end of the 1980s, and was thought that it would be short lived (Storey, 2007). Human resource management is arguably more important in modern society than it has ever been previously, as organisations experience change on a regular basis (Kaminski, 2000) and staff members no longer have strong loyalty to a given organisation, and move from one job to another more often. How a business undertakes human resource management varie s substantially between one business and another, such as the provision of cultural training, or of upskilling members of an organisation likely to remain. Within an organisation that makes use of human resource management, line managers provide an essential link between employees and management. Line managers are often responsible for the implementation of human resource approaches with employees directly, and may be involved in guiding and coaching staff members, giving performance reviews and dealing with discipline. In some cases, they may also be responsible for recruitment and the selection of employees. Section 2 Potential employees for an organisation come from a range of different backgrounds, and possess varying temperaments, driving factors, objectives and long-term goals. Without the use of human resource planning, there is a high chance of employing staff members who do not share the objectives of the organisation or who decrease efficiency rather than increasing it. Hu man resource planning involves the use of multiple stages, including acquisition, utilisation, improvement and retaining the human resources of an organisation. The resources for this task vary depending on the extent that human resource management is occurring, but can include training for staff members, auditing, advertising and forecasting. The processes used for recruiting are not constant across organisation. For example, Sony processes a large number of applications and uses an online application, followed by situational judgement testing, telephone interviews and then assessment centres (Sony, 2012). In contrast, a business firm that I worked for asked for resumes from applicants then went through a series of interviews for each position, with the top candidates from each interview going onto the next one. The interview is an important selection technique, and is present in many different industries. This gives the interviewer the chance to work out whether the potential empl oyee is suitable for the company, based on aspects such as their response to particular situations, their personality and their motivation. It is an

Barnes and Noble Company and Amazon.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Barnes and Noble Company and Amazon.com - Essay Example The company branched out to sell E-books. Jeff Bezos persuaded its current and future customers to benefit from the time-saving and travel money-saving benefits of online shopping for Amazon.com products. Management Styles. Both companies implement effective management styles. The Barnes and Noble Company focuses on the consultative management style. The style includes taking into consideration all positive and unfavorable feedbacks and inputs. The inputs include the feedback from the parties. On the other hand, Amazon uses persuasive management style. Management uses persuasion to convince its current and future employees eagerly implement company policies, increasing customer service quality. Product Launch and handling of products and services. Both companies have different product launch versions. The Barnes and Noble Company offers several products in different genres. The products are sold over 800 United States stores. On the other hand, Amazon’s product launch is focus ed on website selling. The company opens its www.amazon.com website to initially sell physical books and other related products. Marketing products and services. Both companies use different marketing strategies. The Barnes and Noble Company sells various products and services in over 800 stores in the 50 states and its website. On the other Amazon.com only uses online selling. The company opens its www.amazon.com website to initially sell physical books and other related products. ... The Amazon.com’s financial statistics show that its revenues better than Barnes and Noble Company’s revenues. Amazon.com’s net income is better than the dismal net loss of Barnes and Noble Company. The sales figure prods investors to funnel their investment in Amazon.com. With more Amazon.com customers, the investors must choose Amazon.com as their investment destination. Amazon’s better implementation of the marketing aspects contributed to its being a market segment standout. Amazon.com sells quality products at reasonable prices. The company promotes its products at the easiest place to buy, the internet. Statistical Comparison                                     Barnes &             Amazon    Noble       Year    2011    2011       Sales $ 57.26 billion $ 7.16 billion       Net Income (net loss) $ 40 million $ (69.44 million)       Market Share    26%    3%       Employees    56,000.00    35,283.00       Stores    1 online    800+       Equipment    No printing Press    Printing Press                         CONCLUSION. It is very clear that Amazon.com’s financial and business performance is higher than Barnes and Noble Company’s business performance. Unquestionably, investors must pick Amazon.com as the better investment destination. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: The following shows the financial analysis of the two competing companies. The two companies are Banes and Noble Company and Amazon.com. Background information. Barnes & Noble. The Barnes and Noble Company generates a profitable background information. Charles Barnes and Clifford Noble, separate bookstore sellers decided to joined hands during the 1800s. The company

Philosophy topic - Persuation paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy topic - Persuation paper - Essay Example to meet I Doc and reason with him, heart to heart, with the argument that, â€Å"evil is to be abandoned and slavery holds no purpose or value compared to the good that can be shared in life.† As Doct Man was riding his bike to I Doc’s lair, the evil villain suddenly appeared in his Doc-mobile and swept him off the road, kidnapping him. When Doct Man awoke, he found himself in the I Doc lair with the villain’s own henchmen guarding his prison door. Suddenly, Doct Man heard the door open and the guards appeared, ordering him to march to dinner to be the guest of I Doc. As all in the tri-state region knew of the reasoning and persuasive power of Doct Man, it seemed that I Doc had also heard of his reputation as a philosopher and wanted to see if he could be convinced under threat of torture to join the mayhem as part of his team. Doct Man, however, was certain of his ability to persuade I Doc to the opposite view. As he sat in his chair at the dinner table, I Doc welcomed Doct Man and apologized for the abduction. He explained his plan to conquer and subjugate the tri-state through the I Slave technology. Doct Man replied that, â€Å"I fear not any man, nor any thing in this earth, for I cannot be harmed by evil.† Surprised, I Doc asked him how this is possible. Doct Man replied by saying, â€Å"I am not identified with this body, and this body is not I. As the universe is eternal, a cycle of cycles, so too am I an eternal being, and will survive whatever evil you can muster without wavering in the slightest. My power comes from my Soul, eternal and wise, and this world is but a moment, a blink of the eye, in the context of my Being. You will exhaust yourself within days in your evil plan. The people will rise. Reinforcements will come from abroad. No matter how much you may wish to repress them with your technology, the will of the people is strong. There are billions ready to assist in the war of resistance to I Slave. But I alone come here in peace and tell you

Using APA Style Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Using APA Style - Assignment Example ticular work would be helpful to me in future research because libraries could, ideally, play a huge part in alleviating issues of illiteracy and contribute to helping to close that achievement gap. Since much of my focus is in relation to public library systems this piece fits in nicely to see how libraries could make a difference and be perceived as a contributing service. This article was essentially a review of the reports of how the public libraries in England scored in a government endorsed inspection reports. It was used to determine if the policies implemented have benefited, hindered, or had no effect on the public libraries. It gives a clear listing of what qualifies a particular library as a good library, as well as, in turn, an understanding of what identifies a bad one.(Higgins, 2005) This article is interesting because it explains how other countries conduct their policies and administrations as it relates to the quality of their public libraries. What others attempt can be a wonderful indicator of what you might wish to emulate, or perhaps not ever duplicate. This book discusses how there are some unique changes occurring in the fields of public policy and administration. In this case it is a trend toward modern progressive values into public administration. The work focuses on areas including description of progressive values, the different ideologies behind those values, and how to evaluate the existing policies and make beneficial and constructive changes.(Box, 2008) I consider this a potentially valuable source, primarily, because it covers issues that may be wholly relevant to future policies and the individuals who make them. That perspective is quite relevant and inevitably useful to me in further

Chinese Silk Road Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Chinese Silk Road - Essay Example It plays a momentous part in the development of social and economic situations of China. The Chinese Silk Route resembles the advent of globalization within China, which influences economic, social & cultural conditions of the nation in a favorable way (Wood 9-15). Urbanizations results in growth in population and accordingly these increase the demands of basic needs. Thus, to satisfy the country’s need, the Chinese Silk Route was introduced for the betterment of lives. Moreover, to boost the process of transferring goods through export and import quickly, Chinese Silk Route is being established. It enables the tourists to visit such countries that are connected by routes and thus helps to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) in respective counties. After introducing the Chinese Silk Route, national and international trades and investments are identified to grow rapidly with generating varied positive outcomes. Maritime commerce is playing a decisive part in connecting divers ified industries, culture and economy of different countries. As the trade relationships between countries are growing, distinct sorts of new pioneering ideas are implemented to enhance the productivity of the routes (Agnew 3-17). The essay intends to analyze the history of Chinese Silk Route, which has been introduced with the advent of globalization. Apart from this, the essay attempted to describe the process of the above stated history and also its influence on developing the social as well as economic conditions of China. Chinese Silk Route continuously developed within the period of second century BC to fourteenth century AD. During the 500 BC, Chinese people adopted nomadic style and rode horses for exporting along with importing goods. This route was initiated by Zhang Qian in Hun Dynasty and during the growth of this dynasty, the Chinese Silk Route gained immense power to expand across

Using APA Style Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Using APA Style - Assignment Example ticular work would be helpful to me in future research because libraries could, ideally, play a huge part in alleviating issues of illiteracy and contribute to helping to close that achievement gap. Since much of my focus is in relation to public library systems this piece fits in nicely to see how libraries could make a difference and be perceived as a contributing service. This article was essentially a review of the reports of how the public libraries in England scored in a government endorsed inspection reports. It was used to determine if the policies implemented have benefited, hindered, or had no effect on the public libraries. It gives a clear listing of what qualifies a particular library as a good library, as well as, in turn, an understanding of what identifies a bad one.(Higgins, 2005) This article is interesting because it explains how other countries conduct their policies and administrations as it relates to the quality of their public libraries. What others attempt can be a wonderful indicator of what you might wish to emulate, or perhaps not ever duplicate. This book discusses how there are some unique changes occurring in the fields of public policy and administration. In this case it is a trend toward modern progressive values into public administration. The work focuses on areas including description of progressive values, the different ideologies behind those values, and how to evaluate the existing policies and make beneficial and constructive changes.(Box, 2008) I consider this a potentially valuable source, primarily, because it covers issues that may be wholly relevant to future policies and the individuals who make them. That perspective is quite relevant and inevitably useful to me in further

Baring the body, exploring pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Baring the body, exploring pornography - Essay Example For instance, it threatens the family, the well-being of a woman and the community in overall. Therefore, feminists agitate for the control of the sexually explicit images. Specifically, the group allied against porn activities in Indianapolis shares a vision of the sexuality terrain of the female victimization and degradation. None in the group offers the view of the female sexual subjectivity, joy in the sexual arena or of the female power (Duggan & Hunter, 1995). Therefore, I consider the Song of the Wind and Trees (Kaze to ki no uta) not pornographic. The emphasis on the song is on the feelings more than the actions. The show contains the â€Å"shounen-ai† or the â€Å"yaoi† materials that means ‘boy’s love.† The song covers materials whereby two very attractive boys attracted to each other and share romantic and intimate instants between the two. One of the males appears to be androgynous or feminine, which is a standard material in the shoujo anime. They are not viewed being immoral at all. It is rather a piece of art that represent the romantic nature of gay rather than porn (Welker,

Swimming Essay Example for Free

Swimming Essay Physical demands of swimming are/power to pull yourself through the water quickly, flexibility to perform the different strokes properly, CRE to push your body harder for longer, LME because your arms and legs are constantly working. Reaction time determines how quickly you react to the start of a race, co-ordination/timing to perform strokes properly, motivation is needed in the longer distance swims e.g. 800.1500,determination you won’t win a race if you don’t want it, confidence you need to be confident in your own ability and not worry about anyone else. Skills involved in the activity are tumble turns, starts and technique, tumble turns is were you could lose a race they need to be fast and you must get distance of the wall, starts are just as important you need to be fast and get good distance reaction time is vital for starts, there are two kinds of starts:1-standing on the blocks 2- back crawl starts are in the water holding onto the blocks and throwing yourself of in a streamlined position, technique determines how efficient and fast your are in the water/ butterfly is possibly the hardest because you need strength to pull yourself up and through the water and co-ordination is needed to help the stroke flow. Race strategies/ If its is a sprint event e.g. 50,100 I like to go full out! Longer distances e.g. 200,400,800,1500 I go out fast on the first 25: fast pace in the middle; and a 50m sprint to finish. If the event is an I.M I will swim to my advantages. I prefer individual sports as opposed to team games because you control your own race and you don’t rely on anyone else. Social factors which help me participate in the activity are self-confidence, self esteem, One aspect of fitness that is important to my activity is CRE, a fitness test I did to establish this was a speed endurance set. The set was as follows- 5x 400 alt I.m f/c on 6:00 10200 alt f/c b/c on 3:00 20x 100 f/c on 1:45. 9,000 meters in total plus warm up and cool down. My performance in Buckie in April was a learning point for me because there was things I could have done better to improve my races, I got 1 pb and 1 DQ . My strengths were good warm ups, butterfly, starts, eating and sleeping, the weaknesses were turns, sprinting, concentration, confidence, I doubted my own ability and this resulted in me not performing my best. I wasn’t well prepared and hadn’t trained for the event which possibly affected my race as well. A tumble turn Preperation/ practice swimming and somersaulting in the middle of the pool before you approach the wall try this a few times until you are confident Action/Maintain speed approaching the wall keep arms at sides after the last two strokes. Tuck head to chest rotate hands and push down with palms while using a small dolphin kick to engage your core then flip feet over the surface of the water. Plant feet on the wall with knees bent, stretch arms above head into a streamlined position and push off the wall facing the surface of the water. Recovery/During streamline, use core strength to rotate upper torso then lower torso to return facing the bottom of the pool. After a few fly kicks return to the surface of the water and continue swimming.

Hotels in Bangkok

Hotels in Bangkok The Regency Grand Hotel is one of the most prestigious and luxurious hotels in Bangkok, Thailand. Since its inception, it has earned a brand name in the industry owing to the exceptional salaries and benefits offered. The hotel staff and managers felt privileged being a member of the hotel, and perceived that they were being taken well care of under the leadership of the then General Manager. The following case study illuminates the dilemma of the employees undergoing the management changeover following its acquisition by an international group. In the earlier set-up, the employees were expected to follow the orders of their managers without questioning them. Initiatives to solve problems at personal level were discouraged and it led to lack of innovation and risk-averse behavior. Eventually, the hotel staff got accustomed to the style of management over the past fifteen years, and it made the work go smoothly with minimal number of conflicts. However, the recent sale of the hotel to a new American group introduced an altogether new style of administration to the employees. The management style of the new GM was entirely opposite to what the staff was familiar to, and it caused problems bringing the hotels performance and reputation down the drain. Problem symptoms and indications The former style of management gave limited authority to the front line employees and did not permit them to take any action on the spot without referring to their superiors. On the contrary, the new General Manager (John Becker) encouraged them to perform beyond their routine duties to provide customized services and thus make them feel special. This is directly related to empowerment, which is a key aspect in the service industry especially the hotels (Hubrecht Teare, 1993). Beckers motive in employee empowerment was linked with his intention to achieve competitive advantage through upgrading the staff competencies. As stated by Wall, et.al (2002, p.147) employee empowerment results in motivation, inventiveness, implied knowledge, participation, and enthusiasm necessary to survive in todays cutthroat competition. Although, Becker saw empowerment as a means to enthuse employees and delight the customers (Barbee Bott, 1991, p. 27) the hotels current managers expressed their disappointment. They were discontented with the idea of giving bottom line employees more authority and decision powers. The disparity in management approach is attributed to the cultural differences in these countries, for instance power distance, and uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 1980, p.45-55). Thailand and USA fall in the extreme ends of the cultural continuum presented by Hofstede (1980). Efforts are generally focused towards equal distribution of power in USA, while only a few people are given authority in Thailand given the larger power distance in the latter. Also, there is strong uncertainty avoidance in Thailand, calling for more written rules regulations, whereas uncertainty is easily accepted in USA and emphasis is laid on minimal formal rules (Hofstede, 1980, p.51). Becker failed to recognize these cultural differences while implementing his theories into practice. Joining a new organization and country demands awareness about the various social and cultural issues involved before transforming the existing practices (Lane Beamish, 1990, p.88). What worsened the situation further was his previous experience in places with poor performance and low employee morale. It is noticeable that his new assignment was doing sound business; therefore, his approach ought to be different in this case. Becker spent a great deal of time with the employees in an effort to elucidate his expectations from them. The role theory (Bush and Busch, 1981; Teas et al., 1979) mentions that the frontline employees have a greater need for role precision to carry out their duties efficiently. Role clarity perceived by the customer-contact employees is not only advantageous for customer satisfaction, but is also associated with employees job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance (de Ruyter et al., 2001). Yet, he did not succeed in putting a clear demarcation between complex and small issues. This kind of uncertainty was a continuous threat and led to higher anxiety and stress among the employees since strong uncertainty avoidance prevails in Thailand (McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p.47). The employees did not have a clear role perception due to role ambiguity. In this regard, Saks (1996, p.301-23) states that role perception is a result of role ambiguity, and with time this may result in stress specially when working under a new management. In addition to that, the employees were not able to distinguish between a major and a minor problem because of the lack of training (assumption). They had never been assigned a decision-making role before, and unfortunately did not receive a proper guidance from their seniors in such difficult situations. A further study into the Regency Grand Hotel shows that in quest of employee empowerment, power was transferred from the middle-line managers to the lower rank staff. Daft (1995) suggested that the recent trend of flatter organization structures have considerably altered the traditional role of supervisors. Consequently, the managers found their job meaningless and reversed employees decisions by terming them complex issues. They insisted that upper managements approval is required to address such problems and thus, tried to regain their supremacy. The managers reactions are associated to their control needs, achievement needs, and recognition needs () that forced them to maintain their grip on routine decisions. Furthermore, the employees did not receive any kind of support, feedback or appraisal for taking initiatives and going out of their way to enrich customers experience. As per Herzberg (1959) theory, motivation techniques such as superiors support and a positive and timely feedback have enduring productive influence on the employee behavior and resulting performance. In this context, experts have referred to the ABCs of behavior modification theory (McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p. 85-86) which states that employee behavior can be modified by managing its antecedents (for example encouraging staff to take initiative) and its consequences (for instance approving their decisions and constructive feedback). The theory further states that people have a propensity to repeat behaviors and actions that are followed by pleasant consequences, and extinction occurs when no consequences follow at all. Since the managers did not provide any support to the employees engaged in the desired work behavior, their self-driven decision-making process disappeared. The absence of motivation from the superiors eroded the employees self-confidence and they started to totally rely on their superiors to make decisions on their behalf. This is because of the high collectivism in Thailand (Hofstede, 1980, p. 45) where there is a strong need for consensus. The overall problem with the Grand Regency Hotel is directly linked to the MARS model, which identifies four key factors that have a direct effect on employee behavior, viz. motivation, ability, role perception, and situational factors. The employee performance levels drop if any of these factors is absent from the organizational context (McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p. 36). It is apparent from the study that the employees were not motivated to continue the new task behaviors, and they lacked the ability to define the complexity of the decisions, which again led to ambiguous role perceptions. Moreover, the dissatisfaction of the hotels staff affected their work behavior as evident by the increase in the number of turnovers and absenteeism. These are undoubtedly identifiable with the EVLN model of employee responses to dissatisfaction at work. It is found that exit is the most frequently used response of the four reactions in a notion that no better alternatives exist. (Withey Cooper, 1989, p.533). As indicated by (Lau et al., 2003, p.77) role conflict and a low degree of job involvement leads to a higher absence rate. Low levels of supervisory support and immediate social control resulted in increased absenteeism. (Price, 1998, p.227-246). The number of employees mistakes reported to upper management increased; this is because of the lack of training, feedback and motivation. With passage of time, an organization wide culture emerged in the hotel where lower level employees throw their work over the wall to upper level employees indulging in counterproductive act (Lau, et al., 2003, p.75). As a result, the performance of the employees dragged the overall hotel performance down leading to an increase in the number of guest complaints.(Heskett, et al., in Koys, 2001, p.113) This was demonstrated in the heightened criticism in the newspaper and magazine reviews where the hotel was named as one of the Asias nightmare hotels. The hotel General Manager and the employees experienced high levels of stress. Beckers stress was clear from his statement unless the hotel is on fire dont let anyone disturb me. He was annoyed by the increasing number of consultations from managers regarding minor issues, which otherwise were supposed to be sorted out by themselves. This reflects lack of training on the managers front as well. The role ambiguity was the main reason behind the employees stress as they misunderstood their roles. Role conflict and role ambiguity have been found to be the major causes of role stress (Boles Babin in Siegall, 2000, p.427). The ever-increasing stress levels experienced by the employees weakened all the good relationships that were existent under the older management. The employees were no longer united, and because of that, counterproductive behaviors surfaced in the form of backstabbing and employees not taking responsibility for their actions. In brief, even though Becker introduced empowerment with kind intentions, his plan failed because of poor implementation. He acted too fast that the spontaneous empowerment in fact snatched power from everyone involved. He did not give sufficient time to the newly empowered to be trained or get mentally prepared for their new roles. The next blunder Becker made was of believing that the managers would readily pass on their powers to their subordinates the minute he declared empowerment program. In his zeal to initiate empowerment, he ignored all other factors to support his decision. RECOMMENDATION The recommendations for improving the performance of Regency Grand Hotel are presented for all the three hierarchal levels mentioned in the case study. General Manager The current managers of the hotel backlashed on the new General Managers decision of giving more decision powers to the front line employees. Those dissatisfactions were the consequences of cultural differences (low power distance in America, while high power distance in Thailand). Obviously, dealing with cultural clashes is difficult since cultural patterns change very slowly (Hofstede, 1980, p.53). Therefore, Becker should consider these issues and address them beforehand. We would recommend higher degree of compatibility in his leadership style. In this situation, he should conduct meetings with the managers in order to clarify their doubts, and communicate the same down the hierarchal levels. It would be logical to check on their performance on regular intervals of time. Next, he should try to lessen the power distance between the managers and the front office staff by means of social events and gatherings. It would definitely ease out the managers egos and identify the hidden potential of their subordinates. In the end, this would help them to act like mentors to facilitate change rather than being directive in their approach. As said by Quang William (1998, p.361) influence of multicultural leadership on flexibility, empathy, understanding problem solving, and communication leads to a successful organizational change. Moreover, emphasizing on trust, communication and mutual objectives should be taken into account. Becker should train the managers in their new roles as coaches to assist the employees in taking independent decisions. Goal sharing for improving customer service and hotels overall performance should be implemented to bring them together as a team. In order to have a successful implementation of empowerment we must have strong self-determination, meaning, competence and impact. If any of those four dimensions is weak then it reflects directly on the empowerment process. (Forrester, 2000) Though Beckers idea of empowerment was positive in itself, yet his plan proved disastrous. One way to make the process more effective is selective empowerment, which limits delegating power to employees who display the appropriate competencies. Invest in enhancing their knowledge and skills through formal training, mentoring, and self-learning because rightful application of power depends on ones capabilities. Employees should be given a chance to demonstrate expertise by employing simulations, case studies, mentors, and supervised trials. They should be assigned low-risk decisions first, and progressively work up to challenging judgments since achievement at the safer levels would boost confidence through expectancy of success. The employee pe rformance could be improved due to the self fulfilling prophecy of the managers. (McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p.80) Becker should influence the managers perceptions that better results are obtained through empowerment than not. This may be done by following a sequential approach. First, focus on empowerment that does not steal complete authority from the mid level managers. Instead, enhance employees power by widening their knowledge set and providing them with more training and development opportunities. Second, begin the process from the top levels of management and trail down the changes to the subsequent lower ranks. This would allow the seniors exercise greater power and, going through a successful empowerment experience would raise their expectations from the change. Finally, concentrate on specific materialistic results, for instance initiating a performance appraisal and reward system based on the level of power demonstrated by a managers subordinate and reward more generously to team work as compared to individual performance. For successful implementation of empowerment, managers need to believe that they are in control of their outcomes. Middle Managers The employees were confused in differentiating major and minor problems, which originated from their lack of role clarification. Role clarity implies the required information that is provided for employees in order to do their jobs efficiently (Kelly and Hise, 1980 cited in Mukherjee and Malhotra, 2006, p.446). In the given case study, it could be prevented by following the three key essentails of role clarity, i.e. feedback, participation and finally team support. The effectiveness of employees depends on their perception about wielded power by superiors. (Yukl, 1981). Managers should focus on providing their employees with feedback, paying more attention to normative feedback as it positively affects the individuals performance by improving either perceived competence, competence valuation (Sansone 1989) performance pressure (Butler . Nisan, 1986; Ryan, 1982) or a combination these factors. The effect of positive normative feedback on the performance would not be relevant unless employees were well trained in a way that their skills would match the tasks they were entailed to handle. This would enhance their perceived competence (Sansone 1988), which is handling customers minor problems without referring back to their supervisors. The employees were uncomfortable in their newly assigned role and hesitated to accept the responsibilities. In addition, lack of motivation from the seniors wore down their confidence. Instead, the performances should be followed by adequate rewards to ensure staff that they are on the right track (Locke and Latham, 1990, p.241). Providing on the job training to employees should be one of the middle managers priorities, as it has been proven a good way to learn (Wood, 1994). Also, well-trained employees will be better prepared to face the organizational change (Lange, 2006) occurring at the Regency Grand Hotel, which will in return help them overcome the challenges involved with the process of empowerment. Employees Apart from General Manager and the managers, the front line employees should also share responsibilities for making the empowerment program successful. McShane Tavaglione (2007, p.186-89) identifies four core necessities in employees behavior, namely competencies, self-monitoring and designing natural rewards. To participate in the empowerment process, employees should possess adequate capabilities to deal with the additional decision making roles. Another suggestion for the employees proposes practicing self-leadership. Certainly, it was the managers duty to provide the employees with proper training and feedback, but we should not overlook the part of employees themselves. They should try to set goals for themselves to create self-direction and self-motivation required to execute the new tasks. Self-leadership incorporates five key elements that is personal goal setting, constructive thought pattern, designing natural rewards, self-monitoring, and self-reinforcement. Employees who indulge in all the above-mentioned practices would perform jobs better than the ones being supervised by others, and as Larkin asserts, high self-monitor generates more confident individuals to adapt to the empowerment approach. In addition, speaking up of the employees should be regarded as an important solution (Premeaux Bedeian, 2003, p.1537). They should express their point of views about work related issues, recommendations, or requirement of changes and alternative approaches. The problem rose in Grand Regency Hotel because employees were hesitant to speak out their positions due to the fear of punishment. McShane Travaglione (2007) argue that the voice of employees should be established as a way to communicate dissatisfaction and to propose ideas to the manager to improve situations. Finally, employees who possess self-awareness, as one of the four dimensions of emotional intelligence, would have better emotional responses. Higher level of working emotions and attitudes would help employees attain better performances and prevent the tensions among the hotel employees. REFERRENCES Barbee, C. Bott, V. (1991). Customer treatment as a mirror of employee treatment, Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 5, p.27. Boles, J.S., Babin, B.J. (1994). in Siegall,M., 2000, Putting the stress back into role stress: Improving the measurement of role conflict and role ambiguity, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 15 (5), p.427. Retrieved from www.emerald-library.com on 25 September 2009. Butler, R., Nisan, M. (1986). Effects of no feedback, task-related comments, and grades on intrinsic motivation and performance, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. l, p. 210-216. Cohen, J., Ryan, R. (1982). Control and information in the intrapersonal sphere: An extension of Cognitive evaluation theory, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 43, p.450- 461. Daft, R. (1995). Organization theory and design, 5th Edition, West Publishing Co., St Paul, MN. Forrester, R. (2000). Empowerment: rejuvenating a potent idea, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14 (3), p.67-80. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Snyderman, B. B. (1959).The motivation to work(2nd Edition) New York: John Wiley Sons, p.134. Heskett, J.L., Sasser, W.E., Schlesinger, L.A. (1997) in Koys, D.J., 2001, The effects of employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover on organizational effectiveness, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 54(1), p. 113. Hofstede, G. (1980). Motivation, Leadership and Organization: Do American Theories apply Abroad? American Management Association, p.45-55. Hubrecht, J. Teare, R. (1993). A strategy for partnership in total quality service, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 5 No. 3. Lange, T. (2006). Knowledge and Innovation for New Zealand: Dynamic Benefits of a Two-Stage Wage Strategy an Its Unlikely Application, Policy Studies, Vol. 27(1), p.71-85. Mukherjee, A., Malhotra, N. (2006) Does role clarity explain employee-perceived service quality? A study of antecedents and consequences in call centres, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 17 (5) p.446. Price, J. L. (1998). Estimation of Causal Model of Absenteeism, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 41(2), p.227-246. Lau, V.C.S., Au, W.T., Ho, M.C.J. (2003). A Qualitative and Quantitative Review of Antecedents of Counterproductive Behaviour in Organizations, Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 18(1), p.75-77. Saks, A.M., Ashforth, B.E. (1996). Proactive Socialization and Behavioural Self- management, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Vol 48, p.301-23. Sansone, C. (1989). 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Life Goes On in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart :: Things Fall Apart essays

Things Fall Apart and Life Goes On Achebe often centers on the conflicts of man within himself and with his culture. Things Fall Apart is no exception. Achebe’s story is about a strong man, Okonkwo, whose life is dominated by fear and anger. The fear of the main character, Okonkwo, is generated first by fear of failure and then by a fear of the unknown. The unknown in this story is the oncoming of the English into Africa. A religion is brought to the villages, and new ways of thinking arise. Overall, the African village Okonkwo knew and grew up in slowly begins to disappear. Okonkwo is not only afraid for himself but for his entire village. He is afraid that his culture will vanish and be forgotten by the younger generations. Achebe is able to show the reader his intentions at the very beginning of the book by including a quote from W.B. Yeats’ poem "The Second Coming": Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. Achebe lets the reader know from the beginning that Nigeria's rich cultural heritage is falling apart and that there will be no happy ending. The life of Okonkwo symbolizes the life and richness of the tribe and village. As the story progresses Okonkwo’s life begins to go downhill and so does that of the village. The story ends with the death of Okonkwo and the death of an entire civilization. The colonials have taken over the village; the children no longer believe in the old ways. Things fall apart and no one wants to put them back together. Life goes on with the invasion of the English, but never will it be the same. Achebe was born and raised in a large village in Nigeria. He was also educated in Nigeria. After a short career in radio, Achebe began to lecture abroad and settled for a while as an English professor at the University of Massachusetts.

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The Great Depression was an absolute economic disaster that occurred after the big stock market crash of 1929. This crashed occurred mainly because of all the excitement caused by the Roaring Twenties. Popular items like automobiles and household appliances ended up being produced in much greater quantities than were being sold. The current president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, was not succeeding at all in putting an end to The Great Depression. All Americans were desperate to find someone who would aid them in climbing out the great sink hole that was the stability of the United States. Thankfully, for them, Mr. Hoover’s successor will be the man to do the trick of bringing America out of that hole. The First and Second New Deals were responses to the worst economic tragedy in American history. Without these deals, America’s economy would have been disastrous for much longer and could have easily had a role on our economic stability today. After taking oath of office on March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt knew that he was going to have a lot on his presidential plate. At this point in time, the economy was almost to the point of completely collapsing. Roosevelt grew up in a rich family and was never one that ever had to work just to make ends meet. He was quite intelligent, graduating from Harvard. He is known for having a charming personality and he knew how to persuade anyone to get what he wanted done accomplished. After graduating from Harvard, he started a career in banking and then went on to become the governor of New York in 1928. So, he was more than qualified for the presidency and many had faith that he could play a big role in saving America’s economy. On March 5, 1933, one day after taking oath, Roos... ...f The Great Depression. Roosevelt and his administrations efforts simply put people back to work helped stabilize the economy and gave Americans hope. Some parts of the New Deals were successful, some were not so much so. All of these acts are also responsible for providing an infrastructure to the current economic system of America and it also provided smaller things like great roads, bridges and dams to greater acts like Social Security. Roosevelt’s reforms put an end to many disasters but on the other hand, he knew there were problems that he could not change so he left them be. His efforts were so well-known and praised that after he ran for election again in 1936, he beat the Republican Party by a landslide which showed that the Americans supported him and his great actions. He deserves most, if not all of the credit for the successes of the American economy.

Economic Development of India Essay

The capital market is the market for securities, where Companies and governments can raise long-term funds. It is a market in which money is lent for periods longer than a year. A nation’s capital market includes such financial institutions as banks, insurance companies, and stock exchanges that channel long-term investment funds to commercial and industrial borrowers. Unlike the money market, on which lending is ordinarily short term, the capital market typically finances fixed investments like those in buildings and machinery. Nature and Constituents: The capital market consists of number of individuals and institutions (including the government) that canalize the supply and demand for longterm capital and claims on capital. The stock exchange, commercial banks, co-operative banks, saving banks, development banks, insurance companies, investment trust or companies, etc., are important constituents of the capital markets. The capital market, like the money market, has three important Components, namely the suppliers of loanable funds, the borrowers and the Intermediaries who deal with the leaders on the one hand and the Borrowers on the other. ï  ® The demand for capital comes mostly from agriculture, industry, trade The government. The predominant form of industrial organization developed Capital Market becomes a necessary infrastructure for fast industrialization,and hence its important for the economy because india is a land if agriculture where more than 70 % of population depends upon agriculture and as India is also an developing nation so,industrialization is must necessary In this topic we have discussed that the development of stock market must contributes to economic growth both directly and indirectly. Hence stock market plays an important role in the economy of a country. Following the direct channel, we show that market liquidity has a positive impact on growth and indirectly market size affects investments which must affect growth of the country. Security markets also play a crucial role in economic growth and financial stability. The primary purpose of security markets is to serve as a mechanism for the transformation of savings into financing for the real sector, and hence constituting an alternative to bank financing. Recent local and global studies show that there is a positive correlation between the developments of stock markets and economic growth. Stock markets must be very efficient in the allocation of capital to its highest-value users. These markets also help to increase savings and investment, which are essential for economic development. If an equity market is informationally inefficient then investors face difficulties in choosing the optimal investment, because information on corporate performance is slow. Role of Securities Markets in Economic Development The increasing stringency of terms on both domestic and international loans, the urgency of mobilizing domestic resources by means other than dent finance has been greatly identified. The alternative to debt finance, of course is equity market. Capital market refers to the market for long and medium term funds for the business enterprise. It can be divided into securities and non-securities market. Securities market in turn may be divided unto the markets for primary issues and markets for secondary trading of the issued securities. In the secondary market, the existing securities change from the investor to another. There is no additional flow of funds for investment purposes in a secondary market; it only provides liquidity and marketability to the existing securities. A secondary market is very essential for a new issue market to develop. The secondary market can play most crucial functions in the pace of economic development by the promotion of savings and investment and efficient allocation of finds among the users. The securities market offers both investors and issues a broad spectrum of investment alternatives, which can help increase the level of both savings and investment. An efficient capital market can play the crucial role in mobilizing domestic savings for the purpose of investment

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson: An Analysis Essay

Throughout chapters one and two of Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, the narrator of the novel, Ruth, compares and contrasts the parenting styles of both her grandmother and great aunts towards her sister Lucille and herself. The girls have been between two different parenting styles, one that was caring but cautious, and another that was well-meaning but indifferent. The styles of parenting presented to Lucille and Ruth by the women in their life play an important role in how the girls will learn receive love and care in their lives. They have learned so far that love is fragile and true relationships cannot be forged in a day-dream manner. Slyvia’s parenting style is the best example of the day-dream concept. After losing her husband in a train accident, Slyvia (the girl’s grandmother), tries her best to nurture her granddaughters in an orderly but distant manner. The years that she raised her girls in this fashion was effective in the present, but the result of her surface level interactions with her daughters left her estranged from them in her old age. Ruth and Lucille’s grandmother sees her opportunity to take care of them after their mother’s death as a second chance to fix her past mistakes as a mother. Their grandmother believes that she never really fostered a strong bond with her daughters, she was able to learn her daughters’ routines in the house and have them do their chores in an orderly manner, but she never got to know who they were as people, and most importantly â€Å"She had never taught them to be kind to her. † (Pg. 19) This quote emphasizes the idea that Slyvia never taught her daughters how to truly love. I think it is the lack of intimacy she shared with her daughters that she regrets the most. Because Slyvia regrets her inability to know her daughters as people, she now wishes to distance herself from her daughter’s inner thoughts, most likely from the fear of shock. â€Å"Perhaps she did not wish to learn by indirection what Helen did not wish to tell her. † (Pg. 20) Lucille and Ruth’s mother was proven to be unstable, and her suicide shed light on the internal suffering she must have been enduring before she killed herself. Slyvia, I feel, does not want to ponder the idea that her daughter was severely unhappy, especially given the fact that she felt her time spent with her daughters in their youth was full of serenity. Ruth realizes that their grandmother is over-consciousness but she believes it’s due to her heightened sense of perception. â€Å"I think that she was aware of too many things, having no principle for selecting the more from the less important, and that her awareness could never be diminished, since it was among the things she had thought of as familiar that this disaster had taken shape. † (Pg. 5) Ruth and Lucille’s grandmother has always been cautious in her parenting style because she is afraid to lose her charges like she lost her husband, fleetingly and without notice. And, it is this nervous cautiousness that has harbored a sense of quiet awareness and self-duty both her daughters and granddaughters. The self-duty becomes even more necessary for the girls to carry-on with their lives after their grandmother passes. They are handed off to their great aunts Lilly and Nona after Sylvia’s death, and their awkward pretentious sense of nurturing leaves an even bigger sense of distance in mother figures for the girls. Lilly and Nona had no genuine compassion for their god nieces; they simply were taking care of the girls because it was the dutiful thing to do. An example of their stiff compassion can be shown on page 29 of the novel â€Å"They were, though maiden ladies, of a buxomly maternal appearance that contrasted oddly with their brusque, unpracticed pats and kisses. † The quote is describing the two aunts as motherly appearing figures, but in contrast they were actually very far from being as warm and affectionate as true mothers are capable of being. Ruth’s conclusion after staying a few days with her aunts of their temperaments can be seen in the following quote. â€Å"Lily and Nona, I think, enjoyed nothing except habit and familiarity, the precise replication of one day in the next. † (Pg. 32) The two aunt’s like routine and they dislike anything disrupting that routine especially children. They have no patience or energy for doing new things, and they are not willing to adapt to Ruth and Lilly’s home town wholly, they often talk about moving the girls back to their own home. The contrast in the grandmother’s and the great aunt’s parenting style is self-explanatory. The grandmother’s affection was overzealous while the great aunts’ display is hollow. The girls are affected in a way that paints their image of love, their grandmother taught them to be intuitive of other’s feelings, while their great aunts’ have shown them that people are not always selfless. The most important thing the girls have yet to experience in a parent/child relationship however is a true bond of love and full awareness of who the other is as a person. The girls so far have been taught to feign emotions that are proper, and to show surface level respect for their mother figures.

Video gam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Video gam - Essay Example This essay will explore these parameters and make a conclusion as to the effect that violent video games has on society. Markey and Markey (82) studied how aggressive tendencies might be mediated by personality. In other words, there are certain personality types which are more affected by video games than other types. For instance, individuals who score high on tests that measure psychotic or antisocial tendencies – lack of sympathy, aggressiveness, unfriendliness, untrustworthiness, lack of emotion, paranoia – are more likely to experience higher levels of hostility and aggressiveness after exposure to violent video games (VVG) than those who do not have these tendencies. This holds true with other forms of media as well, such as violent movies – the psychotic men, after seeing a violent film, is much more likely to state that violence is an acceptable way of resolving conflicts than men who do not score high on tests measuring psychotic or antisocial tendencie s. When these same men are exposed to pornography, they are much more likely than men who do not score high on psychotic or antisocial tendencies to report that they are more likely to rape a woman. ... ily upset, angry, emotional), not agreeable (indifferent and cold) and had low conscientiousness (not keeping promises, acting without thinking, etc.). The researchers concluded that, despite the fact that there is a prevalence of VVG, incidents of violence are relatively rare, therefore there has to be something more that compels these people to violence – much like the fact that, for the majority of the population, peanuts will not cause a reaction, but, for some, they are deadly, VVG are â€Å"deadly† for some, but, for most, have no effect (Markey and Markey, 86). Anderson & Bushman (353) conducted secondary research through PsycINFO, looking at the following terms – video and game and fight, aggression, violence, hostility, anger, arousal, and prosocial. They looked at different studies that looked at the above tendencies, and tied these tendencies to violent video games. They found that the results of these multiple studies showed that exposure to violent v ideo games posed a public health threat to children and youths, which includes college-aged individuals in this analysis. They found that exposure to violent video games decreased pro social behaviors and increased aggression in the participants. That said, they admitted that they needed to review more longitudinal studies, and that violent video games might actually be useful, if these games can teach the game players about nonviolent solutions to social conflicts. Another study conducted by Sacks et al. (1) also suggests that video games might do harm to children. They looked at the amicus curiae briefs that were filed in Brown v. Entertainment Merchant Association, 130 S.Ct. 2398 (2010). They looked at which of the briefs were more persuasive, looking at the quality of the experts who wrote the briefs –

Assertive Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Assertive Behavior - Essay Example At the end of the vignettes there is a compiled scenario with a response following it. This scenario is totally fictitious but is carried out to show a thorough comprehension of the material that has been studied. I have begun paying a lot more attention to my social atmosphere around me and have noticed many different traits in all people of all different ethnic classes and economic levels as well. I think what starts more conflicts than anything else in society is a misjudgment of people based on first impressions and it happens to be one of my own personal fears. People look at someone and judge them based on how they wear their hair, how they dress, how they speak, and even their body language. Many disagreements among people could be avoided if they only took the time to open their eyes and look beyond that first impression and get to know people for who they really are, not the superficial aspects of individuals. I personally have my own boundaries and there are certain actions and words that can make me snap and act out inappropriately just as anyone else does. Some of these are based on specific statements concerning race and economic position in society. I hate it when people think they are better than someone else simply because they can afford a better car, more expensive clothing, and larger home. Also, it makes me very angry when people judge someone based on their color or personal beliefs. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and it should be allowed freely and without worry of being ridiculed or beaten up because of it. Isolation is a great fear I have and I have a problem with discussing certain feelings I have because I feel I will then have to deal with ignorance and inappropriate attitudes for a long time that I won’t be able to avoid. This makes me snap very easily and I don’t like that but it is something that I don’t think I

Sketches Bill Cleggs and Mathew Dickmans prescription for eudaimonia Essay

Sketches Bill Cleggs and Mathew Dickmans prescription for eudaimonia - Essay Example For this reason, Aristotle’s ethics and politics are both heavily focused on virtue (Gallager, 2010). According to Rorty (1980, pp.07), Eudemonia essentially involve just the activity of the theoretical intellect of human life and action and accordance with the broader excellence of moral virtues and practical wisdom. This view connects the eudemonia with the conception of human nature as composite, that is, as involving the interaction of reason, emotion, perception and action in a body full of soul. Ninety days is a short novel that situates a lot of drama into an easy to read 194 pages. This book covers the months following Cleggs decision to go into an inpatient facility to renounce cocaine and alcohol at age 34.  It’s the story of Cleggs battle to get back his life, an obvious and persuasive story of the opportunity of recovery. However, it sketches an overwhelming depiction of the loads of challenges one will tolerate on this journey. The twin brother of poet Michael Dickman, poet Matthew Dickman was born on August 20, 1975 grew up in Lents, a working-class suburb of Portland, Oregon. He was raised by his mother. He earned a BA at the University of Oregon after that he earned an MFA from the University of Texas at Austins Michener Center. Dickman’s unveiling collection, All American Poem (2008), was chosen by Tony Hoagland for the American Poetry Review’s Honickman First Book Prize in Poetry and also won the 2009 Oregon Book Award for Poetry. According to Perring (2012) Ninety Days  is a follow up to Cleggs tale of his decline into drug use and his ultimate entrance into drug rehabilitation. Bill Clegg discloses to his readers as he explain the laborious journey he took to attain his first 90 days of sobriety. Any person who has not gone through the experience of substance mistreatment would not be able to recognize how an individual feels who has exactly gone the whole thing. Actually it is a

Planning and Control (Project Management) Coursework

Planning and Control (Project Management) - Coursework Example After completing the both parts provide a range of possible duration of the equipment installation activity that is the activity can be completed minimum of 13.33 hours and maximum in 15.33 hours. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 2 Data: The cost for design phase of the software development is as follows: The best case / lowest cost = $35,000, The worst case / highest cost = $60,000, The most typical case / likely cost = $44,000 Part A: Expected Cost = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected Cost = ($35,000 + 4 * ($44,000) + $60,000) / 6; Expected Cost = $45,166.67 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = ($60,000 – $35,000) / 6; Standard Deviation = $4,166.67; Part C: The part A of the question presents that the expected cost of the developing software application in the design phase which is equivalent to the $45,166.67. ... After completing the both parts provide a range of possible cost of the design phase that is from $41,000.00/- to $49,333.33/-. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 3 Data: From the previous records, the following numbers of carpenters are required to complete the job: The best case / fewer number of carpenters = 4 carpenters, The worst case / largest number of carpenters = 9 carpenters, The most typical case / likely number of carpenters = 6 carpenters Part A: Expected number of carpenters = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = (4 + 4 * (6) + 9) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = 6.17 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = (9 – 4) / 6; Standard Deviation = 0.83; Part C: The part A of the question presents the expected number of carpenters required to complete the job and after applying the formula of PERT beta the calcul ated value is 6.17. In the part B of the question the standard deviation of the expected number of carpenters is calculated that is equivalent to 0.83. After subtracting and adding the value of standard deviation from / to the expected number of carpenters, the resulting value would provide us the estimated number of carpenters required to complete the job and the range is from 5.34 to 7 carpenters. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 4 – Dangers allied with PERT Technique The utilization of PERT technique involves several dangers and risks that include but are not limited to the following: The PERT technique becomes complicated when