A Doll House

Marriage, as an institution, facilitates the union of man and woman enabling them to raise a family. The wellbeing and happiness of the family depends equally on the man and the woman. But this equality is imperceptible in married relations, even in the modern society. The woman always compromises for the sake of her family and abandons her freedom.The play â€Å"A Doll House† by Henrik Ibsen depicts the situation of a married woman, Nora Helmer who has to repress her desires and behave according to the wish of her husband, Torvald. The title of the play denotes the house of Nora and Torvald who behave like dolls owing to their circumstances.Although Nora is a skilled and wise woman, her husband regards her to be an asinine and childish woman. â€Å"Nora! Are your scatterbrains off again?† (Ibsen & Fjelde 44). When Torvald was ill, Nora was the one who saved his life with the aid of money borrowed from Krogstad. But she refrained from revealing about the borrowed money to her husband so that his pride is not hurt.She also worked secretly to repay the debt. But she presents herself before her husband in a manner which pleases him. Her husband thinks that Nora is a silly woman and Nora continues to act like a one before him. Nora lives in her house like a doll whose strings are in the hands of her husband. Similarly, Torvald is a doll who leads his life in accordance to the expectations of the people working with him and the society.He is more concerned about other people’s thoughts regarding him and his married life rather than the feelings of his own wife. The title â€Å"A Doll House† is significant in bringing forth the lives of Nora and Torvald which resembles a doll’s life in various aspects. Like a doll, the lives of Nora and Torvald are not under their own control. Their actions and behavior are influenced by their circumstances. Nora behaves as her husband wants her to behave and Torvald acts in a manner which is accept ed by the society in which he is living with his wife.Works CitedIbsen, Henrik & Fjelde, Rolf. A Doll House. Signet Classic. 1992.   

Distance learning in relation to access Essay

Distance learning is educational instruction and information that is offered to learners who are usually physically away from the origin of those instructions or information. It provides opportunity to individuals who could not have the time and money to pursue the traditional classes because of the distance from the learning facilities and high costs of undertaking the course. This kind of learning has been made possible because of internet expansion which has been witnessed in recent years. The main tool used by learners in the distance learning programs is the internet. The internet provides them with learning information in different formats such as sound bits, music, voice and graphics which can be represented in a unique type of artwork like video and animation. Other tools which can supplement the internet include: emails, online video conferencing, news groups and mailing list (Duffy, p. 55). Advantages and disadvantages to individuals Advantages: Distances learning provide individuals with flexible schedules. For example, some colleges offer synchronous learning such that students taking a given class start and finish at a given time. Others offer asynchronous learning where each individual is given the opportunity to choose the time to enroll for classes and usually they are allowed to learn at a speed they feel is convenient to them. They give an individual an opportunity to advance his/her education without leaving his/her job. People can advance in their field of specialty through taking specialized career training courses. The courses do not affect the present employment which is one of the benefits that distance learners get to enjoy. Online learning is cheaper compared to traditional classroom learning. This is because the costs of moving to and from the college are eliminated and other fees that campus students have to pay like medical insurance are avoided (Minoli, p. 43). Disadvantages: There is social isolation. Unlike studying in traditional classes, distance learners often study alone. This brings a sense of isolation but thanks to recent technological advancements such as online chat rooms, teleconferencing and discussion forums which have helped alleviate this problem. There is no immediate feedback. Unlike traditional classrooms where the students’ performance is analyzed by asking questions and offering informal tests, distance learning students have to wait for a longer time for their instructor to review their work before providing a feedback via email or other means (Porter, p. 77). Does distance learning offer equal opportunity? According to Porter (p. 77), distance learning may not be suitable for each and every individual. This is because, for one to succeed in the program, he/she must have self discipline and be highly motivated. The course is mainly unmonitored meaning that learners are left with the full responsibility of ensuring that they continue with the course and analyze their mastering ability in various subjects and skills by themselves. The programs are available to anyone who is qualified but he/she has to be disciplined for him/her to complete the course successfully. There are no barriers which are being generated because of the use of technology to deliver college education. This is because; it encourages competition between academic institutions which promotes collaboration between businesses, academia and industries thus ensuring that learners are given quality education (Minoli, p. 43). How might distance learning serve to increase the gap between the haves and have nots? Because distance learning involves the use of advanced technology in teaching, individuals who have limited access to this kind of technology like those in third world countries may be locked out. Since education is the key to a bright future, these individuals may not have the opportunity to be educated and learn new ways to sustain them thus they will continue languishing in poverty. Works cited Duffy, P. James. College online: how to take college courses without leaving home, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1997: p. 55 Minoli, Daniel. Distance learning technology and applications, Boston: Artech House. , (1996): P. 43 Porter, R. Lynnette. Creating the virtual classroom: Distance learning with the Internet, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , (1997): p. 77.

Large Animals Rescue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Large Animals Rescue - Research Paper Example yday tasks ensured that their safety and well-being was a priority for humans, which led to the development of large animals rescue procedures from an early age. For example, the first equine ambulance in Massachusetts in 1876 was complete with a crude sling. Today, animals no longer play the part in our lives that they used to. Once one of the most pivotal parts of our work life, the American culture has now categorized them as mere companions. Although still a food source, they no longer hold a central role in our day. This decline led to decreased developments in rescue programs. One of the clearest indications would be the shutting down of Harvard University’s veterinary hospital. They were deemed unnecessary as cars were more readily available. However, that does not mean that animals still do not have some degree of dependence on humans. Even today, situations can arise where human assistance is crucial and today’s methods enable us to carry out a rescue with less risk and more efficiency. Due to the developments in technology, we can shift or even lift the animals. Before these developments, an owner who found himself in a predicament where their horse or other animal required human assistance, like if it was stuck in mud, would be forced to seek out help from friends and neighbors alike in order to get the horse out. Back then, the tools of choice being ropes, winches or tractors, there were chances of injury or even the death to the owner and the animal especially without the training that was required to carry out the rescue. However, such events, though not a common occurrence, are still a possibility today. On the other hand, many owners are more likely to call the police with the conjecture that the authorities will be able to handle the situation effectively. An informal survey by Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue of law and fire service personnel by the authors uncovered that only a meager 5% have basic knowledge about the handling of

Managing projects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Managing projects - Essay Example 1). It involves how to be able to successfully carry out a task up to the end of its schedule set up by the project manager or client. It is managing an activity which can be about a project at work, school or home. Managing projects can be a deciding factor in the success of an organisation. In a manufacturing plant, production of goods cannot be successfully carried out without project management. Operations management deals with decision-making related to productive processes to ensure that the resulting products are produced according to specifications. In the field of education, project management is designing learning experiences that link practice and theory (Miller, 1991, cited in Falkenberg et al., 2000, p. 745). This essay deals with situations and guidelines for the success of a project by the project manager and his team. All projects involve a manager and a team who must work hand in hand up to its success. Managing projects is one of the most challenging tasks in organisations today. Since earlier times, people undertook projects as organised human activity. Early humans in primitive days conducted hunting activity as a means of searching and providing food for the community. This activity was conducted with a plan and a process. As civilizations began and progressed, projects became wider and complicated in scope; they involved more sophisticated machinery and complicated processes. Some of the big projects that we can recall are the Great Wall of China, the Great Canals, Suez and Panama, and other big projects involving buildings, structures, and bridges in the different parts of the world. (Frame, 2003, p. 1) In the 1900s, rapid industrialisation and demands of munitions production in World War I saw the emergence of management scientists and industrial engineers such as Elton Mayo and Frederick Winslow Taylor who studied people and productivity in factories. Henry Ford made production-line manufacture famous with his Model T

How I Met Your Mother vs. I Love Lucy Movie Review

How I Met Your Mother vs. I Love Lucy - Movie Review Example Additionally, both the shows revolve around the theme of relationships and, therefore, a hilarious story emerges. Relationships and friendship are the most significant things to the characters. Their social lives and interaction between them forms the largest part of the plots. The clues that are offered, in the shows, to depict this are shown in the way the characters relate with each other, and the way they act when they are together. The love that these characters have for each other forms the main argument of the plot. Such shows are developed with the hope that viewers will get to find a common view in the show. These shows win awards because people agree that they have changed their lives significantly and that they support the view that the show presents. Yes, I do believe that my views on the two shows are true among many. The two shows have unique plots in, which the aims and objectives of the film are clear, and these views are the easily identified. It is from these shows that some people have understood the value of relationships. This shows that the two shows were developed to help the society in some way. They have also helped some parents in managing their teenage children. These shows teach people crucial lessons in life. However, one has to be highly attentive so as not to miss these teachings. The shows also teach people how to manage their relationships and social lives. They show the consequences that can develop because of relationship neglecting, or other factors and matters that affect relationships between two or more people. They make us think of and value the relationships that we have formed with people who around us. First, people are drawn to the shows because of they are hilarious contents. The two shows offer unending laughter during the few minutes that they run. Some people watch the two shows in the evening to get rid of stress that they had from work. Others watch the shows to see how the plot will develop. This is

Critically analyse fair and equitable treatment standard in Essay

Critically analyse fair and equitable treatment standard in international investment treaties, taking into account recent treaty - Essay Example The specification of the standard, however, has been subject to various interpretations through the years because of its reliance on principles of equity. Debates over the FET revolve around whether this standard should be based on other standards of law or whether it is an autonomous and self-contained standard in itself. The standard it is most commonly related to is the customary international law minimum standard, and sometimes it is measured against more general principles of international law. In this paper, the evolving meaning of what constitutes fair and equitable practice as contained in BITs and as interpreted by arbitral tribunals shall be discussed and critiqued. The bases and rationale for the continued development of the FET will provide implications into the continued growth of foreign direct investments in this increasingly globalized economy. ... The most important principles that attach to FET are transparency, stability, and the investor’s legitimate expectations, compliance with contractual obligations, procedural propriety and due process, action in good faith, and freedom from coercion and harassment.3 The FET appears consistently in investment treaty practice since it was first articulated in the Havana Charter of 19484 where it is stated in Article 11(2) (a) (i) thereof: ‘to assure just and equitable treatment for the enterprise, skills, capital, arts and technology brought from one Member country to another.’ While the Charter was never enforced, U.S. treaty practice was influenced by its reference to FET.5 It was thereafter included in codifications of investor rights, beginning with the 1959 Draft Convention on Investments Abroad,6 Article 1 of which states that ‘Each party shall at all times ensure fair and equitable treatment to the property of the nationals of other parties.’ The identical wording was adopted in the 1967 OECD Draft Convention on the Protection of Foreign Property.7 As a result of the lack of precision in its definition, various treaties accord different contexts to the application of FET. Some BITs link FET with a substantive norm such as nondiscrimination, such as the treaty between Bangladesh and Iran which provides that each party extend to covered investment ‘fair treatment not less favourable than that accorded to its own investors or investors of any third state, whichever is more favourable.’8 There are a host of cases that link FET with customary international law in a variety of ways, as shall be seen in the discussion of the use of FET in BITs in the

Compensation and Benefits support Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compensation and Benefits support - Essay Example The strategic compensation plan of an organization certainly plays an important role to woo competent resource. Competitive price tags will attract experienced employees to come and join the organization. Hence, employees having better qualification and experience can be of great help in meeting the set revenue targets besides establishing the credibility of the organization in the market (Balkin & Gomez†Mejia 157). The strategic compensation plan for employees should be based on pay for performance. How can be a visionary and non-visionary person treated alike? As far as the sales employees are concerned, they should be given commission on their total sales. Reward system in an organization is a source of motivation for the employees to pursue their goals. Thinking of hard working by the employees without hoping for a reward is very difficult (Balkin & Gomez†Mejia 158). Retention of valuable resource amounts a hard nut to crack if it is not supported by the monetary benefits. There is an adage that â€Å"happy laborers work more†. To keep employees of repute for a longer period of time, it is utmost important for HRM to compensate them through increase in salary, promotion and cash performance reward so that they may not jump into other companies for better career prospects. If aforementioned measures are implemented in letter and in spirit, experienced workforce will think twice before going out in searching of another job opportunity (Armstrong 72). Competitive compensation and benefits are the key elements to attract the best talent available in the job market. Further, organizations that offer insurance covered health policy and guaranteed paid vacation are the hotcakes for the lucrative job hunters. It should be the focal point of HRM of any corporate entity in their compensation policy. Mentioned benefits should be linked with the increased profitability of the company and the performance of the employees as well

NATO Involvement in Libya Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

NATO Involvement in Libya - Essay Example The US and NATO applied force to save the civilians who had been subjected to a no flying zone and arms embargo by the UN Security Council. Critics have it that the US and NATO involvement in Libya crossed the borders of permission by the UN Security Council to protect the civilians against attack by Libyan forces. Some reports such as that published by the Arab Organization for Human Rights, the International Legal Assistance Consortium, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights indicate that NATO committed war crimes and violated human rights (Shabi 12).   However, others are on the positive side in that the mission helped in the maintenance of peace by protecting the civilians against anti- Qaddafi forces. The alliance stressed its efforts to protect the civilians despite drawing numerous criticisms. This intervention has proved the alliance to be a strong pillar in the event of ending international crises and a stable foundation worth of support. I totally disagree with the c ritics’ allegations that NATO operations led to death and destruction of property since the war was contrary to the people’s ambitions, and that the non-violent protests would have been a success the same way it was witnessed in Tunisia and Egypt. (Ivo and Stavridis par 5) Effectiveness of NATO involvement The intervention in Libya cannot be considered as war since their operations were legitimate and in compliance with war powers resolutions of the UN Security Council. According to the council, the use of force to protect citizens is legalized. In the event of highly populated areas experiencing the effects of war, there is freedom to enforce a no-flying zone and arms embargo. Also, in the process of protecting the citizens, the US forces do not engage in open fire exchange with the conflicting parties, ground troops or any other violent method in their operations. The sending of the Qaddafi family to Tunisia was an attempt by the NATO to reduce the escalating hostili ties against his family by the Libya citizens. The lack of engagement of ground troops in a hostile exchange cannot be termed as war in the realm of military operations. Qaddafi’s plan to cleanse Libya house by house was a serious issue on humanitarian grounds, which aroused the US and NATO forces to intervene and save the country from the ordeal. They pledge their loyalty to one weapon; the responsibility to act (Obama 2011). In addition, the operations in Libya cannot qualify to be termed as war considering the budget incurred at the time. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan led to the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars compared to fewer than one billion dollars that was spent in the Libyan crises. According to the US Constitution, the Pentagon usually has an emergency fund of one billion for military matters that are not approved by the congress. The coalition’s attempt to help civilians overthrow Qaddafi did not employ force. It is not part of their duty t o transform a government but to protect, enhance peace and enforce a no-flying zone as noted in Obama's Speech on Libya. The operations in Libya are considered legal. The US intervention in the war was in line with the war powers resolution of allowing the president to act in the event of threat of its territories as well as protecting civilians against manslaughter. On the same note, NATO allies got involved in the operation according to its command and for those who did not have the capacity to participate materially, political support was given. Various

Gay and Lesbian Youths Essay Example for Free

Gay and Lesbian Youths Essay Past evidence indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youths have continued to face excessive discrimination in schools. Present literature indicates that LGBT youths also face increased risks for various health issues that include suicide attempts, drug abuse, homelessness, harassment and poor performance at school. In spite of increased clear visibility regarding the discrimination of gay and lesbian people, LGBT youths in schools have continued to encounter excessive social, institutional as well as legal discrimination. In deed LGBT youths have been known to be the most vulnerable subgroup in the bigger LGBT group. Due to the high level of homophobia in the American society, youths who are struggling with the sexual orientation identification are faced with tremendous challenges and they lack support from basic supporting systems that are available to those who are heterosexual. Given that it is estimated by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (2004) that the population of gays and lesbians is between 3% and 10%, it can be deduced that a small number of youths in schools are LGBT or are still not sure of their sexual orientation. This research paper papers aims at reviewing gay and lesbian youths in schools. Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) quoting Robinson (1994) explains that the prevalent social stigmatization of gays and lesbians is blamed for the numerous social and health issues that have disproportionately affected LGBT youths. Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) further explains that that a lot of researchers have specifically centered on the absence of social support structures for gay and lesbian youths in schools. Yet, classrooms have been identified as being the most homophobic place compared to other social institutions. Heath status of gay and lesbian youths in schools Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) states that studies have repeatedly indicated that gay and lesbian youths are specifically at increased risk of committing suicide, being verbal and physical abused, abusing drugs, contracting sexually transmitted infections, becoming homelessness and resorting to prostitution. At the same time their performance at school is bound to drop. Citing a study carried out by U. S Department of Health and Human Services, Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) states that the study established that suicide was the leading cause of deaths of gays and lesbian youth in schools. More so that study found that gay and lesbian youth were 3-6 times more possibly to try suicide compared to heterosexual youths, in deed gays and lesbian youth accounts for over 30% of all youth suicide cases. Taylor (2000) agrees with the finding of this study by affirming that past offers proof that LGBT youths are likely to commit suicide. However, he clarifies that studies on this subject have linked increased risk of suicide to stress arising from the sexual orientation aspect. Taylor (2000) explains that general studies on this subject indicates that individuals who have less social support and poor relationship with their families, partners and peers are most likely to attempt suicide than those whose relationships are strong and intact. Apart from suicide, it was also established that LGBT youths are also at risk of experiencing other social as well as health problems. In a study that focused on more than 130 gay and bisexual male youths, it was found that 76% of them used alcohol while 25% abused cocaine (Routherum-Borus, et al, 1994). In comparing these findings with heterosexual male youths, Routherum-Borus, et al (1994) established that only 49% of heterosexual youths used alcohol while only 2% abuse cocaine. At the same time studies have also found that rates as high as 42% of runaway youths are LGBT, this implies that there is a great connection between runaway behavior LGBT, in away that those youths who are gay or lesbian are likely to runaway from their homes. At the same time this runaway youths are likely to turn to prostitution. Indeed in a study carried out by Taylor (2000) where he reviewed studies on male prostitution among youths, he established that many studies have established that out of three male prostitutes, two were gay or bisexual. More so, youths who are identified as gay or lesbian are particularly susceptible to being harassed both physically and verbally. In reviewing a study done on violence perpetuated on LGBT youths in schools both junior and high schools, Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) explains that 35%-50% of youths in these schools did report that they had been harassed, threatened or had experienced some kind of violence. In another study done by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (2004) 2,000 LGBT youths were interviewed across the country, the study established that nearly 50% of males as well as 20% of females reported being harassed either verbally or physically in school (both junior and high schools). LGBT youths lack social support Studies on key life changes for example, the loss of a partner or a loved one, indicate that social support as well as social networks can assist an individual to cope with the stressors of life. In deed several writers have reviewed past literature that link social support and social networks in relation to morbidity as well as mortality (Munoz-Plaza, et al, 2002) Social support is comprises of four varying behaviors; these are emotional support that is given in as love, trust caring and listening; Two, appraisal support that is given as a positive feedback; Three, instrumental support, given as tangible resource such as financial aid, time and labor; And four, information support, given as advice and ideas Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002). Consequently, it has been established by there is lack of social, support for LBGT youths at home, within the community and also at school. This results in social isolation experienced by many LGBT youths at school and back at home. It’s against this background that a lot of literature associates social isolation in LGBT youths with increased risk of many of these LGBT youths. In a study that was done by Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) to determine social support of LGBT youths in schools, participants reported that family members were less supportive than non-family members. According to the study, both heterosexual and LBGT friends and peers provided emotional support to LGBT youths, however, the emotional support offered by heterosexual friends and peers was limited. Those friends and peers who were also LGBT apart from offering emotional support they as well offered valuable informative and appraisal assistance. However, it was also established that many LGBT youths in schools do not disclose their sexual orientation to their parents when they are still schooling thus they reported that their parents offered very minimal assistance of any form concerning their sexuality. Another major problem that LGBT youths in schools suffer is identity and it interplays with sexual orientation and social support. As Taylor (2000) points out the basic role of high schools is assisting teenagers in forming a sense of individuality through the adoption of social customs. Teachers, coachers, counselors as well as administers in school strive for youths in schools to maintain heterosexual model of sexuality as the normative way; such a standpoint is in direct conflict with sexuality orientation of LGBT youths. In addition LGBT youths in schools have pointed out that it’s a hard struggle for them to identify the sexuality both internally and externally. This is because of the overwhelming negative responses that homosexuality attracts both at home and schools. The difficult in expressing their sexuality makes the LGBT youths to feel alienated from the society. As one gay student reported by Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) said, growing up, made him feel that he was different from others in some way. He further explained that he knew what he was feeling about his fellow guys or the opposite sex was usually different what his friends felt. Munoz-Plaza, et al (2002) explains that such difference is normally related to reported inability of â€Å"fitting in† together with their peers and thus being alienated. Bullying of LGBT youths in schools In addition to challenges that LGBT face because of their sexuality, gay and lesbian teenagers in schools are forced to deals with daily bullying in schools in form of harassment, violence and threats that they receive day by day. LGBT youths are called anti-gay slurs for example â€Å"homo†, â€Å"sissy† or â€Å"forgot†. In a study carried out by Savin-Williams (1994) it was established that a gay or lesbian student may hear these words 25 times each day. Even more disturbing, a study on LGBT in schools, established that 30% of gay youths in schools in only one year were injured in one way or another merely because of their sexuality (Savin-Williams, 1994). How LGBT youths are mentally affected Ryan and Futterman (1997) states that, gay and lesbian youths are particularly at high risk since, their anguish directly results from hatred as well as prejudice surrounding them. But, don’t suffer because of their sexuality orientation. The distress that LGBT youths suffer is likely to make them attempt suicide, in deed as it has been stated before LGBT are twice likely to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual youths. How LGBT youths are academically affected LGBT youths in American schools are usually subjected to extreme bullying that they end up not performing well in school and they drop out earlier thus not getting enough education (Ryan and Futterman, 1997). LGBT students in schools are more likely to skip some classes or because of fear, intimidation, and property destruction directed at them (Savin-Williams, 1994). In supporting this observation Savin-Williams (1994) affirms that a study by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (2004) established that 20% of LGBT students had skipped classes in period of one month due to fearing for their safety. It has been established that the rate of LGBT students dropping out of schools is over three times the national standard for the heterosexual students. In school, when LGBT students are bullied they many of them feel that they do not have a place or anyone to turn to. Ryan and Futterman (1997) explains that according to a number of surveys done previous, 80% of LGBT students reported that they did not know any helpful adult at their schools. Family aspects and religion Gays and lesbian youths who grow up in families that have strict religious background are prone to experience discord between their spirituality and their sexuality. At times their quilt feeling overwhelms them. Sadly, in American schools, the religious rights prevent the school systems from tackling the same issue of LGBT. Thus, as Taylor, (2000) asserts homophobia is widespread in schools, and teachers who could have assisted keep quite for fear of being sacked. Harm reduction The high cases of suicide, stress disorder and drug abuse among LGBT youths in schools is a clear indication of internalized homophobia which, results from a LGBT youth growing up with minority sexuality in heterosexist society. The effects of internalizing the rejection that this group faces are loss of self assurance that most likely leads to high-risk behaviors like drug abuse (van Wormer and McKinney, 2003). Strategies of addressing LBGT in schools Due to the risks that gay as well as lesbian youth are bound to suffer, gay and lesbian problems ought to be tackled in middle schools. In order to assist teachers in this attempt the following suggestions are offered. Teachers are knowledgeable and dedicated to young youths Teachers have to learn more and understand well issues of homophobia, gay and lesbian history. This information can be found in books, journals, and the internet. Through this understanding they will able to be objective and assist those LGBT students without prejudice (van Wormer and McKinney, 2003). Curriculum changes Whenever it is appropriate, teachers could incorporate information regarding gays and lesbians individuals who have made major contributions to the society, Such as, Socrates, Virginia Woolf, Leonardo da Vinci and others (van Wormer and McKinney (2003). Through, discussing the contribution that such great gay and lesbian people made, it will assist the LGBT students to feel more optimistic and less isolated about their future. Fostering a caring and sensitive climate In addition, van Wormer and McKinney (2003) asserts that, teachers are not just supposed to assume that each student is a heterosexual, on the contra they need to use a language that is all inclusive that is sensitive to gay and lesbian individuals; For example, using words like date instead of boy/girl friend and spouse instead of wife or husband. In addition, owing to the extensiveness of homophobia within American schools, teachers and other staff should be sensitive to gay and lesbian students’ requirements. Creating Safe and respectful environment As Howard Taylor (2000) explains, schools ought to provide a safe as well as a respectful learning atmosphere for every student. When bullying and other forms of harassment are permitted to occur, it impacts everybody. It is understood that many schools violence and shootings such as the Columbine school shooting are contributed by bullying. Teachers, school administrators as well as other students who ignore bullying of LGBT students in their schools contribute to the problems endured by the LGBT students. On contra, those LGBT students who are given support and understanding of their sexuality report that they feel a sense of belong to the school they are in. Conclusion Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths usually start experiencing their sexuality identification during their adolescent years just like the heterosexual youths. These are normal developmental processes and though they could affect the student’s development as well as achievements, they are not a symptom of mental disorder, sickness, or emotional problems. However, many LGBT students in schools experience a number of obstacles and problems that include being harassed both physically and mentally, being isolated, being denied social support all because of sexual orientation. Schools counselors warn that these issues result in LGBT being at high risk of, stress, poor performance at school, kipped class, dropping out of school entirely, or even attempting suicide. Thus, schools are encouraged to create an enabling and safe atmosphere for LGBT students in schools to prevent such incidents. References Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (2004): The 2003 National School Climate Survey: The School Related Experiences of Our Nations Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: New York; GLSEN. Munoz-Plaza, C; Quinn, S and, Round, K (2002): Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Students: perceived social support in the high school environment. High school journal 85. 4 p 52-12 Robinson, K (1994): Addressing the needs of gay and lesbian students: the school counselor’ role; The school counselor, 41; p, 326-330 Routherum-Borus, M, et al (1994): Sexuality and Substance use acts of gay and Bisexual male adolescents in New York city; Journal of Sex Research; V. 31; 47-56 Ryan, C Futterman, D (1997): Lesbian and Gay Youth; Care and Counseling; Adolescent Medicine State-of-the-Art Reviews, 8(2).

European Union Essay Example for Free

European Union Essay During the 20th century, many different views arose concerning the unification of a previously divided Europe. Opinions varied depending on the individuals country and heritage, but largely because unification could improve conditions in some countries, while jeopardizing the conditions in others. Those in favor of a unified Europe usually had something to gain from it, while those who were against it had something to lose. Many countries were tired after WW1 and WW2, and interested in finding a possible source of peace. As Konrad Adenaver states Nations cannot continue to live exclusively according to their own desires and inclinations. (Doc 6). The ideas of new imperialism and nationalism were being replaced with ideas of peace and unification. In this hope for new found peace , countries such as France, Germany, and many other countries became involved in the European Economic Community(EEC). Sir Winston Churchill wished to be more like the U. S, and to form a council of Europe. (Doc1) Being the former Prime minister Britain, he might want this due to Britain ties and respect for the U. S. Not everyone shared this respect for the U. S, as shown in a Soviet Newspaper, a cartoon of a greedy American destroying Sovereignty of West European Countries. (Doc 4) Spain seemed to also have some hesitation in the idea of a unified Europe. The prime minister of Spain, Felipe Gonzalez, states NATO membership and joining the European Community mean the end of the traditional isolation of span. (Doc 11) Since the U. S was the creator of NATO, Spain might have some hostility towards America for being left out of NATO, while Russians may have hostility left over from the cold war. France seemed to be a bit irritated with the fact that Britain first refused to participate and even took a hostile attitude, as if the EEC were a economic and political threat. (Doc 8) These words, spoken by the President of France Charles de Gaulle, summed up the attitude of many French. He also claimed Britain had too many ties to America to be fully committed to a Europe Union. Harold Macmillan, the British finance minister claimed that joining the EEC would collapse our system of favoring rade with the British common wealth. (Doc 7) Britain did want unity but it also needed to do what would be best for the country individually, as summed up in the words of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, We want to see Europe more united and with a greater sense of common purpose, but it must be in a way which preserves the different traditions, etc. (Doc12) Britain was still a big powerful country, and did not necessarily benefit from the unity as much as smaller countries would. Italy Prime Minister Jack Lynch declares his commitment to EEC, saying We would naturally be interested in the defense of the territories embrace by that community(Doc 10) Although there were many different reasons why countries would want a united Europe, it did end up happening. Although there was still some suspicion as Duncan Sandys stated (speaking of Charles de Gaulle) Were gravely suspicious of the policy of American and British governments,(Doc 2) a European Union was formed. The United States did, and still does, have a strong influence over Europe, but Europes unification makes it more powerful force as well.

Alliance Boots Pestel Analysis Business Essay

Alliance Boots Pestel Analysis Business Essay The global pharmaceutical industry has been overwhelmingly changing in the last decade creating rigorous globalization and increased competitiveness. The global market shares are creating new challenges for pharmaceutical companies strengthening the consolidation of the world pharmaceutical industry through alliancing and acquisitions as a strategic orientation for global pharmaceutical companies. Many global companies including pharmaceutical believe that alliance will not only create awareness but will also create successful strategic collaborations capable of creating more global interaction opportunities and integration with other markets. The aim of this report is to explore Alliance Boots future strategic directions. Organisation Background It is a multinational company with strong recognition and reputation as one of the leading pharmaceutical and beauty companies in the world. Alliance Boots revenue is more than  £22.5 billion in excess; it also has various outlets in more than 20 countries. Alliance Boots core areas of business are pharmaceutical and beauty, formed in 2006 as a merger Boots Group and Alliance UniChem and recently a global merger with Walgreens. The company main purpose is to help its customers to look and feel better than ever, by providing exceptional customer and patient care with great value for its customer. Product brands Alliance Boots Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division is experiencing a rapid growth and global sales; the company believes that its product innovation and development competences are some of the resourceful factors, which enable the company to develop new and existing products for global consumption. Some of these products are, No7, Soltan and Botanics, 17, Almus and Alvita that were successfully launched in recently. Organisation Structures Alliance Boots have over 185,000 employees and numerous pharmaceutical outlets. The aim of the company is to work closely with manufacturer of pharmaceutical, beauty and health products and use experienced pharmacists to provide services to their customers. Alliance Boots headquarters is in Zug Switzerland. Alliance Boots Strategy Options It is important that when a global business organisation wants to adopt a sustainable development strategy for its products and brands, such strategy needs to be applicable across a wide range of different product types, also has to be flexible to cope with the rapid turnover of products. Alliance Boots also believe that: The strategy also has to be robust so as to be able to cope with the main three routes by which products are introduced at Alliance Boots(own manufacture, third party supply of Alliance Boots brands and proprietary brand). Its strategy must provide leadership on where and how improvements and such improvement must be commercially successful. Marketing strategy Alliance Boots believe that by putting its customers first for all its pharmaceutical and beauty products with outstanding quality and service at a competitive cost will help the company to achieve excellent profitable margins in the global competitive market. Its unique strategy will also help Alliance Boots with continue profit growth through a balance of strong global sales growth. Ansoffs Matrix Ansoffs Matrix is a unique marketing tool, which provides strategic choices to business organisations in order to achieve the objective for growth. Ansoffs Matrix has for main categories namely: Market penetration: Market penetration creates a good avenue for a company like Alliance Boots to sell existing products into existing markets. It is important for Alliance Boots to continuing promoting its product with the new features and good quality .This is helping Alliance Boots to invest heavily and focus more on research and development in new market research creating more distribution channel. Market development: Alliance Boots uses Market development as a growth strategy to sell its existing products into new markets, including new geographical markets; for example product exportation to a new country. It also includes new product packaging new distribution channels (e.g. Boots Pharmacy stores across UK and selling via e-commerce and mail order). Its ability to target new market makes Market development a unique strategy. Product development: Alliance Boots uses Product development as growth strategy creating a unique avenue for its business to introduce new products into existing pharmaceutical markets with great expectation that they will gain more customers and market share. Such strategy may involve the development of new capabilities and requires Alliance Boots to develop modified products, which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification: Alliance Boots Diversification strategy allows the company to diversify easily to another geographical market. In 2012, Alliance Boot acquired Nanjing Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Nanjing has a strong market position and operating distribution centres in 12 cities and across eight provinces in China. Such diversification into China Pharmaceutical market now makes Alliance Boots, as the largest shareholder is Nanjing Pharmaceutical Group Limited creating new products and opportunities in the Chinese market. Alliance Boots SWOT Analysis Alliance Boots Swot analyses are: Strength: Alliance Boots has an excellent and long-standing relationship with all its customers. The company also has a strong historical reputation for all its quality, using nectar card to gather customer intelligence. Availability of Boots Pharmacy stores everywhere in the UK and Europe. Weaknesses: Due to strong competition with other pharmaceutical companies in the global market, Alliance Boots is struggling to cope with the increased competition in the market. Opportunities: Alliance Boots continue to use the internet opportunity to keep increasing its presence by using online shopping to transact with its domestic and global customers. Using it retail stores advantage across the global market such as Boots Pharmacy to create the right products with right combination of price and promotion to achieve the firms aims of long-term growth. Threats: The major threat to pharmaceutical industries including Alliance Boots is the government higher tax on the price on medicine that Alliance Boots and other retailers must deal with. Porters Five Forces: The five forces of Porter can be used to make an analysis and attraction of business organisation structure as follows: Supplier Power: It plays important role in competitive force, more suppliers one can greatly increase y bargaining power with these suppliers. For example, Alliance Boots successfully bargained with over 80 suppliers to lower prices of some of the drugs they sell over the counter in 2007. Buyer Power: Increasing customer loyalty is a way of reducing the power of the buyer, the introduction of nectar card by Alliance Boots is a way to reward its customers. Because of this, it allows the buyers to save considerably. It also allows Alliance Boots to capture useful information and monitor consumers purchasing habits. Threats of New entrants: There has been huge increase in the number of new entrants in the pharmaceutical marketing making difficult for Alliance Boots to expand in the way the company wants. For example, Tesco is planning various new supermarkets across Britain that would restrict Alliance Boots ability to expand. This poses a real threat, which means that Alliance Boots need to change its marketing strategy with possibility of reducing prices through advertising. Threat if substitute: In order to save money many businesses may decide to outsource their products and service to another company at a cheap cost. Alliance Boots did not outsource its products and services; instead, the company IT department was able to make changes in the way customers pay for their products by replacing its traditional till machines to touch screens capability giving customers a faster way to shop on their own. Competitive Rivalry: This affects many businesses in terms of price competition and products identification. For example, other rivals in the business like Lloyds Pharmacy, Superdrug are expanding rapidly. Because of this, Alliance Boots are constantly improving its stores marketing strategy making its products more affordable and available everywhere in the UK and continue to provide outstanding customer service. Alliance Boots PESTEL Analysis Political Factors: Various political decisions can have a huge impact in the business operate and its performance. For example the impact of government UK policies on the business allowing some major supermarkets to open numerous pharmaceutical stores within their stores. The government believes that such policy will increase NHS services and improved healthcare. Such move will not help Alliance Boots, instead, it will create a huge competition, which will eventually make Alliance Boots to lower its products prices and operate for longer hours. Economic Factors: The global economic recession is badly affecting every business sector including healthcare, with many businesses suffering. There has been a huge increase in the prices of global healthcare affecting the way customers spend and how much they want to spend in buying healthcare products especially Beauty products. In addition to this, the rising fuel costs also have a huge impact in the supply chain channel of Alliance Boots leading to an overall price increase increasing prices and passing over the cost to consumers. Social Factors: the prices of its The social factors is creating more awareness about how everyone should take care of himself or herself through, exercise, eating habit, type of food that is good for the body and many more. For example, government campaign that is promoting healthy eating (eatwell.gov.uk 2012 online) as a result in the rapid increasing level of obesity within the UK (Department of health 2012 online).Such information is boosting Alliance Boots sales by encouraging its customers to try its healthier products at a cheaper price than other companies. Technological Factors: The evolution of internet is helping online retail sales, Alliance Boots is making use of the internet technology to its advantage with internet is now generating more than a third of all revenue for Alliance Boots products and services. Alliance Boots Centre for Innovation is investing hugely for the development of inventive products and technologies that focus on: Ways to diagnose treat and monitor key aspects of health, beauty and wellbeing. Providing positive support to ageing products and working very hard to produce new products. Environmental Factors: Many countries are now committing to green energy ever than before due to the risk of global warming is becoming a reality, Many companies like Alliance Boots have been told to play key role in reducing carbon footprint and increasing energy efficiency (Bream 2008). Because of this, Alliance Boots will have to invest more on greener products (selling of organic healthy product) and reducing their impact of carbon footprint on the environment. Legal Factors: There are various legal issues that are facing the way companies operate globally, for example, Alliance Boot Cases include application to European Court of Justice in sex discrimination case of Neath versus Hugh Steeper Limited. New laws keep emerging everyday especially on healthy product and drinks, which mean Alliance Boots will have to be more cautious about it packaging and labelling policies, which will be extra financial liability on the Alliance Boots. Globalisation Drivers The drivers of globalisation can be classified into Market Drivers: Increasing travel create global consumers Growth of global and regional channels Establishment of world brands 2. Cost Drivers: Fast-tracking technological innovation Transportation and distribution channel 3. Government Drivers Reduction of tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers Privatisation in previously state-dominated economies 4. Competitive Drivers Strong rise in global strategic alliances with other companies. Rise of new competitors with intension of becoming global competitors Future Strategic Partnership Walgreen Co., US largest drug store chain is the latest future strategic partnership and direction that Alliance Boots is taking. Under this new strategy, Alliance Boots and Walgreen Co are bringing together the strengths and proficiency of both companies to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Recommendations In order for Alliance Boots to maintain its global presence and continue to be one of dominant forces in the Pharmaceutical companies, the following are the vibrant future strategic direction that Alliance Boots must take for its business. Delivering of new innovative medical research using the next generation technology. A new global approach to marketing by sponsoring various events related to wellbeing of Alliance Boots customers. Expansion of general merchandise ranges which in return will create sales with greater growth potential and effectiveness. Conclusion In conclusion, strategic management with a dedicated market focus is a driver to build a successful future globalization and merger processes of pharmaceutical industry. The greater the strength of the competitive drivers, the greater the tendency for an industry to globalise. Alliance Boots continues to internationalise its key product brands, selling them to distributors, independent pharmacies and retail partners including online shopping sites globally.

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the Beginning of the Environmental Mo

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the Beginning of the Environmental Movement in the United States When Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was published in 1962, it generated a storm of controversy over the use of chemical pesticides. Miss Carson's intent in writing Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers associated with pesticide use. Throughout her book are numerous case studies documenting the harmful effects that chemical pesticides have had on the environment. Along with these facts, she explains how in many instances the pesticides have done more harm than good in eradicating the pests they were designed to destroy. In addition to her reports on pesticide use, Miss Carson points out that many of the long-term effects that these chemicals may have on the environment, as well as on humans, are still unknown. Her book as one critic wrote, "dealt pesticides a sharp blow" (Senior Scholastic 1962). The controversy sparked by Silent Spring led to the enactment of environmental legislation and the establishment of government agencies to better regulate the use of these chemic als. Miss Carson first became aware of the effects of chemical pesticides on the natural environment while working for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. Of particular concern to her was the government’s use of chemical pesticides such as DDT. She was familiar with early studies of DDT and knew of its dangers and lasting effects on the environment. According to Miss Carson, "the more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became. I realized that here was the material for a book. What I discovered was that everything which meant most to me as a naturalist was being threatened, and that nothing I could do would be more important." Thu... ... Harvey, Mary. "Using a Plague to Fight a Plague." Saturday Review 29 Sept. 1962: 8. Lear, Linda. Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature. New York: Holt & Co., 1997. McDonnell, Lawrence and Sarah F. Bates. Natural Resources Policy and Law: Trends and Directions. Washington, D.C.: Island, 1993. Natural Resources Defense Council. "The Story of Silent Spring." http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp. 1997. Naum, Nicole. "Environmental Vanguard: Rachel Carson." http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~crlb/COURSES/140/FINAL00/features.html. "Pesticides: the Price for Progress." Time 28 Sept. 1962: 45-48. "The Furor Over Pesticides." Senior Scholastic 12 Dec. 1962: 10+. Vig, Norman and Michael Kraft. Environmental Policy in the 1990s. Washington D.C.: CQ, 1997. Vogt, William. "On Man the Destroyer." Natural History Sept. 1962: 3-5.

Andrew Wythe :: essays research papers

Andrew Wythe Andrew Wythe was an amazing artist full of imagination, feelings, and compassion for his work. He has a great portfolio of work consisting of his two major styles of work, realistic and abstract. A lot of his personal life goes into each painting he creates. Each piece can usually be linked back to the life he lived and fond memories he wished to preserve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Andrew was born in Maine and has quite a history to be told from living there. He has been painting for fifty years and has changed his style some during those years. He used to paint realistically for quite some time but then made the change to painting abstract. As a child, Andrew has very fond memories of his father and the fun times the family had together. He can recall a time when his father dressed as St. Nick and frightened him so much that he wet the bed. Just before Christmas, the whole family recalls hearing footsteps on the roof. Their father dropped a painting of St. Nick down the chimney for them. His father did illustrations, so Andrew had plenty of backing for his creative talents. Andrew can remember being very interested in the art of war ever since his early childhood years. He remembers playing with his tiny soldiers and creating stories for them. Andrew?fs father believed that a painter should be left alone from the ages of 6-18. Andrew had tutors for his schooli ng whereas his brothers and sisters went off to school. This gave him free time to roam the countryside. Andrew did not attend college but instead studied under Howard Pyle at his school with 12 other students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Andrew?fs father died near his house in Maine because of a train accident. Andrew really viewed his father as a hero and looked up to him. He will always remember his father and because of this a heavy influence is always with Andrew when painting. His father?fs life truly inspired Andrew and because of this, Andrew?fs paintings are all very personable and all have a story to tell. The paintings mostly represent his life in Maine and represent the climate and area well. Most of the paintings are of houses, naturalistic surroundings, and his neighbors and friends. He would paint various rooms in his house to portraits of his friends. All were done with such depth and character.

International Change and the Social World Essay

In meeting the demands of a global economy, technological advancements especially in the field of telecommunications and information technology are key factors in making possible various transactions faster, cheaper, more reliable and convenient. Needless to say, these technological advances are important tools if companies and other business ventures are to survive in the digital economy. These technological advancements however, are evolving far too fast which consequently generate pressing problems that ought to be considered. On a preliminary note, the aforementioned rapid technological evolutions pose serious questions if our societal structures can rapidly adapt to these changes and more importantly, if we, ourselves can rapidly adapt and be able to integrate for ourselves these changes. In line with this, what follows is a discussion of how such changes affect the global economy. Within this context, the task of this paper is to discuss the effects of work transformation in society with a particular emphasis on how it affects the people management systems around the world. Weick and Quinn (1999) contend that changes in the organization of work within societies may either be characterized as â€Å"discontinuous and episodic† or â€Å"continuous and emergent† (p.361). The difference between the two lies in the emphasis on intentionality, planning, management control, and specific outcomes in the former and the emphasis on improvisation, spontaneity, and ongoing action in the latter. The two perspectives stated above have a direct effect in the formation of an organizational framework. This is another way of saying that the manner in which organizational change is perceived supports an appreciation of the multidimensional nature of organizational phenomena. The organization of phenomena stems from the human need to conceptually order reality. Such a process is ensured through the creation or adoption of a language that may account for the reality perceived by the individual or by the social group. The importance of such a process stems from its issuance of a fixed and thereby more manageable reality. Such a reality, however, is continuously distorted due to the steady input of new forms of conceptualizations that also opt to enable the manageability of reality. Such a process is apparent within the business sector in the gradual shift from an information-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. The later form of economy recognizes that knowledge occupies a focal point in relation to the function of society. As a result of this, organizations became increasingly aware of the need for a ‘knowledge focus’ in their organizational strategies as they respond to changes in their environment. ‘Knowledge focus’ refers to the deobjectifcation of knowledge in favour of the codification of knowledge into systems (Bell, 1999, p.x). Within such an economy, organizational actors and the complex social interactions that take place amongst them recreate organizations through the continuous process of change. According to Tsoukas and Vladimirou (2001), what makes knowledge organizational is it codification in the form of propositional statements set within a group’s collective understanding (p.974). It is important to note that such a process of knowledge codification requires the existence of local knowledge. Within an organization, such forms of local knowledge are evident in the company’s culture; the development of such is dependent upon the existing organizational framework. Such a point brings to focus one of the main elements of the labour market that determines the existing workforce’s productivity and performance within a particular society. The reason for such a focus is evident if one considers that the current shift in economy [from an information based economy to a knowledge-based economy] gives precedence on the role of the members of the workforce in the maintenance of an organizations overall knowledge based culture. In line with this, Davinport (1999) contends that such a culture necessitates a new mode of framing the human capital. According to Davinport, it is time to conceive of workers â€Å"not as human capital but as human capital owners and investors† (1999, p.7). Davinport argues that such a conception is not entirely new since it echoes the conception of the employee as an asset. The difference of such a view stems from the conception of the worker as the owner of the capital since workers are the ones who decide in which field they will contribute the specific talents and expertise they possess within the current market. The organization’s role thereby is fixed to the extent that its main role lies in utilizing and developing the skills offered by the member’s of their workforce. Organizations must thereby adopt new working practices or upgrade workplace skills. An example of this is evident in the content of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) of the United Kingdom which states that â€Å"in a mass customisation environment, where systems of production and distribution are readily imitated and leapfrogged, organisations must therefore continually invest in physical and human capital to keep ‘ahead of the game’†(2001, p.10). As a result of the above stated paradigmatic shift from an information-based economy to a knowledge based economy certain developments occurred within the economic, political, and technological fields. Such developments are evident in the increase in business competition and the advent of information technologies (Weatherly, 2003, p.2). Political and economic developments are evident in the increase in business competition which is a result of the globalization of trade and key economic sectors [e.g. telecommunication, electricity, transportation, financial services]. Technological developments, on the other hand, are evident in the advent of information technology which can best be seen through the continuous popularity and easy accessibility of the internet. According to Lev (2001), such developments within the above stated fields have dramatically changed the structure of organizations to the extent that intangibles [human capital] became the major value drivers of business within developed economies (p.8-14). The reason for this is evident if one considers that from a strategic perspective it has been noted that â€Å"fully one-third of the information used to justify the investment decision is non-financial† (Ernst & Young, 1997, p.10). Examples of such factors are â€Å"quality of management, effectiveness of new product development, strength of market position, strength of corporation culture, and effectiveness of compensations policies† (Weatherly, 2003, p.4). Such factors have an overall link to business systems since they are partially if not fully determined by the company’s culture maintained by its overall organizational framework. Furthermore, since the above stated factors are considered in the determination of investment decisions, it also follows that they have a direct effect in terms of the economic conditions of a business organizations and hence the economic side of society as a whole. As was stated above, one of the defining factors of the current paradigm shift within the market can be traced from the shift of importance from the tangible assets to the intangible assets. Tangible assets consists of financial assets [financial capital] and physical assets [e.g. property, equipment, and other furnishing] whereas intangible assets consists of intellectual capital [e.g. patent formulas and product designs] and human capital. The focus of this paper from the onset has been to lay down the current transformations of work in the period of globalization. What follows is the specification of how these changes have affected society at large. In Work, Self, and Society, Catherine Casey specifies the manner in which changes in work have affected society. Casey (1995) argues that the current conception of work which is defined by the effects of industrialization has turned the worker into a product or a commodity of the market. She states, The convergence of work and virtue (through methodical adherence to one’s ‘calling’)†¦set in place a type of citizen-worker that would subsequently come to typify modern forms of social organization. In modern society people have defined themselves and in turn have been socially defined, by the type of work that they do in the public sphere. (1995, p.28) In other words, the results of industrialization have led to the commodification of the individual as the individual derives his value from his work. The manner in which this is enabled is further evident in the current shift from an information based economy to a knowledge based economy as the value of the worker is considered to be dependent upon his knowledge. This shows how the nature of work within a post-industrial society has changed to the extent that the market has become dependent upon the mental labour and the mental knowledge of the worker [mental labour is considered to be the core of industrial activity] (Lawson, Jones, & Moores, 2000, p.99).   To a certain extent, one might note that this may prove to be beneficial for individual societies since the aforementioned paradigm shift has enabled the development of regional specialties and economies. Sabel (1999) states that the changes in the work paradigm within the post-industrial society has led to the development and growth of â€Å"twentieth century variants of industrial districts in Italy, West Germany, Japan, Denmark, Austria, France, and the United States† (p. 243). Such an assumption however may be considered as the result of a form of hasty generalization since although such developments have enabled organizations around to world to place greater focus upon the members of the workforce as well as upon the development of industrial districts around the world [the development of such is expected to pave the way for the industrialization of all countries and hence the development of these countries] such developments still place the worker in a disadvantaged position as he remains to be a commodity within the market whose value is dependent upon what the work system prescribes. References Bell, D. (1999).   The Axial Age of Technology, Foreword. The Coming of the Postindustrial Society.   New York: Basil Book. Casey, C. (1995). Work, Self, and Society: After Industrialism. London: Routledge. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2001.   Raising U.K. Productivity: Why People Management Matters. Davenport, T. (1999).   Human Capital: What It Is and Why People Invest.   San Francisco: Doubleday. Ernst & Young LLP. (1997). Measures that matter. Retrieved March 22, 2009 from www.cbi.cgey.com. Lawson, T., M. Jones, & R. Moores. (2000). Advanced Sociology Through Diagrams. Oxford: Oxford U.P. Lev, B. (2001). Intangibles: Management, measurement and reporting. Washington, DC: Brookings Inst. P. Sabel, C. (1999). Flexible Specialisation and the Re-emergence of Regional Economies. Modernity: Critical Concepts Ed. M. Waters. London: Taylor & Francis. Tsoukas, H. & Vladimirou, E. (2001). What is organizational knowledge? Journal of Management Studies, vol. 38, no.7. 973-93 Weatherly, L. (2003). Human capital-the elusive asset: Measuring and managing human capital: A strategic imperative for HR. Research Quarterly, Society for Human Resource Management. Weick, C. & Quinn, R. (1999). Organizational change and development.   Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 50: 361-386.

Analysis for Costa Coffee Essay

A well-recognized and wide-accepted brand image is one of the most valuable assets of the company. (Aaker, 1991). Costa Coffee has a welcoming and comforting brand image; however, the promotion of this brand image is at a disadvantage compared with its biggest rival Starbucks. In order to reverse the weakness into its strength, Costa Coffee needs to keep improving its brand image and brand awareness. Costa Coffee founded Costa Foundation, which is a charity aiming to offer long-term support especially in education for the coffee-growing farmers and their communities. Thus, Costa Coffee could strengthen its publicity of its efforts in sustaining the vulnerable group. By continue to maintain its social responsibility which could have  reflected its â€Å"responsible† image to the whole public, it would help Costa Coffee gain more reputation and build a better brand image. Launch new products One of the weaknesses of Costa Coffee is its fixed menu and the blank page of new product webpage. Compared to Starbucks and other cafà © shops, having limited choices on the menu would pose a disadvantage to Costa Coffee. The new products might not always attracted to all customers; however, those new products could draw people’s attention and encourage them to come into store and purchase which could be a way of promoting the brand to the public. Create new products and presenting it regular would help Costa Coffee appeal to more potential customers.In the same time, it would also help to create an image that Costa Coffee are trying their best to satisfy their consumers. Cooperate with universities – Costa campus stores or Bring Costa express into campus Costa Express machines have won the hearts of the purchasers as the self-serve coffee machines. As the success of launching Costa Express, Costa Coffee should grab the chance and continue exploiting this opportunity making it to its advantage. Cooperating with other organizations and co-operations would add its consumer base and in the same time it is a lower-risk approach for its further growing. Building campus-based Costa Coffee shops or introducing Costa express into teaching and living areas is a convenient way for students and teaching staff getting their coffee. Besides, it also could increase the probability for more customers to familiar with the Costa Coffee brand itself. Partner with universities allows Costa Coffee better targeting student customers who have the greatest potential to become Costa’s loyal customers in the long run. Reference Aaker, D.A. (1991, Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name, The Free Press,New York, NY.

Hoffman Discount Drugs, Inc

Case 7-3 (2) The first alternative of giving Data Systems control of product with exchange for any product after year end implies that the revenue is not earned until the final product is determined after year end. In this situation, Excello cannot recognize its revenue until Data System is totally sure the final products that they are actually want to purchase. For example, this year, Data System bought 1000 fax machines, but next year Data System will change it to another 1000 ones and return the previous products at the same time. Meaning to say, Excello still have control on it and same goes with Data System.According to FRS, revenue only can be recognize when and the value is determinable. The second alternatives of transfer ownership with guarantee that Excello would purchase equipment with ten year useful life as the sale implies that Excello would have to recognize a liability to Data System in the amount of the revenue. Meaning to say, first Excello needs to transfer the own ership to Data System for the revenue recognition and at the same time Excello needs to recognize the liability towards Data System. Again, if Excello does not recognize the liability to Data System, so it is an offense.The third alternative allows the return of the merchandise for full credit anytime after year end is conditional sale. Revenue should not be recognized until after the deadline for the full credit. Meaning to say, the value should be determinable in order to recognize it as revenue. If I am the chief financial officer, I would recommend to the Data Equipment System for the second alternatives. Of the three alternatives, the second alternatives has the revenue earned before year end and would be in accordance with GAAP as long as Excello also recognizes their liability to purchase a product from Data Systems.The first offer, it is not ethical if we record the revenue too soon because the earning process has not been completed and the conditional exchange still valid. We cannot record the revenue until the product would be exchange. For the third offer, as we know the revenue cannot recognized in the current year. Means that, the actual amount of revenue do not recorded. It is also unethical if we record the revenue since we know the deadline for the full credit is in the next year. We should strive with the virtue perspective such as honesty, objectivity and trustworthiness in recording the revenue.Honesty requires that the statements should be truthful and recognize revenue using generally accepted accounting principles. Objectivity requires that the company should approach its decision about the proper revenue recognition procedure with fair-mindedness and without partially to one set of stakeholders. Trustworthiness means that the accountants should not violate the investors’ faith that the statements are accurate and reliable. Other than that, to make a decision we should consider the greatest good for the greatest number of stakehold ers.

Stress Management Introduction

Stress is a stage produced by a change in the environment that is perceived as challenging, threatening or damaging to the person’s dynamic balance or equilibrium. It is a natural part of life but Hans Selye defines it as â€Å"the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it. † That means good things (for example, a job promotion) to which we must adapt (termed eustress) and bad things (for example, the death of a loved one) to which we must adapt (termed distress). Other individuals explain stress as a person’s physical and psychological reaction to the demands in his or her life.Furthermore, Selye was really onto something. His research proved so interesting and important that he drew a large number of followers. One of these was A. T. W Simeons who related evolution to psychosomatic disease. He also stated that when our self- esteems to threatened, the brain prepares the body with the fight-or-flight response. People use the word â€Å"stressà ¢â‚¬  in various ways: as an external force that causes a person to become tense or upset, as the internal state of arousal, and as the physical response of the body to various demands.In other words, the body reacts to stressors – the things that upset or excite us – in the same way, whether they are positive or negative. In addition, it is further characterized as: (1) it is a product of unpleasant environment emanating from negative experience, (2) it is a person’s response to chaotic set of environment and (3) it is a gap between the requirements of a situation and the ability to meet such. Background of the study In 2008, Reynolds and Turner believed that stress is a multifaceted phenomenon that may even have beneficial effects in some cases.Other researchers have added to the work of Cannon, Selye, Simeons, and others to shed more light on the relationship of stress to body processes. With this understanding has come a better appreciation of which illness es and diseases are associated with stress and how to prevent these conditions from developing. Others also helped clarify the effects of stress. Stewart Wolf demonstrated its effects on digestive function; Lawrence Leshan studied its effects on the development of cancer; Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman identified relationship between stress and coronary heart diseases; and Wolf and Wolff studied stress and headaches.Others in fact have found ways of successfully treating people with stress-related illness. The ABC model which was formulated by Albert Ellis shows how distress is the result of our beliefs about events rather than of the events themselves. According to him, an activating event triggers people to form an irrational or negative belief about it, which in turn shapes the consequences and of the event. On the other hand, a stressor is any stimulus from internal or external environment which challenges the adaptation capabilities of an individual and places a strain upon th e person resulting to a stressful reaction or illness.It has a potential of triggering a fight-or-flight response. As far as anyone can tell, internal psychological stressors are rare or even absent in most animals but present in humans. This stressor for which our bodies were evolutionarily trained is a threat to our safety. We encounter many different types of stressor. Some are environmental (toxins, heat, cold), some psychological (threats to self-esteem, depression), others sociological (unemployment, death of loved one), and still others philosophical (use of time, purpose in life).Now that you know what a stressor is and what stress reactivity is, it is time to define stress itself. Defining stress becomes a problem, even for the experts. Still another view of stress conceptualizes it as the difference between pressure and adaptability. That is, stress = pressure – adaptability. For our purpose, we will operationally define stress as the combination of a stressor and s tress reactivity. Without both of these components, there is no stress. Dr. Hans Selye, one of the first people to study stress, divides people into 2 categories: racehorses and turtles.A racehorse loves to run and will die from exhaustion if it is corralled or confined in a small space. A turtle on the other hand will die from exhaustion if it is forced to run on a treadmill, moving too fast for its slow nature. We each have to find our own healthy stress level, somewhere between that of the racehorse and the turtle. The key in coping with stress is realizing that your perception and response to stressors are crucial. Changing the way you interpret the events or situations – a skill called â€Å"reframing† – can make all the difference.Physical reactions to stress are muscle tension, sweating, over alertness, dry mouth or throat, chest discomfort, sleep problems, fast and shallow breathing and butterflies in the stomach. Emotional reactions to stress are feelin g under pressure, feeling tense and unable to relax, increased tearfulness, feelings of conflict, feeling mentally drained, frustration of aggression, fears of social embarrassment, being constantly frightened, increasing irritability/ complaining, lacking inability to feel pleasure and the Feeling of mentally drained.Dealing with the effects of stress, you can minimize many of the physical effects of stress by utilizing these single self-help techniques. For headache, have a warm bath or lie down quietly for a few hours to relieve it. For palpitations, breathe deeply and slowly to encourage your heartbeat to return to normal. For loss of appetite, eat small portions of food that you find appetizing and take your time eating.For rapid breathing, try â€Å"Breathing to Relax technique† by breathing slowly and deeply through your nose and out to your mouth, expanding your abdomen as you breathe in. For sweating, loosen tight garments and shed any extra layers of clothing. For i ncreased urination, restrict your intake of fluid, especially tea and coffee, if you know you are going to be in a stressful situation and for reduce sex drive, explain to your partner that your loss of interest is temporary and not a rejection of him or her.To Manage stress one should (1) Get priorities right, (2) Exercise regularly, (3) Learn to delegate, (4) Make space for leisure time, (5) Try to develop a social network, (6) Have a proper breaks for meal, (7) Listen carefully to those around you, (8) Try to keep things in proportion, (9) Get to know yourself better and (10) Enjoy yourself, and your family and friends. Statement of the Problem 1. ) Why do people need to know the effects of stress to one’s health? 2. ) How does stress arise among people? 3. ) How can people deal with stress? 4. )How can stress be evaluated? 5. Why do college students more prone to stress than high school students? Objectives of the study This study aims: 1. ) To distinguish the different e ffects of stress to one’s health/being. 2. ) To explain how stress arise among people/ individual. 3. ) To discuss several ways on how people can deal with stress. 4. ) To evaluate stress levels. 5. ) To differentiate college and high school student’s stress probability. Significance of the Study 1. ) Students. It will help them particularly the higher students (the colleges) because they experience several problems, financially, love life, wrong time management and more.Stress has a relation to their academic performance. 2. ) Workers. They experience work blues because of their doubts about their job, their co workers and more. It may be helpful to them. 3. ) Family. It will be helpful to them for different problems like for bills, foods, clothes and other things needed in the family makes the parents or the bread winner stress. 4. ) Government and other institution’s people. Since they are responsible for the welfare of the people, they are prone to stress. D ifferent problems of the community were blamed to them, that’s why this is helpful to them.

Assessing The Confucianism On Relationships Cultural Studies Essay

Assessing The Confucianism On Relationships Cultural Studies Essay Confucianism has been the main foundation of traditional thought that is deeply rooted in Chinese society. Confucianism is ethical teachings rather than a religion as described in Western literatures. Confucianism is widely regarded as the behavioral or moral regulations that are mainly concerned with human relationships, social structures, virtuous behavior and work ethics. In Confucianism, rules are specified for the social behavior of every individual, governing the entire range of interpersonal relations within the society. The core virtues of Confucius basic teaching can be extracted as Ren (Humanity), Yi (Righteousness), Li (Propriety), Zhi (Wisdom) and Xin (Faithfulness). According to Confucius, each person had a specific place in society, certain rules to follow and certain duties to fulfill. Confucius hoped that if people knew what was expected of them they would behave accordingly. He, therefore, set up Five Cardinal Relations, in which most people are involved, moreover h e also laid down the principles for each relation. These can be illustrated as follows: Basic Human Relations Principles Sovereign and subject (master and follower) Loyalty and duty Father and son Love and obedience Elder and younger brothers Seniority and modeling subject Husband and wife Obligation and submission Friend and friend Trust Source: Fan, 2000 All of these five, except the last, involve the authority of one person over another. Power and the right to rule belong to superiors over subordinates. Each person has to give obedience and respect to his/her ‘superiors’; the subject to his/her ruler, the wife to her husband, the son to his parents, and the younger brother to the older brother. The ‘superior’, however, owes loving responsibility to the subordinates. These relationships are structured to generate optimal benefits for both parties, and the principles are laid to achieve a harmonious society (Fan, 2000). Among these five basic human relatio ns, three are family relations, which show strong family-orientation in the Chinese society. Such a characteristic when applied to organizational management, leads to the birth of a parternalistic management style in Chinese society (Hsiao, et al., 1990). As China is a high context culture (Hall, 1976) and places much emphasis on Confucianism, relationships within the Chinese society have been explained in terms of harmony, hierarchy, and development of morality and kinship (Shenkar and Ronen, 1987). Defining Guanxi Under the impact of Confucianism, China is a nation whose social relationships are neither individual-based nor society-based, but typically a relationship-based society (Liang, 1974), in which almost everyone tries to maintain Guanxi. Guanxi, which literally means social relationship or social connection, is a prevalent cultural phenomenon that has strong implications for interpersonal and interorganisational dynamics in Chinese society. The concept of Guanxi is enormou sly rich, complex and dynamic (Yang, 2001). In English as well as Chinese, it can be defined at various levels and from different perspectives. Chen and Chen (2004) argue that rather than social networks or interpersonal relationships found in the Western literature, Guanxi should be viewed as an indigenous Chinese construct and should be defined as an informal, particularistic personal connection between two individuals who are bounded by an implicit psychological contract to follow the social norms as maintaining a long-term relationship, mutual commitment, loyalty, and obligation.

School Counselor-IEP etc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

School Counselor-IEP etc - Essay Example It goes beyond the superficiality of the problem to investigate the details so that problems can be identified holistically so as to develop effective interventions. The role of special education teacher is to implement the strategies within his/ her teaching approaches. But my role primarily would be limited to being a consultant or rather a ‘teacher advocate’ who would like to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and identify factors which could be hindering the progress. I would facilitate support to different stakeholders and act as conduit for regular and effective communication. It is important to understand and address the obstacles that adversely impact participation of persons with disability in the mainstream education. It would be more of an observer. As an advocate for inclusive education, I believe that I can use my skills and academic expertise to improve the efficacy of program/ strategies by identifying the shortcomings and communicating the same so t hat issues can be resolved with the help of parents, teachers, administrators and all those who can contribute positively to the wide goals of IEP. Response a This is hugely relevant for children with special need because the child could be having varying degree or sometime multi-lateral disabilities that need to be assessed. The thorough assessment helps to evolve effective strategies for inclusion of the child in the mainstream education system. Response b Success of IEP or for that matter, any social program is dependent of collaborative approach where community, government (in this case, school) and students together evolve solutions for defined problems. Answer 2 Cultural/ multicultural issues and considerations in special educations are vital part of the success of the program. Globalization has brought about tremendous changes to the social fabric which has increasing become multicultural, comprising of people coming from different race, color, nationality and culture. The ch allenges of complex nature of emerging new society must be met through promotion of cross cultural understanding. In special education, it becomes highly pertinent aspect of effective implementation as they need to incorporate the perspectives of diverse society and remove barriers of language and cross cultural paradigms that can be interpreted differently if cross cultural understanding is not developed. Huntington (1993) believed that major element of conflicts would be cultural based. The contemporary times has vindicated his claim. In some culture, looking directly at person is not respectable which can be construed as not paying attention by the western society. Hence, cross cultural understanding become crucial for all the persons who are working in the area of special education needs. Awareness of biases within the communities prepares the coordinators and all concerned to have flexible approach.  IEP strives to address these issues and ensures progress through feedback sy stem. Response c Indeed, the increasing diversity in the society necessitates cross cultural understanding and flexibility in approach. This would enable the counselors and teachers to understand the child and decipher his/ her problems with more accuracy. Response d These are interesting interludes that confirm the conflicts that are caused due to lack of knowledge about other cultures. In the contemporary times, diversity has become intrinsic part of society and therefore, one must strive to inculcate cross

Analogy, Marginality and Action. Peter Singers Famine, Affluence, and Essay

Analogy, Marginality and Action. Peter Singers Famine, Affluence, and Morality Analysis - Essay Example In the fifth paragraph, Singer emphasized that helping starving people is a moral obligation by people, but granted that it does not sacrifice anything that is â€Å"comparably† important. For instance, if by donating a hundred dollars in a foundation that feeds starving children and families in Africa would cost the life of your child who also needs the money for her operation, then one will be spared of guilt by keeping the money for his child’s operation instead. In other words, if a person acknowledges he or she can feed a single family in Africa by donating his money allotted for a fancy smart phone, then his action is morally justifiable and is fulfillment of duty. Another important assumption in Singer’s essay follows that proximity and distance are also factors in extending our moral duties to our fellow humans despite the fact that other people around us are not feeling obliged to do so. He emphasized that numbers cannot be used as a plausible excuse for not helping other people who are badly in need because we acknowledge that by donating without considering other people’s interest can actually save a single life or two. Singer’s central premise in his essay is summed up as extending our help to people in dire need, despite our proximity and distance, without sacrificing something that is equally significant. His point was that our morality may somehow explain that it is our moral obligation as human beings living in the same earth to extend our help by not being selfish and materialistic, and not only a show of charitable work because as what he said, people who give to charities are praised, while those who do not are not condemned. In other words, helping starving children, for instance, can well be shown as voluntary and not obligatory. People who choose to buy clothes rather than donating to the children of Africa cannot justify their action because they act in that manner so as to look pleasant and not to prote ct themselves. The Analogy The last sentence of the fifth paragraph tells us an analogy about a drowning child in a pond and a person happens to witness the child drowning. Singer’s analogy fits perfectly with his main assumption that we ought to help other people in need, despite the inability of other people to see her situation, and without sacrificing something that is comparably significant. Simply saying, in that situation, our clothes do not bear more significance compared to a life that is at risk. In other words, we prevent what is bad (the possible death of the child in the pond) and promote what is good (saving the life of the child). ‘Level of Marginality’ In giving away something to the needy, Singer puts a specific, yet abstract limit as to the amount we are obliged to. He used the phrase â€Å"until we reach the level of marginality.† It is like a common version found in the Christian bible that a way to heaven is by abandoning all of oneâ⠂¬â„¢s properties and wealth and giving them after to the poor. Singer requires â€Å"reducing ourselves to the level of marginal utility† (par. 27). In the moderate version of his premise, he does not imply that people ought to live in a level of marginal utility such that their families are likely to suffer in the end, as well. What he

Culture and Organisations of Daimler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Culture and Organisations of Daimler - Essay Example Two German automobile manufacturers Benz & Co. and Daimler Motor Company merged together in 1926 and named the new company Daimler-Benz. Its Mercedes cars were arguably the best example of German quality and engineering. Another merger came in 1998 when Daimler-Benz and U.S. based Chrysler Corporation, two leading global car manufacturers, agreed to combine their businesses which was then perceived to be a ‘merger of equals’ (Casestudy, 2008). This merger was supposed to be the third in the world in terms of revenues, market capitalization and earnings, ranking after GM and Ford. It was also considered to be fifth in terms of the number of passenger cars and trucks sold, ranking GM, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen. However, within two years of the Daimler-Chrysler merger, the company suffered third quarter losses of more than half a billion dollars and in 2001 they slashed about 26000 jobs at its ailing Chrysler division. What was described as ‘marriage made in heavenà ¢â‚¬â„¢ in 1998, the Daimler-Chrysler merger proved to be a costly mistake for both the companies. In early 2007, Daimler was forced to sell 80 percent of Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LLC which ended a nine-year merger. Critics believe that though strategically the merger made good business sense, the two organizations had contrasting culture and management styles that hindered the synergy. Organizations are no more constrained by national borders and partnerships are driven by the need to achieve economies of scale. The expected synergies fail because the cultural fit is ignored. Globalization may have brought companies and nations closer but the difference in organizational culture is perceivable. Culture has been recognized as a strong determinant of beliefs, attitudes and behavior. Research suggests that decision-makers give disproportionate attention to strategic fit as compared to integration

The Jetstar Group and Customer Service Issues Research Proposal

The Jetstar Group and Customer Service Issues - Research Proposal Example Jester Group has successful to generate huge manpower base of 7000 currently across Asia Pacific which was only 400 people in 2004 at the initial phase of its business operation. This airline group offers 3000 flights per week to near about 60 destinations in 16 countries and territories across Asia Pacific by its core assets of 60 aircrafts. This airline group is recognised for value based and low fare airlines in Asia pacific and it is highly successful in a different customers segment who desire for lowest fare. Mission of the company shows its core focus on the low fares which has successfully its core competency (Jetstar, 2012). Airline industry is part of hospitality industry which is a service based industry. So, for a service company, quality is the most important factor and the company needs to have best focus on quality of the services which only results customer satisfaction. Satisfaction is the parameter to measure the quality and broadly worth of an airline service provi ded by a service company like Jetstar. Gerally low fare airlines provide comparably lower quality of services to the customers. It is a very common customer psyche is that low price means low quality. Therefore, despite of tremendous growth of Jetstar airlines, it low fare service recognition might have decreased its brand value with respect to quality of service which results number of service issues from the customers. Business problem Different service issues are common for the service industries especially for airlines industry as it is a part of hospitality industry. Service provided by the airlines companies need to be of high quality as in hospitality industry quality of service with respect to customer satisfaction needs to be the core value of business. Jetstar group has been receiving frequent customer service issues and this might be for its low fare focus where quality is automatically neglected by the staffs and employees to provide service in lowest cost. It is a commo n perception that airlines companies that only focus low fare service do not review the customers’ feedback or even do not bother to get customers’ response with service related issues or complaints (Steven, Dong, & Smith, n.d., p.37). Therefore, this might be a major problem for Jetstar airlines as it also focus on low fare service and many customers might have unsatisfied with the service provide by the Jetstar. Different issues regarding service offered by the airlines leads to decline in existing customer base. Customer satisfaction positively influence potential customers and helps to generate new customers and this will only be possible if there is no service related issues an airline company gets. Frequent service issues or service complaints are indication of decline of quality of service. Research questions This study presents a detailed research and analysis of critical business problems of an airline company. The motivation of this study can summarized throu gh a specific research question. What are the service issues Jetstar Group? No company disclose service issues or customers’