Project Design, Implementation & Evaluation Essay

Project Design, Implementation & Evaluation - Essay Example the Micron Software solves the situation by creating an interface through which the users of the system can maintain data for accountability, integrity, reliability, transparency and foe easy audit (Leffingwell 2000, p. 28). The system will therefore solve the challenges with paper based operations and produce fast tracking of reports in a customized manner. It will reduce or possibly eliminate the cases of data loss and mismanagement. The system to be developed in this project is expected to be interactive in accepting and processing the user input data, and generating output in form of dialogues and reports. The system has to be easy to study so that the clients, operators and users can learn it easily. Even without user guide or progress documentation, the system requirements have to be clear and comprehensive. There have to be consistency in the system functions such that it performs all the action indicated. For example, if the button is indicated as â€Å"Close†, then it has to close the current form. The system is expected to accept data input from the user, perform financial operations and then generate an output from the product and the data kept in its historical database. The system also must do data validation during the input to ensure that each field accepts the right form of data. For example, the field for date should not accept any form of data apart from date. The system has minimum requirement of features and hardware properties which limits its development for example, the size of the memory available, the speed of the processor and the size of the hard disk. The constraints can be caused by failure to meet the basic requirements of the development environment. Other constraints arise from information policy, system response times, and system interfacing with other related application software, the capacity of the networks and compliance issues. The minimum requirement of memory size for example is a RAM of 2GB and hard drive of 500GB. In

Mini Position Paper Essay Example for Free

Mini Position Paper Essay Many schools exist that don’t create student success. In too many school systems today, students are deprived of the education they need to become successful in life. What is society doing to make sure these students find their way? What does it take for them to become successful participants of society? After reading Freire’s, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I must say there is some truth to students being oppressed for they are being forced to matriculate in an educational environment they aren’t familiar with; can’t survive in; or don’t want to be in. Students who are in the predicament noted above are not able to thrive in a strong academic environment because, as Freire states, they don’t know their reality. If they knew their reality, they would be better prepared to adjust to what they need for academic success. My position is that students that will better succeed in vocational or magnet schools. The vocational option is best suited for students that are not college bound and need to learn hands-on job skills to work right out of high school. For the nontraditional student the magnet option can work well. As a dancer, I attended magnet performing art school and this opportunity allowed me to learn about my craft and move on to earning a scholarship to Temple University in dance and theater. It allowed me the option to get involved in a field that I love and having a love for what you do makes the difference in which you become. There is no denying that people are mentally in different places at different times in their lives. Whether they have been raised in a single parent home, or whether they grew up in an environment that isn’t conducive to learning, it is important that students know what they can handle in an educational setting. For some students, an advanced math class or AP courses may not be reasonable. There are some students that understand where they stand academically and know that they aren’t able to learn under the same conditions as other students. These students need to develop other avenues in which to become successful. Vocational and Magnet schools are a great source for students that aren’t ready for a rigorous academic curriculum. Although students will still get the core courses they need to graduate, they will also have a trade that will at least keep them employed and able to take care of them after graduating. There are students that have a love for cosmetology, auto mechanics or even plumbing. One important fact is that there are colleges that offer two year degrees in these vocational trades. It is crucial that today’s generation know that there are options outside of becoming a doctor or lawyer. While we always need lawyers, doctors, and teachers, the world also needs mechanics to fix cars, a plumber to fix leaks the correct way or even a specialist to make sure a heating or air conditioning system is properly working. It is important that today’s student be comfortable in knowing that being academically challenged is okay, and that choosing a vocational education is an option. Vocational Magnet educations are just as important and should be interjected in all of today’s schools for they too serve a vital function in preparing our students in life. â€Å"The Guardian†, a newspaper printed in the U. K. , ran an article in 2013 regarding vocational educations. It questioned the validity of the concept of vocational educations by asking the public if they value vocational skills. The article allowed people to give their opinions. Although most people were in support of vocational education, there were some that weren’t. One person commented that though he didn’t look down on vocational education, he would not consider the vocational route if he didnt get the grades needed to attend a university. He finished by explaining he would definitely go for A-levels because in his opinion, â€Å"they are far more respected by employers and universities†. In his opinion, having a career rather than a skill is more esteemed. After reading the article, I was stunned at the idea that vocational educations aren’t respected. That a plumber or custodian is not valued is a disrespectful and cocky position to take. Society will always needs someone to make sure offices are clean and bathroom toilets run properly. People underestimate that diverse careers are needed for the world to effectively revolve. Unfortunately vocational skills like plumbing, carpentry, and electricians have been downgraded in social status over the years. One of the biggest issues in education today is low graduation rates, low college entry and a growing rate of unemployment. Vocational education can be the resolution to this problem. What are missing in schools are alternatives like a technical baccalaureate, which offers valuable learning and real skills, and leads to real jobs for young people. Getting children in the right program for their learning needs is what leads to success. Vocational qualifications serve a need for particular kinds of students and are very important skills. Vocational education training provides career and technical education for students interested in jobs that are based upon labor-intensive or real-world jobs. The plus side to vocational education is that students have the opportunity to work in their field while in school; it requires less education than four year degree programs; the vocational fields are vast and varied such as, pharmacy and medical technicians, paralegals, medical assistants, office assistants, cosmetologists, mechanics and construction workers; it assists in higher graduation rates; increased employment; and overall student achievement. The objective in education is to assist students in their quest of having a stable life. A vocational education reinforces the connections between secondary and postsecondary education, and improves accountability for students.

Industrial Revolution Essay -- History, England, Materialism

During the industrial revolution of England, by engaging in monotonous work, humans became disconnected with nature. By the nineteenth century, when William Wordsworth wrote the sonnet The world is too much with us, the process of industrialization had transformed a worker’s life, leaving no time or place to enjoy or take part in nature. In his Petrarchan sonnet, Wordsworth criticizes humans for losing their hearts to materialism and longs for a world where nature is divine. In the first four lines, the poet angrily addresses the theme of the sonnet which is that the modern age has lost its connection to nature and to everything meaningful. The words â€Å"late and soon† (1) are part of a list that continues in the next line with the phrase â€Å"getting and spending† (2). The line break is for the purpose of the structure of the sonnet. Late and soon refer to the fast pace of the industrial age, and they describe how the past and future are included in the poet’s characterization of mankind. â€Å"Too† (1) and â€Å"soon† (1) have a long vowel â€Å"oo† sound since industrialization, and therefore, exploitation of nature, had been occurring for a long time before Wordsworth wrote this sonnet. Wordsworth wanted to express how â€Å"soon† (1) this exploitation would become known to others by placing the sharp consonant â€Å"n† after the long vowel sound. The caesura in line 1 after the word  "us† (1) gives the reader a chance to feel and reflect upon the weight of the world resting on humanity’s shoulders after the poet’s statement that the world is too fragile for humans to handle. Humanity’s â€Å"powers† (2) have gone to â€Å"waste† (2), which in this context means that they have been used inefficiently. However, other connotations for the word â€Å"waste† (2) are things t... ...ch the narrator responds to her death, is connected to nature but dies before she can attain her own distinct consciousness away from nature. Lucy is connected to nature and exists in a state between the spiritual and human. However, she represents a state of consciousness and exists within the poem as part of the narrator's consciousness. Nature is being portrayed as something almost devine, just as the mythical Greek gods from The world is too much with us were Wordsworth’s favorable alternative to human exploitation of nature. Nevertheless, there is a difference between one being too connected to nature, as Lucy was, and one being nearly disconnected from nature, as humanity was portrayed in The world is too much with us. The only way to be in harmony with nature is to accept nature for what it is – to not to be overly connected with it, but not to exploit it. Industrial Revolution Essay -- History, England, Materialism During the industrial revolution of England, by engaging in monotonous work, humans became disconnected with nature. By the nineteenth century, when William Wordsworth wrote the sonnet The world is too much with us, the process of industrialization had transformed a worker’s life, leaving no time or place to enjoy or take part in nature. In his Petrarchan sonnet, Wordsworth criticizes humans for losing their hearts to materialism and longs for a world where nature is divine. In the first four lines, the poet angrily addresses the theme of the sonnet which is that the modern age has lost its connection to nature and to everything meaningful. The words â€Å"late and soon† (1) are part of a list that continues in the next line with the phrase â€Å"getting and spending† (2). The line break is for the purpose of the structure of the sonnet. Late and soon refer to the fast pace of the industrial age, and they describe how the past and future are included in the poet’s characterization of mankind. â€Å"Too† (1) and â€Å"soon† (1) have a long vowel â€Å"oo† sound since industrialization, and therefore, exploitation of nature, had been occurring for a long time before Wordsworth wrote this sonnet. Wordsworth wanted to express how â€Å"soon† (1) this exploitation would become known to others by placing the sharp consonant â€Å"n† after the long vowel sound. The caesura in line 1 after the word  "us† (1) gives the reader a chance to feel and reflect upon the weight of the world resting on humanity’s shoulders after the poet’s statement that the world is too fragile for humans to handle. Humanity’s â€Å"powers† (2) have gone to â€Å"waste† (2), which in this context means that they have been used inefficiently. However, other connotations for the word â€Å"waste† (2) are things t... ...ch the narrator responds to her death, is connected to nature but dies before she can attain her own distinct consciousness away from nature. Lucy is connected to nature and exists in a state between the spiritual and human. However, she represents a state of consciousness and exists within the poem as part of the narrator's consciousness. Nature is being portrayed as something almost devine, just as the mythical Greek gods from The world is too much with us were Wordsworth’s favorable alternative to human exploitation of nature. Nevertheless, there is a difference between one being too connected to nature, as Lucy was, and one being nearly disconnected from nature, as humanity was portrayed in The world is too much with us. The only way to be in harmony with nature is to accept nature for what it is – to not to be overly connected with it, but not to exploit it.

“Discourse on the Method” by Rene Descartes

â€Å"Discourse on the Method† by Rene Descartes is both a historical document and philosophical work. Scientists and historians agree that this book has contributed significantly the history of modern science and psychology. In his book Descartes describe the method which provides solid background for all modern natural sciences. Descartes pays thorough attention to the problem of scepticism in his work continuing the researches made by ancient philosopher Sextus Empiricus and the author Michael de Montaigne. The purpose of the book seems to prove people that truth should be regarded as incontrovertible.Therefore, the author chooses the approach of challenging and doubting everything when assessing the world. In such a way Descartes tend to look at ordinary things from the new perspective which is clear of biased nations. (Descartes 1960) In particular, Descartes discusses the following issues: how to think correctly, the method of science, morals maxims derived from method, proof of human soul and god, experiments, and, finally, connections between physics and heart. When arguing how to think correctly, Descartes offer ‘building metaphor’ meaning that human opinions and thoughts are the grounds which shape further perceptions.The ideas and opinions are claimed to be of sedentary nature and Descartes argues that he â€Å"firmly believed that in this way he should much better succeed in the conduct of his life, than he built only upon old foundations, and leaned upon principles which, in his youth, he had taken upon trust†. (Descartes 1960) Summing up, the core principle of thinking correctly is that humans shouldn’t tend to seek for old foundations; instead, they should seek for new fertile and to build new knowledge on it.In the method of science Descartes distinguishes four precepts which characterise the method. The first precept suggests that people shouldn’t percept anything for granted if they can’t be re-a ssured that it is true. Descartes says it is necessary to avoid prejudice and precipitancy and to believe things which exclude all grounds for any doubts and hesitations. The second precept is â€Å"to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution†.(Descartes 1960)The third principle is that it is necessary to conduct your thoughts and ideas in such a way that it would be possible to go from the simplest to the most complex: â€Å"I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence†. (Descartes 1960) Finally, the fourth precept is that we must be sure that nothing is omitted meaning reviews should general and enumerations should be complete.Further, Descartes analyzes three moral maxims deriv ed from the method. He says that he adopted those maxims to make them effectively function in ‘real world’. Method of radical doubts requires analyzing moral side of such experiments. Descartes’ three maxims is the basis of rudimentary belief system. Its principles are: †¢ To obey country’s religious customs and laws; †¢ To be confident in all actions; †¢ To endeavour and to conquer yourself as well as to change desires instead of trying to change the order of the whole world because we doesn’t have enough power to do that.When proving existence of soul and God, Descartes challenges his thinking and reasoning. Nevertheless, he believes that there are three things which aren’t subjected to being doubted. These things support each other forming stable ground for Descartes’ method. These things are reason as doubting is based on reasoning, and existence of soul and God guaranteeing that the reason is misguided. Descartes pr ovides reasoned argument why God and, moreover, he is the primary contributor to what we now call ontological proof of the God existence. (Descartes 1960)Descartes also pays attention to describing natural laws, the laws of the Sun and the stars, etc. Descartes believes that it is Moon that causes flood and ebb. Further, Descartes examines ideas of fire and light going to examining the motion of blood in arteries and heart. In contrast to generally accepted ideas, Descartes argues that these motions are independent of what it is thought and he draws the conclusion that human soul and human body are separate. Nevertheless, Descartes doesn’t distinguish between human soul, mind and spirit as they are all important constituents of rational thinking.As a consequences, the idea that â€Å"I am thinking, therefore I am† appeared. Finally, when speaking about experiments Descartes writes that â€Å"experiments, that they become always more necessary the more one is advanced in knowledge; for, at the commencement, it is better to make use only of what is spontaneously presented to our senses†. (Descartes 1960) Descartes’ ideas are strongly tied with modern philosophy and science. For example, his â€Å"The Method in Mathematics and the Sciences† has practical application nowadays in all schools.Descartes’ arguments are the basis of Cartesian coordinate systems as well as analytic geometry, the Histogram and mathematical heuristic. The method Descartes uses in his work is extremely valuable because sceptical doubt became a matter of philosophical debates how human can be sure of anything. Modern Western philosophy is influences by his re-conception of the mind – the idea that human mind is separate from human body. Summing up, Rene Descartes set a number of questions which have formed the base of what we call now ‘modern philosophy’. (Descartes 1960)

Financial Management Essay

Part A There are three main areas of decision making for the corporate financial manager: Investment: The choice of projects or assets in which to invest company funds. Competing alternatives have to be assessed using a number of techniques. This type of decision will also be of concern to the private individual when making choices about which shares to buy. Finance: How these investments should be financed. It is necessary to evaluate the possible sources, external and internal, and the effect they will have on the capital structure of the company. Dividend: Whether corporate earnings should be retained or paid out in the form of dividends, and if the latter, when the dividends should be paid. Otherwise, we will cover the risk management as well as the management of a company’s assets and liabilities in its working capital cycle. Assets must be managed effectively so that they generate income and profits, and so that funds are available to pay creditors and take up opportunities for investment. In summary ,therefore, we can say that financial management involves the following areas as investment decisions, funding decisions, including the capital structure of the company, dividend decisions, risk management. This implies that dividend payments and gains made when selling a shareholding are better indicators of shareholder wealth than profits. However, if the dividend payments are not consistent over a period of time, this will not increase confidence in the company shares, and their market price will reflect the variability of dividend payments. When the shareholder sells their investment, they may lose money. The prime objective of the company therefore needs to be adjusted slightly to the maximization of long-term shareholder wealth. This will be indicated by maximisation of dividends over time and reflected in the market value of the ordinary shares. If the share price reflects shareholder wealth, then we can say that any financial decision taken to increase the value of shares will be a decision that maximises shareholder wealth, and will be in keeping with the prime objective of the company, such a decision can involve are using appraisal techniques to assess investment projects and sourcing funding to provide for the company the most appropriate capital structure that can be serviced from available funds and paying dividends that the company can afford, while leaving sufficient retained earnings for investment and managing the risks associated with these decisions. This may leave you with the impression that the managers of a company will carry out its day to day functions efficiently and effectively on behalf of the owners, always asking themselves about the result of the decision maximise shareholder wealth, this is a realistic view because of the tension between ownership and control of company. That is limitations of shareholder wealth maximisation as concern to agency theory. Agency theory is based in the separation of ownership and control that distinguishes the limited liability company from the other two business entities of the sole trader and the partnership. The relationship between shareholders and management is the principal agent relationship, and has given reis to agency theory. Where an agent was defined as a person used to effect a contract between their principal and a third party. The agency problem is that managers may not always act in the best interest of the shareholders, to maximise the latter’s wealth. Offering incentives, such as share options, to managers may reduce this problem. Solving the agency problem When the agency problem exits, therefore, when managers or directors do not act in the best interest of the shareholders to maxmise the latter’s wealth. Management goals could include increasing their rewards. It was suggested in an earlier activity that two ways to ensure that management act in shareholders interests are to vote unacceptable directors off the board, or to offer share options. Shareholder could monitor the actions of managers using independently audited accounts, backed up by additional reporting requirements and external analysts. The managers may not act in the best interest of the shareholders, so they may be offering other such as share options. However, the share options also have some things to consider as the advantages is encourage managers to maximise shareholder wealth since the option may result in their being able to sell shares at a higher price. But the disadvantages is the price of shares is influenced by some factors outside the control of management, so the benefits may accrue despite management actions. Managers may also change accounting polices to improve the performance of the company and influence the share price deliberately. Otherwise, Capital structure refers to the way an entity finances its assets through a combination of equity and debt. An entity’s capital structure is then the composition or structure of its liabilities. Capital structure ratios show an entity’s capital structure and measure its ability to meet its long term obligations. If the entity appears unable to meet its long term obligations, it will be in serious danger of collapse or takeover. Further, long term financial position depends much on an entity’s profitability since, in the long run, the entity will not be able to repay its debts unless it is profitable. The capital gearing ratio is a measure of the financial risk of an entity because of the prior claim that debt capital has on the profits and assets of the entity in the event of liquidation. Also, if the profits are low, the entity may not have sufficient funds available to make dividend payments to the ordinary shareholders. Capital gearing ratio: (preference shares + long term loans) / (shareholder’s funds + long term loans) X 100 The difficulty is the inclusion of preference shares, since they take many different forms. If a company’s preference shares are of the standard type, that is, having no voting rights and conveying nothing but the right to a fixed rate of dividend, they should be included as debt funding. The higher the percentage, the higher the level of gearing. It is advisable to include short term debt such as overdraft if it is used to fund long term investments and is not, therefore, of a temporary nature and bears a financial risk. A highly geared company may also experience difficulties in attracting funds from investors, who are not attracted by the risks involved in a high geared company. In this event, the market price of the company’s shares will fall. The more debt, the more risk for ordinary shareholders and ultimately for everyone, if the company faces liquidation. However, the more debt, the lower the WACC because debt is cheaper than equity. At very high levels of debt, however, the WACC will rise because of the higher levels of risk involved. Reference: Notes of the University of Sunderland APC308 Financial Management Conclusion The areas of corporate financial management are the decisions concerning investment, funding, dividend and working capital. And the company will use the gearing ratio to express the debt funding as a percentage of the total funding, because the high gearing ratio also brings problems associated with the interest rates and the main objective in financial management is the maximisation of long term shareholder wealth that is the market value of the ordinary shares, because it is related to the how many dividends will pay to shareholders. However, the agency problem is a main problem on the managers may not act in the best interest of the shareholders, so they may be offering other such as share options. Part B In Part A, i have explored two of three main areas of decision making for corporate financial managers: the investment decision (NPV) and the finance, or funding, decision. In this part i am concerned with the third area, the dividend decision. The basis for the discussion in this part is the need for dividend policy and the relevance of dividend policies to investors. NPV is a net present value is the present value of the future recipts from a project less any investment made in the project. Modigliani and Miller’s theory: dividends are irrelevant but almost is not quite. MM’s theory of dividend irrelevancy refers not to the payment of the dividends but to the timing of their payment. According to MM, if a company has an investment opportunity giving a positive NPV, it should be taken up using retained earnings rather than paying out a dividend. The company’s value will go up, since share value is a function of the level of earnings, which reflect a company’s investment policy, rather than a function of dividend payments. Similarly, in their theory of dividend irrelevancy they say that shareholders can create their own dividend, if they want to, by selling some of their theory of dividend, if they want to, by selling some of their shares. In a perfect market, shareholders can create a dividend stream to suit themselves, so it works in reverse too: if the company does pay a dividend and the shareholder does not want one, they can reinvest by buying more shares. Otherwise, MM’s view is that it is not the company but the individual shareholder who should decide dividend policy. Therefore, there is no such thing as an optimal dividend policy for a company, only an optimal investment policy. This would be a policy of investing in all projects with a positive NPV. In a perfect capital market, a company with insufficient internal funds could raise the funds required for investment externally. If a company had surplus internal funds, there could be distributed as dividends.

How to Write a Perfect Barista Resume (Examples Included)

How to Write a Perfect Barista Resume (Examples Included) These days, coffee is serious business. If you control someone’s daily caffeine access, you could very well hold their entire day in your hands. Sure, it may not be the level of social responsibility of, say, a brain surgeon, but you’re still providing what many people (myself included) would call a very necessary service. From the trendy euros)How to Write a Perfect Occupational Therapist ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Physician Assistant Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Receptionist Resume (Examples Included)How to Create a Perfect Retail ResumeHow to Write a Perfect Sales Associate Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Social Worker Resume (Examples Included)How to Write a Perfect Truck Driver Resume (With Examples)

Organizational Culture and Decision Making Example

Organizational Culture and Decision Making Example Organizational Culture and Decision Making – Article Example ï » ¿ Organizational Culture and Decision Making An organisation is often recognised by the culture that is prevalent in the organisation and the mode of working followed. This is not solely a management concept relevant to companies, but also to healthcare units. By organisational culture, we mean, the attitudes, values and ethical perception of the organisation and how it works in different situations. â€Å"Organization culture is the emergent result of the continuing negotiations about values, meanings and proprieties between the members of that organisation and with its environment†. (Organizational Culture: An Introduction, edited by Nasreen Taher, Hyderabad: ICFAI University Press, 2005, pp 82-92.) Organisational culture often characterises the way an organisation functions and how major job requisites are carried out. Let us take the example of a healthcare unit whose culture is characterised by an open door policy, where the doctors and paramedics are approachable. The decision-making strategy in such an organisation would be one that would be open to all and sundry, or would at least involve individuals from all the hierarchal branches, rather than being limited to the top crux. This illustration clearly elucidates the view that an organisation’s culture often impacts decision-making in the organisation. (Website: culturecreation.com.au/) When an organisation makes changes in its strategy, it must take care not to keep the information limited to its top hierarchy and must make sure it penetrates to reach all levels of employees. This is because of the fact that every employee and his work functioning plays a great role in carrying forward a strategy made by the organisation. Change in strategy needs to be a combined effort from all quarters. It also impacts the culture at the organisation, since work processes begin to differ. For instance, if an organisation makes the decision that it shall adopt a more aggressive marketing strategy, it comes up with special treatments and varied infrastructural facilities and involves every paramedics assistance. This is because, only then will the strategy work effectively with each and every employee contributing a more aggressive stance and output, furthering the overall strategy of the organisation. In addition to this, the workplace culture must be global and cosmopolitan in a healthcare unit, since it caters to no specific crowd. The patients could come from varied backdrops of life and it is essential to embrace a cosmopolitan stance, in order to avoid any sort of intimidating scenarios. This would also help bind the staff and paramedics together, and help them counter problems or act in a united manner. Thus, adopting a globally applicable culture is a great way to boost the healthcare unit in terms of its ambience and atmosphere. Thus, it is evident by what has been outlines, that organisational culture is an important parameter in almost every activity of a healthcare unit. A healthcare unit must most certainly work towards developing a more interactive and employee-friendly culture to facilitate better cooperation and coordination amongst employees. REFERENCES Website: culturecreation.com.au/ Organizational Culture: An Introduction, edited by Nasreen Taher, Hyderabad: ICFAI University Press, 2005, pp 82-92. Website: www.ezinearticles.com

Definition and Examples of Information Content

Definition and Examples of Information Content In linguistics and information theory, the term information content refers to the amount of information conveyed by a particular unit of language in a particular context. An example of information content, suggests  Martin H.  Weik, is the meaning assigned to the data in a message (Communications Standard Dictionary, 1996). As Chalker and Weiner point out in the Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (1994), The notion of information content is related to statistical probability. If a unit is totally predictable then, according to information theory, it is informationally redundant and its information content is nil. This is actually true of the to particle in most contexts (e.g. What are you going . . . do?). The concept of information content was first systematically examined in Information, Mechanism, and Meaning  (1969)  by British  physicist and information theorist  Donald M. MacKay. Greetings One of the essential functions of language is to enable members of a speech community to maintain social relations with one another, and greetings are a very straightforward way of doing this. Indeed, an appropriate social interchange may well consist entirely of greetings, without any communication of information content. (Bernard Comrie, On Explaining Language Universals. The New Psychology of Language: Cognitive and Functional Approaches to Language Structures, ed. by Michael Tomasello. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003) Functionalism Functionalism . . . dates back to the early twentieth century and has its roots in the Prague School of Eastern Europe. [Functional frameworks] differ from the Chomskyan frameworks in emphasizing the information content of utterances, and in considering language primarily as a system of communication. . . . Approaches based on functional frameworks have dominated European study of SLA [Second Language Acquisition] and are widely followed elsewhere in the world. (Muriel Saville-Troike, Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Propositions For our purposes here, the focus will be on declarative sentences such as (1) Socrates is talkative. Plainly, utterances of sentences of this type are a direct way of conveying information. We shall call such utterances statements and the information-content conveyed by them propositions. The proposition expressed by an utterance of (1) is (2) That Socrates is talkative. Provided the speaker is sincere and competent, her utterance of (1) could also be taken to express a belief with the content that Socrates is talkative. That belief then has exactly the same information content as the speakers statement: it represents Socrates as being in a certain way (namely, talkative). (Names, Descriptions, and Demonstratives. Philosophy of Language: The Central Topics, ed. by Susana Nuccetelli and Gary Seay. Rowman Littlefield, 2008) The Information Content of Childrens Speech [T]he linguistic utterances of very young children are limited in both length and information content (Piaget, 1955). Children whose sentences are limited to one to two words may request food, toys or other objects, attention, and help. They may also spontaneously note or name objects in their environment and ask or answer questions of who, what or where (Brown, 1980). The information content of these communications, however, is sparse and limited to actions experienced by both listener and speaker and to objects known to both. Usually, only one object or action is requested at a time. As linguistic lexicon and sentence length increase, so too does information content (Piaget, 1955). By four to five years, children may request explanations about causality, with the proverbial why questions. They may also describe their own actions verbally, give others brief instructions in sentence format, or describe objects with a series of words. Even at this stage, however, children have difficulty making themselves understood unless the actions, objects, and events are known to both speaker and hearer. . . . Not until the elementary school years of seven to nine can children fully describe events to listeners unfamiliar with them by incorporating large amounts of information in appropriately structured series of sentences. It is also at this time that children become capable of debating and absorbing factual knowledge transmitted by formal education or other non-experiential means. (Kathleen R. Gibson, Tool Use, Language and Social Behavior in Relationship to Information Processing Abilities. Tools, Language, and Cognition in Human Evolution, ed. by Kathleen R. Gibson and Tim Ingold. Cambridge University Press, 1993) Input-Output Models of Information Content Most any empirical belief . . . will be richer in information content than the experience that led to its acquisitionand this on any plausible account of the appropriate information measures. This is a consequence of the philosophical commonplace that the evidence a person has for an empirical belief rarely entails the belief. While we may come to believe that all armadillos are omnivorous by observing the eating habits of a fair sample of armadillos, the generalization is not implied by any number of propositions attributing various tastes to particular armadillos. In the case of mathematical or logical beliefs, it is rather harder to specify the relevant experiential input. But again it seems that on any appropriate measure of information content the information contained within our mathematical and logical beliefs outruns that contained in our total sensory history. (Stephen Stich, The Idea of Innateness. Collected Papers, Volume 1: Mind and Language, 1972-2010. Oxford University Press, 2011) Also  See MeaningCommunication  and  Communication ProcessConversational ImplicatureIllocutionary ForceLanguage Acquisition

Foreign Exchange Market and Forward Exchange Rate Essay

Foreign Exchange Market and Forward Exchange Rate - Essay Example Foreign markets handle large transactions instantaneously at a cheap transaction cost. Rational speculative bubbles cause the exchange rates to differ from its fundamental valuation. Foreign Exchange Markets readjust to cushion the market from the departure of technical efficiency. These departures may be from panicking traders, noise traders, herding instinct, and bandwagon effects. Other factors that may lead to misalignments in the Exchange markets include traders that are caught in liquidity squeeze in other financial markets. They bring volatility to the Exchange Markets. Some forecasters strongly believe that foreign exchange markets are efficient. Similarly, they argue that forward exchange rates are unbiased predictors of future spot rates .To establish validity of efficiency in foreign exchange markets, this paper will explore the international finance theories. It will support the claims through use of appropriate examples. Efficiency in Foreign Exchange Markets Efficiency in foreign exchange market encompasses a reflection of the relevant information regarding exchange rates. Efficiency considers both the forward and spot exchange rates. Testing efficiency requires analysis of two aspects of exchange rates. These are the spot rate and the forward rate. The forward rate should have all available information about future expectations of foreign exchange rate. Analysts argue that the market is efficient when the prices reflect all relevant information. This means that the traders cannot make any alteration in order to get unjustifiable profits. The market efficiency is very beneficial to investors, exchange rate forecasters, and policy makers (Brigham & Huston, 2012: 591). The theory of efficient market demands foreign exchange markets should embrace full information of the prices. This means that traders cannot make profits through malicious old information. In addition, they cannot use the past trends of the

Introduction to Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to Law - Essay Example Crime 1 – (RWC 9A.36.001) Assault in the First Degree (Dave). He used the BB gun against Patty. The proof is the bullet entering her book bag. She then fleeing for safety. Her action is to avoid sure personal injury. Defense (RCW 9A.12.010) Insanity (Dave). He says the state of mind made it impossible to understand right from wrong actions. There would need to be a preponderance of evidence. This defense will not stand. Dave will be found guilty on both charges. Defense 2 (RCW 9A.16.110) Defending Against Violent Crime (Patty) The claim is the fear of imminent danger. Patty used no more force than was necessary in the circumstances. This defense will stand. The charge will be dismissed. Counter arguments – There is little room for any credible counters. The persons are clearly identified. The ownership of the ring can be clearly established. The circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the ring are clear. It is clear who committed the initial crimes. There is evidence that the bag was damaged. Further, it should be possible to confirm Dave’s fingerprints on the gun. The security authorities were able to apprehend him immediately. Presumably with the weapon and the bruises. The bruises were necessary for the escape. It should be possible to trace his DNA on the bag and traces of the bag material on the bruised

History of Power Generation in Niagara Falls Essay

History of Power Generation in Niagara Falls - Essay Example Today both United States as well as Canada is able to enjoy this huge supply of energy due to the efforts of several individuals and companies who recognized the ability of Niagara Falls to supply energy and continued to make efforts to assist mankind. The ability of Niagara Falls to provide unexpected amount of energy was first realized by Daniel Joncaire who started by developing a small sized canal just over the falls to obtain energy for his sawmill (Kurilovitch, 2003, p.3). Later it was realized that the falls had much more to offer and the area was then bought by Augusts as well as Peter Porter during the era of 1805 from the state level government of the New York. Right after the purchase, the owners increased the size of the canal to obtain huge amounts of power for tannery and gristmill. After a period of nearly 50 years a company named Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Mining Company came into existence which was involved in the construction of canals that were later utilized for energy generation. After a period of 28 years the first ever hydro power generating station came into existence under the leadership of Jacob Schoelkorpf. The further expansion of hydro power generation could not take place until the period of 1893 even though efforts were made under the leaderships of Edward Dean Adams and William Thomson during the period of 1890 (Smith, 2011)p.. During the era of 1893 a company named Westinghouse Electric was called upon to design and expand the current power generation and the company ended up developing an AC power system during the period of 1896 and this system was found to be one of the largest electricity generating system of its time. By the period of 1956 several small scaled power plants that were producing Hydro electricity were operational. But during the period of 1956 a disaster made its way hurting the progress and smaller power

W3D 590 perceive people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W3D 590 perceive people - Essay Example These aspects may render one perceive or view people positively or negatively. They affect the way one senses certain information before showing any impression. Therefore, there are several factors that commonly incite the way we perceive people. The first one is the mood state experienced by a person (Smith, 2013). Moods affects strongly on the way we perceive someone. We are able to think properly or make a positive impression of others when we are happy compared with times when we are depressed. When in undesirable mood, we are most probably going to evaluate others unfavorably than when in a positive mood state. An interviewer will make a good recommendation about a job applicant when his or her mood state is welcoming. The second factor is the attitude of the perceiver towards someone being perceived. The attitude that we have towards others affects the impressions we make on others. For example, if a male interviewer has a negative attitude on female that they are not capable to handle the job given, then his perception of a female job applicant will automatically be affected (Chris & Peter, 2014). The third one is the interests we have. Our attention, focus mostly appears to be affected by our interests which differ from one individual to the other. What one notices in situation may differ from what the other perceives. Before the interviewer makes any impressions, he or she will consider his or her interest in the job applicant. Self-concept is another factor that affects our thinking over others.Picking up traits in others will depend on our self-concept, one with a positive self-concept will always have positive attributes of others (Collela et al, 2010). Motive also affects the way we perceive. The interviewer who has an ill motive of a job applicant with better papers than him, he feels unsecured of his position. Fearing that the applicant might take his position will affect his perception. Another factor is knowledge,

Skin put Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Skin put - Assignment Example The basic reason behind this research analysis was to take the opinion of the public about the product. The results of the research study are showing the concerns of the people regarding the skinput technology. Most of the young people are supporting it whereas some other critics are also augmenting on the sensitivity of the skinput technology. Mostly people are of the opinion that this gadget is useful and easy to use for giving commands etc. The level of creativity and innovation is very high in this Microsoft product Skinput. Despite all such advantages people argue that the price of the technology is high. They may not be able to afford it. The cost aspect is very important from both sides, i.e. customer and the company (Beirut 1). Many of the critics also argue that the health issues related to the technology. Initially the mobile phone technology also faced many argument regarding harmful rays and signals, which may disturb the natural audible sense of a person. It is the case with this Microsoft’s skinput technology. People are very much concerned that either it would harm the body or not. Obviously when the device is directly connected to the human body, the people may get suspicious about its effects. Some people also argue on the small size of the skinput device. The small size of the device may reduce the function ability of the product. The skinput device as compare to other digital devices, which are larger and thus provide a wide space for the viewers, may irritate people. In order to make the product more popular and famous in the public the marketing managers must focus on the advertising and promotion of the technology. The product will be successful when people will replace their existing mobile phones with this skinput technology. A true advertising campaign actually gives benefit when people perceive the specific product as the necessary item of their

W3D 590 perceive people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W3D 590 perceive people - Essay Example These aspects may render one perceive or view people positively or negatively. They affect the way one senses certain information before showing any impression. Therefore, there are several factors that commonly incite the way we perceive people. The first one is the mood state experienced by a person (Smith, 2013). Moods affects strongly on the way we perceive someone. We are able to think properly or make a positive impression of others when we are happy compared with times when we are depressed. When in undesirable mood, we are most probably going to evaluate others unfavorably than when in a positive mood state. An interviewer will make a good recommendation about a job applicant when his or her mood state is welcoming. The second factor is the attitude of the perceiver towards someone being perceived. The attitude that we have towards others affects the impressions we make on others. For example, if a male interviewer has a negative attitude on female that they are not capable to handle the job given, then his perception of a female job applicant will automatically be affected (Chris & Peter, 2014). The third one is the interests we have. Our attention, focus mostly appears to be affected by our interests which differ from one individual to the other. What one notices in situation may differ from what the other perceives. Before the interviewer makes any impressions, he or she will consider his or her interest in the job applicant. Self-concept is another factor that affects our thinking over others.Picking up traits in others will depend on our self-concept, one with a positive self-concept will always have positive attributes of others (Collela et al, 2010). Motive also affects the way we perceive. The interviewer who has an ill motive of a job applicant with better papers than him, he feels unsecured of his position. Fearing that the applicant might take his position will affect his perception. Another factor is knowledge,

Why is education important to enlisted service members Essay

Why is education important to enlisted service members - Essay Example A service member’s removal from society during their term of service can be an incredible challenge to them, and free education can help diminish this problem. Like prison inmates, enlisted service people spend a great deal of their time sequestered from â€Å"normal† society – while on deployment they live by different rules and codes than they would back home. This can make re-transitioning into society extremely difficult, but education, which provides both paths to suitable employment on return and can provide perspective for a life in the military can help smooth these transitions between â€Å"normal† and â€Å"military† society. Another important reason to provide a free education to service members is the different skill qualities and career length they get from working in the armed services. The average military career is not a life-long one – most people choose to retire from this grueling career path relatively early in life (compared to other professions) some get out as soon as their first term of service is done, while some make it into their thirties and forties. When they retire, they often have a long and productive life ahead of them – but not necessarily that many skills that can translate directly to a new job placement. Yes, some gain technical skills in communications or maintenance, and of course they learn things like trust, team work and so on from working in the military but this may be of only limited utility. Education, either in the form of courses, certificates or anything else, can help enlisted people get a happy and productive second career in civilian life. Education may not be the silver bullet to all of humanities woes, but it can help smooth transitions between military and civilian life, leading to important long term benefits for the people who serve our country. Providing one hundred percent tuition assistance can help armed services members with their return to civilian and post

The Crucible Essay Example for Free

The Crucible Essay The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a drama about a small group of teen girls in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts caught in an innocent conjuring of love potions to catch young men are forced to tell lies that Satan had invaded them and forced them to participate in the rites and are then forced to name those involved. Thrown into the mix are greedy preachers and other major landowners trying to steal others land and one young woman infatuated with a married man and determined to get rid of his innocent wife. Fueled by the lies and blasphemy in the town, they’re finally brought to a â€Å"melting point† where they buy into the deceit and start to charge witchcraft. The Crucible represents test, trail, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat. The title reflects the meaning of the work as a whole theme. First, John Proctor is a tested and formatted by fire character. In The Crucible he is tested by the court and the citizens in Salem. In the play Abigail Williams accuses John Proctors wife of witchery and is taken to trial but john proctor want to accuse Abigail of murder. He is trying to do anything possible to save his wife of being lynched. John Proctor was put through a severe test of faith in him and came through in the end by finding the good in him and refusing to cast away his name in signing a confession. John Proctor was confused on how he felt towards his relationship with Elizabeth he felt like he was a â€Å"not a good man† to her. Johns character is considered a formatted by fire character because of the way he has developed from the beginning to the end of the play. Next, Elizabeth Proctor represents trial and a vessel baked to resist heat character. Like many puritan women, Elizabeth Proctor is reserved, slow to complain, and dutiful. Yet, Elizabeth is pained by the fact that her husband was having an affair with their â€Å"strikingly beautiful† young servant. But Elizabeth doesn’t seem to care. Abigail Williams accused her of witchery to try to get John Proctor back. Throughout the play she struggles for her innocence’s and so does John. He manages to do anything possible for Elizabeth to be free, even if it meant to lie and accuse Abigail of murder. Elizabeth manages to escape lynching because she receives the news that she is expecting a child. Elizabeth is a vessel baked to resist heat character because she manages everything to not get involved in problems also she wasn’t guilty of any charges and managed to escape being lynched. To conclude, the drama The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a drama about a group of girls that are caught in an innocent conjuring of love potions to catch young men are forced to tell lies that Satan had invaded them and forced them to participate in the rites and are then forced to name those involved. But once they confess on whom they saw the say names of people they don’t like because they want revenge on all their enemies. The Crucible represents test, trail, ordeal, formation by fire, and vessel baked to resist heat. The title reflects the meaning of the work as a whole theme.

Organizational Culture In Strategic Management

Organizational Culture In Strategic Management Culture plays an important part in our society. It refers to beliefs and codes of practice that makes a community what it is. It also plays the same role in organizations. A strong organizational culture will provide stability to an organization as it has significant influence on the attitudes and behaviours of organizations members. Most of companys top managers have a strong awareness that the culture of a company is crucial to everything they do and plays irreplaceable part in their success. However, not many companies can admit that they can describe their culture and fully understand how important it is in the success of their businesses. Therefore, this paper will give a deeper insight about how an organizations culture can have a great influence on its strategic management processes. What is Organization Culture ? There are various explanations and elements to define organizational culture. For some, it means top management beliefs and values about how they should manage the organization and conduct the business (Lorsch 1986). For some, it is an evolutionary process relating to people that creates unique characters for the organization (Hatch 1993). However, in general, organizational culture has been defined as the pattern of fundamental assumptions or beliefs that a specific group has developed through learning to deal with its problems of internal assimilation and external adaptation, and that have been approved to work effectively, and therefore it can be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, feel and behave in relation to those problems (Schein 2009). The Importance of Organizational Culture in Strategic Management : Considering the importance of organizational culture and its impacts in strategic management is very essential. As organizational culture and strategies are both social processes, many strategists argue that culture and strategies are connected. According to Alvesson (2002), cultural dimension plays a vital role in all aspects of an organization. It is so impacting that it can determine the success and failure of an organization. In leadership concept, organizational culture has been identified as one the important components that strategic leaders can use to develop dynamic organization. Culture reflects the way in which people in an organization set objectives, manage their resources and perform their tasks. Culture also affects people behaviour unconsciously. Even in those organizations where the ideal of organizational culture do not receive much explicit attention, how people think, feel, value, believe and behave in a company are generally influenced by ideas, beliefs and perce ption of a cultural nature. According to Schein (2010), organizational leaders achieve success by constantly sending clear signals about their priorities, beliefs and values. Once culture is established and accepted, they become a strong management tool for leaders to communicate and energize their members with beliefs and values to do their jobs in a strategy supportive manner. When leaders succeed in promotion ethical culture in the organization, they will also become successful in organizational growth and consequently are competitive to their rivals. Therefore, it is very important to develop a strong culture in the organization as well as strategies that are suitable to the culture in order to be strengthened by it. If a particular strategy does not match with the organization culture, it could be almost impossible to accomplish expected outcome from the planned strategy. Organizational Culture, Vision and Mission in Strategic Management : One of the perspective to look at how organizational culture supports strategic management is through its influence on organizations missions and visions. Missions and visions play an important part in companys strategic management. According to Harrison and John (2010), a written mission statement is one of the most common way that managements use to communicate with their staffs about strategic direction. Generally, missions and visions state the companys purpose and values which provides ideals and direction for the company as it interacts with the marketplace. This will not only give a sense of purpose to internal and external stakeholders but also help them in resource allocation decisions which is very for carrying out companys strategy management. However, in order to have an effective missions and visions, managements need to connect them to organizational culture. In fact, one of the way to see an organizations culture through its reflection in core values (Schein 2010). Acc ording to Tocquigny and Butcher (2012), core values are the set of belief or ideology by which an organization operates. They are the foundation of organizational culture. In this fast paced era when everything is changing, core values are still constant. The organization may develop new strategies, policies or even significantly restructure; however, the fundamental identity of the company still remains intact. These values are the essential, foundational principles that will guide the organizations vision, mission and strategies as well as define and differentiating the organization from its competitors (Senske 2003). They create a foundation of attitudes and practices that every members have to agree to follow in order to support the vision and long term success of the organization. They also provide reference points and goals which allows organization to shape and strengthen its business. As internalized perception and beliefs can motivate staffs performance to exceptional level s, an effective strategic leaders need to understand and develop their intended implemented strategies that are suitable to organizational culture in order to pursue the vision of organizations leaders. Until organization decides what those cultural values are, and how they will interact with each other, ità ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s very difficult to do anything else, whether setting goals, establishing measurements, solving problems or even making decision effectively. One example about how organizational culture can support companys vision and mission is Facebook. Facebook is described as a cutting edge technology that constantly taking on new challenges in the worlds of milliseconds and terabyte. Their vision for the company is to create a fast changing and innovative company. They do not aim for perfection that requires a long time in order to launch the product but they weigh heavily on being able to make and ship products quickly, get customers feedback and continue to innovate it. In order to encourage creativity and innovation within the company, Facebooks culture created by Zuckerberg is a relaxed, unstructured and open culture. Employees can come and go as they please, with no standard work schedules which results in more employee freedom. If employees need to chill out, they can play video or table-top games. Collaboration and teamwork are encouraged to be in an informal communication and atmosphere. They also constantly encourage people to keeping things fresh, innovative and interesting, to be bold in experimenting new ideas, without any meddling from above. All of these have fostered for a fun-loving, casual and creative working environment which makes their staffs satisfied while achieving their goal to be a rapid innovative technology company (Robbins and Judge 2011). Organizational Culture as Competitive Advantage in Strategic Management : Another reason that makes culture become a determinant of business success or failure is due to its contribution in organizations competitive advantage. Creating and sustaining competitive advantage in a particular industry is always the major concern in organizations strategic management. This is because competitive advantage will help the organization to differentiate itself from its competitors while strengthening its position in the market place. According to McDonald and Gandz (1992), culture can contribute positively to the competitive advantage of companies. It can be a great tool for organization to increase their level of performance which makes it become more competitive in market place. Fernandez and Hogan (2003) have stated that culture is the underlying attitudes and beliefs that can strongly influence individual and group behaviour. When members in an organization share the same beliefs and values, they can understand what kind of attitudes they expect themselves and ot her people to show in working place as well as how they need to behave and react in particular situation in order cooperate well with each other. As they understand what the company is trying to accomplish, it will motivate them to work for a higher purpose which in turn helps to set an organization apart from the competition (Gilmartin 1999). Managements can also use organizational culture as an effective tool to dictate, control and manage employee behaviours in their strategic management (Sinha 2008). In fact, this is a more powerful way of managing employee than companys rules and regulations. Leaders in the company can use culture to influence, educate and shape their staff s mindset and attitude to gain their support in following the companys plan and procedure while reducing resistance in the organization. Having a strong, positive and strategy-supportive culture will affect the energy, enthusiasm, working habits and operating practices of employees which will not only booste r the efficiency and effectiveness in the department but also attract many people to work in the organization while reducing their staff turnover, hiring and training cost which results in yielding a competitive advantage. Not only contribute to companys competitive advantage , organizational culture also sustains the companys competitive advantage. As a company starts to experience the superior financial performance, its competitors will also starts to seek to copy what they believe is the source of competitive advantage that generates the success of the company. After examining the relationship between culture and superior financial performance, Barney (1986) concluded that culture is the factor that can help companies to generate sustained competitive advantage. He strongly believes that a strong and valuable organizational culture is one of the most sustainable competitive advantages a company can have. This is because a valuable and rare cultures is very difficult to imitate. Giving enough time and money, competitors can duplicate almost everything what an has done. They can hire away some of the companys best people. They can reverse engineer the companys processes. However, when it comes to orga nizational culture, they canà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t duplicate the organizations culture. It is very hard for people to define culture clearly, especially in respect of its contribution to value of companys product and service. Another reason for this is that culture is usually related to historical aspects of company development as well as to the vision, beliefs and inspiration from particular strategic leaders. Organizational culture is the uniqueness and the identity of an organization that will differentiate the company from its competitors. If companies know how to make use of culture in their strategic management, it will be a powerful tool for them to sustain their competitiveness and consistence in the market while helping them to achieve success in their strategy implementation. Even when rivals try to apply the firms cultural attributes, there will be no guarantee that they can produce the same culture or obtain superior financial performance just like what the company has achieved. A good example to illustrate this point is Zappos company. Knowing that customers nowadays not only focus on good products but they also demand excellent service from the outlets, Zapposs strategic plan is to build a long term brand that not just about shoes, clothing or online retailing but to be about the best customer service and the best customer experience. To be able to achieve this goal, Zappos believes that organizational culture is the only answer. They believe that if they can get the culture right, most of other stuffs such as great customer service, or passionate employees, or building great long term brand will naturally happen on its own. In order to make employees to deliver an excellent service, instead of just using rules and procedures like other companies to educate staffs, the managements in here have shaped their staffs mindset and attitude by using culture to transmit their message to their staffs. Zappos have created a culture that encourages employees to wow e ach other by being yourself, as crazy or weird as possible, showing your care and love for other people, and just having fun in the workplace. As the employees start to be wowed by their colleagues, they will automatically want to do the same thing for other people, especially for their customers. This culture not only makes employees to be happy in their workplace but it also encourages staffs to be creative and enthusiastic in wowing their customers which results in increase in their repeated customers and their sale performance. This culture is something unique that people usually do not find in other companies which makes it attractive to their staffs as well as to other people to work in Zappos. It becomes a competitive advantage of Zappos which cannot be copied by other competitors. It makes Zappos become more competitive and differentiate themselves from their rivals in the market place (Hsieh 2010). Organizational Culture and Strategic Decision Making : Another perspective for managements to consider about the importance of their organizational culture in strategic management is its impact on their strategic decision making. As it has been mentioned above, culture is the organization s identity, values, beliefs that influences how people, from managements to employees, behave in the organization. Therefore, Thompson and Martin (2005) have concluded that organizational culture is the heart of all strategy creation and implementation. Organizational culture provides the framework for the organization, which affects nearly all the organizational activities, from the execution of strategy to the acceptance and implementation of new processes (Soyer, kabak and Asan 2007; Hill 2009; Cumming and Worley 2009). For managements, culture affects their behaviour unconsciously. It affects the choice, incidence and application of the modes of strategy creation, which reflects the values and preferences of the strategic leader. Managements do thin g in particular ways because it is implicitly expected behaviour influenced by organizational culture. Culture also influences the selection of people for particular jobs, which results in affecting the way in which tasks are carried out and decisions are made. In addition, it influences the ability of a leader to deliver his or her ideal and vision to other members of the organization as well as gaining their support and commitment when it comes to applying new strategy in the organization. In order to have a successful strategy implementation, it requires the right attitude, approach and commitment from employees which can only be influenced by culture. When a strategy match with companys culture, the culture will become a valuable ally in strategy implementation and execution. When it is not a part of the change strategy, management will usually find it difficult to implement the strategy successfully as well as achieving their target (Lawson and Ventriss 1992). Berry (1983) also believes that it may be a wiser choice for managements to select a business or strategy that will fit their companys organizational culture well in order to shift the firm toward a new strategy instead of accomplishing cultural change, which can be very difficult to achieve. Therefore, it is very important to identify the existing cultural dimensions of the organization in order to achieve successful strategy implementation. Organizational culture can be a powerful source to support companys strategy but at the same time, it can also become a great barrier to leaders if they do not consider it carefully. By understanding the elements of organizational culture and its impact on peoples behaviour, I believes that strategic leaders will be better equipped to make wise decision in making and implementing strategies to their organization. One example about how culture influences strategic decision is Walmart. In Walmart, their philosophy is to offer customers a lower price than they can get in anywhere else. Its culture is based on low cost end of every transaction in order to make profit, not from the pricing end. With the principle of saving is important as pricing, the plan has always been to drive costs out of the system in the stores, from the manufacturers profit margins, and from merchandise brokers and other middlemen, all in the service of driving down prices at the retail level, in order for Walmart to sell more, increasing the amount of business with the vendor. In order to keep their expense low, Walmart limits its store locations to rural communities with a maximum population of 10,000. This will not only hold down real estate costs but also protect the company from heavy competition in metropolitan areas. They also try to find healthy suppliers that can provide timely deliveries at low prices. Management s in here also constantly check their competitors price to make sure that Walmart offer the best drive. All of these strategic decisions support the main principle and target which is saving costs as much as possible in order to offer lowest prices in the market (Refrigerated Transporter 2002). Conclusion : In conclusion, I firmly believe that there is a strong connection between organizational culture and strategic management. Every organization has its own unique culture. It is not only the organizations identity but also the philosophy, principles that every member in organization believe and value, which affects not only peoples attitude in the organization but also the strategic decision making and management in the company. If vision and mission of organizations leaders is the goal that the company is aiming, then I believe that culture will be the compass that leads company to achieve that goal. Without the support from organizational culture, it may be impossible for companies to achieve their intended result. Culture also plays an important role in companys competitive advantage. It is a vital element that will helps organization to protect and sustain their competitive advantage from their competitors. As organization keeps building, treasuring their culture as well as careful ly considering and applying it to their strategic management, I believe that the company will be able to accomplish their goal and their leaders vision.

Sling Blade Essay -- essays research papers

Sling Blade Film directed by and screen play by Billy Bob Thornton. Theme Sling Blade’s main theme is the redemption of Karl’s lost childhood. Karl Childer’s overly religious parents believed he was a punishment from God. They severely abused him, treated him like an animal, and forced him to live in a shed in solitude. Everyone in town picked on him and called him names. He was seen as a â€Å"retard† or slower than others. He had little to call his own. His only possessions were a Bible and several books on Christmas and carpentry. Karl was taught the Bible as a child, but it wasn’t really the Bible. The stories they told him were not in the Bible. His parents had made up their own stories and had led him astray on the rights and wrongs of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Karl was 12 years old interrupted what he believed to be the raping of his mother. He took charge and killed the man with a â€Å"sling blade†. He than found out his mother had wanted it so he killed her too. When he killed his mother and her lover he thought he was doing the right thing. Karl believed that if you have to sacrifice to do the right thing than you should do it. Karl was locked away in a â€Å"nut house† for the next 25 years for rehabilitation and correction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Karl’s release he quickly made a new friend, Frank. The young boy accepted Karl with out question because he seemed to be more childlike than man. The two become soul mates. Karl related to Frank through his childlike manner as well as his parental setup. Frank’s mother was a widow dating an alcoholic, abusive man, Doyle. Karl saw himself in Frank and decided to watch over him. The parallelism between the two characters was shown throughout the movie. The love they shared will save them. The â€Å"boys† faced their troubles on a simple level. They avoided the complications of adult views and judgments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl had read the Bible and believed he knew the difference between right and wrong, but was faced with the problem of protecting Frank from a painful future with Doyle. Karl knew that Doyle would manage to poison Frank’s life, or worse, just as Karl’s parents did to him. He tried to reconcile his own simple moral code with everything he had been taught about right and wrong, and must decide whether to stand by and watch, or step in to protect the child. He... ... of an abusive parent or significant other is it right to take their life to prevent danger of losing your life? I don’t understand why Linda stuck around. Doyle doesn’t provide anything for her family. All he does is endanger Frank mentally and physically. It shouldn’t have taken a â€Å"retard† to get rid of Doyle. She should have gotten rid of him in a calmer fashion. That way Karl would be a free man enjoying life on the outside with Frank. The scene that affected me the most emotionally was where Karl and the little boy tell each other â€Å"I love you† and than hugged their goodbyes. I was also touched by the way Karl protected Frank and Linda. He made sure they were safe before he killed Doyle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I thought Sling Blade was written and filmed well. It did get slow in parts, but overall it kept my attention. I picked up on minute details that on a regular basis I wouldn’t have. This paper made me see the underlying aspects such as the music, lighting, and script. It made me pay attention to what the characters were saying and how they were relating. I now look at film in a new light. I don’t just watch the surface. I dig deeper and watch for everything.

An Accusation of Sexual Harassment in Pro Sports Essay

Over the years sexual harassment has been revered on a higher level of unacceptability than ever before. Companies are setting high standards for employees concerning sexual harassment. Usually, they implement a code of ethics to encourage an ethical decision making process in the minds of their employees. People inside an organization need to know what is considered to be illicit behavior. With sexual harassment, the scale is very narrow. It can range from petitioning sexual favors, vulgar language, or any type of inappropriate touching. In the case study, â€Å"An accusation of Sexual harassment in Pro Sports,† the employers were dealing with being accused of verbally abusing and sexually harassing Ms. Brown Sanders over a two year period and once she blew the whistle to top management, she was fired a month later. In my opinion, what is known as sexual harassment was not as popular a decade ago. Today, I feel that the line of intended hospitality and sexual harassment is extremely thin. People must filter what they say, how they say things, and how they may innocently touch the shoulder of their fellow employees, rather male or female. Based on the facts in the Sander’s verses Madison Square Garden (MSG) case, I believe that MSG could not have prevented themselves from liability, according to the Employers Liability for Employee’s Act which states, â€Å"employers are liable for the criminal conduct of their employee’s† (smallbusiness.findlaw.com). According to Principles of Management, the author insists, â€Å"top managers are responsible for monitoring their business environment† (Williams 8). It does not even matter if top management does not know what is going on, they will still be held responsible for their employee’s conduct. If I was a part of Madison Square Garden’s top management, I would make sure that I had a well established code of ethics and I would let it be known that anyone who violates the discretionary measures will be reprimanded to the highest degree, plus fined. I say this because of the environmental changes occurring in the sports world, women are a huge part of the fan base; therefore, to uphold our image, to continue to maximize our profit momentum, to stop unfavorable publicity by the media, and to let women know that we value their opinion, would help us to remain a profitable establishment. In addition, I would do my best to deal with problematic issues with temporal  immediacy. Often victims of sexual harassment have long term effects that can have a tendency to hurt them psychologically, mentally, and emotionally. The allegation against Madison Square Garden in this case does raise an ethical question with regard to the employee’s actions. In my opinion, the company became aware of Ms Brown’s complaint and instead of helping her; they allowed her to be fired. Even when she won her case for 11 million dollars; MSG neglected their social responsibility and threatened that they will appeal the decision, rather than givi ng a formal apology to her and their commentators. One clichà © my grandmother use to say is, â€Å"the apple does not fall far from the tree.† To me, this means that many of the characteristics displayed by the employee’s are simultaneously stemmed from the top. To conclude, nowadays, it is more common for people to report to a higher authority or a supervisor that they have been sexual harassed or assaulted. Once these issues have been acknowledged and report to top management, they should not turn away with blind eyes. Certain actions must take place if a report has been made and the company must figure out what kind of harassment took place, so they can determine what the next step of discipline will be. I believe that companies who have adopted clauses for sexual harassment on men and women were long overdue; especially, with women, who have usually kept silent, but have dealt with solidified objectification for years. Works Cited An Employers Liability for Employee’s Act. Find Law. 27 September, 2014. http://www.smallbusiness.findlaw.com Dessler, Gary. Human Resource Management. An Accusation of Sexual Harassment in Pro Sports. Williams, Chuck. Principles of Management. Top Management Responsibilities. South Western: Madison, OH. 2015. pp. 8.

Internship Narrative

Internship Narrative My planned internship will be with Delaware North Company in their (Milwaukee) Sportservice division at Miller Park in the Majestic Team Store. I will be working under the direction of _______, who is the Retail Assistant Manager. This internship will fit well into my professional career objectives, is appropriate for my education, and will expand my knowledge in business operations. My career goal is to become a general manager in some area in hospitality. I have always been interested in a career that is mainly interpersonal and social, not sitting in a cubicle crunching numbers all day.Rather being out on the floor talking and meeting people. This position will give some insight to management in the service industry. My position at Miller Park will be overseeing the terrace level store’s operations and supervising the retail associates in that store. It is a great way for me to test my skills at management. Going from a fellow employee to one of their s upervisors will be difficult. I was a retail store attendant and now am a store supervisor. My old duties as a cashier were limited, I could only do sales. As a manager or supervisor I can now do a return, sell a gift certificate, or give a discount.I have more responsibilities as well outside cashiering. Now I am in charge of coming in on non-game days to restock and check in inventory, clean up and change out the displays, and any filler jobs that my supervisor might have. It will be quite a change from my previous position because of the amount of work and responsibility added to the new position. When I was a cashier, I could only come in two hours before gates open, leave about an hour after games, and could only work games. Now I have the opportunity to come in on non-game days, which leads to more hours but also much more responsibility.During these new hours before games I will be checking and ordering inventory up from warehouse, getting change for the cash registers, and a ny other miscellaneous jobs left to complete before the store attendants arrive. As a cashier I was only in charge of checking my register area, whereas now I am in charge of the whole store in making sure it is running smoothly during the game. This is completely different than my old position’s duties. It will be more challenging but will help prepare me for my career goal in management which is makes it worth doing.This internship is appropriate for my education because I can apply many skills and techniques I’ve learned in the classroom. The top classes I plan to incorporate into my internship are * Interpersonal Communication * Leadership and Management * Organizational Behavior In interpersonal communication we discussed the different patterns for group communication. I found this very helpful because it reminded me of how most leaders will run a meeting or discussion. The first figure (Figure 1) is from our chapter on communicating in the workplace from my inter personal communication textbook.It shows the three common patterns of group communication. While trying to get us involved in his lecture, our speech professor would incorporate the different patterns of group communication. Pattern A is how most teachers or managers will typically run a discussion, where it is them talking to all individuals at once. Most lectures are this way, and it made us realize how little communication or involvement there was from the rest of the class. When we used pattern B, it left out the shy and quiet students and didn’t get their opinions across. When we used pattern C, we were able to get everyone involved in the discussion.We were able to do this by having a tally marked next to our name every time we spoke or had a comment to add. By the end of the discussion, everyone had spoken at least once to get a tally. I plan on using the pattern we all agreed in class would be more effective which was pattern C. It represents the total group and each member being heard, the best for reliable conclusions. A is too rigid and is a leader-dominated group. It tends to lead to poor discussion. This internship will be a great way for me to test and experiment with pattern C and see how effective it can be.At the beginning of each shift we have a team meeting in each store. I plan on having each person contribute something in these meetings that might need more attention or could be changed. In leadership and management, we would mainly discuss what leadership styles there were, referring to the behavioral patterns that a person portrays when that person is trying to lead. The two main portrayals were task-oriented leaders and person-oriented leaders. Most effective leaders would have both skills. I want to become one of those leaders.One who determines what has to be done and how to go about doing tasks effectively as a task-oriented leader. As well as one who will also suggest ways of accomplishing the task at hand, but also will enco urage others to determine how. We also discussed how to prepare for such leadership in the six steps suggested and researched by Fred Fiedler (1967): â€Å"be knowledgeable about the particular tasks, develop mental models for managing meaning, work harder than anyone else, be personally committed to group goals and needs, be willing to be decisive, and develop people skills as well as task skills. In order to be an effective supervisor, I will need to work hard at becoming more knowledgeable about the store and its surroundings, the RetailPro program we use, and how to open and close down a store. I will need to be able to anticipate what if scenarios such as what if the program shuts down while quick-pulling and we need to switch all registers over to the hand held card readers. I am a hard worker, but will need to work even harder as a manager because I need to set a good example for all the employees to follow.I will also need to keep the group motivated in reaching the goals s et for the store, perhaps exceed well over the minimum for sales for most of the home stands. There will be times when I will have to make a decision and get resented, such as writing someone up for being on their phone, but I will need to be decisive and follow through with the discipline. Finally, I will have to work hard at finding that balance of people and task skills. Seeing to it that everyone has had their chance to contribute, handle conflicts in ways that end in better terms, and support their opinions and follow through on them if they are appropriate.Organizational behavior covered a comprehensive view of organizational theory and behavior by studying individual and group behaviors and how these interrelate with the organization’s structure, systems, and goals. Early on we discussed three basic managerial roles: interpersonal, informational, and decision-making. Right now I consider the internship to be under mainly an interpersonal role, which covers skills used to communicate with, understand, and motivate individuals and groups; a critical skill for first-line managers, according to our textbook by Griffin and Moorhead, as you can see from Figure 2.This figure was taken from our powerpoint on the overview of organizational behavior chapter. From the figure, you can see that technical and interpersonal skills are the most important. However still need to have some conceptual and diagnostic skills. This way of laying out these skills based on their contemporary Organizational Behavior approach is very clever in showing the level of each skill set to each level of management. I will be entering this industry as a first line manager while working under the direction of a middle manager and hope to someday become a top manager in the service industry.One way to implement the interpersonal skill will be by motivation. A main part of motivation process is need deficiency. I have to be able to motivate the employees to maintain some professionali sm while still having a bit of fun. Make it a little competitive to make them do their best with a reward system, resembling a goal-directed behavior. In this case, it follows the traditional approach by Fredrick Taylor where it assumes that employees are motivated solely by money. This is true for the entry level position of retail store attendants.This internship will expand my knowledge in business operations. Two skills I plan to take away from other workers at this position is * An increase in my confidence * Communication skills I am a very outgoing person, however when I am in a position of making the decisions and directing individuals to work I become quite timid and shy. I want to change this and increase my level of confidence with this position. All the other current supervisors excel with getting employees to follow their directions without sounding too upfront or direct. I hope to do the same and learn from them.As many know, the ability to communicate in an effective and professional manner can make all the difference in business. I will need to learn how to communicate better with other professionals rather than just the customers. I will have to constantly communicate with my manager and assist her with the buyers and player’s families that come into the stores from time to time. Since usually only the supervisors will be in touch with them while they shop or browse the store’s layout. I plan on watching how the other managers communicate with them and find out the do’s and don’ts when dealing with the buyers or player families.As I work there I hope to expand my knowledge of business in two ways * How to manage a small group of employees who are part of a larger group * How to multitask with large projects I believe I will have what it takes to make sure they do their jobs and understand when they disagree with my method. As I mentioned before, I am great with the one on one, but will adapt to talking in front of a larger group. I hope by midsummer I will know how to effectively manage a small group that follows the standards, policies, and procedures of a larger organization.Every year there are many different projects going on at once within the retail department. Within the last two years we’ve had two major projects alongside the seasonal and home-stand projects. Managers were dealing with training new supervisors with the opening of a club level store and last year redesigning the main store. While these were going on, they were juggling the projects and reaching the goals they had set for that season with sales and introducing new products. Time management is key, and learning how these managers in such a fast-paced job focus on reaching all goals set for that season and in the long term is outstanding.I would like to learn from them on how to better manage my time and juggle projects to make sure each gets the attention it needs to be attained. It is one thing to sit there in th e classroom and learn the different styles and techniques managers use but I am very interested in how I will implement what I’ve learned into the internship and my future career. This internship will give me the chance to test some of the theories and styles to see what works best for me; whether I can be both a task-oriented and person-oriented leader.No matter what area of business I study, the most important aspect is to be able to relate to my employees. I want to learn how to effectively motivate employees. Being able to observe and hear how employees respond to different strategies will teach me methods I could never learn in a classroom. In class, we generally learn about the different business areas independently. I am interested in seeing first-hand how all the divisions of a business function together. Figure 1 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 2

Shall We Tell the President?

In February 24 he heard shocking news. Some people were planning to kill the president and he understood that a senator is also involved in this. When they knew that he heard everything, they tried to kill him. But fortunately he escaped. After the meeting Mark Andrews talked Dry. Dexter and fixed a date with her. Barry called Nick and informed every thing. Nick States entrusted Mark to the hospital. On the way to the home Barry and Nick met In an accident and died _ March 3 Thursday Evening: Mark called Dry. Dexter and postponed the meeting. When he arrived in the hospital Angelo and Benjamin Reynolds who lied near Angelo had died.Mark tried to inform the news to Nick but he didn't get. So he informed all incidents to the FBI director H. A. L Tyson and through car radio he knew that Nick and Barry were died. 4 Friday 6. 27 am: Mark meets Tyson and informed to keep it secret; at the mean time Tyson had appointed two persons to look Mark. Mark starts his investigation about which sena tor involved in this case. At the Library of Congress he checked the congressional record to find out who were all in Washington on February 24. He got a list of 62 senators then he double checked and shortened it Into 38. Friday Afternoon 12. Pm: A meeting of conspirators takes place. One man Is Tony, he was an excellent driver another is Xanthium, a Vietnamese and an excellent rifle shooter, he hated Americans. The third man is Ralph Matson; he is an old FBI agent and the Peter Nicholson, a millionaire. The last man is called chairman. Ralph Matson was the killer of Angelo Ceasefires; he disguised like a Greek priest and killed him. Tony and Xanthium were the killers of Barry and Nick . They discussed about the planning to kill the president. Arc 4 1-relay Attorney 4 pm: Mark called Nils classmate Ana Knew auto ten mafias. When mark speaks with Dry.Dexter he got the news that Angelo was a Greek then he contacted a Greek orthodox priest and understood the killer who he see in the h ospital. 5 March Saturday Morning: Mark meets Tyson. In their Mathew Roger the Cast. Director of FBI gave information about the man who made the arrangements for the luncheon party. Marks visits Arians Ceasefires and learns that a priest came and gave fifty dollar bill to her. Mark traces the 50 dollar bill to know the finger prints. Mark contacted the secretaries of the 62 senators in his list not revealing the secret. He could cut down the number of senators' who had private luncheon on February 24.Sunday Morning 6 March 9 am: Mark calls a person in New York Times to know more about mafias and their attitude towards Gun Control Bill and also about senators who had close connections in organized crimes. Monday Morning 7 March 7 am: Tyson informed mark that a walk-talky of the FBI had missed and through that the information are going out side. For to know which senator where in the capitol on 3 March, mark looks the records and make a list of seven senators ‘Pearson, Noun, Bro oks, Byrd, Dexter, Harrison, Thornton'. 8 March Tuesday Morning 1 am: Tyson scolded Mark when he got the report from the woo men who are appointed to observe mark.They reported that Mark is in love with a senator daughter. Tyson scolded him because his lover's father Dexter is under suspicion. Mark goes to the senate house to see the Gun control bill debate, in which there he reduced his list to 5, because he understood that Noun and Pearson were not in the senate on 3 March. 9 March Wednesday: Tyson tells mark that Dexter may be the conspirator because the porters had seen in him on February 24 in Georgetown with his daughter. Mark shocked, he meets Elizabeth. Tycoon's men informed it and he scolded Mark.

Watching TV makes you smarter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Watching TV makes you smarter - Essay Example Johnson’s argument in support of television programs with more intricate stories can actually have a greater level of intellectual benefits when compared to plainer shows because under the latter case, the viewer’s brain does not explore potential outcomes of the story and the rationale behind such ideological constructs (170). Conversely, Johnson falls short of providing a convincing argument that places television viewing above other ways of gaining intellectual skills such as reading books. In fact, owing to the general spectator roles in television viewers, their inability to take charge of the unfolding events in the programs does not have any impact on their respective intelligence quotients (IQs). The viewers’ cognition is always expected to remain unchanged, irrespective of the content they are exposed to. By contrast, most people need some motivation to clear both psychological and physical fatigue inherent in human life, in an attempt to stimulate learning and cognitive development. In light of this, simple television programs with a higher level of predictability may have a higher degree of improving the IQ of the