Of Mice And Men And Social Characters Essay

In this essay I will examine three characters that can be considered as social misfits. I will talk about crooks, lennie and Curley’s wife as my three social characters. The reason that I have chosen these characters is because, Lennie is simple minded, crooks is black and Curley’s wife is a woman, these reasons will explain why each of these characters doesn’t fit into the environment. I will explain why Steinbeck has included the above characters in the novel. At last I will finish my essay by giving my conclusion. I have chosen crooks as a social misfit because he is the only black man on the ranch and back in the 1930’s, black people were treated differently to white people because of their skin colour. In my opinion crooks is a lonely person because again he is black, no one wants to talk to him or play card with him because he is black. â€Å"They play cards in there and I can’t play because I’m black!† Generally the level of the racism is so high. For instance, different characters have said a word â€Å"nigger† several times throughout the novel and this in my opinion is very racist towards black people. â€Å"If I say something, why it’s just a nigger talking†. Every one judges him by looking at his skin colour but he is possibly the most intelligent man on the ranch because he can read. â€Å"He had books too, California civil code for 1905†. With this knowledge he is discriminated and has to sleep alone behind the stables. Steinbeck has included crooks in this novel because he wanted to demonstrate how black people were treated differently. Not because white people don’t like black people’s personality, no; it’s just because of their skin colour. Crook is one of those fortunate black men who are very talented but he can’t fit into the environment because of his skin colour. I have chosen Lennie as one of my social misfit character because he in fact is mentally disabled. Lennie’s brain can only think about rabbits or mice, â€Å"don’t you think of nothing but rabbits.† He is very different to other characters because they can have serious conversations but Lennie can’t, but if he wants to talk to people he will either talk about tending rabbits or their dream of having a small farm, â€Å"the rabbits that we’re gonna get, and I get to tend them.† Lennie’s mind is just like a child because he only thinks about tending rabbits like a child would do, â€Å"I remember about tending rabbits George.† â€Å"Don’t you think of nothing but rabbits?† Steinbeck has include Lennie in this novel to show some of the Americans were narrow minded and most of them where uneducated. Curley’s wife can be considered as one of my social misfit characters because she is the only woman on the ranch. Steinbeck is trying to demonstrate about a woman back in 1930s, and how they were treated. You can see Curley’s wife was treated as a sexual object. For example, she is sometimes called a â€Å"tart† by the man or she couldn’t talk to any one except Curley, â€Å"you can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley .else he gets mad.† I personally feel sorry for Curley’s wife because she was not allowed to talk to any one except her husband and in my opinion she is a very lonely person. Curley’s wife and crooks are quite similar. No one wants to talk to crooks because he is black, no one wants to talk to Curley’s wife because she is a woman and in those day’s women’s and black people were treated differently so both of them were abused because of what they are. In my opinion Steinbeck has include Curley’s wife in the novel of mice and men because he wanted to demonstrate the position of the women and how they were treated. I think in 1930s there were fewer women in America than men’s in and those women’s were viewed as a sexual object by men’s. My conclusion is that every one of these three characters can be considered as a social misfit but in my opinion crooks is more likely not to be fit into the environment because he is black and in 1930s there were few black people in community in America. Crooks can’t have a conversation with people because he has a coloured skin that’s why he is very lonely. In my opinion it would have been boring if everyone on the ranch was white. By putting crooks in this novel everyone can see that black community weren’t in demand as white community.

Understanding by Design

Marnelli C. Joyosa January 19, 2013 BSED/ 011-0187 Understanding by Design’s Weaknesses 1. If you plan lessons that may broadly be described as open ended, based on standards, containing clear criteria for student success, include different ways to ensure student enthusiasm, flexible enough to accommodate the â€Å"teachable moment†, accessing the higher echelons of bloom’s taxonomy and integrating skills then the likelihood is you won’t learn anything new from understanding by design. . Creating a unit using the backward design planning process is not a neat, tidy or easy process. It is a recursive one; you will move back and forth across the curriculum map, making revisions and refinements each time you add something to a section of your planning. 3. Teachers think that â€Å"transfer† in UBD means applications to real life. They often â€Å"force† activities that are contrived.Sometimes applications are beyond students’ experiences . 4. â€Å"Other activities are impractical for huge classes. † 5. Understanding alone can be detrimental to other skills. 6. â€Å"In UBD, knowing aims to come after understanding but in reality, understanding comes after knowing. † 7. â€Å"Mandate that every teacher must use UBD for all of their planning immediately (without sufficient training, ongoing support or structured planning time).Provide one introductory presentation on UBD and assume that teachers now have the ability to implement UBD well. † 8. Other teachers were not directly trained but were told to just follow the guides. Some did not get any guides, so they had to do â€Å"UBD-sounding† lesson plans on their own. 9. Many schools say they do not know what textbooks to use since current books are not â€Å"UBDized. † 10. UBD’s process was not fine-tuned with consonant to an area or region’s context, needs and goals.

Consider one area of Tort law which you feel policy factors have had a Essay

Consider one area of Tort law which you feel policy factors have had a particular part to play in the development of the law.(Have chosen police immunity) - Essay Example There are four inherent elements to this negligence. These elements include the notion that there is a duty to exhibit a reasonable amount of care when dealing with another individual, the breach of that duty, the notion that the breach of that duty caused physical harm to another individual and finally, the breach did in fact cause harm from a legal standpoint. In order to examine the police immunity with regards to breach of duty within the realm of the tort of negligence, it is prudent that we examine the background of breach of duty and the charge of negligence resulting from it.1 The tort of negligence like all other legal causes in common law arose out of a necessity based on reason wherein many different actions were brought based on the fault of individuals with regards to inflicting harm on others as a direct result of carelessness. It dates back to the case of Heaven v Pender (1885). This was the first case wherein negligence was alleged wherein Pender who was a dock owner charged with the responsibility of putting up a staging outside of a ship owned by another party. He placed the staging up. An employee, who was subcontracted to paint the ship, mounted the staging and was hurt when one of the ropes supplied by the defendant broke and caused the plaintiff to sustain injuries. The plaintiff then brought a suit against Mr. Pender as Mr. Pender did supply the defective rope that eventually broke. Additionally, there was evidence that the rope had been scorched and there was prior knowledge that the rope was unfit for supporting the staging. The judge in this case ruled for the plaintiff and established a precedent with regards to negligence arising from a breach of duty.2 Yet another early case in establishing the tort of negligence is the case of Le Lievre v Gould [1893] which called to task the notion of professional negligence. Professional negligence according to common

Organisational Performance and Leadership Essay

Organisational Performance and Leadership - Essay Example Meanwhile a number of theories have been developed to improve the performance of organisations. This project discusses one such theory which has been framed by Hillgren and Morse. This report will also aim at shedding light on other areas of high performing organisations in order to justify their excellence and stupendous success as compared to their peers. This comparison is deemed necessary in realisation of the fact that the current business scenario is extremely demanding and organisations have to be immensely efficient in order to sustain the high levels of competition. In order to support the fundamental premise of this research, attempts will be made to identify and evaluate the basic elements of high performance organisations. Furthermore, the HPO SCORESâ„ ¢ model will also be comprehensively analysed. This assignment identifies four criteria that have been presented by Hillgren and Morse to improve the performance of the organisation. It aims to produce and identify certain common quality characteristics that are considered to be part of â€Å"high performance organisations† (IIBF, 2010, p.2). Instead of designing methods that will facilitate the organisations to achieve greater heights, this article aims to recognise if today’s ‘high performing organisations’ have certain characteristics in common. It also compares an organisation’s performance against these criteria. According to the definition generated through the research conducted by Carew et al. (n.d.), â€Å"high performing organisations are enterprises that over time continue to produce outstanding results with the highest level of human satisfaction and commitment to success† (Blanchard, 2009, p.9). From this definition it is pretty much comprehensible that these organisations ar e far more well-coordinated in comparison to their peers in terms of human resource management (HRM) and its allied functions. It has been observed that high performing organisations (HPOs)

Performance Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Performance Appraisal - Essay Example Therefore, the value of performance appraisals should not be underestimated by any organization. Performance appraisal is a system that evaluates job performances over a given period. It is simply an annual report on the performance of employees. Performance appraisal processes differ depending on organization, but they all serve the same purpose, which is to evaluate employees. Well-structured appraisals have numerous benefits to the organization. The main benefit of performance appraisal is to offer motivation to employees. Motivation adds energy to employees, making them remain focused to organizational goals and objectives. Achieving employee motivation through appraisals occurs through several ways (Arthur, 2008). Appraisals serve as strong indicators of the need to improve on job performance. Without the knowledge on how one is performing on the job, an employee lacks the motivation to make improvements. Recognizing employee performance improves their psychological wellbeing. The important issue about performance appraisals is that they make employees feel valued by the organization. The message passed over to employees by their managers motivates the employees regardless of being a positive or negative message. Through performance appraisals, employees realize the need for personal development, growth and learning. Employees focused on taking their careers to higher levels use appraisals to advance their careers (Arthur, 2008). In cases where appraisals reveal that employees are sleeping on their jobs, a wake up signal is passed over to employees, and they realize the need to refocus and reenergize. Appraisals further increase job satisfaction in situations where employees get positive recommendations from their managers. Organizations have strategic plans, which need to be met within a stipulated period. Effective appraisals are fundamental tools, which enable an organization to meet its strategic goals. With such

Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Accounting - Research Paper Example These systems can also differentiate between value-added and non-value added costs, offering cost accountants the chance to change them to value added costs (Jordan, 1999). In the past, accounting was done manually but now-a-days, data is entered via computers and wide area networks. No doubt, technology has changed the ways of accounting but it is still not sure whether this effect is positive or negative because it can be an asset for a business but a liability for the accounting profession. There are many advantages to the use of technology in managerial accounting. Different technology tools offer clear advantage over traditional system of accounting. For instance, these tools help through computer-integrated production, communications technology, image processing, the Internet, and expert systems. These and other various IT tools help in getting relatively varied and correct information in a regular way, but at the cost of confidentiality (Jordan, 1999). Managerial accounting is highly impacted by the sophisticated technology solutions, such as enterprise resource planning systems (ERPS). Corporate management is pro-oriented in adopting these IT solutions, although they are not fully aware of their practical outcomes in managerial accounting for corporate management. It is observed mostly that latest management accounting processes, and even the old techniques, such as annual budgeting are activated in different systems (Gradlund & Malmi, 2002). Technological tools add to the level of efficiency in the transferring of data between corporations and their various branches, offices, clients, and the accounting companies too. Communications technology employs a group of technologies to transfer data in different forms to all the entities. This specific type of technology is of great significance for big accounting firms, because of its increased communications strengths, facilitating

Auguste Comte Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Auguste Comte - Research Paper Example Comte’s success in defining sociology from an all-embracive or universal perceptive provokes the frontiers of other branches of knowledge to accept it and utilize in various purposes. Due to these harmonious relations of sociology with other sciences, scholars were inspired to consider it as science and they began to consider human being as well as his society and culture as a subject matter of this branch of knowledge. According to Comte, the preamble of sociology is considered to be embedded in his Positive Philosophy, that is, Positivism. After theoretically reviewing all the origins of all sciences he comes to a conclusion that human knowledge about has gone along three different stages: theological, metaphysical and scientific. The later, according to Comte, is Positivism. Therefore it is evident that Comte’s Positivism involves the scientific exploration of human society and thus â€Å"sociology† emerges as a branch of human knowledge. In fact, the polysemu s connotation of the scientific exploration of society provokes him to use the term â€Å"positivism†. At the theological phase, the knowledge of society basically comes from how religion and religious beliefs tend to define it. This theological view is based on the dogmatic doctrine of religion that is devoid of any opposition unless another religious view comes up with a set of totally different dogmas. It defines man and society as the implementation of the will of God and the social rules and regulations are referenced to God. This view, in the first place, circumcises the scope of experimenting the validity of the religious doctrines of society under the blasphemous taboo. So according to Comte, it goes exclusively goes against the zeal of science. But the Enlightenment in Europe in the 19th Century challenged this superiority of religion to shape human and to determine the position of human

Leonardo da Vinci Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leonardo da Vinci - Research Paper Example Largely self-educated, Da Vinci went on to fill thousands of dense and neatly penned secret commentaries and theories, a number of which have been descriptively difficult to interpret. Though his ideas and findings had no direct influence on later science, the very combination of intellect and imagination to create such inventions as a flying machine [aircraft] based on the physiology of a bat would later enter the world of manufacturing with the ultimate assembly of a number of powered engine machines like the automated bobbin winder. A polymath with an "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination," Da Vinci’s intellect, energy, and bravery in confronting problems and/or questions his time cut him uniquely among the rest as perhaps the most diversely talented individual that has ever lived. Indeed as art historian Helen Gardner (1970) notes, Da Vinci’s personality was without precedent, not only with regards to the scope and depth of his interests, bu t also in terms of the mystery as well as how remote his observations were; for the empirical methods he employed were far much beyond the workable designs of his time. His private life was kept much way from the public limelight, drawing much speculation from a section of scholars, more so about his sexuality. With reverence for sight (â€Å"knowing how to see†) as the most important aspect of human life, Da Vinci saw art and science as complementary rather than distinct, in effect, summing up his intellectual acumen that traversed across fields of study (Freud, 2012). Accordingly, he spent a great deal of time testing scientific laws, dissecting bodies, those humans as well as animals, structuring his observations, and finally releasing his thoughts in the thousands of manuscripts that have more than divided scholars on the specificity of his vision. Probably due to

Challenges and Contributions of Feminism to Organizational Theories Term Paper

Challenges and Contributions of Feminism to Organizational Theories - Term Paper Example Additionally, feminism must be seen as something that creates a totally different way of looking at the genders in that women are not inferior beings. Consequently, feminism challenges old assumptions about the sexes. Feminism can be treated in a number of ways. In certain circumstances, it may be seen as something that is a union of ideologies. This is because unlike many other beliefs, it can be the incorporation of both intellectual as well as social movements. Many experts have argued that feminism lacks objectivity and as such may not be regarded as a whole genus. However, this is beside the point; many other philosophies grew out of a postulation by a certain individual or expert. However, in the case of feminism, the idea grew out of the experiences and times of women. Consequently, one cannot be called a feminist if they do not demonstrate any sort of commitment to activism. Feminism must be a combination of ideology, philosophy, and activism. In other situations, feminism may be treated as a historical aspect. However, today, feminism in the UK and other western countries may be regarded as the fight against institutionalized prejudices against the genders within organizations. In other words, feminism may have changed substantially over the years but all these historical moments have certain things in common; the commitment to reinforcing equality of the sexes. It should be noted that feminism should not be regarded as an ideology that attempts to eliminate men or women out of positions of power. Consequently, one must be able to recognize the fact that feminism understands the differences between men and women but seeks to look for ways in which these two genders can co-exist in harmony.

Gender and Social Norms Essay Example for Free

Gender and Social Norms Essay In today’s society social norms have huge effects on parental decisions. Some would say that shaping a child’s life around these norms might be what is needed in order for one to have a successful life. Majority of individuals tend to migrate towards others who are like them. With this being said, if you aren’t raised how the average person is, you will not have a group to migrate to and will never develop relationships that can benefit your future. My survey consisted of three questions, which were answered anonymously by ten different individuals. The first two questions were to find out what my participant’s sexes were and what their current marital status was. My final question was, â€Å"Do you feel boys from the ages four to seven should be provided with Barbie Toys if asked for them?† The statistics I received were quite diverse. Being accepted in today’s society is the key factor when developing early relationships, which will impact your future. As it is one has to face plenty of other obstacles such as being discriminated against due to their individual sex, race, culture or religion. If you aren’t raised around the norms society has developed then that is one more obstacle you must face when going through life. Sociological imagination is stated to be forces of society that control our personal experiences. I believe that this hits the direct point I am making when I say that there are forces outside of what one’s parents believe in that influence the way someone is raised. Parents want their children to have the average childhood and be accepted by everyone. The only way one can accomplish this is to base the decisions made for their child around the social norms. For boys, they should only play with action figures and should participate in athletics. Females should only play with Barbies and should be put in classes such as ballet. It is out of what society accepts if one’s child does participate in anything that the opposite sex should be doing. This may lead to harassment of many sorts and keep one from advancing and becoming successful. On the other hand, if someone partakes in something their gender is known for, this may lead to extra opportunities. I am stating that if someone of a specific sex has been raised the way the rest of that society has been, it will broaden their chances to migrate towards others due to a higher chance of commonalities. I found out that sex did not play much of a part when determining what people thought about my topic. Majority of the males did answer no when asked if boys should be allowed to play with Barbies. Females also leaned towards that end. Seventy-one percent of them said they would not allow a boy to play with a Barbie if they asked for it. While tallying the statistics I noticed that every person who was currently in a relationship said they would not allow it. I feel they answered it no because they may have already spoken with their significant others about possibly having children, and they wouldn’t want their child to be an outcast. I would bet that they have not spoken about this specific topic in general; therefore they would keep aware from such topics to avoid any disagreements with their partner. They may believe in two different sides, but choose to stick to what society accepts. I also saw that the few who answered yes were either single or divorced. I think these individuals are at a point where they know they are free to have their own beliefs and will exercise them because there is no one they have to persuade, other than themselves. A single parent may stick to what they believe in when raising their child, or they may resort to what society accepts. The only person I received a survey from who was married chose not to buy such toys for young boys. She actually chose to express why she felt this way. She said that her and her husband are expecting a child shortly and have been open with one another about these sorts of scenarios. She stated that they refuse to force their child (ren) to live in this â€Å"invisible acceptance bubble† that society has come to. They feel everyone should be raised differently so the world will be as diverse as possible. She expressed that she does not want to be a part of raising someone who is exactly like the next child. She described it as society losing its color. Everything will soon be black in white if we keep allowing these invisible rules to take over what should be our decisions. Society has developed norms that many people feel forced to go buy in order to achieve acceptance. Although they may not agree with what the majority does, they refuse to be a part of an outcast group. I understand why people would take part in such actions. I believe it is because they are afraid to be different and not accepted by most, which can lead to lack of relationships, needed to be considered â€Å"normal.† The survey I conducted showed what ten random people thought when asked if they would allow and/or supply a boy from the ages four to seven with a Barbie if asked. Majority responded no, which I feel was because it has been declared â€Å"wrong† in our society. Survey You are being asked to complete this survey on family issues for a paper I am writing for my FCS 340 class. All answers will remain confidential and anonymous.

The Work Of Milton Glaser Arts Essay

The Work Of Milton Glaser Arts Essay Milton Glaser, was born in 1929 in New York, he attended the High School of Music Art. Known for his influential dynamic design, three of his most famous works include the I love New York logo, Bob Dylan poster and DC bullet logo, designed for DC Comics. Glaser has worked for a variety of agencies, designers, illustrators and co-founded Push Pin Studios in 1954. In 1977, Milton Glaser designed the I heart New York poster, unbeknown to him that it is this piece of design that would define his life. As a very simple piece of design to the eye, it holds a very clever message, Glaser explains how the design is to be translated to be fully understood, he says that, to understand the design you have to translate it. First of all you have to figure out that the I is a complete word, then you have to figure out that the heart is a symbol for an experience, then you have to figure out that NY are the initials for a place he then goes onto say that the issue in all communication is moving the brain, and puzzles move the brain, this then makes people feel good because they have solved the problem, just like this logo. The logo was designed to promote tourism in New York City and then became the trademark of the New York State. Glaser did the work pro bono as he only expected the campaign for more tourism to last a few months; never did he think it woul d have gone global, as this was not his original intention. However, the logo was a major success and has become so iconic worldwide and has been and still continues to be sold for years. The logo, then became furthermore prominent during the aftermath of the 911 terror attacks, as Glaser added a black smudge to the bottom corner of the heart symbolising a wound and a wounded heart is important to attain healing, and to acknowledge pain, despite this though the Department of Commerce were sceptic to adopt the creation which is why Glaser sent the new logo to New York Daily News, circulation close to a million copies around the city and the added the extra words more than ever, it helped create a sense of unity between the population and an awareness of support from visitors. Glaser has always craved being, new, original and inventive using a variety of historical and visual references, he stated my sense is not to be allergic to style or mores in time, he says. I see it as a continuous conversation. My resources run deep from African art to Japanese watercolor to Modernism to Dada. The best example of this from Glaser is probably the album insert designed for Bob Dylan in 1967, the use of jarring historical references allows a sense of inventiveness. Designing, something new, fresh and different is definitely aspiring. Being versatile and flexible with media and styles is a must; I absolutely admire experimentation, as well as delving into various visual styles and media. The use of technology in design is great, yet the more conventional and traditional styles are truly something to treasure, these are a big passion of mine. Combining traditional media and technology together really does enable a stronger connection and context with the audience, as much as I appreciate how the usage of technology has greatly helped the development of design tremendously, it seems as though conventional design is a sign of the past, this needs reviving! It is stated by Glaser that whether simple or complex design is integrated into a piece, communicating a clear opinion, message or view to the prospective audience. To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master, design should do what it is designed to do, whether thats inform, shock or persuade people as an example . However, design is definitely beyond reading; colour, layout and shape recognition all have a selective purpose, for example road signs are very legible yet out of date in relation to current generations and social conditions and therefore should be changed, yet humans are very reluctant to change and prefer to stay conformed to conventional design. This then idea of being conformed is because people are scared of change, yet when that change becomes conventional overtime it is then a norm. Glaser felt that whilst working for Push Pin studios, that he became imprisoned by its reputation, and I wanted to try and invent a new ambiguous rep utation, leaving the agency to build up his own strong reputation. Glaser is a very ambitious individual, this is definitely something to idolize, not being scared or worried about other peoples views on what he produces or the context that surrounds it. Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking, what a great statement! Design is an art whether a piece takes hours, days, months, weeks or even years, it is very precious. As a simple analogy, a microwave is an electrical appliance that uses technology to reheat and cook food; computers as technology lower the standard, classic knowledge as well as the craft of design. The definition of a designer seems to have become more blurred. The accessibility of technology now means that anyone with a computer and the correct software can become a designer. This has both negative and positive effects; on one hand, poorly considered, non-disciplined design is now being allowed to flow through the public consciousness. On the other hand, we are seeing new, forward thing, unrestricted creative thinking from those who are not restrained by traditional formalities. Craft allows technology to be exploited effectively. Therefore the continuation of taught craft in academic institutions is essential to sustaining graphic design as a profession. The use of technology has vastly helped revolutionise design, I do not disagree there and to run a design office, computers are necessary along with traditional skills. Having amazing artistic abilities and a range of experience is in most cases what is clarified as a designer, yet I do not believe this is how a designer should be classified, I understand that various skill sets are required to be clarified as a graphic designer. I believe in using a variety of styles, dependent upon which area of design Im working on and what purpose the design has. My styles seem to have become more varied in the last couple of years, which is great, becoming too rounded on a particular style is good, if wanting to familiarize people to easily recognise a defined style and the designer, but then having that comfort of working in one style I feel makes people become conformed to that one and only style, not allowing any room for change, just how us humans work in general, we dont like change, having a variety of rounded styles is great and something I definitely believe in. When I work on HTML and websites, I really do prefer to be minimalistic, ordered and very structured enabling a good usability for browsers, yet this may be seen more for purpose than design as I do not like over complex websites that confuse the browser. However, when designing a piece of work purely around fine art, my thought is exactly the opposite, I adore being slightly abstract and bright, bold colours. I do this as I find art truly is a form of expression and communication, just how Glaser states that communication is all about moving the brain, which is done through puzzles, so when someone can identify what a piece of work is and they feel good they have done this, it shows there is effective communication and expression in a piece of work. Typography is not really one of my strong suits, but I really do have to acknowledge the importance of its use amongst design. It is typically questioned whether there are currently too many fonts, as there are hundreds and possibly thousands of websites that offer free fonts for download. I disagree with the statement that there are too many fonts, as it really is the understanding of the fonts that is lacked these days. Having this knowledge can really define the difference between a good and excellent designer I feel. Understanding and knowing the main fonts, font families and the use of line height, kerning and tracking is very important in any area of design, if a designer is not aware of any of these aspects of typography, knowing when and how to use them may become ineffective, as the art of typography is to communicate efficiently and therefore has be clean, legible and well designed, knowing the basics is essential. I really aspire to travel wherever design takes me, and experience a bit of everything. I have my strong suits and my weak suits, but there is so much I want to learn. I am very good at fine art practice and thoroughly enjoy this; this is because it is a very way for me to communicate with people without using words. As well as this, the amount of historical and current influences that inspire my work is vast, I enjoy combining influences to create a mixed piece of design, this may be seen as unconventional and wrong but the possibilities within design are endless, as Glaser states my sense is not to be allergic to style or mores in time, just my thoughts exactly, I really enjoy combining styles and references. There are other areas of design which Im not that keen on, as for example, web design, web design really does interest me, yet frustrates me at the same time because of the careful consideration of code that is needed, despite this though, I understand that the web is booming and will continue to do so, the need for online advertising is currently enormous in any market, I know this and this is an area which I am currently extending my practices on, as web design is very important and influential in the current twenty first century. Web design isnt the only practice that I feel will continue to grow hugely, the need of branding is getting ever more so diverse along with the use of complex applications for smart phones, smartphones are certainly taking off and such big developments in design have been made in the past five years, the current rate of change in design is rapid, and becoming even more complex each year. The need of experienced designers who adapt quickly to change and new technologies is extremely important; keeping up with change is definitely a must in the current era. I know that Graphic Design is a very tough business, but being consistent and persistent to work very hard will get me where I want to be.

The Summary Of The Costs Of Unemployment :: Economics, Unemployment Essays

Some people believe that recessions are neither good nor bad but simply part of the natural survival of the fittest in the business world. Actually, it is not true. In The Costs of Unemployment, the authors tell us both the good and bad influences of recessions. Recessions will cause unemployment because of the loss of output and GNP. Some people may argue that unemployment is  ¡Ã‚ °a part of the functioning of the economy ¡Ã‚ ±. They are partly right, for the unemployment is inevitable because of the dynamic economy. This kind of unemployment is called natural rate of unemployment ©Ã‚ ¤the sum of frictional and structural unemployment. However, this is only a part of unemployment. Because the firms  ¡Ã‚ °cut back and produce less ¡Ã‚ ± when they experience recessions, they will employ fewer workers. Therefore, the unemployment rate rises. This increase in unemployment caused by recessions and depressions is called cyclical unemployment. Recessions cause social consequences. During the recessions, the unemployed suffers a lot. The authors say that many people lost their savings as the stock market crashed and thousands of banks failed. What they can depend on is only the meager relief distributed by the government. In addition,  ¡Ã‚ °prolonged unemployment may also bring with it a number of social and person ills: anxiety, depression, a deterioration of physical and psychological health, drug abuse, and suicide ¡Ã‚ ±. Thirdly,  ¡Ã‚ °recessions may lead to lost output in the future ¡Ã‚ ±. When the companies experience recessions, they will reduce their investment and produce fewer products. As we all know, the investment is very important to  ¡Ã‚ °future economic growth and progress ¡Ã‚ ±. The more the investment is reduced, the longer we will spend on the growth of economy. On the other hand, recessions also have some benefits. First of all, recessions may reduce the rate of inflation. Secondly, in order to get survival in the recessions, companies must take some measures, such as trimming waste, managing resources better, and so on.

The Effects of Nuclear Weapons Essay -- Nuclear Weapons Essays

The Effects of Nuclear Weapons The United States is the most powerful country in the World. They have the biggest army, navy, and airforce, but that is not why other countries fear them. The reason the United States is feared, is because of its nuclear capabilities. The United States has the power to blow up the entire World without even using half of their nuclear bombs. Having all of this nuclear power is good, because it prevents other countries from trying to go to war with the United States. The problem with these bombs is that in order to make sure they work, the United States has to test them. There is only one way to test a nuclear bomb, and that is by letting it off. When they test these bombs, it send radiation flying through the air, causing many innocent civilians to get severely sick, and even die. Not only do these bombs effect humans, but they also effect the wildlife. When these bombs are sent off in the ocean, they kill many fish, and also plant life. Some fish don't die and then are con taminated with the radiation For years the government has been testing Nuclear Weapons to make sure that they work, incase we ever have to use them. It is a good idea to make sure that our country is protected, but is it worth killing American citizens in the process. The idea for a Nuclear Bomb came into the picture, during World War II. The code name for the project to create it was the Manhattan Project. It was named for the Manhattan Engineer District of the US Army Corps of Engineers, because much of the early research was done in New York City. In 1942 General Leslie Groves was chosen to lead the project, and he immediately purchased a site at Oak Ridge, Tennessee for facilities to separate the necessary ur... ...Nagasaki, in order to end WW II, and to save American lives at the same time. The question remains, just how many American live were saved, if you add up all of the people that died from the nuclear testing that followed after the war? Works Cited: 1. Manhattan Project. "The Story." www.gis.net/~carter/manhattan/thestory.html. 2. "Atomic Bomb – Truman Press Release – August 6, 1945. www.trumanlibrary.org/teaching/abomb.htm#further. 3. York, The Advisor, p. 77. 4. Michael Marchino, "A Wrongful Death," Progressive, November 1980, pp. 9-10. 5. Atomic Veterans’ Newsletter, November/December 1979, p. 7 6. Ralph E. Lapp, The Voyage of the Lucky Dragon (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958), pp. 81-83. 7. Robert C. Pendleton, et al. "Iodine-131 in Utah During July and August 1962, "Science, August 16, 1963, pp. 640-642.

Astronomy Essay -- essays research papers fc

One thing us as humans have never been able to fully understand is astronomy. Always having an unexplained mystery, astronomy also has served as a way to keep time and predict the future. The word â€Å"astronomy† is defined as the study of heavenly bodies, meaning anything in the sky such as stars, galaxies, comets, planets, nebulae, and so on. Many people, if not everyone, is amazed by the night sky on a clear, moonless night.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Astronomy dates back to ancient times when peoples such as the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese kept written records of astronomical events and occurrences. Today’s seven day week originates from the Babylonians’ seven important bodies in the night sky: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The ancient Egyptians used the stars to align their pyramids and many of their corridors in almost perfect north-south or east-west directions. The Chinese were experts at predicting solar eclipses. They believed that a solar eclipse was a dangerous warning. Chinese astronomers were executed if they failed to predict an eclipse. Over the years there have been many more important figures in astronomy. One extraordinary astronomer was Galileo Galilei who invented the first refractor telescope in which light is bent to enlarge an image of the sky (â€Å"Galileo Project†). The next great astronomer to follow him was Isaac Newton. Newton had made a great amount of contributions to astronomy during his life. He further proved that the Earth was not the center of the universe and he also invented the Newtonian reflector telescope which is still used today in observatories. Also, he discovered that light could be split into a visible spectrum of colors. Spectral colors from stars would later be used to determine their size, temperature, chemical composition, and even the direction the star is moving.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today, professional astronomers play a very different role than hundreds of years ago. Surprisingly, astronomers today spend minimal time at the telescope gazing at the night sky. Operating planetariums, teaching astronomy classes, or operating and maintaining an observatory are some of the things astronomers today do. Along with professional astronomers are amateur astronomers who only observe the heavens for personal satisfaction and enjoyment. I myself am an amateur astronomer an... ...enith (straight overhead position). Two galaxies which are believed to revolve around our own are the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. Only visible from the Southern Hemisphere, Magellan, the famous European explorer, was the first to describe these galaxies. Even though we know a great amount more than the astronomers in the past, there is still an even larger amount we do not know about the universe to this day. Even our own solar system contains many questions yet to be answered. Some of these include the possibility of a planet beyond Pluto (Planet X), the means by which the system was created, and even the possibility of a sister star to the Sun named Nemesis. Another astronomical mystery is the creation of the universe. In time, many questions will be answered but some will always remain. Astronomy is something that will never be completely understood. Works Cited: Goldsmith, Donald. The Astronomers. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991. Fradin, Dennis P. Astronomy. Chicago: Children’s Press, 1987. â€Å"The Galileo Project†. in History of Astronomy. [collection of sites] (rev. Dec. 2002; accessed 6 Jan, 2002); available from http://www.cv.nrao.edu/fits/www/yp_history.html

BestBuy case study

In pursuit of the new model, the company was making efforts but struggling to shift their focus on marketing operation from selling products to customers (product-out approach) to addressing customer needs (market-in approach) while still leveraging its scale merit in merchandising. Before customer- eccentricity model, Busty was a merchant driven company. Merchant organization primarily had responsibilities for buying, pricing, assorting, and managing Inventory planning (Ala, 2006, p. 0). With introduction of customer-eccentricity model, Segment organizations were newly formed around key target customer segments to better Inform the merchant teams and store organizations of the customer needs. Although the new model required the three functions to work in harmony, the company was ending it difficult to align different perspectives and goals of the three organizations due to a lack of clarity on which functions was the true owner of customer insight (Ala, 2006, p. 2-13). Eventually, t he company found itself getting stuck into â€Å"focus on everything strategy' being unable to effectively leverage Its scale power to optimize the merchandising strategy (Ala, 2006, p. 14). In order to remain competitive in the market, future challenge for the company after the introduction of customer- eccentricity model was to find a new governance structure (I. E. Introduction ofIntegrated business teams) that enables alignment of the three organizations to focus resource and scale merit of the company on profitable key customer segments. In sustaining competitive advantage in increasingly competitive consumer electronics market, Best Buy should continue to pursue customer-focused solutions with multi- channel sales strategy by leveraging existing store and distribution network, and online sales platform. Nation-wide store network is one of the biggest competitive advantages of Best Buy.These stores should be fully leveraged to provide customers tit tangible in-store experience (touch products and compare them to other models) as well as differentiated end-to-end solutions by knowledgeable sales force and technical staff (e. G. Geek Squad). In the course, Best Buy should further evolve its marketing strategy to more rigorously narrow down in-store target customer segments to those who look for higher-end products with more quality end-to-end services. This would help put the company In differentiated market positioning among the competitors (e. . Wall-Mart) and help avoid inefficient scale/power game to make profits with efficient use of resources (Figure 1). While continuing to crystallize the in-store operations, Best Buy should also be committed to continue investments in online sales platform, not only to expand access to customer segments which are not covered In the stores efficiently, but also to defend erosion of In-store sales form other online retailers in such cases where customers come in to stores, experience 1 OFF eventually order on-line fr om one of those competitors. Briggs, 2013) Owning strong network of physical stores, strategically located distribution centers and online sales platform, Best Buy is well positioned to pursue unique new market offerings that average synergies between the two sales channels and distribution networks. For example, Best Buy has launched â€Å"ship from stores† service in 2013 that utilizes existing stores as â€Å"mint-warehouse† to improve the speed of delivery. While Amazon continues to build warehouses nationwide to improve the time for deliveries, Best Buy has Just leveraged existing infrastructures of stores and distribution centers.As a result, Best Buys average total days to delivery became shorter than Amazon (Stella Service, 2014). In another example, Best Buy can consider incorporating a system in TTS online sales platform, with which customers are able to book Geek Squad services for products they purchased on the website. As in these examples, Best Buy has ma ny opportunities to differentiate itself from the competitors by offering customer- focused solutions leveraging its multi-channel sales strategy (Figure 1).In conclusion, if Best Buy can make all these can happen with engaged and customer-focused employees, the level of customer-eccentricity is hard to be imitated by the competitors like Amazon and Wall-Mart. Levels toward strategic use of IT In 2005 Best Buys use of IT was Level 2 â€Å"offensive. In customer-eccentricity model, one of the key competitive advantages was its brick-and mortar stores where majority of sales were generated. To gear up for on-line sales, Best Buy remodeled its website in 2004 (Dickinson, 2004).In distribution system, Best Buy bar-coded and scanned all inventory for tracking purpose, and used a computerized inventory replenishment program for managing inventory level at each store (Best Buy Annual Report, 2005, p. 7). Furthermore, in order to obtain better and reliable information, Best Buy initiated a three-year project to revamp its IT system (Cottrell, 2006). Geek Square, computer purport service in the stores and at home, expanded its service to network installation and server maintenance (Ala, 2006, p. ). Best Buy applied IT system in order to convert some selected stores to customer-eccentricity operating model. However, its adoption was easy to be imitated by competitors and its competitive advantage was short-term. It was neither strategic enough and nor embedded into the core business. The Competitive Forces Framework Out of five forces, Best Buy faced four threats; industry competitors, substitutes, suppliers and buyers. Threat of potential entrants was not particularly observed.Industry competitors->High: Best Buys direct rivalry was Circuit City, followed by Wall-Mart and Target, big-box retailers, and DELL, direct on-line computer manufacturer as shown in Exhibit AAA (Ala, 2006, p. 18). Substitutes->High: E- commerce electronic retailers such as Amazon and e-Bay were growing threats to Best Buy. Their use of IT was essential to operate their core business. They provided customers with more detailed product information on a timely manner and offered the discount price.Suppliers->Medium: Both bargaining power of suppliers and its five major suppliers accounted for nearly 33% of the total merchandise offered. Best Buy did not usually have long-term written contracts with these major suppliers (Best Buy Annual Report, 2005, p. 8). On the other hand, products were not differentiated in general, and switching cost was not very high. Since Best Buy owned large number of stores, its bargaining power towards suppliers was influential. As a result, threat of suppliers was medium. Buyers->High: Bargaining power of buyers increased in a great deal.Cost-sensitive buyers could research and buy products at cheaper price on-line. Because consumer electronics became commoditized, prices were more or less the same regardless of whether these were old on line or stores. In other words, switching cost for buyers was very low. Potential entrants->Low: Consumer electronics market was saturated where there were major competitors such as Circuit City, Wall-Mart, and Amazon. While buyers gained increasing bargaining power, potential entrants were hesitate to enter the market.Three strategy models in the context of IT Best Buys three strategies were consistent and strongly supported Best Buys transformation to customer-eccentricity model. Best Buys business strategy was â€Å"to bring technology and consumers together in a retail environment that focuses on educating consumers on the features and benefits of technology and entertainment products, while maximizing overall profitability' (Best Buy Annual Report, 2005, p. 2). This clear direction was set for the following reasons. First, there was a growing fear of losing competitive advantage over rivalries.Secondly, customer put more emphasis on customer service and support instead of technical as pect of the product (Ala, 2006, p. 3). Lastly, the statistics showed that one third of customers left the stores with dissatisfaction (Citric, 2006). Clearly â€Å"one style fits all† approach no longer irked. IS business strategy was to build loyalty with profitable segments customers and leverage the company's existing assets (Ala, 2006, p. 4). To provide shopping assistance to customers, Best Buy required better information system on pricing, technical aspect of products, and availability.In customer-eccentricity model, it was crucial to understand unique needs of customers and behavior accurately and quickly. Best Buy also required information system to share their experience with customers among all stores. IT strategy was to give employees flexibility when interacting with customers. First, through reporting system, daily â€Å"chalk talk† helped communicate the sales goal every morning between department supervisors and sales staff (Ala, 2006, p. 9). Secondly, i n order to maintain quality service at store, on- line training was introduced to share the best practice.Third, the use of price optimization software helped the stores to make rational pricing decision (Wolf, Bibb, p. 20). Finally, Best Buy re-engineered the global supply chain and technological infrastructure such as RIFF tag. According to Wolf (AAA, p. 20), â€Å"Best Buy invested $200 million in infrastructure, including a new point-of-sale (POS) yester that provides more precise customer data and analytics. † traditional IT in order to connect with customers. Best Buy has been actively using social media such as Twitter, Backbone, Blob, and other platforms.However, it is not recommended that Best Buy develops further its social media strategy because no additional values have been created to generate profits. Best Buys extensive engagement in social media has been well acknowledged. Unlike other companies, Best Buy has multiple Twitter pages, including Best Buy Deals an d Best Buy Mexico, to cover different segment of customers. Internally Best Buy has several forums to hare information among employees, which energies the organization as a whole (Bulls, 2010).However, the long tail, as one of the advantages of social media, may adversely affect its customer-eccentricity model. Because the long tail phenomenon contributes to accessing greater audience, Best Buy must understand and analyze broader customers' needs. A few challenges have been observed in interacting with customers on Backbone. Technology-related issues are difficult to explain. Also Best Buy cannot control the feeds on Backbone. Customers post complains about their bad experiences at stores. Monitoring and responding to such posts are costly.

College Worth? Essay

College is a place for higher education. Many people go there for further study every year. Meanwhile, plenty of people skip college or drop out of college. Sort of people believe college is not worth because it cost too much. Most people think college is worth because you will able to get a good job when you holding a degree. Yes, because being a college graduate can help you gain more than the money you spent to pay for college. College is worth it because you will have a better job and pay then you can support yourself and your family. College student debt grows year by year, which means many students are unable to pay back their loan because they drop out of college or unable to find a job that can help they pay for their loan. However, it is just an excuse for those who did not finish college. In fact, according the article â€Å"The (Non-Monetary) Value of a College Degree†, Elia Powers writes â€Å"In 2005, a person with a professional degree could expect to make $100,000 a year, compared with less than $32,000 for a high school graduate and $51,000 for a graduate of a four-year college† this means college graduate can make much more money than high school graduate. Also, in the article â€Å"College Student Debt Grows. Is It Worth It?† NPR Staff state â€Å"For students graduating this year, Kantrowitz estimates that their debt will be about $27,000† this means people mostly borrow about $27,000 for college. Assume you graduate from college and earn $51,000 every year. You can pay $500 monthly. Then your debt will be clear with 5 years. Of course if you are only high school graduate and earning $32,000 per year. You are not able to pay back the loan because the money is only support for your own life expenses. Although finishing college requires much effort and time, college is worth it because college can lead you to become a healthier person. Finishing college can help you to make healthier decisions. When you are in college, you are considering about yourself and your future. You will able to determine what is good for you and what is bad. As the article â€Å"The (Non-Monetary) Value of a College Degree†, Elia Powers mentions â€Å"Of those 25 or above, roughly 25 percent of people whose educations stopped at high school smoke, compared with 10 percent of those who earned a bachelor’s degree or higher,† this means people who are college graduate most likely quit smoking or do not smoke. As we know smoking is a bad habit that will damage human health. So they made a healthy choice which is to stay away from smoking. Also at the same article above, Elia Powers said â€Å"for instance, more than 60 percent who were in the 25-34 age range said they exercised â€Å"vigorously† at least once a week. That’s compared with 31 percent of high school graduates who said the same.† This means 60 percent of college graduate exercise frequently so they can keep their body in health shape. We all know living in a healthy way is important because no one wants to get sick. Healthy is precious now because people realize health is our wealth. Although some factors may bother you going to college, college is still worth it because you will become a responsible citizen who can return to our society. The most important thing for a country is its citizen. The government needs money to run so we pay taxes and we can chose the best person to lead and improve our country. Then we can have a better life. In the article â€Å"The (Non-Monetary) Value of a College Degree†, Elia Powers states â€Å"Forty-three percent of those surveyed with at least a bachelor’s degree said they volunteered in 2006, and they reported doing so for a median of 55 hours.† This means college graduate people will more likely to serve for our society. This can make our environment better. Also, as â€Å"The (Non-Monetary) Value of a College Degree† Elia Powers mentions â€Å"In every age category, college graduates cast ballots at a higher rate than those who didn’t receive a diploma. The trend is particularly pronounce d for the 25- to 44-year-old group, in which 76 percent of college graduates voted, compared with 49 percent of high school graduates.† This means college graduate are also more willing to vote too. They want to be involved in the election. This is good for the democracy of the country. We all deserve the right to enjoy the facility of our country; however, we have the duty to serve our country too. College can make you become a good citizen who can improve our society. College is worth it also because it will build your personality and grow intellectually. Some people think college is a risky investment because if you are taking more debt, and unable to pay back afterword, you will be in big trouble. However, if you think more deeply about what else college can bring to you; you will see college can actually bring you more rewarding assets. In the online article â€Å"Is College worth it?† from PewResearchCenter, the Pew Social Trends Staff said â€Å"Among survey respondents who graduated from a four-year college, 74% say their college education was very useful in helping them grow intellectually; 69% say it was very useful in helping them grow and mature as a person; and 55% say it was very useful in helping them prepare for a job or career.† This means the things you experience and expect in college is different and difficult to train in the reality. While you became a smarter person, is there any cost you can trade in to become a knowledgeable man? Getting a degree is hard but the most important is the stuff you gained when you graduated from college. In this situation, we should try to encourage more people to get into college. People think college does not worth probably are not finished college. To persuade them is to get them into college and let them experience the changes leaded by college. I think government should lower the interest rates for college student loan so people can less consider the most common factors. Also the government can set up an alternative way to finish college like offer other type of degree which is easier to complete and government approved. Lets have people to realize that having a college education is important because this will improve the quality of our life and country.

Japanese Food, Culture, and the Tanabata Festival

The Soba Incident by Duncan Dixon Moving to a new country and meeting a new culture always has the potential for incidents that are embarrassing at the time, but humorous later. The following incident happened to me several weeks after I arrived in Japan. I was in Odawara around noon and I decided I wanted to have some  ebi soba. I found a restaurant display that looked good and, because I could not speak Japanese, carefully copied down the characters under the display, on a piece of paper. I went into the restaurant and gave the paper to the waitress.She read it, gave a nod, and pointed me to a seat at a table in the middle of the restaurant. A lacquer box topped with soba soon appeared. It came with a bowl of broth leaving me with the problem of what to do with the broth. I knew I had to get the noodles and broth together somehow. I debated with myself for a few minutes, do I pick up the noodles and dip them, or pour the broth over the noodles? I finally came up with what seemed a suitable solution — pour half the broth over the noodles.I did this and watched to my dismay as the sauce ran our of the bottom of the noodles, across the table, and began dripping onto the floor. The other customers looked at me with thinly disguised amusement and I began to wish I had ordered something simple like katsu-don. About this time the waitress appeared and looked at me and the mess I had made. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a fork. By now I was completely embarrassed. I ate quickly and discovered the reason for my problem — the bamboo mat so cleverly hidden under the soba.I paid my bill and fled. To this day one thing puzzles me; I never did get the shrimp that were supposed to be on top of the soba. My First Tanabata  by Duncan Dixon * Read the two versions of my paragraph about Tanabata. * Which is for readers unfamiliar with Japan and which is for readers who know Japan? Version 1 Every July when the Tanabata festival arrives, I remember my first Tanabata. Tanabata is the Star Festival, traditionally celebrated in Japan July 7. In some cities people hang elaborate decorations from bamboo poles.To the poles they also attach papers on which they have written their wishes. Some friends told me that Tanabata in Hiratsuka was worth seeing so I took the bus downtown. I had been living in Japan for about nine months and didn't speak much Japanese yet. The downtown area was packed and I was constantly bumping into people. As I was making my way through the crowd, my hand brushed the shoulder of a young girl about three years old who was walking with her mother. Without looking up at me, the girl reached up and took my hand. Immediately, I was in a quandry.If she looks up and sees whose hand she has, she'll panic and start crying, but if I pull away quickly, she may also look up and panic. If her mother sees I have her by the hand, how can I explain what has happened? I'll be arrested for attempted kidnapping. All t hese thoughts rushed into my head as I walked along. Finally, after a few more metres, I was able to release my hand from the grasp of my escort and melt away into the crowd, undiscovered. Even today, the thought of what might have happened, makes me shiver. Version 2 Every July when the Tanabata festival arrives, I remember my first Tanabata.It was the year I was almost involved in an international incident. Some friends told me that Tanabata in Hiratsuka was worth seeing so I took the bus downtown. I had been living in Hatano, Kanagawa for about nine months and didn't speak much Japanese yet. The downtown area was packed and I was constantly bumping into people. As I was making my way through the crowd, my hand brushed the shoulder of a young girl about three years old who was walking with her mother. Without looking up at me, the girl reached up and took my hand.Immediately, I was in a quandry. If she looks up and sees whose hand she has, she'll panic and start crying, but if I p ull away quickly, she may also look up and panic. If her mother sees I have her by the hand, how can I explain what has happened? I'll be arrested for attempted kidnapping. All these thoughts rushed into my head as I walked along. Finally, after a few more metres, I was able to release my hand from the grasp of my escort and melt away into the crowd, undiscovered. Even today, the thought of what might have happened, makes me shiver.

Fdi’s in Retail Sector in India-a Special Focus on Farmers.

FDI’S IN RETAIL SECTOR IN INDIA – A SPECIAL FOCUS ON INDIAN FARMERS. PAPER PRESENTED BY M. V. KALESWARA RAO, K. CHALAPATHI RAO DASARI. NIVAS. (Research Scholars) Dept Of Economics, Kakatiya University. WARANGAL. ? FDI’S IN RETAIL SECTOR IN INDIA – A SPECIAL FOCUS ON INDIAN FARMERS. The Foreign Direct Investment means â€Å"cross border investment made by a resident in one economy in an enterprise in another economy, with the objective of establishing a lasting interest in the investee economy.FDI is also described as â€Å"investment into the business of a country by a company in another country†. Mostly the investment is into production by either buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country†. Such investments can take place for many reasons, including to take advantage of cheaper wages, special investment privileges (e. g. tax exemptions) offered by the country. Major benefits of F DI : (a) Improves forex position of the country; (b) Employment generation and increase in production ; c) Help in capital formation by bringing fresh capital; (d) Helps in transfer of new technologies, management skills, intellectual property (e) Increases competition within the local market and this brings higher efficiencies (f) Helps in increasing exports; (g) Increases tax revenues GLOBAL RETAILING SCENARIO: Retail has played a major role in improving the productivity of the whole economy at large. The positive impact of organized retailing could be seen in USA, UK, and Mexico and also in China. Retail is the second largest industry in US.It is also one of the largest employment generators. It is also important to understand that Argentina, China, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore and Thailand have allowed 100% FDI in multi brand retail. These countries benefited immensely from it. Also small retailers co-exist. The quality of the services has increased. Chi na permitted FDI in retail in 1992 and has seen huge investment flowing into the sector. It has not affected the small or domestic retail chains on the contrary small retailers have increased since 2004 from 1. 9 million to over 2. million. Take for example Indonesia where still 90% of the business still remains in the hand of small traders. FDI IN RETAIL PRESENT STATUS: 51% FDI in multi brand Retail and 100% in single brand is put hold till the time consensus is reached between the political parties. There is stiff opposition being seen within the UPA allies in context of FDI in retail. Also opposition party is seeing this as an opportunity to get the political mileage. REASONS FOR ALLOWING FDI’s IN RETAIL MARKETS Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) complements and supplements domestic investment.Domestic companies are benefited through FDI, by way of enhanced access to supplementary capital and state-of-the-art technologies; exposure to global managerial practices and opportuni ties of integration into global markets. Government had instituted a study, on the subject of â€Å"Impact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector†, through the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), which was submitted to Government in 2008. The ICRIER study indicated significant benefits for various stakeholders, such as consumers, farmers and manufacturers, arising from the growth of organized retail.Based upon the study, as well as the experience of other countries, it is the Government’s assessment that implementation of the policy permitting FDI, up to 51%, in multi-brand retail trading, is likely to facilitate greater FDI inflows into front and back-end infrastructure; technologies and efficiencies to unlock the potential of the agricultural value chain; additional and quality employment; and global best practices. This, in turn, is expected to benefit consumers and farmers in the long run, in terms of quality and pric e.The 30% mandatory sourcing condition has been incorporated to encourage local value addition and manufacturing. The increased level of activity, in the front-end, as well as in the back-end, resulting from greater FDI inflows, is expected to create additional employment opportunities for rural and urban youth. It is, further, expected to encourage existing traders and retail outlets to upgrade and become more efficient, thereby providing better services to consumers and better remuneration to the producers from whom they source their products.There is no procedure to shortlist companies. Foreign investors desirous of investing in retail trade (multi brand or single brand) in India are required to submit their applications in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, where their applications are examined to determine whether the proposed investment satisfies the notified guidelines, before being considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, in the Ministry of Finance , for Government approval. As per some news items published on 17. 11. 012, Wal-Mart, USA, is stated to be inquiring into allegations of potential violations, under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of USA, in certain countries where the company is operating. India has stringent anti-corruption laws. Any corrupt practices are liable to be dealt appropriately under applicable laws. This information was given by the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan in written reply to a question in Rajy Sabha. IMMENSE GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR RETAILERS India is Asia’s third largest retail market after China and Japan. Organized retailing is very virgin space in India.It provides immense growth opportunity. Only 5% of the total sales are being done by organized retailer. Currently Indian Retail sector have sales of around $500 billion. Retail sector is expected to have sales of $900 billion by 2014. It still far behind China, whose retail sales by 2014 is expected t o cross $4500 billion mark. Purchasing power of Indian urban consumer is growing and branded merchandise in categories like Apparels, Cosmetics, Shoes, Watches, Beverages, Food and even Jewellery, are slowly becoming lifestyle products that are widely accepted by the urban Indian consumer.The Indian retail sector can be broadly classified into: Food Retailers Health and beauty Products Clothing and Footwear Home Furniture & Household goods Durable goods Leisure & Personal Goods Of these above segment Food and beverage and clothing segment is expected to grow exponentially. GROWTH DRIVERS OF INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR: Rising Income and increase in convergence of consumer taste and preferences. Dual family Income. Knowledge about different product through different medium like Internet, Television etc. Also knowledge abou t the latest trend and fashion. 7% of the India’s population is under the age of 30. This category is driving the consumption story. Emergence of new retailing for mat. Availability of Credit Facilities. HOW FARMERS TO GET BENEFITED: Farmers in India get only 10%-12% of the price the consumer pays for the agri-products. Coming of organized retailing will benefit farmers in big way. Big retailers sell their product at very competitive prices. So, they source it directly from the farmers. Middle man does not have any place in this format of retailing. This will not only benefit farmers but also help in checking the food inflation.Also India has very inadequate facilities to store the food grains and vegetables. As the investment will flow into back end infrastructure, supply chain will get strengthened. Storage is a major problem area and 20%-25% of the agri products get wasted due to improper storage. Another area which is also the cause of concern is movement of vegetable and other perishable agri item from one place to another. Lack of proper transportation forces the farmer to sell their produce in local market. This results in the lower rea lization on the produce. Impact of FDI on farmers all over the world: In 1970, hog producers received 48 cents of each dollar spent on pork. in 2000 they received only 12 cents. Prices to consumer did not decrease. †¦ In 1990 ranchers and farmers received 60 cents of the dollar spent on beef, retailers received 32. 5 and meat companies 7. 5 cents. In 2009 Farmers received 42. 5cent (down by 17. 5), retailers 49 cents, meat packers 8. 5cents. .. †¦ 4 pints of milk in UK costs 1. 45 pounds and farmer receives 40%(58 pence) of it. Causing a loss of 3 pence per 4 pints. Causing small farmers to close there shops. In Indian farmer receives 75% of consumer spend on a litre of milk. †¦ US farmers received direct commodity subsidies of over $167 Bn in 1995-2010. EU paid farmers direct subsidies of $51 Bn in 2010 alone. So why these big retailers are not helping reduce the subsidies to the farmers. †¦ †¦. In Mexico 25% of small farmers are off farming now due to big retail and imports under NAFTA. †¦. As mentioned in image above in Europe flow of goods from 3. 2 million farmers is controlled by 110 buying desks of big retailers catering to 160 million consumers. Today India has more than 600 million (78% 0f total farmer population) small and marginal farmers and a huge consumer base of more than a billion.Now imagine what havoc it may create when our small and marginal farmers will have to compete with bigger farmers of developed nation who fetch huge subsidies from their governments. 32 Lakh European farmers received total subsidy of Rs 26,970 Crores i. e. average Rs 8,41,68 per head approx. Now 21 Crore Indian farmers received total subsidy of nearly Rs. 1,54,00 Crores i. e. average Rs 19,494 per head approx. Now if tomorrow these retail giants start importing (using free trade agreement) from foreign farmers since the prices would much lesser with the help of their governments where would Indian farmer go?Why FDI is Opposed by Local Peo ple or Disadvantages of FDI : (a) Domestic companies fear that they may lose their ownership to overseas company (b) Small enterprises fear that they may not be able to compete with world class large companies and may ultimately be edged out of business; (c) Large giants of the world try to monopolise and take over the highly profitable sectors; (d) Such foreign companies invest more in machinery and intellectual property than in wages of the local people; (e) Government has less control over the functioning of such companies as they usually work as wholly owned subsidiary of an overseas company; SIDE EFFECTS OF THE FDI AND SOLUTION: Nevertheless much said about good things that FDI in retail will bring but argument will not be justified if we do not take into account the grey areas. Some of the grey areas are: -Predatory pricing could strangulate the domestic retailers. -It has been seen MNCs retailers uses there big size to kill competitors. -In order to bring goods at lowest poss ible price for customers they squeeze the margins of their suppliers. So as claimed by thousand that suppliers will benefit, it still doubted. In order to correct these anomalies, India need to have strong regulator for the sector.And at the same time strengthen the Competition Commission of India before these Big Retailers prowls into the Indian Territory. How can Indian farmer compete with rival farmers, – when basic infrastructure is not in place? – when rival farmers receive subsidies almost triple the yearly turnover of Indian farmers? – when crop insurance is not in place? I’m afraid that such uneven and misplaced competition would lead our farmers off their land into labours jobs since they do not have enough capital and supporting government. On other hand that farmer’s income will be improved argument fails sharply since even after having established big retailers network the USA and EU is consistently increasing the subsidies to the farme rs and still their farmers are into losses.What is the guarantee that FDI in multi-brand retail won’t displace Indian farmers? and put pressure on government to increase the subsidies too? Lastly, lets not blindly copy paste western models. We can definitely learn from them but by looking evenly at all sides and not just one which is shiny. Brief Latest Developments on FDI (all sectors including retail):- 2012 – October: In the second round of economic reforms, the government cleared amendments to raise the FDI cap (a) in the insurance sector from 26% to 49%; (b) in the pension sector it approved a 26 percent FDI; Now, Indian Parliament will have to give its approval for the final shape,† 2012 – September : The government approved the a) Allowed 51% foreign investment in multi-brand retail, (b) Relaxed FDI norms for civil aviation and broadcasting sectors. – FDI cap in Broadcasting was raised to 74% from 49%; (c) Allowed foreign investment in power exchanges 2011 – December : (i) The Indian government removed the 51 percent cap on FDI into single-brand retail outlets and thus opened the market fully to foreign investors by permitting 100 percent foreign investment in this area. While the government claims that foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail chains will create jobs, not a single global behemoth has come forward to set up shop in the country.A senior official of the commerce and industry ministry confirmed to Mail Today that â€Å"we have not received any application so far for FDI in retail†. According to industry sources, big foreign retail chains such as Walmart , Tesco and Carrefour that were expected to respond to the government's decision have gone into wait-and-watch mode due to uncertainty over the issue. Although Parliament had cleared the Bill to allow 51 per cent FDI in retail last December, the Opposition still had the right to a 30-day time limit to make amendments to the modific ations in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) that the government had made to implement the decision.Since the notification on the changes in FEMA was tabled In Parliamenton November 30 and the 30-day period did not end even on December 20, which was the last day of the Winter Session, this right can only be exercised in the Budget Session. Commerce minister Anand Sharma has been trying his level best to get Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour on board and held several meetings with them. However, there is little point for a foreign retailer to invest money until this uncertainty on FEMA is cleared,a ministry official said. Left parties, in fact, have now moved a motion against the changes made in FEMA to implement the FDI decision and this has been admitted by the chairman of the Rajya Sabha during the current Budget Session. This will require a fresh round of voting for clearance.The Supreme Court has also added to the uncertainty as during the course of hearing a plea against FDI in multi-brand retail, it said that interests of small traders should not be affected. The apex court has said that there is apprehension in the minds of small traders that their business would be affected with the coming of multinational companies in the retail sector which needs to be addressed by putting some regulatory mechanism in place. The court Bench had also stated that big companies can bring down prices through unfair trade practices forcing small traders to shut their shops. Subsequently, these companies will increase the price and monopolise the market.According to senior officials, with general elections fast approaching, the political opposition to the move is expected to become even more vociferous. A senior official said that although the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party had bailed out the government during the voting for the Bill, they have made it clear that they are in principle opposed to the move as it will cost jobs in the country. CONCLUSION: We w ish row over FDI in retail gets over soon and India should embrace new era of retailing. And Govt makes right kind of body to vigil these giants. Indian consumers are waiting to splurge. Indian consumers’ balance sheet is still clean, which provide much of room to consumption related debt.

EMPLOYMENT LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

EMPLOYMENT LAW - Essay Example The employee should be provided with 28 paid holidays and only be working for 48 hours in a week and the extension of the hour can only be made with consent of the employee, which is mentioned in Working Time Regulations Act 1998. The Employment Rights Act 1996 states that an employee has the right to avail leave for child care and request for flexible working hours. The Act also states that if the employer dismisses the employee from work, the employer needs to provide a concrete reason for the dismissal along with the payment that needs to be settled with the employee. According to the Act the employer cannot remove the employee from the service with unfair reasoning. In case there is a taken over of the company by another company there should not be worsening of the terms of employment, which includes the dismissal as well without a proper organizational, technical or economic reason. This employment right is protected by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Reg ulations 2006. According to section 1 of Employment Rights Act 1996 the employer needs to provide the contractual terms and conditions of the employment to employee in written. However, there are exceptions to this law. There is a provision under section 2(4) of the Act to provide the statement in installment. However, the statement should be given within two months of the employment. In the year 2010, Equality Act has been employed in the Employment Law of the UK. This act is way beyond employment, which provides access to both public and private services. According to this Act all the employees should get equal treatment irrespective of their gender, race, sexual preference or orientation, religious belief, age etc. These are some major perspectives of the Equality Directives of the Equality Act 20103. The Equality Act 2010 goes beyond the absolute discrimination and fights the discriminations that are made based on race, gender including pregnancy, belief, sexuality including

Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care year 2 Essay

Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care year 2 - Essay Example Management on the other hand refers to an organizational process where there is strategic planning, objective setting, resource management, deployment of human as well as financial assets to achieve strategic objectives of a given company. In dealing with youths that are developing addiction to drinking, leadership styles are very important to consider in view of looking at the best style to apply. There are several leadership styles that can be applied. The first style is transformational style. In this style, there is an emphasis on the development of motivation, team building, involvement of collaboration and is purely based on their ideas. This method is wholesome in that the employees are able to create a relationship with subjects and develop into a positive outcome. The second type of style is transactional. In this type of leadership, there is maintenance of status quo through use of reinforcements. Inducements are used to create a continually positive flow of activities to m aintain some form of status. These two are broad and inculcate characteristics of a wide range of styles. Dictatorship is also another style that exists. In this case, all the rules and regulations are made by the leadership. All other people are subjective and cannot take part in decision making. It is similar to autocratic or authoritative leadership. Leadership by democracy is another style in which the will of the people prevail. It is participative in which the views of the people contribute to the final decision made. Laissez faire is another type of leadership that can be used. In this case, the leader is a ceremonial occupant to the position. The leader does not provide leadership but there is a free will to the subordinates to decide on what to do. Narcissistic leadership is a type of leadership in which the leader has interest in satisfying himself alone. All the discussed types of styles are relevant in creating a positive

CourseWork (the dead line is on the 26 of march ) i will be able to

(the dead line is on the 26 of march ) i will be able to give more time if needed - Coursework Example 2009). In the context of business planning, the factors associated with cost and benefits are critical and must be understood. Similarly, cost benefit analysis is also critical in the context of projects associated with GIS engineering and management. Scenarios This report is associated with cost / benefit analysis for two scenarios. The first scenario includes an interest rate of 4%, which indicates it as a best-case scenario, while the other scenario is the worst-case scenario with the interest rate of 10%. Specification for Costing Cost of five workstations with minimum configuration of Quad-core processor, 2GB RAM and 250GB Hard Disk is illustrated below: Cost of single Workstation * 5 = ? 1300 * 5 = ?6500 Cost of upgrades in Year 3 and 6 = 2 *?650 * 5 = 2 * ?3000 = ?6000 Licensing Cost for GIS Software Cost for Year 1,2,4,6 = ?10000, Cost for Year 3, 5, 7 = ?3000 Data Purchasing Cost Total cost of Map Purchase = ?19500 Employment Cost Total costs of Salaries increasing at 3.5% p er annum are as follows: Year 1 = ?195,000, Year 2 = ?202,000, Year 3 = ?209,000, Year 4 = ?216,000, Year 5 = ?224,000, Year 6 = ?231,000 and for Year 7 = ?239,000 Conversion and Miscellaneous Cost Conversion Cost (1 time) = ?5000 (Given) Miscellaneous Cost = ?3000 (Given) Benefit Total Savings in the context of employments as salaries are as follows: Year 1 = ?195,000, Year 2 = ?202, 000, Year 3 = ?209,000, Year 4 = ?216,000, Year 5 = ?224,000, Year 6 = ?231,000, Year 7 = ?239,000. Efficiency Savings (Increasing at the rate of 4.5%) For Year 1 = ?15000, Year 2 = ?15675, Year 3 = ?16380, Year 4 = ?17117, Year 5 = ?17887, Year 6 = ?18691 and Year 7 = ?19532. Scenario 1 ( Interest Rate 4%) The first scenario demonstrates the implementation of a GIS project with the interest rate of 4% which is considered as lowest when compared to normal. The interest rate of 4% (0.04), Fig 1.1 illustrates similarity for both cost and benefits in the graph over the period of 7 years , with the cost be nefit ratio of 1. Moreover, the net present value is also demonstrating 1st and 4th year of implementation is negative for the projects.In comparision with both the cases, consequent years 2 and 5 are highlighting recovery and constant positivity for the net present value. Figures for implemtation of the net present value over 7 years are calcuated as 16.54. Moreover, the profitibality month starts from the 2nd year till the 5th year with implementation outweigh is cost that conludes to benefit. Both the implementation present value and the net present value at the end of 5 years are positive. For this reason, productivity does not requires icrement as the net present value is already shoiwng healthy progress at the end of year 7. Scenario 2 (Interest Rate 10%) This is the scond scenario in which the worst case has been considered. The interest rate allocated for the worst scenario is at 10% (0.1), which is considerably high as compared to normal interest rates for worst case scenar ios. In figure 1.2, the demonstration of the graph is reflecting cost and benefit worms are close and following in the same direction, while it is also showing that cost overruns arises in 1st and 4th years . Whereas, the reaminder for cost and benefits

The fast food industry should be regulated in a similar manner to the Essay

The fast food industry should be regulated in a similar manner to the tobacco industry - Essay Example Governments also need to reaffirm their actions concerning fast foods and this way, prevent people from becoming overweight and obese. This paper argues that the fast food industry needs to be regulated in a similar manner to the tobacco industry. This should be done through evidence based regulations which ensure that public health objectives are adhered to in a more efficient manner. Eating habits have changed dramatically in recent times. This has seen the emergence of the fast food industry, which is currently one of the multibillion dollar businesses worldwide and that has a wide influence on what we consume. The development of the fast food business is accompanied by growing apprehension over health issues. The consequences of taking fast food are very serious as it leads to obesity, irregular weight gain and increased risks of insulin resistance in the body among others. For these and other reasons, concerns have been raised regarding the fast food industry and its regulation has been raised as a way to prevent the problems that emerge from its existence. This paper argues that the fast food industry should be regulated in a similar manner to the tobacco industry. The essence of fast food is to have quick food that easily saves time. It therefore represents efficiency and gratification. Fast food industries are often successful because they provide an option to quicker, convenient and tasty food. This food may have all these positive characteristics but in reality, it is usually high in fat and salt content and has low amounts of calcium and fiber, making it dangerous to health. There is a rapid rise in health cases such as obesity in the current century; the sad thing is that it is mostly linked to children (Robinson et al., 2007). Obesity causes an opportunity for increased cholesterol and fats, which leads to a high risk of heart related

In what ways does low-wage work involve more Essay

In what ways does low-wage work involve more - Essay Example (Miller, 1992) Normally, a married couple shares household expenses making it easier to support the financial needs of the family. This way, married women have ample time to do housework and duty as a mother. In the case of single mothers, the only way she could increase the income is by increasing the working hours. It means that a single mother usually ends up sacrificing her leisure time with her children in exchange for the income she would earn while working. For example: Jack is earning $5,000 a month working 8 hours a day as a manager in a five-star hotel whereas Cindy earns only around $500 a week working 8 hours on a part-time job as a waitress because she is taking care of her child as a single mother in the morning. For Cindy to be able to earn $5,000 a month, she will have to work longer hours so she financially supports her child. For Cindy to earn the same earnings of Jack, she will have to work for a total of 80 hours a month. [($500 / 8hours) = $62.50 / hour; $5,000 a month / $62.50 per hour = 80 hours a month] (Jones, 1999) Yes. I agree that the U.S. government should protect the workers and their retirement savings from a similar case with the Enron. The pension law prepared by the Department of Labor clearly states that each employer has the duty to provide the 401(k) plans for its employees. In this case, the trustees who are responsible in overseeing the 401(k) plan as well as the top executives or directors who monitors the plan should be held liable to employees in case of the court could prove that there was a breach in the fiduciary duty. (Dugas, 2002) The main cause of Enron’s bankruptcy was illegal in the sense that the top executives of the company manipulated the corporate statement of account for many years in order to mislead the public shareholders with billions of dollars and eventually abandon its employees with their pension funds. (Jezer, 2002) Setting the corporate top executives who are

Integrated Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Integrated - Research Paper Example Every country has an art that belongs to their cultures. It is amazing to face the fact that they are all different and varies to the places they are located inside the globe. Japan, China and American Indian have different kinds of art and it is exciting to scrutinize each one of them, how they are related and the contrasts between their arts. This brief should answer the issue whether the differences of their art affect their relationships as a human being living in only one planet, the Earth. I choose to discuss this topic because I find the art of these three countries amazing and very unique. The art of Japan and China have a big influence to one another considering the fact they both belong to the yellow race and located both in Asia and American Indian art in the western part of the globe but could this influence the other two countries from Asia or vice versa? Japan, China, and American Indian art The art of each country is a reflection of its history and it changes on its ev ery transitions and periods. Each of them also has an effect to the world and there are cases where in arts of certain countries are adopted by its neighboring countries or even countries by the other side of the world. Paintings are very popular to these three countries and the only difference is the themes applied because this primarily depends in their respective history. Some arts that they have in common are Pottery, Sculptures, Carvings, Philosophy, Poetry, music, theatre, literature (Mark Schumacher, 2010). Japan and China The Dragon art originated in China and it symbolizes as the protector of the Buddhist Law. Imperial Power, Guardian of the Eastern Direction, etc. This art has a positive attributes to the Chinese. The dragon Art of Japan also originated in China. We can see and realized that the two countries, Japan and China share the same art considering that they are two different countries with two different cultures. And in fact, this art is very popular among the Asi an countries. It is believed that the enemy of the dragon is the Phoenix and a man known creature to be known as the Karura. In contrast to Western mythology, Asian dragons are considered wicked and malicious because it is said to transform to human and mate with human being. And also in the Western Mythology, dragons are considered an ordinary thing although sometimes fearful but it can bring them wealth and good fortune. There are also instances in the Western countries that the immortals are fighting to the bad dragons that are the reason why dragons from the western part of the glove are considered foreign ones by the Japanese and the Chinese. In China, The wisdom of dragon already exists even before Buddhism is introduced. Around 2nd century BC when the Dragon art was found curved on the tomb to dispel the bad spirits and it is also during this time that Buddhism is introduce to China. Until then that the dragon is considered as the protector of Various Buddha’s and its law. Both in China and Japan, dragon is use in temple names, carvings, painted on the assembly halls, etc (ChinaAbsolute Tours). Chinese history is 4000 years old, in comparison to the other cultures in the world, it isconsidered to be superior especially when it comes to technical perfection. It is considered that the Japan art is copied from China. It is the Buddhist Monk that introduces the Chinese art

Capsim Organization and Competitive Environment Essay

Capsim Organization and Competitive Environment - Essay Example The organization has also embarked on a massive marketing program which has helped in creating awareness of the business to the market. The organization has a wide market coverage comprising of not only students but business men all over the world. This has made it the global leader in developing and delivering business tips to practicing and aspiring business people on how to run profitable businesses (Hersey & Blanchard, 1974). This paper will review Capsim as an organization and its competitive environment. The organization has an enormous investment especially technologically. This is extremely risky especially with the changing dynamic of technology. The business calls for large expenses to cater for its operations and the costs get transferred to consumers making it unaffordable to many. The organization has complied with all regulatory procedures. Contingency theory states that there is no known best way of setting up an organizational structure. Contingency theory argues that the solution to any managerial problem is dependent on the factors that affect a situation. The theory suggests that effective managerial techniques get influenced by the tasks the organization is striving to achieve (Barney, 1985). Contingency theory attempts to equip managers with the capabilities to provide possible solutions to a business challenge. The theory explains that the best way to set up a company is dependent on the present internal and external factors facing the business. Some of these factors include customers, suppliers, government and technology. The theory attempts to develop a strategy that can address environmental uncertainties and challenges facing the business effectively and efficiently. The theory has sort to generalize formal structures that fit the use of different technologies. The contingency theory explains that the successful application of a tool or technique in one setting may have no influence in another. The theory

The Chicago Police Department Essay Example for Free

The Chicago Police Department Essay The organizational situation that will be the focus of this paper is the recent appointment of a civilian Superintendent of Police at the Chicago Police Department. It has been over fifty years since a civilian was appointed as â€Å"top cop’ in the City of Chicago. Unfortunately, three of the last four police superintendents have left their position under scrutiny or an ensuing scandal. In 2006, the mayor of the City of Chicago Richard M. Daley publicly announced that a nationwide search for the next Chicago Police Superintendent will be conducted. After a seven month search, the front runner was a 35 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Mayor Daley’s decision to re-evaluate the participants and continue the nationwide search for the position of superintendent proved to be a major blow to police morale. Ultimately, the mayor appointed retired FBI Director Jody Weis as Superintendent of Police. The Superintendent is the commanding officer for the CPD. Under the direction of the Superintendent, the CPD is organized into the First Deputy’s Office and five bureaus each commanded by a Deputy Superintendent. The five bureaus are Investigative Services, Patrol Division, Strategic Deployment, Crime Strategy and Accountability and Administrative Services. Within each of these major operating units are patrol officers, investigative staff, support staff and administrative staff. There are approximately 120 subunits which work under these six operating units. There are approximately 13,400 sworn personnel and 1,850 civilians employed by the CPD (Chicago Police. org n. d). The Chicago Police Department’s patrol and investigative geographical area are broken down into five Investigative Areas (1-5) and each area is broken down into 25 local police districts (1-25). Each district is broken down into beats numbering anywhere from 12-15 beats per district. The CPD is entering a new era of police administration and will undergo major restructuring as a result of police corruption and misconduct, political pressures, and a loss of community trust. According to Bolman and Deal (2003), â€Å"restructuring is a challenging process that consumes time and resources with no guarantee of success† (p. 83). Organizations usually embark on a path to change when they feel compelled to respond to major problems or opportunities (Bolman Deal, 2003). Unfortunately in the case of the CPD, major problems are the cause for change. Reorganization is often the first step a new leader makes to leave his stamp on the organization. The CPD is an old fashioned public bureaucracy that has remained stagnant in its operation for over fifty years of â€Å"insider† control. Promotion from within the ranks is expected. The appointment of an â€Å"outsider† is an effort by the mayor to shake things up with a focus of weeding out misconduct and corruption. Holloway (2002), defined police corruption â€Å"as the abuse of police authority for personal or organizational gain† (p. 1). The CPD has had its fair share of corruption and official misconduct. Externally, acts of police misconduct can be reported by those affected to a civilian investigative organization or to an internal police unit known as Internal Affairs. Internally, acts of police misconduct and corruption may be dramatically under-reported if reported at all. According to Ivkovic (2003, when a police administrator engages in reform and invests resources for the purposes of corruption control without having all the necessary information regarding the extent and nature of the corruption, the administrator will most likely be fighting a â€Å"losing battle† (p. 594). This losing battle in fighting corruption is the main issue that Jody Weis will encounter in his new position. Weis is seen as an â€Å"outsider† and even worse, an ex-federal employee. When a police officer is accused of committing acts of misconduct or corruption, the officer is likely to face federal charges and placed under arrest by a Federal Agent. Weis is considered an enemy, and unless he is part of the inside police culture, he will never have full access to internal police information on the existence of misconduct or corruption. The complex phenomenon of police corruption needs to be addressed from an ethical and moral standpoint. To truly address the problem, it is necessary to work not only with the officers and the community, but also with professional policing organizations† (Johnson Cox, 2004 p. 67). The lack of community trust is a major factor in restructuring the CPD. Community policing was the first major step in forming a collaborative partnership with the community. It allowed the police and community to work side by side to help each other to save neighborhoods from crime and disorder. Ethics, morals, and professionalism are just a few ways in which the communities trust can be gained. Johnson and Cox (2004), defined â€Å"ethics as the moral behavior of an individual or group in its surrounding† (p. 69). Northouse (2007) further added that â€Å"ethics concerns itself with the morals and values that the society or an individual finds appropriate† (p. 342). A 1996 study by Delattre, (as cited in Johnson Cox, 2004) contends that those who maintain a position of public authority and trust should prescribe to a higher level of moral standards than civilians. The community deserves the right to feel safe and protected. The community is a powerful force that can organize and demand change by putting pressure on the elected officials. Political pressure is the last of the four factors that affected the change needed in the CPD. The appointment of the Superintendent of Police was orchestrated by the mayor of the City of Chicago. The mayor stated that the CPD was in desperate need of a â€Å"change agent. † The mayor was looking for someone that was going to restore the communities trust in the CPD and institute organizational change. The â€Å"politicos† were not happy with an â€Å"insider† being promoted to Superintendent of Police. Political pressures dictated that the search for a Superintendent of Police continue. Following the appointment of Jody Weis, major organizational and personnel changes were instituted. One of the most critical factors that affected the actual implementation of the change was the change of personnel. After approximately two months of being on the job, Weis removed and appointed 21 of 25 new District Commanders and replaced numerous exempt rank Deputies and Chiefs of units. Never in the history of the CPD had anyone made such drastic and unpopular changes. The changes in personnel were made by use of the Chicago Police Department’s meritorious promotion system. This system had for a long time been associated with political clout and nepotism rather than true merit. According to Boseman (2008), leaders are given the opportunity to lead not because they are merely appointed by managers, but because they are seen as leaders. On the contrary, Leonard (2003) contends that many employees select future leadership primarily for their technical skills rather than their interpersonal or people leadership skills. Faced with the current status of the CPD, change was inevitable. With change comes resistance to change. The leader must have a plan to institute change and remedies to quell the fears of change (Kouzes Posner, 2002). Conclusion A basic assumption throughout this analysis has been that the CPD is in need of major policy, procedures, programs, and organizational change. A strong argument in favor of this point is the low police morale and community distrust of the CPD. Adhering to the basic principles of the police code of ethics and moral values, police can create a service based on consent and participation. Overall, the transformational leader must create a vision, get subordinates to buy in, and manifest honesty and integrity. The problems that affect the CPD are not situations that can be easily fixed. Over time, hard work and a dedicated collaborative effort between an enthusiastic leader and the community can bring about change. Further research is needed in the area of the complex phenomenon of police corruption. Change can be a good thing.