Week 7 discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Week 7 discussion - Assignment Example ication, under Mike Zafirovski embarked on an innovative transformation of the company by revamping its Research and Development department, and experimenting with the emerging technologies. Nortel Telecommunications spent an approximate amount of 2 billion dollars in revamping its R and D department. 20% of this amount was directed towards emerging technology, 60% towards supporting it core business operations, and 20% in boosting its declining products. As a result of these tendencies, the company developed the 2.0 web application that made it possible for employees to interact with one another while on the internet (Gertner, 2012). However, this was an effective innovation in turning the fortunes of the company. Gartner denotes that this was because the company was experiencing a decline in its sales revenue, and the 20% of the total amount given to R and D was not sufficient enough to facilitate the development of products that will improve the market share of the organization (2012). The web 2.0 was also not conducive for the organization, since the company needed a technology that could help it interact with the customers, as well as with its employees (Gertner, 2012). On this note, there was a disconnect between the objectives of the company, and the innovations developed. Gertner further denotes that the main objective of Mike Zafirovski was to increase the profitability of the company (2012). He was to achieve his objectives by developing products that reflected the needs of the customers. However, this was not the case. The results of this disconnection that amounted from failure of a company to develop an innovation product that reflected its objectives was a drop in its financial position, thereby resulting to losses and subsequent filling of bankruptcy on January 14th 2009 (Gertner, 2012). One of the strategies of solving this problem is highlighting the goals and objectives of the business organization. While innovating, it is essential to

The Mixtec Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Mixtec Culture - Essay Example As the discussion stresses there is no definite history of the Mixtec, but the furthest that archaeology can trace their history is in the valley of Oaxaca, which was home to three major language groups: the Zapotecs, Nahus, and the Mixtec. History has it that the Zapotecs dominated the valley, while the other two occupied the centre of the valley, although some Mixtecs lived beyond the valley in the west. The Mixtec presence in Oaxaca is traceable to three full centuries before the invasion of Spanish conquest, in the 14th century, seemingly through intermarriage with the Zapotecs. Terraciano explains that a Mixtec lord got into marriage with a Zapotec maiden, and they were given the Culiacan population as a gift after the marriage. This was a contributing factor to the emergence and growth of the Mixtec population in the valley of Oaxaca. Before this event, the two would meet in trading gold and other commodities. However, after the two began co-existing, the Mixtec invaded and too k over the Zapotecs’ capital, bringing back the rivalry between them though it was not long before the Zapotecs got their land and city back.This paper discusses that  the Mixtecs in the early colonial and post-classic periods had an invention of their own writing that was pictographic. They painted on deerskin, paper and cloth before the Spanish conquest came in with their own dictatorial that the images be directed to Spanish officials. This forced the Mixtecs to come up with multicultural forms of communicating to both the indigenous natives and Spanish aliens. To write on the deer hide and paper made from fig tree barks, the Mixtec would apply gesso paste or lime plaster on two surfaces to create the smooth writing surface then sewed them together to form a screenfold manuscript. Such manuscripts could fold back over the other, allowing the two surfaces to be viewed individually. On average, a folded manuscript was the size of a book but after stretching, was about ten metres in full size. These forms of picturesque writings are referred to as codices. The writings usually featured three styles of expression: direct representation of images (logograms and ideograms), phonetic transcription (use of symbols to represent words), and conventional imagery (the use of images to pass an idea or word without using language). All these forms of writing applied throughout Mesoamerica, and were usually meant for public use as they mostly carried information concerning recitations and public performance guides such as music, dances, songs, and drama performances (Terraciano 15-16). The Mesoamerican calendar The Mixtecs had a sacred calendar similar to the other Mesoamerican cultures whose scared calendars had two-hundred and sixty days. This ritual calendar was called the Tzolkin and used to tell the day. In their

The business strategy of talent management

The business strategy of talent management In todays world when the global economy is striving to recover and re-stabilise the growth, many of the organisations are hit by a major crisis in the area of talent management. In an attempt to save them from being subjected to huge debts and liquidation, many of the organisations made quick moves in removing their employees on a large scale from the rolls during the peak of recession. There were no set criteria for terminating many of them. In some cases, certain employees were terminated for the reason that they were too costly for the organisation to maintain them in rolls. Many of those organisations hardly recalled the great work those employees had done, in contributing to the success of those organisations in the past before recession was hit. At least few among those organisations decided to forget the fact that those highly paid employees are the master architects in their organisations. Had they been retained, those organisations might have recovered from recession much qu icker. This is where the talent management would play its role to strategically retain the highly potential and key employees, recruit new competitive talents and remove those employees who were adding no value to their organisations. Talent management would be the key business strategy in such a scenario. INTRODUCTION Talent management has been a prevalent concept in the administration of organisations since many decades. However, in the recent past this concept has changed its dimension from being merely observed from the point of recruitment, to an array of areas like organizational capability, business success, individual development, performance enhancement, succession planning, leadership accountability and more. It has developed as a business strategy in todays highly competitive world. In many organisations Talent management has become the top priority for the management and HR today. According to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the forces driving Talent management are the external issues and internal demands which include but are not limited to highly aggressive global markets, demographic trends, shortage of skills, corporate governance and business strategy(CIPD, 2010). Every industry needs to recruit and retain the right kind of people with the right set of skil ls. This is where each organisation should strategise their approach on talent management in line with the industry in order to ensure that their employees are delivering the best performance. Organisations want to ensure the value for money by evaluating the talent invested by the work-force and managing their talent pool consistently. Lawler states that, for a talent management system to be effective, the fit between the employee and the employer has to be right, and mere recruitment and introduction of highly qualified people to the organisation alone does not add much value (Lawler .E.E ,2008). Many of the huge multinational companies feel the need to advance their talent mix rapidly and more effectively as they do realise the need to take their organisation a step further ahead along with the continuously changing business environment around them. DEFINTION In simple terms Talent Management is getting the right people with the right skills into the right jobs. CIPD defines talent management as the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement/ retention and deployment of those individuals who are of particular value to an organisation, either in view of their high potential for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles (CIPD,2010). It is also told that talent management should begin with the identification of key positions that delivers sustainable competitive advantage to the organisation. This way there has to be more differentiation in the roles within an organisation which would create an exceptional impact by those individuals who would deliver sustainable competitive advantage to an organisation against the average backups. These people are important for the successful continuity of the organisation. A highly efficient HR structure has to be in place to fill in the key positions w ith these highly talented key people. Once these steps are taken, appropriate HR policies should be deployed to ensure that the individuals who hold the key positions in an organisation are supported with key HR policies for them to deliver results successfully (Human Resource Management Review, 2009). TALENT MANAGEMENT: EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES If an organisation has a strong talent management plan, which is aligned parallel to their business strategy, then there are higher chances that they would achieve their business success. Talent management and business strategies of an organisation can further be strengthened together through several small but regular events that happen in an organisation, laying attention on talent enhancement and through constant interaction of senior leaders with the employees. This way, management could keep the employees informed of where they are heading towards as an organisation, how they want the organisation to stage their performance and finally what the organisation expects from the employees, to take their firm to success. Talent reviews are conducted in depth while organisations use strategic workforce planning. They also re-position talent to different levels to achieve future needs, try to come up with a mix of the available internal talent pool along with the new hires from the external talent pool. They always make a deliberate attempt to retain the critical talent the organisation possesses and at the same they ensure that business strategy is on same page with the human capital strategy. Talent management strategies should be aligned to the strategic business objectives with the support from the management, co-ordination between departments, through the resources made available to the employees, performance review mechanisms and a common platform to share (The Conference Board, 2010). Different departments have to adopt different strategies which suit their functioning within an organisation. FEATURES OF TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY According to CIPD, following are the key features of talent management strategy. i. Aligned to Corporate Strategy Talent management strategy should always be closely aligned to corporate strategy. It is necessary to take into consideration both internal and external factors while a talent strategy is designed. As mentioned earlier talent management strategy varies from industry to industry. Hence, the HR management team should have a clear picture of the strategic analysis from the business perspective to create a talent management strategy that suits its industry. ii. Narrow and Broad Approaches Some organisations decide to focus on developing talent according to the current situation and need. In such cases it can be noticed that the attention is laid only on certain departments or specific positions or some particular processes and projects. On the other hand there are certain organisations which prefer to take a holistic approach to talent management where in they try to spread the focus on the entire workforce in an organisation. There is nothing right or wrong about either of these approaches. It just matters on which approach suits their organisation the best for the time being. However, it is imperative to ensure that fairness and consistency are the key ingredients of all talent management processes. To enable the organisation to draw talent from all the possible sources, talent management processes should be highly diverse. iii. Involving the right people 1. Human Resources Team HR team provides the basic structure and design to develop the pathway to talent management strategy that would encompass the requirements of an organisation. An HR team can play an active role in this process only by directly coordinating with all the other groups involved in this design. 2. Senior Management Team The key senior managers and directors in an organisation have a major role in this process, as they represent all the functions, departments and aspects of an organisation. They work closely with the HR team to set the direction to the talent management strategy. 3. Line Managers Line managers also play crucial roles in almost every phase of this process, as they are immediately responsible for the management of performance and identification, development and retention of talents within their teams. Emphasis has to be laid to convince the line managers to view talent as a corporate resource and not just as a local resource limited only to a particular frame. 4. Employees They are the participants and they play a major role in this process. It is their talent which is managed through this process. Hence, it is vital to seek for their feedback in designing the developmental process. Their feedbacks are of great value for the talent managers and organisation to continue, improve or if required re-design the organisations talent management strategy. ROLES OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND HR The management of talent within an organisation should ideally start from the senior management level. A good amount of their time and focus has to be spent on talent management. The emphasis they give on talent management varies from industry to industry. According to Lawler, senior managers need to focus 30-50 percent of their time on talent management, and may be even more would be essential if the organisation is a professional service firm (Lawler .E.E, 2008). The adequate planning they carry out on human capital allows the senior management to assess the impact, the qualified talent available in their organisation make on business strategies, performance and success. In todays highly competitive environment, business leaders can no longer have a notion that, it is the responsibility of the Human Resources Department alone to assess, filter, encourage and retain the talent in an organisation. Senior leaders need to stay focused continually on bringing in and retaining the talent which would lead the organisation to the success in the midst of constant changes in the market. Management and the human resources department of an organisation should have transparent discussions in terms of human capital to have a clear understanding of organisations direction. Such discussions enable them to gauge the depth of the qualified talent pool available in their organisation and what their requirements might be in the future (The Conference Board, 2010). MANAGING TALENT ON DEMAND Peter Cappelli through his book Talent on demand presented the four principles of managing talent on demand. According to Cappelli, Talent management has some failures. The mismatch between people (supply) and skills (demand) is one among them. This literally means that there is a very huge pool of employees on one side, because of which there is recruitment, layoffs and restructuring happening. On the other side there is very limited talent and skills available that could hardly fit into the need. This mismatch is posing a big threat to the organisations. Cappelli suggested a new approach which has a clear goal in place as the first step. This approach describes the goal of talent management as a pathway which leads the organisation to achieve their objectives, which is the business success. Achievement of objectives is made possible through the recognition, quick response and resolution of the problems that organisations face. These problems mainly arise through the rapid change in the markets and the highly aggressive global environment. In response to these rapid changes, organisations make quick changes in operations, strategies and structures. These decisions are not always made with a clear strategy in place. However, a delay in response in taking a decision might prove it quite costly too. As mentioned earlier major risks in talent management are 1) the mismatch between the employees (supply) and skills (demand) and 2) cost of losing organisations investment in talents, when an employee cannot be retained in an organisation. Cappelli states that the basic aspect of the new model is that it accepts uncertainty as an eternal element in the business world that could react and adjust to the changes. The new model is built on the techniques used in Operations Research, Supply chain management and Business forecasting. Keeping in mind uncertainty as the biggest challenge, Cappelli has formulated four principles of managing talent. (Cappelli.P, 2008). Principle 1: Make and Buy to manage demand According to Cappelli, there are two different aspects for risk. One is the unpredictable nature of the outcome of a risk and the other is the cost of the outcome. Managing risk by evaluating the costs of various outcomes is easier than trying to reduce the uncertainty. Bringing this to the context of talent management, it is possible to estimate the loss, that could be caused when an internally developed talent leaves an organization. This loss outweighs the cost of recruiting a new talent from the market. Cappelli explains that the costs of the uncertainty in this case could be dealt either by developing the internal talent (making) or by hiring talent from outside (buying). This way through the internal development and external hiring, the risks and related expenditure could be minimised. Principle 2: Reduce the uncertainty in the talent development This principle revolves around the means to minimise the uncertainty linked to the prediction of demand for talent. The business forecasting techniques are less advanced to handle these predictions in the fast changing and highly competitive environment. Predicting those positions which would be vacant in a long term and finding a people internally to fill those vacancies may not be the right approach. It is almost impossible to predict such business situations ahead. It is better to develop a larger talent pool with a wider spectrum of competencies that can fit into the new vacancies that come up, with the help of basic training and coaching. Cappelli suggests that shorter forecasts are better than longer ones as they are easier to be predicted and tackled. Hence, training a group of employees, keeping in mind a set of developments which would occur in the next couple of years may not produce the desired result as the prediction cannot be accurate. However, training a group of emplo yees for a shorter term would benefit more, as that training would be functionally specific to the current context. New trainees could also be added to the group if someone leaves. Principle 3: Earn a Return on Investments in Developing Employees The recovery of investments in talent is tough, when the need for their skills over a longer period of time is not predictable. It can also happen so, that the employee acquires numerous skills from an organisation and leaves them abruptly. According to Cappelli, it is wiser to recruit smaller groups of employees for a shorter period of time than recruiting a larger group as it is easier to forecast the need for talent required for a shorter period. Getting the employees share the costs also is a means to recover the investments. Employees could be given options to take up talent development programs voluntarily, which they could attend after their regular work hours. This skill enhancement would benefit the employees and the organisation and at the same time would save the regular working hours of the organisation as well. Yet another approach to develop employees, concentrates more on the benefits, the organisation would gain than the cost factor, through the contributions received from the employees by getting them onboard quicker. Principle 4: Balance Employee Interests by Using an Internal Market Earlier employees were not given the option to choose their career decisions within an organisation. This approach lead organisations to trouble as the talented employees left them and found opportunities in other organisations with ease. To retain their employees, many organisations have introduced the approach of internal job boards which provides flexibility to an employee to change jobs internally. With the introduction of internal job boards, employers have left the concept of career planning for their employees. The drawback noticed in this approach is that the employer doesnt possess much control over their internal talent (Cappelli, 2008). Cappellis concept of talent management focuses on the objectives of the organisation. It has a unique way of managing the risks posed by talents that has risen from the unpredictable nature of the business demand and high volatility of the competitive global markets. This approach of talent management throws light upon the ways to recover the investments made on employees and also the importance of internal job movement which retains the talents within the organisation itself. CONCLUSION As seen throughout the essay, talent management has been always regarded as a strategic element in the functioning of an organisation. In the earlier days it was viewed more from the perspective of recruitment, and HR was the only team involved in talent management. However, this trend has changed over years and talent management is open to a wider spectrum of people today, positioned at the different levels of the hierarchy and multiple areas of an organisation which includes the key senior management, line managers and the participants apart from the HR. Further looking into the latest trends and approaches which are introduced in the talent management strategy, it is absolutely evident that Talent Management has evolved as a business strategy over years and it is no longer considered as an approach to HR that will help companies implement business strategy. Every talent management strategy discussed in the modern context relates directly to the growth of an organisation in a highl y competitive world. Today, Human capital is considered to be the most valuable asset of an organisation which controls its growth. In such a scenario there is no wonder that Talent management has evolved as a strong business strategy.

How the Use of Drugs and Alcohol Affect High School Achievement Essay

How the Use of Drugs and Alcohol Affect High School Achievement A student at Lakeside High School, called Ann for purposes of privacy, had a grade point average of 3.6 through her sophomore year. During her junior year, she dropped out of extra-curricular activities and became withdrawn from other social activities. As she was introduced to the world of hard drugs, Ann’s grades dropped to C’s and D’s. At her graduation party, she was rushed to the hospital for a heroin overdose. Ann’s grades plunged as a result of heavy drug use, a likely combination of emotional and physical degrading upon herself. Society as a whole degrades itself in this manner, whether the individuals themselves realize it or not. Achievement in high schools today is lacking greatly because of the societal problem of teen drug abuse. (Callahan 1) The achievement of high school students is affected by the usage of drugs and alcohol. Many factors can lead to the usage of drugs. There is an apparent correlation between family income and drug use. The pressures exerted by society and peers also increase the chance of high school students to use drugs or alcohol. Students who are under the influence of mind-altering chemicals cannot learn as well, lack motivation, and risk permanent loss of memory and ability to learn. Many programs have been put into effect in the last five years to help combat this social disease, such as D.A.R.E. This is a serious problem in today’s society because not only is the usage illegal, it causes society as a whole to degrade its social climate for growth. (Schydlower 1) Some of the most common factors that seem to have a direct correlation with drug use are peer pressure, high unemployment rate, low paying jobs, continued poverty, health problems, and lack of health insurance. There are many reasons why a high school student may use alcohol or drugs, but there are five main reasons as thought by Cepulkauskaite. They may feel the need to use drugs in order to feel grown up, to fit in and belong, to relax and feel good, to take risks and rebel, or to satisfy curiosity. Students yearn for social acceptance more than academic achievement, which is a problem that society continues to fight. These causes are among the many that may or may not lead to drug usage. (Hayslett 1; Cepulkauskaite 2) The effects of drug abuse are many and range from coma to ... ... Executive Summary of the 2000 Primary Prevention Awareness, Attitude, & Use Survey (PPAAUS). 2000. March 23, 2003. Futris, Ted G. and Urvia McDowell. Adolescents at Risk: Illicit Drug Use. 2002. April 6, 2003. Hayslett, Chandra. Alcohol, Drugs Affect Dropout Rate-Study. February 13, 1996. March 9, 2003. Jacobus, Karen. Effects of Drug Use. 1999. April 6, 2003. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Prevention. School Health Policies and Programs Study. September 30, 2002. April 6, 2003. Parents. The Anti-Drug. Winter 2002. April 7, 2003. Pride Says Teen Drug Use at 10-Year Low. July 19, 2002. April 6, 2003. Schuster, Eli. Education, Poverty Linked. November 26, 2002. April 9, 2003. Schydlower, Manuel and Committee on Substance Abuse. The Role of Schools in Combating Substance Abuse. May 1995. March 9, 2003. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. September 3, 2002. March 9, 2003. Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Use Among High School Students – United States, 1991. August 5, 1998. March 9, 2002. Your Time-Their Future. Overview. 1999. April 9, 2003.

East Asian literature Essay

Based on Yasutaka Tsutsui’s â€Å"The Standing Woman†, the power of the collective over that of the individual is positive. This can be surmised based on three points of argumentation which are the main character’s thoughts at the beginning of the story, the old man’s revelation in his conversation with the main character, and the main character’s discussion with his wife. At the beginning of the story, we find the main character who is a writer thinking about the story that he finished. He mentions that the story is â€Å"capable of neither harm nor good†. Since he had spoken this to himself then it must be true. Later on it would be revealed in the story that his wife who he loves so much has been turned to a manpillar by the government. Yet instead of being angry and seeking vengeance, the man even at the start of the story already seems defeated by the very society that persecuted his wife. At the middle of the story, the writer converses with an old man who reveals that he had also been a writer but is now too afraid of persecution to write anything at all. The conversation shows that society has also broken the old man without even needing to arrest him and turn him into a mantree. The old man’s fear of getting exposed to the public and being ridiculed had already overpowered him and these fears came from society because it is the collective society that has the greatest power to ridicule. The last proof comes from the writer’s discussion with his wife. His wife who had once been so proud and strong has been reduced to a yielding subject to society’s whims to a point of not even protesting injustices done to her by drunks. In conclusion, the power of a collective society truly does overwhelm the resolve of any particular member.

Types Of Driver By Age

There are many types of drivers that we all encounter on the road, and they are often classified by age. While the term â€Å" driver † can be applied to just about anyone behind the wheel, the way a person drives often changes with age. You can expect to find these drivers on the road near to you: teenage drivers, middle-aged drivers, and slow but steady elderly drivers. At the age of 16-20 years old, teens are more concerned with looking cool than with driving responsibly.Teenage drivers have lack of driving experience, and a distraction of using electronics. They want to be seen driving while on their cell phones and have the loudest stereos. Teenage tend to use electronics while driving, and they do no know that it is a huge distraction. They impress each other by driving recklessly and being faster than their friends. Therefore, teenagers are very dangerous on the road when they are driving. The second type of driver by age is the middle-aged driver.They tend to tailgate your car and also have a super speeding that will result in accidents. These drivers have the uncanny ability to squeeze through the smallest openings as they weave through every car that gets in their path. They always seem to be in the biggest hurry as they drive waiting for the opportunity to pass your car. They also have The third type of driver is the elderly or old age driver. Older drivers are more like to cause traffic citations and get into accidents as their driving abilities changes with age.They have also slower reflexes and poorer vision. Their reflexes are slower, thence, is very difficult to them to react quickly if they have to avoid any accident. Older drivers can also have any eye condition that can interfere with their ability to drive. In conclusion, drivers come in many different forms and each carry their own characteristics no matter how old they are. Therefore, each person must be responsible and careful when driving, regardless of the type of driver who is.

Florida Tech University Online MBA Program Essays

Florida Tech University Online MBA Program Essays Florida Tech University Online MBA Program Essay Florida Tech University Online MBA Program Essay Florida Tech University  Online MBA Program has been educating prominent business executives, astronauts and decorated U.S. generals for over fifty years. With our internationally recognized team of  committed  faculty, a commitment to academic excellence and our alumni who keep the Florida Tech University tradition alive through our outstanding achievements. Earning a degree demands a significant time commitment on your part. You want to be absolutely sure that all your hard work will pay off with a degree that’s not only recognized but also respected.  Florida Tech University is nationally accredited.  Which  means you can be confident that the university has been judged  Ã‚  evaluated to consistently meet the high quality standards. Not only will potential employers recognize your degree from Florida Tech University, but many other regionally accredited institutions will recognize your credentials as well. Florida Tech University has perfected our video based E learning system with all the benefits of a traditional   on campus classroom environment. You will be immersed in an online environment that lets you study at your pace and your convenience while working around around your busy schedule. Click the Banner below for the Official:   : Florida Tech University Online MBA Program no GMAT USC Social Work  Online MBA Program no GMAT  with a time honored reputation for educational excellence, the research funding and  diversity, the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work prepares its students for major leadership roles in both the public and private sectors and organizations that serve our nation, its families and our communities in need. A true pioneer in the state of the art programs of our online study, the Southern California’s School of Social Work is one of the highest ranked schools of social work in Southern California and is among the top 10 in the country. The USC online  Virtual Academia Center is state of the art and offers its students the opportunity to learn and earn a Master of Social Work degree with no relocating and is specially designed to guide social workers with the extensive knowledge and hands on skills to make a real difference in our  country  while improving the lives of our population. Click the Banner below for the Official: USC School of Social Work Online MBA Program no GMAT Vermont Law School  Online MBA Program no GMAT  is truly committed to making a very significant impact in the community and the world. Our primary goal is to groom graduates who steward our normal systems and work at the intersection of the law, economics,  politics, science, and ethics. From our students, faculty, and staff the character of this university is engaged and collaborative while at the same time motivated yet ethical, sophisticated,  intelligent and caring. As a Vermont law student you will experience a high-tech, online educational environment, interacting with and learning from our expert faculty hand picked from the world’s leading environmental teachers, legal scholars, and practitioners. Throughout your rigorous curriculum, you will find yourself focused on understanding the many complexities of   true environmental law policymaking, and the legalities that guide our ever expanding environmental advocacy. Vermont Law School’s law program has always been at the very forefront of the field since the late 1970s and has also been  ranked number one by  U.S. News numerous  times since the early 199os. It still holds the distinction of being the only program available on line and is still offered from the top environmental law schools in the United Sates. We believe that our environment is the most precious resource we have. In  todays  day an age when our world is under tremendous strain, there is an ever emerging need for passionate people who can devote their careers to protecting mother earth. Our beautiful planet needs true champions who can transform laws and policy across the globe; people who will stand up and fight the influence of change through the advocacy, policy transformation and of most of all action. Vermont Law School has  two online degree options  that will give you with the expertise you need to address the ever increasingly complex nature of the environmental issues we face on an ongoing basis as a society. Click the Banner below for the Official: Vermont Law School Online MBA Program no GMAT University of San Francisco  Online MBA Program no GMAT  was founded way back in 1855, the University of San Francisco has had a longstanding tradition of true academic excellence. The University of San Francisco is accredited and was unconditionally affirmed for the maximum 7 years during its most recent university review. University of San Francisco was first accredited in 1950 so our long stand commitment to academic excellence speaks for itself. The University of San Francisco School of Business and Management is also accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) the leading accrediting body for business schools in the USA.  The University of San Francisco offers online and in demand programs that enable you to gain many new valuable skills and credentials all online, at your convenience so you can still meet your obligations to work and family. You will also  enhance your expertise with the most effective business management tools and techniques available. Whether you need to implement and process many improvements or gradually evolve your organization into a process based institution, the University of San Francisco’s Master Certificate in Business Process Management gives you the tools you need to succeed. Every online course gives you the tools you need to tap into the knowledge and experience of our leading business management experts in the nation. In as little as eight weeks, you will gain critical skills that you can apply immediately in the real world, on the job and a valuable credentials that will serve as a significant milestone as you complete each of our courses. Click the Banner below for the Official:   University of San Francisco Online MBA Program no GMAT Stay tuned for our next list of the top non GMAT programs in the country as well as some of the best or most affordable places to get your GMAT if thats the direction you want to head.

Questions for a College Representative

Questions for a College Representative Are you wondering how you could start a conversation with a college representative? Here are some tips thatll help you have a productive conversation with your college representative. Lets get answers to your important questions. College Fair Topics and Questions Ideas First, its a good idea to write out a list of things that are important to you before you go. You shouldnt feel like you have strange priorities or weird questions. Maybe something off-beat is interesting to you. College representatives hear the same questions all the time, so theyll be glad to hear something new. If you wonder about LGBTQIA life on campus, the potential for racial tension, or if youre worried about spiders in the dorms, go ahead and ask about it. Start with Hello, how are you? or Hi, my name is ... for a relaxed beginning to your conversation.Try not to ask a vague question like Tell me about your college, since the representative will have no idea where to start. That can be frustrating for the college representative and the student because the conversation will have no direction.Be specific with questions by saying things like Tell me about class spirit or Can you give me examples of some campus traditions? instead. Questions phrased in such a way will give you a sense of the atmosphere and give the representative something specific to talk about.Ask for a list of majors that you could take with you. You could look over it later.Ask about the enrollment deadline and the recommendations for taking the SAT. Some colleges will need your scores earlier for admission considerations.Ask if subject scores (like SAT II Math or History) are required or recommended.Feel free to ask if the representative can waive your application fee , but know that this usually works best at private colleges. Ask if there are any scholarship secrets. There are many little-known tricks that differ from college to college, but the conversation doesnt always get around to this in a rushed environment like a college fair.You will want to know the admission requirements, of course. You may also want to ask whether admissions officers make decisions on numbers, or if they consider activities. Some colleges  go by scores and grades and follow a formula. Other colleges give greater weight to activities, experience, and interests.Ask if a student leader can contact you to give you a students perspective. If its possible, provide the representative an email address for this.Go ahead and ask about the food. Sometimes there are many choices, and other times there arent. Remember, youll have to live with it for four years.Ask how the food plan works.Find out the safety history of the campus and the surrounding town. Sometimes the campus rests in an area where theres a high crime rate just outside th e area considered the campus. A representative may not mention this. This is also something you should research on your own before you get too attached to the dream. Be safe! Ask how many of the students drop out, transfer away, or how many stay and graduate. College representatives may cringe at this one because student retention is a touchy issue at many colleges. A low retention rate may be a warning sign, though.Ask: Whats the biggest complaint from current students?Is tutoring available?If class size is important, ask about it. Keep in mind, however, that class sizes are less important when good individual tutoring is available.Find out if tutoring is free.Ask for a direct phone number for an admission counselor and a financial aid counselor to avoid getting caught up in an automated phone quagmire at some point. Smaller colleges will be happy to provide this, but larger colleges may not. Its always worth a try though.Find out if the administration listens to student concerns. This is one of the things you might want to ask a student leader.Ask if youll have to pay for parking or if youll have to walk a million miles from a parking lot to your classe s. If you are very conservative or very liberal in your thinking, ask about the political and social climate. This is one of the things that could cause a feeling of discomfort or alienation down the road, so its not a silly question.

An Analysis of the Depiction of Horaces Philosophy of Life in Gather Ye Rosebuds, A Quiet Life, and Rustic Joys

An Analysis of the Depiction of Horace's Philosophy of Life in Gather Ye Rosebuds, A Quiet Life, and Rustic Joys Horace’s philosophy of life, I believe, can be summed up quite effectively by this line on his poem Gather Ye Rosebuds, addressed to Leuconoe: â€Å"This day’s thine own, the next may be denied†. Horace is all about finding fulfilment in life through enjoyment of â€Å"the present hour†, and living a life worth living. He finds no joy in wars or worries, but says that life is only worth living if you can enjoy it as much as possible. Gather Ye Rosebuds is the first poem in which Horace attests to this philosophy of life. He tells Leuconoe that he does not care what astrologers predict, or whatever may befall him, he believes that we are powerless to act in opposition to the fate of the world, so one should drink a lot, be happy, don’t think about the future, and generally enjoy each day as it comes. While we debate politics or future uncertainties, time that you could be enjoying slips away. I think this shows Horace’s philosophy of life most strongly. Horace also tells us that deciding to save and be stringent with money is a waste. â€Å"Enjoy your possessions while they are yours† is a poem that describes death, and the inevitability of it, but also contrasts it with the beauty of life that you could be enjoying right now. He describes a beautiful villa on the banks of the river Tiber, that you worked long and hard to purchase, just for your heirs to swoop in and grab up all your hoarded gold, then presumably go and waste it. Horace wants us to enjoy the use of our money now, and not worry about leaving it to anyone, because you’ll be dead, and they’ll squander it anyway. He also mentions this in â€Å"We all must die†, saying that death is inevitable, and your heirs will quickly forget about you once you’re dead, so there’s no use giving them everything you made. The philosophy of Horace also includes his wish to escape from ‘all this’, in â€Å"A Quiet Life†, he talks at length about the fact that humans fight, humans struggle, humans live to find a calm and quiet life after the fact. Soldiers endure their hunger, cold and marches because they want to return home to peace. Money and power doesn’t calm the chaos inside of one’s mind, nor does being king. Horace preaches that one is with few means, but is perfectly happy with this means, and does not seek constantly more, more, more. All the happiest man wants, is peace and quiet. You can’t escape your fate, no bodyguards will let you outrun fear, so one should laugh and be merry to drown all of those negative feelings, and aim to live a quiet, peaceful life. In â€Å"Enjoy the Present Hour†, Horace again shows his philosophy of living life to the fullest. He talks about a depressingly cold mountainside outside, but revels in the warmth of his hearth, the wine, and a bit of light conversation to pass the time. He says that the future is the gods’ domain, let them worry about the weather and the seasons, life and death, â€Å"Lay hold upon the present hour†, and live in the moment. He says that one day we will all see death coming for us, at some point, and old age will wrack our bodies, but one has to love their youth before these things, to live a fulfilled life. The best times are now, and only the gods need worry about tomorrow. Horace embraces his own philosophy in Rustic Joys, here talks about how blessed it is to be free from debts, from work, from creditors and other stresses of city life. Horace writes about the beauty of nature, and his love of just being in the countryside, living a quiet life of small pleasures. The man described is a skilled worker, and has skilful hands, Horace respects his skill at work, and the beauty of it. He says the pleasure of a simple life such as this would remove all troubles from the world, such as a lover lost. He romanticises a life in the countryside in the peace and quiet as something with no worries or preoccupations, and that all should strive to life like the man who works on the farm.

Story Structure and Meaning of Mulholland Drive Movie Review

Story Structure and Meaning of Mulholland Drive - Movie Review Example The film tells the story of young, naà ¯ve Betty, who arrives in Hollywood to become a famous actress. Betty is tangled up in a mystery involving another woman who is suffering from amnesia after a car accident, Rita, and a film director, Adam. Towards the end of the film it becomes apparent that Betty is actually an actress called Diane who is tormented by nightmarish visions after she ordered her ex-lover Camilla to be killed. Diane's guilt and dark visions become unbearable and in the end she kills herself. Main character Betty Elms is introduced at 1.40 minutes during the pre-title sequence. The first act starts after this sequence, at 2 minutes. The 2nd main character, Rita (Camilla), is introduced at 4.20 after the title sequence. Antagonist number 1- the monster behind the dinner Winkie’s is introduced in the 16th minute. ... The first act is therefore 38 minutes long. From now on, little hints that seem to lead to the answer of the main question are given. First, it is revealed that Rita's purse is full of money and it also contains a mysterious blue key. Then, Rita remembers the name 'Diane Selwin' in the 48th minute. This realization triggers a whole new set of obstacles for Rita and Betty. They find Diane dead in her apartment. Then it is revealed that the contract killer is looking for Rita. Adam meanwhile has multiple conflicts to deal with as well: he gets sacked from his own film, his wife cheats on him, and he is broke. A mysterious cowboy tells him to cast Camilla Rhodes in his film in order to sort out all his problems. When he does, Adam seems to be safe and doesn't need to fear the reappearance of the threatening cowboy any longer. I believe the climax to be the scene when Diane splits up with Camilla (120 minutes), as this is the turning point in Diane's life: her jealousy will drive her to commit murder. So the 2nd act would be from the 40th to the 120th minute, making it 80 minutes long (consequently, the 3rd and final act is 20 minutes long.) Therefore, Mulholland Drive's 40-80-20 structure fulfills the usual 3 act structure formula for screenplays perfectly. The general formula for screenwriters states that the first act is usually twice as long as the last act and that the 2nd act makes up the biggest part of any movie (usually two thirds). The ending is tragic-the main character Diane kills herself as she can't cope with her guilt and nightmares any longer. From the moment she made the decision to hire the killer, her tragic fate was sealed. The main subplot is Adam's struggle to make his movie. It starts when Adam’s character is introduced in the 26th

Sustainable Competitive Advantage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sustainable Competitive Advantage - Essay Example As the paper discusses  the concept of competitive advantage was first brought to the lime light by Porter. He mentioned in his book that competitive advantage can be attained by creating a unique differentiation and by achieving low cost of production. However, this theory has been revised by him and the concept of ‘Sustainable Competitive Advantage’ was introduced. He further mentioned that companies should follow either cost leadership or differentiation, and should not follow the middle path.  This essay stresses that  the resource availability is directly proportional to the organizational success, as high amount of resource can lead higher production volume. As a result, a company with higher amount of resources can easily meet the growing demands of the customers, compared to its rival thereby giving it a competitive advantage.  The resource heterogeneity or resource uniqueness is a major factor that gives firm a unique edge over its rivals. Thus if all th e existing firms possess the same resources, even in abundance, will not create competitive advantage for one firm. Thus competitive advantage cannot be same for all firms.  The uniqueness of a firm’s skills and resources is the primary factor responsible for development of the competitive advantage.  Organizational resources are valuable only when it has high demand in the industry, it is scarce and it is appropriate for the firms’ operational process.

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS STUDY Case

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS - Case Study Example The firm is aiming to expand their business so they are going to face complex structure for the employment contracts and recruiting efficient employees. Employment contracts are the most important legal requirement for employing new people in the operational process. Mainly, legal obligation of the firms are outlining different terms like employment conditions, rights of the parties involved, sharing responsibilities and duties among the parties. It is observed that employment contracts of the UK are having two parties like employer and employees (Aggarwal, 2003). Employer: In the current context, Grace and Taylor is the employer party of the employment contract. Grace and Taylor have to be responsible for compensating new and existing employee. In addition, the UK government is empowering local employment with lawsuits. As per the contracts, Grace and Taylor have to evaluate that predetermined employment standards are maintained in the workplace (Gov.uk, 2015). Major terms of the employment contracts are expressed and implied. Employment contract of the Grace and Taylor will be outlining compensation rate. Payment mode or frequencies for the new recruits are also outlined. The statement must include the leave list and absence payment options. The contract statement will outline the number of working days in a week and month. Working hours are also stated to the employee along with the location of joining (Gov.uk, 2015). Employment contract of Grace and Taylor are outlining the employees duties in terms of setting up potential operational targets. In addition, new recruit have to be informed about the particulars of pension scheme of the firms and other additional payments. The statement should be outlining probationary period applied on new recruits. Such contract papers will disseminate the details of termination, regulation and accusation policies of Grace and Taylor (Cohen & Lou, 2012). The UK legislation is using

Should one be concerned about rising levels of inequality in the Research Paper

Should one be concerned about rising levels of inequality in the global economy - Research Paper Example On contrary, some inequalities are known to promote investments but excessive implication of this global economic inequality results to destructive options. The income inequality can easily obstruct long-term growth and development. It is also famous for increasing the country’s economic growth duration and has a more complicated spell than low government corruption, free trade, foreign investment and any outstanding foreign debt. In a global perspective, the focus on opportunity and income disparities comes as Europe and United States struggle with the increasing economic downfall, which widens the gap between the poor and the rich. This situation has dominated the prime reason on the Americans choice of the presidential election and spurred common European street protests. At the same instance, economic inequality is taking a profound position in developing countries such as India and China. Despite the unscathed escape of global economic recession in these developing nations, a comprehensive study points out that decrease and growth of poverty levels in these nations coincides with inequality rise leading to imperative social tension. The global inequality shrinks in the presence of emerging markets and power shifts. Many nations greatly oppose the widening gap trend hence making the issue of global economic inequality a focal point (Ferreira and Walton 67). Global economic inequality has a tendency to vary in regard to historical periods, societies, economic systems and structures. The term has a direct reference to the cross-sectional distribution of wealth and income at a particular period. There are several numerical indices for economic inequality measurement, but a commonly used one is the Gini coefficient. Many are also the reasons for the emergence of economic inequality within the society. A recent development on the overall income inequality amongst OECD countries has been commonly

Pubic speaking paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pubic speaking paper - Essay Example Our forefathers had a dream of building a great nation. Our country has made this large strides which can be traced back to the foundation of the dreams our forefathers had for this nation. They were ready to give their life for something they thought was greater than their individual interests. They wanted nothing but the best for our great nation. The United States of America remains one of the great and globally influental country and we hope to remain so for generations to come. We have been and we will always be so long we remain patriotic to our ideals and value the strength of our diversity. As a leader of this great country, I believe we will be able to achieve our millenium goals by being an exemplary global leader in investing in educating the young generation that will lead to globally competent leaders of the societies to come and offer lasting a lasting solution to global war crisis. There is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining to ones character than giving one’s all to a difficult task. United States of America is a far more diverse country than any other country in the world. We remain the most powerful nation because we have chosen the strength and the bonding we gain from our socio-cultural differences to be our driving impetus into the building of our great nation. The advancements we have achieved in providing globally competetive learning institutions and technological advancements are the prime indicators of our nation as the global harbour of knowledge for generations to come. Thats why we strive to make America a destination for the validity of any child’s dreams from any country in the world. This will go along way in academically financing children from needy backgrounds in the world by provision of fully of partially funded academic and merit based scholarship to study in our institutions of higher learning so that they ca n give back and change the leadership in

Field observation essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Field observation - Essay Example The protagonist in the narrative presents the reader with a view of American teenage life that is both touching, but also alarming in its suggestion that teenagers feel alienated and insecure throughout their high school years. These feelings are perhaps amplified when the teenager is even more â€Å"different† than usual – from another culture, or identified as something other than mainstream, white, upper class American. Being an outsider, and always striving for acceptance but never finding it, is something which every American teenager may experience. But the personal experience of the narrator of the novel, and its resonances in the personal life of this writer from the basis of this essay. The First Person writing style stems from this exploration of personal opinions and reactions to the novel, â€Å"Prep†. The first and perhaps most predictable point of identification I had with the novel â€Å"Prep† is with the character, Sin-Jun. Sin-Jun is described as being from Korea, and the narrator comments that, â€Å"Like me, Sin-Jun had no friends.† (Sittenfeld, p.10) Superficially, since my background is also Korean – I have lived in the United States now for 6 years – this character is one with whom I should identify. I arrived in the United States when I was in Junior High, and graduated high school here. The difficulties I experienced when I first arrived could be paralleled by some of the experiences Sin-Jun is described as having. Perhaps the description of the squid Sin-Jun keeps in her locker, and her roommates’ reaction to its smell, as well as Sun-Jin’s sexual preferences are too radically removed from my personal experience to allow close comparisons but in one area I am able to identify with her strongly. Language is certainly one of the primary difficulties when you are trying to adapt to a new school. If your language is absolutely not understood by anyone

Pubic speaking paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pubic speaking paper - Essay Example Our forefathers had a dream of building a great nation. Our country has made this large strides which can be traced back to the foundation of the dreams our forefathers had for this nation. They were ready to give their life for something they thought was greater than their individual interests. They wanted nothing but the best for our great nation. The United States of America remains one of the great and globally influental country and we hope to remain so for generations to come. We have been and we will always be so long we remain patriotic to our ideals and value the strength of our diversity. As a leader of this great country, I believe we will be able to achieve our millenium goals by being an exemplary global leader in investing in educating the young generation that will lead to globally competent leaders of the societies to come and offer lasting a lasting solution to global war crisis. There is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining to ones character than giving one’s all to a difficult task. United States of America is a far more diverse country than any other country in the world. We remain the most powerful nation because we have chosen the strength and the bonding we gain from our socio-cultural differences to be our driving impetus into the building of our great nation. The advancements we have achieved in providing globally competetive learning institutions and technological advancements are the prime indicators of our nation as the global harbour of knowledge for generations to come. Thats why we strive to make America a destination for the validity of any child’s dreams from any country in the world. This will go along way in academically financing children from needy backgrounds in the world by provision of fully of partially funded academic and merit based scholarship to study in our institutions of higher learning so that they ca n give back and change the leadership in

David Jones Essay Example for Free

David Jones Essay David Jones has a skilled, experienced and expertise Board of directors which is accountable for caring the rights, interests and the management of David Jones. Chief Executive Officer and Managing director are responsible for setting strategy, planning and administration for the company on daily basis. Paul Zahra has been â€Å"Chief Executive Officer and Managing director† for David Jones since 18 June 2010. Mr Zahra has more than 30 years’ experience in the Australian retail industry. He has held senior management roles across the retail sector in the areas of buying, stores, visual merchandising, supply chain, store refurbishments, customer service and operations. Directors are from a mix of different backgrounds, knowledge, skills and experience in the areas of retailing, financial services, property management and development, marketing, human resources, information technology, finance and law. Board of Directors Committee Memberships Name Role Audit Remuneration and Nominations Peter Mason AM Chairman and Non-Executive Director Paul Zahra Chief Executive Officer Jane Harvey Non-Executive Director  John Harvey Non-Executive Director Chairman Philippa Stone Non-Executive Director Steven Vamos Non-Executive Director Chairman Leigh Clapham Non-Executive Director Executive Management Name Role Paul Zahra Chief Executive Officer Paula Bauchinger Group Executive – Human Resources Cate Daniels Group Executive – Operations Matthew Durbin Executive – Strategic Planning Antony Karp Group Executive – Retail Services Sacha Laing Group Executive – Marketing and Financial Services Donna Player Group Executive – Merchandise David Robinson Executive – Multi Channel Strategy and Integration Brad Soller Chief Financial Officer 2. Employees According to David Jones , to achieve the highest profits and improve customer satisfaction, the company need to create an effective working environment for their employees following these goals: Every employee is valued; Recognition and reward for their contribution and performance; provide opportunities for employees to achieve their full potential; Obligation to safety, health and welfare, environmental responsibilities; and Support for philanthropic causes that are important to both David Jones’ customers and employees. Therefore, David Jones’ commitment is to realising its vision of being the ‘best place for our people to work’. In FY2012, David Jones invested in a range of advantages to ensure employees feel valued and supported: David Jones Charity Leave Policy: Supporting the philanthropic causes that are important to its customers and team members. Employee Referral Program: To reward any team member whose referral results in the successful placement of an external candidate in a nominated vacancy. Employee Self Service: To help team members achieve their full potential, reduces administration and to meet David Jones’ objective of transitioning to an environmentally sustainable business model. Innovation Workshop: Encourage continued innovative thinking, 150 team members from across the business participated in an innovation workshop at the Company’s annual conference in August 2012. To invest in the future and build the management and leadership capability of line managers, David Jones has established training and development programs. David Jones Executive Leadership Program: is designed to address the development needs of the David Jones’ Executive Committee and Executive Leadership Team, and comprises five leadership modules including a 360-degree leadership survey. David Jones Future Leaders Program: is designed in-house to develop high potential people managers that have been identified as part of the Company’s annual succession planning process. Operations Online Compliance: is designed to ensures that frontline employees remain current in processes and policies that are important to their role, including workplace safety, food safety, customer service and the David Jones Code of Ethics and Conduct. Recognition and Reward: New Executive Incentive Framework New Enterprise Agreements New Frontline Incentive Program Excellence Awards Program David Jones does not tolerate harassment, discrimination or bullying in the workplace. Employees of David Jones can expect to be treated in a fair and professional manner. Unacceptable behaviours under the David Jones terms of employment: Harassment- Discrimination and Bullying. 3. Organisational Culture Diversity Management and the entire David Jones workforce are embraced of and attract diverse, talented and motivated people. David Jones’ diversity supports commitment to a culture that equally embraces: gender, age, culture, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and family responsibilities of our people. David Jones encourages and supports all of our employees to reach their full potential and irrespective of gender. David Jones’ corporate sponsorship of the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the operation of Rose Clinics, while a philanthropic initiative, also serves to demonstrate our commitment to raising health awareness among employees and customers alike. This is representative of our broader commitment to the promotion of women and issues that affect women Equity David Jones has a Share Trading Policy that complies with the requirements of ASX Listing Rule 12. This was lodged with the ASX in 2010 and is available in the Corporate Governance section of its website. Consistent with the legal prohibitions on insider trading, under the policy, all directors, officers, members of senior management, other employees and consultants are prohibited from dealing in David Jones securities while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information about David Jones. HSBC CUSTODY NOMINEES (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED is the biggest shareholders with 69,772,020 shares (13. 20%). The 20 largest ordinary shareholders hold 45.  17% of the ordinary shares of the Company. External environment I. General Environment 1. Political and Legal Carbon Pricing Scheme David Jones has a proven track record in reducing its carbon emissions and supports the government of the day in its attempts to move the economy towards a low-carbon future. David Jones conducted its own analysis in 2011 to determine the direct impact on its cost base and participated in roundtable discussions facilitated by the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) to review macro-environmental impacts of the scheme. Macro-environmental impacts ANRA advocated that the government release analysis outlining how households would be affected and compensated by the introduction of a carbon price. Subsequent to these discussions, additional information was released, addressing many of the unknown factors in relation to the scheme and confining any detrimental impact on consumer sentiment, which is a key driver of top-line growth for discretionary retailers. Direct financial impacts David Jones count on the Business Roundtable on Climate Change, established by the Federal government, to represent business interests in the development of the Clean Energy Future legislative package, including the carbon pricing scheme. Trading Hours David Jones follow retail industry’s opening hours Monday:9:30am 7:00pm Tuesday:9:30am 7:00pm Wednesday:9:30am 7:00pm Thursday:9:30am 9:00pm Friday:9:30am 9:00pm Saturday:9:00am 7:00pm Sunday:10:00am 7:00pm 2. Economical Low Inflation rate and high Australian dollar makes foreign imports become cheaper, leads to an increase in profit of David Jones. On the other hand, increase in the value of money also makes customers become interested in shopping online or buy goods overseas, makes customers rate of David Jones fall. Therefore, David Jones should adjust the price of goods for both profitable and consistent with the economic situation and the needs of customers. An increase in the unemployment rate reduces people’s income and also their shopping needs. 3. Social Cultural People are trying to keep a balance between their work and social-life. Besides spending a whole day at work, they are willing to spend more time go to department stores on the weekdays. Based on population data from around Australia, Gen Y has appeared as Australias largest demographic with 4. 67 million people. Generation X has also grown to 4. 6 million. And, the Baby Boomer demographic is shrinking; falling by 6,000 to just 4. 11 million people. Generation X and Y are tremendously internet savvy. The internet is the first place that they look when purchasing goods and services. There are more educated people so their knowledge about fashion and fashion demand has increased. They are willing to purchase clothes with good quality from well-known suppliers. 4. Technological New Point of Sale (POS) system: will improve customers’ service experience and reduce transaction times. This system has multi-functionality and will play a pivotal role in David Jones’ OCR Strategy. David Jones also has new Workforce Management and Traffic Analytics System. 5. Natural David Jones is committed to managing its own operations in an environmentally sustainable manner and will meet this commitment by: Investing in efficiency measures and driving behavioural change to reduce the impact that the business has on the environment; Embedding environmental sustainability into the corporate cultural of the organisation; Developing robust  management systems to ensure transparency and confidence in environmental reporting. David Jones’ environment strategy comprises four strategic objectives: Improve environmental outcomes, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting and conserving natural resources, and optimising water use. Motivate cultural change, by encouraging behavioural change and then by integrating sustainability into decision making at all levels of the organisation. Engage with employees, customers and shareholders, to ensure that interested stakeholders are able to access information about David Jones’ environmental impacts and initiatives, and ensure that the Company’s approach to sustainability reflects stakeholder expectations. Meet and, where viable, exceed the Company’s mandatory and voluntary reporting obligations. II. Specific environment 1. Customers People are willing to dress nicer, fussy and trendy. The way they dress is usually according to the fashion trend. They are influenced from the internet; all the fashion trends are spreading quickly. 2. Competitors : Myer Myer is Australias largest department store group, and a market leader in Australian retailing, operating about 65 stores that offer some of the top style and fashion lines in the country. Merchandise (some 2,400 brands) is sourced from suppliers worldwide and includes accessories; womens, mens, and childrens apparel; beauty and cosmetics; electrical goods; housewares; and toys. Myer runs stores in about 25 of the top 30 largest shopping centres in Australia, with New South Wales as its top market, followed by Victoria and Queensland. Besides Myer, Target, Kmart and other smaller retailers are also David Jones’ competitors. 3. Suppliers Suppliers are an integral part of David Jones’ â€Å"Home of Brands† strategy, which makes David Jones stand out from its competitors. David Jones is committed to improving and strengthening their relationship with each of their suppliers. David Jones also appreciates suppliers that have understood Australian customers and have adjusted their prices. 4. Regulations ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION David Jones takes a responsible approach in relation to the management of environmental matters. David Jones’ report has followed with the requirements of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) (NGER Act). No environmental breaches have been notified to the Company Entity by any government agency. David Jones is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of all employees, contractors, visitors and customers. David Jones continues to work towards achieving an incident-free and injury-free workplace. This commitment is supported by the â€Å"[emailprotected]† management system and the Company’s safety programs â€Å"[emailprotected] davidjones† management system imitates efforts of team members to put â€Å"SafetyFirst† in daily tasks and activities, by identifying and controlling hazards that have the potential to cause incidents and injuries. Safety Information Management system Incident, Hazard and Investigation: provides an on-line system to support the reporting of incidents and the completion of incident investigations, risk assessments and associated corrective actions; Case and Claims Management: focuses on the management of information related to workers compensation claim files, claim transactions and payments as well as Return to Work Plans for work related and non-work related injuries; Risk Management; Audit and Inspections; Training: focuses on core compliance training, safety accountabilities, hazard and risk management and injury management training.

Music And Songs In Teaching English

Music And Songs In Teaching English There is a belief that first musical instruments appeared as early as speech, which means that the language of words and that of music were formed in parallel, completing and enriching each other. That is why language of words shows so much similarity to music. Both speech and music are characterized by rhythm and melody. Close associations of language and music have rooted in peoples mind very deeply. People often use metaphorically the name of one to refer to the other: they call pleasant words music to their ears, face the music when accepting criticism or punishment for something they have done, use the phrase the language of music to describe a way of expressing meaning through sounds. Sound and word are combined to give birth to pieces of vocal music, where music brings to light the internal sense of the text, reveals what is hidden between the lines. So it is natural to teach language with the help of music and songs. Moreover, a great number of scholars consider music and son gs to be the most productive and effective ways of teaching a foreign language. The role of music and songs in teaching English is very important. Using songs and music is one of the tools a teacher can use to teach English to the class, regardless of the age of the learner. Songs and music are a tie that binds all cultures and languages and, therefore, the best way to make learning English fun. Jeremy Harmer in his book How to Teach English emphasizes the importance of music as a learning tool by stating that music is a strong incentive for student engagement because it speaks directly to our emotions while still allowing us to use our brains to analyse it and its effects if we so wish (Harmer 319); and it plays a multifunctional role in the process of learning a foreign language, it has the power of creating a propitious atmosphere, it can amuse and entertain, and it can make satisfactory connection between the world of leisure and the world of learning in the classroom (Harmer 319). Tim Murphey, indicates two chief assets in the usage of music and songs in re lation to language learning: music is highly memorable; it is highly motivating, especially for children, adolescents, and young adult learners (Murphey 4). Nevertheless, the role of songs and music in teaching English is often underestimated, and activities involving them are often neglected by teachers. The usage of music and songs in the classroom: has often been met with ridicule and a cautionary statement that although students were enjoying class, they were not learning (Salcedo, The Effects of Songs in the Foreign Language Classroom on Text Recall and Iinvoluntary Mental Rehersal). Teachers usually think that students will not take music and songs seriously at English classes; they will have too much fun and will not pay any attention to the pedagogical aim of the song. It is not rare to hear teachers ask questions like What do music and songs have to do with language learning?, What do you do with a song besides listen to it and possibly sing with it?, What else can be done with the song besides gap-filling? This testifies to the fact that teachers are often unaware of the opportunities songs and music can present. There are diff erent opinions, but it is for sure that it is a good way to make foreign language learning much more effective to learners of different age and different levels. Teachers who want to keep their students interested and motivated should use songs and music activities, since, according to Larry M. Lynch, it has lots of advantages: Songs almost always contain authentic, natural language; A variety of new vocabulary can be introduced to students through songs; Songs are usually very easily obtainable; Songs can be selected to suit the needs and interests of the students; Grammar and cultural aspects can be introduced through songs; Time length is easily controlled; Students can experience a wide range of accents; Song lyrics can be used in relating to situations of the world around us; Students think songs are natural and fun. (Lynch, 9 Reasons Why You Should Use Songs to Teach English as a Foreign Language.) Songs and music are invaluable in teaching English at elementary level. No other materials give the teacher such a broad range of possibilities for teaching various aspects of English. An illustration of language in action, the song can be subjected to linguistic analysis or turned into an exercise. Through the use of songs English pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar can be effectively taught. According to Cameron there are three stages of a song as a task for elementary level students: preparation stage (it is very important to activate the vocabulary and to form basic sentence structures in this stage); core stage (the best way to involve students and raise their interest in this stage is to sing the song several times in the core, changing pace or volume and making students perform actions and sing along chorally); follow-up stage (attempts to be a successful completion of the core stage ) (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). Songs can be used to develop students listening skills. They improve listening skills because they provide students with practice listening to different forms of intonation and rhythm (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). Songs can be really helpful in practicing listening skills warm-up work can provide a basis for students to make predictions before listening; listening activities can encourage listening for gist or listening for detail (Hancock 7). Their advantage lies in the fact that they usually go at slower speed than speeches or dialogues; words, phrases, sentences are being sung which usually means that they are uttered more slowly and often more distinctly than in case of speaking. There is a wide range of song-based listening activities for students at elementary level: picture discussion (the teacher presents some key words and/or the title from the lyrics and asks students to predict what the song is about); snippets of information (the teacher plays the first few seconds of the song and asks students to predict from the mood of the music what the song is about); picture selection (the teacher shows students two or more alternative pictures, magazine photos perhaps, and asks them to say which one best matches the contents or mood of the lyric and why); sequencing (the teacher gives students a copy of the lyric with the lines in the wrong order or cut into strips, and students listen and put them in the right order). While listening to songs students hear the language used so that they can both imitate the pronunciation and also subconsciously acquire some of its sounds and patterns. During the process of listening to songs, students subconsciously acquire some of English sounds and patterns. When it comes to singing, they imitate the pronunciation, learning to use rhythm and stress correctly. The task of learning the correct use of stress and rhythm becomes simpler because students are lead by the rhythm of a song. There are a few activities which students at elementary level can do with a song to practice pronunciation. The most effective one is repeating certain parts of the lyric (drilling). Songs are equally suitable for teaching vocabulary at elementary level. Teachers may use them for two purposes: either to present new vocabulary items or to practise the familiar ones. Often songs represent a theme or topic that can provide the context for vocabulary learning (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). Neil Millington in the article Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners gives examples of two songs: Teaching Practice Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes serves to review body parts, or I Can Sing a Rainbow which is helpful for reviewing color names (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). The repetition of monosyllabic words in childrens songs can help improving vocabulary acquisition (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). There are songs which can be used as the basis for dramatization. Tim Murphey states that at elementary level the dramatization of the s ong can be useful to express, through gestures, the meaning of some actions (Murphey 121). The age-old technique of asking students to perform actions with words has become popular because of well-documented research that shows it to be very effective. The idea is that if students can move and do what is said matching words to the actions, language is learnt more deeply. Songs can be a good source of topics for discussion and different classroom activities at elementary level. The plot of the song is a good basis for story telling while characters in the song can serve as a basis for role play. By interpreting and converting song lyrics into prose and discussing the style of the song students have a chance to develop their productive skills speaking and writing. The main speaking activities for elementary level are: role-play (the teacher asks students to imagine that they are characters of the given song); continue the story (students may be asked to imagine how the characters ended up in the situation they are in.); Particular attention should be paid to the choice of songs. Mark Hancock (Hancock 3) thinks that just because a student might not choose to listen to a certain song outside the classroom, does not mean that the student would not enjoy it as part of a learning activity. Teachers are not advised to present the song as something students are supposed to like. Thus, any song could be used for teaching purposes. According to Tim Murphey, any song can be useful and motivating, however teachers should use the students choice of music and song as much as possible (Murphey 14). Another important issue is whether teachers should always use authentic songs or not. According to Jeremy Harmer, listening material as well as the kind of tasks which go with it are determined by the level of students (Harmer 319). Music and songs in English classroom are important and useful tools. This is a great formula for keeping students always interested in the language they learn. With their help students can not only learn English but also relax and enjoy their class. There are benefits to using songs in the classroom; however, more often than not, songs are used relatively ineffective, often as activities between learning. No matter how enjoyable or memorable singing songs can be, it will not teach learners to use the language and will not give them the ability to communicate in another language. Reframing songs into tasks according to preparation, core, and follow-up stages enhance songs potential as teaching and learning tools. Songs and music can be used for practicing different aspects of English, and all learning skills can be improved.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne Essay examples -- The Boy

A world in which old men can be degraded and abused, a world in which people wearing dirty, unwashed, striped uniforms are not seen as being oppressed, a world in which a starving boy of identical age yet vastly different physique is seen as simply being unfortunate - such a world cannot exist. Or can it? In the world of Bruno, this is precisely the way the world is. John Boyne's book "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" invites the readers to embark on an imaginative journey at two levels. At the first level, Boyne himself embarks upon an imaginative journey that explores a possible scenario in relation to Auschwitz. Bruno is a 9 year old boy growing up in a loving, but typically authoritarian German family in the 1930?s. His father is a senior military officer who is appointed Commandant of Auschwitz ? a promotion that requires upheaval from their comfortable home in Berlin to an austere home in the Polish countryside. The story explores Bruno?s difficulty in accepting and adapting to this change - especially the loss of his friends and grandparents. Boyne gives personality and family to the sort of person who today is generally demonised by western writings - the people who administered and controlled the death camps in which over 6 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and other deemed to be grossly inferior by Hitler and his cohorts. In so doing he encourages us to see a different world ? a world in which obedience is paramount and in which authority figures can never be questioned. He shows us the problem that surfaces when people who are trained to be obedient are confronted with orders that, if analysed and considered, can be clearly seen to be an affront to all human values and decency. People can happily obey ?The Fury? ... ... will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process. Bruno's imaginative journey is a flight from reality. It is a classic example of the psychological "fight or flight" syndrome experienced by all animals (including humans) when they are confronted by something of which they are unsure or afraid - something which challenges their current reality. What Boyne does in this story is to use Bruno to show how either approach can be totally destructive: the critical lesson is that we must acknowledge reality and do what we can to remove the fences that would destroy not only ?us? but our entire world. All imaginative journeys lead to a revelation - both Bruno and the readers will come to realize that their imaginative journeys have transformed them and affected them in indescribable ways and we, the readers come to a realization as well about what is happening.

The Impact of the Scientific Revolution Essay -- Essays Papers

The Impact of the Scientific Revolution Science began soon after the Birth of Civilization. Man had already learned to tame animals and grow plants. To shape materials like clay and metals to his purposes and even to heal his bodily ailments. We do not know why he did these things because his magic and reasoning are concealed. Only with the second millennium B.C have we learned that there were three elements in man’s attitude to nature, which impacted the growth of the scientific revolution: empirical practice, magic and rational thinking. These same three elements continued to exist in science for many thousand years, until the scientific revolution took place in the 16th through the 18th centuries. Reason, in conjunction with observation and experiment, slowly robbed magic of its power, and was better able to anticipate and absorb the chance discoveries of inventors. The Scientific Revolution was the new era of scientific beliefs. There is a misconception of the term revolution because revolution means that it was a rapid process. The scientific revolution however was not a rapid process and involved several scientists throughout a wide array of time. Since 1800, one of accomplishment. The history of the scientific revolution was concluded by the early years of the nineteenth century. The Italian Renaissance began in the early 1500’s. Scholars, mathematicians, physicians everywhere measured their own attainments by Italian standards; The Italian universities, and the Italian printing house. During the 1500’s, people believed that science and thought were important but once they studied this concept. They never discussed it again. By the 1600’s and 1700’s, secure thoughts of science and religion became contradictory. Scie... ...s was a rapid process. The scientific revolution however was not a rapid process and involved several scientists throughout a wide array of time. Three of the most important scientists of this era were Tycho Brahe, Galileo, and Isaac Newton. Discoveries in space, computer technology and medicine have reached incredible heights. People are living much longer with a better quality of life because of transplants and operations with laser technology. DNA research has greatly advanced and is used in many facets of biology and crime prevention. Bibliography: Hall A.R. The Scientific Revolution 1500-1800, The Formation of the Modern Scientific Attitude. Boston: Beacon Press, 1956 Haskins, Caryl. The Scientific Revolution and World Politics. New York 1964 Elbers, Gerald, and Paul Duncan. The Scientific Revolution: Challenge and Promise.Washington, D.C. 1959

Globalization and State Power Essay

As a relatively new concept in the context of social sciences, globalization is the considerably the universal tool that embodies sets of processes that connect societies thus fragmenting and transcending the social structure it confronts (Krieger, 2005). The state then serves as an indispensable institution under practically all projected contingencies, but does countenance new and influential challenges to its foundational mandates mandates. The multifarious debates on globalization has increasingly centered on the relation of the nation-state to economic schemas. Although such connotation is gradually misbranded in rationale, either the nation-state or the inter-state classification is seen retaining its primacy as the axis of international relations and world development. The coining of â€Å"strong state,† is it perceived that the state, having been considered as the bridge of globalization in a dualist construct that posits separate logics for an expanding economy and political system (Williams, 2002). In the international community, it can be observed that the states, leaders, or other individuals who have the power in the international community has a large influence, either deliberate or unintentional, over the decision of other states, leaders or other individuals. The affairs of every single nation can be noted as unique in many ways (Patterson, 2000). Direct intervention from external elements such as the other states may very well diminish the sovereignty of a nation over its own territory. This is to say that every nation has a primordial reign over its own domain which guarantees—or ought to guarantee—the idea that the state is supreme in terms of power in its own land (Kacowicz, 1993). But what happens to this power in the context of a large international community with varying degrees of capabilities, resources and, ultimately, political power? Analysis on the social-spatial distinction and power of globalization The socio-spatial distinction and power of globalization, which at hand is then inherited to the state, is apparently what makes globalization not only a tool for reaching almost all the corners of the globe, but including the long-term series effects which shall surface. Consequently, how the state responds when globalization is escalating will have a noteworthy impact on its capability to retort when globalization falters. Since the state possess both governmental and corporate power, scholars point out the fact that corporate capitalism is the blood that keeps holds all nations and binds them up together despite the issue of diversity. Thus, it is through the philosophy of social justice that these factors are evaluated. Synthesis on the role of a state in the context of globalization The sources of power in international relations can then be presumed to result primarily from the resources of the state or leader. These resources need not essentially correspond to financial resources for there are many other resources that can empower a state or a leader in international affairs. One of these resources is manpower which China and India can be noted as wealthy of. How does manpower become a source of power in international relations? The answer can be traced from the presumption that more people means more hands capable of contributing to the workforce. Although the industrial revolution and information and communications technology have radically altered the demand for manpower, it can be observed that the expansion of industries and technology further required additional manpower. With states such as China and India a cut above the rest in terms of manpower, the amount of industrial production from within the state relatively becomes higher than those states with very minimal workforce. And while a healthy local industry boosts a state’s economy, sending manpower to foreign countries further amplifies the possibility of expanding the gross income of the nation (Krieger, 2005). For the most part, a financially wealthy nation has more purchasing power in many ways which gives it the capacity to take control over resources and manipulate them according to the interest of the state (Williams, 2002). The geography of a certain state also gives it power, specifically strategic power, in wielding a dominant force not only in terms of military affairs but also in terms of commerce and trade or economic progress. For the most part, a state which is situated within the perimeter of an adjacent state is expected to have a form of trade relations (Krieger, 2005). Communication also becomes inevitable between these adjacent states since borders separating them become diminished through wireless communication. For instance, a nation such as Italy surrounded by neighboring states is very much alive in terms of trade and commerce, giving it the economic power in contrast to ‘isolated’ states (Williams, 2002). Conclusions and further remarks To presume that the definition of power is a not static concept is to presume that the essence of power changes such that at one point it may refer to competence to manage and manipulate resources in harmony to the interest of the state or of leaders. On another point, it may not refer to the opposite such as the competence of the lower class or of the members of the state to yield and manipulate resources. Yet this presumption is misleading for the reason that the parallels of both instances are masked by the idea that leaders does not include the larger members of the state or that the members of the state do not include the leaders of the state. Clearly, how the state responds to globalization depicts its power and capabilities. References Kacowicz, A. M. (1993).Teaching International Relations in a Changing World: Four Approaches. Political Science and Politics, 26(1), 76-80. Krieger, J. (2005) Globalization and State Power: A Reader. New Jersey: Longman. Patterson, A. S. (2000). It’s a Small World: Incorporating Service Learning into International Relations Courses. Political Science and Politics, 33(4), 817-822. Williams, J. (2002). Kill ’em All’: The American Military in Korea. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from http://www. bbc. co. uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/korea_usa_01. shtml

Local Human Service Agency Summary Essay

I visited the Child Protective Services agency for my interview. I chose this agency for two reasons. The first reason is because I plan to work for this company after obtaining my degree. Secondly because I am a foster parent and I would to know how the agency works from the opposite perspective. The case worker I spoke was Kathy Basham. The interview took place on August 3, 2012. I was really excited to talk to her because she had floated between many positions within the agency and I felt like she would be able to answer all of my questions. This interview helped me to gain a clearer understanding of what the responsibilities of a case worker are. I got to hear about the struggles as well as the triumphs. I also gained insight on the ethical and legal concerns that the agency experiences, and how they handle with these matters. During this time, Mrs. Basham’s focal responsibility is with the investigating team. Her job was to investigate reports of child abuse and neglect. In order to do her job efficiently, she must do a sequence of intake interviews with the children and families that have been reported. Gathering the findings of these interviews will aid in making the decision whether abuse or neglect has happened. If the finding are determined that there is a concern the state laws state that the children must be removed from their home and place with family or in foster care. After making this determination, Mrs. Basham makes recommendations for the well-being of the child, she next sends in her reports to her supervisor and they make plans for the next steps to take action. Steps will be determined based on if whether or not the child is in immediate danger. If they deem that the children are in danger they will order an emergency custody hearing. Mrs. Basham has stated that there are often many false reports. She said false reports are aggravating because the process is time consuming and they cause workers to waste time they could be spending on true cases. Child Protective Services (CPS) has several intervention programs that are  available to families. They are valuable to the prevention of child abuse, as well as programs that are available to families and children who have open child abuse cases. They offer many other therapy programs, such as parenting classes, prevention and treatment anger management classes. Foster care programs are also offered. The Kentucky Department of Child Protective Services serves families of every income level however; many reports come from lower income areas. Child Protective Service case workers experience various different kinds of ethical dilemmas. Mrs. Basham stated that there is a great level of sentiment in this sort of work, for the families and case workers. It is normal for family and parents to scream or act violently toward her doing the intake interview process. She also said that her job can be frustrating at times but she reminds herself of her sole focus, which is ensuring that children’s safety within their family setting and their overall well-being. Ethical dilemmas differ from case to case. One ethical dilemma almost all CPS workers face is clients wanting to know who reported them. Kentucky state law prohibits workers from disclosing that type of information. Mrs. Basham admits that would be simpler if she could tell them because many clients refuse to cooperate unless she tells them. Borderline neglect cases can also be ethical dilemmas. These sorts of cases include homes that are unfit to live in. Many homes are filthy, however if there is no immediate danger the case workers do not have the authority to remove the children. Even though it’s not allowed, when this occurs some case workers will find alternative reasons to remove the children from such an environment. It has been said that even if a child is in a dirty environment it does not necessarily mean the child is being neglected. In some cases if the environment is truly unfit to live in the children can be removed. Sometimes if the house is filthy the children may be also so the family may be referred to a program that assists them develop life skills to teach them about hygiene. CPS worker must comply with certain legal requirements while performing intake assessments. They must follow all agency and state law guidelines and policies while investigating child abuse reports. When abuse reports come in, case workers must visit the home within 24 hours. In more serious reports the worker has 2 hours to report to the home. All cases must be either elevated or closed within 30 days. Elevated cases usually involve children being removed from their home. When  this occurs Ms. Basham turns the case over to a case worker which will monitor the child through the foster care system or family placement. Case workers are required to try to find suitable family placement first. If not possible the child will be placed with licensed foster care providers. CPS is legally required to inform the parent and/or guardian that the child is being removed. After the child is removed they must inform all involved parties of court dates, treatment plans and any other information concerning the child. The disadvantages of Mrs. Basham’s job include underfunded agencies include, high rates of turnover in the staff, large case loads and being understaffed. The State of Kentucky offers assistance programs for individuals entering the human service field including such as tuition assistance like financial aid, extensions on paying back student loans, and loan forgiveness. To be an employee for Child Protective Services of Kentucky it requires that you receive a four year Bachelor’s degree in social work, sociology, human services or an equivalent degree. Regrettably, Mrs. Basham was not capable of giving me any additional information on the requirements for an internship. My interview with Mrs. Basham lasted approximately an hour. I was able to obtain a deeper insight of the labor involved in being an investigator in child abuse and neglect cases. The interview expanded my interest in the field of child protective services and I feel like it is an exciting and rewarding career choice.