Thursday, October 31, 2019

Employability after Graduation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Employability after Graduation - Essay Example How my plans fit with the comments within the context of the current labor market In making career plans for employability, it is important to consider the context of current labor market trends. Some of these trends have well being discussed by Brown et al (2002) in their article. In the first place, my theme of focusing on labour demanding-but-supply inadequate career choice is certainly in the right direction as Brown et al (2002) posit that graduates employability much rests with â€Å"whether they find employment will depend on whether there are other more qualified or experienced people looking for the same kinds of work†. Demand and supply of labor market have been an issue for a very long time and it is an open secret that some career courses studied at the university open learners to more readily available jobs than others. In a career with ready-made job openings, it is common to see employers and entrepreneurs at graduation ceremonies only to chase after graduates. In simple terms, some courses studied at the university makes graduates more employable than others if we want to believe in how Brown et al (2002) put the definition of employability saying employability has to do with â€Å"relative chances of finding and maintaining different kinds of employment†. To this effect, my decision to study to be a web designer was in the right direction. This is because the influence and power of the internet are gaining so much grounds in the business world today that almost every company is looking for a way to go electronic via the internet. This has called for the mad rush of web designers. Supporting this notion, the Business.Com states that â€Å"all companies need web design†, which means that there are usually more jobs than graduates. In the second place, my plan of being a measure of standard among colleagues with the same qualification is in line with the relative dimension as discussed by Brown et al (2002) in their article. A ccording to Brown et al (2002), â€Å"Employability not only depends on fulfilling the requirements of a specific job but also on how one stands relative to others within a hierarchy of job seekers.† This means that a student or graduate with a meaningful sense of securing employment or becoming employable must have a plan or orientation that sets him above other contenders in the search for a job. As Hirsch (1977) suggests, ‘If everyone stands on tiptoe, no one sees better’ (p.5). This means that as much as others are standing on tip-toe, there should be an effort to stand taller than all the others. There is a common saying that if all people are sitting, strive to stand and if all people are standing, strive to stand out; but if all people are standing out, try to be the standard.  Ã‚  

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Subjugation of Free

Subjugation of Freedom in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay The Subjugation of Freedom in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, is a multi-faceted work incorporating many thematic elements. One of the most easily addressable themes is that of freedom and its limitations placed upon the characters in the novel. Many types of freedoms are addressed ranging from the tangible and real to the perceived and implied. The setting primarily takes place in a mental hospital on a locked ward which limits the characters’ physical freedoms. The characters are constantly coerced and demeaned by the antagonist Ms. Ratched which limits their mental freedoms. Beneath all is a subtext of sexual repression which is constantly fought against by McMurphy. Individually, each of these subjugations might be tolerated given exclusions to the others, but together they weigh down the men to the point where their complete lack of freedom almost becomes a comfort. Mental hospitals are typically secure facilities intended to provide a place for patients, whose symptoms range from minor to severe, to be secured and not be a danger to the rest of society while treatment is applied. The manner in which the patients are described in the story indicates that they are not severe mental cases but are those who are unable to function in society at large due to idiosyncrasies and minor hang-ups, yet they are housed in a ward where they are kept under lock and key, their movement is restricted to one day-room, and their activities are on a strictly regulated time-table. Most of the men have given up their physical freedom voluntarily with the expectation of treatment, mental healing and the eventual release back into society. McMurphy, on the other hand, was committed by the state and his sentence depends on the opinion of the Big Nurse, though he doesn’t realize this right away. Nurse Ratched does not resort to physical touch herself and instead uses the three ward aides to perform her physical brutality for her. McMurphy’s eventual goal is to get the other men out of the ward as much as possible because they have become too accustom to it. To do so all at once would likely be too great a shock so McMurphy starts inside the hospital with simply moving the group to another day room. Gradually, they are able to spend more time out of the ward with activities like basketball and the pool. The culmination of their unconventional therapy is the fishing trip where the men re-learn what real life outside the hospital can be like. Nurse Ratched doesn’t resort to physicality with the patients. She much prefers mental control and the main focus for her efforts of control. She has become a master of subtlety and misdirection. Before McMurphy arrives she has the men eager and willing to tattle on each other for tiny rewards. This information is then used in group therapy sessions where the idea is that the men can rely on each other for strength and the group will help lift them up, grow stronger and heal. What actually happens is each man takes it in turn to be attacked by the others for their faults. This is all orchestrated masterfully by Nurse Ratched who has but to ask a few simple pointed questions to get the fire burning. When she isn’t using the men’s own minds against them she drugs them to keep their thoughts slow, to keep them unmotivated and to keep them calm. Also in her arsenal is the threat of maximum mental punishment through shock therapy and lobotomy. Her technique is so perfectly insidious that the men work their hardest to please her to the detriment of each other and ultimately their own selves. She is able to perpetually keep the men in a state where they believe they need her and the hospitals help. Sex is used in the novel as a representation of total freedom. Its exercise is almost always portrayed by McMurphy who, through his general demeanor and newness to the hospital, is the most free, sexually, of any of the men. He is so free, that it has gotten him into trouble as he only seems to be able to act on impulse. Society is not able to deal with his complete abandon and he is eventually punished for it by having a piece of his brain removed. The rest of the men are all repressed mostly due to some problem they’ve had with the women in their lives. In fact, it is their inability to deal with women that brought them to the hospital in the first place. Women are portrayed throughout the book as the root of all men’s problems. Nurse Ratched is the penultimate figure of sexual repression. She does not acknowledge her femininity but hides it successfully, but for her bosom, beneath her sterile, pressed uniform. She is cold toward the men offering no real compassion and serves only to aggravate the men’s issues with women in general. Her power is finally stripped from her, quite literally, when McMurphy rips open her uniform revealing her breasts, the symbol of femininity; she is a woman after all. Limiting or removing freedom boils down to control. Those who restrict freedoms wish to exercise control upon those whose freedoms have been infringed. In the story, the restriction of all freedoms is personified and executed by the â€Å"Big Nurse,† Ms. Ratched. She symbolizes all forms of repression and is the face of the societal machine, whose purpose is to remove individuality and replace self-restraint with group shame. The implication Kesey suggests is that when a person isn’t free to move, free to think, or free to love then they cannot be a valuable, functioning member of society. Works Cited Kesey, Ken. One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest, a Novel. New York: Viking, 1962. Print.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Aligning Operations and SCM with Other Functional Strategies

Aligning Operations and SCM with Other Functional Strategies 1. Discuss the importance of aligning operations and SCM with other functional strategies (e.g. Design, Marketing and Finance) in creating a viable business strategy. Skinner gives us a broad picture of how we look at the business as a whole moving away from sub optimization which he has criticised it and making choices that are sensible and how will compete on the market. Skinners work introduced the importance of the concept of trade-offs and the need to align the delivery systems to what market really require therefore the sub-functional trade-off choices are strategically aligned with key manufacturing tasks. Hill come with the concept of OWC and qualifying criteria and highlights the fact that focus should be on what important to the customer and a system require a common objective and everyone on the system is focus on common objective. Rumack Pharmaceuticals is an example of marketing strategy where they produce lots of variants of that ingredient, different pills, different potions, different bottle sizes, different packages because they little way of exploiting market opportunity. The cost of manufacturing is small compare to the value of the product because of the paten and the manufacturing was bottlenecked in this situation. In this case manufacturing means to be subordinate to the opportunity of the business and the nature of the product should be supporting the market opportunity. They end up with capacity problems and long setup times as they did not understood the implications of higher variety on that capacity. Higher variety means to go either for large batches but also inventory or smaller batches and where capacity is more absorbed thru setup. Tyndall B is another example where marketing influenced where company went. Manufacturing invested a lot of effort in chair and their process choice was to go for standard high volume but the demand was more than they would coop with. So marketing made them look at case goods but case goods would not give them so much return. They were not good in manufacturing producing case goods so the profits was declining. But why they did not invested more in tables and chairs rather than spending on galleries where marketing driven to produce a full range of products causing variety to go up and profits down. They was not paying attention of what manufacturing is capable of delivering. They werent aligned. Compare to Rumack there is no paten but there is capability which can be exploited. For both companies idea of alignment strategy was to be for volume and variety. Referring to Babcock Wilcox case study they mix up trade-offs choices because what is good for high volume is not good for low v olume and choices needs to be aligned. Regarding Finance operation strategy from Skinner point of view was all about avoiding local cost and local efficiency. Focus operations on delivery, speed, price and everyone work together to align themselves. Also he argue that quite often in factories every department try to optimise local cost and efficiency which encourage push and pull thinking. Local optimisation is not aligning with the system and we can see evidence of that at Rumack Pharmaceutical where basically in manufacturing you need to be align with the strategy thats being adopted which is all introducing new products resulting in new product capacity which should not happen as will require more capacity in the system. Going for higher variety will put more pressure on capacity because of the setups. Tyndall they had really good arrangements in terms of producing tables and chair colonial style lots of demand for them but they wont exploit it because they said that there is no capacity for that so they went for case goods. Problem was that case goods was providing throughput but no revenue. They were doing everything rather then bringing throughput per bottleneck/minute. There was no alignment to improve throughput per limiting factor or to understand what constraints are and if is a market or resource constraint. Coming to Design from an operation point of view we would like standardisation. From market point of view they want customization. So product have to be standardised as much as we can and have the ability to customise later in other words to postpone it and reduce variability and introduce the buffering options as late as possible. Postponement is used to achieve customisation and efficiency within one operating system. 2 Critically discuss how developing operational excellence can support and lead a business strategy. Porter argue that operational effectiveness is not a strategy and also Lean and TOC are not strategies because they can be copied. Lean, TQM, TOC are all about managing flow in organisation with the idea of cost, push and pull. The main question is how can we improve performance and rid away of trade-offs or how can we break them. Slack et al. (2004) argue that there are five operations performance objectives: cost, quality, speed, dependability and flexibility. The law of trade-offs states that no single plant can provide high performance in all dimensions simultaneously. We would expect to find support for this law if all competitors use similar technologies and are operating near the asset frontier. If all plants are far from the asset frontier, however, one plant can simultaneously provide higher levels of product quality, flexibility, and delivery at a lower manufactured cost if, through betterment, its management approaches create an operating frontier which is superior to its competitors. The theory of performance frontiers clarifies the impacts that assets and operating practices have on competitive advantage. However, the resource-based view took this thinking a step further through positing that competitive advantage can be sustained only if the capabilities creating the advantage are supported by re sources that are not easily duplicated by competitors. Both the asset and the operating frontier can be the source of competitive advantage but they are based on resources of different nature. Armed with an understanding of a firms operating position relative to both competitors and the performance frontiers, strategic planners are better equipped to evaluate and plan manufacturing initiatives. For example, a quality improvement initiative may well be more attractive than a new technology initiative to a firm that considers itself far from its asset frontier. Can operation not just follow business strategy and lead business strategy? Hayes and Wheelwright stage 4 evidence that.In 80s quality and lean was a paradigm shift. Operation capability can actually win the orders. Porter(96) argue that Japanese dont have a strategy as they have operational effectiveness which wins on short term but actually Toyota production system is still difficult to copy on long term. Thus, the process of strategy development should be based on a sound understanding of current operational capabilities and an analysis of how these could be developed in the future. This can then provide the basis for decisions about which markets are likely to be the best in which to deploy current and future capabilities, which competitors are likely to be most vulnerable and how attacks from competitors might best be countered (Hayes et al., 2005). organization fits with the resource-based view (RBV) .toc lean etc 3 Practically evaluate the means of enabling pull (e.g. production, project and distribution) referring to the design of a specific planning and control system. Lead time requirements of the customers tend to drive the OPP towards the customer whereas product variability and demand uncertainty drive it away from customer. The more product variables, less likely it is economically sustainable to keep every variable in stock. Therefore, often large and steady volume products are kept in stock whereas products with a lot of variance are either assembled- or made-to order. Thus, companies have often multiple OPPs depending on the product characteristics. MTS method of production reduces before demand is realise or before orders come in.This are some goods or builds based on capacity or forecast which more often are greater than current demand. This is the reason that stocks are made only to be stored or sold at some future date. MTO builds according to actual demand. This system wont produce stock as all outputs are consumed or sold immediately. MTO is a pull system since every station doesnt start processing unless pull by demand or next process. Therefore we can talk about a pull line or JIT line. This is a type of MTO system in which all working stations are strictly produce according to the takt time. JIT is also known as a lean system or Kanban system. Kanban system control the flow thru a form of electronic or physical signal which tell to start producing or deliver the next part. In the case of MTO the overall approach is termed Drum Buffer Rope (DBR). Pull means small batches and we try get as required by the system. JLR is a pull system because everyone is working at the pace of the system. They relishing car or raw material into the system at the plant rate and everyone is working at the management prescribed rate called takt time. Ohno didnt had physical restriction of space but he had this rule to do something only if you have a Kanban instruction, the signal. Fords moving assembly line physical space was the control, the signal. Kanban was the idea of inventory in the system and TOC BM was another signal: what do I do next? When do I expedite? When do I interfere with the process? Ford had pretty much a lean system that why Ohno quoted from fords book. There is a more complex environment but the principles are the same. planning of stock or raw materials or finished stock in excess is a waste(ford 1926,p99).Ford understood the importance of the flow. He forced everyone to work on the same pace and had the idea of flow line. Ford was applying principles of flow to an environment where it was not so much variety. Ohno had variety and apply principles of flow thru JIT and C.I. linked to law of variability and variability buffering and theory Theory of Swift and Even Flow. He put a lot of effort in minimizing the fluctuations, stabilizing the demand and reduce variability. Ford didnt had Jidoka but he had teams which responded fast. C. I. challenged the traditional trade-offs model. Batch size reduction was the key for lean (Schronburger 1982).Right from the beginning was all about how to reduce batch quantities and setup time which is interpreted like a source of variability in the process. Batches will be reduced till will create a bottleneck again. Reducing setup times will reduce variability. Kanban represents inventory but also time and they are interrelated. In JLR they have a fast response and they doing first order which is coming compare to buffer management. In the case of MTO the overall approach is termed Drum Buffer Rope (DBR) introduced by Goldratt(1990) to reduce variation and improve activity. In the next case study SDBR was used with time being the rope and drum the market demand. The drum previously was the roasting and char grill departments which were considered constraints. In the case of Freshcut Foods when it was to manage the flow they was releasing work in the system to early and cause quality issues and wastages. They had late demands but they were uncertain if they have the capacity to produce. So they needed a system to tell them if they have capacity to take the orders. Finally a system which can tell them how to prioritise what they should produce next and when to release the working to the system was put in practice. If is in the red zone they need to expedite if the red zone is growing means that they have a problem and they need to escalate it.. So Kanban is like an automatic system where everyone knows how to use it. 4 Critically evaluate the circumstances best suited to Kanban and Buffer Management pull systems. Benton (2014, 2) describe that the main objective of manufacturing planning and control function: is to ensure that the desired products are manufactured at the right time, in the right quantities, and meeting quality specifications in the most cost-effective manner. To illustrate the significance of BM in TOC, the functions of BM in TOC is compared with Kanban in TPS. Firstly, both BM and Kanban prioritise work orders albeit with different assumptions and mechanisms. For Kanban, there is a pre-planned quantity or WIP in buffers designed in between every work center. In addition, there is also a specific routing sequences or dedicated production line required for each product, which results in rigidity in responding to market requirements. In BM however, the priority of work is triggered by the percentage buffer penetration of completion time. As it is time-based, it allows each work center to have flexibility to react (or catch-up with time) to disruptions when Murphy strikes. Other than the function of prioritisation, both BM and Kanban have their own mechanism to monitor and control their production throughput. In Kanban, the deployment of distributed buffers in between work centers enables problems to be immediately surfaced and dealt without passing the problem to the subsequent work centers (Ohno, 1989:30). In TOC, aggregated buffer is deployed and thus has a certain delay as problems are only escalated and expedited for attention after entering into the Red zone of BM. However, as highlighted by Stratton and Knight (2010), though Kanban is more sensitive, the problems highlighted are mainly related to quality and process, whereas in BM, it also includes issues such as product volume and mix changes. In spite of these differences, both BM and Kanban advocates continuous improvement. This is seen in the final steps of both TPS: Pursue Perfection (Womack and Jones, 1996:90) and TOC: not to allow inertia to cause a systems constraint (Goldratt and Cox, 2004:307). In Kanban, continuous improvement is encouraged through reducing inventory to expose problems which then can be targeted; whereas in BM, causes of delay (Red zone penetration) are being targeted. 5. Critically evaluate the use of MTA and dynamic buffer management as a means of practically enabling a pull distribution system. VMI say communicate demand and stock levels thru the system and replenish them on the regular basis. Replenish on the stock target MTA is similar with VMI but give a priority code in terms of buffer penetration. DBM is less common as the buffer status signals whether the target level is too large or too small and this can be used to signal automatic adjustments. By monitoring how we are performing in terms of green,yellow and red we can determine whether we need to increase or decrease the stock target For example if we are in the green zone reduce stock target and if is in the red zone increase the stock target. It is the means of getting the system to work at the pace of the consumption where drum is the consumer so is signalling down to distribution system what we need to replenish and how fast which resulting in an idea of pull. In the case of Frozen Meals they replenish based on consumption on the 3rd party distributer so is very straight forward till the stock time. MTA will say if there are multiple orders in the system will give an indication what the priority is. If the consumption was high and replenishing the full quantity in the distribution depot will be less stock. This stock will have to be replenish very quickly so VMI will communicate consumption across the whole supply normally replenishing it within a day or couple of days. So all the demand in the distribution depot will go in the red zone. So VMI says communicate demand and stock level always thru the system and replenishing to the stock target. The problem come when Frozen Meals tried to replenish and couldnt because the warehouse was full. Analysing demands and orders there is obviously that demands are pretty stable and orders are more volatile in demand represented by the consumption of consumer in Weatherspoon. This difference was caused by 3rd party distributer which has his own warehouse and has more stock that he needed and fluctuating and planning orders ad hoc. Because placing order in ad hoc manors caused Frozen Meals to ask for 7 days delay of supply. The ordering system from 3rd party distributer was ad hoc. There was a stock target so why not just replenish this stock automatically communicate down the supply chain whats required. The solution was to go for VMI rather than 3rd party distributer placing orders on Frozen Meals. A pull system was created when the supplier is responsible for maintaining agreed target stock levels. 6 Discuss the strategic importance of postponement through configuration, packaging and distribution, making reference to the concept of an Order Penetration Point (OPP). In the first part I was discussing about focus factory and separating different orders. This can be also separate by postponing which means that will be 2 strategies. one at the first part of the supply chain which is looking to stabilise and standardise and a different strategy at the later stages with a decupling point. How can we design the supply chain to postpone the impact of variation and uncertainty? This can be done in the manufacturing process but distribution side as well. Skinner strategy is about how we take the system perspective and how we meet the needs of the market reducing variability in the process. With TQM the reason why ends up with variability in the process is that no-one consider how to reduce variation. This is what SPC done: to focus on variation which will bring the cost down. Unless will do that then the variability tend to be there which make the trade-off choices about quality and cost. So all of them are about reducing variability. Agility is about dealing with demand uncertainty and demand variability. Stability is associated with lean and uncertainty demand with agility. This table is similar with line vs jobbing looking for two extremes such as delivery speed and low cost. Skinner will argue that this should be two different factories because the owc are different Fisher model talking in the idea of Skinner operation trade-offs in terms of a supply chain. If we have variability in demand we need to buffer like any variation. The ideal efficient model will have flow, minimum variation in demand and process, minimum buffering. In contrast the responsive model demand varies and also product changes in the same time and we got demand uncertainty and we ll buffer with inventory capacity. Talking about lean and agile supply viewed in terms of dependency, fluctuation, buffer capacity and buffer inventory we can refer to law of variability, law of variability buffering, law of variability pooling. Talking about service it represents the customer input which can be put on MTS which can be a date, a forecast. MTA say that the priority of the order all depends on what stock level is, if the stock level goes down rapidly the priority goes up, if the stock level is not priority (demand is low) the priority goes down. In Lego case they was doing bad because they grow over the years resulting in too much variety as increasing number of elements, to many colours and they diversified to do other things(low of focus) As a start-up they cut the number of colours and elements (no elements to be unique to one product stated by the law of variability pooling).In manufacturing they segmented some of the machines as all machines should be able to do everything. They organised and streamlined how they going to manufacture elements. They rationalized the suppliers which is a lean thing. The distribution changed to a pull system and the they supply to one distribution centre in Europe in 3-4 days which is consider closer to the customer. In terms of packaging machines and capacity. By reducing the range of colours and elements setup process variability all this helped to reduce variation and uncertainty. Buffering packaging they postponed rather than holding stock in packets they opted for a centralized distribution centre and more frequent distributions. All this system was about flow. Production is lean if is accomplished with minimal waste due to unneeded operations, inefficient operations, or excessive buffering in operations. Production is agile if it efficiently changes operating states in response to uncertain and changing demands placed upon it ( Narasimban et al..,2006) References Benton, W. C. Jr. 2014. Supply Chain Focused Manufacturing Planning and Control. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning

Friday, October 25, 2019

Scholarly Discourse Paper -- Sociology

In the views of society today children are taught by example. Monkey see, monkey do. The Saturday morning cartoons, parents, the latest video games, teachers, and the media all showed kids that you can be anything you want to be, as long as you set your mind to it. The majority of little girls wanted to be a princess and little boys wanted to be a super hero when they grow up. In reality, the princesses didn’t grow up to be aristocrats and the super heroes are not fighting the cities’ latest crimes. Children are told to use their imagination and creativity, but in todays society their imaginations and life aspirations are refocused by their social class. . Considering the research done by C.H Knoblauch, Johnathan Kozol, and Jean Anyon, the education system specifically prepares each student for his or her future based on their parents’ income level, social class, and zip code. Parents’ income level and where they live directly correlates with what type of education their children will receive. Anyon argues that the students’ curriculum is either modified or enhanced based on the different areas of social class, and parental salary. â€Å"One’s social class, then, is a result of the relationships one has, largely ‘work,’ ‘capital and power,’ and ‘activity’† (Anyon 398). By living in a wealthier neighborhood, the property funds and taxes the residents pay are able to provide more funding to the surrounding schools. When living in a poor and underprivileged neighborhood, the taxes are significantly lower; therefore, the school system is left with a small amount of funding available to them.. The working class students live in the underprivileged neighborhoods. They read textbooks; when it rains water leaks from the ceiling into the ha... ...s. All of those toddlers in tiaras are going to be heartbroken when they are pushed off the throne and onto their hands and knees just like Cinderella. For some reason the pumpkins stay pumpkins even after midnight. As for the cape and tights, the boys would not last more than a minute in a high school without someone calling them a derogatory name. Whatever happened to the cliche saying, ‘dreams really do come true?’ They should probably put a disclaimer on it next time. Work Cited Page Anyon, Jean. "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work." Journal of Education, Vol. 162, no. 1. Fall 1980. Kozol, Jonathan. â€Å"Still Separate, Still Unequal.† Journal of Education, Vol. 162, no. 1. 2005. Knoblauch, C. H. "Literacy and the Politics of Education." The Right to Literacy. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford, Helene Mà ¶glen, and James Slevin. New York: MLA, 1990.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Classical and Human Relations Theories Essay

Critically evaluate the classical and human relations approaches of management theory. Your essay must clearly define the term ’’ management theory’’ and include industry examples to illustrate your answers. The purpose of this essay is to provide a critical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the classical and human relations theories of management giving some industry examples which supports their applicability and importance or otherwise. â€Å"‘Critical evaluation is the skill of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a piece of work, and of understanding the importance of its contribution to the subject’. Hulme, J.A. (2004). For the benefits of in-depth analysis we will look at the classical scientific of F. W. Taylor (and not the classical administrative approach of say Weber), identifying expert supported strengths and weaknesses of his approach. Equally, we will look at Herzberg’s human relations theory of motivation. Classical management was rooted on the belief that employees have only economical and physical needs, and that social needs and need for job-satisfaction either don’t exist or are unimportant. Accordingly, this school advocates high specialization of labor, centralized decision making, and profit maximization. The humanistic (or human relations) school recognized people as a special sort of resource. They not only work for the organization – they are the organization. Mary Parker Follett succinctly defined management as ‘†¦the art of getting things done through people.’ Management theory can be defined as a body of general principles on how best to manage a business or organization to achieve its goals and how to motivate employees to achieve highest possible performance. F. W. Taylor (the father of scientific management) was the intellectual leader of the efficiency or classical movement. According to him the main object of management ‘should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity of each employee’. For employers ‘maximum prosperity’ not only means large profits but overall development in the enterprise to a state of permanent prosperity. Taylor was, therefore, driven to ask why is there so much antagonism and inefficiency? He suggested three causes: (1) the fallacious belief by workers that massive increase in output will ultimately lead to their unemployment; (2) the defective systems of management which make it possible for workers to restrict output so as to protect their interests; (3) effort- wasting methods of work. The aim of scientific management to him was to overcome these obstacles by a systematic study of work to discover the most efficient methods of performing the job, and then a systematic study of management leading to the most efficient methods of controlling the workers. As Taylor puts it: ‘What the workmen want from their employers beyond anything else is high wages and what employers want from their workmen most of all is low labour cost of manufacture†¦.the existence or absence of these two elements forms the best index to either good or bad management.’ (Pugh & Hickson, 1996) Taylor, therefore, propounded four principles of management: Development of a true science of work to replace the old rule-of thumb; those fulfilling optimum goals would earn higher wages; failure would result in loss of earnings. The Scientific selection and progressive development of the worker: Every worker can be trained to be ‘first- class’ at some task. The mental revolution in management: He argued that the major resistance to scientific management came from management as workers are all too keen to learn to do a good job for a high rate of pay. The constant and close cooperation of management and workers: Every job is divided into various tasks each of which is done by a specialist- this system he calls ‘functional management’. He also formulates the ‘exception principle’ where management reports only details deviation from the expected norm. In support of his approach, it has been argued that Taylor laid the foundation for the development of other management systems for decades to come. His thinking has been developed into what is now called Work Study or Industrial Engineering. Taylor’s focus is understandably narrow as he was writing from scratch. Few managements have been willing to put into practice one of his basic tenets that there should be no limit to earnings or bonus- most incentive schemes are restricted. This may inhibit the ‘mental revolution’ Taylor sought. The focus on division of labour leads to increased efficiency and productivity. This can be seen in many operations ranging from fast food to large industrial facilities e.g. MacDonald’s or the car industry. Ford is said to have adopted his approach in 1913. Taiichi Ono of Toyota, father of JIT acknowledges his debt to scientific management. The autocratic style of leadership also ensures a unity of command, clear lines of direction and control for a better focus on the job at hand. During his time, the work force was not highly educated or trained. For many, the opportunity to obtain a secure job and a level of wages to provide for their families was all they expected. Taylor, like the other classicists, have been criticised in that he heavily relied on experiences with large manufacturing companies enjoying stable environments. It may be unwise to generalize from those situations to others’ especially to young, high-technology firms of today that are confronted daily with changes in their competitors’ products. Taylor assumed that workers are only motivated by money and that productivity is the best measure of how well a firm is performing. These assumptions fail to recognize that employees may have needs unrelated to the workplace or may view their jobs only as a necessary evil. His approach tends to ignore informal relations as characterized by social interchange among workers, the emergence of group leaders apart from those specified by the formal organization, and so forth. When such things are not considered, it is likely that many important factors affecting satisfaction and performance, such as letting employees participate in decision making and task planning, will never be explored or tried. Taylor’s approach aim at achieving high productivity, at making behaviors predictable, and at achieving fairness among workers and between managers and workers; fails to recognize that several unintended consequences can occur in practice. A heavy emphasis on rules and regulations may cause people to obey rules blindly without remembering their original intent, defeating their objectives. The theory was dehumanising work processes – stripped jobs of skill and judgement, treating workers as machine parts. Organizations are influenced by external conditions that often fluctuate over time, yet his approach presents an image of an organization that is not affected by external influences. The Human Relations theories of Management The primary functions of any organization, whether religious, political or industrial, should be to implement the needs of man to enjoy a meaningful existence. Frederick Herzberg (Pugh & Hickson, 1996) Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000), an American psychologist, conducted research on 200 engineers and accountants that led him to develop the two-factor theory of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Herzberg’s two-factor theory separated the elements of a job into those serving economic needs (‘hygiene’ and maintenance factors/Adam) and those meeting deeper aspirations (motivational factors/Abraham). He also relates job satisfaction and dissatisfaction to mental health. The motivators include responsibility, a sense of achievement, recognition, promotion and job attraction. These things are likely to motivate workers and are related directly to the job. The ‘hygiene’ factors include company policy and procedures, supervision, pay, work relationships and working conditions. These factors can only reduce job dissatisfaction and they are not directly linked to the job. Making sure these factors are acceptable to the labour force prevents dissatisfaction ra ther than causing positive motivation. The ‘Adam’ factor seeks the avoidance of dissatisfaction and the ‘Abraham’ factor is linked to job satisfaction. Their absence will not cause dissatisfaction but will reduce job satisfaction. Man has the above two sets of needs explained Herzberg in a later book (work and the nature of man); his needs as an animal to avoid pain and his needs as a human to grow psychologically. A lack in one cannot be compensated by fulfillment in the other. Herzberg therefore advocates for an industrial engineering approach which would design the ‘Abraham’ factor into jobs. This he called job enrichment to produce an effective utilization of people and to increase job satisfaction. When a worker does more hours at work to save money for a holiday it is a movement, not motivation. From this, Herzberg suggested that reward based systems including bonuses, could only provide movement rather than long term motivation. The main criticism of Herzberg’s research was the fact that the sample he used consisted of only two hundred accountants and engineers. It was also overly simplistic and blurs the distinction between satisfaction and motivation. Being pleased with doing a more challenging set of tasks does not necessarily mean it will increase motivation. It was also suggested that his research understated the role of groups and teams within the workplace. This is because groups and teams can generate a great deal of motivational influence. Even though Herzberg’s work has its criticisms, his ideas have been shown to be valid in practice. This is evident in businesses because a pay rise or change in working conditions is rarely enough to produce a labour force that is highly motivated. It has also been shown that if workers perceive a wage increase to be inadequate or working conditions are less than ideal it can have major consequences on the business and its operations. (The annual series of strikes by LU workers springs to mind). Conclusion As Oliver Wendel Holmes quoted, â€Å"When we want to know what is going on today or want to make sure what will happen tomorrow, I will look back at the past.† One theory will not fit all businesses at all times, naturally. But management theories are useful in that they formulate principles of best practise. Their relevance will depend on the socio-economic, cultural and political environments in which they are applied. ‘The gurus have all the answers, but all the answers are different. No one knows the problem’ . (Owen, Jo, Management stripped bare, 2012, 3rd ed.) References Hulme, J.A. (2004). Critical Evaluation: A Student Guide. Psychology Review, 10, 6-8. Pugh & Hickson, (1996) Writers on Organizations, (5thed) George, Claude S.1968. The History of management thought (1sted). Englewood Cliffs: N.J. Prentice-hall Herzberg, F. (1959) Mausner, B; Snyderman, B. the motivation to work, NY Herzberg, F. (1966) Work and the nature of man, world publ. Herzberg, F. (1976) Managerial choice: To be efficient and to be human, Dow Jones, Irwin Owen, Jo, (2012) Management stripped bare, 3rd ed.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company

According to Murphy & Wood (2011), Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company serves an upscale local market and is currently placing a bid for several public buildings in Asia. Total of 5,400 identical lights will be installed and delivered to the foreign port where the buyer would take possession. Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company has three styles of lamp shades. In order to determine the best possible bid, the company will determine how many lamp shades can fit in the intermodal container and the total cost of delivering for style A, B, and C lamp shades. The interior dimensions of the intermodal container are 8 feet wide by 8. 5 feet high by 40 feet long and can hold up to 44,000 pounds per loaded container (Murphy & Wood, 2011). The intermodal container could hold 2,560 style A lamp shades because it holds 2,720 cubic feet, however, the top six inches cannot be used. The style B shades can be stacked two packages high with the square foot on the bottom. Each column could hold 12 shades and there can be a total of 320 (8 x 40) columns of 12. In terms of style B, the intermodal container could hold 3,840 lamp shades without exceeding the weight. Style C shades can be stacked the same ways as style B and a container could hold 320 columns of 20, totaling 6,400 lamp shades. However, this would exceed the 44,000 pound weight limit. To stay under the weight limit, the number of lamp shades the container could hold is 4,356 lamp shades (10. 1 the weight of one lamp shade divided by 44,000). The total cost of delivering of each style of lamp shades can be calculated by adding the cost of the lamp shade being manufactured, packaged, shipped, insurance, and ocean freight rates. For style A lamp shade, the cost of 5,400 lamp shades to be manufactured is $21,600 ($4 x 5,400). Packaging style A lamp shades is $0. 60 per lamp shade for a total of $3,240. The lamp shades will need to be shipped to the Port of Oakland, which will cost $3,000 ($1,000 per load). The cost of insurance for shipping style A lamp shades is $556. 80 because the total cost of the company at this point is $27,840 times 2% of the value of the shipment. The cost of ocean freight rates is $2,970. Adding the figures together brings the total costs of delivering for style A shades to the port of importation to $31,366. 80. Style B lamp shades cost $5 per lamp shade for a total cost of $27,000. The packaging of the style B lamp shade is $1,800 ($2 x 900). It will take two loads to the Port of Oakland for a total of $2,000. Insurance for style B lamp shade will cost $616 because the total cost thus far is $30,800 time 2% of the value of the shipment. The ocean freight rate cost is $1,960; for a total cost of delivering of $33,376. For style C lamp shades, the cost per shade for manufacturing is $6 for a total of $32,400 and the total packaging cost is $1,620. Again, two loads will be needed to deliver to the Port of Oakland for a total of $2,000. The insurance for style C lamps shades is $720 ($36,020 x . 02). The ocean freight rate cost is $1,238. The total cost of deliver the style C shades to the port of importation is $37,978. Thus, style A lamp shades would be preferred because it the least expensive out of all three styles. In conclusion, Let There Be Light Lamp Shade Company will be placing a bid for large public buildings in Asia. After analyzing how many lamps shades can be loaded into the intermodal container and the total cost of delivering, the company will be placing a bid with style A lamp shades. References Murphy, P. R. , & Wood, D. F. (2011). Contemporary Logistics. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

The eNotes Blog Book Spine Poetry, Vol. 1 The Trouble withPoetry

Book Spine Poetry, Vol. 1 The Trouble withPoetry Inspired by Brain Pickings book spine poetrya recent tribute to National Poetry MonthI decided to draw from my own bookshelf and try my hand at the form: The trouble with poetry:The innocent wit,The edge of reason,The fact of a doorframe. The Trouble with Poetry: and other poems by Billy Collins The Innocent: A Novel by Ian McEwan Wit: A Play  by Margaret Edson Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason  by Helen Fielding The Fact of a Doorframe: Poems 1950-2001 by Adrienne Rich For even more interesting results, disorganize your local library a la Nina Katchadourians  Sorted Books  project. The project follows the same process, but takes place in a different library for every entry. Katchadourian sums up its aims: The project has taken place in many different places over the years, ranging form private homes to specialized public book collections  Taken as a whole, the clusters from each sorting aim to examine that particular librarys focus, idiosyncrasies, and inconsistencies - a cross-section of that librarys holdings. Look out for more volumes soon. In the meantime, feel free to post links to your own forays into book spine poetry below.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Donald Trump Biography

Donald Trump Biography Donald Trump is a wealthy businessman, entertainer, real estate developer and president-elect of the United States  whose political aspirations made him one of the most polarizing and controversial figures of the 2016  election. Trump ended up winning the election  against all odds, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton, and took office on Jan. 20, 2017. Trumps candidacy for the White House began amid the largest field of presidential hopefuls in 100 years and was quickly dismissed as a lark. But he won primary after primary and quickly became the most unlikely presidential front-runner in modern political history, vexing the pundit class and his opponents alike. Presidential Campaign of 2016 Trump announced he was seeking the Republican presidential nomination on June 16, 2015. His speech was mostly negative and touched on themes such as illegal immigration, terrorism and the loss of jobs that would resonate throughout his campaign over the course of the election cycle.   The darkest lines of Trumps speech include: The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them.When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.Sadly, the American dream is dead. Trump largely funded the campaign himself. He was criticized by many leading conservatives who questioned whether he was really a Republican. In fact,  Trump had been registered as a Democrat for more than eight years in the 2000s. And he contributed money to the campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton.   Trump  flirted with the idea of running for president in 2012, too, and was leading that years field of Republican White House hopefuls until he polls showed his popularity sinking and he decided against launching a campaign. Trump made headlines when he paid private investigators to travel to Hawaii to search for President Barack Obamas birth certificate amid the height of the birther movement, which questioned his eligibility to serve in the White House. Where Donald Trump Lives Trumps home address is 725 Fifth Avenue in New York City, according to a statement of candidacy he filed with the Federal Election Commission in 2015. The address is the location of Trump Tower, a 68-story residential and commercial building in Manhattan. Trump lives on the top three floors of the building. He owns several other residential properties, however. How Donald Trump Makes His Money Trump runs dozens of companies and serves of numerous corporate boards, according to a personal financial disclosure he filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics when he ran for president.  He has said he is worth as much as $10 billion, though critics have suggested he is worth much less.   And four of Trumps companies sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the years. They include the  Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey;  Trump Plaza in Atlantic City;  Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts;  and Trump Entertainment Resorts. Donald Trumps bankruptcy was his way of using the law  to save those companies. â€Å"Because I have used the laws of this country just like the greatest people that you read about every day in business have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for my company, my employees, myself and my family,† Trump said at a debate in 2015. Trump has disclosed tens of millions of dollars in earnings from: Residential and commercial real estate ventures, his most lucrative occupation.  Operating the Trump National Golf Club, which maintains 17 golf courses and golf resorts across the world including those in Scotland, Ireland, Dubai.Running the Mar-A-Lago Club resort in Palm Beach, Florida.Owning the Miss Universe pageant, from which he reported $3.4 million in income.Operating restaurants.Operating an ice skating rink in New York City, for which he listed $8.7 million in income.Speaking engagements, some of which bring in $450,000.A pension from the Screen Actors Guild that pays him $110,228 a year, from his roles in movies on television dating back to  The Jeffersons in 1981. Trump also appeared in Zoolander and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.His appearances on the reality television show  The Apprentice  and Celebrity Apprentice, which paid him $214 million over 11 years, the campaign said. Books By Donald Trump Trump has written at least 15 books about business and golf. The most widely read and successful of his books is The Art of the Deal, published in 1987 by Random House. Trump receives annual royalties valued between $15,001 and $50,000 from sales of the book, according to federal records. He also receives $50,000 and $100,000 in income a year from sales of  Time to Get Tough, published in 2011 by Regnery Publishing. Trumps other books include: Trump: Surviving at the Top, published in 1990 by Random HouseThe Art of the Comeback, published in 1997 by Random HouseThe America We Deserve, published in 2000 by Renaissance BooksHow to Get Rich, published in 2004 by Random HouseThink Like a Billionaire, published in 2004 by Random HouseThe Way to the Top, published in 2004 by Bill Adler BooksThe Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received, published in 2005 by Thomas Nelson Inc.  The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received, published in 2005 by Random HouseThink Big and Kick Ass, published in 2007 by HarperCollins PublishersTrump 101: The Way to Success, published in 2007 by John Wiley SonsWhy We Want You to Be Rich, published in 2008 by Plata PublishingNever Give Up, published in 2008 by  John Wiley SonsThink Like a Champion, published in 2009 by Vanguard Press Education Trump earned a bachelors degree in economics from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Trump graduated from the university in 1968. He had previously attended Fordham University in New York City. As a child, he went to school at the New York Military Academy. Personal Life Trump was born in the New York City borough of Queens, New York,  to  Frederick C. and Mary MacLeod Trump  on June 14, 1946. Trump is one of five children. He has said he learned much of his business acumen from his father. I started off in a small office with my father in Brooklyn and Queens, and my father said - and I love my father. I learned so much. He was a great negotiator. I learned so much just sitting at his feet playing with blocks listening to him negotiate with subcontractors, Trump said in 2015. Trump has been married to Melania Knauss since January 2005. Trump was married twice before, and both relationships ended in divorce. Trumps first marriage, to  Ivana Marie Zelnà ­Ã„ kov, lasted about 15 years before the couple divorced in March 1992. His second marriage, to  Marla Maples, an lasted less than six years before the couple divorced in June 1999. Trump has five children. They are: Donald Trump Jr. with first wife Ivana.Eric Trump  with first wife Ivana.Ivanka Trump  with first wife Ivana.Tiffany Trump with second wife Marla.Barron Trump with third wife Melania.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Middle School Teachers' Understanding of School Bullying in Mainland Literature review

Middle School Teachers' Understanding of School Bullying in Mainland China - Literature review Example The concept of bullying was perceived at a certain point of time to be a ritual in relation to passage or rather a harmless form of conduct that aided in forming characters in the young age. However, presently this particular idea of bullying is considered to pose long-term physical, emotional and academic consequences on the bully as well as on the victim (Blazer, 2005). The increasing rate of bullying activities is gradually emerging to be a grave matter for numerous elementary students. Bullying is identified to be amongst the triggering factors of violence which calls for the immediate correction for this kind of a behaviour. The conduct of bullying is often regarded to be a form of personal conducts which is acquired from the surroundings. Therefore, it implies that bullying, being a learning behaviour, makes it competent of being assessed and altered according to the needed requirements that get deciphered from the evaluation (Blazer, 2005). According to Olweus (1996), a student is found to fall a victim to bullying behaviour when that specific individual constantly remains open to the elements related to abusive activities or nuisances and irritations caused by the other students. The main intention behind such kind of bullying activities is believed to be the foremost concern of gaining dominance and power over the other students or the individuals. Majorly, three different forms of bullying behaviour has been identified which entails physical form, verbal form and psychological form. The physical outward appearance of bullying behaviour is known to encompass kicking, pushing, property destruction, hitting, spitting and stealing. In the similar context, the verbal kind of bullying behaviour has been learnt to engage various activities such as depicting malevolent wit, making coercion, screening hurtful behaviour and name calling. Furthermore, the psychological form of bullying activities is found to entail influencing social relationships, extortion, spreading rumors, intimidation and segregation from a certain peer group (Blazer, 2005; Cohn & Canter, 2003). The aspect of this particular kind of behaviour, i.e. bullying, is learnt to engage two vital constituents that have been recognised as the psychological or the physical form of threats often found to take place frequently with time along with the factor of power imbalance. It becomes quite imperative to be mentioned in this respect that there are certain kinds of behaviours

Friday, October 18, 2019

Mergers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mergers - Essay Example rgers are part of reforming a business which involve two companies coming together to create a big organization that pleases shareholders (Albizzatti and Sias 35-28). One factor that may make two companies succeed in merging is by integrating their data thus it will be easier to achieve the shareholders value. According to Gaughan (2009), this strategy is mostly used in tough economic times where those companies which cannot survive the competition in the market are bought-off by the strong companies in the market. Stanwick (16-11) descries that this enables the companies to improve their competitive nature as other companies merge hoping to increase their share in the market and thus will produce more than they would have if they were to operate by themselves. This study shows the possibilities that would make a company such as SLP want to merge with another one. It will also show how the mergers are financed and finally it shows the second and the third company to be chosen as a merger giving reasons for each. In my opinion if I was to pick a company to merge with between Dell and Intel it would be Dell. This is because it has more benefits to the company than Intel. Perry and Herd (19-12) shows that Dell is a multinational company and it already has a big market share all over the world which has been estimated to be 20 percent. This advantage would make SLP Company be in a position of venturing the global market as Dell would increase its industrial visibility. Dell is a company that deals with computers and SLP Company is involved in vehicles. Their merging type would be in the form of extending their product as the businesses are different but the products are somehow related. If Dell was to takeover SLP it would achieve more benefits of economies of scale as the size would increase as well as its product line. To pay for the deal the best way would be through fixed value stock. This is where the shares are fixed in that the buyer’s shareholders may run

There is a body of litterature that proposes that customer ...... to Essay

There is a body of litterature that proposes that customer ...... to what extent do you believe this to be true - Essay Example (Skogland & Siguaw, 2004, p. 221) Research has shown that in the United States, customer defection is high; this means that customers will not return for a second purchase of the product from businesses or firms. U.S. corporations lose half of their customers over a span of five years resulting in 25 to 50 percent reduction of corporate performance. Companies invest millions of dollars in customer retention programs. Skogland & Siguaw’s (2004, p. 221) study cite Marriott who spent $54 million in 1996 on its Honored Guest program, while Hyatt invested $25 million in its loyalty program that same year. Research on customer loyalty has primarily focused on customer satisfaction and involvement. However, findings on the linkage between repeat-purchase behavior and satisfaction have provided mixed results. Some report significant links, while others are doubtful. In the past century, RM was a major trend and a controversial talking point in business management. Strategic competitive advantage could no longer be delivered with just product characteristics but with emphasis on satisfying customers. (Barnes, 1994, cited in Egan, 2003, p. 145) Relationship marketing (RM) and customer relationship marketing (CRM) are two interrelated subjects. â€Å"Relationship marketing is marketing based on interaction within networks of relationship†¦ CRM [includes] values and strategies of relationship marketing – with particular emphasis on customer relationships – turned into practical application† (Gummesson, 2002, p. 3). Relationship marketing was first contributed by Berry (1983) as a new rubric for services marketing, with insights in the 1980s pointing to service risk points in the customer relationship life cycle. In the 1990s, relationship marketing became a key marketing issue (Ballantyne et al., 2003, p.159-160). Due to constant changes in marketing, there have been departures from mainstream marketing

The Expectations of the Dollar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Expectations of the Dollar - Essay Example Interest-rate futures demonstrate that the traders are certain the Fed will increase its benchmark to 4.75 percent on March 28, and predict about a 65 percent chance of another increase to 5 percent at the May meeting. However the outlook was not the same say in October 2005 when Fed was expected to go in for graduated dosages of increase in interest rate in keeping with the trend began since June 2004. The dollar had then risen 2.3 percent against the yen since the end of June 2005. The dollar ran its third straight quarterly gain, reported in October 2005, against the yen, the longest winning streak since 2001, as the Federal Reserve stuck to its policy of ''measured" increases in interest rates. The markets had then expected the dollar to rally to about 115 yens. The yield advantage of 10-year US Treasury notes with Japan had averaged 2.87 percentage points in 2005 year and reached as much as 3.27 percentage points on March 28 2005. As a result of these Japanese investors were buy ing the dollar to purchase overseas assets, such as Treasuries strengthening interest in dollar. As compared to this The Bank of Japan had kept rates near zero since 2001.US Rate increases had helped notch an 11 percent gain in the dollar vs. the yen. However for the first time ,in this scenario Bank of Japan indicated that the yen may be supported by indicating a timetable for ending its policy of holding interest rates near zero.BOJ had also decided to stop pumping money into the economy and to recommence forecasting of inflation after a seven-year absence. The risks to the US dollar in 2006 are being widely debated. Last year too Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and George Soros had predicted a crash of the US dollar which, however, did not materialize. However sufficient arguments exist today on why the US dollarwill stopdefying gravity and fall this year. As stated abovein the last few weeks the dollar has kept on falling relative to the Euro and Yen, as expectations of relative short term interest rate differentials and growth rates are turning against the U.S. US slow down, which may or may not trigger global slow down, is quite a probability with risks of a disorderly adjustment triggered by the bursting of the US housing bubble and the stagflationary effect of another oil shock driven by supply tightness and a confrontation with Iran. Moreover a large trade deficit of 7% of GDP has led to an unsustainable accumulation of net foreign liabilities (Roubini, 2006). These combined with domestic slowdown leave out weak signals for dollar wi th slight corrections in or around the two expected step-ups. This outlook would run concurrently to the period required to smoothen out these imbalances. This is expected to last the entire of the remainder portion of 2006 at the least. Theoretical Setting Post Bretton Woods period was a period of fixed exchange rates and primary forex market analytics concerned the effects of discrete policy induced changes in the level of exchange rates-be it a devaluation or appreciation. National economies and the global economy as result

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Applied Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Applied Law - Essay Example This means that there is a promise made in return for something, which has already occurred. The promise to donate the receipts to the charity organization constitutes to insufficient consideration and cannot be enforceable (Adams, 2004). The formation of a contract takes place when what one party offers is accepted by the other party to the contract. Krauses cannot avoid the contract after learning that they could have sold the piece of land at a higher price than the price, which Jud offered. This is because they have already accepted the offer. Acceptance of the offer means that the Krauses bound themselves legally to the terms of the contract. Therefore, avoiding the contract could constitute to breach of contract. Krauses can only withdraw from the offer if they had not accepted the offer (Bhana, Bonthuys & Nortje, 2009). Jud can be held to pay the typewritten amount since a contract constitutes a legal agreement in writing between the two parties to a contract. This means that Jud is bound to pay the typewritten amount rather than the offered amount (Bhana, Bonthuys & Nortje,

Why is Gun Control a necessary tool to reduce the levels of violence Essay

Why is Gun Control a necessary tool to reduce the levels of violence in the USA - Essay Example However, the Gun Lobby groups are well organized, well funded, and substantially powerful for the all-out ban on such guns. Various government agency bully various lawmakers such as Congress members, Senators, and State Reps due to passing strict and effective legislation on firearms. The perception of "people kill people† is an unfounded phenomenon that gun rights advocates do not support. It is worth noting that guns were designed to murder people. The item is a war weapon that has become a way of life. Life is abruptly put to an end or altered through the pull of a trigger and the pistol’s crack. Many murder cases occurring across the world indicate that people have prior knowledge of each other in bar rooms, within the home, in parking lots, or on street corners among family, friends, and acquaintances (Spano & Pridemore & Bolland 19). In times of heated situations, the possession of firearms translates into murder. The other frequent occurrence in this case is evident when young kids have access to the guns. They play with fellow typical kids without knowledge of them being loaded. When kids poses to shoot others, it results into murder as they do not have a realization that such guns are actually loaded. In most cases, people with proper knowledge of one another involve in drastic arguments that become deadly in the presence of firearms. However, in reality, these individuals do not have an awareness of the actions they per take up to the moment the action crosses their mind and they face such situations. Further, it is even easier for people to aim a gun at people out of anger. This results in death or even permanent paralysis. In other poor urban areas, aspects of murder are rather rampant. This attributes to poverty, low employment, as well as minimal educational opportunities (Alcindor 123). In drastic environments, the drug presence, bad housing, as well as overcrowding are also major pointers of gun violence.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Expectations of the Dollar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Expectations of the Dollar - Essay Example Interest-rate futures demonstrate that the traders are certain the Fed will increase its benchmark to 4.75 percent on March 28, and predict about a 65 percent chance of another increase to 5 percent at the May meeting. However the outlook was not the same say in October 2005 when Fed was expected to go in for graduated dosages of increase in interest rate in keeping with the trend began since June 2004. The dollar had then risen 2.3 percent against the yen since the end of June 2005. The dollar ran its third straight quarterly gain, reported in October 2005, against the yen, the longest winning streak since 2001, as the Federal Reserve stuck to its policy of ''measured" increases in interest rates. The markets had then expected the dollar to rally to about 115 yens. The yield advantage of 10-year US Treasury notes with Japan had averaged 2.87 percentage points in 2005 year and reached as much as 3.27 percentage points on March 28 2005. As a result of these Japanese investors were buy ing the dollar to purchase overseas assets, such as Treasuries strengthening interest in dollar. As compared to this The Bank of Japan had kept rates near zero since 2001.US Rate increases had helped notch an 11 percent gain in the dollar vs. the yen. However for the first time ,in this scenario Bank of Japan indicated that the yen may be supported by indicating a timetable for ending its policy of holding interest rates near zero.BOJ had also decided to stop pumping money into the economy and to recommence forecasting of inflation after a seven-year absence. The risks to the US dollar in 2006 are being widely debated. Last year too Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and George Soros had predicted a crash of the US dollar which, however, did not materialize. However sufficient arguments exist today on why the US dollarwill stopdefying gravity and fall this year. As stated abovein the last few weeks the dollar has kept on falling relative to the Euro and Yen, as expectations of relative short term interest rate differentials and growth rates are turning against the U.S. US slow down, which may or may not trigger global slow down, is quite a probability with risks of a disorderly adjustment triggered by the bursting of the US housing bubble and the stagflationary effect of another oil shock driven by supply tightness and a confrontation with Iran. Moreover a large trade deficit of 7% of GDP has led to an unsustainable accumulation of net foreign liabilities (Roubini, 2006). These combined with domestic slowdown leave out weak signals for dollar wi th slight corrections in or around the two expected step-ups. This outlook would run concurrently to the period required to smoothen out these imbalances. This is expected to last the entire of the remainder portion of 2006 at the least. Theoretical Setting Post Bretton Woods period was a period of fixed exchange rates and primary forex market analytics concerned the effects of discrete policy induced changes in the level of exchange rates-be it a devaluation or appreciation. National economies and the global economy as result

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Why is Gun Control a necessary tool to reduce the levels of violence Essay

Why is Gun Control a necessary tool to reduce the levels of violence in the USA - Essay Example However, the Gun Lobby groups are well organized, well funded, and substantially powerful for the all-out ban on such guns. Various government agency bully various lawmakers such as Congress members, Senators, and State Reps due to passing strict and effective legislation on firearms. The perception of "people kill people† is an unfounded phenomenon that gun rights advocates do not support. It is worth noting that guns were designed to murder people. The item is a war weapon that has become a way of life. Life is abruptly put to an end or altered through the pull of a trigger and the pistol’s crack. Many murder cases occurring across the world indicate that people have prior knowledge of each other in bar rooms, within the home, in parking lots, or on street corners among family, friends, and acquaintances (Spano & Pridemore & Bolland 19). In times of heated situations, the possession of firearms translates into murder. The other frequent occurrence in this case is evident when young kids have access to the guns. They play with fellow typical kids without knowledge of them being loaded. When kids poses to shoot others, it results into murder as they do not have a realization that such guns are actually loaded. In most cases, people with proper knowledge of one another involve in drastic arguments that become deadly in the presence of firearms. However, in reality, these individuals do not have an awareness of the actions they per take up to the moment the action crosses their mind and they face such situations. Further, it is even easier for people to aim a gun at people out of anger. This results in death or even permanent paralysis. In other poor urban areas, aspects of murder are rather rampant. This attributes to poverty, low employment, as well as minimal educational opportunities (Alcindor 123). In drastic environments, the drug presence, bad housing, as well as overcrowding are also major pointers of gun violence.

Discuss the writers use of the supernatural Essay Example for Free

Discuss the writers use of the supernatural Essay The two stories resemble each other with the idea they communicate with the reader, that people should respect the supernatural. In the Withered Arm, Thomas Hardy develops why we should fear and respect the supernatural by showing that by mocking Gertrude about her medicines and counter curses, Farmer Lodge ended up with a dead son and a dead wife. He also ended up selling all his land because he could not endure staying in the village with everyone gossiping about him. Also by keeping the tempo of the story fast and building up to all the supernatural events keeps us tense. In the Monkeys Paw, Sergeant Major Morris warns the White family about the consequences of the wishes the paw grants. However the White family do not take heed of the warning and take advantage of the paw and in doing so, they end up with their son dead, Mrs. White acting senselessly to try and bring back her son and Mr. White having to wish his son back to the grave. The author is trying to tell us that if you do not respect the supernatural and take advantage of it, you will feel its wrath. The two stories are alike in other ways. Both stories involve young innocent people suffering. In the Monkeys Paw Herbert died for his familys foolishness. Whilst in the Withered Arm it was Rhodas and Farmer Lodges son that was innocently sent to the gallows. Another similarity is that people that were selfish earlier on in the stories are punished in the end. Mr. White is self-seeking at the start of the Monkeys Paw and does not take Sergeant Major Morris advice and his son dies as a result. In the Withered Arm Farmer Lodge is punished for his negligence shown to his son and his failure to accept the responsibility for his son. The consequence for this is the eventual hanging of his only son. Also both stories have ironic twists. In the Monkeys Paw the family wishes for two hundred pounds and after the money doesnt appear straight away, Herbert says Well I dont see the money, and I bet I never shall. The wish eventually does come true and the money is handed over to the family but only as an insurance payout for Herberts death at the factory. So the irony is that Herbert will never actually see the money. In the Withered Arm the ironic twist is that when Gertrude was waiting for a hanging she got so desperate that she used to pray for a hanging O Lord, hang some guilty or innocent person soon! It turned out her prayers were answered but the man seen to be in the wrong turned out to be Farmer Lodges and Rhoda Brooks son but it seemed the boy was wrongfully charged with arson. At the hanging, Farmer Lodge and Rhoda were present in the crowd and once Gertrude had realized the hung man must be their son, she entered a sense of shock. This proved too much for her and she died. The irony is that she prayed for a man to be hung, so that she could cure herself but the man in the end was her husbands son and this did the opposite of curing her and the shock of it all ended her life. In conclusion, the writers use the supernatural to show the reader that if you ridicule the supernatural, it will backfire on you and you will feel the consequences greatly. Also they try and make you scared of the supernatural by making the paranormal events happen to normal people. Meaning it could have been you instead.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Successful and Unsuccessful Organisation Communication

Successful and Unsuccessful Organisation Communication Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction: Scenario 1: Successful Organizational Communication Evaluation and Analysis: Factors that help in successful communication: Clarity of message: Conciseness: Concreteness: Familiarity: Coherent: Voice Tone: Completeness: Courtesy: Make request not demand: Scenario 2: Ineffective organizational communication Evaluation and Analysis: Barriers to Effective Communication in an Organization Perceptual Barrier: Language Barrier: Failing to ask for Explanation: Channel Problem: Emotions: Lack of Feedback: Lack of clarity: Conclusion: References Organizational Communication: Processes Underlying Communication Success and Failure Introduction: The purpose of this essay is to identify possible potential reason for successful and unsuccessful organizational communication. Effective communication is an important factor for the success of any organization but there are certain barriers that cause failure in effective communication. By critical evaluation of factors that helps in successful communication, organizational communication can be improved (van Vuuren, de Jong, Seydel, 2007). Effective communication is necessary in every organization, without proper communication no organization can run because organization consists of people and people are interdependent on each other so it is necessary to identify those factors that become hurdles in communication. This essay includes real life scenario of both successful as well as unsuccessful communication in order to critically evaluate reasons for successful and unsuccessful communication (Eisenberg, 2009). Miscommunication does not only create problems within the organization, it also creates problems outside the organization. Poor communication with customers can lead an organization towards failure whereas those organizations that is very conscious about their communication with customers can create superior customer value. Scenario 1: Successful Organizational Communication When I was doing internship at bank I had some problems, I was new there and was not fully aware about the organizational procedures, once my manager told me to prepare the list of those customers whose account balances are below desired average and then call them. As I was new there and didn’t know the process well so I asked my colleague to help me out but due to work pressure he couldn’t help me. I was very worried because the deadline to complete the task was near, so I decided to talk to my manager I told him that I am not fully aware about the organizational process. My manager was a very nice person he listened to me carefully and explained me the procedure to complete the task, he gave me some very useful advises and due to proper communication I completed my task within the deadline. Evaluation and Analysis: Effective communication means transfer of complete information from one person to another person or from one group to another group. Managers must possess good communication skills because they have to deal with their subordinates. The above scenario descries that communication skills of the manager is very good. The manager is considered as good manager because he is able to effectively communicate with the employee (Eisenberg, 2009). Some people naturally possess communication skills and some develop their skills by learning. The manager has the ability to lighten up a conversation and inspire employee to explain the problem and work according to the requirements. Good communication is a two way process and in the above scenario manager and employee both get the result of their conversation (van Vuuren, de Jong, Seydel, 2007). Factors that help in successful communication: Effective communication is necessary to survive in this society and in any organization, it helps us to understand a situation or a person and to solve problems, differences and to build trust. For effective communication it is very important that communicator possess effective communication skills and the environment facilitate the communication (Myers, Sadaghiani, 2010). Factors that help in effective communication are mention below; due to these factors the purpose of the communication can be achieved. Clarity of message: Clarity is very necessary for effective communication. Communicator must be clear about the goal or the message which he wants to communicate because if the communicator is not clear about the message then he cannot convert the message properly to other person. In the above scenario I was clear about my problem so I effectively communicated my problem with the manager. Conciseness: In the above scenario the message was concise and effectively communicated with the manager, the benefit of conciseness is that you can stick to the main point and briefly define it. In this fast paced society nobody has time to listen to your worries for half an hour. For an effective communication it becomes necessary that your message should be concise and clear (Bambacas, Patrickson, 2008). Concreteness: The message should be concrete because concrete message can give the clear picture to the audience of what a communicator is trying to telling them. Vague messages and vivid facts confuse the audience and the objective of communication will fail (Bambacas, Patrickson, 2008). Familiarity: According to Ashcraft, Kuhn, Cooren (2009), for effective communication it is important to use familiar images and words. Irrelevant words and images transfer audience attention towards irrelevant point. Familiar examples plays very important role in effective communication and helps communicator to create an emotional bond with the audience. Coherent: When your communication is consistent, it’s coherent. For communicating effectively you should connects all the points to make the topic relevant and logical. Non-consistency creates trouble for the audience to understand your message. In the described scenario the message was coherent and that’s why manager understood the problem of his employee (Espaà ±a, Gonzà ¡lez, Pastor, 2009). Voice Tone: Voice tone creates an especial effect in communication. Same words with different tone can be perceived differently and portray different meaning. You cannot speak to all in the same way. For effective communication it is important to make sure that the tone is right so that it will help audience to get the message properly (Miller, 2014). Completeness: Message should be complete because most of the time incomplete messages become the reason of miscommunication. In the above scenario complete message was communicated and become one of the reasons for successful communication (Myers, Sadaghiani, 2010). Courtesy: Courteous communication is open, friendly and honest. There are no harsh words and tone in courteous communication. People prefer courteous communication because courtesy creates the feeling of sympathy and respect between communicator and audience. Nobody likes to hear harsh words so courtesy plays important role in effective communication (Bambacas, Patrickson, 2008). Make request not demand: Demands can create resistance in audience and limit dialogue. For effective communication it is necessary to use soft tone and persuade others to listen. Arrogant tone and demand creates negative impact on others. In the described scenario request to the manager solved the problem (Ashcraft, Kuhn, Cooren, 2009). For the success of any organization effective communication is necessary. Organizations often consider poor communication as their biggest barrier for the success. Therefore, organizations conduct effective training programs. By proper training communication skills can be developed in employees and helps to reduce those errors which occur due to miscommunication (Miller, 2014). Scenario 2: Ineffective organizational communication When I was working as a sales person in a group of 8 members, I observed a scenario of miscommunication. My sales manager told one of my team members that he is very slow in achieving his target and he has to increase his sales progress within a quarter. He misunderstood the word quarter and thought that he has a quarter of year, while according to the manager the quarter means quarter of a month (Johansson, Heide, 2008). After quarter of a month when my manager asked him to show his progress he said he still have time and he will achieve his target within the time limit. The manager got angry told my colleague that it’s his last chance to show his progress otherwise he will be fired from the job. According to my colleague that was manager’s fault, he had to mention that he was talking about quarter of a month. Due to ineffective communication my colleague didn’t get his bonus (Welch, Jackson, 2007). Evaluation and Analysis: Ineffective communication creates serious problems within an organization. Poor communication can hinder the efficiency of an organization. Vague messages and irrelevant examples distract the employees (Ashcraft, Kuhn, Cooren, 2009). Barriers to Effective Communication in an Organization The specific employee could not achieved to ask the exactly detail about the spoken word of his manager. This led him fall in trouble. The lack of understanding and lack of explanation ascent the communicational gap, ultimately resulting in halting appraisal and other promotional work. Here are some of the most common barriers which can be found in an organization while communicating. Perceptual Barrier: It is the most common issues which individuals are facing these days and the above given scenario is an appropriate example of this barrier. Diverse perception of every person gives rise to a requirement for effective and efficient communication (Espaà ±a, Gonzà ¡lez, Pastor, 2009). In the above scenario my group member took the orders in another way because the sales manager was not clear when he was giving orders to him. Language Barrier: Language that explains what anyone would want to communicate and express to others. In today’s fastest changing globalized world of business, the maximum accolade that one can pay to another is by effectively and clearly communicating and speaking to them in their own language. People need to comprehend that the workers’ native language can be different from others. In the above scenario the language of the group member was as same as the manager but the problem arise when the manager used word quarter. And the group member misinterpreted it (Welch, Jackson, 2007). Failing to ask for Explanation: There is nothing wrong in not understanding anything, one can ask for explanation but it’s a poor approach not to ask for explanation to that person. In the above scenario the same thing happened the group mate did not ask the manager for further clarification of the order. Channel Problem: The channel used by the manager would not be so much proper. Non appropriate channel provides the weak information. Channel and mode of communication is much necessary. If the black and white circular has been given to him then the matter would be unbridle and employee could not be misunderstood. The utilization of channel by the manger of that specific company should be realized appropriately (Bambacas, Patrickson, 2008). This is the matter how the manager would be professional, a professional manager only expect the professional attitude of the employee. If the channel (verbal) used by manager could not be used and transformed other channel like (non verbal) then matter clarifies and also proved in black and white saved to claim. Emotions: Another barrier is emotion. It is also consider as a major barrier within communication and fail to maintain the good communication process. This problem leads an organization more into peril and complete blockage in the barrier of the achievements. At that time specific staff was with hatred sentiment in fear position, while the manager was angry. In mean while no one more focus on month or year. On one hand fear control brain to ask question while on other side feelings covers head to define dead line exactly (Espaà ±a, Gonzà ¡lez, Pastor, 2009). Lack of Feedback: Before completion of entire process of communication, no one can say that it is effective communication (Johansson, Heide, 2008). Lack of feedback is a major blockage in path of achievement. Effective communication cannot be done without using the proper channel of feedback. If specific employee responds at the spot, so all the matters were cleared and he could achieve his target with in deadline. In this continuation, if the manager emphasizes on feed back then he could be in a position to evaluate more appropriately about the situation and perception of the employee. Lack of clarity: To avoid the ineffective communication the matter (message) should be cleared enough to provide all the information regarding topic. Manager though failed to produce clear and effective matter that provides the information about the dead line. Ultimately leads employee into demotion and fell him into hot water. If the massage was cleared and calmly penetrated then the communication gap could not be found. Ineffective communication could not only impact only on staffs but also pull an organization from achieving its very and prescribed goals (Bambacas, Patrickson, 2008). Conclusion: In this paper, organisational communication and its effective and ineffective parts have been discussed. It has been discussed that communication is very important factor in an organisation. It is very essential to know the way people communicate as its impacts on others is significant in developing successful relationships and success. In the paper, effective and ineffective ways of communication have been discussed with the help of real life examples. Organisational communication can be improved and made more effective by altering their feeling and thoughts for their co-workers. This is the only way people cannot just stop communication hurdles, but in this way they can build very strong and long term relations. If all people in an organization be enough responsible to ensure they work in full efficiency and effectiveness with their colleagues, despite many limitations come in the way, they will always know how to defeat them as responsible employees of the organisation. References Ashcraft, K. L., Kuhn, T. R., Cooren, F. (2009). 1 Constitutional Amendments:â€Å"Materializing† Organizational Communication.The academy of management annals,3(1), 1-64. Bambacas, M., Patrickson, M. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment.Journal of Communication Management,12(1), 51-72. Eisenberg, E. M. (2009). Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity And Constraint Author: Eric M. Eisenberg, HL Goodall, Angela Trethwey. Espaà ±a, S., Gonzà ¡lez, A., Pastor, Ó. (2009, January). Communication Analysis: a requirements engineering method for information systems. InAdvanced Information Systems Engineering(pp. 530-545). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Johansson, C., Heide, M. (2008). Speaking of change: three communication approaches in studies of organizational change.Corporate Communications: An International Journal,13(3), 288-305. Miller, K. (2014).Organizational communication: Approaches and processes. Cengage Learning. Myers, K. K., Sadaghiani, K. (2010). Millennials in the workplace: A communication perspective on millennials’ organizational relationships and performance.Journal of Business and Psychology,25(2), 225-238. van Vuuren, M., de Jong, M. D., Seydel, E. R. (2007). Direct and indirect effects of supervisor communication on organizational commitment.Corporate Communications: An International Journal,12(2), 116-128. Welch, M., Jackson, P. R. (2007). Rethinking internal communication: a stakeholder approach.Corporate Communications: An International Journal,12(2), 177-198.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Savant Syndrome Essay -- Health, Diseases, Splinter Skills,

Savant Syndrome is an extremely rare condition in which a person with a severe mental handicap has extraordinary abilities in a certain area, such as memorization, mathematics, or the playing of instruments. The first known case of savant syndrome was documented in a German scientific journal, Gnothi Sauton, in 1783. This article described the case of a man named Jedediah Buxton, who was talented in memorization and mathematics (Treffert 2009). Ever since this first account of Savant Syndrome was recorded, scientists and physicians alike have tried to understand this unusual disorder. The most well known case of Savant Syndrome is the fictional character; however, Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1988 movie Rain Man, was inspired by a real person. The now fifty-seven year old has memorized over six-thousand books and has an encyclopedic knowledge of over fourteen subjects, including geography, history, literature, and sports. He can name all the US area codes and the zip codes of major US cities, has memorized the maps in the front of the telephone books and can tell you exactly how to get from one city to another has calendar-calculating abilities and is a rather advanced musician (Treffert 2009). This man, however, cannot comprehend simple tasks and cannot even dress himself. One of the earliest reports of Savant Syndrome is that of the amazing calculating ability of Thomas Fuller. Thomas â€Å"who could comprehend scarcely anything, either theoretical or practical, more complex than counting† was asked how many seconds a man who wa s seventy years, seventeen days, and twelve hours old and replied the correct number of 2210500800 in less than ninety seconds. He even accounted for the seventeen leap year... ...hat causes autism by labeling autism a â€Å"signal-processing† disorder with information reduction through compression (Fabricius 2010). Basically, compression is where the brain takes an image and remembers the basics of the image but not the fine details. Fabricius explained Savant Syndrome using the compression theory: that normal people work with a compressed image while Savants retain one hundred percent of the original details. This is known as the â€Å"Savant Hypothesis (Fabricius 2010).† For cognitively normal individuals, fine details are often lost in a process known as â€Å"prototyping.† When a cognitively normal individual sees an image, unimportant details-like, in Fabricius’ example, an embedded triangle- are lost. To the autistic Savant, those details stand out, and the Savant has trouble seeing the big picture. Below is the example from Fabricius’ work:

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl and The Signalman by Charles Dickens :: Comparing

In my essay I will be comparing the two short stories Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl and The Signalman by Charles Dickens. Comparing Short Stories In my essay I will be comparing the two short stories 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl and 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens. They both contain a twist in the tale and use the Macabre Tale Genre. The scenes are very different from on another and show different uses of language as Lamb to the slaughter uses 1900 text and The Signalman uses 20th Century text. The opening of Lamb to the slaughter gives the reader no reason to believe anything bad is going to happen. It starts off normal and uses words such as warm, clean and tranquil to paint the picture of the house being calm and a nice place. Though at the beginning of The Signalman it gives words such as gloomy and angry sunset to portray it is quite a scary maybe a dark and cold place. The Signalman is set in a 'Signal-box by a gloomy railway cutting with its dark tunnel' Lamb to the slaughter, being set in a house is completely different and delivers more of a calm and peaceful atmosphere. They don't seem to have many similarities. The theme to The Signalman is that of a man describing his experience of meeting a Signalman being haunted by a ghost. This ghost seemed to be warning him of hid death. It involves the two main characters, the narrator and the signalman. The Signalman described by the narrator, 'His attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness' The narrator is not described throughout the story. The theme to Lamb to the slaughter is that of a husband and his wife. It is set in their house and their wife murders her husband with a leg of lamb. It is a story that tells us of how she tries to cover up the murder and tries to get the blame away from her and destroys all the evidence. The wife is described as, 'Her skin had acquired a wonderful translucent quality, the mouth was soft, and the eyes with their new placid look, seemed larger, darker than before.' The husband is described as having 'A warm male glow that came out of him' And the 'Far look in his eyes when they rested on her, the funny slope of the mouth.' These are things that the writer has written that the wife thinks about Patrick, her husband. I like the character of the wife because I like the way she covers up her murdering her husband.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Creating a database of computer games Essay

I am creating a database of computer games. It is intended to both aid the customer in choosing which game to purchase, if any. It is also intended to aid the staff of the store by easily providing them with any information that they need for whatever reason (for example helping a customer with an enquiry). They have the problems of there being a lot of different computer games available on a number of different ‘platforms’ (different hardware systems), this means that it will either take a long time for a customer to search through all of the games available to them and to find the look of one that they like, or they cannot see all the games that are in stock, for instance there could be some in the stock room that they do not know about. These problems all currently exist in the shop and there is no way of customers to know the information they require, they just have to ask members of staff. This database will help them, as it will display all the games in the shop and the stock room. It will also display the rating given to the game by a reputable independent magazine for that format (CUBE in this case). It will also display a hyperlink to a review for the game, so that they can find out if the game is suitable to their tastes. In this case it takes them to totalgames. net, an affiliate of CUBE magazine, so the reviews are reliable and coincide with the rating. I chose to use a database software package called Microsoft Access because it allows me to satisfy all the requirements of the product I am working on. It allows me to easily enter the data that I have collected in the form Of a table, it then allows me to create queries so that the user can easily sift through all the data and find the information that they require. It also allows forms to be made, which provide an easy and simple user interface, so that all the functions that the user will require are available to them, and they need not go into any other part of the program. It also allows you to create reports and they can then be printed easily. These are all functions that can be performed in a database but not other software such as a spreadsheet or a Word Processor. Analysis I collected my data from a number of different sources; these include a magazine, which has a directory in the back to allow me to collect a lot of the data which I require (see pages and ) . I also used the website http://www. totalgames. net which has a large database of reviews for games, which allowed me to both provide a direct link to a full and comprehensive review for most of the games listed in my database, as well as allowing me to obtain another review score so as to be able to get an average. I also collected data such as prices for the games (which I could not obtain from the other sources) in the database from shops such as GAME(r). I collected the data from the shops using my data capture form, of which a blank example can be found on page and the completed example may be found on page. I validated my data in a number of ways. I created a couple of input masks so that information could not be entered incorrectly; fig 1. 2 displays an error that was displayed if you entered text in a numeric field. Another one was to just check all entries by proof reading them, both as I entered them and then reading through again after entering them. The second was to run a spell check, to pick up on any spelling anomalies and allow me to check the manually. This picked up on a couple of mistakes which I was able to edit (see fig 1. 1 below).