Cognitive And Neuropsychological Models Of Mathematical Processing Essay

Cognitive And Neuropsychological Models Of Mathematical Processing Have Advanced Our Knowledge Of How We Do Mathematics - Essay Example Number sense may is indispensable to judge the number of predators or the quantity of food or the size of the turf indispensable for survival (Gallistel C. R., Rochel Gelman. (2003)). Research to understand brain mechanisms underlying mathematical ability have included not only normal human subjects but infants, patients with injured brains and even animals. While an unequivocal proof is still illusive, several interesting finds have helped make progress. Studies confirm the mathematical prowess all of many animals like chimpanzees, birds and even the lions (Gallistel C. R., Rochel Gelman.(2003)), (Brian Butterworth.1999. ) Human understanding of mathematics is more complex and advanced as it involves the verbal pathways as well. According to Butterworth, human cognition of numbers begins from the first day of life. Studies were performed with babies by increasing or decreasing the number of dolls shown to them. A perceptible, intelligent change in their response confirmed the presen ce of mathematical hardware in the brain right from Birth. In fact Butterworth calls this an, â€Å"instinct.† (Brian Butterworth.1999.)

Basic Statistics for Business and Economics Essay Example for Free

Basic Statistics for Business and Economics Essay Over the last four weeks of being in the QNT/351 course our team has learned a lot about researching a hypothesis and understanding the mean. The hypothesis testing begins with the statement and the assumption that determines the population of the mean, (Lind, 2011, p.288.). There are five steps taken which include; state the hypothesis, select level of significance for it, identify the test statistics, formulate decision rule, and take a sample to arrive at a decision. On the contrary, however, McClave, 2011 states that there are seven steps including; null hypothesis, alternate hypothesis, test statistic, rejection region, assumptions, experiment and calculation of test statistic, and the conclusion. With setting a hypothesis and testing it is important to understand the mean and how to compare it amongst two or more groups. With testing the mean with multiple groups, the data collected is used to help determine the probability of a given amongst two distinct groups being analyzed which have the same or equal variances. This info it all based off the given hypothesis and should result in proving the null hypothesis stated. When looking at the mean the distance noted between the hypothesis and the mean placed is a value given as a result of the probability of occurrence. When analyzing and testing the means of the two groups we use the variance analysis. An example of this type would be testing the means of the two groups based off statistical models and valid conclusions. Along with completing the testing of the means of the groups, we must also calculate the variance according to the distribution of the differences in means. If the standard deviation is known we can calculate the z-score by using the difference of the variance and the mean. In calculating the correlation between the two variables we see that it is crucial to know the characteristics of the coefficient. According to Lind, 2011 pages 386-389 we can calculate the coefficient of correlation. The coefficient of correlation can help dete rmine the cause as well as effect amongst the two variables. Calculating these numbers is  crucial as the results give information which help determine the level of significance of the given hypothesis. References Lind, D. A., Marchal, W. G., Wathen, S. A. (2011). Basic Statistics for Business and Economics (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. McClave, J. T., Benson, P. G., Sincich, T. (2011). Statistics for Business and Economics (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Echo Personality Disorder :: essays research papers

Echo Personality Disorder is a specific and highly differentiated form of dependency, marked by behaviours of compliance and a need to 'mirror' significant others -parents, spouse, friends, employer. It has been found that those with EPD are highly attracted to relationships with individuals who show marked narcissistic tendencies. This mirroring behaviour was the reason for choosing the name Echo personality disorder, which is based on the Greek myth of Narcissus and Echo. In this story Echo, a forest nymph, falls completely in love with the egocentric youth Narcissus, and when he shows clear signs of rejecting her, she persists in her attatchement to him and will not be moved from her aim. She finally satisfies him with the masochistic task of echoing back to him all that he says. This too is the central feature of EPD behaviour in relationships, where the individual will mirror, echo, and compliment another at the expense of their own self-worth and dignity. Self descriptions by EPD sufferers focus strongly on percieved fears of abandonment, rejection, and loss, and these agonizing feelings are the driving force behind the above-mentioned interpersonal coping style (mirroring others). These individuals protect themselves from abandonment/rejection by being so agreeable to others, via their mirroring capacity, that chances of re-experiencing abandonment agony is brought to a low minimum. Unfortunately this approach amounts to a false existence with little or no true self expression, and eventually leads to poor psychological health. Characteristic experiential history for EPD often involves individuals being parented by caretakers who are themselves self-absorbed or narcissistic. In this environment the child learns that asserting ones true self will be met with a form of (often serial) rejection, to which they respond by substituting compliant behaviour in place of true selfhood. This 'compliant' behaviour can then be witnessed as a stable feature throughout the childs growing-up years, with other school children, and within the family. Depression, smoking, alcoholism, addictive behaviour all occur with very high frequency in this disorder. On a positive note, EPD people are excellent contributors to society, and to family, as they are found to be very perceptive of the needs of others.

Metaphysics Essay

Plato vs. Freud on Metaphysics Plato and Freud have made great strides in their respective fields of study. Both men have made a lasting impact on the way we now as humans view the world that we live in. Plato and Freud have similarities in views that they share but they also have some differences metaphysically. Plato believes that what is ultimately real are ideas, he believes that images are imperfect representations of the perfect concepts. While Freud believes what is physically real is by the evolution of man. Freud ultimately puts his faith in what he can see and analyze in front of him instead of what he cannot. Freud developed a â€Å"talking cure† which he would let the hysterical patient talk freely about the earliest occurrences which would then entirely eliminate the patient’s symptoms.†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦developed the idea that many neuroses (phobias, hysterical paralysis and pains, some forms of paranoia, and so forth) had their origins in deeply traumatic experiences, which had occurred in the patient’s past but which were now forgotten–hidden from consciousness. The treatment was to enable the patient to recall the experience to consciousness, to confront it in a deep way both intellectually and emotionally, and in thus discharging it, to remove the underlying psychological causes of the neurotic symptoms.† Plato answers the question of metaphysics by saying of ideas and ideal forms and Freud answers the metaphysical question through his belief in human nature. For Plato what is ultimately real are ideas and Ideal forms. Plato believes that the object was constantly changing so the ideal form is what was ultimately real. Everything in existence has a form of perfection for itself. All things in the physical world work in their existence to approach their perfection. An object, living or dead, always works in some way or another to meet its nature. For example, if you have a brand new table in your house the brand new table itself is not perfect. It is not perfect because the table itself is in a constant state of change. There is however a perfect ideal form of the table that does not change. â€Å"It is most of all from Plato that we get the theory of Forms, according to which the world we know through the senses is only an imitation of the pure, eternal, and unchanging world of the Forms.† While on the other hand Freud believes ultimately what is real is physical matter the whole universe is in evolution, which means he believes in no God or Gods. He concludes that all religious beliefs are illusions that have little proof. Freud also believed that the evolution that man had endured from the beginning to where he stood presently is what is ultimately real. â€Å"The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, whose practice began in 1885, believed that each person’s subconscious mind was fraught with desires stemming from earlier phases of evolution. These desires, suppressed by modern society, accounted for much of neurotic behavior. Likewise, an individual’s personality was at least partially determined by heredity.† Freud believes that evolution plays a very pressing role in the lives of humans and that is what is real in the world. Further, what is ultimately real about humans is that man is the highest and most complex of all living creatures whose personali ty is composed of three interacting parts—the Id, the Ego and the Super-ego. The Id (or it) part of the psyche is the primitive instinctive component of personality. It consists of all of the inherited biological components of personality including the sex life. The Id is impulsive and unconscious and responds immediately to the instincts of human beings. The personality of a newborn child is all id and later it starts to develop ego and superego. The ego develops in order to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external real world. It is the decision-making component of personality. The ego only satisfies the id on the realistic terms sometimes compromises to avoid negative consequences of society. The superego incorporates the values and morals of society, which are learned from one’s parents and others. It develops around the age of 3 – 5 during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. Through all of these different stages in personally there are some check and balance stages that go along with stages. For example if the id wants something that is wrong and the ego lets the person have such thing, guilt can come into play. â€Å"The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to id demands, the superego may make the person feel bad though guilt.† Freud and Plato have made great strides in influencing the world after their work in their respective fields was completed. Freud has influenced many great psychologists after him and Plato has done the same in his respective field of philosophy. Freud influenced the minds such as: Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Karen Horney, Alfred Alder, Erik Erikson, and Carl Jung. Freud’s influences in his field were great toward the constant search for a deeper analysis of how the mind works. â€Å"His work supported the belief that not all mental illnesses have physiological causes and he also offered evidence that cultural differences have an impact on psychology and behavior. His work and writings contributed to our understanding of personality, clinical psychology, human development and abnormal psychology.† Plato as well left a lasting impression on philosophers after him. He gave great insight to know the world around him works and functions. Plato’s ideas were used to jus tify some religions and certain academic subjects. Plato gave a lot to the teachers and scholars after him. â€Å"In his lifetime he was the most celebrated teacher of his day. After his death his ideas were taken up by countless other thinkers. Philo of Alexandria used Plato’s ideas to give a philosophical framework to Judaism. Early Christian writers eagerly embraced Plato’s thought as the best available instrument for explaining and defending the teachings of the Bible and church tradition. Of the Christian Platonists, St. Augustine of Hippo was the best known and most influential. Plato’s influence spread into Islam as well, through the writings of the philosophers Avicenna and Averroes.† Freud and Plato are not just polar opposites they have things in common as well. They both thought that trouble in the human soul/mind arises when the three parts don’t work in harmony with each other. Plato thought that the key to such harmonious relationship was to yield control to the rational soul; after all, he was the founder of the rationalist program in philosophy. Freud, on the other hand, concentrated on dealing with the id by means of psychoanalytical techniques. The difference of these men is clearly seen but they also have ideas that intertwine them. Plato thought the human soul, which we now call the mind, was made up of three parts: appetitive, rational, and the spiritual soul. Freud in turn in his career built a system around Plato’s comparable ideas. The system was: id similar to the appetitive soul, ego similar to the rational soul, and superego similar to the spiritual soul. Both men have given the world a foundation to build upon and expand their theories. References Brickhouse, Thomas, and Nicolas D. Smith. â€Å"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.† Plato []. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Thornton, Stephen P. â€Å"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.† Freud, Sigmund []. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. KR, Holmes. â€Å"Result Filters.† National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Lorenz, Hendrik. â€Å"Ancient Theories of Soul.† Stanford University. Stanford University, 23 Oct. 2003. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Does It Affect Culture as Much as Culture Affects It?

Semiotics in Fashion Photography: Does it affect culture as much as culture affects it? Introduction Fashion Photography has taken quite the belittling from the conventional world of photography. Where other forms of photography ‘naturally capture beauty, fashion photography is have said to be too meticulous in ‘setting up' the photograph.. Brooked states that, â€Å"fashion advertising, in particular, is seen as negating the purity of the bibliographic image. We see the typical [in fashion photography] instead of the unique moment or event. †Despite such an outlook on fashion photography, it has received thorough analysis and academic attention from the likes of Breathes, Wilson, Anderson, Brooked and Kumara. Breathes has taken fashion photography and placed it within a seismological framework, where he applies the semiotics into fashion photography as a meaner of communication through the signs and symbols for any photographs. Culture revolves around fashion phot ography. Or is it the other way round? It has become apparent that semiotics is greatly relevant to fashion photography, and assign is an excellent example off ‘identity-image producing media'.Fashion is an incredibly distinct language itself, and â€Å"emblematic the essence of its social context†. With that, is culture affected, or is the fashion photography affected by culture? With this essay I will be investigating the idea of whether culture is affected by fashion photography, or does fashion photography dictate our culture. Enquiry Outcomes I will be exploring the world of semiotics and how relevant it is to fashion photography and using it to solve the question of; whether fashion photography allow culture or dictates it.We take it for granted that fashion photography is something we pass by everyday, something that we do not pay very much attention to detail in our everyday lives and we don't know how much it really affects our culture to a certain degree. With this essay I will propose the idea of culture either being the one affected and dictated by fashion photography or the vice versa. Feasibility of proposed enquiry Fashion is constantly everywhere around us, and I will take advantage of the fact that I live in a world surrounded by fashion.For my research I will be gathering large amounts of my facts and data from online sources, Journals and e-books, and if possible from books, and my own observational analysis from fashion magazines and opinions of audiences. My aim for this essay is to analyses and conceptualize the semiotics in fashion photography, coming to the conclusion of how much it affects society and culture. With my own analysis of fashion photography I will come to the conclusion of either end of the spectrum. Relevance of enquiry to personal practiceThrough the research that I acquire and what I learn, I think it is important to broaden my aspects of skill to other industries. The fashion industry is not too far from t he design, and I think as being one of the most ‘communicative languages' through visual meaner, fashion is an important step to understanding wholly of what makes the world tick through visuals. As an inspiring designer and photographer, I would like to use this practice to benefit me in constructing my own meanings in works and to conceptualize them on my own in the future. Bibliography 1 . Jacobsen, M. 008) Semiotics, Fashion and Cognition. Unknown. A paper that concentrates on â€Å"Rolando Breathes early cosmologically inspired theory of fashion and discusses how this theory can be revised to fit later cognitive theories of language and semiotics. † Has a considerate large amount of relevant information pertaining to my essay. 2. Breathes, R. (2006). The Language of Fashion. Oxford: Berg Publishers. The original source of placing fashion photography into a semiotic framework, I will base most of my essay towards Breathes theories of semiotics in fashion. 3. Rhodes, A & Galoot, R.A semiotic analysis of high fashion advertising. Http:// www. Garrotes. Com/Semiotics andafashionF Though I will be focusing more of fashion photography, advertising does play a great role, and fashion photography is basically the significant part of fahsfashionertising. Through this source it concentrates more on a fashion advertising aspect and describes the art of it. 4. httpHttpews. mongMonogamym/Com5/0507chicaTinaler. htmlHTMLs is a paper done by Tina Butler on BartBreathesshion Photography as semiotics: BartBreathes the limitations of classification.Here Butler describes the details of semiotics, how they work in fashion photography and analyzes BartBreathesory in such a framework. 5. Stone, R. A Semiotic Analysis of Four Designer Clothing Advertisements http:// www. aberBaber. AC/mUKia/SstuStudents9robbersmlHTMLpite this source focusing more on an advertising aspect rather than photography, ultimately those two will always go together. Through a more thorough a nd focused analysis of brands, ads and the semiotics they present I can further contconceptualizehion photography in a semiotic framework.

F. Scott Fitzgerald - A Timeless Writer Who Was a Man of His Time essays

F. Scott Fitzgerald - A Timeless Writer Who Was a Man of His Time essays F. Scott Fitzgerald is best known today as the author of the classic novel The Great Gatsby. The novel tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a poor and obscure Midwesterner who makes his fortune as a bootlegger to win the heart of his childhood sweetheart. One character says of Gatsby that he made himself up, in other words, that through creating a false personal mythology, by wearing fancy clothes, and buying fancy houses, Gatsby unsuccessfully tried to create a new identity for himself. The same could have been said of his creator, although unlike Gatsby, Fitzgerald had a far more ironic view of the world as a writer. He ironically chronicled Ivy League and elite Long Island society observed with wonder by the narrator of Fitzgeralds greatest book. Fitzgerald was born in the American heartland, in St. Paul Minnesota on September 24, 1896. His father Edward Fitzgerald was a failed furniture salesman and his mother Mary was an Irish immigrant. (Willet, 2006) Both were Catholic and thanks to his mothers inheritance, solidly middle-class, although it is said his father drank more at the office than he worked. The young Fitzgerald excelled as a writer at the Catholic school where he studied, but always felt somewhat out of his social element because of his mothers Irish birth when he ventured into the realms of the real St. Paul elite, such as at his local dancing school. (Martine, 1981, p.3) Fitzgerald got into Princeton but he was not particularly studious. He struggled academically. He wrote for the Princeton Triangle Club musicals, the Princeton Tiger humor magazine and the Nassau Literary Magazine. He was placed on academic probation. As he was unlikely to graduate he eventually dropped out of school to join the army. (Bruccoli, 1994) When the army stationed him near Montgomery, Alabama in 1918, Scott met and fell in love Zelda, who was later to become his wife. When he later proposed, Zelda initially rebuffed Fi...

Apocolypse Now essays

Apocolypse Now essays Many film critics and movie goers alike say that Apocalypse Now is one of the best movies ever made due to its originality and trend-setting approach to cinema. The viewer, in the very first scene of this Francis Ford Coppola sensation, can see this. As most movies begin, the viewer is generally introduced to the cast and the production team that was involved in the film by way of credits or a title screen of some form. In Apocalypse Now however, The title of the film appears as graffiti toward the end of the film in the complex presided over by Kurtz. Instead of an orthodox opening scene, Ford Coppola provides a lyrical, slow moving opening sequence that is a combination of cinematography, music and hallucinatory images from the brutal war in Vietnam. As the movie begins, the scene fades in from black to a darkened daylight or dusk period in a green-canopied jungle of palm trees that are swaying in the wind tranquil wind. There is a sound bridge, which starts as the screen is black and continues through the fading transition to place the impending helicopter sounds now in the middle of this Vietnam jungle. The (chuk-chuk-chuk) sounds of the helicopter are the only diegetic sounds that the viewer encounters in this scene however the most prominent sound is in fact non-diegetic and comes in the form of The Doors song The End. The first cymbal of this song is played as soon as a darkly painted helicopter flies low to the ground from the left hand side of the screen to the right and in between the viewer and the jungle. This creates the effect that a long shot is happening during the time the helicopter is passing. The passing of the helicopter signals the playing of the song and a yellowish haze is cast around the area, presumably napalm that had just been dropped. Ford Coppola begins his movie with this apocalyptic song, only to make the viewer wonder if what is in store lies after the end as the song sugg...

The Role of Bells Theorem in Quantum Physics

The Role of Bells Theorem in Quantum Physics Bells Theorem was devised by Irish physicist John Stewart Bell (1928-1990) as a means of testing whether or not particles connected through quantum entanglement communicate information faster than the speed of light. Specifically, the theorem says that no theory of local hidden variables can account for all of the predictions of quantum mechanics. Bell proves this theorem through the creation of Bell inequalities, which are shown by experiment to be violated in quantum physics systems, thus proving that some idea at the heart of local hidden variables theories has to be false. The property which usually takes the fall is locality - the idea that no physical effects move faster than the ​speed of light. Quantum Entanglement In a situation where you have two particles, A and B, which are connected through quantum entanglement, then the properties of A and B are correlated. For example, the spin of A may be 1/2 and the spin of B may be -1/2, or vice versa. Quantum physics tells us that until a measurement is made, these particles are in a superposition of possible states. The spin of A is both 1/2 and -1/2. (See our article on the Schroedingers Cat thought experiment for more on this idea. This particular example with particles A and B is a variant of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, often called the EPR Paradox.) However, once you measure the spin of A, you know for sure the value of Bs spin without ever having to measure it directly. (If A has spin 1/2, then Bs spin has to be -1/2. If A has spin -1/2, then Bs spin has to be 1/2. There are no other alternatives.) The riddle at the heart of Bells Theorem is how that information gets communicated from particle A to particle B. Bells Theorem at Work John Stewart Bell originally proposed the idea for Bells Theorem in his 1964 paper On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox. In his analysis, he derived formulas called the Bell inequalities, which are probabilistic statements about how often the spin of particle A and particle B should correlate with each other if normal probability (as opposed to quantum entanglement) were working. These Bell inequalities are violated by quantum physics experiments, which means that one of his basic assumptions had to be false, and there were only two assumptions that fit the bill - either physical reality or locality was failing. To understand what this means, go back to the experiment described above. You measure particle As spin. There are two situations that could be the result - either particle B immediately has the opposite spin, or particle B is still in a superposition of states. If particle B is affected immediately by the measurement of particle A, then this means that the assumption of locality is violated. In other words, somehow a message got from particle A to particle B instantaneously, even though they can be separated by a great distance. This would mean that quantum mechanics displays the property of non-locality. If this instantaneous message (i.e., non-locality) doesnt take place, then the only other option is that particle B is still in a superposition of states. The measurement of particle Bs spin should, therefore, be completely independent of the measurement of particle A, and the Bell inequalities represent the percent of the time when the spins of A and B should be correlated in this situation. Experiments have overwhelmingly shown that the Bell inequalities are violated. The most common interpretation of this result is that the message between A and B is instantaneous. (The alternative would be to invalidate the physical reality of Bs spin.) Therefore, quantum mechanics seems to display non-locality. Note: This non-locality in quantum mechanics only relates to the specific information that is entangled between the two particles - the spin in the above example. The measurement of A cannot be used to instantly transmit any sort of other information to B at great distances, and no one observing B will be able to tell independently whether or not A was measured. Under the vast majority of interpretations by respected physicists, this does not allow communication faster than the speed of light.

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

Music Therapy - Research Paper Example This help can be obtained in various ways that may include medication and use of music therapy. Music therapy is a common, cost effective way of dealing with such cases, and the therapists provide an excellent treatment through the use of music. Music Therapy Music is a universal language which for a long time has been present in initiating rites of passage as a way of expanding consciousness and healing. Music is a therapy used to an individual’s listening pleasure to relax the body and mind. For quite a long time, man has been using music as a form of healing and well being. A large number of people use music as a therapy to reduce stress and help them relax. Not all kinds of music can be used for healing, because certain types of music are believed to have a negative connotation. For instance, sensual music has been found to be a threat to the stability of the nation, while loud music can cause depression because of too much noise. Therefore, the choice of music during heal ing is very significant because it influences emotions, affects health, and can be used to enhance meditation and deep relaxation. Doctors and therapists have proposed music as an intervention in therapy for stress and stress related disorders. This is because some of the disorder have no clear, organic origin, and may be as a result of stressful life situations or significant events in a person’s life. In this case, music therapy can stimulate positive emotions, enhance a coping mechanism and enable recovery through the use of music. Music can also be used to restore, maintain and improve emotional and psychological wellbeing. In some other cases, music can influence physical behaviors and affect psychological response. It affects the mood of a person and the affective responses in individuals. One of the effective ways of making the most out of music therapy is by coming up with one’s own playlist. Since the playlist has songs that an individual love, they can work w ell especially when one feels the need to unwind from a stressful day. Music also works to affect the mood, and if one gets to listen to his or her favorite playlist, anger may dissolve and disappear arousing a happy mood. Music has proven effective especially in reaching people who are unreachable as some of the songs embody life experiences and may bring memories of courtship, weddings, or wartime among others. Creative music Therapy Creative music therapy is insistent on the use of little verbalization during therapy. When it was first developed, creative music therapy was aimed for children who were autistic, mentally and emotionally handicapped, emotionally and behaviorally disturbed and for those with learning disabilities (Wigram, Pederson & Bonde 126). It continues to emphasize on the improviser's skill to create potentials and possibilities within the patients by enabling them to play music and feel a sense of exploration in what they are doing. Analytical Music therapy Ana lytical music therapy involves a creative process in music making in order to draw unconscious experiences and feelings from clients in therapy, and treat them through an analytical model of work. One of the characteristics of analytical music therapy is that symbolic use of improvised music played either together by the music therapist and the patient or played by the patient alone. Mozart Effects Music of all styles is available to

Analyzing Value Net for Omni Hotel & Resort Essay

Analyzing Value Net for Omni Hotel & Resort - Essay Example Customers that are satisfied with their experience are highly likely to tell their friends about it. A second way customers could add value to the firm is by becoming recurrent customers of the company. Rivals – The company faces competition from direct and indirect rivals. All four and five star hotels in Texas are direct competition of Omni Hotels. Homes that rent their facilities for short monthly contracts are an indirect competitor of the firm as well as condos. Three direct competitors of Omni Hotels in the Corpus Christ marketplace are Days Inn Beach, Radisson Hotel, and Knights Inn. The rivals of the company represent a threat to the business organization. Omni has over 50 hotels across the United States (Omnihotels, 2011). The Corpus Christi hotel can add value and turn this threat into an opportunity by forming marketing alliances with other competitors. All the registered hotels in Corpus Christi can form a cash pool to advertise the region to tourist inside and outside of the United States. Such an initiative would increase the total tourism money that the region receives which would benefit the entire hospitality industry. Suppliers – In the hospitality industry suppliers have little power over hotels. Hotel chains such as Omni enjoy several competitive advantages including power to buy in bulk and take advantage of economies of scale, high variety of supplier options, and greater brand value than their suppliers. Several key suppliers that Omni Hotel must emphasize include food suppliers, cleaning suppliers, and bathroom supplies. The food suppliers are instrumental toward the success of hotel operated restaurants. Tourists are willing to pay a premium prices as long as they receive superb service and quality food. The organization can add value in its supply acquisition by advertising to the customers that they can take for free any supplies in from the room such as

Discussion questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Discussion questions - Assignment Example The group specializes mainly in entertainment and travel industries but also have a diversification of 200 businesses distributed across the United Kingdom and the Europe. However, Virgin Group has not been able to tap into the American market or create its brand name as it has done in UK and Europe. If Virgin group would concentrate more on tapping on to the opportunity in the American market then it means that its diversification strategy needs to be laid out well and if successful will reap huge benefits in terms of finances. However, Virgin Group has built its value proposition around its image variable. It is highly diversified and therefore benefits by establishing companies in sectors they have not ventured in leading to a better image variable and an increase in its value. Tesco is an example of a company that has built its value proposition around its image variable. It started as an economy supermarket. A variety of products ranging from furniture to insurance are being sold by Tesco. However it attributes its brand name Tesco to it venturing into new market without changing its core identity thus adding value to it. Another company is the Apple Company which has gradually changed from being a computer manufacturer to a giant in media as they came up with new services around the products they offered. Other examples include; Google, Nike, Intel, JetBlue, Amazon.com and Zapppos (Weinstein, 2012). Virgin Group Company being a diversified company has reaped huge benefits. They have planned carefully, carried out their market research, gotten the right people to manage their businesses and reaped the benefits. In the case of the Virgin Group, market perception and image indeed defines their

Managing Resources and Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing Resources and Information - Essay Example The measures are taken care of during the design and construction process of a building, or if the assembly is already constructed, they are incorporated into it. An important module of the fire safety measures is creation of awareness among the masses specially children. Statistics presented by the fire brigade fire investigation unit New South Wales show that 3000 fire accidents affect children annually and out of these, nearly 10 percent of the fires are lighted by the children themselves. Generally fire prevention officers are responsible for keeping the check on buildings and making people alert about the expected hazard. The text presents an evaluation of the fire hazards, how can they be communicated to the children, what will be the challenges involved and how can they be overcome etc. Moreover, the report also covers the recruitment process for the employees and the evaluation of the adopted practice. In a nutshell, the report examines the implementation and assessment of the child safety awareness program comprehensively. Failure in the recruitment of eligible and competent staff not only effects the functioning due to inappropriate levels of skills but also has an adverse outcome on the profitability of a firm. Recruiting employees does not only include the selection of the candidates but it is the complex and widespread process involving the decision making and planning capabilities of the management to select and employ the best and apposite workforce. Skills required for different jobs differ from one another. For example, a lower or line manager should be a good team player and during recruitment of a person for such a job, managers must look into the candidates whether they are team players or not. However, the selection and employment of the appropriate personnel is not the end to the recruitment process. It also goes on to the training and retention of the staff members so that they contribute positively to the progress of the

Examine United States Foreign Policy SInce WWII Term Paper

Examine United States Foreign Policy SInce WWII - Term Paper Example It seeks to establish a strategy that will discuss the boundaries between the environment outside of the nation state and the domestic environment. For a well rounded foreign policy it is essential that it covers a wide array of sub-national sources of influence. The need for a foreign policy arises from the need to protect. Governments need some sort of a safety backing that ensures their country’s well being. The intent behind such policies is that they are designed to help guard a country. They protect the country on the grounds of national security, national interests, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. Two extreme methods used by governments to achieve safety are peaceful cooperation with other nations and exploiting weaker nations.1 An excellent example of how one issue is dealt with in a different manner by different countries is related to the War on Terrorism launched by the United States of America. Pakistan and Iran although neighboring countries, chose opp osing stances on the terrorism issue based on their individual foreign policies. Pakistan decided to help America in the terrorism that prevails in the region whereas at the same time Iran which is Pakistan's neighbor and exists in the same region decided not to extend its support to combat terrorism in its neighborhood. Every country wants a peace process to prevail in a turbulent region and wants to help a country that is trying to solve the prevalent problem of terrorism. Given facts such as that the United States was willing to bear the major portion of the costs of war in return for some support and a little bit of resources, Iran chose not to help. It was because of the history they share with America and their ideologies being complete opposite to each other’s. Exposition of such behaviors by countries in such delicate situations is driven by their foreign policy. Foreign policy of a country as the name suggests, governs a country's relationship with other countries in the international arena. Based on the example given above the obvious question that arises in the common man’s mind is related to what made Pakistan participate in the war on terror whilst Iran chose to stay aloof? Why were the policies of neighbors that share a border with one another so different? Why were their reactions to the same situation so vastly opposing? It must be noted here that foreign policies are not set in stone; they tend to change overtime owing to a number of different reasons. Even in today's global arena we can see numerous examples of countries that were allies at one time but are arch enemies now. Changes such as these all take place based on how the foreign policy of a country looks at a certain point in time. The guidelines, rather instructions contained in the foreign policy depend on a lot of factors. There are 3 key factors that influence the construct of most successful foreign policies. The framework of these factors includes domestic considera tions, policies of other states and geopolitical objectives.2 There are several other reasons that push a country to opt for changes in its foreign policy. As the world progresses and with the advent of rapid globalization foreign policies are becoming more and more volatile. A very obvious reason for changes is a country’s foreign policy is related to a changing government. Each government comes forth with its own unique manifesto, a document that dictates its stance on many issues, foreign policy being one very important

Research proposal in CSR Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Proposal in CSR - Research Paper Example Literature Review Summary 15 III. Research Objectives and Questions 15 IV. Research Design and Methodology 17 A. Secondary Data Collection 17 B. Scope and Limitation 18 V. Proposed Time Table 18 References 19 I. Introduction The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a haven of economic and political strength in a region that is ravaged by political disorder and wars. This strength, alongside other factors, has helped the Kingdom establish its place as one of the major business hubs in the world, with giant multinational corporations basing their operations in the country. These multinational corporations, such as the banking sector, will continue to proliferate and dominate if present trends in the country continue (Shoult 2006). With local and global companies manoeuvring simultaneously in a fast moving economy, one of the major business concerns in Saudi Arabia in the recent decade is corporate social responsibility (CSR) as well as its function and direction in the business environment of th e Kingdom. The opposite is true for the United Kingdom. The introduction of corporate social responsibility in the UK’s banking industry does not present entirely good opportunities. There are constraints in the voluntary programmes to deal with the unfavourable environmental and social effects produced by the banking industry in developing and developed nations (Solomon 2007). The political system of the UK have failed to challenge the influence of the banking sector beyond advocating gradual voluntary attempts to advance CSR, all of which have fell short of resolving successfully the major problems of sustainable development, poverty, climate change, and human rights (Ward & Smith 2006). Despite of the vast evidence, the programme of ‘Investing in the Future: a European conference on CSR and the finance sector, (ibid, p. 93)’ disproves the fact that the UK banking sector has yet failed to progress outside mainly unsuccessful efforts at self-regulation. The bank ing industry has a corporate social responsibility to adequately cater to the intricate groups of customers; a bank operates to maximize shareholders’ profit. It should sustain the most favourable liquidity to satisfy the demands of depositors. It is mandated to meet the official ‘deficit sector demand for credits’ (The National Commercial Bank 2009, p. 3). The banking sector should satisfy the provisions established by supervisory bodies to continue operations. Most of all, for the bank to be viewed as a responsible corporate entity, it has to provide substantial input to the economy’s highest development and meet the demands of its immediate vicinity (The National Commercial Bank 2009). Hence, the aim of this study is to comparatively study the challenges of CSR that the banking sector in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom confront nowadays. Two major banks for each country are studied and compared, namely Aljazeera and the National Commercial Bank in S audi Arabia, and HSBC Bank and Barclays Bank in the UK. II. Literature Review A. Definition of CSR There appears to be countless definitions of corporate social responsibility, running the gamut of the basic to the complex, and an array of related concepts and assumptions, such as ‘corporate sustainability, corporate citizenship, corporate social investment, the triple bottom line, socially responsible investment, business sustainability and corporate governance’ (Thomas 2006, 3). Singh and colleagues (2009) defines CSR as â€Å"

Examine United States Foreign Policy SInce WWII Term Paper

Examine United States Foreign Policy SInce WWII - Term Paper Example It seeks to establish a strategy that will discuss the boundaries between the environment outside of the nation state and the domestic environment. For a well rounded foreign policy it is essential that it covers a wide array of sub-national sources of influence. The need for a foreign policy arises from the need to protect. Governments need some sort of a safety backing that ensures their country’s well being. The intent behind such policies is that they are designed to help guard a country. They protect the country on the grounds of national security, national interests, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. Two extreme methods used by governments to achieve safety are peaceful cooperation with other nations and exploiting weaker nations.1 An excellent example of how one issue is dealt with in a different manner by different countries is related to the War on Terrorism launched by the United States of America. Pakistan and Iran although neighboring countries, chose opp osing stances on the terrorism issue based on their individual foreign policies. Pakistan decided to help America in the terrorism that prevails in the region whereas at the same time Iran which is Pakistan's neighbor and exists in the same region decided not to extend its support to combat terrorism in its neighborhood. Every country wants a peace process to prevail in a turbulent region and wants to help a country that is trying to solve the prevalent problem of terrorism. Given facts such as that the United States was willing to bear the major portion of the costs of war in return for some support and a little bit of resources, Iran chose not to help. It was because of the history they share with America and their ideologies being complete opposite to each other’s. Exposition of such behaviors by countries in such delicate situations is driven by their foreign policy. Foreign policy of a country as the name suggests, governs a country's relationship with other countries in the international arena. Based on the example given above the obvious question that arises in the common man’s mind is related to what made Pakistan participate in the war on terror whilst Iran chose to stay aloof? Why were the policies of neighbors that share a border with one another so different? Why were their reactions to the same situation so vastly opposing? It must be noted here that foreign policies are not set in stone; they tend to change overtime owing to a number of different reasons. Even in today's global arena we can see numerous examples of countries that were allies at one time but are arch enemies now. Changes such as these all take place based on how the foreign policy of a country looks at a certain point in time. The guidelines, rather instructions contained in the foreign policy depend on a lot of factors. There are 3 key factors that influence the construct of most successful foreign policies. The framework of these factors includes domestic considera tions, policies of other states and geopolitical objectives.2 There are several other reasons that push a country to opt for changes in its foreign policy. As the world progresses and with the advent of rapid globalization foreign policies are becoming more and more volatile. A very obvious reason for changes is a country’s foreign policy is related to a changing government. Each government comes forth with its own unique manifesto, a document that dictates its stance on many issues, foreign policy being one very important

The Application of Cognitive Learning Theory in Learning How to Read Essay

The Application of Cognitive Learning Theory in Learning How to Read and Use Maps - Essay Example The objective of the essay is to examine the potentials of one of the learning theories aforementioned, the cognitive learning theory, in identifying and explaining the components and mechanisms of learning a particular task. For this essay, learning how to read and use a map will be explored by applying the cognitivist approach. Primarily, the essay will provide a brief overview of the task of learning how to read and use a map and its importance in the discipline of geography. Afterward, the types of knowledge required to acquire or learn the particular skill will be discussed, and then the cognitive learning theory, as it applies to the learning task of reading and using a map, will be examined. Specifically, Piaget’s and the neo-Vygotskian’s theories will be employed in explaining the chosen learning task. And lastly, the essay will conclude the discussion by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the cognitive learning theory, relative to other learning theori es, in explaining the task of learning how to read and use a map. The discipline of geography explores the relationship between human beings and the earth and particularly takes into account the environment, location, and space. In studying locations and geographical subjects, geographers illustrate and identify the mechanisms and structures they observe in their physical environment. Hence study of spatial structures and the acquisition of locational knowledge shape distinguishing and core components of the field, with various kinds of maps being an essential tool in this practice (Palmer & Birch, 2004).

Monopolistic vs Oligopolistic Essay Example for Free

Monopolistic vs Oligopolistic Essay Monopolistic and Oligopolistic are pretty much the same except for the size of the manufacturing companies. In simple terms, a monopoly is where there is a single seller in the marketing industry and an oligopoly is where there is small group of sellers in the same field in marketing industries. When it comes to a monopolistic competition, this is where a market structure has a large number of sellers, each of which is relatively small and posse a very small market share. An oligopoly market is where there are fewer large producers who are present in the industry world and account for most of the output in the industry, there are many small firms but these few large firms dominate and have concentrated market shares. Oligopoly also has more barriers to entry than a monopolistic. I would say that Comcast the cable company is a Monopolistic competition in the market right now. The reason I say this, is because there is not much options for entertainment when it comes to cable. Comcast has made their name around the country, providing what other companies are not. Making them a monopoly amounts other companies. I would consider breakfast cereal companies an oligopoly because there are four breakfast cereal manufactures that I know of, Kellogg, Post, Quaker and General Mills. Because there are only four companies competing to make breakfast cereal, they are called an oligopoly. Whereas, only one company competing to provide cable TV to the customers, they are called monopoly.

The Objectives Of Employee Resourcing

The Objectives Of Employee Resourcing In the conduct of performance of any business, it has often been regarded that the employees constitute the most important part of the organization. The employees are the backbone and foundation of the business because they make its operation possible. They are part of every success story, as well as the unfortunate failure of the organizations. Employees are the most valuable asset of the business. Overtime, the proper management of the companys workforce has been called upon by concerned groups and even by the management itself. Various programs and practices have been designed and geared towards improving them and developing their skills so that they can be better assets in the operation of the organization. Successful human management skills have been called upon in order to improve the workforce. Effective employee recruitment and staff selection, improving the performance of the workforce, and reduction of staff turn-over are some of the immediate concerns of human resource dep artments in todays modern working environment. It is of paramount concern that organizations should be able to maintain a dynamic labor force in order to achieve better performance. With this, employee resourcing has been a primary concern among organizations which are concerned about managing their people. EMPLOYEE RESOURCING Employee resourcing has been defined as ensuring that the organization obtains and retains the human capital it needs and employs them productively. It is also about those aspects of employment practice that are concerned with welcoming people to the organization and, if there is no alternative, releasing them (Armstrong, 1977).this definition holds that the concept of human resourcing entails not only managing peole when they are kept within the context of the organizational operations but also when there is a need to release them especially if their performance on their job does not at all seem to be satisfactory and productive. Employee resourcing answer questions which include the kind of people that the organization needs to compete effectively at present and in the near future and the things that the company needs to do to be able to attract and keep their most valuable asset as they influence a better performance of the business. This concept operates on the notion which puts paramount importance to the employee in the function of any business. It regards that the employees are indispensable to success and they should be therefore properly and effectively manage. They should be given continuous education and training so that they will also perpetually help in the improvement and growth of the business. Most importantly, organizations must be concerned on how to keep these employees which are considered investment in the business. Price (2000) defined employee resourcing as the ability of the management or nay concerned group to be able to identify the suitable people which should be working in the organization and to be able to allocate the tasks and jobs which they have to work on while being employed in the said business. Moreover, the author also mentioned in his book that employee resourcing entails the presence and other practice related to management including: strategy and planning in which the management attempts to determine what will the human resource require in the near future like the number of employees, the skills that they need, and other relevant matters; research which is primarily concerned with identifying the competencies which are essential in the performance of tasks; recruitment which entails getting the best people from inside and outside the organization to work and help in establishing a better business; and selection which entails choosing the best among the crop to be working in t he company. These functions associated with employee resourcing are very important among human resource practitioners and are often emphasized when choosing the work force of the business. A careful employee resourcing strategy will be a big help for the business to be bale to identify and to choose the best employees who will be working with them. THE OBJECTIVES OF EMPLOYEE RESOURCING The primary objective of an employee resourcing strategy would be to obtain the right basic material in the form of a workforce endowed with the appropriate qualities, skills, knowledge, and potential for future training. The selection and recruitment of workers best suited to meeting the needs of the organization ought to form a core activity upon which most other HRM policies geared towards development and motivation could be built (Keep, 1989). This major objective of employee resourcing necessitates that organizations are being called upon investing in their employees through proper recruitment and selection and adequate training which will provide them continuity in improvement in their various organizational functions. A sound employee resourcing strategy will result in a workplace of competent individuals who are geared towards performing at their best. Aside from the above-mentioned there are also other objectives which are associated to employee resourcing and they are identified in the succeeding statements as illustrated by Armstrong (200). The objectives of employee resourcing in todays contemporary organizations also include determining the number of people required to meet business needs. This aspect must be evaluated carefully. The business exists in order to profit, therefore it must consider the number of people it employs to be assured that their compensation is within the business reach. With employee resourcing, there is a potential to properly identify how many are exactly needed to get the job done with the best results possible. Hiring too many people or too few employees can both generate problem in the business. It is also the objective of employee resourcing is to identify and manage the skills which are essential for business performance. It is an acknowledged fact that it is not enough that there is a presence o f the right number of employees within the organization. There is a great need that these employees are the right people for the job and for the business. Prior to hiring these employees, there is a need to identify their respective skills which will be helpful in the business. These skills will be regarded as the assets of the employees and will be their edge against other during the recruitment phase of employee resourcing. Once hired, there is also a growing concern for management to manage these skills. This means that there is a need for the management to establish various programs which are geared towards improving the skills which were already present in the workforce. Workshops and training activities, for instance, are some of the avenues in which these skills can be better improved. Furthermore, another objective of human resourcing would be changing the organizational culture. The employees are the entities which show the major significance in forming a corporate culture. To be able to establish a sound organizational culture, there is a need to establish a sound labor force as well. With that, it is important for management to properly manage its people to be assured that only a sound culture will be practices within business performance. The attitudes, beliefs, and personal characteristics of the employees should be properly managed through employee resourcing in order to establish a better workplace. It is the duty of human resourcing to ensure that the above-mentioned objectives are being met by the strategies which were stipulated by the company towards managing its people. PRACTICE IN ORGANIZATIONS As mentioned, the benefits that employee resourcing entails are quite significant in the operations of a business. The objectives which were earlier mentioned were also common among organizational practice. With that, organizations of today do not discount the importance of employee resourcing in its operations. The human resource managers and the company management are always concerned about this concept and on how such concept will be brought about inside the organizations. These reflect the practices which are aimed towards ensuring that the business is able to obtain and retain the human resource that it actually needs and employ them both effectively and efficiently. The human resource planning is composed of various steps and processes among organizations. Presented below are the processes and how they are practiced among selected organizations or industries. The first process in employee resourcing is human resource planning. This process, according to Armstrong (2000), human resource planning determines the people needed to meet the strategic objectives of the organization. It assures that the organization has the right number of people, in teh right place, at the right time, with the aim of delivering the strategic plan of the organization. This concept holds and put an importance in determining the right people in the organization to carry out their functions and to be of help to the management is establishing their goals and objectives as they go on with business operation. Being viewed as a significant organizational process, this attempts to look at the future of the operation of the organization and takes a look at the future of business and environmental demands of the organization with emphasis on hiring the right and qualified employees to carry out such functions. For instance, Barclays is one of the leading banks in the Unite d Kingdom with branches in different parts of the world. The employees who are involved in the operation of the bank are quite big in number as its operation extends fro its home country to different regions in the world. With the organizations globally dispersed operation, it is paramount among management concern to put an emphasis on human resource planning to be assured that they are hiring only people which are fit in the banking and financial industry and those employees who are equipped with the necessary knowledge. The company will not employ people whom they deem are not worthy in the industry and who they thought can no longer be improved even with thorough training. In the year 2007, the company employs and estimated number of 134,900 employees (The Climate Group, 2007). These employees were carefully selected by concerned individuals and groups and are believed to be contributing factors to the future of the company and helping the business achieve its goals. Along with h iring the right people, human resource planning in Barclays Bank will also entail questions such as what new technologies will affect the working system and what is the employee turn-over rate and how much can be avoided. Being concerned with managing the right people, human resource planning is also concerned with technological advancements which might change the perspective of human resource management in the future that is why there is also a significant emphasis undertaken on such issue. Furthermore, the employee turn-over rate and how to avoid it is also critical of all the concerns in human resource planning. Employee resourcing should take people as being assets and big investments that are why there is a need for management to properly take care of them and do their best to be ensured that they are kept within the business. Employee turn-over rate should be at a minimum and such will only be possible if the business will establish a working environment and corporate culture which will address all the significant needs of its labor force. The next process in employee resourcing is talent management. This process is basically concerned with establishing an organization which is talent-powered wherein the employees have distinct set of talents which are considered to be one of the companys biggest investment and source of innovation and success in the marketplace. Among contemporary organizations, management was able to realize that there is a paramount need to be bale to invest and identify with essential and significant talents which can provide the business a landscape of success, opportunities, and growth. This leads the management to be very particular when it comes to defining talent needs, discovering diverse sources of talent, developing both individual and collective talent in the organization, and deploying such talent in a way that it can help the company achieve its organizational goals (Cheese et al, 2008). One example of organizations with particular focus on talent management would be Best Buy, a consumer electronics retailer which transformed its business strategy into being customer-centric through the organizations talent management of its workforce. The management of the company recognizes that what is most significant in the success of business nowadays is not investing in capital rather it is investing in the employees. Such is actually true especially considering the fact that these employees are the backbone of the business, they develop, create, and they deliver. It is the employees who are supposed to deliver superior value and quality more than the product itself. It is important to have excellent customer service to reap business performance success. For instance, at Best Buy they develop the talents of their employees to be able to end up with extraordinary value for the company. This is a good perspective of looking at business strategies by recognizing the need to talent management in the workforce as they become front liners to the success of the company. Another important process in employee resourcing would be recruitment and selection. There is one common and paramount objective of every organizations recruitment and selection process: to appoint the right person in the right job. It is very critical in all organizations to hire only those who are fit ad qualified in certain positions and those who are anticipated to perform well in their jobs with the objective of helping the business achieve its goals. The process of recruitment and selection is very critical because it affects the capability of the business to achieve targets, the quality of the products and services which are offered to the consuming public, and the well-being of the entire team working towards the goal of establishing a better business (Dale, 1995). The practices of recruitment and selection vary per company depending on the preferences of the management and what they deem is most effective in helping them achieve their objectives. Google, for instance, demons trates one very effective strategy. They sponsor local events where participants are given time to shine in their respective skills and then they are referred for interview in the company. They held Code Jam, a contest open for math and computer specialists where the participants tried their bests in an almost four hours coding competition. They also sponsor essay riting contests to see the competitiveness of the writers. The top contestants are invited for interview and if they passed, will be offered a job at Google. This practice of the company is a very good measure and will also prove to be effective as well. Sponsoring such contests enables the company to see the best of the crop and they were able to see actual works from the participants. For instance, during the coding contest, the management was able to see how the specialists work on different codes and solve them. Moreover, same thing is true with the essay writing contest where the management saw actual written works. T hese things provide the management with a closer look and actual perspectives on the quality of potentials works from the participants who will be recruited and selected. After a careful recruitment and selection practice within organizations, the next process would entail introduction to the organization. This next process entails employee orientation where the individual is made aware of their tasks, their supervisors, and their colleagues providing them a favorable initial experience and giving them the reasons on why they should stay within the organization for a long time. Since the employee orientation program technically provides the employees with their very first experience in the company, such should be a dynamic practice which the individual should enjoy. It should be able to deliver a thought-fully planned program which should be focused in building a harmonious relationship within the company. Such should be viewed as a process, and not an event (Lawson, 2006). Starbucks, for instance, takes introduction of employees in the organization seriously because they believed that one never gets the second chance to establish a good first impress ion and such process is helpful in order to establish culture and reduce employee turn-over rate. During the first days of employees at Starbucks they are introduced to the organization with a video fro Howard Schultz, their CEO, via video educating them about the history and culture of the company which should also form part of their perspectives as they work for the business. The CEO compared their introduction process to young children. During the early years of these children people would be very much interested in raising an impression which creates self-esteem and confidence. After they are though of this, you let them go out and make their own decisions with basis and foundation from what they have previously learned about. At the company, the employees are introduced by saying how much the management cares about what they do (Gruner, 1998). This is a good company practice because it establishes a perspective which is positive for employees as they are being given the trust o f their employers. The video of the CEO greeting the newly hires is also helpful because it will create a more confident working environment for the new members of the company. The last process in employee resourcing would be releasing of employees. It must be acknowledged that no matter how the company tries its best to retain everyone and to establish a sustainable organizational culture, it is inevitable that employees will leave the organization and companies are left with no option but to just release them and let them go. Releasing is also based on deliberate company rules especially against violation of disciplinary standards and work regulations or unsatisfactory performance in their jobs. Releasing can be based on redundancy. This mans that technological advancements have been providing the tasks carried out by the employee that is why there is no more need for human effort and it is already dependent on machines. Setting higher standards with regards to performance is another factor on why companies release employees. This is true in cases where the performance of the employee is not doing the company any good at all. Furthermore, releasing can al so be voluntary. Under this, employee voluntarily leaves the company in search for better opportunities and for other personal reasons. Microsoft released a number of its employees last year in order to reduce cost. This process of releasing is deliberate to the organization. Microsoft has no intention of leaving thousands of their employees jobless; it is just that they have to cut-down on costs to be able to survive in the corporate world. Such step must have had received criticism by unions, but then ity must be realized that Microsoft just did what it thought would be ebst for cost-reduction and to maintain a sustainable performance despite a business which is actually not doing so good in the global market. The sluggish company of the present has been forcing many companies to release employees within the organization. Such a strategy should be done carefully in order not to ruin lives of employees and should include incentives and provide alternatives once employees are releas ed from the company. CONCLUSION With the above discussion, it can be deemed that indeed employee resourcing is a very important dimension in the field of human resource management. The importance of this practice is significant to both the management and the employees for it is beneficial for both parties which are concerned. The programs, procedures, and processes for managing the employees is very important for all organizations to be assured that they are employing the right people in the right job. The employee resourcing process must be bale to address all important concerns regarding the people in organizations because such will entail a long term benefit for the business once it is properly executed. The employee resourcing process must be able to illustrate the companys undertaking towards hiring the people who would be able to compete effectively, today and in the future. More importantly, such will be concerned on how the business could be able to retain its greatest asset and investment: the employees.

Causes Of The Great Depression Essay -- Great Depression History Econo

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1929 the stock market crashed, triggering the worst depression ever in U.S. history, which lasted for about a decade. During the 1920s, the unequal distribution of wealth and the stock market speculation combined to create an unstable economy by the end of the decade. The unequal distribution of the wealth had several outlets. Money was distributed between industry and agriculture within the U.S.; in social classes, between the rich and middle class; and lastly in world markets, between America and Europe. Due to the imbalance of the wealth, the economy became very unstable. The stock market crashed because of the excessive speculation in the 1920’s, which made the stock market artificially high (Galbraith 175). The poor distribution of the wealth, excessive speculation, and the stock market crashes caused the U.S. economy to fail, signaling the start of the Great Depression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1920’s were a time when the American people and the economy were thriving. This period of time was called the â€Å"Roaring Twenties†. Unemployment dropped as low as 3 percent, prices held steady, and the gross national product climbed from $70 billion in 1922 to nearly $100 billion in1929 (EV 525). However, the prosperity of the 1920’s was not shared evenly among the social classes in America. A study conducted by the Brookings Institution stated, â€Å"78 percent of all American families had incomes of less than $3,000. Forty percent had family incomes of less than $1,500. Only 2.3 percent of the population enjoyed incomes of over $10,000. Sixty thousand American families held savings which amounted to the total held by the bottom 25 million families.† (Goldston 26). The 40 percent of Americans at the lowest end of the economic scale received only 12 percent of the national income by 1929 (EV 549). This maldistribution of income b etween the rich and the middle class increased throughout the 1920’s. A major reason for this large and growing gap between the upper class and the working class Americans was that the manufacturing output increased throughout this period. As the production costs fell, wages went up slowly, and prices for goods remained at a constant. The majority of the benefits created by increased productivity fell into the hands of corporate owners. The federal government also helped to make the growing gap between the upper and middle classes. President Calvin ... ...yers were available at any price (EV 549).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This speculation and the resulting stock market crash acted as a trigger to the already unstable U.S. economy. Due to the poor distribution of wealth, the economy of the 1920’s was one very much dependent upon confidence. President Hoover stated, â€Å"†¦the crisis has been isolated to the stock market itself.† (Docs Hoover). The market crash proved this confidence to be wrong. The rich stopped spending on luxury items, and the middle and lower classes stopped using credit in fear of losing their jobs and defaulting on their loans. As a result, industrial production fell by nine percent causing people to lose their jobs and default on loans (Galbraith 42). Industries started to fall apart around the automobile and radio industries. The rich refused to make loans to foreign countries for fear of going bankrupt. Foreigners stopped buying U.S. goods. Banks started to go under, stores closed up. President Hoover did not act in time to stop the count ry from going further into a depression (Docs Hoover). Unemployment had reached 13 million in 1932 (EV 549); the country went quickly downhill. The start of the Great Depression was setting in.

Still a Threat to the United States

The tenth anniversary of the 9/1 1 attacks prompted reflections on the current status of the terrorism threat to the United States. One aspect of an assessment†the threat posed by biological weapons†is especially challenging because of the unique character of these weapons. A prime distinction is the fact that exposure to minute quantities of a biological agent may go unnoticed, yet ultimately be the cause of disease and death.The Incubation period of a microbial agent can be days or weeks; unlike a bombing, knifing, or chemical dispersion, a bioattack might not be ecognized until long after the agent's release. Accordingly, bioterrorism poses distinctive challenges for preparedness, protection, and response. The use of a pathogen for hostile purposes became a consuming concern to the American people soon after 9/1 1 . About a half-dozen letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to Journalists and polltlclans beginning one week after the jetliner attacks.Four letters with spores and threat messages eventually were recovered. All were postmarked Trenton, New Jersey, which meant that they had been processed at the postal distribution center in nearby Hamilton. Two letters were postmarked September 18, one addressed to Tom Brokaw at NBC-TV and another to the editor of the New York Post. The other two letters were stamped October 9 and addressed to Senators Thomas Daschle and Patrick Leahy. As people became infected in September, October and November, local responses revealed gaps in preparedness for a biological attack.For example, the first confirmation of an anthrax case was on October 4, more than two weeks after the initial letters were mailed. Retrospective assessments later indicated that by then nine people had already contracted the disease. Their illness previously had been misidentified because of faulty diagnoses or erroneous laboratory In the end, at least 22 people had become infected, five of whom died. Meanwhile, scores of buildings were belatedly found to be contaminated with spores that had leaked from the letters.At least 30,000 people who were deemed at risk required prophylactic antibiotics. [2] Millions more were fearful, many of them anxious about opening their own mail. Since the anthrax attacks, the U. S. government has spent about $60 billion on biodefense. A large portion of those dollars has gone to biodefense research under he auspices of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The NIAID budget for biodefense research has grown from $200 million in 2001 to an annual average of $1. 6 billion since 2004.United States safer from a bioattack now than at the time of the anthrax attacks? Has the spending been worth it? Key Questions, Discrepant Answers Opinions on these questions differ. While concerned about the danger of backsliding, the authors of an article in Politico now felt â€Å"reassured about our preparedness† for a biological attack. [3] At the same time, an opposing assessment was emblazoned in he title of a New York Times Magazine cover story: â€Å"Ten Years After the Anthrax Attacks, We Are Still Not Ready. [4] A review of biodefense efforts during the past 10 years in Science magazine blandly acknowledged the obvious: â€Å"debate continues over how much safer the country The congressionally chartered Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism (WMD Commission) issued a report card in 2010 on efforts to address several of its previous recommendations. The administration's failure to â€Å"enhance the nation's capabilities for rapid response to revent biological attacks from inflicting mass casualties† merited a grade of â€Å"F† (meaning that no action was taken on this recommendation).Almost as bad was the â€Å"D*† given for continuing inadequate oversight of high-containment laboratories. Reasonable arguments can be made to support varied views about these issues , and all conclusions bear a degree of subjectivity. Yet an assessment of several broad critical contentions can offer clarification. The criticisms are largely expressed in the form of five contentions. Contention #1 : Funding for biodefense has meant fewer dollars for other deserving reas such as public health infrastructure and basic science research.In 2005, 758 microbiologists signed a letter to Elias Zerhouni, then director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), objecting to the diversion of funds from public health research to biodefense projects. Zerhouni, Joined by NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, rejected the letter's premise of â€Å"diversion. † An assessment of disputed interpretations suggested that spending on biodefense benefited non-biodefense research as well, but the numbers were so â€Å"convoluted† that a clear determination was elusive. [7] An analysis of the biodefense budget for fiscal year 2012 indicates that only 10% of the proposed $6. bill ion is dedicated exclusively to civilian biodefense. The other 90% is for projects with both biodefense and non-biodefense implications. The non- biodefense goals, according to analysts Crystal Franco and Tara Kirk Sell, include â€Å"advancing other areas of science, public health, healthcare, national security, or international security. â€Å"[8] This tilt toward dual-track benefits has been reflected in past budgets as well. A report in Nature magazine indicated that of the $60 billion pent on biodefense in the past decade, only about $12 billion went for programs have benefited substantially from biodefense projects.Fiscal woes in recent years have in fact resulted in reduced resources for public health and related programs. Economic pressure threatens to shrink biodefense funding as it does funding for much else in the federal budget; however, it is not clear now, nor was it in the past, if fewer dollars for biodefense would necessarily translate into more for public health, basic research, or any other health-related programs. Contention #2: The growing number of facilities for research on select agents specified pathogens and toxins) has heightened chances of an accidental release. Statistics alone make this assertion unassailable.The chances of something going wrong in any enterprise, assuming no change in operational security, increase with the size of the enterprise. As the number of research facilities increases, so does the chance of an accident. A continuing weakness is the lack of clarity about the number of high security laboratories. In 1983, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated four levels of safety for laboratory work with biological agents. A Biosafety Level-I (BSL-I) laboratory allows for work on relatively innocuous agents and a BSL-4 laboratory on the most dangerous.The two highest containment facilities, BSL-3 and BSL-4, require special security measures including restricted access, negative pressure to prev ent air from flowing out of the room, and protective outerwear for operators. BSL-4 laboratories require additional safeguards such as entry through multiple air-locked rooms and positive pressure outerwear with a segregated air supply. A BSL-4 laboratory is required for work on agents that cause lethal disease for which here is little or no treatment (for example, smallpox and hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola and Marburg).At present, there are 15 such U. S. facilities planned or in operation, triple the number operating in 2001. [10] Other dangerous agents, including the bacteria that cause anthrax and plague, are worked on in BSL-3 laboratories. The number of these laboratories has skyrocketed since 2001, although the actual figures are uncertain. While an estimated 20 BSL-3 facilities were operating before the anthrax attacks, in the decade since the number has grown to between 200 and an astonishing 1,400 or ore. [11] The huge discrepancy is attributable in part to varied method s of calculation.Some assessments have counted all BSL-3 laboratories in an institution as a single BSL-3 facility, while others have designated each laboratory as a separate entity. Furthermore, some laboratories with a BSL-3 designation may lack safety features found in others, such as double doors and a requirement that two persons must be present. No national authority is now empowered to mandate a single system of counting or that even the lowest estimated number of BSL-3 laboratories (200) represents a 10- old increase in the past 10 years, and that safety precautions at some BSL-3 facilities are less rigorous than at others.Contention #3: The growing number of investigators with knowledge about select agents has increased the chances that an unsavory scientist could launch a bioattack. Along with more high containment facilities has come more scientists who handle select agents. Concern about dangerous individuals among them was heightened in 2008 when the FBI named Bruce Ivi ns as the perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Ivins was a veteran scientist who for decades had worked on anthrax at the U. S.Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Before charges could be brought he committed suicide, so his guilt or innocence could never be established in a court of law. Still, evidence of his aberrational behavior, including alcoholism, depression, and self-described bouts of paranoia, evidently went unnoticed by his superiors. The Ivins case highlighted questions about the screening of workers with ready access to select agents. The number of those workers Just prior to the anthrax attacks has been estimated at about 700.By 2008, however, the figure had climbed to more han As some have suggested, the greater numbers mean that â€Å"the odds of one of them turning out to be a bad apple has increased. â€Å"[13] Ironically, Ivins was not a newly minted investigator, but a long-respected fgure in the arm y's biodefense program. Days after Ivins' death, a USAMRIID spokesperson acknowledged that officials may have been unaware of his problems because they relied in part on self-reporting. [14] In 2011, a mental health review panel concluded that â€Å"Dr.Ivins had a significant and lengthy history of psychological disturbance and diagnosable mental illness at the time he began working for USAMRIID in The Ivins case has raised concerns that other troubled or nefarious individuals might be working in U. S. laboratories. A recent government-sponsored forum on biosecurity called for periodic behavioral evaluations of personnel with access to select agents that include drug testing, searches for criminal history, and completion by selectees of a security questionnaire. 16] Even while acknowledging the necessity of security measures, the right to privacy and freedom of scientific inquiry must be respected to the extent possible. In any case, behavioral monitoring can never provide absolute protection against the acts of a lever miscreant. Contention #4: Money for biodefense has been misapplied or otherwise failed to produce desired results. Project BioShield was established by congress in 2004 to acquire medical countermeasures against biological, chemical, and radiological vaccines and other drugs that have not necessarily been tested for efficacy on humans.Beyond the loss of time and money, the VaxGen failure was a public embarrassment. It became a symbol of ineptness early in the new program. Other biosecurity programs have also drawn criticism, including a $534 million surveillance project called BioWatch. This program included the placement of air amplers for detection of anthrax spores and other agents in more than 30 major U. S. cities. A committee convened by the National Academy of Sciences concluded in 2010 that the program was faced with â€Å"serious technical and operational challenges. † Others flatly criticized its funding as wasted.

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Introduction How do you deal with your worries? Do you have any ways to solve your problems? We are not taught them neither at school nor on the job. We are supposed to find and figure out them by ourselves. Today I’d like to talk about: first, how serious damages we get from worries. Second, the solution for those of you who suffer from worries, and finally, how much benefit you can get with my suggestion. Need step As you know, worries mean nothing other than harms. For example, worries cause stresses and diseases. It is said if we could remove worries, 70% of sick people would completely recover from the disease.And the most significant factor of suicides is also â€Å"worries†. Human relationships, work environments†¦, there are lots of worries. I think everybody lives with certain worries more or less. Satisfaction Step But don’t worry. I have a solution. I have a book called â€Å"How to Stop Worrying and Start Living†, by Dale Carnegie. Althoug h it was written over 30 years ago, what he said hasn’t been out of date at all. Over 80% of reviewers rate this book on 5 star on Amazon. com. Visualization Step I can assure you that you’d enjoy the feeling that your worries are gone away as you read through this book.And it is also famous as a problem solving handbook for business persons. From only one book, you can learn not only the ways to deal with your worries, but also the useful methods of problem-solving. How amazing!! This is the reason why successful business persons around the world read this book continuously. Closing Now, I’d like to ask you, would you like to live a life with worries or without worries? If you choose a worry-free life, what are you waiting for? From the moment you start reading â€Å"How to Stop Worrying and Start Living†, you can â€Å"stop worrying and start living†. Thank you.

Proctor and Gamble Business Plan

Subject: Entrepreneurship Company name: Proctor & Gamble Team name: TBA Sources: http://finance. yahoo. com/q/pr? s=PG, http://subscriber. hoovers. com/H/company360/history. html? companyId=11211000000000, www. pg. com, http://blog. marketingdoctor. tv/2008/06/06/dr-tantillos-30second-how-to. aspx Weekly stock prices: 2/4 Mon 75. 26 2/5 Tue 75. 70 1 – Who founded your company? Where? When? Why did the person start the company? What was the original product?What are the products or services your company offers today? William Procter, a candle maker, and James Gamble, a soap maker, founded the company called The Procter & Gamble Company, also known as P&G, on October 31, 1837. They merged their own small businesses and initially settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Alexander Norris, their father- in- law, persuaded them to be a business partner to each other. Therefore, they created the company and during the American Civil War, they provided the Union Army with soaps and candles. In 1880s, they marketed a new soap, called Ivory, and since then, they have extended their businesses. Today they operate in 6 sections: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric Care and Home Care, Snacks & Pet Care segment and Baby Care and Family Care. They have Head & Shoulders, Olay, Pantene, SK-II, Wella, Braun, Fusion, Gillette, Mach3, Ace, Febreze and Downy brand names and so on. 2- What was the original form of ownership? Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, or Corporation?Has the company changed its form of ownership over the years? Why did it change? It was originally a company based on partnership. However, William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson introduced the profit sharing program in 1887 by giving workers shares in the company to prevent strike. 3 – Was the founder of your company an Entrepreneur? Justify your answer. The founders of P;G are deserved to be defined as Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur itself eans that someone who is adventurous businessman strugg ling to make business more profitable, creates new things and likes to challenge. These aspects are also shown in William Procter and James Gamble. They were not satisfied with their position, instead expanded their businesses, took over other companies running a risk and prospered through the technology switchover. 4 – When your company was founded was it local, regional, national, international, or multinational?What is your company today? Justify your answer It was totally local. At first it just provided the North Army with soaps and candles, but after the American Civil War, they got fame from soldiers all over the world and established another corporation in New Castle, England in 1930. Since then, it has enlarged their field of business all around the world and nowadays it has been regarded as multinational company because of their marketing strategies and the background of faculties.

Online library Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Online library - Essay Example My experience with it has been impressive. I did try searching some topics using the Summon engine, and learnt a few critical issues when it comes to utilizing the engine. First, I did search a broad topic, which unleashed over one million results. However, on using parenthesis, the results were reduced to ones that are more relevant. Other steps involved were refining the topics, and specifying the research content material to utilize. Narrowing down the topic did grant an opportunity to fine-tune results granting access to relevant resources (Majumdar, 2012). In essence, the Summon does provide an easy model to filter out the search content. One can be in a position in the search for multiple formats and content at a go. One can filter out books, articles, journals, videos, and other databases. Most significantly, University of Hull Summon Tutorial provides a simple and fast search engine from the library databases. It delivers contents from intensive disciplines. The Summon is easy to use, while the screen results are easy to understand. From the utilization and utility of the system, two lessons were clearly valid: it is important to filter out the information using the keywords to acquire relevant information. Secondly, utilization of simple language is critical to get back authentic information (Insinna,

Descartes epistemology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Descartes epistemology - Essay Example These ones are often the forerunners of methodology of modern science. It seems that Descartes' epistemology is one of the most significant systems which made (of course, along with other thinkers) philosophic background for modern science, skeptical and highly rational. Both the rise of modern science and the rediscovery of skepticism were key influences on Descartes' epistemology (Stroll; Newman). While Descartes believed that humans were capable of knowledge and certainty and that modern science was developing the superstructure of knowledge, he thought that skepticism presented a legitimate challenge that needed an answer. Thus, the rational cognition was Descartes' answer, but with the number of stipulations. Descartes considered the supposition that all of one's beliefs are false. But Descartes claimed that it is not possible for all of one's beliefs to be false, for anyone who has false beliefs is thinking and knows that he is thinking, and if the person is thinking, then that person exists (Garza). Also, it was obvious that nonexistent things cannot think. So, "Cogito, ergo sum", i.e. "I think; therefore, I am".

Dissertation in Science Education Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

In Science Education - Dissertation Example Example of the nature of the structuring that makes it possible for in-depth science research knowledge to be impacted includes the intensiveness of the program. For instance some teachers are brought up close with Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) laboratories, which are facilitated by specialized laboratory managers, faculty and former students for as long as six weeks without a break (Cook et al, 2000). Normally, such mathematics and science teachers do not get the opportunity of having dedicated times with laboratory experiences with the standard of the CCMR Shared Experimental Facilities. Another relevant component of the RET program that is set to make it very easy for shared experiences to impact deep into teachers attending the program is the fact that the programs are structured such that participants work together as team. In effect, basic concepts that could prove difficult in their understanding are easily shared among team members for practical resolution. Ind eed, for the fact that the structure of the program is intense and focused on problem solving skills, set out by trained and skilled facility managers Sadler et al (2009) have noted that it has always been possible and easier for teachers attending the RET programs to have the kind of experiences that the programs require them to have. But it is important to note that the essence and idea behind the RET programs does not end with the mere acquisition of knowledge on research experiments for teachers. Rather, the major target of the program is the student, meaning that after teachers gain the experiences from the program, they should be in a position to passing these on to their students (Polloway, Patton and Serna, 2008). As teachers, it has always been expected that there will be the use of learner-centered and other creative approaches to teaching that make absorption of concepts taught easier for learners. However, some key factors have often inhibited this noble vision. Subseque ntly, students, who are the target products of the RET programs have not benefited fully from the programs (Rao, 2009). 1.3 Purpose of the Study Based on the background given and the problem identified earlier, the researcher seeks to use this proposal to clearly identify and spell out the factors that aid in the successful implementation of science and engineering practices into the regular classroom experience of teachers. Furthermore, ways by which teachers can be supported in their classroom after completion of any RET program to make implementation of experiences and subsequently improvement of student learning possible, shall also be outlined. 2.0 Background Literature 2.1 Measuring success of RET programs in Learners Several researchers in the area of science and mathematics education have studied the need to making the learner the end product of teachers’ success with the RET program. In this, a number of debates and arguments have come up was to why the focus on the systematic structure of the

Small Wins Steps Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Small Wins Steps - Essay Example Achievement of gender equality in the workplace is largely dependent on the corporate strategies. However, adopting approaches that base on gender equality is a major problem for organizations. In the work place, gender inequality mainly affects women. Long ago, women were victimized in the job market, and their entry was highly restrictive. Although this situation has been alleviated by policy changes in companies and at the national level, there still exist cases of gender inequality, which to a higher extent are embedded in the organizational cultures and are hard to detect (Meyerson and Fletcher 127). In the small wins strategy, the identification of gender inequality problem is crucial in the rectification process. Failure to identify a problem will lead to its persistence. As a leader, I realize there is a gender inequality situation that needs to be addressed. The second step is to diagnose the gender inequality problem. Here, a company establishes the specific gender inequality problem, whether it lies in salary remuneration differences, or bias in managerial positions. As a new leader, I realize that the face of gender inequality in my company is manifest salary remuneration. Women are paid less as compared to men. Third is patterns and consequences identification of gender inequality aspect. Here, we establish the organizational culture, and how it promotes gender discrimination. The final step is experimentation. Managers take the initiative of replacing company practices, which promote gender inequality, with better ones. This is through talks with the company employees to brainstorm possible solutions (Meyerson and Fletcher 133-134). Additionally, I would consider the impacts of external environment on company policymaking. These include institutional framework, external labor market, and relations with other companies. This closely fits in Meyerson and