Management - Virtual organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management - Virtual organization - Essay Example This kind of group undergoes the same stages of development. In virtual group cohesiveness and norms are both important. Cohesiveness is the ability of the team to attract the members to be involved and really focus on the development. Norms are standards that are set by the member of the team that can either be a pro-management or anti-management. Building an effective virtual workgroup involves activity facilitated by computers. Interactions of the members are done thru the internet. In a normal workgroup they meet most of the time to talk about the project while in virtual group the communication and brainstorming are done thru the use of the web. Since there is no need to ask many questions the forming stage in the development are not the evident in the virtual group. The group understand what they need to do just by handling them the outline of the work. There are seldom storming stage in the virtual group. Although they have different ideas on their mind the focus is on the development of the IT. Leadership is important in any project. Virtual team leaders are operating within a different framework. Some of the behaviours considered good management practices were changed, or even eliminated, because the team was physically separated. In the virtual team the leader usually conducted meetings thru conference call.

System engineering Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

System engineering - Coursework Example Construction took fewer years than the normal four years and thus, if the construction were done in the normal time it should better results would be obtained. Following the construction procedures is a key to having the desired outcomes and therefore, the system engineers should have followed the right construction procedures especially when they were constructing the engine. The costs of constructing the ship would have reduced if there was following of the correct procedures. The system engineers are limited by the orders that they receive from the navy officers. The instructions are clear that the ship is required within a short span of time (Taubman, 2008). The executives fear that if the construction slows down it will disadvantage them from winning the contract and therefore the system engineers must hurry up. The system engineers do not have an option but to follow the instructions of hurrying the construction

GEs Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO | Analysis

GEs Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO | Analysis This assignment will critically evaluate BARLETT and MCLEAN GEs Talent Machine: The making of a CEO and Prokeschs How GE Teaches Teams to Lead. It will the lessons that can be learnt from General Electric (GE) and apply them to my organisation. GE is currently listed the 3rd largest business in the world (Adams, 2012), it is also ranked in the top 20 for other awards such as best company for leaders (Fig 1). GE operates globally in four areas: Technology Infrastructure, Energy, Capital Finance and Consumer Industrials. To understand GE a S.W.O.T analysis was undertaken (Fig 2), Stewart, Fletcher Barrett (SFB) is a small Nuneaton based business. Originally a firm of accountants, they now provide business services in Wealth Management, Human Resources and Marketing. With recent growth they now are opening a third office in Coventry. GEs Talent Machine: The making of a CEO Literature Review GE has always excelled over its competition, one is their ability to develop and uphold quality managers. Forbes showed that GE is the worlds best companies for leaders beating the likes of IBM and Microsoft. (Anonymous, 2012 ). What led GE to produce talented leaders was the emphasis they forced into developing quality leaders. GE has appointed twelve CEOs since Edison and many of them have contributed to management development which has helped GE to successfully maintain its growth in revenue and profit. Coffin, who succeeded Edison, devoted 20 years to creating a meritocracy within the organisation to reward employees promotions based on performance. In 2003, Coffin was named The Greatest CEO of all time by Fortune magazine (Collins, 2003). This went onto become the foundation of GE which went on to make GE a CEO factory. When Cordiner came into power, he thought it was best to decentralise GE, this increased the company management efficiency. Reg Jones increased the development of managers by strategic planning to a more formal structured approach, this served as an upgrade to Session C and the EMS reviews. When Welch took charge introduced the Work Out initiative which saw employees (over 200,000) meet for three days to discuss how their individual area of work could be made more efficient. Analysis The main reason for GEs constant business success is they use human capital as a competitive advantage, this combined with continues improvements in the training and development of staff created a culture for success. GE maintain being a revolutionary organisation; by hiring from within GE and always looking out for new management talent. The following points were analysed: Human Resource Management for Growth GE had devoted to a HRM Strategy by implementing new procedures and policies. This enabled them to uphold a healthy and vital pool of new managers. Butler (1988/89) identified this as a HR-driven model (Fig 4) which identifies HR as being the driving force to achieve business targets. Coffin who created a meritocracy-based culture used a well defined succession management process which became part of the GE culture. This process put performing employees in lower management positions, in a variety of industries. This was seen as a more Holistic model (Fig 4), which Torrington, D et al (2008) described this being where people of the organisation are recognised people as the key to competitive advantage rather than just the way of implementing organisational strategy. This process gave individual a defined career path, and clear goals, which in turn intrinsically motivated them as they could see their progression within the company. This particular performance oriented culture was extremely tough to uphold and apply in each business; however it shows the commitment GE has towards their human capital. Immelt concurred this by saying Unless you are really dedicated to a whole system, it doesnt work. (Barlett, C and McLean, N, 2006). Communication Even due to GEs size it could maintain uninterrupted communication with managers; this was helped by their clear structure that Cordiner had implemented. Immelt added additional channels of communication, such as conference calls and forums. This allowed employees from different industries around the world connect with ease. Recommendations The Vitality Curve The vitality curve is a rankings-based system and is now considered by GE employees to be apart of the companys meritocracy based culture. This is controversial to outsiders and complicated, relying on faultless incorporation of employee feedback, training and coaching. GE lost employees from the 70% range (Fig 3) to other companies such as the BankAmerica who had successfully recruited over 90 GE employees. Making the rankings more flexible would allow B Players to feel valued thus reducing de-motivation and increasing output. Immelt should consider expanding the top level or introducing an additional band of classification so that A Players are differentiated from B Players. GE should also consider a system of reward to all individuals achievement of the business; this will make majority of employees feel more rewarded for their efforts and also increase retention. Recruitment Immelt should focus on more international recruitment targeting the likes of Europe and Asia. Since 40% of GEs revenues are generated offshore this would also reduce the companys dependence in American for talent. GE can attract candidates by offering graduate programmes. GE previously had problems with MBA turnover in previous years, and similar issues offshore can be avoided if GE emphasising on its reputation as develop management talent. This would bring positive diversity to the business. Cameron K, 2011, states there are three types of positive outcomes; intergroup equality, positive intergroup relations and positive group outcomes. Executive Brands Having seven executive bands causes employees, particularly in international locations, to believe that promotional opportunities were limited. In business cultures such as India, status is highly valued. To them this would be a psychological reward, this is a process that reinforces behaviour something that, when offered, causes a behaviour to increase in intensity (Wilson, T. 2003). GEs should think consider adapting to provide employees with psychological reward and also acknowledgment in these areas of cultural variation. What has been learnt? GE has pioneered the business world and human resource methods. For GE to survive it must uphold its flexibility. GE recruiting and human resource approach needs updating as it has been the same for many years and hasnt evolved with the times. The change GE has gone through has been successful and unsuccessful in the following ways: Meritocracy GE staffs are still motivated intrinsically by results, goal setting and promotions, due to employees having common goals it caused a team working environment. Tuckman describes this stage as the performance stage, this is described as when the team share pride in what they are doing, they focus on the objectives and enormous energy occurs in completing the task. (Clayton, M, 2009) The vitality curve This is apart of the GE culture and Welch decided the best way to retain the staff that were leaving GE (the 70%) was to support people to strive to be in the top 20%; he did this by adding motivating factors which include aspects of the working environment such as rewards, training and also praise, supervisory practices. (Herzberg F, Mausner. B, 1993) Recruiting GE has always relied on internal talent to fill positions. Immelt recently hired externally when an internal candidate could not be found, hopefully this shift will open up GE to a much wider variety of talent which can have a positive effect on GE. Research by OReilly, Chatman Caldwell (1991) shows that new hires whose values fit well with the values of the organization and culture tend to adjust more quickly, feel more satisfied, and remain with the organization longer, this causes satisfaction increases, turnover is reduced and people are more productive. Communication Without effective communication on all levels GE would not be able to implement the changes it has go through such as reducing to seven executive bands and also implementing new business strategies. Immelt understood how vital effective communication was to the growth of the company in a global marketplace, and how it kept employees connected without geographic boundaries; this gave employees high levels of involvement with their jobs, made them more accessible and also made communication more effective. Executive Bands GE was going through a lean journey this is described as maximizing customer value while minimizing waste. Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources (Beker, I. 2011). Reducing the 29 PLs was vital in saving money the cost saving opportunity was somewhere between $7 billion and $10 billion (www.pqa.net). The impact it had on the hierarchy resulted in their being less promotional opportunities which then effected the India as they were accustomed to promotions and the emphasis on job titles. This lean journey caused a lot of change which can distress employees; However Welch backed the Six Sigma program up with a strong rewards system to show his commitment to it which attracted GE employees attention. Conclusion For over a decade GE has led the industry, not only as a successful profitable organisation but also as an innovator. In this time, GE has shown its self to be flexible in identifying business opportunities (such as acquisitions) but also with a strong human resource dedication. By being the leader in innovation, GE isnt able to look at its competitors for guidance they must solve potential issues head on and alone. As the market is an ever changing environment they must continue to develop their staff and improve from within looking at gaps and development in its Human capital. How GE teaches teams to lead Literature Review In September 2006 GE launched Leadership, Innovation and Growth (LIG) program which ran for the next two years, the purpose of LIG was to make innovation and growth apart of GEs culture as Six Sigma had been under Jack Welch. Prokesch underpinned five principles that made the LIG at GE successful. (Fig 5) The following shows what the management team at GE Power went through at LIG training. Before attending the LIG, they were asked to assess three areas, they would updated their 3 year strategy, it would conduct a 360 review on its growth values and finally it they assessed creating innovative There scores were collated and given back to the managers at the intervals. The first step in training was to identify barriers, these included things such as identifying the levels of risk taking, idea support, involvement, conflict and debate. These barriers were discussed during intervals throughout the 4 days. In the first interval the team learnt their actual team scores for the 360 degree review of their growth values. This automatically made them reassess almost every part of their business. This also triggered the team to ask questions such as Were not as good at anticipating major trends as we ought to be and Is solar a good place to be? This time to reflect then generated insights in to their business Does GE not understand Government Policies This constant evaluation became an ongoing occurrence after each internal with the mangers constantly adapting and evolving their thought process. Analysis Transformational leadership is, according to Northouse, a process that changes and  transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals and includes assessing followers motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings. A transformational leader stimulates the followers by setting challenging goals and offering them support and motivates them to share the same vision and goals as the company (Bass and Riggio, 2006,). This was shown when the mangers were shown their scores and they had to reassess this motivated them as they asked themselves questions such as Were not as good at anticipating major trends as we ought to be. Northouse, 2007 suggests The Transformational Leadership Model only exists when these 4 factors are present: Factor 1: Idealised influence. This reveals the importance for high standards of morality and strong ethical conduct among leaders (Northouse, 2007). This concept is about leading by example. LIG did not present concepts related this, Instead, leaders and their departments were heavily monitored for demonstrating these behaviours prior to attending the training (Prokesch, 2009). The screening included variables that measured the leaders skill to grasp conflict, empower group members to try new approaches with their work, encouraging open communication and trust, and challenging group members in their work. Factor 2: Inspirational Motivation Here leaders inspire and motivating individuals through words and actions of encouragement (Northouse, 2007). The leaders learned the value for creating excitement and building loyalty and commitment among group members through individual attention. The training specifically included consideration for empowering and encouraging employees to experiment and develop new skills. Factor 3: Intellectual Stimulation Here leaders ability to motivate followers and the leader to challenge their values. LIG encouraged leaders to develop relationships and encourage honest conversations (Prokesch,2009). Trust and openness were valued traits presented to leaders in the training which were consistently measured over time. Factor 4: Individualized Consideration The LIG course encouraged leaders in specific departments to consider relationships among its followers; it also looked how leadership is provided to followers across a period of change. Fundamentally, transformational leadership focuses on the ever-changing relationships between leaders and followers (Northouse, 2007). The training also encouraged leaders to assist followers to become leaders in their own respective industry. Conclusion GEs alignment with the factors in the model suggested that many effective features existed in the LIG leadership-training course. The Transformational Leadership Model used in this study suggested that the combination of the four factors resulted in performance beyond expectations. The findings determine that the organization encouraged and trained leaders to demonstrate and use behaviours, tools, and techniques proven to be effective in leadership. Northouse (2007) presented substantial evidence in transformational leadership that had found the transformational leadership factors to be effective elements in leadership. This also meant that performance was seen by way of satisfaction and motivation among subordinates. The findings suggest that the LIG training course offered to leaders at GE effectively trains leaders I encouraging performance among group members.

Grinding to a Halt :: American Government Politics Elections Essays

Grinding to a Halt What's the U.S. all about? When asked that question almost everyone I know would reply: "Well, the U.S. represents democracy, capitalism, freedom, etc." The first thing I noticed is that everyone seems to mention democracy first. If you quiz a random American on this, that's probably what they'll think of too. It's also a point of view that might be the source of resentment for many Americans who are unhappy with our government right now. Why would that be? Because the U.S. is actually not a pure democracy, as I'm sure you already knew, but a republic. This means the government is set up in such a way that the people as a whole elect their leaders, those who they think would best represent them, and then those leaders handle the big issues, such as foreign policy, legislation, or legal interpretation. In principle this is a good system, since it would be virtually impossible for everyone in the U.S. to vote on every issue facing our nation. With this vision our forefathers cre ated a strong governmental system, one they hoped would withstand the tests of time. And it has. Until now. Many Americans feel the modern American government is bloated, deceptive and overly convoluted beast that isn't living up to its founding principles. This has become quite apparent in the 2000 Presidential election in which a process that should last little more than a day, the counting of ballots, has lasted more than two weeks. The foremost problem that this election demonstrates very clearly is a lack of any real political direction. Neither candidate, or party for that matter, can presently demonstrate substantial division on major subjects. While the parties generally tend one way or the other on issues, there are no longer strong and fast party-wide philosophies that one can count on. When our Government was first created there were major divisions between the parties of the time. Even up until around WWII both parties had strong separate characters that helped voters in choosing the right person to represent them. Over the last fifty years, however, the parties have started to grow together, neither side feeling safe as the representation of a political or philosophical extreme. Now this move towards mediocrity has finally culminated in one of the closest races for the presidency in U.

The processing of information begins

The processing of information begins when energy as the idea of irritant reaches one or more of five senses of the human being. This contact takes place while physical approach to the irritant, which stirs to activity one or several senses. This idea demands from side, which executes communication, to choose those means of information transfer, personal or mass, which are able to embrace the target market. So, when a person contacts with quite strong stimulus, his sensory perceptions become more active, and coded information transfers to his brains via nerve fibers.This effect is called sensation, which is influenced by the following three threshold determinations: 1. The lower (or absolute) threshold: it means the minimum quantity of stimulating energy or intensity, which is necessary to form the sensation. 2. The Extreme threshold: the point, in which additional increasing of stimulus intensity doesn’t affect the sensation. 3. Differential threshold: the minimum change of ir ritant intensity, which can be noticed by human being (Dictionary of Marketing and Advertising, p. 74).Some researchers of buyer behavior think that intensity of the irritant should be at least at minimum (absolute) threshold in order to make some influence on a buyer. The other think that irritants which are below the absolute threshold can influence the buyer as well – so-called conception of subconscious persuasion. We know that our sensory detection abilities go into a decline when we are getting older, so it is interesting to find out a way marketers appeal to the elderly people.The other thing we need to take into consideration is that during the life we are getting used to different sensation, so we have to increase the level of absolute threshold to attract attention. So, what is attention, particularly? It can be determined as direction of cognitive resources to process the irritant. One of the main difficulties for commercial company is to make a consumer to focus a ttention on some definite information, which has to be reported. Due to some sources, average consumer looks through three hundred advertisements per day.Average TW viewer looks through more then one hundred TV ads. It is pity, but a lot of such materials cannot attract attention, which is necessary to make some influence. The same situation you can see in trading as well. There are from 18 till 20 thousand different types of consumer goods in assortment of typical supermarket. The main problem there is marking out of one item from plenty of analogs at the market shelf and attracting of consumer’s attention as well.The factors which influence distribution of consumer’s limited resources can be divided into two main groups: personal (individual) and factors which have concern to stimulus. Besides, some emotional conditions of personality are used in publicity, such as feeling of self-confidence, reliability, self-satisfaction, creative abilities of human being, objects of love, strength, family traditions, immortality, etc. The second group of factors is called determinants, which relay to stimulus, it means these are characteristics of stimulus.The can be controlled, it means somebody can manipulate by them in order to increase or decrease the attention. So, it means that they are used quite often by companies in their struggle for buyer attention (Consumer Behavior, pp. 103-105). Let’s examine some factors used in order to attract the buyer’s attention by the example of elderly people, taking into consideration their peculiarities we spoke about a page before. Size: To tell the truth, the stronger irritant is, the higher is a probability that it will attract attention.In case you enlarge the size of printed advertisement, you’ll increase chances to attract buyer’s attention. Probability that the object will be seen in the shop, depends on size or quantity of trade space for this definite item. This is mostly important for impulse shopping, where sale depends partially from the fact how many place is given for the item. As elderly people often have poor eyesight, it is important to take into account size of type – it should better be bigger, then letters, typed on the items which are aimed for younger people.Some pharmaceutical companies make medicines which mostly are used by elderly people and write information for these medicines by big letters, in order to see description clearly. Color is also one of important factors. Color advertisements can increase sale for 41% more, than their black and white analogs. Moreover, some colors can attract attention more, then the other. We can examine some meanings of colors here. Red color – color of determination, can arouse strong desire to make some deed, for example to buy some item.Orange color can add activity, but at the same time will give the feeling if internal balance and spiritual harmony. Yellow color inclines to communication. I t is the color of open mind and communication, at the same time it is able to provide the thing with intellect, so this is the reason that a lot of Hi-tech companies make their advertising in yellow color. Green is good in publicity of medicines, health centers. Pink increases the feelings, so it can be used in perfumery, goods for women and children, family centers etc.Blue is a color of peace and harmony, dark-blue – helps to concentrate at the very necessary. In 1959 Ris made a test (color Lusher test) in medical clinics of Leipzig University and tested 1000 people of different age, from children till elderly. He found that young people, especially in the age before 25, prefer red color. The elder people are, the more they like dark colors (Journal of Advertising, p. 15). Still, it is very difficult to influence attention of elderly people also because they due to their life experience can resist the publicity and advertising more then young people or children.LG Company m ade a mobile phone, which is specialized for elderly people. Marketers understand that it is quite difficult for elderly people to see small letters, press small buttons as well as learn new technologies. Still, the majority of elderly people prefer a basic number of functions – it means the idea â€Å"A telephone should be used to make calls only†, so LG made this telephone with elementary functions only. Big buttons and low price – are two factors by opinion of LG, which should satisfy demands of elderly. This model (LG NS1000) allows only making calls and receiving/sending SMS.Japan manufacturers of automobiles intend to start a new line of special automobiles for elderly people. As local Mass Media informs, such new and clever auto will help the driver to brake and to turn the wheel. They plan assembly-line production of such cars from the beginning of 2006. Auto will have numerous sensors and cameras, which can read all movements of hands, legs and eyes of driver and will determine mistakes in driving. At present time specialists analyze influence of age changes for physical reaction of driver and his ability to estimate situation on the road.In accordance with results a special computer program will be created to help elderly drivers. A prototype of new car is already developed, which will have speed till 60 km/h. The creators of new auto consider that this novelty will be of great success because of increasing quantity of elderly drivers in Japanese society. The cost of such a novelty will be approx. 9-13 thousand dollars. Now, let’s make the excursion to Austria, where one of the trading concerns makes an interesting experiment: this concern opened two supermarkets especially for elderly people.This experiment is interesting before all because representatives of the elder generation traditionally aren’t attractive group for retail trade: seems that they don’t have much money, and their demands are quite modestà ¢â‚¬ ¦ Still, almost in all European countries fast ageing of society takes place, and quantity of elderly people is increasing more and more†¦ So this supermarket in Vienna is a kind of test place, where technologies of servicing of quite specific client sphere, which is constantly increasing and becomes more important, take place.At the first sight, this is a very ordinary supermarket: long rows of shelves, relaxing music from dynamics†¦ But if you be attentive, you can notice some differences. For example, figures at the price-list: they are bigger, then usual. Some of shelves have magnifying glasses, in order the client will be able to see inscription at the goods, which are usually typed by small font. Besides, you can ask the cashier to give you glasses for reading.Just near the exit you can see a comfortable bench to have a rest, near it – the device to measure blood pressure. The cart for shopping has special hanger in order to put there a walking stick. The gangway between shelves is bigger then in usual supermarkets, and floor in the shop is made of special material, so legs don’t slide. Moreover, the shelves are made in such a special manner that elder person doesn’t have to bend down or stretch for goods he needs. All those novelties were highly appreciated by the clients.

Broken Spears

The Broken Spears â€Å"The Broken Spears† is a collection of many accounts of the destruction of Mexico by Cortes and the conquistadors in their invasion. The motive behind this conquest was Cortes’ desire to bring a fortune of gold, spices, and land that can be claimed, back to Spain. Although these desires were admirable, they were sought after at the expense of the Aztecs and consequently changed an entire civilization, due to an initial drive for power, control, land, and money. Cortez along with the Spaniards ultimately destroys the Aztecs in their quest for fortune and fame. The accounts are based on the Aztec’s perception of the invasion and include the revolt of the Aztec people that lead to the terror and the end of the Aztec civilization. The Spaniards first entrance into Tenochtitlan The novel begins with the description of a series of omens or premonitions, observed ten years prior, that was believed to be essential warnings of the coming invasion. The omens arouse many fearful and terrifying reactions. At the time, the meanings were unclear to the Natives. According to the text, â€Å"Montezuma consulted various seers and magicians to learn whether the omens meant an approaching war or some other crisis†, however the magicians could not advise him. Not soon after, according to the second chapter, there were reports that â€Å"the mountains bore a strange people who have very light skin. They all have long beards, and their hair comes only to their ears. † After much contemplation, Montezuma sent five messengers to greet the strangers and to bring them gifts believing that they might be Quetzalcoatl (God of learning and the wind) and other divinities returning to Mexico as they promised. 2:13)Montezuma gave specific instructions as to how to present the messengers and gifts to the strangers. The natives showed reverence to the strangers at their arrival by â€Å"touching the ground before him with their lips†. (25) However, Cortez in return gave orders to chain them by their necks and feet. When the messengers retur n, they inform Montezuma of the various firearms, animals, foods, and resources the Spaniard possessed, and he was astonished and terrified by their report. Montezuma’s attempts to keep the Spaniard away from the Tenochtitlan included everything from sending out magicians and warlocks hoping that they could harm the Spaniards with their magic, to sending out captives to be sacrificed in their presence. With each failed attempt to prevent the Spaniards from entering Tenochtitlan, came the rising fears of the â€Å"inevitable†. As the Spaniard began to inquire about Montezuma, he contemplated fleeing and escaping the â€Å"gods†. Due to Montezuma’s failed attempts, Cortez and the Spaniards decided to begin marching In-land, in their arrival to Tlaxcala and Cholula. One could argue that the invasion of these cities was due to the defiance and the fact that they would not surrender to Cortez’s control. During the march Cortez gained a larger army and allies. Once Cortez and the Spaniards reached the entrance of Tenochtitlan their march was complete. Montezuma then prepared to greet Cortez. According to the text, â€Å"He presented many gifts to the Captain and his commanders, those who had come to make war. He showered gifts upon them and hung flowers around their necks; he gave them necklaces of flowers and bands of flowers to adorn their breasts; he set garlands of flowers upon their heads. Then he hung the gold necklaces around their necks and gave them presents of every sort as gifts of welcome. † Not mentioned in the Broken Spears however, according to the Diaz document, Cortez offered Montezuma his right hand but Montezuma refused it. It also states that Cortez went to place fine a necklace on Montezuma’s neck, but his nephews stopped and refused him. The Spaniards seemed to portray a non confrontational notion, as if they arrived with pure intentions. The document’s perspective seems to contradict those of The Broken Spears. The document describes the Aztec’s conversion to Christianity as a peaceful one. It also states that Montezuma pronounces that â€Å"I am in debt and will give all I poses,† revealing that Montezuma willingly gave of his possessions and land. However, according to The Broken Spears, the Aztecs were tortured and terrorized. The Expulsion from Tenochtitlan (Spring 1520) After imprisoning Montezuma, the Spaniards begin to terrorize the city, causing commotion and inflicting fear into the natives. The terrorism that was taking place caused an uprising battles and massacres to take place. One example of the harshness inflicted on the Aztecs was the events that took place at a Fiesta. The Spaniard invaded the Fiesta, murdering many Aztecs and revealing the Spaniards did not abide by the Aztec rules or expectations of war. They were said to be reckless and extremely brutal, without respect or compassion. Preceding the surprise attack at the Fiesta, other attacks and retaliations arouse, such as the Night of Sorrow. The Aztecs no longer desired to follow Montezuma’s initial orders for non retaliation. They decided to take up arms and fight against the Spanish. In the attack at the Fiesta, they fought with broken spears and attacked with javelins and arrows. However the Aztecs came to the realization that enough blood was shed. Montezuma’s body was discovered and it was unclear as to his cause of death. Since the Aztec no longer catered to the Spaniards by providing them with food, shelter and supplies, Cortez realizes that they must leave the land. They planned to retreat at night, however the retreat was discovered. According to the text, â€Å"They attacked as the Spaniards were fleeing down the Tlacopan (now Tacuba) causeway, and the rout was so disastrous that it has been known ever since as â€Å"la noche triste,† the Night of Sorrows. Those who escaped the disaster found refuge in the nearby village of Teocalhueyacan, where they were welcomed as friends; but three-fourths of the army had perished in the retreat and in the siege that preceded it. The Aztecs benefited greatly from the fleeing of Spaniards. They gathered things that the Spaniard abandoned and claimed it for themselves. They collected weapons that had been left behind or had fallen into the canal-the cannons, swords, spears, bows and arrows-along with all the steel helmets, coats of mail and breast- plates, and the shields of metal, wood and hide. They recovered the gold ingots, the gold disks, the tubes of gold dust and the collars with their gold pe ndants. The violent recapture of Tenochtitlan (1521) The Aztecs were convinced that the Spaniard would never return. They began to rebuild the city and the temples, and celebrated in a victorious manner. They choose a new King for the city; however it was not long that the Aztecs lived in tranquility. A horrible plague of smallpox quickly spread. The plague spread during the thirteenth month and lasted for seventy days, striking everywhere in the city. It was difficult for some to walk or even move. Many died from the disease, some died of hunger because they were incapable of searching for food. The text describes that the first cases were reported in Cuatlan. By the time the danger was recognized, the plague was so well established that nothing could halt it, and eventually it spread all the way to Chalco. Then its cruelty diminished considerably, though there were isolated cases for many months after. The Spaniards returned without mercy. This time however they had more forces, and resources, and better technology. Although the Aztecs had a previous disposition, they retaliated, being aware this time, of some of the Spaniards tactics. For example, discovered that the shots from the cannons always flew in a straight line, they no longer ran away in the line of fire. They ran to the right or left or in zigzags, not in front of the guns. After a great deal of battles and much bloodshed. The Aztecs eventually surrendered to the Spaniards. The Aztecs culture and civilization was eventually eradicated after the Spaniard burned the temples and destroyed their empires. In comparing the readings of The Broken Spears to some document excerpts, a large disparity is found. There were many actions that the Aztec’s took, that to some were considered barbaric. For instance, in The Conquest of New Spain, Diaz describes the Aztecs to be somewhat savage like. He mentioned that they would â€Å"tear out the palpitation heart, with the blood, they present as idols† and they would eat â€Å"arms and thighs at their ceremonial banquets†. However, The Broken Spears describes these actions as sacred sacrifices that were signs of respect and honor. These reasons alone prove why separate accounts help understand history. There is a saying that states: â€Å"There are two sides to every story. † The Broken Spears would be considered the other side

Examples of Business Plans Components

Examples of Business Plans Components When it comes to starting your own company (or managing someone elses), every business needs to develop and write a good business plan they can follow to achieve the companys goals, which can then be used to pitch to investors or seek out commercial loans. Put simply, a business plan is an outline of goals and the steps needed to achieve them, and while not all businesses require a formal business plan, composing a business plan, in general, is an essential step to starting your own business as it lays out what you plan to do to get your business off the ground. All business plans- even informal outlines- require several key components including an executive summary (including objectives and keys to success), a company summary (including ownership and history), a products and services section, a market analysis section, and a strategy and implementation section. Why Business Plans Are Important Taking a look at a  sample business plan, its easy to see how these documents can get quite lengthy, but not all business plans need to be as detailed as this- especially if youre not looking for investors or loans. A business plan is simply a way for your business to evaluate whether or not actions would benefit a companys ability to achieve its goals, so theres no need to write extra details if theyre not needed to organize your business. Still, you should be as detailed as necessary when composing your business plan as each element can greatly benefit future decisions by outlining clear guidelines for what the company plans to achieve and how it plans to achieve it. The length and content of these plans, then, comes from the type of business youre creating a plan for. Small businesses just looking to stay organized benefit from the objective-strategy structure of the standard business plan while bigger businesses or those hoping to expand can fully summarize every element of their businesses so investors and loan agents get a better understanding of the mission of that business- and whether or not they want to invest. Introduction to Business Plan Whether youre writing a  web design business plan  or a  tutoring business plan, there are several key components that must be included in the introduction to the document in order for the plan to be considered viable, including a summary of the business and its goals and the key components that indicate success. Every business plan, big or small, should start out with an executive summary that details what the company hopes to accomplish, how it hopes to accomplish it, and why this business is the right one for the job. Essentially, the executive summary is an overview of what will be included in the rest of the document and should inspire investors, loan officers, or potential business partners and clients to want to be a part of the plan. The objectives, mission statement, and keys to success are also principal components of this first section as they will outline achievable, concrete goals that the company plans to achieve through its business model. Whether youre stating well increase sales by more than $10 million by the third year or saying well improve inventory turnover to six turns next year, these goals and missions should be quantifiable and attainable. The Company Summary Section After fleshing out the objectives of your business plan, its time to describe the company itself, starting with a company summary that highlights major accomplishments as well as problem areas that need to be solved. This section also includes a summary of the ownership of the company, which should include any investors or stakeholders as well as owners and people who play a part in management decisions. You will also want to give a full company history, which includes the inherent barrier to your goals thus far as well as a review of prior years sales and expenses performances. Youll also want to list any outstanding debts and current assets alongside any trends noted in your particular industry that affect your financial and sales goals. Finally, you should include the companys locations and facilities, which detail the office or workspace being used for the business, what property assets the business has, and which departments are currently part of the company as they relate to achieving the companys goals. The Products and Services Section Every successful business must have a plan to make money through the products or services that business provides; so naturally, a good business plan must include a section about the core revenue model of the company. This section should start with a clear introductory overview to what the company offers consumers as well as the voice and style in which the company wishes to present itself to those customers- for example, a software company might say we dont just sell good accounting software, we change the way you balance your checkbook. The products and services section also details competitive comparisons- how this company measures up to others that offer the same good or service- as well as technology research, sourcing for materials, and future products and services the company plans to offer to help drive competition and sales. The Market Analysis Section In order to properly project what goods and services a company might want to offer in the future, a comprehensive market analysis section should also be included in your business plan. This section details exactly how well the current market in your companys business field is doing, including major and minor concerns that could affect your ability to achieve your sales and income goals. The section starts with an overview of the market your company targets (demographics) as well as industry analysis of what types of businesses typically exist within that marketplace and known participants who are your main source of competition within that industry. You should also include distribution, competition, and buying patterns alongside the companys main competitors and an overview of statistical figures from an in-depth market analysis. This way, investors, partners, or loan officers can see that you understand what stands between you and your companys goals: competition and the market itself. The Strategy and Implementation Section Finally, every good business plan needs to include a section detailing  the companys marketing, pricing, promotions, and sales strategies- as well as how the company plans to implement them and what sales forecasts have been discovered as a result of these plans. The introduction to this section should contain a high-level view of the strategy and their implementation including bulleted or numbered lists of objectives and the viable steps that can be taken in order to achieve them.  Calling out objectives like emphasize service and support or focus on target markets and describing how the company will go about doing this shows investors and business partners that you understand the market and what needs to be done to take your company to the next level. Once youve outlined each element of your companys strategy, youll then want to end the business plan with sales forecasts, which detail your expectations after implementing each element of the business plan itself. Essentially, this final section tells investors exactly what will be accomplished by carrying out this business plan into the future- or at least give them an idea that youve thought about what could happen if you implemented the plan.

Summary of the Holocaust Research Paper Example

Summary of the Holocaust Research Paper Example Summary of the Holocaust Paper Summary of the Holocaust Paper The word Holocaust conjures up for many a mixture of emotions. Of all the events that occurred in the past of injustice against humanity, the Holocaust has to be one of the most famous. It has been argued, and not without emotional indifference, that the Holocaust is not like other records in world and Jewish history. Its hard for one to grasp the horror of the Holocaust, especially in a time and place where one is taught about unity as a necessity for the future. Although no amount of sources such as books, movies, and even Holocaust survivors themselves can account for the true catastrophic impact this event had on the victims, we can learn about the consequences and significance of it. In order to understand the Holocaust, we must take into consideration the causes, effects, and the tragedy of the lives that were affected in a way that greatly impacted and forever changed the way the world viewed human nature. In the period of 1933 to the end of World War II, the Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, attempted to liquidate the Jews and others who didnt fit the Aryan stereotype (Axelrod, 15). The Nazis called their scheme the Final Solution(Wood, 90). One of the end results of the Final Solution was the emergence horrible concentration and death camps. Over six million Jews were murdered, including 1. 5 million children. Furthermore, about five million non-Jews were killed, totaling to 11 million individuals wiped of the face of the earth. The Nazis and their collaborators had many methods, like the gas chambers, to exterminate a large amount of people quickly and efficiently. The obvious reason for the success of the Holocaust was because of the popular support the Nazis received. There were many factors that allowed for the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitlers dictatorship. First, there was much unrest among the people of Germany. The economy was devastated since it never recovered from World War I and the harsh demands of the Treaty of Versailles which made Germany pay $33 billion in reparations. Another reason was that the Germans were searching for someone or something to blame for their burdens of the humiliation after the war and extremist groups, such as the Nazis, provided an answer for the German people. This made Jews and other minorities an easy target as a scapegoat. This Anti-Semitism combined with the dysfunctional economy molded a pathway for the Nazi Party to rise in Germany. It is important to point out that Hitler and the Nazis came to power by the votes of ordinary people. The Great Depression hit Germany the hardest and the Nazi message appealed more than ever (Wood, 34). The countrys hunger, unemployment, and despair left the people looking for something to cling to- and the Nazi party was it. At first, there wasnt much support for the Nazis (Wood, 34). The other parties, although much larger, were much divided and therefore had a difficult time uniting and gaining support. The Nazi partys propaganda was easy to accept: It certainty offered hope, and its provision of a scapegoat was pleasing. Gradually, the Nazi increased their influence, especially with young people with things such as the youth movements, which became almost compulsory. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, people around the world were shocked by final scores of human losses, and the people responsible were punished for their inhuman acts in the Nuremburg Trials. The Holocaust is significant to many people today, and to an equal number of people means very little. It illustrates that we are still a society thats in the process of searching for knowledge in developing how we treat one another, whether it is for race or faith. The Holocaust stands out as the most current oppressive action against a religion and from this came the most notable phrase, never again. The Holocaust was a dark time in the history of the 20th century and we must remember it in order to keep alive the memories of those who suffered and lost their lives in this terrible event.

Bad Boys II Movie Review

Bad Boys II Movie Review The film Bad Boys II, starring two cops named Marcus and Mike (Martin Lawrence and Will Smith), is set in Miami where both partners are assigned to look for clues and evidence for an international drug dealer’s arrest. As they start with the investigation and stake outs, they find themselves insulting each other, fighting like little brothers, and messing up operations. Aside from cop work, Marcus soon discovers some information about the whereabouts and actions of his sister (Gabrielle Union), who is also an undercover agent working for the FBI. Stunned, Marcus becomes irritated with his partner and debates if he really should transfer. The movie’s genre was mostly action-packed. The strengths of the action part because the actors were racing against time to achieve a goal, the shootouts that took place, and tons of explosions. The strength of the romance parts shows Mike and Marcus’ sister together occasionally showing their love affections to one another while trying to hide the secret from Marcus. The strength of the comedy part is when the partners argue or when Marcus freaks out about his sister dating his Mike. A weakness throughout the entire movie was there was too many arguments between the partners when the focus of the movie should’ve been on the case. The movie fulfilled all the parts of story plot, but the visual effects and the audio needed work. One problem was that during the night scenes, the lighting throughout the scene wasn’t good because I couldn’t tell who was talking, who the characters were, and where the cameras were supposed to be focused in on. Naturally, actors’ voices tend to be quieter at night to fit the mood in the scene but I could barely hear the characters’ lines. There were no big distractions that deterred my attention away from the focus of the scene, it’s just the work of the audio and visual. This could’ve been fixed by adding mics on the actors adding props like light posts to or candles near them to enhance the lighting in the scene. While the movie is filled with action and is barely slowed paced, certain parts are realistic but not all. For example, when the international drug dealer, Carlos ‘Johnny’ Tapia’s (Jordi Molla) operation is discovered by the cops, he decides to takes Marcus’ sister hostage after discovering she is an agent. In my opinion, this isn’t realistic because you wouldn’t have your sister working as an agent, she wouldn’t be working on the same mission as you, and she wouldn’t get kidnapped to be forced to leave to Cuba with the enemy. Another example is during a chasing scene, Mike is behind the wheel, Marcus and his sister are trying to lose the enemies in pursuit by shooting at them. At one point they cross through a village where there looks to be inhabited by Cubans but there is no people in the huts or around the village. If there are two trucks running through a village, destroying their property, where was everyone? Where did they go? The least the movie directors could’ve done is have people scream in fear to make it look inhabited. Compared to the first â€Å"Bad Boys† movie, this movie is completely differently but does have the same story plot. In the first movie, there is a drug dealer or the antagonist, the two heroes, the sidekick, and operations. The second movie has everything the first movie has just a little more detailed than the first. The difference between the two movies was the time difference. The time was really important when comparing the movies together, because of the advancement in the camera technology, the filters used, and how realistic the explosions were or the actors’ lines. Overall, I believe the movie is an ok movie. It’s a film worth seeing if you’re into action, and like explosions spraying across the television. Aside from being action-packed and funny, it can also be informative, which is something not a lot of movies directors input into movies nowadays. Michael Bay has proven to world yet again that this film can be a hyperkinetic. Bay gives the audience a new surprise around every corner, giving the movie a new kind of excitement. Some of the viewers and fans have also requested a third movie to come out and directors have heard requests and plan on making a sequel, meaning this won’t be the last time hearing from the two bad boys for life.

ISMG 3000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ISMG 3000 - Essay Example Debbi’s passionate zeal for baking and Randy’s business sense was complementary for starting a successful business. Hence, Debbi and Randy would seem to have reasonable future for each other. Debbi’s cookies were very much in demand amongst Randy’s clients which inspired Debbi to start an independent business of selling cookies. Debbi had confidence on her expertise in making mouth watering cookies which had always been very popular amongst her relatives. She was therefore able to convince her husband, Randy for starting a cookie business. Her main goal was to bake great cookies and make customers feel good. Thus, it was important for her to create an ambience of caring that would attract customers and provide them with quality cookies to make them feel good. On the other hand, Randy’s goal was to develop an enviable corporate structure with state of the art information technology that would help run the various operations smoothly. His goal was to exploit technology to optimize information flow within and across stores so that effective decision making could be based on informed choice. He strongly believed that machines must relieve people of mundane task and make them free to exploit their creativity in ways that would benefit the business like selling cookies directly to customers and giving personal touch. Debbi was in dilemma while opening her second store of Mrs. Fields’ Cookies. She loved baking cookies and strongly believed that personal involvement was an important part of running successful cookie business. She was afraid of delegating and thought that it might lower the quality of her cookies and most importantly, she would not be able to interact with her customers. Thus, the dilemma was genuine as she could not be in both the places at the same time. Her management style was fundamentally based on the simple principle that if one believes in something, one would be more convincing. Hence,

U.S. housing price Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

U.S. housing price - Term Paper Example The situation became worse with the reduction in the availability of credit. This made it impossible for the willing prospects to pay for home ownership. This paper makes an attempt to investigate the housing problems of the US and the future that lies ahead of this sector. The project would also provide a direction to the prospective buyers of the houses and would help to determine how the prices of the new housing projects could be reduced. Necessary graphs and charts have been provided to present the statistics that would support the arguments put forward in the paper. How serious is housing price problem in the USA? Studies have proved that in the United States there exists inequality in the distribution of wealth among the population of the country. Federal Reserve has stated that out of the total net worth of the individuals, 27% is accounted for household real estate. An average American would allocate almost 66 % of his or her wealth for housing. On the other hand the high ne t worth individuals of the country generally keeps their money invested in form of a variety of financial assets. The major part of the investment portfolios of these people do not consist of housing investments. Therefore this group of people generally react less to the fluctuation in the housing prices. Thus when there is a rise in the housing prices the people belonging to the middle get mostly affected by it.... On the other hand the people who had their money invested in their primary residence faced the brunt. Generally the housing prices indices have been used to analyze the prices of the housing investments throughout the country (Holt, 2009). However, it cannot be generalized easily because there are regional disparities in the prices of the housing. The size and location of the housing has an effect on the prices that would exist in the market. There might also be defect in the construction of the housing prices index. These data on these indices present certain surprising information. Situations of distress sales of the housing have caused the builders to review their price setting procedure (Talbott, 2003). However, the homes which have been valued at a very high rate have faced a decline in their values with the problems in the housing market. There are a host of reasons for this. The debt to income ratio of the loans and the amount of down payment that the buyers could make for pur chasing a house had been low. Along with this, the loans that were provided were not underwritten in the proper manner. The long term interest rates in the country have been rising in the recent past. This has also posed a threat to the housing market. If the rate of interest on the bonds rises, people would shy away from making housing investments and would park their money for the long term because such investments would be riskless for the investor. Figure 1: Long term interest rates in 2013 Source: Nothaft, 2013 Thus the affordability of housing is quite low for those families that lie in the middle income group. This is especially true in the metro areas of the country. Again at a time of a boom in the housing prices, the real activities taking place

Self-Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self-Reflection Paper - Essay Example Therefore, there is a need for quantitative problem solving skills for the managers. The QRB course aims to do that. Careers in finance and accounting depend on the managers and the employees employing the latest in trend forecasting and other kinds of analysis to fit the models at hand. Accounting, in particular depends a lot on the ability to do number crunching. Thus, finance and accounting need advanced mathematical skills to succeed. Economics is all about numbers and the way in which one reports the same in annualized GDP numbers, growth forecasts or other such forecasting methods. A quantitative approach and learning quantitative methods are thus useful for any student planning to make a career in these fields. My taking the QRB course has benefited me as it has refreshed my understanding of econometrics and use of ratios and trying to understand financial statements. It has given me an opportunity to revisit and learn new things from the module. I hope to apply these concepts when I study further and in my career. The theoretical framework that I have learned has meshed with the statistical side of the problem solving model and in this respect the QRB course has come in handy. I have learnt the details that go into the numbers and am now confident of taking further courses in Economics, Finance and Accounting that have a need for these skills. I intend to take as many courses as possible in these

What causes conflict in organizations Research Paper

What causes conflict in organizations - Research Paper Example As such, there is a large disparity on the effects of the conflicts to a firm.The first main cause of conflicts in organizations is differing values and beliefs. Most firms have their values and goals at heart and ensure all the employees are inclined towards achieving all these goals. Most of the organizations have various strategies which are geared towards achieving the goals and values that are openly stated. On the other hand, all the employees have their values and goals which are at heart. While the organization is striving to achieve its goals and values, the other employees are also struggling to achieve their goals. This brings conflict of interest where each entity is inclined towards achieving its goals (Rahim, 2011). Many organizations cherish the belief and value of having diverse employees from different specialties. This is deemed to help the organization achieve its goals within the stated timelines. However, some employees are not in line with such an approach. They do not want diversity in the organization as it thwarts their struggle for the best opportunity to excel. This creates a scenario where some are not contented with fellow employees. In the end, there is a looming conflict that affects the performance of the firm. For example, some employers do not believe in having workers that have varying beliefs. As such, they will try their best to oppose such an approach. In solving this conflict, there is a possible approach of teaching employees the need for diversity in an organization. This is by ensuring that they bond and interact with each other in ensuring the organization records stunning performance. In many instances, occasional training is instilled to make a better understanding of the situation (Maas, 2010). Similarly, some organizations involve corporate activities which ensure the employees engage in lengthy talks that are also fun. In such a situation, the employees get to know the other’s positive side. The second caus e of conflict in organizations is the issue of opposing interests. Some employees are hell-bent on achieving their interests while in the firm. On the other hand, the firm has its stated achievements that should be keenly followed. In such a situation, there is a conflict as each of the two finds an avenue of achieving the best. For example, some organizations have stated achievements which include maximizing the utility of workers. In such a situation, most organizations would wish workers to spend more time at their work place in ensuring the organization gets the best outcome (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2009). However, some employees would wish to achieve personal goals which include attaining higher studies. Since most of these studies would require more time, the employees take most of the time studying. In such situations, the organization is not likely to reflect utter utility. This affects its entire performance as it has to struggle achieving maximum utility from some of these e mployees. In solving such a situation, the organization should have clearly stipulated rules and regulations on time management. For example, if the workers would wish to continue with their education, it is advisable that they should seek discontinuation from duties for the stated time. When the employees are concentrating on one activity at a time, they are likely to give it the best shot (Maas, 2010). Therefore, when they have all the time

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Report - Essay Example Figure 1 highlights that 40% of the world’s current population lives in arid regions (Balon and Dehnad, 2010). In developing countries in Africa and Asia, nearly a quarter of the population lives in arid and semi arid regions, compared to just 11% in Europe and 6% in Oceania. Figure 1 – Population Who Live in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions Source: www.water-asar.de/lang1/water_shortness_in_arid_and_semi-arid_regions_-_ar.html 3. Why Are There Water Shortages? The Welech Institute (2006) highlight many factors leading to water shortages. These include economic development, political and financial deficits, lack of information and education of population and lack of adapted technologies and know how. Figure 2 highlights several other key factors, and explains how this leads to water scarcity. Figure 2 – Reasons For Water Shortages Contributing Factor Explanation High Population Growth UN Population Division states population in developing regions (containing the most a rid areas) grew from 1.6 billion in 1950, to 4.5 billion by 2005, and is predicted to increase to 8 billion by 2050, which will put enormous stress on water supplies. Climate Change Increased temperature rise between 2-4Â °c, affecting climatic weather patterns with less rainfall and higher evaporation rates in arid regions. Higher Demand for Irrigation 70% of the world’s freshwater is currently used for irrigation, and agriculture is the biggest consumer of fresh water in arid regions. Groundwater Depletion Over pumping of groundwater (160 m? of non renewable groundwater extracted every year) Contamination of Water Resources Due to leaching of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, domestic and industrial wastage, and untreated sewage. Adapted from Welech Institute Report (2006) 4. The Need for Action Figure 3 – Johannesburg 2002 Logo 5. South Africa and it’s Arid Regions Figure 4 – South Africa’s Arid Regions 6. Measures For Water Provision 6. 1. South Africa’s Demand For Water The National Water Resource Strategy documents of DWAF states that overall water demand is expected to increase by approximately 9% from 2000-2025 (DWAF, 2004). By 2025 DWAF states that there will need to be both reduced consumption and increase supply to maintain water security and allow for sustainable development. Therefore substantial investments are required for water infrastructure and other water management strategies. 6.2. Planning and Management The Development of a National Water Resource Strategy designed to address the management of the water resources to meet the development goals of the country; Identifies scarce water areas and constrains development as well as development opportunities where water resources are available Industrial users required to develop and submit their water directly from a water resource (DWAF, 2004) 6.3. Groundwater Extraction and Mixed Use of Surface and Groundwater Figure 5 – Groundwater Extra ction 6.4. Artificial Groundwater Recharge Refers to the process of transferring water into aquifers, such as rainfall and treated waste water. Advantages include; provides security during drought and dry seasons provides storage of

About drinking Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About drinking - Article Example The habit of drinking influences the way youth thinks about different aspects of life. Drinking also influences the youth’s perception of norms and values and the concept of good and bad. Excessive drinking becomes a habit of young adults when there is no one to stop them. Excessive drinking makes such adults cross the boundaries of ethics and moral. Drinking also creates a number of risks for the health of people. â€Å"Too much alcohol can lead to serious problems† (Zelman, 2005). Some of the widely observed risks are related to think abilities, liver’s functions, and hormonal changes. Drinking adversely affects the decision-making abilities of a young adult. Excessive drinking makes adults forget their moral and ethics. â€Å"Alcohol can activate a gene that has been linked to depression and other mental issues† (James, 2008). Excessive drinking not only create problems for the drinkers but also for the people whom they live with. Youth tends to be influenced easily by doing or watching any such thing, which inspires them. There are a number of causes of the rise of drinking habit in youth. Some of the major causes include influence caused by parents who are also habitual drinkers, escapism, problems in love life, and appreciation of the peers. â€Å"One of the common reasons why teenagers drink is because they have watched their parents rely on the bottle† (Lad, n.d.). When children grow up watching their parents drink, they also go for it because the behavior of parents puts a considerable effect on the minds of the children. â€Å"One of the causes of teenage drinking is that it soon becomes an addiction without youngsters realizing the negative effects† (Lad, n.d.). Many young people drink in order to escape from the hardships of life, such as, poor performance in school and college, problems in love life, and getting out of depression. Social influence is another major factor behind increase in the use of alcoholic

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Report - Essay Example Figure 1 highlights that 40% of the world’s current population lives in arid regions (Balon and Dehnad, 2010). In developing countries in Africa and Asia, nearly a quarter of the population lives in arid and semi arid regions, compared to just 11% in Europe and 6% in Oceania. Figure 1 – Population Who Live in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions Source: www.water-asar.de/lang1/water_shortness_in_arid_and_semi-arid_regions_-_ar.html 3. Why Are There Water Shortages? The Welech Institute (2006) highlight many factors leading to water shortages. These include economic development, political and financial deficits, lack of information and education of population and lack of adapted technologies and know how. Figure 2 highlights several other key factors, and explains how this leads to water scarcity. Figure 2 – Reasons For Water Shortages Contributing Factor Explanation High Population Growth UN Population Division states population in developing regions (containing the most a rid areas) grew from 1.6 billion in 1950, to 4.5 billion by 2005, and is predicted to increase to 8 billion by 2050, which will put enormous stress on water supplies. Climate Change Increased temperature rise between 2-4Â °c, affecting climatic weather patterns with less rainfall and higher evaporation rates in arid regions. Higher Demand for Irrigation 70% of the world’s freshwater is currently used for irrigation, and agriculture is the biggest consumer of fresh water in arid regions. Groundwater Depletion Over pumping of groundwater (160 m? of non renewable groundwater extracted every year) Contamination of Water Resources Due to leaching of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, domestic and industrial wastage, and untreated sewage. Adapted from Welech Institute Report (2006) 4. The Need for Action Figure 3 – Johannesburg 2002 Logo 5. South Africa and it’s Arid Regions Figure 4 – South Africa’s Arid Regions 6. Measures For Water Provision 6. 1. South Africa’s Demand For Water The National Water Resource Strategy documents of DWAF states that overall water demand is expected to increase by approximately 9% from 2000-2025 (DWAF, 2004). By 2025 DWAF states that there will need to be both reduced consumption and increase supply to maintain water security and allow for sustainable development. Therefore substantial investments are required for water infrastructure and other water management strategies. 6.2. Planning and Management The Development of a National Water Resource Strategy designed to address the management of the water resources to meet the development goals of the country; Identifies scarce water areas and constrains development as well as development opportunities where water resources are available Industrial users required to develop and submit their water directly from a water resource (DWAF, 2004) 6.3. Groundwater Extraction and Mixed Use of Surface and Groundwater Figure 5 – Groundwater Extra ction 6.4. Artificial Groundwater Recharge Refers to the process of transferring water into aquifers, such as rainfall and treated waste water. Advantages include; provides security during drought and dry seasons provides storage of

Interesting Types of Smells to Dogs Essay Example for Free

Interesting Types of Smells to Dogs Essay Canine dogs have a particular advanced sense of smell that is even more developed than humans. Dogs, in any breed, have scenting organ located in its mouth that transmits necessary information to the dog’s brain. This ability enables dogs to detect even the slightest scent in the environment. In contrast with human who has only about five million scent receptors, dogs have about 200 million that surpasses the ability of humans to detect different scents available in the environment. Dog’s nose has moisture that enables them to trap scent molecules that enables it to discriminate different scents. (Anonymous, 2007) One particular interesting scent to dogs is urine. To dogs, urine scent is like a fingerprint among humans. It embodies different information which includes the sex and age. Dogs that sniff trees, electric poles, and fire hydrants are gathering information by reading the other scents left by dogs. The urine of an in heat female dog for example contains pheromones than dogs that are out of season. (Anonymous, 2007) Other scent signals includes the anal glands, stool and saliva which all contains olfactory information that dogs are very interested to get a hold of. That is why dogs who are introduced to other new dogs are keen to smell the back ends to get information on another dogs’ age, sex and relationship. Even the scents of other dogs reveal its confidence and social status among other dogs. Another interesting scent to dogs is human scent. Dogs are able to distinguish human scent due to the remnants of skin cells and human tissue particles. (Anonymous, 2003)With the help of the dog’s memory, dog remembers the different smell of people introduced to them. A particular kind is the smell of a dog’s owner. It conveys a sense of comfort and safety for the dogs to remember of its owner. Body odor enables dogs to detect the mood of people. Some researchers determined that â€Å"happy tears† contains different chemicals than â€Å"angry tears†, and experts believe dogs can determine the difference. Perfume, cigarette smoke, deodorant, and other odors that linger on skin and clothing, combine to make up a person’s individual smell. Dogs can be sometimes confused when its owner for example, changes some of the odors it primarily has. (Kryptiks) Dogs can be turned off by odors unappealing to them. Citrus smells, such as lime, lemon and orange, and spicy smells like red pepper can turn dogs off. (Kryptiks) Particularly dogs hate citronella which is often used in products that are used to keep dogs away from certain areas. Often times, the odors that people hate are the most interesting to dogs. Trash is a main example that dogs love to smell. Dogs are also particular with their food that is why veterinarians advise owners to heat the dog’s food before serving to boost the aroma that enables dogs to discriminate the scent it produces. (Kryptiks)

The poverty issue

The poverty issue This issue of Poverty has been general concern to humanity due to the serious setback it is causing globally. It has become the Worlds epidemic threatening some economic especially those in the Least Developing countries (LDCs). Hence, the magnitude of poverty though varying in different parts of the world is known to be prominent in the LDCs. Countries could be found in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. According to Raanan Weitz 1986, While humanity shares one planet, it is a planet on which there are two worlds, the rich and the world of the poor these poor world countries are called the Third World.[1] They are characterized by low economic growth, low per capital income, low standards of living ,low level of technology, high illiteracy rate, political instability. All of these serve as an impediment to the economic growth processes of these countries. According to Allan Cochrane A crucial aspect of poverty is the way in which It reduces ability of people to participate in the normal lives of their communities with stress being placed on the deprivation which results from the lack rather than low income itself[2] Poverty can influence policy intervene in any society and it is central to policy debates concerning development on welfare issue. After the end of the first and second World Wars that lead mostly to the devastation of Europe, a group countries came together to form the league that will seek to the Affairs of their countries, promote international relations seeking to operate in a variety of areas of human activities. This resulted to formation of International Governmental Organization (INGOs) charged with the responsibility and vision to facilitate the issue of war and peace, disease prevention and peace, and economic development. These IGOs seem to be dominant in contemporary international affairs. Besides, other actors who also play significant role in influencing and determining the course of international relations but yet are not so officially recognized by states, (nonprofit making, voluntarily farmed, specific aims and objectives and that which are active in various human welfare),are Non- governmental Organization(NGOs). According to Daniel S. Papp, Non-government Organizations are extremely divers in Size, composition objective and include bodies such as the International Olympic Commission (IOC). The Committee for nuclear disarmament, the International Federation of Air line Pilots Association, International Rescue Committee (IRC). The International Chamber of commerce, and the World Federation of true Union.[3] In the least developed countries like Africa, both the income and non- income aspect poverty is pervasive due to problem stretching from bad governance and mismanagement, poor economic growth, unemployment and underemployment, lack of access to social services ,low level of investment, high degree of indebtness and many others. The above, mentioned views are buttress by Santiago (1973), thus the third world, with 77% of the population, subsists on only 22% of the world income and even this population is in abject poverty[4] Nevertheless, most of the LDCs have formulated policies and strategies for poverty reduction in their development plans supported and financed by international organizations. Sierra Leone at the west coast of Africa, according to world population data of the reference bureau, Sierra Leone has an estimated population of about 4.5 million. With the natural resources vary from fertile land tropical mineral deposits. Yet, it is ranked at the bottom of united nation Human Development Index (HDI) as the poorest in the world. In support to further reforms and effort to stabilize the economy, the International Monetary Fund(IMF)approved an economic program inflict assistance to facilitate the economy in December 1999.The World Bank also launched the Economic Rehabilitation and Recovery credit to assist Government in restoring protective and economic security. Other donors including the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), THE Department for International Development (DFID) UK and the European Economic Commission (EU) or (EEC) have provided ongoing emergency recovery assistance and budgetary support to enhance government capacity to fund critical program and improve service delivery[5] In a bid to improve on the efficiency of donors support, the Government has centralized aid Coordination in the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning (MODEP) to formulate humanitarian guideline for all NGOs operating in the country. About 75.5% of the population live below the poverty line less than one United States dollar (UA$1) per day [6].This low human development will include indicators like: low primary school enrollment, high illiteracy rate, high maternal death rate, and low level of security etc. However, the poverty situation becomes worsened during the war when most sectors from which the government was receiving revenue especially the mining sector become the target of the war. With the end of the war and successful conclusion of Presidential and Parliamentary elections on the 14th May 2002, Government has already implemented series of strategies that seek to alleviate poverty. To redress poverty, the government articulated and interim poverty reduction paper (I-PRSP) in June2001. Government Institutions, Sectors, International Organization and the international community have refined their policies toward reducing poverty in the country. METHODOLOGY The researcher due to time limitation, and with regards to the objective of this work, researcher will be assessing information gathered from secondary sources/data in order to produce the required and desired result. The researcher opted to integrate the qualitative approach in this study due to its significant advantages. The use of qualitative data gathering method is advantageous as they are more open to changes and refinement of research ideas as the study progresses; this implies that qualitative data gathering tools are highly flexible. This study will use interpretivist as its main research philosophy. A descriptive research intends to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study (Creswell, 1994). It is also concerned with relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and process that are on-going, effects that are being felt or trends that are developing. In addition, such approach tries to describe past, present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research (Creswell, 1994). The ontology of qualitative methods is constructivist, which contends that social phenomenon is continually being accomplished by social actors- they are produced through social interaction and are thus constantly being revised.[7] Basically, a descriptive research utilizes observations and surveys. It is for this particular reason that this approach was chosen by the researcher, whose intention is to gather first hand data. Moreover, this will allow for a flexible approach that when important new issues and questions arise at the duration of the study, a further investigation can be conducted. Another advantage is that with this approach, the research will be fast and somehow cost-effective. Aside from the qualitative finding method, secondary research will be conducted in this study. Sources in secondary research will include previous research reports, development books, world and regional documentations, existing findings on journals and existing knowledge on books, firsthand communication source from international organization websites, newspapers, magazines and appropriate use of the internet. The study will undertake an extensive review of the relevant literature on the role played by NGOs in alleviating poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, Case study caritas as a case study. Basically, interpretation will be conducted which can account as qualitative in nature. PROBLEM Poverty is a situation which renders communities and individuals ineffective, passive an isolated, thereby reducing the ability of people to participate in the normal lives of their communities resulting to deprivation which is characterized by lack of income rather than the low income itself. This poverty epidemic is very widespread in Sierra Leone. It penetrates all sectors of our society and at the same time arrests development. Poverty is the major hurdle and impediments of developmental aspirations and strides in the third world which Sierra Leone is an integral component. JUSTIFICATION Similar research works have been undertaking in parts of the country, and at various quarters to investigate the role played by NGOs in complementing and fulfillment of Governments efforts in its stride to help improve the welfare of the citizens. However, many campaigns , talks and surveys have proved right that NGOs indeed playing crucial roles in human activities and have had some degrees of successes in obtaining the objective Example of such NGOs include: The International Red Cross, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, The World Vision, Catholic Relief Service and the like. Hence, it is important for a survey like this to be conducted to see how Caritas in Sierra Leone in helping to alleviate. In Sierra Leone like in any other third world countries, poverty is a complete rural phenomenon. Survey undertaking by various quarters, groups, researchers, civil societies, government sectors have shown that poverty is very alarming in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sierra Leone. To add an addendum to this point, the Central Statistics Office now known as Statistic Sierra Leone,(SCOSHEHEA 1989-1990), explain thus: Eastern Province about 26.4%of the population is poor, Northern province 35.3%,Western Area 15.9% and the SouthernProvince22.3%. Poverty is manifested in the following activities, some single parent family begging in streets, increase in commercial sex work, and an increase in the number of early marriage and pregnancy, high rate of inflation, massive unemployment of Youth etc. The study seeks to highlight the important role played by NGOs with emphasis on Caritas in alleviating poverty. It will also serve as a basis for now and future projection in the allocation of resource for development program Lastly, with the completion of the research work, it can be of good source of information for future researchers, who may wish to further investigate the role NGOs play in poverty alleviations. HYPOTHESIS Caritas Sierra Leone (NGO) is helping and completing Governments effort to alleviate poverty in Sierra Leone. How? SCOPE OF THE WORK This work is divided into five sections these include; section (1) Background/History of poverty Section (2) Background to case study that is background history of Caritas Sierra Leone, section (3) Origin and meaning of NGOs, section (4) Analysis of Caritas activities in Sierra Leone (Agriculture, education, Health), section five Analysis and interpretation of data based on the empirical result and section (5) conclusion. The research work is designed to cover three implementing sectors of Caritas with regard to poverty alleviation, they includes: Agricultural Recovery/Activities Education Health AIMS and OBJECTIVES The major aim of this research is to assess Caritas Sierra Leone (NGO) role play in alleviating poverty in Sierra Leone. The objective is to give brief meaning and origin of NGOs, brief historical background of Caritas, and to, Assess the various activities of Caritas on poverty reduction in areas of operations in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES This study is descriptive and to meet the objectives of this dissertation, the desk research method is used which involves collection of data from Caritas field officers, and administrators, and documentation etc. Reviews of the related articles, publications, books written by development writers and development journals on this subject matter have would be review and consulted and used. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis will be used. TOOLS OF ANALYSIS Tables, Chats, Averages, and Percentages will be used to analyze and present the data. LITERATURE REVIEW Poverty has become a sensitive issue all over the world. Because of this ,individual, consultative group meetings, Government Institutions, Non- Governmental Organisation, Human Right Activist Groups, Humanitarian Organisation, Civil Societies groups, Women Organisations, have in diverse ways undertaken research work written books and formulated activities and strategies towards alleviating poverty. In the course of this discussion, divergent views from selected work will be determine critically to look at the designs and mechanisms adopted by NGOs with specific reference to Caritas sierra Leone to reduce poverty in the LDCs. Peter Townsend (1979) an exponent on the concept and its effect on humanity viewed poverty as follows; Individuals, families and groups in population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and how the living the conditions and amenities which are customary or approved in the societies to which they belong .There resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they in effect excluded from the ordinary living patterns, custom and activities. Similarly so in Sierra Leone, a situation current under which the bulk of the population is being affected more especially in the rural areas. This work will however examine the length and extent of the poor status under which the population is categories and how it has been alleviated with the intervention of Caritas in Sierra Leone. Evaluating the impact of NGOs, Womens Association in Rural Poverty Alleviation, Connick (1992) outlined the spending power of the average urban household is 2.5 times as the average rural, household ,with a large proportion of the rural household clustered in the lowest spending expenditure groups . The selection of the reviewed location of this study is a clear indication to the fact that the poverty is a rural phenomenon in Sierra Leone and the need for partners in development like Caritas to engage in activities that alleviate poverty in this area is a much concern to this research. Galbraith John Kenneth (1970) revealed that, poverty may itself be a cause of poverty. This is because; it denies the country from investment, revenues for education or purchasing power for consumer product, which in turn, is an inventive to effort. Thus, poverty perpetuates itself. Such are the fundamental that both systems must attack. It is unlikely, that that the causes operate in the same form and in the intensively in any two cases. Effective attacks therefore require not only efficient remedies but also effective diagnosed of the condition to be ameliorated. In applying strategies/policies geared towards poverty reduction in the country, proper identification of the poverty situation should be undertaken. This however, should be complemented by inducting activities and policies to reduce poverty. However, streaming the poverty alleviation programmes, of Caritas from 2001-2008 is a period diagnosed as poverty being very prominent. The strategies and mechanism used by Caritas in fighting poverty is the backbone of this research work. Forster and Shorrocks (1991) argue that aggregate measure of poverty have to be sub-divided consistent. This poverty of a poverty index is closely associated with the nation of decomposability or adaptively across sub-groups .If a poverty index is sub-group consisting, then it must be in the Forster etal, class or any of their increasing transformation. In support of Forster and Shorrocks 1991 statement, Sierra Leone Government put strategy and mechanisms in place, in order to sub-grouped poverty. The Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy was form to look into the poverty situation. Von Pisschke (1919) recognized that, poverty is contextual that is not static and it is relative. Micro credit loan was introduced as a mechanism for the poor to pursue Poverty Reduction activities which were within means and capacities. The knowledge behind this is that, poverty situation can be improved and a way of doing this is through giving micro-credit loans to co-operative groups, womens Organisation. Individuals, to actively engage in activities like small scale business, agricultural activities, which aid in the increase and improvement of diets as well as participating in the activities of their respective communities. This is evident in areas in which Local NGOs; International NGOs operate to reduce poverty in the society. A case study is the activities of Caritas in rural areas and rural urban areas within the last twelve years. A conceptual frame work is that, micro-credit or small loan recommended as a process for generating income through Agricultural activities. Literacy programmes, Skill training or through Small- scale business is widely a concept in the areas where NGOs and other societier Organisations operate. Caritas will be the one under investigation. With regard to this issue, Khander and Kabeer (1998) discussed the idea that, NGOs and Donors were dictated on policies which specifically called for the increased in micro-credit loans to reach out to women and these micro-credit programmes did not limit their desire impact to poverty reduction only but extended it to achieve womens empowerment Nonetheless, in Sub-Saharan Economics, Agriculture is purely subsistence and women are the actors in the production of food and responsible for the smooth running of the home, loans are therefore giving and directed to undertake such activities in the society in order to reduce poverty. Evidence in Chao Beroff (1999) shown that, micro-credit programmes were meant to help the poor generate income and alleviate the poverty sustainable. Similarly, Mayout (2000) explained in the second paradigm that is called the poverty Alleviation Paradigm which manifested in increasing outreach and access to the poor ,providing small loans for consumption and training in some of the poor segment of the population and they are the ones directly targeted and responsible for the family well-being. The issue here is that, micro-credit are meant and targeted more specifically for women whose role in the family well-being are very significant. Mansaray Shiekh U. (1995) also explained that, education, per-capital income, level of investment changes in farm size, employment health, food and nutrition etc were the agents or sectors of development. However, an improvement in these sectors will bring about sustainable development that will reduce poverty. The role of Non-governmental Organisation in development with specific references to the association of Rural Development was taken as the subject on these issues. Susistainable development, however gives to growth leading to a high standard of living .With regard to this, poverty will be alleviated. This study focuses and is however related to examination of the role of Caritas in alleviating poverty with special references to the aspects of Agriculture production, skill training Literacy which is part of the sectors, outlines in development. Gordon Drabek (1988) outlined various analytic concepts and prescription within the idea of promoting NGOs in the developing countries .Many reasons related to the mistakes that have been occurring over time by socio-economic developing countries and making the individual who are intended to gain from these developmental policies continue to remain poor as ever. However, NGOs have contributed significant resource of different categories to development programmes at community and national level for the benefit of the deprived groups in the rural and urban communities. In assessing the role of Caritas in alleviating poverty in Sierra Leone will be an evident toward NGOs performance in their intended purposes. Also, Chamber R. (1988) used the idea of Additionally to present the outstanding contribution of NGOs to development programmes. Additionally here means the making of things better than they would have been and allows for bad as well as good effects. Quiet a substantial number of NGOs which operate in Sierra Leone of which Caritas is one among the many. Caritas in this respect is targeted to see the extent of its contribution in poverty alleviation well composed, organized, established and their contribution towards improving human activities in rural and urban communities is well organized. Raanan Weitz (1986) Allan Cochrane (1992) problems of poverty And abstract from social problem and the family pages Daniel S. Papp Contemporary International Relation Pages 91-92. Santiago (1973) Declaration of Third World, World Economic Republic of Sierra Leone. Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper June 2001. Human Development Reports 2002.United Nation Development Program New York. Creswell, J.W. (1994) Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. in Bryman (2001) Social Research Methods, Oxford University Press, Oxford, p.264

Kids Baseball, A Great American Tradition :: Art

Kids Baseball, A Great American Tradition Kids’ baseball is a really great American tradition. Fathers can relate to their kids who play Little League because male adults remember the experience as something vital that taught them life-skills and socialization during their youth. Little League is as American as apple pie and now the rest of the world is finally wonderfully acclimated to enjoying everything American including baseball. Even an institution as wonderful as Little League has its critics. Some complain that it emphasizes competition too much and that the lesser skilled kids ought to get more playing time. Others cite that the risk of injury is all too real. I believe that Little League is a terrific â€Å"coming of age† growth experience. It teaches kids organizational skills, division of labor, cooperation and competition. By organization I mean nine kids have to function like one unit working under one main coach. In division of labor those same nine kids must perform different tasks and responsibilities. They must cooperate with each other in order to defeat the opposing team in competition. Varga’s Drugstore versus Kiwanis is a small-scale version of Compaq going up against IBM or General Motors taking on Ford. That’s what makes Little League so uniquely American and why it helps to perpetuate this country’s unparalleled â€Å"free enterprise† value system. For those critics who claim LL is dangerous, there is danger and risk everywhere. If every young boy or girl lived in a protective bubble, no kids would ever interact. Those vocal LL critics should not cross streets, should not walk down crowded aisles in Wal-Mart and should not mow their lawns or drive to Wildwood on summer vacation because something threatening might unexpectedly happen. Dangers are all around us, and in Little League competition, injuries happen by accident and they are not deliberately or maliciously inflicted. I guess that’s one particular reason I absolutely love Little League’ baseball. I have always been quite fascinated by physical danger and by competition, especially in sports. In 1953 I played Hammonton Little League ball for the town Exchange Club. My coach was Mr. Reid, and his son Bruce was also on the team. Frank Reid would come to the practices and help his dad work with the players, and ironically, Frank’s son Scott wound-up working for me in my boardwalk arcade in Ocean City, Maryland two decades later. From my own life experience, there’s no doubt in my mind that LL promotes an appreciation of the American free-enterprise economic system.