Week Chapter Questions

Team Oriented: You will become part Of a special, elaborate team when you become part of supply management. The team will consist of engineers, operations, and quality people and suppliers to help the firm obtain necessary supplies, materials, and services as the vignette alluded. Competitive Salary: Starting salaries in supply management arena is lucrative. Although education and experience drives your starting salary, possessing minimum education (Associates Degree) and limited to none experience will still prove to be beneficial in regards to your salary. . Describe seven ways in which supply management has an impact on a firm's sales. Listed below are seven ways in which supply management has an impact on firm's sales: Faster to Market: Bottom line – The faster you can introduce a new product or service to the market, the larger market share you will encompass. Improved Quality: Leasing the total number of defects that a manufacture produces, the more they can command prem ium prices. Furthermore, having a reduced of defects can satisfy your customers and alleviate them from amount going to competitors.Price Flexibility: Having a strategic outlook can significantly reduce the total cost. Example: Is it more beneficial to lease a vehicle than to buy one? Would surmise that leasing would; lease vs.. Purchase analysis is the key. Innovation: Collaboratively communicate with your supply base; holds a lucrative percentage of all new successful products. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Customer service drives sells – up and down – depending on the service rendered. Customer Fulfillment Flexibility: Strategically planning allows more lead-time and flexibility if changes may occur.Shorter Cycle and Lead Time: Improved supplier camaraderie and participation in supplier product and process improvements is advantageous. 13. Why does support for strategic supply chain management have to come from the top management of an organization? Strategic supp ly chain management has to come from the top due to their position. If they are not cascading appropriately, then their subordinates will not buy in to what they are trying to achieve. Chapter 2 1 . Why is supply management's position in the corporation's organizational structure important?Organizational structure significantly influences the department's capability to function optimally and persuade the decision- making process involved in effective procurement. The higher supply management is on the organizational chart, the more he/she can influence corporate strategy considerably. 4. Why are many organizations using a hybrid approach to decision-making authority in their supply management? Organizations are using hybrid approaches in decision-making authority in their supply management, to cut down on cost.In the early 1 sass, the introduction of computers made it considerably more accessible, in regards to procuring goods and services. Electronic billing and payment of invoices , enhanced cash flow while minimizing the total cost of doing business. 7. Identify some ways in which cross-functional teams could be useful in developing new products or completing value analysis functions. Cross- functional teams could be useful in developing or completing value analysis functions in regards to the development or addendum to a statement of work.Take for instance, an upcoming complex food service contract. You may not be a food service subject matter expert – no worries. Surround yourself with subject matter experts, to create the statement of work. Personnel that should be involved are the contract officer, contract officer representative, technical expert(s), lawyer(s), and any other representative that will facilitate with the statement of work. Chapter 3 3. How can engineering product specifications affect the price of the product?Material specified by engineering must be cost effective, to have an idea return on investment in regards to the price of th e product. Preferably, you would like to have your material accessible by multiple suppliers for a more resourceful, low-cost manufacturer. Although, you want to get the best deal (bang for the buck), ultimately, you want to ensure your product is justifiable for your customers. 4. How can a product that costs more save the company money overall? Products that cost more can inevitably save the company none overall by purchasing a more reliable, durable and/or cost efficient product.

Ethics And Politics In Early Childhood Education Essay

Ethics have been universally and particularly the most argued about and on assessment in the worldwide community ever and even since and when globalization occurred around the world in the past five years and it had become such a strongly argued about subject that most people could not by be opinionated around since there is no agreeable standard of what ethics are, could be and should be done about to unify worldwide as the world is becoming more than a small village (mostly becoming one small street with the speed of airplanes and crafts traveling from one part of the world to the other). Such as ethics, is the idea of morals, then, what are morals? It is the number of beliefs resonated into the heart which allow most of the world of ideas which occupy the brain to be able to make sense of what the world of behavioral activities of the person who is in hold of it to be. Morals turn to, or are named, ethics whenever the ethics are the number of ideas which occur in the universal subject matter of thoughts and ideas, which control over the heart such as the idea of emotional intelligence, and is its system of how it occurs and makes thoughts in the mind stream in the consciousness. So, what is the consciousness? It is the effect of the left side of the brain upon the right side of the brain which controls the heart with its influential hormones and emotions upon the mind and the heart. This is the return of the influence of the left side of the brain on the right side as the left brain side is the side responsible for our verbal and physical actions being under the activity of the right brain’s emotions. Thus, morals are ethics when the intelligence is the more effective side on the mind and thus the body, but, is emotionally more influential when the right side of the brain occurs to be using that idea which occurs in the left side as being its moderator and as its idea of what the methodological idea of the brain should be and according to what it means to be in the physical world of the brain (what is real from what is imaginative). Such thoughts and perspectives manualize what we mean as moral and what we mean as ethical. What has politics got to mean this for? To re-phrase: what does politics mean to ethics? Politics could be grammatized as being meaning : many ticks ( poly= many, tics=ticks) which occur in how we act whenever we try to make sense of the works of art that make up our ideas of what is the meaning of what we take from decisions. Thus, the opportunities that present to us the factual beliefs of taking a step into using our politicalized decisions makes us believe what we could and are able to make sense of whenever we try to make such a belief as being correct. This is very valuable as it poses us to ourselves as believing that such understanding could make thought as being valuable in the image of me and us inside ourselves, our ego, id and egoism. What has a child’s ethics got to do with political understanding of the world at such a young age? Any child, briefly has the understanding of a grown up even if they do not understand that in the complicated lexicon of our lives as grown ups and as to how we make decisions when we try to make sense of our minds when we try to be able to do an act, unlike a child, we consume much thinking but a child takes immediate action according and based on how much self-consciousness and self-confidence according to the much gratitude it has surrounding it on the self-reliance bounty which is its capital to making right or wrong decisions. Thus, when a child has more ego pleasure the more they go right and vice versa. A child leaves the adult sphere of supervision and consent when it grows among people who only criticize it as being thoughtless and unable to make its own decisions whenever they try to take bigger steps. Teaching politics could be a very dangerous thing to such a child who has had his mind functioning according to the number of pleasures in the mind it gets alongside its heart pleasure whenever it is pleased with the amount of ideas it has from the goodness it has in its mind from what it receives from gratitude, any mistake in political decisions could lead it to far larger consequences it was unable to take as a child among people in its own sphere. The sphere grows more whenever it tries to find out that the big home it lives in is the actual fate of the large globe it lives in, especially if it comes from a home where its resources for living depend mostly on small percentages of gratification which will allow it more to be an enemy of the state of the environment it grown in. he other way of turning this down is to have the minds of those surrounding it to elevate to the mind the child it has created ( elevated as in making sense of the free willing child that goes against them, regarded as being someone who is unable to make decisions and being an â€Å"outlaw† just because such a child is unable to grow with the law of the family system). Thus, when the child is spoken to its reasoning has not to be questioned than to be scrutinized. This scrutiny has two effects: 1- the ability to make sense of the small details which lead to the bigger effects of the chain of decisions taken, 2- the idea which the decisions strung from and throughout have become and how they entangled the decision making part of the mind and how such a child could make the ideas right and why that part of the brain has become so tangible to the decisions made that any other mistake will pass by automatically unthought about, mostly because any new and strange or odd thing passed by will remind the emotional part of the brain to have such ideas eliminated that the child has fought against a lot that such an idea is the fact that such beliefs have been anchored simply because such ideas have been in the mind on pulsating basis and not on the factual idealistic basis of what is the proper look and structure of what is correct. To teach a child ethics in early childhood is to teach them not to rely on their parents as being the first and most trusted source of education and informative asset of the mind because such education will rely on what the heart will feel whenever seeking any homage in anywhere or place whenever there are ideas and minds surrounding his or her environment whenever it goes outside home, especially that childhood stage involves a lot of emotions for other children and relying on parents as being those who are the most supportive source of what goes on in the world of decision taking and opinion making and judgmental sources of what is right and what is wrong in the world around them. The fact starts to discarnate whenever there is an idea that there are other ideas in the world which are popularly and unanimously appreciated and accepted unlike those of the parents and the family. Thus, free education at a young age allows a higher and broader base of children with different intelligences to make such an idea of the unanimosity of the ideas which are privilege accepted to be sought-after beds for better ideas and intelligences which exist around the world, especially in an open sourced media and idealistic behavioral in the community of the child, thus, the idea of the freedom of speech and idealism of the dutifulness of serving the country it belongs to as being thoughtful as allowing the child to think freely and adopt what it feels like in the heart of its consciousness being left to do so as equally at any age of 15 for male or female whenever there are ideas and thoughts which will not interfere with the working firmness of the society, being seen as sacred, not regarding the thinking background so long as it will not interfere with the mentality of the mind and heart whenever there is any idea that will progress the working system which has nothing to do with the ethics or morals of the mind. Thus, what is the effect of the ethics of the heart and mind on what is seen in the mind or the work which every worker has to have and make sense of to be able to be â€Å"applicable† to the job? The question allows us the justification of an open community to have such ideas to be separable as ethical work and ethics outside the system of work (after-working-hours-ethics and during-working-hours-ethics). This allows the schizophrenic mentality of the worker, growing up since childhood to be something as familiar and as rightful to obtain whether ethically, psychologically (forcefully or not) as the environment has besought in differing between the working environment and the not working environment (home, friends, etc. ). hus, the idea of such ideas being split into halves are what is taught to the child since childhood, such as when answering the phone they are told not to tell X of the presence of Y so they wouldn’t have to speak to them, while, if the child asks Y to do that with Z, they are punished and are explained to as being â€Å"children who do not understand the way of the grown up living†. What hatches this problem is the child’s growing into teenage and having to make decisions based on what it imbued emotionally in its childhood age, now having to conflict with them seriously at an age which has to have them ready before entering the field of work they would like to fit themselves in, mostly listening to rock and metal and all sorts of music which have words which agree with that content in their brain which occurs in the heart of the mind of the emotional intelligence of the brain. Thus, the child is a victim of the idealism of what is right and wrong, according to what the society has them understand. Thus, whenever such a child goes to think of serious matters, the mind will immediately go to a singer who will choose words to rap (basically0 according to what that child feels especially that that child has something inside them leaning to have someone say that â€Å"they are correct†. Thus, if a superstar works in the political ideas field, most of the fans with ethical and political issues based o what their environment has put them through will have them speak of truly. Which brings the question up: is it true that ethics and politics is taught through music or is it reinforced through music? Both ideas and suppositions are perfectly correct for two reasons: first, the musical background sets as a pacemaker of the rhythmic pulsation of the heart while the brain works on enumerating the ideas which it accepts ( the idea that the heart is the pacemaker of the body while the mind is the intelligence headquarters which is allowed to work properly without any problematic functioning of discussions from the memory of the heart which is hypnotized by the repetitive beat of the song ( or the – with too many similarly sounding rhythms of many songs nowadays- beat of the song which is unchangeable while the song is spoken out) that helps the mind and heart to think what is the idea that is conveyed with the beat. Yet, it also supports the theory that idea actually are effective and affected by the type of beat the song rhymes the words through and into the listener’s heart. This is to say that not because a beat is repetitive that the music is properly conveying the idea of the song, but actually it depends on what each heart temperately tempers the temperament of the music words sung according to the mood of the song reflected through the beat of the rhyme. What happens then is the frequency of the understanding of ideas similar in beat or in word formation and phrasal idomacy † related to idomatics of the words spoken, especially when the music industry tends to use words out of context when they try to trun around meanings† which leads to the child’s understanding that the idea is not under-estimated as the parents and social background says it is, but, that certain ages also agree, expanded to races, ethnicities and etc. which allow the accumulation and culmination of thoughts into the prospectively up growing child who will become the political behaviorist of certain other ages (family wise, work wise, school wise, etc. which will only allow much more degeneration of ideas and language linguistically especially, alongside lexically, which will allow the mind and heart to think that these ideas are opinionatedly discoursed over and around which means that anybody could be right and anybody could be wrong and they b oth are correct and convincingly proper in how they handle their agreements or disagreements of the ideas spoken about depending on how the environment is and how they support themselves with or against it. It becomes the fight of life whenever such a child grows up to understand the belief of what such understanding is whenever there are ideas which grown into unanimity that these ideas are actually correct as equally as their possibility of being regarded and believed to be incorrect. Thus, what is the solution?  Solutions vary according to what is respected from emotional beliefs in children who could not speak properly of what is inside of them and those who speak out openly and vastly and ferociously 9 at times) based on their own capacities and capabilities as well as abilities which exist in the child. Thus, egoism of ethics and political teachings grow with the child according to who they see themselves as wrong, right and equals and unequals to them. This is to say that the more the child thinks they are able imaginatively to make their experiences their own guidelines for the security of ethics they have and their intellect then they will be no more than they could when they are speaking with others who are unable or will not be willing to show themselves as agreeing to them or that they actually are incorrect. This is to say that ethics grow according to what the child sees from experiences, such as the idea of gangs and bands and single MCs in the music industry, such are the expansions of teaching ethics and politics to children who are in environments where there are no â€Å"plan B’s† since plan b is actually a sophisticated understanding of where I agree to find myself to be after standing up moralistically to what my mind is, even though I am called crazy and unable to get my dreams , being better a † dreamer off of my dreams†. Thus, teaching ethics and political thinking to children is to give them the broadest lines possible for what is common in people’s changing ethics around them in a rapidly changing Mindy World. This in respect to the ethics which emotionally people go through, especially with the fact that they store their emotions as strong and powerful for the one goal in their life which is the idea of such understanding which exists in the thought of the world which makes sense of what is the idea of the world as being understood as being behaviorally immoralistic seeing that child as always incorrect and seeking relinquishment through their making their ideas dormant and working via the subconscious, a darker moodier way of working out the emotional intelligence which is the idea of the thought of what is true and what is false in the mind of the universe in whole, growing to believe that the world is a sick world where morals are left to scatter around and either disorder, misorder or destruct or re-build or build according to what such an idea is (moral-ethical-behavior-turned-through-politics). These reasons are what make the idea of such beliefs true, thus, teaching politics and how to handle political thoughts in the work of the sequence of people has the idea of what is the real world like, which is, obviously, not allowing me to grow and be true whenever there are ideas which support my theories of ethics and politics from home. Ideas are for everyone, especially when these ideas are commonly found in all theories of the world philosophically. Such philosophy is the idea of what goes on in everything, ever child grows to find there are common theories in the operations of everything and that they, whenever they try to make sense of the idea as changeable to correct in the mind of the others, thus, the ideas die away because simply that influential id in me has no place in the theory of the world if I am not of an influential position and with a strong political view. Thus, even politically regarding of the theologies of religions and theories which deal in the Creator’s existence grow up to be resolved under what I need in life which could not be afford to me except with the supernatural power of the creator’s being 9 however they may be like or be in existence as character, etc). Thus, the idea of teaching ethics to children as well as childhood political making decisions could be variating and unable to make sense in the child who will grow up mostly having them shattered in his or her mind as being invaluable at all, since such unity of the ideas does not disperse to form refractions of rainbows from a glass or crystal prism of ideas, which to the child is invisible and non-existent as there is o proof that colorlessness of a material could reflect colorful ideas and beliefs and practices, etc, since the belief that anything is colorless that refracts and disperses colors, actually is a fake Descartian thought of the secondary characteristics of objects which have to be proven with the theory † I think, therefore, I am† which needs to make me believe that I actually exist first to prove that I could think, since my thoughts are invaluable in my environment (community, society, school, etc) until some source which could provide me materialism wor th having anf fighting for in the world which is not massively produced for everyone unable (such as the comparison between plastic beads and golden jewelry for example), could be provided, thus, and only thus, I could believe that the Descartian theory of existence could be powerfully applied upon, to and by me and that Anatole France was correct to say : † Knowledge is Power†.

Education in Germany vs Education in China Essay

Education in Germany vs Education in China - Essay Example This has allowed every individual to get educated and encourage others to join educational institutions so as to acquire knowledge and skills. Education enlightens thoughts and beliefs of individuals, making them eligible for this competitive world. So, education is encouraged by every developing and developed country since they require highly educated workface for its industries in order to add value to the economy (Li, 2013; KPMG, 2010). Germany and China forms two different systems and follow individual traditions. Both the countries are approaching globalisation and have already encountered a number of challenges, which have strengthened their determination towards overcoming any further issues. China is identified as a booming market for future generation and Germany as the driving force of economy in Europe (KPMG, 2010; Rudolph, 2014). The countries in order to maintain this position try to employ the best and modern technology, which provides them the support to stay ahead of other nations. For maintaining best technology and apply most apt process, efficient employees are required. The employees are basically residents of the countries who give in their full effort for contributing to companies wherein they work as well as development of the economy (KPMG, 2010). The famous slogan â€Å"Education needs modernization and modernization needs education† (KPMG, 2010) highlights the problems encountered by China. The country is experiencing stages of rapid transformation from an agrarian society to modern and globalised economy. However, it is observed that education has always been given high priority in China. Globalization and invention of advanced technology have escalated the procedure, which had commenced in 1979 with Third Conference of the Eleventh Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party (KPMG, 2010). Modernization is highly dependent on development of economy, which basically concentrates on

Critical review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Critical review - Essay Example In his paper ‘A Grand Strategy of Transformation’, Gaddis (n.d.) has seen Bush’s NSS â€Å"the most sweeping shift in US grand strategy since the beginning of the Cold War† (p.1), which he substantiated by illustrating its differences from Clinton’s December 1999 NSS wherein he finds Bush NSS â€Å"more forceful, more carefully crafted, and – unexpectedly – more multilateral than its immediate predecessor† (Ibid). On the contrary, Wirtz and Russell (2003) believe that although Bush calls on a strategic shift from deterrence to preventive and preemptive war, varied international considerations may paradoxically push the Bush administration to rather â€Å"strengthen deterrence and existing international institutions, two outcomes that are not necessarily high on the administration’s agenda† (p. 113). Thus, essentially, it is no different from the former grand strategy. I agree with Wirtz and Russell that Bush grand s trategy is no different from that of deterrence, not because of its practicality in this present international context, but because, all US grand strategies, including Bush’s, only reaffirm the American consensual view on their supremacy; thus, all strategy’s should pursue only one thing – to ensure US hegemony unchallenged. Second, in defining the adversary, all of the articles commonly regard terrorism – specifically Al-Qaeda – the most ambitious, most ruthless, and most capable among terrorist groups – the most dangerous imminent adversary of U.S. today. However, it was Posen (2001), who had clearly described Al-Qaeda’s motive – that Al-Qaeda’s hatred of US comes from the following: the US meddling on the affairs of the Muslim nations in the Middle East; its imposed interest on the Persian Gulf and Middle East; its imposition of its Western culture that is diametrically opposed to Islam – all these result to the suffering of

Management Concepts - Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management Concepts - Case Study - Essay Example With the removal of trade barriers and opening up of economies, companies no longer can have a local country-specific strategy. Two very important factors that have resulted in companies going global are: progress in information and communication technologies, the trend of deregulation and increasing competitive pressure (Mucchielli et al, 1998). One of the ways of expanding globally includes investing the returns from one country to acquire other companies (Samson and Daft, 2009). Operating in different countries is based upon various factors such as the political, economic, social, technological, and legislative environments of the country (CIPD, 2010). At the same time, expanding into different countries also calls for the existence of a thorough globalization strategy keeping in mind the above factors. It is imperative that the learnings from expansion in one country to fine-tune its strategy for expansion in other countries as well. It is also important that the HR, Finance and the IT strategy of the organization shall be aligned towards the objective of being a truly global corporation. John needs to take serious action to prevent NAB from collapsing as a business. The first thing that needs to be done is to imbibe an MNC culture amongst the employees of the organization. The bank can create a separate department which will be responsible for finding out the best fit countries to expand into over a period of time. This department can also be responsible to search for companies in those target countries. Those countries where the PESTEL factors are mostly similar to that of Australia shall be targeted first and then the rest shall be

Arbitrage Pricing Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Arbitrage Pricing Theory - Essay Example To be able to show the problems, I make use of the study done by Lehman and Modest (1985), which come up into three conclusions. The analysis of Lehman and Modest was able to show that one of the problems in determining the factor for asset pricing is the proper or the correct use of procedure. Lehman and Modest opposed Fama-Macbeth in using the maximum likelihood analysis in determining the factors. Another study included in this paper is the one done by Enrico Altay (2003) using the Germany and Turkish stock exchange. In his study he uses the Fama-Macbeth maximum likelihood analysis. This causes the difference in the result. Therefore, in analysing the stock exchange one should be aware of the models and theory being used. The arbitrage pricing theory may encounter several problems especially in analyzing the factors. The macroeconomic factors may affect the outcome in pricing the asset. The analysis in which the best portfolio perform best remains. The arguments are presented in the later part of the paper. Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT), is a general theory of asset pricing. It holds the expected return of a financial asset that can be modelled as a linear function of various macro-economic factors or theoretical market indices, where sensitivity to changes in each factor is represented by a factor specific beta coefficient. This theory was initiated by the economist Stephen Ross in 1976. The The Arbitrage Pricing Theory establishes an equilibrium pricing relation between each asset's expected return and all others. In analyzing the theory, we must first discuss the covariance matrix and the portfolio risk. There are several method in estimating covariance matrix one can be by using the simple volatility estimator (Garman-Klass, 1980) or with GARCH estimators (Engle,1982; Bollerslev, 1986). Another method is that, assuming the drivers of volatility is known the historical data can be estimated if the variables are picking and the relation between each driver and each stock are identified. Portfolio return is the weighted average of the individual asset returns, using the portfolio holdings as weighs. The portfolio risk is the weighted sum of the individual asset variances and covariances with all other assets, using as weights the squared portfolio weights. Portfolio risk is its weights the squared portfolio weights. The original return units can be used to compute variance. The portfolio risk is usually reported as the square root of the variance, the volatility of portfolio returns. To compute for the portfolio risk we must collect the return variances and covariances in a table - the "covariance matrix". We must identify the portfolio holdings weights and apply the portfolio risk formula - a function dubbed a quadratic form by mathematics. The portfolio analysis is important in correlating with the common factors in showing the validity of the APT. The APT based on Ross (1976) takes the view that there is no single way to measure systematic risk. The risks arise from the unanticipated changes in the following fundamental economic variables: 1. Investor confidence 2. Interest rate 3. Inflation 4. Real Business Activity 5. A market index Each stock and portfolio has exposures or betas with respect to each of these systematic risks. Risk Exposure Profile is the pattern of economic betas for a stock or portfolio. The profile indicated how a stock or portfo

Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Professional Development - Essay Example On the other hand, knowing my weaknesses would push me to work hard to turn them into strengths. Being able to communicate well with others in both verbal and written forms will help me establish a network of people who can support me and help me towards achieving my goals. Good communication is key to harmonious and fulfilling relationships. Creativity is one skill which will make me stand out from the rest because I will be able to come up with fresh ideas and strategies that would work out for my future clients. Being creative is one quality that is becoming increasingly in demand these days. 1. Self-Awareness Knowing oneself – one’s own personality, traits, attitudes, views, strengths and weaknesses based on one’s family and cultural background and previous life experiences is a very important skill to master in business. In order for me to get a good self-analysis, I turned to self-assessment tests so I can see myself from an objective point of view. Self-As sessments Self-assessments are effective ways for individuals to evaluate themselves to see how far they have come in terms of progress in one area or another and to know their strengths and weaknesses. Self-assessments can come in various forms. Some are simple reflective practices while others entail taking some tests. For this Professional Development Plan (PDP), I took 3 self-assessment tests namely the Myer-Briggs (MBTI), the DISC and the Learning Styles Inventory (see appendix for results). From the test results of my self-assessments, there were a lot of surprising revelations, agreements and disagreements as well in relation to how I know my self. The following are the interpretations of the results of the tests. MBTI (Myers-Briggs test) This theory measures psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The preferences indicate the differences in people based on the following: How they focus their attention or get their energy (Extraversion o r Introversion) How they perceive or take in information (Sensing or Intuition) How they prefer to make decisions (Thinking or Feeling) How they orient themselves to the external world (Judgment or Perception) The Myer-Briggs Test Results say I have strong tendencies toward the ESFJ and ENFJ personality types. Both types share the dominant functions of the letters E and F or Extraverted Feeling. This means my dominant function is feeling oriented towards the outer world. I focus on building harmony in the world around me, creating positive atmosphere and good rapport with people. I look after their welfare and go out of my way in overcoming differences of opinion and finding ways for people to agree. I invest much on building positive relationships, motivating others to be happy in each situation. . The ESFJ and ENFJ differ in Sensing/ Intuition. This means I can respond differently to information I receive depending on my preference. If it is clear facts I want to know or accuracy in description of details, then my preference is for Sensing. However, if I prefer to deal with ideas, and venture into unknown territories so I can generate new possibilities, then my preference is for Intuition. My profile also prefers dealing equally with ideas/information and people/things. I prefer dealing equally with facts/tangible things and possibilities/intuitions. I prefer to base my decisions on values rather than logic. My

Structural Frame on Berlitz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Structural Frame on Berlitz - Essay Example 47). The structural frame perspective (how we view organizational structure options) was developed as a merging from two main theorists – Frederick W. Taylor’s scientific principles and Max Weber’s bureaucratic philosophy. Frederick Taylor’s work was called â€Å"scientific management† and was about introducing methods to gain individual worker efficiency rather than workers going by the rule of thumb (p. 48). Taylor measured the individual’s contribution with a stopwatch and pointed out how each worker could maximize their productivity. Max Weber, however, looked at the overall organization rather than the individual worker. He was the theorist behind the hierarchical model and use of the bureaucratic systems. At the time (after World War II), many countries were still using a Patriarch management model and it was time to replace it. To more evenly distribute the power, Weber introduced a â€Å"fixed division of labor† and â€Å"hier archy of offices† as examples of the new organizational perspective. These structural frame perspectives continue to exist today. Berlitz International, Inc. believes in the traditional hierarchy of offices and in the traditional chain of command. As discussed in McShane & Von Glinow (2005) coordination comes through formal hierarchy. As the organization grows, which Berlitz has, hierarchical assignments take place and power is passed to individuals. Berlitz reflects a structural perspective on their Internet site, Berlitz Japan, Inc. (2011). The organizational chart lesson (see Appendix A) states that employees will fall somewhere in the chain of command, whether on the top or somewhere â€Å"a little lower†. This information falls under the structural assumption that the organization’s current circumstances will dictate the design that fits best. The structural configuration of Berlitz Language Company as stated in Bolman & Deal (2008) started with a simple str ucture as depicted in most â€Å"mom-and-pop† or smaller organizations (p. 78). McShane & Von Glinow (2005) says that â€Å"most companies begin with a simple structure† (p. 438). Mintzberg’s Model (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 79) is a more accurate configuration of Berlitz International today because of the global magnitude of the organization. The Wall Street Journal published an article following a press release from Berlitz, that Hiromasa Yokoi, vice chairman, chief executive and president would retire and numerous management changes would take place as well as company- wide restructure (Bounds, 2000, March 21). A spokesperson added that the company would be split into two subsidiaries: Berlitz Language Services and ELS Language Centers. Berlitz is 70% owned by Benesse Corp, an educational publisher in Japan. The decision to split the company was a strategic decision and had been planned for â€Å"over one year† (Bounds, 2000, March 21, p. 1). Each center , however, will have an individual configuration designed to suit the center director and meet the overall organizational goals. The franchise locations were later given several templates

Morality as Anti-Nature Essay Example for Free

Morality as Anti-Nature Essay Friedrich Nietzsche stands as one of the philosophers who tackled about the complexities of human existence and its condition. It is noteworthy to state that most of his works made several standpoints to what he refers to as the Ubermensch. The conception of such is designed to inspire the individual to substantiate his existence and rouse his self-overcoming and affirmative character. This can be said to arise from the idea of creating a self through the process of undergoing a destructive condition that enables the self to acquire greater power in relation to others. The development of such a self is dependent upon the recognition of the anti-naturalistic character of morality which he discusses in The Twilight of the Idols in the section entitled â€Å"Morality as Anti-Nature†. Within the aforementioned text, Nietzsche argues that morality hinders the individual from experiencing life as it limits an individual’s freewill thereby in the process leading to the creation of an individual who is incapable of life itself. He states, morality is a â€Å"revolt against life† (2006, p. 467). It is a revolt against life as it is based on the negation of an individual’s basic instinct to act freely in accordance to his passions. According to Nietzsche, this is evident in the case of Christian morality which places emphasis on the control of the passions. Within Christian morality, an individual who is incapable of controlling his passions is considered to be immoral as he is incapable of practicing restraint upon himself. Examples of this are evident if one considers that within Christian morality, to be saintly requires restraining one’s desires and hence one can only follow the path of Christ if one denies all of his desires, the denial of which involves the denial of all worldly things. He states, within the context of this morality â€Å"disciplining†¦has put the emphasis throughout the ages on eradication†¦but attacking the passions at the root means attacking life at the root: the practice of the church is inimical to life (Nietzsche, 2006, p. 66). The practice of the church, its imposition of morality contradicts the essence of life which is the actualization of an individual’s self since it delimits an individual to one particular kind of existence. For example, Christian morality has the Ten Commandments. If an individual follows these commandments, the individual’s spiritual life is ensured in the afterworld. Nietzsche argues that by following these commandments, the individual is at once delimited to one particular form of existence. This does not necessarily mean that Nietzsche applauds acts of murder; he is merely stating that by following moral rules and moral norms the individual is at once preventing himself from the experiencing a particular form of life and hence the actuality of life itself. It is important to note that by presenting a criticism of Christian moral values and moral values in general, Nietzsche does not necessarily prescribe an individual to follow his moral code. In fact one might state that Nietzsche does not possess a moral code. He states, Whenever we speak of values, we speak under the inspiration†¦of life: life forces us to establish values; life itself evaluates through us when we posit values†¦It follows from this that even that anti-nature of a morality which conceives God as the antithesis and condemnation of life is merely a value judgment on the part of life. (Nietzsche, 2006, p. 467) Within this context, Nietzsche recognizes that the anti-nature of morality is a value in itself. It differs however from a moral code since it does not delimit an individual by prescribing actions which he ought and ought not to follow. The importance of the anti-nature of morality lies in its emphasis on the affirmation of the individual. Within the text, Nietzsche claims, â€Å"morality in so far as it condemns†¦is a specific error†¦We seek our honour in being affirmative† (2006, p. 468). It is within this context that one may understand why for Nietzsche; the Ubermensch is an individual whose choices are dependent upon the ends justifying the means since to state that one performs a particular action since the means justifies the end is equivalent to performing a particular action since the act itself adheres to what a particular moral rule considers to be ‘good’. This is evident if one considers that in order for an individual S to consider Q a ‘good’ act wherein Q is good due to P and Q necessarily follows from P, it is necessary for P to be good within the context of a moral norm M. For example, a person may consider giving alms to the poor good since the act of giving alms itself is considered ‘good’ within the context of a particular moral norm. As opposed to the example mentioned above, the Ubermensch acts in accordance to what may be achieved by an act [the end of the act itself] since what the Ubermensch places emphasis on is the joy that may be achieved in the act itself. Alex MacIntyre states, â€Å"joy in the actual and active of every kind constitutes the fundamental end from which Nietzsche develops his critique of morality† (1999, p. 6). Although Nietzsche’s criticism of morality and its constraints upon an individual are valid, it is still impossible to conceive of a world wherein no morality is applied. Within the context of social reality, moral norms function to ensure order within society. Although laws may function by themselves to ensure the order of society, laws themselves are dependent upon a particular moral norm which the society adheres to. References McIntyre, A. (1997). The Sovereignty of Joy: Nietzsche’s Vision of Grand Politics. Toronto: U of Toronto P. Nietzsche, F. (2006). Morality as Anti-Nature. The Nietzsche Reader. Eds. K. Ansell-Pearson D. Large. London: Wiley-Blackwell.

Truearth Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Truearth Case Analysis Essay Competitors began offering similar products in 2008 which cause the growth to slow. * Some of their competitors are Nestle and Kraft. * The do not make a rash decision. The success of Cucina Fresca was a calculated risk based on significant research. The company only uses high-quality durum wheat and mostly organic ingredients. * The company further raised consumer awareness through several promotional programs, using coupons, magazine advertisements, and in-store demonstrations. * Idea generation. As the company grew, the idea generation process became a more systematic evaluation of consumer trends, with formal management brainstorming sessions. * Three important developments reshaped how consumers purchased groceries. The first important trend was a new, loosely defined food category in the United States— â€Å"home meal replacement† (HMR). An increase in dual-income households had led to higher disposable incomes coupled with â€Å"time poverty,† as both workers found themselves lacking the time to cook a meal and clean up afterward. Further, consumers had tired of unhealthy carryout and fast food and started seeking greater variety and freshness. Supermarkets began meeting HMR needs by enhancing their fresh, prepared food offerings. * There was no fresh whole grain pasta with broad distribution, with 85% of those in favour of the concept having never purchased it before. In an attempt to retain our leadership position and extend our product line, we have invested in the development of a new whole grain pizza. We must decide whether to launch our pizza offering. Our decision must take into consideration that the new product’s wholesales volume estimates must exceed $12 million to meet our return requirements. The decision-making process is time sensitive because one of our competitors, Rigazzi Brands, has already tested a whole grain pizza concept and is not far from introduction. Given these factors, we can either debut or suspend the product. Based on sales volume estimates and situation analysis, I recommend that the company launch the pizza. The introduction will result in a wholesales volume that exceeds our return requirements and these additional funds can be reinvested into the firm. Option I: Launch Whole Grain Pizza Product The launch of a whole grain pizza kit will capitalize on the same consumer trends that prompted the release of Cucina Fresca: growing demand for quick, customizable home meal replacements that are refrigerated and available in tasty, whole grain options. Also, pizza is a core component of the Italian-American food category that we cannot ignore because it is frequently purchased by customers on a monthly basis. Our whole grain pizza product resolves the time- and health-related concerns of American consumers in one of their favorite dishes (see Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis for Whole Grain Pizza Product). The growing demand for a whole grain crust has been addressed by local pizzerias and take-out franchises, but not in the store-bought refrigerated pizza market. The immediate release of the pizza kit would allow us to penetrate this market before Rigazzi and benefit from first mover advantages. As a result, our 1st year wholesale volume estimates would exceed our return requirements by approximately $4. 5 million (see Exhibit 2: Whole Grain Pizza Concept Purchase Volume Estimate, Year 1 [Excellent]). The excess returns can be reinvested into the firm and used to expand our manufacturing facilities or further extend our product line. If the pizza kit is launched, the firm must consider the potential consequences. We must assess the impact it will have on Cucina Fresca’s success and production, as well as the TruEarth image if the product flops (see Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis for Whole Grain Pizza Product). Likewise, we must review the potential consequences if the wholesale volume estimate is calculated using the percentage repurchases when the product is perceived to be of mediocre or average quality (see Exhibit 3: Whole Grain Pizza Concept Purchase Volume Estimate, Year 1 [Mediocre, Average]. Option II: Do Not Launch Whole Grain Pizza Product The competitive environment of the pizza market and quality-related issues discovered in the BASES studies indicate that the whole grain pizza product should not be launched. Although the market generates high sales, it is extremely crowded and dominated by powerful players like Kraft and Nestle. Furthermore, the ability to market a tasty whole-grain pizza crust and communicate its benefits will be difficult because the American public perceives whole grains to be less appetizing than white flour. Attempting to change consumer preferences is timely and costly. By foregoing the release of the pizza kit, the company can focus solely on Cucina Fresca. The operating facilities will not have to worry about manufacturing two different product lines and our distribution infrastructure will not be overworked (see Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis for Whole Grain Pizza Product). Likewise, our marketing team could concentrate on attempting to revive the pasta meals. This product has proven to be successful at one time. Investing all of our resources into the pizza product could be both disastrous and expensive considering we have no experience in this market category. However, by shelving the pizza, an opportunity is lost because our company would be ignoring the needs of a potentially profitable market. The health-conscious trend is not going away and our firm needs to expand our product line in order to retain our leadership as a gourmet, healthy alternative. Recommendation At this time, our company would benefit the most by launching the new whole grain pizza product. By not launching the pizza kit, our investments and time can be focused on expanding the pasta line and retooling the marketing campaign to improve sales; however, in order to diversify the TruEarth brand name, innovation is needed. Although the pasta market may seem safe, we must venture into new categories in order to raise brand awareness, seek new customers, and increase our profits. Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis for Whole Grain Pizza Product Strengths| Weaknesses| Highly selective about ingredients * Existing infrastructure for coupons, magazine advertisements, in-store demonstrations * Existing formal 4-step process for research and development * Incremental investment for pizza less than pasta.

Challenges For British Trade Unions Commerce Essay

Challenges For British Trade Unions Commerce Essay What will be the key challenges for British Trade unions in the next decade? Using materials from across the course identify these challenges and make your predictions about the size, nature and influence of unions throughout the forthcoming decade. INTRODUCTION Industrial Relations in Britain have been at the centre of attention and analysis for many years. There has been a concern on its substance and its future. Its development is associated with the rise and growth of trade unionism. Since the 18th century, it has been a system that relies on voluntary arrangements for negotiation and consultations. Today, industrial relations in the UK has suffered harsh strains and pressure. This is largely attributed to factors such as the change in employment pattern, the growth in scale of industrial organisations amongst others. Also, stories of strikes, wage demands and industrial disturbance constantly hit the news. However, Industrial relations today is very much different from what it used to be. So many things are happening; from the recent recession, to the decline of union membership and the economic changes taking place. Hence, for the purpose of this essay, I shall be examining the trade unions and the possible future challenges they might encounter. Furthermore, it is important to note that one cannot look into the future of trade unions without going on a journey to the history of how they emerged, the present state of these trade unions and then predict what their future might turn out to be. History of British Trade unions The Early years up to 1979 British Trade unions had their origin in the mediaeval craft society which was established to control access to crafts, ensure that craftsmen were not engulfed by numbers and also monitor the degree of price control. In a nut shell, they controlled the market. The society set down rates and gave its members benefits particularly in cases of sickness, accidents and retirements. By the 18th century, when the markets began to expand, there was the need for more people to be employed. This brought about the emergence of craftsman organisation whose aim was to provide joint aid, support and assist a number of people that were facing difficult times. During this period, a number of strikes took place in localities with regards to increase in pay and reductions in working hours and this put so much pressure on employers to ban what was referred to as combinations. Pieces of legislations aimed at banning combinations within 1720 and 1799 led to the emergence of two important combination acts in 1799 and 1990 that prohibited combinations and strikes in Britain. However just before the end of the 18th century, the craftsman societies had developed into trade unions. This period observed growth in the factory system, speedy social change and social disorder. The combination act still didnt do much and was revoked in 1824. By 1825, a new measure emerged which confined combination only to specific actions over hours and wages and new offences were introduced such as molestation and intimidation of workers. Furthermore, an attempt to set up a Grand National Consolidated Trades union in 1834 to bring all union together was never supported. Prior to 1850, unions were just local events (except miners), but by the middle of the century, a number of union mergers began to spring forth and this was as a result of the growth of railway which ensured easy communication. The first was the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) established in 1850. It was a friendly society that catered for unemployment, sickness, etc. Then, there was the emergence of the Trade union act in 1871 directed towards protecting the union funds. Other mergers following the footstep of ASE included wood work and tailoring. It is essential to note that jobs in this period were restricted to men even though women had begun to gain entrance into the labour market. With the development of national unions came trade councils from 1858 in main cities and towns. The first meeting of what was to be called a trade union was organised in Manchester in 1868 and thereafter in Birmingham in 1869. By 1870, TUC had a general secretary and in 1895, the representation at TUC was restricted only to unions thereby excluding trade councils to avoid dual representation. This period also characterized endless industrial disputes which were due to the change in work practice and the technologies. In addition, the strikes during this period were concerns relating to how work should be done and the kind of people employed to do particular tasks. The Late 1880s saw the emergence of what was called a new unionism. This was the beginning of large scale organisation of unskilled workers, all fighting for better wages through hard fought strikes at the national level. An example was the popular London dock strikes in1889 and the seamens strike also in the same year. The period between 1896 to1914 witnessed very high costs of living and falling wages and as a result led to strengthening of the newly emerged labour party which allowed for more people to join the trade union. The First World War during this period had tremendous effects on industrial relations. By 1919, unions became militant and required long term benefits in negotiation almost immediately after the war when labour was scarce. There were several amalgamations of unions like the Transport and General workers union and the union for Building and Trade workers. Subsequently, small local unions that could not compete soon faded out. By the end of the 1920s, there was a rise in unemployment and trade unions decided to protect jobs rather than increase wages (Tyson, 2006). There was also the emergence of the triple alliance between the transport workers, railway workers and miners which was to reinforce mutual support in times of difficulty and confrontation. The Second World War brought about co-operation between unions and government. Between 1939 and 1951 there was shift in growth of manual labour workers. Also during the wars (first and second world wars), institutions of negotiation were established to prevent strikes, although a number of strikes still occurred. Trade union membership grew mostly in the white collar jobs in the late 1950s and 1960s. However their density did not increase until the 1970s. The change in occupational structures brought about more white collar jobs and allowed more women to join unions. Trade unions from 1979-2000 During this period, there was a dramatic decline in trade union membership in the UK. Four notable features were responsible for this decline which the British trade union had little control of. They were the changes in employment, the growth of individualism, managements human resource strategies and a very hostile government (Stirling, 2005). The changes in employment led to closures of factories and a huge number of redundancies in manufacturing sector, expansion of private sectors and growth of part time jobs. Also in many cases, the HR strategies were often devised to circumvent union organisation. Furthermore, the hostile government inherent in both employment legislation and the process of privatisation was also responsible for the decline. Lastly, individualism was inherent in workplace, where rewards and benefits were tied to individual appraisal and performance related pay rather than on collective agreements. It is worthy to note that trade unions were able to respond to these changes in various ways. The first was their move towards organisational restructuring by adopting new systems of internal management (Brewster Allen, 1998). They also adopted the new realism which was effectively a give in to employers strategies. They countered derecognition by focusing on single union agreements and high profile no strike agreements (Bassett, 1986). In addition, trade unions were committed to recruiting new members as they also wanted to be more organisational friendly, include part-time workers, women and those from minority ethnic groups. Lastly there was the development of a consumer trade unionism where members were seen as consumers and offered individual services and benefits (Bassett Cave, 1993). By the mid 1990s, the TUC and unions decided to change their approach when they realised that relying on political change, waiting for economic improvement , spending so much on consumer service and the struggle for members were results that didnt work. The year 1997 saw several changes with labour returning to government. This brought about the employment relation Act of 1999 which helped unions claim recognition. Also in recent years there have been several changes such as National Minimum Wage, rights to maternity leave and rights of part time workers. KEY FACTS TO NOTE In 2007, TUC had 66 allied unions compared to 109 in 1979 There was a decline of TUC membership at around six and a half million since the mid-nineties. Emphasis on Trade union has changed. There has been rapid growth of legal advice and representation of members at tribunals The importance of training has also been emphasised with government funding a scheme where workplace learning representatives have been developed. Lastly over the years, unions have come to embrace the agenda on equality and diversity. Having looked at the history of the British trade union, lets take a look at where they are presently. Present State of British Trade Unions There are quite a number of trade unions in Britain today. These unions look after the welfare of their members. They also help their members deal with issues of pay, job cuts and pensions in the workplace. Thus, they represent their members in pay negotiations, grievance procedures and also protect their members against clients and the state (Bryson, 2007). Little wonder when employees are asked the question as to why they join unions, they give answers like they join unions for protection, political belief, solidarity, traditions, pay conditions and so on. Recently there has been quite a number of strikes in Britain, all centred on pay cuts, work-life balance, redundancies amongst others. For example, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in 2009 engaged in a bitter dispute with the Royal mail over pay, job losses and modernisation which led to a series of nationwide postal strike. Also bus drivers and bin men decided to stage 24 hours walkout in some parts of the country in 2009. In addition, unions intended to ballot staff at British Airways and Network Rail. However by January 2010, Unite and British Airways embarked on fresh talks. Furthermore, workers at the Fijitsu electronic company started their first of six nationwide strikes on dispute over pay, pension and jobs in December. Trade unions today are in crisis. They do not only face internal difficulties but also have to cope with external, economic and political change. One central problem they might face is that they may be too weak to make a difference. But with the current recession and globalisation, we just cannot tell what they can do. However, a surprising reality is that the rate of union membership (union density) of employees is swiftly declining. In 1979, 13.3million people were members of trade unions and the proportion of employees who were union members stood at 55%. By 2003, union membership as estimated by the labour survey had dropped to 7.42million with the proportion of members at 29.1% and in 2005 to 29%. By the end of 2006, the rate of union membership fell to 28.4%. This subsequently declined to 28% in 2007. As at 2008, the union membership cut down by 27.4%. Furthermore, the density in private sector fell by 0.6% to 15.5% while public sector fell 1.9% to 57.1%, both in 2008. (SOURCE: Labour Force survey, Office for national statistics, department of employment (1892-1974); certification office (1974-2006). Against this background, it is imperative to understand the reason for the decline in union membership and the challenges unions encounter. Current Challenges for British Trade Unions British trade unions have gotten to a point where they need to sit and rethink their strategies. These unions are faced with various challenges ranging from political, economic, to financial that if not resolved soon might pose a major challenge for them in the future. A lot of scholars have tried to identify the challenges that British trade unions face. According to Mcllroy (2008), British trade unions today are faced with challenging conditions such as globalisation, neo-liberal politics, recession and a host of other issues. To Frege Kelly (2003), trade unions are facing challenging conditions in representing their members, they face crisis of membership density, the wearing out of structures of interest representation and declining mobilisation capacity. They stated that a reason for the decline in density has been as a result of the changing structure of employment, the decline of employment in traditional manufacturing industries and the increased employment in service industries They identify several factors that have and would continue to pose a challenge to unions. I find these factors really interesting and they include: Economic and social change (the trends in labour market) The Institutional environment (for example the structure of collective bargaining, legal and arbitration procedures and political system) the state and the employers strategies The structure of the union itself such as union leadership, relationships, networks and organisation of movements. As it has been noted already, Britain currently faces economic crisis which is attributed to the recent recession. In these difficult economic times, when there is a high level of unemployment and drastic cuts in wages and benefits, unions would find it almost impossible to please their members. Borrowing the words of Koelble, (1988) it is worthy to note that the more brutal these economic crisis are the more problems union leaders have to face. Today, unions also face the risk of extinction if they do not progress. A major challenge unions have is in their structure and policies. They need to balance relationship between their members and the employers by showing that they can get through to workers without sidelining employers and deliver to employers while also looking out for the interest of their workers. In some of the articles I read, research carried out shows that so many workers are of the belief that unions need to work more with employers so as to increase productivity which is as important as any action taken on pay, impartiality and fairness. Also, unions like every other voluntary organisation have to provide incentives whether positive or negative so as to attract prospective members. Having attracted membership, they are then faced with the problem of maintaining these members so as to ensure the union survival. Significantly, economic growth has been seen as a requirement for the provision of positive incentives by unions; therefore, in periods of economic growth, it is easy for trade unions to squeeze out some compromise from employers and the state. On the other hand, when there is a decline or stagnation in economic growth, it reduces the ability of unions to provide more benefits (Koelbe, 1988). It might be wrong for me to say that unions are not recognised in some organisations. However, according to Guest who was cited in Storey (2007), he stated that traditional unions may only be tolerated in some business not because they are special but because they have always been in existence and also because they do not incur any unwarranted cost. Some organisations today have the tendency of abandoning collective bargaining without formally derecognising the unions. The presence of HRM in workplaces has further reduced the roles of trade unions and if some organisations could do without them, they would not hesitate. The result of all these is that unions have some members that are not covered by collective bargaining and thus face the difficult duty of convincing such members to remain in the union. They also have to convince employers that they can be trusted. What about the financial crisis these unions face and might continue to face if they lose more members? Unions are facing some financial crisis. This is not surprising though as they rely heavily on membership subscriptions as the primary source of income. Consequently, if membership density continues to drops, their income would drop as well unless they decide to increase subscription fees of members or get their revenue from other means. The question unions should ask themselves is if they can help their existing members without relying so much on voluntary activities. Also, unions organising potential is badly damaged. Trade unions are now confronted with issues such as their inability to organise new workplaces and new workers as they used to. As a result of this a number of workers have never been a member of any trade union. In addition, some relatively new organisations hardly ever recognise unions for pay bargaining. If they cant sort this out, it is definitely going to be a big challenge they would face in the coming decade. It is also important to add that in the case of tight finance; unions might not want to gamble by spending money on organising new workplaces unless they are partially sure of success. It is imperative to state that we currently live in an era of global economic and industrial restructuring. Globalisation has prompted the urge for the development of world economy. It involves several issues like deregulation of the labour market, liberalisation and privatisation, development of communication network technology, the internalisation of financial markets amongst others (Akteruzzaman, 2006). All these issues have posed a challenge to workers and their trade union. Today, unions have a feel of globalisation as there has been a lot of job loss, decline in wages etc. Workers have become one of the many victims of globalisation. Thus globalisation is seen as a threat to trade unions. Still, there is the impact of the current recession of the labour market which has increased tremendously the unemployment rate in the last 20months. Labour market report states that the unemployment rate has risen by 1.3% to reach 7.1% since the third quarter of 2008. In a recent Cipd article (January 2010), it is postulated that unemployment would hit a high rate of 2.8 million by summer 2010 with job markets only slowly recovering in the second half of 2010. As a result of this, the redundancy level has increased. In the recession, the private sector would continue the trends of having lower levels of industrial actions as this is caused by the change in staff attitudes and the increasing need to sustain competitive advantage on the global scale. However, it has been predicted that there would be more strike actions in the public sectors (CIPD, November 2009). As a result of this, unions need to fight for their members in public sectors since strikes might be inevitable. According to Amble (2005), for unions to increase in size again, they need to drop their militant and confrontational attitude and be more dependent and co-operative. He argues that some potential members may be put off by unions style of struggle, strife and strikes which has very little appeal to employees who care more about getting on rather than getting even. Lastly, unions have a problem with their strategy. What appealed to yesterdays workers might not be attractive to todays labour force. They need to set new agendas around so many issues they currently face such as low pay, work-life balance and equality. Although the future challenges of British trade union cannot really be determined by present occurrences, one can however predict what these unions are likely to face in the future. Having looked at the current challenges British trade unions face, unions need to ask themselves some questions: do they have the ability to meet the challenge of an aspirational agenda Are their thoughts channelled to what they want to do or rather how they do it? Can unions achieve the objective of servicing, partnership and organising? How flexible would their role be in meeting the demands and need of members in the next decade? Would they be able to contain different strategies for different employment relations environment? If unions cannot provide answers to these questions, then this might be some of the future challenges they would encounter. The Future of British Trade Unions A lot has been said and predictions have been made with regards to the future of trade unions. Several scholars have come up with predictions and possible solutions to the challenges unions face currently and possibly in the future. There has been the question of what unions can do to achieve membership. According to Metcalf (2005), unions are faced with two potential ways for revival. First, it is either employment in unionized sectors of the economy grows in relations to non union employment or secondly, unions must employ more rigorous means of organising activity with the aim of enhancing their appeal to both employers and potential members. He further goes on to states that unions should invest more in organising and servicing so as to produce significant returns. Furthermore, even if unions are able to put a stop to the decline in membership, there might be a problem with achieving steady growth. Unions need to break more into the contemporary service sector economy. Although there have been a lot of jobs in the public sector, the actual employment growth might come from organisations where trade unions have not been so successful at organising. Thus trade unions might be faced with the challenge of changing themselves even further to remain relevant to certain groups. There is also the need for trade unions to develop better political relationship with the government and other parties. They must learn to abandon the pattern of making unrealistic demands and realise that not all their demands can be met since the government must also govern in the interest of the country in general. In addition, Partnership needs to be encouraged. Unions need to adopt a better process of engagement. They should learn to appeal to employers making them see that effective co-operation helps a great deal in the improvement of performance in organisations. Also, the financial state of unions could have a lasting effect. Unions need to re-evaluate and ask themselves if they can provide for their members without depending on voluntary endeavours. Many scholars are of the belief that unions will be successful only if they align themselves with the new realities of the labour market and can also plead to both the top and bottom of the economy. Unions need to broaden their horizon by aiming at new or previously neglected class of workers into membership and extend organisation and representation towards the low waged employees (Lucas, 2009; Oxenbridge, 1997; Heery, 2002). Several strategies have been identified by scholar as ways of generating renewal for trade unions such as servicing, organising and partnership approach (Heery, 2002). However, some scholars argue that all these strategies can be used together and are well matched. A very brilliant way to address the problems of trade union in Britain is giving by Frege Kelly (2003) who came up with six strategies: organising (gaining of membership) partnership (working together with employers, employees and trade unions would bring about motivated trust and benefits) organisational reforms (such as mergers and internal reorganisation) political action (Lobbying with a focus on legislation and labour market regulations policies) coalition building with other social movements Lastly, possess strong international links to exchange and share information. In my opinion if these strategies are put in place; trade unions would survive extinction and disappearance and remain relevant in the future. CONCLUSION There is so much uncertainty as to what the future of British trade unions would be. These trade unions have come a long way, through thick and thin and their ability to survive the test of time depends on the strategy they employ. One fact is clear though that although there has been a modest amount of industrial disputes in recent times, Britain is not likely to face a repeat of the wide spread strikes that was present in 1979. In conclusion therefore, unions should not be relegated to the background. Employers need to communicate with their employees, the government would need views from workplace and above all, the employees need a collective voice which makes the unions very important.

Music Appreciation Early Period :: essays research papers

In order to understand how Aquinas affected both Hildegard and Guillaume, one must look at a bit of background of each. To start, Aquinas believed â€Å"everything is arranged in ascending order to God, the only necessary, self-sufficient being.† Aquinas also believed that faith and reason constitute two harmonious realms. They are not the same. Hildegard was born before Aquinas and therefore could not have been directly affected by his modernization of western thought. However, Hildegard was brought up very religious and held God’s will in highest regard. She was also taught outside of the church in what was called learned studies of natural science, medicine, and other matters. Hildegard experienced visions, one of which led her to fully understand the meaning of the Scriptures, and she was moved to write religious poetry with music because of this. Her music reflects her religious upbringing and religious thought. Hildegard’s musical style was more so monophonic, like the Gregorian chant, and reflected the visions she had. Hildegard believed that her visions came directly from God and were God’s will. Hence the fact that she composed music based more on faith. Guillaume, on the other hand, wrote his music based more on reason than faith. Following the philosophy of Aquinas, that only in acquisition of knowledge could one find God, Guillaume pushed to gain that knowledge and in doing so he felt rewarded. His secular music developed from this knowledge. In turn, Guillaume grew with his understanding to the point where he developed a romantic as well as literary relationship with a young woman, breaking the bonds of his religious vows. The drive behind his secular music was emotions and understanding of those emotions. Getting more specific as to the styles of both of these composers, Hildegard had no formal schooling in music, and used an improvisational style. Hildegard had a more individual style that was improvisational, non-linear, and included "dramatic leaps". On the other hand, Guillaume used "complex structures based on the repetition and manipulation of borrowed melodies". Guillaume used strict formatting that follows a logical flow, which he borrowed from other composers Therefore, you hear large differences between Guillaume and Hildegard. Aquinas had thought that knowledge gets one closer to God. Granted, there was no need for knowledge before the time of Aquinas, but there was still that desire to be closer to God.

Finding Meaning in The Turn of The Screw, by Henry James Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚   At first glance, Bly appears to be a rather lonely place. The vividly bleak backdrop for The Turn of the Screw houses a handful of servants, two orphaned children, and ghosts who fade in and out of view. But there are others present who are less obtrusive yet just as influential as Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Peering into and out of Bly's windows and mirrors, engaging with the text and the lingering trace of author Henry James, a crowd of real and virtual readers hope to catch a glimpse of a specter or to unravel a clever Freudian slipknot that will tell them something: They may be looking for that which they think James intended as the text's truth - a transcendental center - or maybe they subconsciously wish to see a reflection of themselves, somehow transformed by the reading, smiling back from the gilded, glassy panes. Whatever they are seeking, this crew of interactive observers might be surprised to find out that there is not only one answer to James's literary mystery and that the worth of their readings centers on effect, not meaning. It is futile to seek the "answer" that is supposed to tell because, as Douglas forewarns, "the story won't tell." The langue of Bly is based on deceptions and ambiguities, ways in which "truth" is kept at bay. But many readers are unaware that they are really seeking effect, and thus experience effect only when they think they are searching for meaning. Whatever the motivation, the pack should not be deterred from the quest, for the creation that Wolfgang Iser calls the text's "esthetic pole," --its true value--depends upon a conscientious reader to notice the text's gaps and ambiguities, fill in some of the holes, and to revel in the pleasure, finally, ... ...ist's dream, how reassuring for everyone else that it will never happen.    Works Cited    Felman, Shoshana. "Henry James: Madness and the Risks of Practice." 1977. The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Deborah Esch and Jonathan Warren. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 196-228.    Iser, Wolfgang. "The Reading Process." Reader Response Criticism. 1974. Ed. Jane Tompkins. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1980. 50-68.    James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Deborah Esch and Jonathan Warren. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999.    Lustig, T.J. "Henry James and the Ghostly." 1994. The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Deborah Esch and Jonathan Warren. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 255-60.    Tompkins, Jane. "The Reader in History." Reader Response Criticism. Ed. Jane Tompkins. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1980. 201-26.    Finding Meaning in The Turn of The Screw, by Henry James Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚   At first glance, Bly appears to be a rather lonely place. The vividly bleak backdrop for The Turn of the Screw houses a handful of servants, two orphaned children, and ghosts who fade in and out of view. But there are others present who are less obtrusive yet just as influential as Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Peering into and out of Bly's windows and mirrors, engaging with the text and the lingering trace of author Henry James, a crowd of real and virtual readers hope to catch a glimpse of a specter or to unravel a clever Freudian slipknot that will tell them something: They may be looking for that which they think James intended as the text's truth - a transcendental center - or maybe they subconsciously wish to see a reflection of themselves, somehow transformed by the reading, smiling back from the gilded, glassy panes. Whatever they are seeking, this crew of interactive observers might be surprised to find out that there is not only one answer to James's literary mystery and that the worth of their readings centers on effect, not meaning. It is futile to seek the "answer" that is supposed to tell because, as Douglas forewarns, "the story won't tell." The langue of Bly is based on deceptions and ambiguities, ways in which "truth" is kept at bay. But many readers are unaware that they are really seeking effect, and thus experience effect only when they think they are searching for meaning. Whatever the motivation, the pack should not be deterred from the quest, for the creation that Wolfgang Iser calls the text's "esthetic pole," --its true value--depends upon a conscientious reader to notice the text's gaps and ambiguities, fill in some of the holes, and to revel in the pleasure, finally, ... ...ist's dream, how reassuring for everyone else that it will never happen.    Works Cited    Felman, Shoshana. "Henry James: Madness and the Risks of Practice." 1977. The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Deborah Esch and Jonathan Warren. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 196-228.    Iser, Wolfgang. "The Reading Process." Reader Response Criticism. 1974. Ed. Jane Tompkins. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1980. 50-68.    James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Deborah Esch and Jonathan Warren. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999.    Lustig, T.J. "Henry James and the Ghostly." 1994. The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Deborah Esch and Jonathan Warren. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 255-60.    Tompkins, Jane. "The Reader in History." Reader Response Criticism. Ed. Jane Tompkins. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1980. 201-26.   

Intercultural Luxury Draft

He has won he â€Å"Town and Country Couture Award† three times in a row. ; He has his showroom and atelier in Istanbul Sample jewelry Seven Bikini's PRI Raise bracelet showing a wealth of techniques including microcosmic, miniature painting, calligraphy and an intricate pave of diamonds that recreates this early cartographer's discoveries It's not all about history and culture in Seven Bikini rings. This one is topped by two fluffy chicks that look real enough to stroke. Not the old cut diamonds on the shank of the ring with silver-foil backings Seven Bikini Seagulls over Istanbul ring.The seagulls appear to float in an azure sky ever the microcosmic scene depicting the history of Istanbul Seven Bikini Pomegranate ring. The pomegranates are carved into the back of a precious stone that is mounted into the outsized ring set with diamonds Seven Bikini ring with miniature paintings of Istanbul on the sides and a quartz dome Seven Bikini ring showing a range of techniques includi ng intaglio carving and calligraphy More marine inspiration in this Seven Bikini ring that wraps a starfish around the finger topped by a gorgeous baroque pearl.Rose-cut diamonds stand out against the oxidized metal Safety ring Turkey: Seven Bias India Culture of the country in relation to luxury Protestant ethic: against show and excess; modesty Luxury goods are bought for esthetics value rather than for show Rising middle class buys luxury for its status. Aware of only the ubiquitous international luxury brands. With increasing travel, there IIS more awareness. Culture of jewelry wearing Classic jewelry tends to be more reserved, sober, discrete More jewelry worn for special occasions Jewelry (esp. gold) is considered an investment vehicle.Most of the buying is done during wedding season and for some religious festivals. Few elites buy jewelry from international designer brands. Image of the brand Ð’Â « Seven Black Ð’Â » Silver and gold more popular than semi-precious ston es Arabic (? ) calligraphy not a trend in UK jewelry Local jewelry houses are preferred. Better rates and more ethnic style. Semi-precious stones are picking up in popularity, although highest demand for gold and diamonds. Culture of colors Muted, natural colors preferred, not bright colors Lots of bright colors.Inherent in culture. Shiny gold. Business culture People do not negotiate for People always negotiate when it KICK: Barberry ; Created in 1856 ; Barberry Group Pl is a British luxury fashion souse, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks ; Most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Barberry ; The company has branded stores and franchises around the world, and also sells through concessions in third-party stores.HAM Queen Elizabeth II and HRS The Prince of Wales have granted the company Royal Warrants ; The Chief Creative Officer is Christop her Bailey. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FETES 100 Index Barberry originals or inspired by Tu reek The headscarf, adapted from the classic Barberry scarf ; Colors muted, classic sense of the house style as seen in the LIKE India Use of bolder colors, textures, patterns The Trench' very popular Sense of fun, mixing modern style with old traditions ELK: Barberry Islamic culture doesn't like excess, luxury.Resistance of consumers for Christian and Jewish origin brands usury is used as a status symbol. Esp. the middle class. Aware of major international brands. Luxury from the west, IEEE Europe preferred. Culture of fashion wearing Being fashionable while adapting the rules of Islam. Increasing economic level and globalization created demand for Islamic fashion brands Western fashion is gaining in importance. Both day Wear and evening wear. Has to co exist alongside ethnic clothes. Demand for well known brands alongside good fit.Conserva tive to a large extent. Trends dictated by movie stars. Image of the brand Ð’Â « Barberry Ð’Â » Very adaptable products ( scarves and trench coats) with neutral beige colors, modern but not sex appeal, branded and high quality, in line with Islamic fashion. Problem with Christian origin, and interpretation of symbols of the cross on the basis of checker design Well known. Its accessories more popular than main offerings. Barberry Bruit launched recently. Perfumes, wallets, shoes etc do very well. Known as British brand.

Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography Virtues Essay

In his late 20’s, President Benjamin Franklin listed 13 virtues that he felt were an important guide for living. The following virtues can be divided in personal and social behavior: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity and Humility. Despite the fact that he tried to follow these guides in his life and went away, consider this being worthwhile in your own life. Temperance, eat not to dullness. Franklin states some associate temperance with eating and drinking, but wasn’t his intentions. My reasoning for why I feel this is one of the most important virtues is because one should always keep cool no matter what situation. Conquering your primal urges for food and drink, you’ll have the confidence to start making improvements in other areas of your life. As being taught in different ways in today’s time, order is another important virtue. Let all your things have their places. A man must fight against these natural laws if he wishes to do well in the world. I feel that it’s most important because being organized and properly creates a well rounded individual. Cleanliness, Sincerity, Fragility and Resolution is what influence the children’s childhood. Having the confidence to allow your actions speak for themselves, Franklin considered humility to be something worth acquiring and I agree with him. Men have pride in themselves showing the sign of strength and courage to mark a true person. They think of their abilities than they really are and honesty. The majority of the list of virtues is also valuable. Benjamin Franklins issues weren’t important but society has changed and that’s mainly are cause in the 20th century. Learning about Franklin’s experience, I find him as an intelligent man who has influenced the immature process of children before and today.

February Action Essay

So, after my great holidays, back to reality. In this case, it meant moving flats. I moved out of my friends’ flat and in with two Mexican siblings, girl (spoilt acting student) and boy (pain in the ass lawyer student). (The statements in this part are highly influenced by later experiences with the two people, I got along with them and their family fine.) And when I moved I found the flat under water. So the first thing I did was spend hours soaking towels. Apart from that the two were always nice to me, the guy was almost never there and the girl went home on weekends, so I had the place to myself a lot, which was great. The flat was on the ground floor, so despite great sunny weather outside, I lived in freezing conditions. But it was well-located for work and social life. My room consisted of a bed and a built in cupboard (already provided) and a very useful box (which I found on the street and stayed with me until I moved out). I started working too†¦giving English classes in the Bank of Mexico, some 20 hours a week, all 1-1 classes with mostly enjoyable students. As I had already found a football team, it meant I had found friends who took me out, to the cinema and every sunday the PUMAS (one of the local teams) game was a must. I was introduced to the stadium, the anthem (!!!!) and the during match entertainment (beer and crisps) and the after match entertainment (more beer, discussion of game, and strange activities like having electric shocks outside of the stadium). Although not completely my description of a great time, it was good fun nevertheless. I otherwise spent quite lazy weekends, enjoying the company of my friend Itziar and playing football. At the end of February, the football girls had a huge party, which was great great fun, a lovely, welcoming group of girls who know how to party. There I became better friends with a lot of them, which was very nice. The party was full of good food, dancing, dancing and dancing and when it ended, we decided to go to a friends’ house to continue the party, but we all ended up falling asleep there. So some good weekend action. I was invited by the family of my flatmates to Cuernavaca, which is the getaway for inhabitants of the big City. (btw, if New York City is the Big Apple, Mexico City must be something like the Big Papaya) I went out on the Saturday morning by bus and then spent quite a relaxed time in the house, which is quite a bit outside of the city center. We had a lovely meal and then they took me into the city center, where they, interestingly enough, put me on the tourist bus and I went around on that. Pity really, because the main square had some really interesting and fun dancing and singing going on, surrounded by people selling handcrafts and other oddities. So the bus ride was quite amusing, lots of historically interesting information that I forget while the guide is finishing the sentence. Cuernavaca is a nice city and the bus also took us on a walk through some park/ravine, which was also umm†¦nice. Then in the evening I met the family to have supper at a very good Italian restaurant before we headed back to their house, where I fell right to sleep (tired from the party, obviously). Sunday just meant a long sleep, another nice meal and then the return journey back to the city. So I got a look at what Cuernavaca was like, which was enjoyable. Next time, I’ll just go by myself to see more of the place instead of seeing it wizzing by from the Touribus.

Anthropology essay

Energy captured, production, population, and exchange are all evident in various cultures and societies throughout time. Because these factors affect all humans and societies equally, they must all equally be accounted for within that particular culture/society methods of sustainability. The first example I will use to Illustrate this point will be Britain's empire during the 16th-18th centuries. Britain at the time had Its scope of influence include over 15th of the world's entire population. This expansive effort to colonize or commercialism by sea led to Britain's global dominance during the era.By establishing colonies and trade routes throughout the world, Brutal was able to use human labor In various colonies to grow cash crops and food to serve Britain's empire (economy). This was especially Important considering Britain's geography and land made for a poor agrarian society. Using wind and human labor, the British were able to build ships and a powerful navy to traverse the 7 oceans for profit, production, and exchange. My second example will be the pilgrims and settlers of the 13 original colonies before the American Revolution.The original pilgrims and settlers of the 13 original colonies ere largely unsuccessful in their attempts to establish colonies in North America. It took a few tries before the colonies became fully established and functioning; illness, starvation, and a lack of sustainable resources lead to death for many in these starter colonies. Because these initial immigrants lacked the resources or knowledge to cultivate the land effectively, they experienced hardships until they learned how to collaborate with others.Luckily for them, the pilgrims and settlers began bartering and learning to hunt and cultivate crops with the French and Native-American peoples of North America at the time. While we are all aware that the Native Americans and settlers did not always get along due to conflicts over land and power, they did however, stand to learn and gain from each other's technology for the self- preservation of their own societies/cultures when they were not at odds with one another.My third and last example will be the Egyptians that built the Ancient Egyptian empire/the Pyramids thousands of years before Christ. Geographically speaking, Egypt was poised to be one of the ancient world's superpowers due to Its location next to the Nile River. Without the Nile, Egypt simply could not have come to existence due to its arid desert climate. Production, population, and Egyptian society flourished because sustainability was possible due to the Nile River allowing agriculture, trade, and expansion to exist.The Importance of the Nile River to Ancient Egypt culture and way of life was evident In their polytheistic religion – they prayed/ made tributes to their gods whom they believed controlled the Sun, the Nile, etc. Anthropology essay By annoyances culture/society methods of sustainability. The first example I will u se to illustrate had its scope of influence include over 15th of the world's entire population. This Britain was able to use human labor in various colonies to grow cash crops and food to serve Britain's empire (economy).This was especially important considering Britain's geography and land made for a poor agrarian society. Using wind and human labor, the British were able to build ships and a powerful Ana to traverse the Egypt was poised to be one of the ancient world's superpowers due to its location agriculture, trade, and expansion to exist. The importance of the Nile River to Ancient Egypt culture and way of life was evident in their polytheistic religion – they prayed/

Capital Punishment Cheapens the Value of Human Life

Today, the most serious crimes (especially murder and rebellion) are preserved and the death penalty (or similar death penalty) is a judicial order to execute a prisoner as a punishment for capital crime (defined by each country). The cruel killing of citizens by the state can be traced back to ancient times. Indeed, from an objective point of view, the judgment of the Gospel before 2000 and the subsequent crucifixion can be regarded as a classic death penalty procedure. The death penalty or capital punishment means state penalty for convicted criminals, ie the most serious crime - the death penalty. The word capital comes from the Latin capital and means around the head, so the meaning of death (symbolic meaning) will be distracting. Death penalty and murder by law are completely different Murder is caused by individuals for personal purposes. But human life has the greatest value. Regimes using numerous death sentences, particularly political or religious crimes, infringe the most important human rights, ie the rights to life. Abusers believe that the death penalty is the most serious violation of human rights, as human rights violations are the most important and the death penalty infringes it, it is not necessary and it hurts the condemned psychological torture. Human rights activists oppose the death penalty and call it cruel and inhumane and punishing punishment. Amnesty International views this as ultimate irreversible human rights denial. Most countries, including almost all the first world countries, have abolished capital punishment or practical death penalty. Notable exceptions are the United States, China, India, Japan, and most Muslim countries. America is the only Western country still using the death penalty Seek killing of others' daily life. The death penalty is a vicious circle. Regardless of media, politicians and others, someone will provoke the masses of the United States and then claim that the people will support the death penalty. This h as led to the expansion of media coverage of capital lawsuits which in turn stimulated the population and continued its cycle. People should be compared to sheep in a way; by themselves, this person may be smart, but collective consciousness is formed under many other existences. Under the influence of the group, this wise person can imagine acting in ways not normally considered. The death penalty further weakens our lives by becoming a means of legitimate discrimination. Southern countries are more likely to convict a black man than a white male, especially if the crime is against a white man. If it turns out that the minority group is supported much, everyone will be excluded from the punishment of the law. essay.com/TITLE: Capital punishment: justice or murder? Theme: Koch's Death and justice: how punishment of death confirms life vs Brooke's punishment for death Title: Capital punishment: Is it justice or murder? Theme: Koch's Death and justice: how punishment of death confirm s life vs Brooke's punishment for death