Death of a Salesman and the American Dream Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person† (Miller, 1949: Act 1). His own wife admits that her husband may have pursuing something other than the American Dream. Willy had been pursuing a sense of recognition, a boost to his own self-importance, and attention from the people around him. These pursuits, while understandable, are not necessarily those associated with the American Dream. In the final analysis, Willy’s attempts to be well-liked affected his life in ways which made the American Dream less accessible for him. In addition, this superficiality was buttressed by Willy Loman’s view that the American Dream was achieved individually rather than with the help of friends or family. He didn’t identify himself as being a part of a team or as a part of a larger whole. Instead, he attempted to make the dream his own by setting himself up as something greater than other people. When asked about his interest in moving, Willy responds â€Å"They dont need me in New York. Im the New England man. We will write a custom essay sample on Death of a Salesman and the American Dream or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page If not particularly admirable, Willy is at least consistent. He is consistent in defining the American Dream in his own terms, as the product of charm and presentation rather than substance and sincerity. What this play demonstrates, rather than the fallibility of the American Dream, is an individual who has taken his opportunities for granted. He has wasted his opportunities for a secure and confortable retirement. He has wasted his opportunity to enjoy a contented and happy family life in his twilight years. These losses flow from his misinterpretation of the means to success, and not any fundamental flaw with the American ideal of a materially and emotionally comfortable life. The American Dream, whether as a part of a company or as a part of a family, do not tolerate the selfish type of individualism and egoism in which Willy indulged himself.

Deborah Whaley s Black Women - 1423 Words

Historically, Black women are depicted as the big black smiling mammy; the over sexed deviant with distorted body parts; and the angry sapphire. Within the male dominated comic art world, Deborah Whaley’s Black Women in Sequence: Re-inking Comics, Graphics Novels, and Anime offers a countervision on the Black body. Women, especially Black women may welcome the book as a confirmation that their story is recognized and represented. For this audience, Whaley will explore the historical, racial, and sexual representation of Black women in sequential art pointing out the imagined Black body through interracial relationships, African fetishism, cultural politics, financial gains and transnationality. Whaley deconstructs the generally accepted comic art world from 1930 to contemporary time by questioning writers’, illustrators’, and readers’ engagement of the mutual fabrication of the black female body and the (mis)representation of black women in sequential art. She challenges the production of â€Å"Blackness† and the absence Black female characters in mainstream comics, â€Å"comic book writers have used illustration of and ideologies about the Black female body to signify the fetish, fear, and fabrication of Africa† (p. 96). Further she debunks the white male inventions of â€Å"Blackness† and constructs an argument why sequential art is a feasible form of understanding visual narrative that reflect popular literature, identity politics, history, and cultural production from women of

Personal Goal Free Essays

Throughout my life there have been a lot of people, books and audio tapes that have taught me important lessons. For me, making the right decision in life is crucial as I believe we have only one life and one chance and we should make the most of it. In my life I want to be known for my successful career, my generosity and my positive influence towards people. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Goal or any similar topic only for you Order Now I guess this is my long term goal in life and I am confident that my study in Northeastern University will take me closer towards my goal in life. Since I was twelve years old, I was in a position where I needed to choose between going to school in Indonesia, where I would stay close to my family and friends, or going to school in Australia, where I would get a better education, but be by myself, far away from my family and friends. I took action and moved from my comfort zone. Moving and living into a totally new country is certainly a great life experience which thought me that determination and self-motivation is the key in helping one succeed in life. My parents always remind me that when the time comes my responsibility is to continue our family business and taking care of my brother and sisters. It is in our culture that the eldest son in the family had the responsibility to take care of the whole family. I believe it is not an easy task but as a responsible son I will prepare and equipped myself with whatever I need to achieve this goal. My short term goal is to have a real working experience in one of the leading company in the United States. When choosing a University in United States, it was always my intention of not getting just a business theory but more importantly real working experience in a company. I do my research and finds that Northeastern University is known for its internship program in United States. In doing MBA degree at Northeastern, I will choose finance as my career track. I choose finance firstly because it is an important area that I need to understand in order to take my family business to the next stage and I also believe that by taking this career track it will get me ready to face the real business world. I am confident that by taking a MBA at Northeastern University will help me to achieve my short term goal of equipping me with knowledge and a real working experience that I really need. Determination and Self motivation is what will keep me moving towards my life goal and I believe that with strong determination and self motivation I will be able to accomplish all of my goals in life. Please answer the following questions: a) What have you learned in your research on Northeastern that has motivated you to apply? ) What unique contributions will you bring to the Northeastern community as a student? c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from your experience at Northeastern? A) The most appealing factor that motivated me to apply is the fact that Northeastern is one of the top Universities in United States that have the best internship program and the recommendation by people who claimed that the schools are so helpful with their students. I believe that University involvement in helping their student succeeding in their career is very important. I read a review that stated that Northeastern provide students with a lots of tools and workshop for their internship. B) In my career both in Indonesia and Australia, I had the opportunity to experience many different kinds of activity from sporting activity, community activity to working experience. My sporting experience includes representing Indonesia to play in an international U-13 competition, playing musical instrument in a band for a concert in Australia, one of a member in Indonesian Student Association in Australia, as well as having two years experience working as a marketing manager in a building material manufacturer company in Indonesia. As a student I am confident that my experience will bring unique contribution to Northeastern Community. C) Personally the most valuable thing that I could have is experiencing and learning in different culture, different environment and diverse people from all over the country. The chance of being able to be around different people from different country and background are priceless for me because it will open my mind about being able to adapt in a diverse environment and a challenge to be able to settle and work together with people from different culture and background. An experience outside university as well as in the workplace will no doubt give me a price less experience especially towards my career internationally, because in a business world we have to be able to deal with almost everyone and I will take this opportunity as my chance to practice this rare opportunity. I look forward to meeting new people from all over the world, making new friends, learning about the western culture, doing new activity and working together as a team. Another personal benefit is that living away from my family will make me able to be live independently and solving problems on my own. I believe that as I move along in my study at Northeastern I will have more and more benefit that right now I have not seen. How to cite Personal Goal, Essay examples

Marketing Principles Routines of Decision Making

Question: Describe about the Marketing Principles for Routines of Decision Making. Answer: Introduction A person who purchases a product or services from the market for their own consumption is regarded as the consumer. There are various marketing analysis tools, which the customer can use as they purchase a product. In this paper, the product of choice that will be used for analysis on the consumer decision-making process is the laptop. Moreover, it will look at the process of consumer decision making that needs to be followed when a consumer purchases a product. When the customer buys a good or a service, there is a rise of need that arises(Armstrong, Adam, Denize and Kotler, 2014). It is important to understand in the case of purchase of the laptop there are two aspects to note, the laptop, which is the product and the individual purchasing the product as the consumer(Betsch and Haberstroh, 2014). This essay is aimed to identify the various factors, which influence the consumers on making a decision when buying. Besides, it will look at the level in which the product can be placed o n the theory of Maslows Hierarchy of needs. Steps of the consumer purchasing process The process of the consumer to make decision when purchasing a product is usually complex and it involves various steps(Solomon, 2014). All the consumers usually have their daily needs every day in their life, and the needs makes them to make different decision to satisfy the want. Some of the decisions that are made can be complex depending on the opinion of the consumer in regards to a particular commodity, evaluation, comparison, and purchase of that product. Moreover, it is important to understand and realize crucial issue in the process of decision-making and how to utilize the theories of practice (Betsch and Haberstroh, 2014). The steps of consumer decision-making process are as follows; problem recognition, the information research, evaluation of the various alternatives, purchase decision, and the assessment of post purchase. i) The problem recognition This is the first stage of the model. The appreciation of the problem occurs when an individual realizes on the difference that exists between the actual state of the affairs and the desired state of the affairs. In this case, the consumer may recognize the need to buy the laptop when there is usually the need to carry on its use at different places, and this is more convenient as a comparison to the desktop computer(Pescher, Reichhart and Spann, 2014). The essence of this step is for the consumer to identify that he has a need that is not satisfied and wants to satisfy it. An example, of this, is an undergraduate student who has enrolled for a given degree and has been issued an assignment to work on which has a deadline. The student needs portability of the laptop to work at home and school. This is thus where he recognizes he has a problem, which can be solved by the use of a laptop(Lester, 2013). ii) Information search On the data search, entails where a consumer begins to search information of a particular product to satisfy his or her needs. Two types of search can be undertaken one is internal search example through memory, and the other is the external search where one can get information on the friends and relatives(Lee and Hanna, 2015). Nonetheless, it is important to note that a successful search for the information usually leaves a buyer with a possible alternative. An example of the case of laptop consumer can gather information about the various brand of a laptop like HP, Lenovo, Dell, and Mac(Armstrong, Adam, Denize and Kotler, 2014). iii) The evaluation of the alternatives On the aspect the consumer usually evaluates on the products basing on some criteria, an example is performance, warranty, the price, quality of the product and the after sale services(Lysonski and Durvasula, 2013). An example of this can be to a consumer who has gathered information on the various brands of a laptop like HP, Lenovo, Dell and Mac now need to evaluate these product based on the criteria like price, the speed, warranty of the product and the durability(Solomon, Russell-Bennett and Previte, 2013). iv) Purchase Decision On this, entails choosing the buying alternative that you have identified these include the product, the packaging, and the method of purchase(Solomon, 2014). After the consumer evaluates on the various brand of laptop, he may decide to purchase Mac due to the high speed, and the great battery life it has over the other brand(Solomon, 2014). v) Post purchase evaluation On the post purchase, evaluation they can exists both the positive and the negative purchase behaviors. On the positive entails when the consumers hold feedback that is positive in regards to the product obtained and is happy with the quality(Wen, Prybutok, Blankson and Fang, 2014). An example is when the customer is satisfied with the performance of the Mac Laptop and recommend to his or her friends to purchase the same. On the contrary, entails where the consumer is not satisfied with a given products, and he or she hold a feedback that is negative on the product. An example, a customer who is no happy with the laptop that they have purchased will persuade his friends not to purchase it, as the experience they had was not good(Pescher, Reichhart and Spann, 2014). Factors that impact on the decision making process of the consumer The following are the main factors that affect this process; psychological, personal, social and the cultural factors(Armstrong, Adam, Denize and Kotler, 2014). Psychological factors The psychological factors are primarily divided into various components, motivation, perception, learning, attitude and the belief. A consumer can possess knowledge and attitude towards the various products(Betsch and Haberstroh, 2014). Cultural factors The consumer behavior can be great be influenced by the cultural factors like; the buyer's culture, the subculture, and the social class. These factors can influence greatly affect the consumer behavior and they vary from individual to another(Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). Personal factors The individual factors may also influence the consumer decision-making process. Some of the factors that affect the consumer buying behavior are the economic situation, age, personality, and lifestyle. These components can influence the decision the consumer makes when purchasing the product like the laptop(Lysonski and Durvasula, 2013). Social factors The social factors can also influence on the buying behavior of the consumers. Some significant factors affecting the process of making a decision of the consumers are the reference groups, the role, family and status of the individual(Lee and Hanna, 2015). Level of need of laptop on Maslow Hierarchy of needs theory On this theory state that individuals are motivated to achieving a certain needs. When one of the need is fulfilled, the individual may seek to fulfill the next one(Lester, 2013). On the Maslows pyramid of needs, laptop falls on the category of cognitive needs, which are also referred to as higher odd needs. Purchasing the laptop is aimed to satisfy the desire to know things. A consumer may use the laptop for research purposes, work or the willingness to understand various concepts when using the laptop(Lester, 2013). Conclusion The consumer is any individual who intends to purchase a given service or a product in the market place. In this paper, it has looked at the consumer decision-making process when they intending to purchase a laptop. It has elaborated on the steps that are involved, the factors that influence the decision. Moreover, it has looked at the Maslows hierarchy of needs theory where the product in question-laptop can be placed on the pyramid. References Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P, 2014. Principles of marketing. s.l.:Person Australia. Betsch, T. and Haberstroh, S. (Eds.), 2014. The routines of decision-making. s.l.:Psychology Press. Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick. F, 2012. Principles and practice of marketing (No, 7th). s.l.:McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Lee, J. M. and Hanna, S. D, 2015. Savings Goals and Saving Behavior from a Perspective of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, pp. 26(2), 129-147. Lester, D., 2013. Measuring Maslow's hierachy of needs. Psychological reports, 113(1), s.l.: s.n. Lysonski, S. and Durvasula, S, 2013. Consumer decision-making styles in retailing: evolution of mindsets and psychological impacts. Journal of Consumer Marketing, pp. 30(1), 43-54. Pescher, C., Reichhart, P. and Spann, M, 2014. Consumer decisio-making processes in mobile viral marketing campaigns. Journal of interactive marketing, pp. 28(1), 43-54. Solomon, M. R., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J, 2013. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, being. s.l.:Person Australia. Solomon, M. R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wen, C. R., Prybutok, V., Blankson. C. and Fang, J, 2014. The role of E-quality withing the consumer decision-making process. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, pp. 34(12), 1506-1536.

War Poetry Essay Example

War Poetry Paper Into the stuff of his thought and utterance, whether he be on active service or not, the poet-interpreter of war weaves these intentions, and cooperates with his fellows in building up a little higher and better, from time to time, that edifice of truth for whose completion can be spared no human experience, no human hope. George Herbert Clarke War is rife with suffering, forcing everyone involved to endure the most extreme of conditions. Armed conflict itself unavoidably places all those involved in mortal danger. Some find this to be a honourable test of courage, others as a waste of precious young lives. However, war has an effect on people outside of soldiers who fight. Numerous other, including relatives of soldiers who have fought, young and innocent children who are confused by the loud noises and the need for their precious father to go to arms and all those people whose houses have are destroyed or used as military fortifications. In some way, war has an effect on everyone. Naturally, war raises many questions, what is the purpose of war? Many have pondered why some of the most intelligent world leaders have had to retort to the most basic of reactions. In light of the recent events in America, the purpose of war is even more relevant. Is a knee-jerk reaction always the right and moral thing to do? Many would say no. If it were merely a question of good versus bad, right versus wrong, then war would serve a straightforward moral purpose. However, it is not usually a case of good versus bad, and in reality the cause of many conflicts in difficult to comprehend. Why do many use religion as their reason to go to arms, when the bases of most religions are forgiveness and peace? We will write a custom essay sample on War Poetry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on War Poetry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on War Poetry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Everyone understands the physical torment and horrors of war; many hope never to observe sights like that. However, something draws young men to fight. The media plays a great role in attracting young men to fight, many project war to be something to achieve glory in, and some however act as a deterrent to fight. It is the same with this collection of poetry. There are two clear sections: glory and honour or gruesome and horror. Some poems however, lie in between these two margins and others create new sectors of their own. It is important to discuss the contents of each poem so we can understand the poets own thoughts on war. The first poem to be discussed is To Lucasta, Going to the Wars by Richard Lovelace. It is important to understand the poets background to get a good reason why he had this particular view of war. Lovelaces father died at arms and Richard himself served with the French army during the English civil war. However, his Royalist sympathies lost him his fortune and he died in poverty. Many would think that this would cause him to have a bad view of war but obviously not. The poem is comparatively very simple to understand. The speaker loves the women he addresses, Lucasta. However, he also loves the honour that war brings. His lover is chaste and quiet, Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind he believes to be with her is to be in a nunnery. The speaker does not want Lucasta to believe that he is cruel in leaving her, tell me not, sweet, I am unkind, this opening line tells us of his impending announcement which must be something that she, as any common person would, disagrees with. He is deeply attracted to her, but he has a need for something rather more exciting. Indeed, he goes to war and arms. It is obvious that he is greatly competitive and wishes to confront not only the enemy in general but he wants to be the person to confront, The first foe in the field. The use of alliteration captures the urgency with which he feels. This first foe is described as his new mistress. She is described as being the new object of his devotion, which he chases, he is so eager to posses her obsesses him. It is obvious by this point that his new mistress is in fact honour. He believes in battle much more passionately than he believes in the gentleness of Lucasta. He embraces with a stronger faith the sword, horse and shield of war. It is almost as if he is making love to his mistress, quite different to the relationship he has had with his chaste lover. He is forced to explain his lack of fidelity. He believes that once he has achieved his honour he will become a better lover to Lucasta. His virility his whole sense of being as a man- will be improved. In summate he believes that he will be a better lover when he achieves honour: I could not live thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honour more. He may love honour more than Lucasta, but his prowess as a lover will increase in proportion to the amount of honour he wins. It is obvious that Lovelace believes that war is a good source of honour and this is what draws young men to arms. It is also clear to see that he believes war to be glorious and a route to honour, and in such this poem agrees with many others in the collection. The next poem to be discussed portrays war as being the complete opposite of honourable. The main point of After Blenheim is that war affects not just those who fight in them. Ordinary civilian also suffer. Southey uses certain words with an increasing irony throughout the poem. The poem revolves mainly around three voices, on old and the other two are very young. None of them really understands the great and famous. The poem starts in a rather tranquil manner. The imagery of an old man surrounded by his grandchildren, resting on a summers evening after his days work is done is a very peaceful thought. So far, the poet has introduced us to a peaceful poem and it is obvious that the mood is not going to change. The childrens innocent play is interrupted when Peterkin discovers an object which apparent to be a dead soldiers skull. Old Kaspar says he often discovers the skulls of men who fought at Blenheim: And often when I go to plough The ploughshare turns then out. For many thousand men, said he Were slain in that great victory. Naturally, the children ask what was the purpose of the fighting however Kaspar is unable to provide a valid answer. The little he does know is that the battle was between the British and the French. He also adds the important fact that many civilians suffered also: With fire and sword the country round Was wasted far and wide, And many a childing mother then, And newborn baby died Kaspar also mentions that his father lost his house and was forced to become a refugee. The destruction and slaughter were widespread and indiscriminate. Nursing mothers died with their young, innocent babies. Numerous dead corpses were left to rot on the battlefield. The most important part of the poem is how Southey uses the words great and famous to continuously change meaning. The words are used with increasing irony. Great means large so we assume that a great victory implies that it had remarkable importance and that it had considerable moral validity. Similar to this is the word famous which basically means know to many people, but again used in this context one must assume that it means admirable or well known for its positive contribution to civilisation. It is obvious that Southey has purposely stripped the words of their positive meanings, the words great and famous contradicting with the overwhelming impression of a battle which resulted in much unnecessary suffering, huge losses of human life, and wanton destruction of property. The poet introduces even more irony in the tenth stanza where he has little Willhelmine stating what the reader has been thinking for much of the poem: Why, twas a very wicked thing! The irony introduced by Southey here shows us that a little child can be very good in observing the truth of the matter; it is clear to little Willhelmine that this was not a great victory at all, however, wisdom of Kaspars old mind finds it impossible to summon such thought. It is made clear by the further irony used in the last paragraph what Southeys views on war are. He states ironically that the duke of Marlboroughs received great praise (amongst other large rewards) however, it is still unclear to Peterkin why so much carnage had to be caused, and surely there was a purpose to all this suffering. In the penultimate sentence Kaspar confirms everybodys thoughts and admits that he does not even know the purpose of the war, however he knows that it was a great victory. It is obvious by the language and irony used by Southey that After Blenheim strongly contrasts with those which link war with honour and glory. Therefore, in our groups in the collection this makes up the second major group, where war is thought of as a purposeless and evil thing; just a waste of young lives. The Charge of the Light Brigade vastly contradicts Southeys view of war however, it also agrees with it on some levels. On first reading the poem the reader instantly notices the rhythm, this helps us somewhat to imagine the pace and urgency of the riders. The French general Pierre Bosquet famously said of this event: Cest magnifique, mais ce nest pas la guerre. By this he meant it is magnificent, but it is not war. this sentiment is very much expressed by Tennyson. The main point of the poem is the celebration of the soldiers unquestioning obedience to orders, despite the fact that it was obvious to everyone involved that failure was inevitable. The command, Forward, the Light Brigade! is followed by the comment, Was there a man dismayed? the answer to this obviously being no. Tennyson goes on to add with some irony about the role of a soldier: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Tennyson comments on how soldiers a merely pawns at the command of their generals whim. He also comments on the widespread knowledge that few of them would survive. The poem continues with the rhythms and images of the poem captured by the sound of the horses hooves thundering into the Valley of Death. The words that Tennyson uses for this line refer to the bible, Psalm 23 in particular. This is important as the religious link obviously refers to the great sacrifice made by Jesus. The next stanza is full of cinematic imagery: Cannon to right o them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered; We vividly see the men, the horses, the artillery, the smoke and the deaths of so many innocent men and horses. The shouting of orders in the first two stanzas increases the whole drama of the situation. The above quote gives us the impression of a caged animal, unable to escape. Repetition of certain words also plays a large part too, in particular the number 600, reminding us of just how many lives were out in jeopardy by the incompetence of those in command. The heroism of the men is highlighted once again: Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly the rode and well, Despite the fact that they are being shot at, they continue to fight on. This sort of heroism contrast greatly with the foolery of the commanders. The poem highlights the incompetence of those in command, Some one had blundered; Tennyson emphasises the breath taking failure of judgement on part of the commanders by using a word of such strength. In line thirty-one, All the world wondered shows the shock of the nation on how not only such mistake may have been made but also the unconditional obedience of the men. Tennyson continues to highlight the fortitude that the Light Brigade fought with: Plunged in the battery-smoke Right through the line they broke; Cossack and Russian reeled from the sabre-stroke Even though the Light Brigade had inferior equipment and inferior number of troops the courage led them to break through the Russian line. In the fifth stanza Tennyson begins by repeating the well known phrase, however this time with Cannon behind them showing us that the Light Brigade are now fleeing the Valley, however Tennyson somehow manages to convey a sense of courage in this act. The last stanza shows that the glory achieved by the Light Brigade will never be forgotten, When can their glory fade? The last three lines really show Tennysons feelings, Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred! He commands us to remember and honour the courageous Light Brigade. The Charge of the Light Brigade really sits on the fence; it is most certainly a poem of glory and heroism however, it also asks important questions. It accepts the fact that not every soldier can be involved in the making of decisions and so unflinching obedience can be expected. However, they must atleast have confidence that those order are rational. There is no room for blunders. The valour with which the Light Brigade fought has led to nothing. Ode, Written in the Beginning of the Year 1746 is a rather abstract poem. The poem writes about dead soldiers, however there are no wounds. They physical realities of death in battle are disguised by abstractions. The euphemism of death in the first line describes it as sleep again a very vague and abstract sense of death. The word sleep also brings a sense of peace and one instantly assumes the person is now at peace. The corpses are transformed into the brave. The second line gives us the impression that all their country blessed them before they died. Personification plays a large role in this poem; Honour and Freedom are given capital letters and personified as a pilgrim and as a hermit respectively. Collins adds Spring and Fancy as people saying that she shall decorate a better mound of earth than has ever been trod upon. Fairies make an appearance too, ringing their funeral knell. This poem romanticises the view of the dead. The language is very frivolous and the thoughts pious and patriotic. This shows a very narrow-minded view of war and shows that the poet has very little idea of the physical realities of war, the horror, the pain and the suffering. This poem is very hymn like in its structure. The language is very varied and descriptive in an abstract manner, and warrants closer examination. The use of imagery is quite superb: There Honour comes, a pilgrim grey, To bless the turf that wraps their clay, The spring fingers the corpses, sprinkling them with dew. This idea clearly contrasts strongly with a darker view of corpses such as shown in The Hyaenas, discussed later. The next poem, On the Idle Hill, is my personal favourite poem out of the collection. The stark contrast Houseman creates between the calm, peaceful, tranquillity of sitting upon a hill in the country and the vision of soldiers marching off to war and inevitably some to death is very thought provoking. There are other strong contrasts too, the men are, Dear to friends and food for powder. The gunpowder is personified, its unquenchable appetite implied. The image of young, fit men is contrasted with graphic images of their corpses. The men have been violently treated and stripped of identity: Bleach the bones of comrades slain, Lovely lads and dead and rotten; None that go return again. These images are fixed in the speakers and the readers mind, and therefore there is an expectation that the speaker in the poem will resist becoming a solider himself at all costs. However, the final stanza shows a new skin becoming darker and more unexpected. The bugles, drums, and fifes seem to be calling to him. The last line is of the utmost importance: Woman bore me, I will rise. He is human, similar to Macduff in Shakespeares Macbeth he is born of a woman, so he will rise from his idle hill to join the files of scarlet. The speaker acknowledges the grim reality of war, but he is unable to resist its call. He fulfils his basic human instinct of fighting for the survival of his fellow man. There is no way to opt out. The idea of comradeship is very important in this poem. This poem talks about the irresistibility of war. The last poem to be discussed is possibly the most important to be discussed. The Hyaenas talks about how humans are worse than animals. The hyenas use the dead men only for meat, To take account of our dead. They are interested in the dear corpses of the soldiers only as food, How he died and why he died Troubles them not a whit. They pull them out of their shallow graves on the battlefield and eat them. This is horrible to imagine however, they are doing only what comes naturally to them, their basic instinct is to survive. Kipling continues on to state how hyenas are better than humans are once again: They are only resolute they shall eat, That they and their mates may thrive. Hyenas are soulless and, therefore, innocent of any malice. They are only scavengers: they did not kill the men in the first place. This surely makes them better than humans. In the first stanza the kites are described as baffled. It seams illogical that the humans should kill each other like this, and for what purpose. The hyenas are described as wise, since it is easier to dig up fresh meat that trying to kill prey for themselves. The reader gets the impression that the hyenas are much wiser than the foolish humans who have done such dreadful things to each other. They eat to survive, not in excess, and not out of gluttony. The dead soldiers a poor dead soldier of the king with pitiful face are past suffering now. They are not affected by the hyenas feeding. What the hyenas do is very private, But it is not discovered to living men. There are no human beings around to see. Only God sees this along with the soulless and therefore, innocent hyenas. The language used by Kipling is very thought provoking. In particular the final two lines. Through out the poem the poet has criticised mankind for the behaviour to each other. He says that the hyenas do not disrepect the dead mens name, this is upto the humans: Nor do they defile the dead mans name That is reserved for his kind. There is neither honour nor glory in this poem, merely pity, sadness and anger at the cruelty that mankind can be so shameless. The poets discussed are not merely individual poems they make up the collection of pre 1914 war poetry. There are many trends that can be seen in the collection, the simpleton might say that its a matter of glory and pointlessness. However, this is not the case. Yes there are poems which are like this but the majority are not clear cut. Some fit into the category of war being death and mutilation. Others fit into war being a route to glory and others being war brings dishonour to those who wage it. The irresistibly of war is also stated and the fact that war brings suffering non-combatants too. The majority of the collection fits into many of these categories and many more. I have discovered a variety of responses in this collections many of them are difficult to categorise. The poems that describe war as a waste of young lives and as a source of death and mutilation are: Drummer Hodge, Come up From the Fields Father, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Drums and A Christmas Ghost story. However, other poems refer to war being a route to glory: To Lucasta, Going to Wars, The Charge of the Light Brigade and Ode, Written in the Beginning Of The Year 1746. Many people would say that war is necessary; one must fight for what they want; however, I disagree. I personally take Kiplings point of view on war, war is useless and all those who wage it are dishonourable. However, I also agree that soldiers are merely pawns doing a job. Surely, it is not their fault if their commanders choose to wage wars, there is not always a correct and responsible way to resolve problems and inevitably problems will occur. In summate it would be a different essay if I wished to talk about my own view point on war, however, it must be mentioned to show the impact of war. My own view point is that war is not necessary all the time, however, sometimes it is needed. Referring to the quote included at the beginning of my essay. Poets must write about war, all write from their own perspective, the poem would be negligible if it did not show the poets thoughts. However, if I had to write a poem on war it would not be about glory or honour, nor would it be about shame and death. My poem would be about truth and hope.

An Overview and History of Medical Geography

An Overview and History of Medical Geography Medical geography, sometimes called health geography, is an area of medical research that incorporates geographic techniques into the study of health around the world and the spread of diseases. In addition, medical geography studies the impact of climate and location on an individuals health as well as the distribution of health services. Medical geography is an important field because it aims to provide an understanding of health problems and improve the health of people worldwide based on the various geographic factors influencing them. History of Medical Geography Medical geography has a long history. Since the time of the Greek doctor, Hippocrates (5th-4th centuries BCE), people have studied the effect of location on one’s health. For example, early medicine studied the differences in diseases experienced by people living at high versus low elevation. It was easily understood that those at living low elevations near waterways would be more prone to malaria than those at higher elevations or in drier, less humid areas. Though the reasons for these variations were not fully understood at the time, the study of this spatial distribution of disease is the beginnings of medical geography. This field of geography did not gain prominence until the mid-1800s though when cholera gripped London. As more and more people became ill, they believed they were becoming infected by vapors escaping the ground. John Snow, a doctor in London, believed that if he could isolate the source of the toxins infecting the population they and cholera could be contained. As part of his study, Snow plotted the distribution of deaths throughout London on a map. After examining these locations, he found a cluster of unusually high deaths near a water pump on Broad Street. He then concluded that the water coming from this pump was the reason people were becoming sick and he had authorities remove the handle to the pump. Once people then stopped drinking the water, the number of cholera deaths dramatically decreased. Snow’s use of mapping to find the source of disease is the earliest and most famous example of medical geography. Since he conducted his research, however, geographic techniques have found their place in a number of other medical applications. Another example of geography aiding medicine occurred in the early 20th Century in Colorado. There, dentists noticed that children living in certain areas had fewer cavities. After plotting these locations on a map and comparing them with chemicals found in the groundwater, they concluded that the children with fewer cavities were clustered around areas that had high levels of fluoride. From there, the use of fluoride gained prominence in dentistry. Medical Geography Today Today, medical geography has a number of applications as well. Since the spatial distribution of disease is still a large matter of importance though, mapping plays a huge role in the field. Maps are created to show historic outbreaks of things like the 1918 influenza pandemic, for example, or current issues like the index of pain or Google Flu Trends across the United States. In the pain map example, factors like climate and environment can be considered to determine why high amounts of pain cluster where they do at any given time. Other studies have also been conducted to show where the highest outbreaks of certain types of disease occur. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, for instance, uses what they call the Atlas of United States Mortality to look at a wide range of health factors across the U.S. Data ranges from the spatial distribution of people at different ages to places with the best and worst air quality. Subjects such as these are important because they have implications for the population growth of an area and the instances of health problems such as asthma and lung cancer. Local governments can then consider these factors when planning their cities and/or determining the best use of city funds. The CDC also features a website for traveler’s health. Here, people can get information about the distribution of disease in countries worldwide and learn about the different vaccines needed to travel to such places. This application of medical geography is important for reducing or even stopping the spread of the world’s diseases through travel. In addition to the United States’ CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) also features similar health data for the world with its Global Health Atlas. Here, the public, medical professionals, researchers, and other interested persons can gather data about the distribution of the world’s diseases in an attempt to find patterns of transmission and possibly cures to some of the more deadly illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and various cancers. Obstacles in Medical Geography Although medical geography is a prominent field of study today, geographers have some obstacles to overcome when gathering data. The first problem is associated with recording a disease’s location. Since people sometimes do not always go to a doctor when ill, it can be difficult to get entirely accurate data about a disease’s location. The second problem is associated with the accurate diagnosis of disease. While the third deals with the timely reporting of a disease’s presence. Often, doctor-patient confidentiality laws can complicate the reporting of a disease. Since, data such as this needs to be as complete as possible to monitor the spread of illness effectively, the International Classification of Disease (ICD) was created to make sure that all countries use the same medical terms to classify a disease and the WHO helps monitor the global surveillance of diseases to help data get to geographers and other researchers as quickly as possible. Through the efforts of the ICD, the WHO, other organizations, and local governments, geographers are in fact able to monitor the spread of disease fairly accurately and their work, like that of Dr. John Snow’s cholera maps, is essential to reducing the spread of and understanding contagious disease. As such, medical geography has become a significant area of expertise within the discipline.

Family Resilience Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Family Resilience Assessment - Assignment Example This research will begin with the statement that family resilience and the concept behind it range beyond our comprehension of healthy family functioning to circumstances of adversity.  The assumption, however, is that there is no universal model that adequately fits all families and their situations due to their unique nature. The fact that some situations strengthen some families and increase their resourcefulness, while others crumble under the stress and pressure associated with the crises, serves to prove that there is no universal reaction that is guaranteed when faced with adversity. A family is a structure where there are rules to adhere to and specified roles to play by each of the members of the unit. There is a certain expectation as regards how the members of the system respond to each other with respect to their roles and are defined by the agreements of their relationships. Within the confines of the system, the development of patterns is seen in scenarios where a par ticular family member causes predictable behavioral influences in other family members and is also influenced by the behavioral traits of the rest of the family. Continuing the same trend of behaviors within a system may bring about balance in the family system, but also there is the risk of growing dysfunctional. For instance, if a spouse is forced to assume the responsibilities of the other for one reason or the other, the shift in roles could have adverse effects on the family system brought about by the equilibrium shift as a result of overreaching roles. My current nuclear family is characterized by a system of genuine family support, and mutual responsibilities in our respective roles. My live-in girlfriend, who we have been together for three and a half years, has three kids whom I absolutely adore, despite the fact that am not their biological father. Thanks to her kids, I have received a new lease in life by becoming a grand daddy-by-girlfriend. This has given me the chance to see a child grow, and I am grateful for this especially since I miss out on raising my own daughter and see her grow up. My relationship with my ex-family is nothing to write home about as no special bond exists. The quality of life back when I was still married to Sonia was horrible. The infidelity by my wife, now my ex-wife, nearly drove me to ruins, and the fact that she abandoned me while bedridden in the hospital and took off with our daughter did not make this easier. It actually made things worse, and this experience coupled with the horrible and abu sive childhood I had, was a suicide in waiting. Growing up surrounded by a mother who hated men, and two sisters who had been taught to loathe men, my childhood was doomed from the start. The fact that I did not have any functional relationship with any of my relatives from either side of my parents families meant that I was stuck with the only family I knew. Describe and discuss the key processes of family resilience: Belief Systems, Organizational Patterns, Communication Processes as they apply to yourself and your family. Belief Systems The members of a family are able to derive some meaning from circumstances of crisis, and therefore foster a positive and a hopeful outlook. This is, however, dependent on the family’s attitude towards the suffering, crises and the options available to them. In my case, making the best out of hard situations was not easy, not that it was expected anyway. It took me a while before I could see clearly that I had to change my attitude towards living a better quality life. Initially, before I got my act together, I dwelled on the issues that faced me instead of trying to find a way to stop myself from suffocating. Once I understood that the only way to move on was to accept my

Enhancment of professional development and safe practice Essay

Enhancment of professional development and safe practice - Essay Example as an individual and a professional but the wider implications of having a mission in life, are much more meaningful and have widespread influence on his life. Reflection practices therefore, become important tool of self improvement. To facilitate personal and professional growth, it is not only essential to have identified goals but acquiring new knowledge and skills to improve professional expertise has also become a pre-requisite of the changing times. Reflective practices and exercise are important tools that are designed to add value to the over all personality of the so that they would be better able to meet the challenges of the time with equanimity and confidence. The art of effective communication is one of the most important ingredients of leadership. Reflective practices help to identify our shortcoming and promote wider understanding of the various methodologies to become more articulate and become familiar with the emerging new paradigms in the social dynamics. The reflective practices encourage confidence building so that they are better prepared to tackle critical situations and meet the challenges with more conviction and composure. It entails six steps of self evaluation practice for teaching and learning process that promotes personal and professional growth (Gibbs, 1988). The different steps are designed to provide an in-depth reflection on our actions that encourages us to look at our actions from the perspective of third person so that they (actions) could be evaluated and analyzed. The self analysis thus persuades one to improve and improvise our actions so that our performance outcome is improved, leading to professional growth with safe practice for oneself and others. This is the first step on Gibbs cycle and takes a look into one’s actions within the predefined situation. What happened? The whole episode that needs reflection is sequentially focused and all the facts as they happened are taken into account or recollected. This step

Zipcar It's Not about Cars It's about Urban Life Case Study

Zipcar It's Not about Cars It's about Urban Life - Case Study Example By offering customers something other than the conventional car-rental, Zipcar offered an array of benefits that included reduced traveling time in densely populated cities like New York. By offering a variety of cars to choose from customers had the opportunity to experience new vehicles according to their moods. It helped in saving money and catered to their need of having a car without actually owning one. By tapping on their values of greening, it widely promoted the positive environmental impact of Zipcar through reduced emissions, fuel consumption etc. comfort of rental and easy accessibility also made it easy for customers to trial, use and remain loyal to the business. A2 Zipcar started off by tapping on one of the attributes of the prevalent value system, environment friendliness. By promoting the environmental benefits like reduced emissions and responsible initiative, Zipcar managed to differentiate itself from the other market players. Pairing this with a set of benefits like convenience, affordability, variety and green attitude etc., Zipcar was able to consolidate both the benefits and value to reflect the company’s image of economy and efficiency. The positioning of ‘we love earth’ and subsequent promotion of how they do so through their offering they are able to focus on how the efficiency of their business and its purpose contributes towards convenient, affordable and safe traveling. A3The value-based positioning by Zipcar based on environmental consciousness and responsible actions towards reducing environmental harm, which they started off with, was successful in giving them a strong footing in the market. This is the positioning that allowed them to differentiate themselves from the array of car rental services that were prevalent in the market at that.Customer oriented strategies are driven by the needs of the customers. A combination of tangible benefits and intangible values make a perfect strategy mix that can help gain market standing and make a business a success, much in the case of Zipcar.

IKEA Recruitment and Selection Process

IKEA Recruitment and Selection Process Ikea is a furnishing company whose vision is to create a better everyday life for the most people possible by offering a wide range of well-designed and functional standardized home furnishing at low prices so more people have access to its products. It was created 60 years ago in Sweden and traces of scandinavian culture are quite noticeable when looking at the companys management style. The company has expanded throughout the world and has become a global player in the furnishing industry. As far as Human Resources are concerned, the company adopts an extremely familial policy and takes good care in enabling each employee to exploit all of his or her capacities. As a matter of fact, IKEA has built its identity on a very strong nurturing management style that allowed to company to clearly stand out from its competitors on that level. IKEA and Human Resources Ikeas human resources teams are responsible drawing in and inspiring workers and creating a bracing environment in order to favor innovation and dynamism. The success of IKEA depends on the continuing development of IKEAs human resources policies and thus managers greatest efforts are indispensable to succeed on that path. Human Resources are present in all parts of the company and in every country where the company is established. They look after recruitment and training as well as they are also responsible for keeping and strengthening IKEAs culture, which is based on a specific set of values that help them develop and transform their vision and beliefs into a fact. With that end in view, recruiting and selecting candidates are two key aspects to keep up with the organizations reputation as it is important for the company to make sure that each and everyone of the candidates will be able to bring an added value into IKEAs family. This report aims at analyzing how the company manages to attract suitable candidates by describing its recruitment policy. The second topic that will be treated is the selecting process, meaning the way that the company manages to pick the best person for the job. I. Recruitment 1. General overview at IKEA à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ISABEL IKEA is a company known internationally, and so are their values. it is a big enterprise that has all kind of job positions to be filled. The IKEA of Lille recruits around 100/150 people every year. Because IKEA is a well-known brand, it is obviously not very difficult to attract candidates for a job offer. However, the recruitment process aims at providing the company with the best suitable candidates by targeting appropriately these offers to candidates with relevant profiles. IKEAs reputation is a key point for its recruitment process; as said by their Recruitment and Competencies Development Manager when we interviewed her: Applications are usually spontaneous. They either come through our website or applicants bring their CVs directly to the store. But sometimes they come in response to an offer. In most cases, companies need to seek out their prospective employees.In this case, applicants tend to apply they wish to work for the company. This, linked to the fact that IKEAs turnover is very low can give us an overview of how successful IKEAs recruitment process is. 2 3. Recruitment policies and methods Recruitment at IKEA did not seem to be an issue. The HR Department of IKEA receives about 7 CVs every day, and 200 every month, most of them sent by e-mail through the IKEA recruitment web page, which clearly facilitated the process for applicants. In addition,external channels such as Pà ´le Emploi and local partnerships with associations and schools are also used at times. For instance, IKEA is starting to develop partnerships with Business and Communication schools in the area of Lille. IKEAs policy is to build a long-term relationship with its employees and help them develop themselves both on the professional but also personal level.   Therefore, one of the aspects of recruitment at IKEA is that they tend to privilege internal recruitment when a position is available. However when there is no potential within the body of employees, the Recruitment Officer that we met said that she has to go and search the candidates elsewhere, and this is where external recruitment comes in. Many directors nowadays started their career with part-time jobs at IKEA when they were still students and managed to climb up the companys ladder thanks internal recruitment. We were told that there is a floor manager for every department (kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc.), and when they feel like they could use one more salesperson in his department, they report their needs to the HR Manager who takes care of the recruitment and selection. With time and experience, the job analysis and information gathering are not necessary anymore, because the HR managers know exactly what type of people the floor managers want, especially for shop-floor workers. For managers, the question is trickier: when internal promotion is possible, the problems dont arise, candidates usually fit the job description, but when there is a need to go through external channels, the specifications and necessary competencies are stated very clearly, although IKEA employees do not have a typical profile. II. Selection 1. General practices and culture at IKEA à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ISABEL Selection represents the process of differentiating between applicants with the goal   to identify those with greater probability of success in the job, therefore for an enterprise such as IKEA it is crucial to keep on with an exceptional and reliable process in order to succeed. What makes IKEAs selection methods efficient is the fact that it is not based on the curricular information of the candidates, but rather on the motivation, capacities, skills, values and personality as said by the Recruitment and Competencies Development Manager. IKEA does not look for the typical profile, it is interested in people that share its values, people who can be inspired by the company to do greater things, people that bring something more to the company and helps it grow even more. IKEAs method is composed by several steps which will be explained below such as phone interviews, individual and group interviews or personality tests. 2. Procedure and Methods Procedure and Methods: Steps for shop floor workers: Steps for managers: The HR manager does not look for particular skills.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  First the candidates apply by mail and/or by the website of Ikea. Click here  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Then there is a pre-selection made by the HR department and based on CV and application form  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The candidates pre-selected have a phone meeting with the HR department.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The candidates receive a mail and they know if it is negative and positive to continue the selection process.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  When it is positive the applicants have a meeting generally only the HR manager.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  If the HR manager valid, there is a meeting with the floor manager.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  And finally for only permanent contract, the applicants have a meeting with the manager of the department. When there is a manager position to provide, the HR department focus on the internal candidates and they prefer promote the actual employees instead of external recruitment for managers positions.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  First the candidates send their CV (only for external candidates)  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  There is a pre-selection based on CV.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The external candidates will have a phone meeting in order to be pre-selected.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The external candidates receive a mail and they know if it is negative or positive to pursuit the selection process.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The candidates have a meeting with the HR manager.  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  If they pass the meeting they will have one with the Department manager  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  They will also have a recruitment day in an assessment center with personality test, exercises in group, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  The candidates selected have a meeting with the CEO of the shop (e.g.: Ikea in Lomme)  ·   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  And finally the candidates have a last meeting with the national CEO of Ikea.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   The entire process take place within two or three weeks. There is no feedback for the negative answers by mail (step 4) but the candidates can ask for a feedback. The process for a position with responsibilities it longer and more difficult. For a manager position the decision of the HR manager is followed by 4 others interview whereas for a shop floor position there is only 2 interviews after the HR managers decision. (Je mettrai les bullet point en nombre pour montrer le nombre de step) 3. Final Decision The final decision is a shared decision between all the members that have been part of the process. This decision can only be achieved with a consensus and it is very important that no doubt whatsoever are remaining when selecting a candidate. As the decision process involves several people, it is supposed to be a guarantee that the candidate who is selected is a good fit for the company. In addition, this plurality of point of views are also necessary to ensure the fairness of the selection process. III. Beyond recruitment and selection 1. Fairness and Ethics When we met the Recruitment Officer at IKEA, she told us that she and the other interviewers were all experienced and intended to be as fair as possible, asking open-ended questions and reformulating so that they do not misunderstand what the candidates say. The selection methods used are diverse and the exchanges are multiple, which improves the fairness of the process.    However, she repeated that Human Resources remain Human Sciences, and are not accurate every time. 2. Strengths and weaknesses of the model Strengths Shows a real identity based on clearly stated values Several selection methods Multiplication of exchanges No typical profile Possibility for anyone to apply Feedback in case of rejection when asked for it, debriefing for managerial positions Preference for internal promotion Recent review of the whole process Employees retention plans Training for new employees Appraisal meeting after a few months Weaknesses   The applications and policies are more or less standardized and thus sometimes dont correspond when applied uniformly to all employees. Policies dont always match individual needs and requirements. Standardized policies   with universal appeal, that do not account for local culture and management differences 3. Suggestions à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ GREG IKEA has settled for an employee-centered policy which enabled the company to have a high satisfaction rate for their employees. Therefore, the recruiters take a really good care selecting people that would fit perfectly in the model of simplicity and conviviality they promote. However, the standardized model that IKEA has been relying on for decades doesnt allow to take into consideration all the local differences in terms of management. Indeed, that model, as nurturing as it could be, might not fit in every IKEA stores throughout the world. Assimilation is one of the major challenge that the company has faced and consequently, IKEAs Human Resources would certainly benefit from a higher customization of the model according to cultural differences. As a matter of fact, a more intense consideration of local management styles would definitely enable the company to get the maximum of each and every employee. Conclusion à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ IRENE We can conclude saying the success of the company, the fair treatment of employees and   the good working conditions of IKEA makes the company receive quite a lot of applications. As a matter of fact, it is undeniable that IKEAs HR policies have been one of their strengths for a long time although sometimes on the antithesis of their reduced-cost motto. The concept of IKEAs one big global family has been running almost perfectly under the governance of its paternalistic founder Ingvar Kamprad. Good recruitment and selection methods are indispensable in the company as it enables IKEA to keep an equilibrium among its employees. The futur on the organization is based on those activities and this is why recruiting is not at all about filling positions but rather about finding people that can help the company progress and go one step further.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   ______________________________________________________________________ On the aim of recruiting, IKEA has preference among existing employees (which means they like their employees to feel valued)when there is a new vacancy although they also use external recruitment methods and they are trying to improve them , rising the number of possible applicants through partnerships with business schools and associations. About selection, IKEA uses different methods and steps for selecting the right candidates which means that for IKEA selecting the right candidates is a really important decision that will affect the long-term success of   the company Ikea is a furnishing company whose vision is to create a better everyday life for the most people possible by offering a wide range of well-designed and functional standardized home furnishing at low prices so more people has access to its products. History Ikea was created 60 decades ago in the south of Sweden, from all wood and materials come from, by a young man who wanted to start a business. It was in the 1920s when its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, started to sell furniture and matches to his neighbors and he discovered it will be cheaper and more profitable to buy them in Stockholm and then sell them in Sweden. Afterwards, in the 1940s-1950s he started to develop IKEA as a furniture retailer but it was in the 60s-70s when the IKEA company started to be known and opened new stores in Sweden until 1980 when IKEA expands globally to new markets such as USA, Italy and France. Since then, it has been growing and entering into new markets with its standardized and functional bedroom, kitchen and home furniture taking the form of what we know today as IKEA. Values As most of the products of the company are made with wood and other materials that affect the environment, IKEA is concerned with the sustainability of the planet so they work and produce their produce in a responsible and eco-friendly way investing on renewable energy and energy efficient technology to help the environment and diminish the impact on it. IKEA has what are called action-based values to protect the environment. IKEA and Human Resources IKEA companies needs down-to-earth, straightforward people who want to help them fulfill the IKEA vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. Their Human Resources teams lead the work of attracting and inspiring co-workers and creating a stimulating and enjoyable work environment. They are keenly aware that the continued success of IKEA businesses depends on the continual development of IKEA co-workers. Human Resources works in all parts of the company and in every country where they have markets. They look after recruitment and training, benefits management and succession planning. Human Resources is also responsible for safeguarding and strengthening the IKEA culture, which is based on a specific set of values values that help them develop and transform the IKEA vision into reality. Recruitment and selection are two key aspects of Human Resources. Recruitment aims at attracting the suitable candidates RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION Overview How many vacancies does the company have to fill in every year ? The recruitment is defined and readjusted every months in function of the needs and the results of each department of IKEA, but they recruit about 100/150 people every year in Lille. How and who can apply ? The applications are usually spontaneous. They either come through the internet website or applicants send their paper CVs directly to the store. But sometimes they come in response to an offer. They also use the external channels such as Pà ´le Emploi (the French Governmental organization that links the demand with the offer in the labour market) and local and regional partners such as associations and schools. IKEA is starting to implement partnerships with business and communication schools in the area of Lille. Whats the typical profile of the candidates ? There is no typical profile. The company and the jobs is so diversified that it is not possible to set a typical profile for candidates. They have very variate backgrounds and competencies. What is the selection process, how do you break down the process ? Shop Floor Employees When the HR people receive the CVs, a first pre-selection is made. Those who passed this step go through an telephonic pre-selection, before doing an individual interview, either with the Responsible of Human Resources or directly with the HR and the manager at the same time. For the CDI (Contrat à   Durà ©e Indà ©terminà ©e, or permanent contract), the interview is done with the head of department. However, during the high recruitment periods, for example during the summer, the interviews for the employees are done in groups. Duration -> 2 weeks Negative answer -> max 3 weeks Managers, Direction First, there is an interview, then a personality test is performed, and the candidates have to participate to an Assessment center (tests), and finally they meet the Store Manager and the Functional Manager. How many stages does the selection process comprises ? About 6. How many of the applicants become candidates ? They receive too many CVs to count them all, but on the level of the interviews, about 1 on 2 or 3 persons are selected and can continue with the selection process. What do you base yourself on for the selection ? More on the CV or on the personality ? The CVs are used to start the conversation, but then what matters more is the motivation, the capacities, skills, values and the personality What are the typical questions that you ask the candidates ? 0 What are the selection methods ? CVs, Phone interviews, individual/group interviews, personality tests, Assessment center, meetings Are the HR people free to choose anyone they think fits, or do they have to follow some rules/standards ? No rules or standards Who takes the final decision ? The HR people do not take the final decision, however, if they say no to the CV, or after the phone interview, or after the first individual interview, its over for the candidate. Who is involved in the selection process ? HR people, manager, head of department, Store Manager, Functional manager Do you organize a selection day ? No Preference between internal selection vs. external for higher positions ? This depends on the structure of the company. They try to promote internal promotion, but when there is no potential within the employees, they have to go and search the candidates elsewhere, in the schools and universities for examples. Many directors now have began their career at IKEA when they were still students, working a few hours a week at IKEA. Do you outsource your selection to another company ? Only for very specialized or technical jobs. What are the differences between the selection methods to recruit shop floor workers and people with higher positions (management, direction) ? (see above) How many people drop out of the company after a short period of time ? (people who were hired for a long time and decide that they dont want to stay) How many quit before the end of their contract (Short term contracts vs. long term contracts) ? Very rare cases. Do you train people after they are hired ? (to make sure they stay in the company) Depending on the job, the newly hired staff has a trail period of 1, 2 or 4 months renewable. During this period, they have time to be trained and integrated in the company. Have the HR policies and the selection methods changed in the past years ? If so, why ? Everything was written down 5 or 6 years ago, and they reviewed everything 4 months ago. In fact, the Human Resources rules and traditions are lost with the expansion of the companies. Do you think the selection methods are fair and ethical ? The interviewers try to be as fair as possible, asking open ended questions and reformulating so that they do not misunderstand what was said according to their own view. However, Human Resources remain human sciences, thus they are inaccurate. The multiplication of the exchanges make it quite impossible to be unfair. Do you have comments or suggestions that you think could help us write our report ? Feed back is given when asked for. Always. For the managerial positions, a debriefing takes place obligatorily. They send a standard message in case of rejection, no time to do personalized answers. Juliette à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. We met the Recruitment Officer. Recruitment and competencies development Manager. At IKEA, the HR department help their employees to develop. Part time = 32% of the employees

Hospitality in Homers Odyssey :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Hospitality in Homer's Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first four books of Homer’s Odyssey depict certain instances of hospitality which are filled with generosity.   One reason for the importance of this hospitality could have been a respect for foreigners, who were completely at the mercy of their hosts, especially when hosts had themselves been foreigners.   A second reason why hospitality may have been important was to see if the guest was disguised as an enemy.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Book 4, Homer tells how Telemakhos and Pallas Athena (disguised as Mentor) visited Menelaos in Sparta.   When Eteoneus, the King’s aide, asked whether he should welcome the guests, Menelaos replies, â€Å"before this, Eteoneus, you were never a fool †¦ we’ve both been entertained as guests before we came back home again †¦ so unharness the horses;   bring the strangers to the banquet.† (p. 33 Hull translation).   This comment illustrates the fact that Menelaos, as host, had had the experience as foreigner before, especially when he was at war and had encounters with both friends and foes in distant lands.   He empathizes with the position his guests are in, and Telemarkos and Athena were bathed and fed before they were questioned.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In book three, Telemarkos and Athena go to visit the wise Nestor in Pylos where they are welcomed and well-cared for.   In his wisdom, Nestor recognizes Athena for who she is, and offers up a holocaust to her the following morning (p. 30).   In embracing the company of foreigners and showing the proper hospitality, hosts both warded off the fury of gods visiting as disguised guests as is portrayed in the Odyssey, but in reality, it also may have been a way of making friends of enemies who came to scout the land.   The in-depth inquisitions after the guests were fed may have been not only innocent curiousity, but also a way to weed out ill-intentioned visitors.   This can be seen in Nestor’s wise inquiry, â€Å"Who are you, stranger? [Are you] recklessly roving the sea as pirates do while staking their lives and bringing ills to alien people?† (p. 23).   Hosts not only had to be prepared to entertain gods, but also protect themselves and th eir land.

Airline Economics Essay

The purpose of this note is to provide background to the study of the airline industry by briefly discussing four important economic aspects of the industry: (1) the nature and measurement of airline costs; (2) economies of scope and hub-and-spoke networks; (3) the relationship between yields and market characteristics; and (4) the S-curve effect. The Appendix to this note contains a glossary of key terms used throughout the discussion. Airline Costs Airline costs fall into three broad categories: flight sensitive costs which vary with the number of flights the airline offers. These include the costs associated with crews, aircraft servicing, and fuel. Once the airline sets its schedule, these costs are fixed. traffic-sensitive costs which vary with the number of passengers. These include the costs associated with items such as ticketing agents and food. Airlines plan their expenditures on these items in anticipation of the level of traffic, but in the short run, these costs are also fixed. fixed overhead costs which include general and administrative expenses, costs associated with marketing and advertising, and interest expenses. The largest category of costs is flight-sensitive. An important point about an airline’s cost structure, and a key to understanding the nature of competition in the industry, is that once an airline has set its schedule, nearly all of its costs are fixed and thus cannot be avoided. Because it is better to generate cash flow to cover some fixed costs, as opposed to none at all, an airline will be willing to fly passengers at prices far below its average total cost. This implies that the incidence of price wars during periods of low demand is likely to be greater in this industry than in most. There are two alternative measures of an airline’s average (or, equivalently, unit) costs: cost per available seat mile (ASM) cost per revenue passenger mile (RPM) Cost per ASM is an airline’s operating costs divided by the total number of seat-miles it flies. (An available seat mile is one seat flown one mile.) It is essentially the cost per unit of capacity. Cost per RPM is the airline’s operating costs divided by the number of revenue-passenger miles it flies. (A revenue passenger mile is one passenger flown one mile.) It is essentially the cost per unit of actual output. These two measures are related by the formula: Cost per RPM = cost per ASM ( load factor where load factor is the fraction of seats an airline fills on its flights. In the end, it is cost per RPM that an airline must worry about, for it must cover its cost per RPM to make a profit. Airlines differ greatly in both their costs per ASM and costs per RPM. For example, in 1992 Southwest had a cost per ASM of 7.00 cents, while USAir had a cost per ASM of 10.90 cents. Similarly, Delta had a cost per RPM of 15.33 cents while American had a cost per RPM of 13.81. Differences across airlines in cost per ASM reflect differences in: 1) average length of flights (cost per ASM declines with distance). 2) fleet composition (cost per ASM is smaller with bigger planes). 3) input prices, especially wage rates. 4) input productivity, especially labor. 5) overall operating efficiency. Differences across airlines in cost per RPM reflect differences in cost per ASM plus differences in load factor. Two airlines might have very similar costs per ASM, but quite different costs per RPM because of differences in load factor. For example, in 1992 USAir and United’s cost per ASM differed by less than 2 cents (USAir 10.90, United 9.30), but their costs per RPM differed by nearly 5 cents (USAir 18.54, United 13.80) because of USAir’s lower overall load factor (USAir .59, United .67) Economies of Scope and Hub-and-Spoke Networks Economies of scope play an important role in shaping the structure of the U.S. airline industry. The source of economies of scope in the airline industry is the hub-and-spoke network. In hub-and-spoke network, an airline flies passengers from a set of â€Å"spoke† cities through a central â€Å"hub,† where passengers then change planes and fly from the hub to their outbound destinations. Thus, a passenger traveling from, say, Omaha to Louisville on American Airlines would board an American flight from Omaha to Chicago, change planes, and then fly from Chicago to Louisville. In general, economies of scope occur when a multiproduct firm can produce given quantities of products at a lower total cost than the total cost of producing these same quantities in separate firms. If â€Å"quantity† can be aggregated into a common measure, this definition is equivalent to saying that a firm producing many products will have a lower average cost than a firm producing just a few products. In the airline industry, it makes economic sense to think about individual origin-destination pairs (e.g., St. Louis to New Orleans, St. Louis to Houston, etc.) as distinct products. Viewed in this way, economies of scope would exist if an airline’s cost per RPM is lower the more origin-destination pairs its serves. To understand how hub-and-spoke networks give rise to economies of scope, it is first necessary to explain economies of density. Economies of density are essentially economies of scale along a given route, i.e., reductions in average cost as traffic volume on the route increases. Economies of density occur because of two factors: (1) spreading flight sensitive fixed costs and (2) economies of aircraft size. As an airline’s traffic volume  increases, it can fill a larger fraction of seats on a given type of aircraft and thus increase its load factor. The airline’s total costs increase only slightly as it carries more passengers because traffic-sensitive costs are small in relation to flight-sensitive fixed costs. As a result, the airline’s cost per RPM falls as flight-sensitive fixed costs are spread over a larger traffic volume. As traffic volume on the route gets even larger, it becomes worthwhile to substitute larger aircraft (e.g., 300 seat Boeing 767s) for smaller aircraft (e.g., 150 seat Boeing 737s). A key aspect of this substitution is that the 300 seat aircraft flown a given distance at a given load factor is less than twice as costly as the 150 seat aircraft flown the same distance at the same load factor. The reason is that doubling the number of seats and passengers on a plane does not require doubling the number of pilots or flight attendants or the amount of fuel. Economies of scope emerge from the interplay of economies of density and the properties of a hub-and-spoke network. To see how, consider an origin-destination pair – say, Indianapolis to Chicago – with a modest amount of traffic. An airline serving only this route would use small planes, and even then, would probably operate with a low load factor. But now consider an airline serving a hub-and-spoke network, with the hub at Chicago. If this airline offered flights between Indianapolis and Chicago, it would not only draw passengers who want to travel from Indianapolis to Chicago, but it would also draw passengers from traveling from Indianapolis to all other points accessible from Chicago in the network (e.g., Los Angeles or San Francisco). An airline that includes the Indianapolis-Chicago route as part of a larger hub-and-spoke network can operate larger aircraft at higher load factors than an airline serving only Indianapolis-Chicago. As a result, it can benefit from economies of density to achieve a lower cost per RPM along the Indianapolis-Chicago route. In addition, the traffic between Indianapolis and the other spoke cities that will fly through Chicago will increase load factors and lower costs per RPM on all of the spoke routes in the network. The overall effect: an airline that serves Indianapolis-Chicago as part of a hub-and-spoke network will have lower costs per RPM than an airline that only serves  Indianapolis-Chicago. This is precisely what is meant by economies of scope. Relation Between Airline Yields and Market Characteristics An airline’s yield is the amount of revenue it collects per revenue passenger mile. It is essentially a measure of the average airline fares, adjusting for differences in distances between different origins and destinations. Airline yields are strongly affected by the characteristics of the particular origin-destination market being served. In particular, there are two important relationships: Shorter distance markets (e.g., New York-Pittsburgh) tend to have higher yields than longer distance markets (e.g., New York-Denver). Controlling for differences in the number of competitors, flights between smaller markets tend to have higher yields than flights between larger markets. The reasons for relationship 1) are summarized in Figure 1. shorter distance higher cost per RPMlower load factor higher cost per RPM higher yield Figure 1 Cost per ASM generally falls as distance increases. This is because, say, doubling trip mileage does not require doubling key inputs such as fuel or labor. Thus, shorter flights have higher cost per ASM than longer flights, and airlines must achieve higher yields to cover these higher costs. In addition, shorter distance flights generally have lower load factors than longer distance flights, which implies a higher cost per RPM for shorter distance flights, again requiring higher yields. Why are load factors lower for shorter flights? The reasons has to do with the greater substitution  possibilities that consumers have in short-distance markets (e.g., car of train travel are more viable options). In short –distance markets, we would therefore expect that some fraction of time-sensitive travelers (e.g., vacationers) would travel on these alternative modes, so short distance flights would have a higher proportion of time-sensitive travelers (e.g., business persons) than longer distance flights. Competitive pressures thus force airlines to offer more frequent flight schedules in short-distance markets, which leads to lower load factors. The reason for relationship 2) has to do with the economies of density discussed earlier. Smaller markets will have lower traffic volumes, and airlines will generally operate smaller aircraft at lower load factors, increasing costs per RPM and yields. The S-Curve Effect The S-curve effect refers to a phenomenon whereby a dominant carrier’s market share (share of RPM) in a particular origin-destination market tends to be greater than the carrier’s share of capacity (share of ASM). Thus, for example, if United offers 70% of the seats flown between Denver and San Francisco, and Continental flies the remaining 30%, then the S-curve effect says that United’s share of the actual traffic in this market will be greater than 70% and Continental’s will be less than 30%. This translates into an S-shaped relationship between â€Å"share of capacity† and â€Å"market share,† as shown in Figure 2. The S-curve effects stems from two sources. First, an airline with a greater share of capacity in a market is likely to have greater visibility in that market, so passengers are likely to contact it first. Second, an airline with a greater capacity share is likely to have more frequent – and thus more convenient – departures. This, too, works to boost its share of the actual traffic. The S-curve phenomenon makes capacity an important competitive weapon in the rivalry among airlines. An airline with the financial resources to purchase  aircraft and airport gates to achieve a dominant capacity share on key routes is likely to win the fight for market share. This suggests that, in general, it will be very difficult for a small carrier to challenge a dominant carrier at a hub airport, unless the small carrier can achieve significant cost advantages unrelated to scale. The history of competition in the post-deregulation airline industry seems to bear this out.

5 Great Tips for Business Writing - Proofeds Writing Tips

5 Great Tips for Business Writing - Proofeds Writing Tips 5 Great Tips for Business Writing Business writing includes everything from dry internal reports to snazzy website copy. But while different situations call for different writing styles, we have a few tips that apply to any type of business writing. Check them out below to find out how they could benefit your company! 1. Tailor Writing to an Audience As mentioned above, business writing is a broad category. This means you should always write for a specific audience. So whether it is a technical report for those in the know or a light-hearted press release for the public, think about who you are writing for and adapt the tone and language to suit. 2. Beware Buzzwords and Jargon Business buzzwords and jargon are not necessarily bad. Sometimes you need to use technical language to communicate something complicated. But take care not to go too far! Packing your writing with jargon will make it difficult to read, especially if you aren’t writing for a specialist audience. And buzzwords can be alienating. It is far better to keep things simple by using everyday language wherever possible. And if you need to use jargon, explain exactly what it means when you introduce the term. 3. Help Your Reader Find Key Details Life is busy. And sometimes that means you don’t have time to read the small print. If you want to make sure your readers don’t miss important information, then, you have to make it easy for them. If you are writing for an internal audience, you may want to include an executive summary. This lets you summarize key details in an easy-to-read fashion, while giving full information in the rest of the document. If writing for a wider audience, use formatting (e.g., bold or italics) and headings to help your readers find the most important information even while skim reading. 4. Keep It Short Write concisely wherever possible. After all, if time is money in the business world, you can’t assume everyone will read the entire 283-page report you sent. So keep it short where you can. If you are writing a longer document, though, always give the main points first. This will ensure that even busy readers see what you need them to. 5. Always Proofread! This is quite possibly the most important tip of all. And we’re not just saying that because we offer an outstanding business proofreading service. Whether or not you choose to work with us (you should), checking your business writing for errors is essential all of the time. Errors in business writing will give a bad impression to customers, clients, and colleagues alike. They can even cost a lot of money if you’re unlucky! And this makes proofreading worth the effort.

The First Amendment and Its Impact on Education Essay Example

The First Amendment and Its Impact on Education Essay Example The First Amendment and Its Impact on Education Essay The First Amendment and Its Impact on Education Essay The First Amendment and its Impact on Education Patricia Thomas AED/204 Gail Cargile November 4, 2010 Battle over Pledge Arguments over the Pledge and specifically over the phrase â€Å"under God,† have caused people to wonder about the First Amendment stating â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. † California has already banned the Pledge in three public school districts due to the reference to God. Public schools are funded by the government and the phrase conflicts with the government’s endorsement of a religion. The phrase â€Å"under God† was not part of the original Pledge, it was added in 1954. Some argue that the phrase divides us on a religious basis. Students are not required to say the Pledge of Allegiance or they can say it, and just omit the â€Å"under God† phrase while reciting, the Supreme Court ruled in 1943. Battle over the Pledge. Weekly Reader News-Senior, 84 (10), 2. (2005). Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier Database on November 4, 2010. Stand on Ceremony Some say that school children understand that the Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic exercise and not a religious one. Others are under the argument that a prayer in school or at school ceremonies puts the students and attendees in the midst of a religious ceremony. For example, graduation ceremonies typically will make some sort of religious reference whether through a speech or a prayer, but students do not have to attend graduation, they do have to attend school where the debate is over the Pledge. Some are arguing that the Pledge and other examples that are being used to show how religion has made its way into government functions are simply ceremonial and patriotic. Others argue that this interferes with the separation of church and state. Stand on Ceremony. New Republic, 229 (18), 11. (2003). Retrieved from Academic Search complete database on November 4, 2010. Is Student-Led Prayer at Public High School Football Games Unconstitutional? The Sante Fe Independent school district in 1995 adopted a policy that allowed students to select a classmate to deliver a â€Å"message or invocation† prior to home football games. Many students and their parents filed suit over the school policy stating that it was a violation of the First Amendment. Arguments are that it violates the student’s right to free speech however counter arguments are that allowing the students free speech will violate the Establishment Clause and the mandated separation of church and state. Sekulow, J. (2000). Is Student Led Prayer at Public High School Football Games Unconstitutional? Supreme Court Debates 3, (5), 142. Pro and Con. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier Database on November 4, 2010 Saving the Pledge The House of Representatives voted to strip the court of jurisdiction in September 2004 with the Pledge Protection Act not allowing any Pledge case to go through federal courts. The Pledge Protection Act prevents all federal courts from hearing cases that challenge the constitutionality of the Pledge. Those in favor of keeping the phrase â€Å"under God† in the Pledge should hope that the Senate will kill the Protection Act for it may increase the chance that â€Å"under God† will be found unconstitutional. This leaves some states to keep the phrase and some to dismiss it due to confusion in the courts. Students cannot be punished for not participating in the Pledge. The argument really comes down to interpretation of the phrase itself. Some say that the â€Å"under God† phrase is historical and patriotic and stands for what our country was founded for, freedoms. Other says that it was not part of the original Pledge and should be omitted. Munoz, V. , Saving the Pledge. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, (149), 8-10. (2005). Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database on November 4, 2010.

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Personal Statement Example And once I settled down with the campus life, I was more than eager to begin my education. However things did not turn out as I had expected as all my hopes that were built during the first few weeks did not last for long and I was left to think whether I really intended to continue my education in that place. After a lot of thinking, I then decided to transfer to a different college, though I was initially apprehensive about my parent’s response to my decision. After much debate and consultation, I have now finally decided to take the chance and apply for the university; one, which I believe, would provide me with good education and at the same time also aid in my personality growth and development into a better individual. College education changed my perception of education in many ways and also my objectives in life. The experience that I gained during my first semester at college was vastly different from that of school and it made me become more independent and pushed me to work harder with my studies. The confidence that I gained during this period helped me choose my major subjects and other courses, according to my liking and strength and also learnt the most important requirement of effective time management. I realized that there was more to education than what I had previously imagined.

HOUSING MANAGEMENT & MAINTENANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HOUSING MANAGEMENT & MAINTENANCE - Essay Example l as the community is being managed by other members of the community who are responsible for administering the building and resolving its salient issues such as planned and unplanned maintenance. Generally the chosen building displays full occupancy all year around with most people belonging to the working class residing. Meanwhile some residents are part time students as well as part time workers (for gas stations, super store, take away and the like). The building is a typical skyscraper built along the beams and columns design principles. The entire building is composed of beams and columns that have been created using concrete as well as steel. Steel cages have been intertwined with poured cement in order to create the beams and columns. The floors have been constructed similarly although the composition of the steel frameworks or cages is far denser in the floors than in the beams and the columns. A few places in the building are also reinforced using structural steel although it is not highly visible. Adequate cladding in these areas ensures that the structural steel is not totally visible although some structural steel can be seen due to damaged cladding. The beams and columns are relied on to create different apartments such that all apartments have access to some form of ventilation in the shape of windows that are exposed to the outside environment. The matrix like structure created through the use of beams and columns is such that apartments exist on all the exposed faces of the building while hallways exist in their middle to provide access to the apartments. Within each typical apartment the external windows are all created using glass. These windows may stretch for entire man height in some areas while in others they are restricted to between 1.5 feet and 3 feet. The internals of the apartments are all done in concrete such as the beams and columns and the floors and roofs. The external shells of the apartments (the walls mostly) are done with