Lockheed Martin Corporate Strategic Decisions Regarding...

Lockheed Martin Corporate Summary Lockheed Martin is a global security, aerospace and information technology company. Lockheed Martin originated on March 15, 1995 as the result of the horizontal merger of two similarly sized companies, Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta. The merger created one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world. Norman R. Augustine, the chairman and CEO of Martin Marietta needed to make crucial strategic decisions regarding the future of his company. He knew that the company must either expand or start dropping some of its bulk in order to remain viable in the post-Cold War marketplace. He decided on expansion and was in the process of negotiating to purchase Grumman, when he was contacted by Daniel M. Tellep, CEO of Lockheed. Tellep proposed a merger of their companies. Augustine accepted the proposal and walked away from the Grumman deal. Lockheed Martin’s web site states that its operating units are organized into broad business areas. Within these areas, the products and services that they offer are targeted at two distinctly different types of entities, governmental agencies and commercial companies. Their business areas are: †¢ Aeronautics – tactical aircraft, airlift, and aeronautical research and development lines of business. †¢ Information Systems Global Solutions – federal services, government and commercial IT solutions †¢ Missiles and Fire Control – Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System and PAC-3 missiles. †¢Show MoreRelatedLockheed Martin s Board Of Directors1986 Words   |  8 PagesLockheed Martin’s board of directors consist of twelve active members. There are four women and eight men, all of which are external members other than the CEO. One woman, Marillyn A. Hewson, is the Chairman, CEO, and President of Lockheed. She, among other board members has 30+ years of management experience and is responsible for acting with independent interest for the company in order to avoid compromising judgement. Considering majority of the board has external membership, it benefits the companyRead MorePresident Executive Officer Director Chief Officer Essay979 Words   |  4 Pagesdà ©cor manufacturing company, founded Peter Fortuga in 2011 announced his retirement to his staff. Expeditiously, the search for a replacement commenced and the board of directors found Doug Jeffers, a well-known interior designer, to replace Fortuga as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). A charismatic, har d-working, and well-connected individual, Jeffers appeared qualified through his innovative approach to lead the company to new heights. Analysis of Leadership Strategies Due to his past success, oneRead MoreManagement Planning Paper for Boeing Company1073 Words   |  5 Pagesmanagement leads to a future course of action. This first function of management is vital to the success of the organization. It is an ever-changing part in the life of the organization. It should answer the questions of where, when, how and who. The goals and objectives of a business are developed in the planning process. The business that is depicted in this paper is The Boeing Company. This document reveals the management operations of one of the world’s leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturerRead MoreCase Study : Boeing : The Boeing Company Essay5714 Words   |  23 PagesLauren Miller, Tori Tappero, Gabriel Quintero, Carlos Aguilar Management and Human Resources 301 Professor Aytug 6 June 2015 Boeing: The Boeing Company Table of Contents Company in Brief (Tori)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Page 1 Environmental Analysis (Tori)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Page 1 Macro Environmental Analysis(Tori)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 1 Competitive Environment Analysis(Lauren)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...†¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Page 1 Internal Environment Analysis(Tori)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 1 Company’s resources(Tori)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreA Pay Model and Defining Internal Alignment9320 Words   |  38 PagesExhibit 1.6. Medtronic is a medical technology company that pioneered cardiac pacemakers. Its compensation objectives emphasize performance, business success, and salaries that are competitive with other companies whose financial performance matches Medtronic’s. AES generates and markets electricity around the world. Its goal is to provide electricity worldwide in a socially responsible way. The notion of social responsibility pervades the company. Fairness is a fundamental objective of pay systemsRead MoreA Pay Model and Defining Internal Alignment9320 Words   |  38 PagesExhibit 1.6. Medtronic is a medical technology company that pioneered cardiac pacemakers. Its compensation objectives emphasize performance, business success, and salaries that are competitive with other companies whose financial performance matches Medtronic’s. AES generates and markets electricity around the world. Its goal is to provide electricity worldwide in a socially responsible way. The notion of social responsibility pervades the company. Fairness is a fundamental objective of pay systemsRead MoreCommon Knowledge : How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know56617 Words   |  227 Pagestitle: author: publisher: isbn10 | asin: print isbn13: ebook isbn13: language: subject publication date: lcc: ddc: subject: Common Knowledge : How Companies Thrive By Sharing What They Know Dixon, Nancy M. Harvard Business School Press 0875849040 9780875849041 9780585258171 English Organizational learning, Business enterprises-Communication systems, Intellectual cooperation, Information networks--Economic aspects, Success in business. 2000 HD58.82.D585 2000eb 658.4/5 Organizational learning, BusinessRead MoreNature of Strategic Management13243 Words   |  53 PagesDavid Strategic Management. Concepts and Cases, 9th edition, Pearson Education, Inc., 2003 ISBN 0-13-112372-6 Chapter 1: S.N. Levine, The Investment Managers Handbook, Irwin Professional Publishing CHAPTER OUTLINE What Is Strategic Management? Key Terms in Strategic Management The Strategic-Management Model Benefits of Strategic Management Why Some Firms Do No Strategic Planning Pitfalls in Strategic Planning Guidelines for Effective Strategic Management Business Ethics and Strategic ManagementRead MoreThe Boeing Company Analysis15797 Words   |  64 PagesADVANCED FINANCE CORPORATE ANALYSIS The Aerospace Defense Industry The Boeing Company Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1. PRESENTATION OF THE BOEING COMPANY 5 1.1 Industry Analysis 6 1.2 Business of The Boeing Company 7 1.3 Origin and History’s Timelines of The Boeing Company 8 1.4 Management and Organizational Structure of The Boeing Company 11 1.5 The Corporate Strategy of The Boeing Company 14 2. THE SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE BOEING COMPANY 17 2.1. Strengths 17 2.2. WeaknessesRead MoreUnited Airlines23407 Words   |  94 PagesJeffrey R. Nystrom Management 4500 Business Policy and Strategic Management November 18, 2008 Table of Contents SECTION 1: CASE STUDY 1 1.1 Background / History 1 1.2 Organizational Mission 1 1.3 External Environment 2 1.4 Internal State of Affairs 4 1.5 Generic Strategy 5 1.6 Long-Term Objectives 5 1.7 Grand Strategies 5 1.8 Short-Term Objectives 6 1.9 Functional Tactics 7 1.10 Strategic Execution 8 1.11 Executive Bonus Compensation Plans 8

Practical Exam †Bio 125 Lab Free Essays

Lab Due November 14, 2012 Practical Exam 1. a. The symbionts (Paramecium) of the termite belong to the kingdom Protista b. We will write a custom essay sample on Practical Exam – Bio 125 Lab or any similar topic only for you Order Now Paramecium living in the intestines of termites breaks down the cellulose walls of wood fibers releasing proteins that are absorbed by the termites’ digestive system. Paramecium benefit by having an environment to thrive and they ingest the wood fibers for their own nutrition as well. 2. c. An important ecological effect of diatoms is that when they die they hold onto CO2 trapped inside their silicon skeleton, carrying it to the ocean floor instead of being released into the atmosphere. . Autotrophic 3. Two characteristics that helped identify the euglena were: e. Two flagellas. f. Eyespot. 4. g. The bacteria in the picture labeled #4 is rod-shaped. h. Cyanobacteria are important producers of Nitrogen in marine environments. 5. i. Lactobacillus found in saliva produced lactic acid to cause Snyder’s medium to change color. j. The tube turned yellow after it was exposed to saliva. 6. k. Red algae have phycobilin pigments (phycoerythrin and phycocyanin) that mask the colo r of the chlorophylls. Brown algae have xanthophyll pigments that mask the green color of the chlorophyll. Green algae have cholorphylls a and b that give a bright green color. l. All algae have chlorophyll. 7. m. The hyphae of Rhizopus are coenocytic. n. Gametangia (hyphae fuse), plasmogomy occurs, karyogamy occurs forming Zygosporangium, sporangium form and haploid spores are released to germinate and form hyphae. 8. o. The function of gills in basidiomyctes is to produce spores. p. Basidiomycetes contain crosswalls (they are septate). 9. q. Yeast produces CO2, which makes dough rise. . Yeast ferment alcohol in brewing. 10. s. In mosses, the leafy green structure is the gametophyte. t. Gametophytes are haploid. 11. u. The plant pictured and labeled number 11 has vascular tissue. v. Sori are the sporangia structures found on the undersides of the fronds. 12. w. The cone labeled #12 is a female cone. x. The needle-like leaves of gymnosperms reduce the surface area, and thick cuticle and sunken stomata minimize water loss. 13. y. Body plan (c) shown on blackboard labeled #13 represents an acelomate. z. Hydras and jellies exhibit radial symmetry. 4. {. Eyespots in flatworms like planaria detect light and use them to move away from light sources. |. The concentration of sense organs at the anterior of this organism is cephalization. 15. }. Annelids such as the Earthworm, which was dissected in lab, have closed circulatory systems. ~. The digestive tract is complete because the digestive tract runs from mouth to anus. 16. . The clitellum of the Earthworm is used in sexual reproduction. . Coelom in Earthworms aid in locomotion and function as a hydrostatic skeleton. 17. The function of hemolymph in an organism such as the Grasshopper is to transport nutrients. . Insects have 3 pairs of walking legs. 18. . Crayfish have an open circulatory system. . Male crayfish are generally bigger than females and have bigger claws. Also in male crayfish the two most anterior swimmerets are enlarged and hardened. 19. . The Perch is a vertebrate. . The lateral line organ is used to sense vibrations and pressure differences in water. 20. . The swim bladder in the Perch is used to maintain buoyancy. . Caudal fin is primarily responsible for propelling the fish forward. 1. . The front position of the mouth in the Perch is advantageous because it allows the Perch to eat and take in water as it swims forward. . No, most fish utilize external fertilization to sexually reproduce. 22. . Rat belongs to class Mammalia. . Possess hair made of keratin. 23. . Yes, cephalization is apparent in the rat. . Cephalization is the concentration of sense organs at the anterior of an organism. 24. . Rat has a closed circulatory system. . Most rats utilize internal fertilization during sexual reproduction. 25. In plants the apical meristem can be found at the: . Root tips Shoot tips 26. . The experiment of a Carnation placed into a beaker full of water and red food coloring demonstrated cohesion, adhesion and capillary action (transpiration) of water through the stem. . Xylem is the vascular tissue mainly involved in this process. 27. . The leaves on blackboard labeled #27 are compound. . The leaves are from a dicot because they are arranged in five’s. 28. . The picture on blackboard labeled #29 is a monocot leaf. . The name of the cell at the end of the arrow is a guard cell. 29. . The picture on blackboard labeled #29 is the stem of a dicot. The vascular bundles are arranged in a ring in the cross-section of the stem. 30. . The secondary xylem growth rings of the woody stem can be counted to determine the age of a tree. . In the picture on blackboard labeled #30, the function of the structure at the end of the arrow is active xylem. This allows for water transport in the tree. Extra Credit 31. Two structural hallmarks of organisms classified mollusks are: muscular foot and mantle. 32. . Rhotifer is the smallest animal that has tissues and organs/organs systems. . The majority of these organisms reproduce by parthenogenesis. How to cite Practical Exam – Bio 125 Lab, Papers

Entrepreneurship and the Business Cycle-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Answer: Introduction 365cups is a business that was started by entrepreneurs to help people avoid queues when buying food and drinks. The company has specialized in helping people have an easy way of accessing food and drinks without queuing. People can pay and order drinks and food using their phones. This business targets everyone who can be able to operate a smartphone. 365cups develops and maintains iPhone, Android and web Apps for the hospitality market which it offers to the interested companies that deals in this industry. A store places a menu on their system and allows customers to order, pickup or dine using their smartphones. It makes it easier as customers can order from anywhere anytime at their convenience (Parker, 2011). No real business lacks competitors or rivals. 365cups is facing stiff competition from Beat the Q and TXT4Coffee among other companies. These companies also offer an App that can help customers order meals and drinks. 365cups is ahead of them all because it offers its App not only to small rural cafes but also to multinationals. It has clients all across Australia, NZ, United States and Canada. The 365cups helps both small and large businesses access technology which differentiates them from their rivals. Therefore, 365cups is an international company founded on a technological innovation startup that currently serves millions of people (Henrekson and Sanadaji, 2014, pp. 1760-765). The impact of cultural context on the business idea When developing the business idea, 365cups took into consideration the impact of cultural context. In Australia, there are so many cultures because it encompasses people from different backgrounds. People have come from different continents and countries that stay there. People also have different religions. For this reason, the 365cups came up with an App that is not biased to a particular culture, but any person can use the up from anywhere. The App does not cover a specific religion or culture, therefore every culture and religion are taken into consideration. Therefore, the company operates beyond cultures in Australia and even the entire world because there is no group of people who do not use mobile phones (Grilo and Thurik, 2008, pp. 1113-1145). Market opportunities A market opportunity is any existing business gap that the available businesses or competitors are not addressing. It is important for any business venture to explore market opportunities (Faria, 2014). This helps the business to guard their profit, and even product or service can be developed that is better. When one has opportunities even in the event of a new product, it will be easier to manage. Thus, both individuals and companies should work towards discovering the various market opportunities that exist in the context of operation (Ollila and Williams, 2011, pp. 161-178). For the 365cups, it has an opportunity in other geographic regions. For example, it can go to other continents like Europe, South America, and Africa and launch the App. In 2016, the 365cups had one million orders, and in Australia, people are more than one million. Therefore, it has an opportunity of getting more customers by promoting itself. The business should advertise itself for more people to know about its existence (Mueller, 2012). The business can also modify the App in a way that a customer's picture can be seen and they can even be able to communicate back in case of a problem. Therefore, 365cups has many opportunities to venture in and increase its business. Entrepreneurial traits/ characteristics Any person can be an entrepreneur, but very few people remain to be successful entrepreneurs. To be a successful entrepreneur, there are certain traits that one should possess. The group that began 365 had those traits that helped them come up with this lucrative idea. The founding team members of 365cups had the passion to solve a problem of queues and make it easier to access food or drinks in Australia. They did not look for money but tried to solve the problem. Resilience and flexibility were other traits (Koellinger and Thurik, 2012, pp. 1143-1156). An entrepreneur should be to go from one failure to another and never give up. This team has also been able to adapt to change and challenges. The team has a vision which is to have the App reach the whole world, and this has kept them going. The App has come to some continents and therefore the success of the business. Key Considerations in launching entrepreneurial venture Finance is one of the most critical resources when starting a business. Even a very small business needs funding for it to start and run. Finance is required to start and run an entrepreneurial venture. Finance can be obtained from different sources for example loans, friends, investors and personal savings of the entrepreneur. For any business to run smoothly, it should have enough financial resources to launch a business (Constant and Zimmermann, 2014, pp. 51-87). Resources are needed to start a business. Human resources are an important aspect that every entrepreneur should consider. Talent and strengths of employees are relied heavily on for the success of an organization (Parker et al., 2012, pp. 736-753). Experienced employees carry out excellent work to ensure success. Marketing is also an important factor for any business to succeed as it is how an entrepreneur can get to customers and promote their businesses (Koellinger and Minniti, 2009, pp. 96-98). Sustainable Values Sustainability values refer to the ability to manage social, health, economic and environmental risks. When an entrepreneur begins a business, and it becomes successful, this contributes to the economy of the society and therefore expanding the market (Murnieks et al., 2012). Entrepreneurship helps local communities to expand economically and even adapt to technological changes. When an entrepreneur ventures a business, the society and the local community benefits the most because job opportunities are created (Anderson and Warren, 2011, pp. 589-609). This assists in the social life of people and even health. The environment even becomes better as people get a sense of living in a growing environment. Conclusion In conclusion, for any business venture to be successful an entrepreneur should be able to come up with a good business idea and look out for any market opportunities. Entrepreneurial characteristics are very important for any entrepreneur. Without the characteristics, one can start a business but fail at the end of the day because of lacking the traits an entrepreneur needs. When starting a business, an entrepreneur should look through every item and resources needed to ensure successful and profitable business. References Grilo, I. and Thurik, R. (2008). "Determinants of entrepreneurial engagement levels in Europe and the US"Industrial and Corporate Change,pp. 1113-1145. Parker, S. (2011).Entrepreneurship in Recession. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Koellinger, P. and Thurik, A. (2012). "Entrepreneurship and the business cycle"Review of Economics and Statistics. pp. 1143-1156. Henrekson, M. and Sanadaji, T. (2014). "Small business activity does not measure entrepreneurship"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, pp. 17601765. Constant, A. and Zimmermann, K. (2014). "Self-employment against employment or unemployment: Markov transitions across the business cycle"Eurasian Business Review, pp. 51-87. Parker, S., Congregado, E. and Golpe, A. (2012). "Is entrepreneurship a leading or lagging indicator of the business cycle? Evidence from UK self-employment data"International Small Business Journal. pp. 736-753. Ollila, S. and Williams K. (2011). "The venture creation approach: integrating entrepreneurial education and incubation at the university." International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, pp. 161-178. Anderson, R., and Warren, L. (2011). The entrepreneur as hero and jester: Enacting the entrepreneurial discourse. International Small Business Journal, pp. 589-609. Mueller, S. (2012). The mature learner: understanding entrepreneurial learning processes of university students from a social constructivist perspective. Unpublished PhD thesis available at OpenAir, RGU, Aberdeen. Murnieks Y., Mosakowski, E., and Cardon, S. (2012). Pathways of passion: Identity centrality, passion, and behavior among entrepreneurs. Journal of Management. Faria, J. (2014). "Entrepreneurship and business cycles: Technological innovations and unemployment"International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. Koellinger, P. and Minniti, M. (2009). "Unemployment benefits crowd out nascent entrepreneurial activity"Economics Letters, pp. 96-98.

Why Liberal Arts Essay Example For Students

Why Liberal Arts? Essay Most students question why we have to go to school and take liberal arts courses that do not necessarily prepare us for our field. When we ask our professors or teachers, they tell us it is because we should learn to be well rounded students. This is not enough to convince many. Students do not have a real understanding of Why liberal arts education is helpful so they do not see the need to learn it. Many students only memorize the facts to pass the tests they have to take and then forget it because it has no meaning or interest to them. We will write a custom essay on Why Liberal Arts? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Prom my experience, never thought that liberal arts courses were important so I never ally tried to do well in those classes. I just did What I had to do to receive a grade and did not absorb the knowledge. In William Bonnets, A Nation Worth Defending and Mark Jacksons The Liberal Arts: A Practical View, both authors explain why having a background with a liberal arts education is beneficial, important and how it connects with the real world. If students do not learn the connections between what they are learning and how they can apply it to the real world, they will never appreciate the information that they will learn and therefore, wont be able to apply it to the real world. In A Nation Worth Attending, Bennett, the former Secretary to Education, stresses the connection between history and the real world. He states that schools do not do a good enough job at teaching their students the right material. Bennett believes that students should learn about our history so we can defend our nation together, writing, This historical ignorance is not merely of academic concern. It has real-world consequences (32). Bennett believes that we do not have enough people that live in our blessed country that are willing and able to defend it He says that students need to learn from the heroism of September 1 lath and to do that; they must be reminded of it. This in turn will teach them to be patriotic. (35). If students do not know our history, they will not have a reason or desire to fight for our country. This is a substantial for citizens because todays children are tomorrows soldiers, citizens, and leaders (35). They are what we are relying on to defend our country, their country, in the future. I agree With Bennett as he points out that in a poll 57% Of high school students are below basic in their knowledge of history (32) and I agree with that. In high school, I only took the minimal amount Of courses needed in order to radiate. In the poll, they discovered that less than half of those surveyed could name the Secretary of State, about one-third could identify the prime minister of Israel and the U. S Secretary of Defense, and just 14% could identify the president of Pakistan, even as we rely on that nations help in the war in Afghanistan (32). This did not really surprise me because I do not know any of these things myself. Although I do not believe that it is the schools responsibility to teach us everything that is going on today, they should be held accountable to at least teach us some things. For example, never learned what Democrats or Republicans meant. I just heard about it during elections but they do not have any sort of significance to me because do not know what it is. Teachers explanation for having a liberal arts education comes off to be a connotation of being the perfect, well rounded student. .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc , .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .postImageUrl , .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc , .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:hover , .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:visited , .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:active { border:0!important; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:active , .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u3e4edf2b071e3221d8aba1ec871d04dc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Gentrification Of Gentrification And Chicago EssayIt also is not enough to convince them to pursue an interest or the idea of motivation to care. If students were taught the connections of how they can apply what they learned in the real world, they Will better understand why it is important. Students alike with the odder day civilization have the urge to be prep. en wrong in order for them to give a second thought on certain situations since ignorance is a blocking their vision of reason and common sense. Since students dont see the importance, some students Will not do well and some even drop out Of school because they do not see how it could be useful to them. Most people tend to be caught up in the now and fads which heavily influence their life decisions. In Jacksons The Liberal Arts: A Practical View, he suggests that liberal arts teaches us abilities we can take with us for when we get jobs. He goes on to say that it does not matter how good your intellectual abilities are if you do not know how to communicate, Even though liberal arts courses can help you succeed, schools should balance them with studies that help with a students specialization in their field of study. Jackson stresses, Though it is obvious that liberal arts courses do have considerable practical value, a college education would not be complete without some job training (218). A student that got all Ass in their courses does not necessarily get a well-paid job if they lack the ability to put their point across, If students learned this ability in school, they would be more useful in the real world. I always wondered why it was important to be well rounded. Did not know why had to take courses in foreign language. It never occurred to me that one of the things you learn in those courses is how to speak with confidence to others. I think that if I had known the importance of these classes, I would have done better and the information would have stuck with me. Instead, took the classes that was told needed to take, got good grades in them but it was a matter Of just learning the material to pass a test and then I forgot it later. I had not learned the reasons behind doing such projects or presentations had to give. There were hidden attributes to these things we had to do and no one told us what they were. I believe that students should be accountable for taking some classes like history, speech, English, and math. We can apply the information we get from these courses to the real world. All students need is to see the connections of the information to the real world and believe if they know these things, as a result, they would be more interested in it and have more initiative to learn them. Bennett and Jackson both agree that there are problems with education. The two authors stress their concerns in their writings thoroughly, Bennett believes that liberal arts education is important but needs to balance those liberal art courses with courses students need for specializing in their field of choice. Jackson believes that students should be more aware of the history of our nation and that schools should be responsible for teaching it. If teachers showed the connections how a liberal arts education can connect to the real world and help them in their future, students will take it more seriously and better absorb the knowledge. This would be of great impact to students because a liberal arts education is very valuable to have believe that if liberal arts courses were composed of courses that would help with our field of study for the future, would have taken the courses more seriously and would hue been more engaged in learning. Why Liberal Arts Essay Example For Students Why Liberal Arts Essay A liberal arts degree provides an inherent advantage in Mitten and oral communication, interpersonal skills, problem solving, critical and analytical thinking, and adaptability to change, says JP Hansen. Though, a liberal arts course has existed since the 18th century. It has just started spreading across India. And one of the few universities in India which offers this course is the Symbiosis School for liberal arts. Symbiosis being a world-wide recognized university completely understands the requirements of todays job opportunities. There are quite many reasons how a student could benefit by studying at the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, pun, They are: * Provides you with an opportunity to interact with students from different places Provides you with quality education * Different teaching methodologies k Attention-grabbing guest lectures * Very accommodating faculty members k Helps you develop more interests * Smaller classrooms k Good student-teacher ratio * Exciting field trips * Fees of RSI, 1 lake and 50 Thousand for a local student. We will write a custom essay on Why Liberal Arts specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now With a wide range of course and affordable fees. Apart, from this SALSA also gives students to go abroad to other universities as exchange students, Though, just a new born university. The Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts offers a wide range of course and is highly beneficial for students. It lets students contribute to the college with their creativity whether it is in the form tot art or logic. Hence, SALSA is the perfect college with the perfect environment for students.

Public debt Essays

Public debt Essays Public debt Essay Public debt Essay Investigating the relationship between public debt and economic growth the case of Portugal Investigating the relationship between public debt and economic growth CAMPUS. The case of Portugal 11,499. The Implications of public obligation on economic growth are very Important to be researched as background to economic policies of a country. A country partly based on the comprehension of the relationship between public debt and economic growth to identify countries situation and draw specific plan to run a sound public debt policy for economic development. Therefore, a research into factors in which the amount of public debt affects the determinants of economic growth is necessary for a country to find out the situation of public debt and how to maintain its sound level to promote the economy. This research uses regression analysis model to examine the relationship between economic growth and public debt in case of Portugal with respect to factors such as investment and monetary policies. In which, Investment Is represented by foreign investment and domestic capital meanwhile, monetary policies are indicated by Inflation rate. With respect to research methodology, the research conducts literature review regarding both theoretical and emplace background and uses secondary data as data collection method and quantitative method as the research method. The process of data collection is implemented through data gathered from the official resources of WEB and COED including real GAP, public debt, inflow FED, inflation rate and annual capital growth in Portugal for the period 1992 to 2002. After conducting data analysis and regression analysis, the research findings shows that four variables namely public debt, foreign direct investment, monetary policy and investment have influences on economic growth demonstrated through GAP indicator. In the case of Portugal, public debt and foreign direct investment have positive relationship with GAP, while monetary policy and investment have negative Influence in GAP. Among those variables, public debt Is the most significant predictor at 32 level of significance. After findings, analysis and discussion, the research also comes to an end with several recommendations for Portugal based on the research findings on he Portugal case as well as some implications for further researches. First and foremost, my appreciation goes to all those who offer such a golden opportunity to conduct this graduation paper. I would like to thank () for giving me permission to implement the paper. I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisor, 0, (. ). Without her/his enthusiastic guidance, persistent help and valuable encouragement, this paper would not have been possible.

Cmo contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC)

Cmo contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC) El Centro Nacional de Visas –NVC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s– tiene un papel esencial cuando se solicita una tarjeta de residencia permanente por razà ³n de familia o de trabajo para un extranjero que se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos y, por esa razà ³n, necesita una visa de inmigrante para ingresar al paà ­s. Y es que el Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a –USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s– aprueba una peticià ³n de tarjeta de residencia hasta que la oficina consular procesa la visa de inmigrante, la solicitud se encuentra en el NVC. Quà © hace el Centro Nacional de Visas: formularios y tarifas El NVC tiene varias tareas. En primer lugar, actualiza cada mes las fechas de prioridad que determinan quà © visas de inmigrante pueden procesarse o, por el contrario, quà © solicitudes deben esperar. En este artà ­culo ms abajo se explica en detalle cunto se tarda para la cita para la entrevista en el consulado. Adems, el CNV es el organismo encargado de comunicarse con el solicitante del la tarjeta de residencia, con el beneficiario o con su abogado o agente para solicitarle que rellene ms formularios, envà ­e documentacià ³n financiera de apoyo y pague nuevas tarifas. Para ello es esencial que el CNV tenga actualizados los datos del correo electrà ³nico de al menos una de las siguientes personas: abogado del caso, si se tiene, solicitante o beneficiario. Debe comunicarse en la pgina del CEAC cualquier cambio en dicha direccià ³n para evitar demoras innecesarias. Entre los formularios que deben rellenarse en este momento a peticià ³n de CNV estn el DS-260, que es la aplicacià ³n electrà ³nica de la visa de inmigrante y el correspondiente a la declaracià ³n jurada de sostenimiento econà ³mico, tambià ©n conocido como affidavit of support, y que puede requerir una o varias planillas, segà ºn las circunstancias de cada caso. Asimismo, el CNV requiere el pago de dos tarifas: Visa de inmigrante por familia (I-130): $325 o visa de inmigrante por trabajo (I-140): $345Affidavit of support: $120 Los pagos deben hacerse digitalmente en la pgina de CEAC y contra una cuenta corriente o de ahorro de un banco en Estados Unidos. Para realizar el pago seguir las instrucciones del NVC e incluir los datos de nà ºmero de factura aportados por el mismo. Una vez que los pagos estn hechos y los formularios y documentacià ³n enviados, el NVC enviar la informacià ³n para la entrevista en el consulado para obtener la visa de inmigrante.  ¿Cunto tarda el Centro Nacional de Visas en enviar la cita para la entrevista en la oficina consular? La respuesta varà ­a desde apenas unas semanas a aà ±os, incluso ms de 20. Todo depende de la categorà ­a a la que pertenece la solicitud de la visa de inmigrante y, en algunos casos, incluso la nacionalidad del beneficiario. Asà ­, por una parte los familiares inmediatos de ciudadanos no estn sujetos a cupos de esperas para que exista una visa de inmigrante disponible para ellos. Son familiares inmediatos los cà ³nyuges, el pap, la mam y los hijos solteros menores de 21 aà ±os. En estos casos, el CNV se comunica inmediatamente con el solicitante, beneficiario o abogado nada ms recibir de USCIS el envà ­o de la solicitud aprobada. Por el contrario, en todos los dems casos es necesario esperar a que existan visas disponibles en la categorà ­a a la que pertenece la persona solicitada. Por ejemplo, un hijo de ciudadano estadounidense que est soltero y es mayor de 21 aà ±os es un F1 se pueden aprobar un total de 23.400 visas de inmigrante por aà ±o fiscal. Como el nà ºmero de solicitudes es muy superior al de visas disponibles esto significa que cada aà ±o se acumulan retrasos y hay que esperar por estricto orden a que una visa de inmigrante està © disponible. El orden lo determina la fecha de prioridad y puede consultarse cada mes en el boletà ­n de visas quà © fechas se estn procesando en el CNV para cada categorà ­a de peticià ³n. Adems, hay que tener en cuenta que adems del là ­mite que existe dentro de categorà ­a por aà ±o fiscal existe otro que limita el porcentaje de visas sobre el total que pueden darse en cada paà ­s. Esto afecta negativamente a paà ­ses con altas tasas de migracià ³n hacia Estados Unidos, como por ejemplo, Mà ©xico, China, India o Filipinas, para los que las demoras en cada categorà ­a son ms grandes que para los ciudadanos del resto de paà ­ses.  ¿Se puede verificar el estado del caso mientras se encuentra en el NVC? En realidad no se puede verificar porque el NVC no decide si se aprueba la solicitud. El primer paso que es determinar si la solicitud cumple los requisitos bsicos, lo realiza USCIS y la à ºltima decisià ³n corresponde a la oficina consular. Mientras el caso est paralizado en el NVC esperando por una visa disponible en la categorà ­a que se ha solicitado no se le hace nada al expediente. Es decir, est como dormido y no hay nada que verificar. Cà ³mo contactar con el NVC: telà ©fono, fax, correo Si fuera necesario contactar con el NVC, estas son las opciones Telà ©fono: Marcando al 603-334-0700. Es un sistema automatizado que opera las 24 horas del dà ­a los siete dà ­as de la semana. Se necesita introducir los dà ­gitos del caso segà ºn el NVC o el nà ºmero de recibo que te envià ³ el USCIS en la carta que se conoce como NOA. Para hablar con una persona, marcar al mismo nà ºmero entre las 9:00 am y las 9:00 pm hora de la Costa Este de Estados Unidos, de lunes a viernes, excluyendo festivos federales. En la actualidad la demora de un representante del NVC en contestar el telà ©fono puede alcanzar los 30 minutos. Fax Marcando al 603-334-0791 Correo ordinario Para solicitar informacià ³n sobre caso; National Visa CenterATTN: WC31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 200Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915USA Para enviar documentacià ³n, fotografà ­as o planillas (formas): NVCATTN: DR31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 100Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914USA Incluir siempre el nà ºmero de caso y los nombres completos y fechas de nacimiento de beneficiario y de la persona que realiza la peticià ³n o de la empresa, si se trata de una peticià ³n por trabajo. Correo electrà ³nico Escribir a: NVCINQUIRYstate.gov. Escribir en asunto el nà ºmero de caso segà ºn el NVC.En el texto incluir el nombre del beneficiario y el del solicitanteIncluir las fechas de nacimiento de ambos.Si se trata de una peticià ³n realizada por una empresa, incluir su nombre. Si el correo lo escribe el abogado a cargo del caso, hacerlo constar asà ­ e incluir una copia escaneada de la planilla G-28 y el nombre de la oficina de abogados para la que se trabaja y la direccià ³n de la misma. Finalmente destacar que el email debe escribirse en inglà ©s. El NVC considera que à ©sta es la mejor forma de contacto y la prefiere sobre las otras. En la actualidad, la media de tiempo que NVC se demora en contestar es de 15 dà ­as. La razà ³n por la que no se debe viajar a las oficinas del NVC El NVC est ubicado fà ­sicamente en Portsmouth, Nuevo Hampshire. Sin embargo, sus puertas no estn abiertas al pà ºblico. Es inà ºtil que viajes hasta allà ­, ni te van a dar informacià ³n ni van a aceptar que entregues documentacià ³n en mano. Simplemente te van a recordar las formas enumeradas en este artà ­culo para que contactes asà ­ con ellos. De NVC a consulado Una vez que se recibe la notificacià ³n del NVC sobre la entrevista en el consulado, el beneficiario de la solicitud debe seguir las instrucciones que se le dan. Entre otros asuntos deber: agendar y realizar un examen mà ©dicoregistrarse con el servicio de mensajerà ­a que utilice el consuladoreunir documentos originales y copias y traducirlos al inglà ©s, si fuera necesarioObtener fotografà ­as recientesasegurarse de tener un pasaporte con al menos 6 meses de validezpresentarse en la oficina consular el dà ­a y la hora seà ±alados En la entrevista el oficial consular decidir si aprueba la visa de inmigrante, la cual puede negarse por un nà ºmero amplio de razones, con carcter temporal o definitivo. En algunos casos, ser posible solicitar un waiver, tambià ©n conocido como permiso o perdà ³n. En la mayorà ­a de los casos, la visa de inmigrante es aprobada. El beneficiario tiene 6 meses para ingresar a Estados Unidos. En el momento de ingresar su pasaporte se sellar y dicho sello puede utilizarse como tarjeta de residencia permanente mientras no se recibe la de plstico. Contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas Telà ©fono: 603-334-0700Fax: 603-334-0791Correo electrà ³nico: NVCINQUIRYstate.gov. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. Non es asesorà ­a legal.

Current Trends and Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Current Trends and Services - Essay Example Current Trends in Workforce Recruitment Workforce recruiting is crucial to every organization and company as it brings with it new technology and more productivity. One of the current trends in workforce recruiting is the increased rate at which people tend to find new jobs after almost every three years. Currently, it is also important that one becomes computer literate and upgrade their skills in line with the current technology. While recruiting their workforce, the employers look for someone who is capable of keeping up with the market trend. For instance, a software developer should be aware of the changes in software development that are occurring at a phenomenal rate. Another trend in workforce recruitment is the overwhelming number of women who have entered and are fruitfully climbing the corporate ladder (Hankin, 2005). Moreover, there is an upcoming trend whereby smaller businesses are recruiting more workforces as opposed to bigger companies. This can be attributed to the increased growing rate of technology. Current Trends in the Payroll Management Payroll management is an important part of every company hence most companies are always striving for better effectiveness in their payroll management. Various trends have occurred in payroll management. ... This service sector has also adopted trends such as singe disbursement per pay cycle and circumventing of cycle payments that are done through investigation and eradication of errors. Currently, most companies are able to process payroll which include all required tax expenses, deductions and produce reports for their employees. Current Trends in the Accounting Services Currently in the accounting services there is more emphasis to shift from general accepted accounting standards to the international financial reporting standards. Changes in revenue recognition methodology have also taken place recently. This affects how particular sectors determine revenue recognition. This has significantly affected the construction industry. Current Trends in Call Center Functions One of the trends embraced today in the call center functions is the transition from traditional call center to multichannel contact center. There is also the integration of the current wide range of data and media chann els thus establishing a unified call center environment as stated by Friginal (2009). This environment includes: multichannel services on joined networks; IP networks and IP-supported voice application; and Customer Relations Management and business applications. Today a customer interaction network is founded in an IP-supported architecture that upholds a constantly changing set of multichannel services. This environment includes: multichannel services on joined networks; IP networks and IP-supported voice application; and Customer Relations Management and business applications. Today a customer interaction network is founded in an IP-supported architecture that upholds a constantly

Creation Of A High Performing Organization Essay

Creation Of A High Performing Organization - Essay Example Firstly it is expected that creation of new work structures necessarily means re-designing of jobs with new roles and responsibilities. This resistance might arise from employees towards acquiring new skills and expertise. It is difficult to impart new knowledge and skills in employees once they are settled in a particular skill and have gained expertise and comfort in the same (Wanberg & Banas, 2000, p.132).Secondly, organization restructuring would also include reducing the workforce or employee downsizing. This would necessarily instill insecurity and negative apprehensions among employees. Employees would definitely resist the change because they would not want to lose their jobs or their co-workers. This would spread de-motivation which would consequently lead to reduce productivity and performance. Moreover, it could also result in high employee turnovers out of insecurity, instability, and apprehensions. The idea to create a high performing organization could be realized by mo nitoring employee performance at all stages. This would be done by using the performance management system. Emphasis on performance would create a competitive culture in the organization in which each one would try to excel from the other. This would reduce interdependence, cooperation, and efforts to help one another. There could also be fall in group activities and team work eventually leading to conflict, disagreement, and clashes.However, against all resistance to change initiatives, there could also be some drivers of the change process.

Business coursework; Fish and Chip shop (Burnham high street) Essay Example for Free

Business coursework; Fish and Chip shop (Burnham high street) Essay Introduction I am doing an investigation on a small local business to identify ways that it could be improved and what the business is doing wrong at the moment that is preventing it from making the progress that it could make. The local shop that I chose was the fish and chip in Burnham high street, SeaWorld. I chose this shop because I am a fan of seafood and when I go into a seafood place I expect to find many items that are actually seafood but normally they have different varieties of food but rarely any seafood. They normally have kebabs, chips, burgers, but chips are a necessity with fish. Preparation We started off making our individual surveys for both customers and workers and chose the best survey to be printed out. We also were planning on tasting the food in SeaWorld as well to see how good the product was. We thought of the types of shop that would be competitors. What we did For our research we had about an hour to go to the fish and chip shop in Burnham high street, but unfortunately SeaWorld was closed so we decided that some of us would take out the surveys on the public while the other group would see how the point of sale looked and find anything wrong with it. There were quite a few surveys done, and we managed to figure out some problems with the point of sale. Luckily there was a worker inside SeaWorld who did not mind us asking questions about his workplace. I think that we had taken a few surveys of people who go there regularly, but would have liked to see how the business was when it was open. Things like how many people go there, what there menu was, how well priced the food was, what majority of the regular customers thought of the seafood shop. We also looked out for competitors and how accessible their shops are, how their shops looked and how close they are to SeaWorld. Place SeaWorld is in Burnham high street and because it is quite a small high street even a small number of competitors would be a problem. There arent any seafood restaurants or seafood take-away as such in Burnham high street but there are cafes and fast food shops and there is a seafood shop in Burnham. These are also competitors because if people go into these shops it can pose a threat to the business of SeaWorld by reducing its market share. The other issue with the place is how easy it is for the customers to access the shop in terms of parking, distance and is there a contact number so they can order over the phone? The restaurant has a telephone number next to the restaurants name which is convenient for the customers and the business because it wont be crowded so they will have enough seats but they will still be getting the sales and revenue. The first take- away or restaurant that you see when you enter the high street from hog fair lane is SeaWorld which means that for ease of access and to save time people will go here. Therefore I think that the place that the seafood shop is not bad, but the look of the point of sale from the inside and outside needs to change. It needs to be re-painted and the inside needs to be looking more spacious to attract more customers. Product I did not have the opportunity to get a good look at their menu because at the time they were not open, but from what I saw there was a range of fried and battered fish food, chips and drinks which is what their customers would expect and this makes them look good. There was a problem though which was that on the outside of the shop there was a label that said kebabs that is something that you wouldnt expect in a fish and chip shop and I dont know if they do sell kebabs but if they didnt then that would be misleading the customers which would be irritating for them and they could potentially lose customers. If they did have kebabs then it would be inappropriate. Price I was not able to ask or look at the prices that they had for their food but the price needs to be below five pounds for each product and above a pound. If the products are priced too highly customers would not buy from that shop and if it was too low then they will be at a loss and will not be able to run efficiently. Theoretically the lower the price the more demand there is for that product, but you also need to balance between charging high enough to cover costs but low enough to keep the customers buying. Sometimes even if the prices are high the demand still remains the same, this is because things like customer service is good and the product also should be better than others. For the seafood shop it means that they need to be friendly to customers, deliver orders on time and put the customers needs and requests first. Promotion Walking along Burnham high street I did not see any form of promotion for the seafood shop. This is one of the crucial factors of getting a small business to succeed. If people do not know where you are or even if you exist then how will you get more customers? The seafood shop does not even have a website which means that it makes it harder for people find out about such a shop. The locals around Burnham high street might know about the shop but not many other people will. Therefore they need to find a form of promotion that will allow them to be known but not too expensive either. Picking the promotion The ways of promotion best for SeaWorld is through leaflets through letter boxes, this is a form of promotion suited to this business because it will be spread throughout the local area, because people from other areas are not going to travel a long way just to get to SeaWorld and it is not that expensive. The down side to leaflets is that it is often seen as junk and discarded, so it has a low success rate and you would need to find someone to hand them out or put them in letterboxes this means they need to pay that person as well. Another way that is cheap and affordable is advertising in the local newspaper, this would reach a wide local audience and there is only the cost of publishing it in the newspaper. The size of the advert can be adjusted so that it fits the budget of the seafood shop, but to get a large sized advert that is well designed it may be expensive. Another promotion that is totally free, very reliable and trustworthy is customer word-of-mouth recommendation; this is when customers recommend the shop to family and friends. When it is recommended by family and friends people trust that it is a good shop and go there, but it is the customers choice to do it and you cannot control it. You can aid this by providing excellent customer service, good value for money and good standard of food. A good thing to advertise is offers like buy one get one half price or tokens on newspaper or leaflets that have good offers which they can claim. Offers for a meal are actually cheaper than buying them all individually so it encourages customers to buy more and they would chose a place that has offers on food to one that does not. Loyalty cards are also a good incentive to get new customers and keep existing customers to come back for more and this would increase sales because a certain number of purchases would get them a reward, which is normally more food. Frequent customers would feel angry that they do not get discounts or complimentary food. Survey of worker We did a questionnaire on the worker about the Seafood shop, and working conditions and he seems to be very positive about working there, but from how he spoke we realised that he was being bias so we cannot really trust everything that he said. He said that it was a good environment to work in and that the working conditions were good. The environment would be good because it would be busy. The workers seem happy and motivated therefore I would expect the customer service to be good as well and the food to be of a good standard. I asked what kinds of fringe benefits or monetary benefits they get but it seemed that he did not get any. The staff cannot be kept well motivated for long without any benefits. The owners can make the staff more motivated by giving monetary benefits at first and then fringe benefits. At first they would find that money is what they need and will be motivated when money is at the other end and it will be cheaper to give small monetary benefits than fringe benefits. When the business grows it can afford fringe benefits and the workers need benefits other than money to motivate them. The easiest fringe benefit could be a discount on the food in the fish and chip shop, or free lunch for the workers. To keep them well motivated there needs to be a better fringe benefit that they will get for working well or achieving a target number of sales.

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1.3 Rationale for Research Topic Employee engagement is a relatively new concept which has been heavily marketed and publicised by management consultancies. The reason for this is because many of these management consultancy firms suggest that employee engagement can affect the bottom line, increase business performance, profitability and customer service Macey & Schieder (2008 P:). Increasing levels of engagement is becoming more important to an organisation because the outcome of employee engagement has been reported to correlate with performance. The CIPD through their research into employee engagement have identified that engaged employees are more likely to deliver business performance (CIPD 2010) Research into engagement has unveiled that individuals who are engaged are more likely to show enthusiasm for the work they do, show willingness to do well and are likely to be engaged by the values of the organisation. To understand what this can look like engagement can be determined by measuring its characteristic (vigor, dedication and absorption) and when measured can be found to be positively related to an individual’s job performance (Bakker et al 2008) Although ‘engagement' can be seen as a buzz word it has also been identified that for such a well-used term there is little associated research in the field of engagement (Robinson et al, 2004). Several of the key concepts of employee engagement derive from social psychology, drawing upon theories that are concerned with motivation, organisational behaviours and attitudes. Some academics argue that employee engagement is basically old wine in new bottles because key concepts by theorists such as Hertzberg, Maslow and Alderfer underpin the notion of employee engagement (Rob... ...ent and sustain it, you must approach it at three different layers of the organisation - the individual, the manager and the executive. Individuals must own their engagement. They cannot expect HR or the organisation to provide a blanket formula that will fit their unique needs. Managers cannot make employees engaged, but they can act as coaches to facilitate their team members' engagement journeys. Managers need to understand the unique interests, talents and aspirations of their employees, and then align these with specific organisational priorities and projects. Executives also have a specific and important role to play. Their focus must be on creating a culture that fuels engagement and business results. Senior teams must 'walk the talk' by demonstrating their own engagement, sharing their passion in candid, consistent communications† (HR Magazine 2013)

Symbolism and Religious Drama: T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral

In 1163, a quarrel began between the British King Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The men had been good friends, but each felt that his interests should be of primary concern to the nation and that the other should acquiesce to his demands. Becket fled to France in 1164 in order to rally support from the Catholic French for his cause and also sought an audience with the Pope. After being officially (although not personally) reconciled with the King, Becket returned to England in 1170, only to be murdered as he prayed in Canterbury Cathedral by four of Henry's Knights. Three years later, he was canonized and pilgrims—Henry among them—have made their way to his tomb ever since. The allure of such a story for a dramatist is obvious: there is a great conflict between human and divine power, a strong central character and a number of complicated spiritual issues to be found in his death. In 1935, T. S. Eliot answered this â€Å"calling† to compose a play for that year's Canterbury Festival; the result was a work that revitalized verse drama—a form that had not been widely employed for almost three hundred years. Critics praised Eliot's use of verse and ability to invest a past historical event with modern issues and themes, such as the ways in which lay persons react to the intrusion of the supernatural in their daily lives. In part because it is a religious drama which appeared long after such plays were popular, Murder in the Cathedral is still performed, studied, and regarded as one of Eliot's major works, a testament to his skill as a poet and dramatist. In its assessment of Eliot's importance to modern English literature, A Literary History of England argues that a shift from despair to hope-a change from â€Å"the ‘inert resignation' of those who breathe the small, dry air of modern spiritual emptiness† to something more positive and potentially transcendent-can first be detected in Eliot's â€Å"Ash-Wednesday† (1930), â€Å"of which the theme is the search for peace found in humble and quiet submission to God's Will†. This theme, clearly an expression of the Anglo-Catholicism Eliot embraced during his life, appears again throughout Murder in the Cathedral. It informs and breathes through the entire text of the play, as the commentary above has demonstrated. In Murder in the Cathedral, the â€Å"inert resignation† of modern life manifests itself in the Chorus' refusal to embrace transcendence: the women of Canterbury are content to go on â€Å"living and partly living. † As they state, even imploringly to Becket, on several occasions, they â€Å"do not wish anything to happen. They do not want the wheel of God's pattern to begin turning. As do all moderns in Eliot's estimation, they â€Å"fear the injustice of men less than the justice of God. † They are not ready to live, as Becket was, â€Å"out of time. â€Å"Yet, through Becket as he portrays him, Eliot forcefully argues that such transcendence must be achieved. In keeping with biblical testimony about the nature of spir itual power versus temporal power, however, Eliot posits that transcendence cannot be achieved by force. It arises, not through utilitarian machinations (such as those the Four Tempters propose to Becket in Part I), but by, in the Literary History's words, â€Å"humble and quiet submission to God's Will. † As Becket himself declares, â€Å"I give my life / To the Law of God above the Law of Man. † His triumphant affirmation of faith echoes the words of the New Testament: â€Å"Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard† (Acts 4:19-20); or again, â€Å"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (James 4:4). Only by valuing â€Å"friendship†-i. e. , a total alignment of mind and soul and will-with the spiritual, with God, over such friendship with the world or the temporal order of the status quo, can â€Å"peace†-that elusive goal referred to throughout the play: in Becket's fragile relationship with King Henry; as Bec ket's greeting to the Chorus in Parts I and II; as the turning of God's wheel of providence-be found. In this way, the themes of Murder in the Cathedral aptly crystallize the themes of Eliot's own life-long work. The wheel was a symbol, in medieval times, of the â€Å"wheel of life† or the â€Å"wheel of fortune,† â€Å"which never stands still, being constantly subject to the turns of fate† (Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 379). No doubt Eliot draws on these ancient associations in his text's multiple references to the wheel, but he also subverts them by stating that, in fact, the wheel of fate-or, in Eliot's Anglo-Catholic worldview, of God's providence and plan for history-has in fact been standing still during Becket's seven-year absence from Canterbury. As discussed earlier, the length of Becket's exile is itself of metaphorical importance, since seven symbolizes totality and completeness. ) Becket's task is to set the wheel turning again: to take his part, willingly and completely, in God's â€Å"pattern† (another word-image that occurs frequently in the text) so that the wheel can resume turning and that â€Å"peace† can replace the mere existence of â₠¬Å"living and partly living. â€Å"The seasons also carry symbolic freight in Eliot's play. The most notable example is the Chorus' invocations of the passage of the seasons at the beginning of Part I and then at the end of Part II. At the beginning of the play, the passing seasons are in actuality one long season of waiting, one endless Advent. But by the play's end, after Becket's martyrdom, the seasons in their cycle have become part of human beings: â€Å"Even in us the voices of seasons . praise Thee. † Eliot's use of seasonal imagery will no doubt remind readers of his work in The Waste Land (1922). That epic poem's first line, â€Å"April is the cruelest month,† reinforces the poem's dominant mood of pessimism in the face of what Eliot sees as the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the then still-young twentieth century. As in Murder in the Cathedral, the passage of the seasons in The Waste Land is not a healthy cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Life has become stuck in â€Å"living and partly living. † Still, even The Waste Land was â€Å"not merely a poem of despair of the present but of hope and promise for the future, since at the close the thunder speaks, foretelling the coming of the life-giving rain† (Baugh, p. 586). In a similar way, Murder in the Cathedral ends in hope-although more tempered by a realization of humanity's reluctance and inability to, in Becket's words, â€Å"bear too much reality. † Still, the â€Å"redemption† of the seasons is an important symbolic motif in the play, as it was in Eliot's earlier work. Becket's retur n to Canterbury is clearly framed in terms that allude to Jesus' â€Å"Palm Sunday† entrance into Jerusalem. For example, the Messenger's description of how the crowds are greeting the returning Becket-â€Å"with scenes of frenzied enthusiasm, / Lining the road and throwing down their capes, / Strewing the way with leaves and late flowers of the season†-is surely intended to remind Eliot's audience of Jesus' so-called â€Å"triumphal entry† into the holy city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: â€Å"Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields† (Mark 11:8; see also parallels in Matthew 21 and Luke 19). In some Christian liturgical traditions, Palm Sunday is also called â€Å"Passion Sunday,† to indicate that it is the beginning of Jesus' sufferings. Thus, Eliot strongly associates Becket's â€Å"triumphal entry† into Canterbury with Jesus' â€Å"triumphal entry† into Jerusalem-a seeming victory procession that leads to martyrdom and death, and can therefore be considered victorious only in hindsight, through the eyes of faith, on the far side of resurrection. (A further allusion to the Palm Sunday narrative, incidentally, occurs when the second priest tells the women to keep silent, earning himself a rebuke from Becket. In a similar way, Jesus rebuked the religious authorities of his day for ordering the crowds who welcomed him to keep silence: Jesus told them, â€Å"I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out† [Luke 19:40]. ) Overall, these parallels are meant to establish Becket as a salvific Christ-figure whose death will bring the blessing of transcendence to humanity. As Eliot wrote in Becket's Christmas sermon, mourning and rejoicing (note the repeated refrain, â€Å"Rejoice we all, keeping holy day†) commingle at Christmas; birth and death jostle for worshipers' attention; martyrdom-witness-takes precedence in the church's marking of the time. Understanding the significance of these three festival days increases our appreciation of the martyr's purpose, as exemplified in Becket's own death: to make transcendence available to human. The titular hero of the biblical book of Daniel, who remains steadfast to God (in the context of Eliot's dichotomy, read: spiritual) in the face of pressures to assimilate to a pagan (read: temporal) culture. Ezekiel 14:14, 20 also praise Daniel as an exemplar of righteousness, even as Becket is as he faces death. Ironically, of course, Daniel, according to the Bible, was delivered from the lions' den as a consequence of his faithfulness to God. No such physical deliverance awaits Becket. The archbishop does, however, seem to mirror the attitude of Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who, faced with death in a fiery furnace for refusing to worship an idol, declared, â€Å"If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us. let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king that we will not serve your gods. † (Daniel 3:17-18). Becket, like Daniel's friends, is ready to die for God (the spiritual): â€Å"Do with me as you will† (p. 76). Thus, the knights' invocation of Daniel at this point in the text creates a wealth of allusive value that illuminates Eliot's themes. The impending moment of Becket's martyrdom takes on an existential significance as the Chorus reflects upon what awaits humanity after death. The Chorus identifies Death s â€Å"God's silent servant,† and acknowledges, in orthodox fashion, that Judgment awaits mortals â€Å"behind the face of Death. † The Chorus then, however, strikes a decidedly unorthodox tone in affirming that â€Å"behind Judgment [is] the Void, more horrid than active shapes of hell† (p. 71). In terms that again echo Eliot's earlier work, The Waste Land, the Chorus describes this Void as: â€Å"Emptiness, absence, separation from God; / The horro r of the effortless journey, to the empty land / Which is no land, only emptiness, absence, the Void. † (p. 71). Ironically, however, it is this very â€Å"Void,† free of distraction, with no opportunity to avoid a truthful gazing upon oneself, that Becket is embracing in choosing to die a martyr's death. This speech of the Chorus thus seems to emphasize, once more, a distinction in Eliot's mind between men like Becket-the â€Å"saints† who cause the wheel of God's pattern in time to turn-and ordinary mortals, who are content-even though they deny it! -to merely exist, to be only and always in Advent, only and always waiting, only and always â€Å"living and partly living. † Truly, we cannot bear too much reality! We do not wish to stare into the void, the abyss. But Eliot, like other existential thinkers of the twentieth century, understand that peering into that abyss is fundamentally a salvific, liberating act, signified in Eliot's play by the â€Å"saving† consequences of Becket's death for a world that would rather not be saved. Character profilesThe Chorus is an unspecified number of Canterbury's women, is a corporate character serving the same purposes as does the chorus in Greek drama: to develop and, more importantly, to comment on the action of the play. The women's initial speech fairly defines their dramaturgic role: â€Å"We are forced to bear witness. † And yet this chorus, like its ancient Greek predecessors, is no mere, dispassionate, objective â€Å"eyewitness†; rather, it is a witness bearing testimony to truth-almost as in a legal proceeding, but that analogy fails to capture the nature of the testimony the chorus offers. In commenting upon the action of Thomas Becket's murder, the women are voicing insights into, reflections on, and conclusions about time, destiny, and life and death. In the end, they emerge as representatives of ordinary people-such as those who make up the audience of the play, or its readership-people who, mired in and having settled for an existence of â€Å"living and partly living,† are unable to greet transcendence when it is offered to them. As they state in the play's final moments, not everyone can bear the â€Å"loneliness, surrender, deprivation† necessary to become a saint. Not all can be saints-but all can pray for their intercession. Thomas Becket is the Archbishop of Canterbury, former Chancellor to King Henry II, now estranged from the monarch because he insists upon the right of the Church to rule in spiritual matters-a rule that, in practice, has ramifications for how the king ought to rule in temporal matters. Unlike the Chorus, Becket is able to stare into the existential abyss-that â€Å"Void† behind death and judgment, mentioned in Part II, that is â€Å"more horrid than active shapes of hell. Becket is often accused of pride in the play, but he is actually humble in submitting himself completely to the will of God as he comprehends it. His death offers a glimpse of how transcendence can be achieved: the only question that remains is whether the rest of humanity is able to trace the same path, to â€Å"give [its] life / To the Law of God above the Law of Man. â€Å"The Four Tempters present Becket, in Part I of the drama, with various ways of avoiding his impending death as a martyr. Their temptations correlate, to one degree or another, with the justifications of Becket's assassination offered to the audience by The Four Knights at the end of the play. In a prefatory note to the play's third edition (1937), Eliot indicated that the roles of the Tempters had been intended to be doubled-that is, played by the same actors-as the roles of the Knights, thus underscoring the connection between the two quartets in an even stronger fashion. The Three Priests serve the (admittedly little) dramatic action of Eliot's play, particularly in Part II, when they urge Becket to bar the doors of the Cathedral against the knights-although they characterize them as savage beasts-who seek his life. They could thus be seen as representing the temporal order: indeed, Becket at one point accuses them of thinking only as the world does-â€Å"You argue by results, as this world does. † On the other hand, the Priests also are capable of offering insight into the spiritual order. For example, the Third Priest affirms the Church's endurance in the face of world built on the ruins of the presumed absence of God; and earlier, he offers a key interpretive insight by stating, â€Å"Even now, in sordid particulars / The eternal design may appear. † Like so many of us, then, the priests have one foot, so to speak, in the spiritual and the other in the temporal; and they struggle to balance the two orders as best they can, as do we all. Unfortunately, according to the argument of Eliot's drama, there can ultimately be no balancing: peace-that is to say, transcendence-is to be found only in the complete submission to God's design, God's pattern, God's wheel of providence. Mortals, say both Jesus and Eliot, cannot serve two masters-and so the Priests are fundamentally impotent, unable to do anything but to pray to God with heavy reliance upon the intercession of Saint Becket, as they, in their own way but like the Chorus, go on â€Å"living and partly living. â€Å"

Of Mice and Men Foreshadowing Essay

Of Mice and Men is a Novella written By: John Steinbeck. This book is about two friends who face the challenges of humanity and the world around them. In the novella of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to give the reader hints or clues about other events in the story. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing with the event of the Killing of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife is a â€Å"rat trap†, and Curley harassing Lennie throughout the novella. One example of foreshadowing is when Carlson kills Candy’s dog. And this foreshadows that George will kill Lennie, because they were both put out of their misery, and that when Candy said â€Å"I ought of shot that dog myself† (61). And when George kills Lennie at the end of the book they both wanted to kill them by their selves even though George did do it himself. If George didn’t kill Lennie himself he would hav ended up getting tortured and killed by someone else he just felt better if he had did it himself Another example of how John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing is when they say that Curley’s wife is a â€Å"rat trap† that fore shadows that Lennie will talk to her and might go farther and end up touching her more roughly because he likes soft things and doesn’t like to let go like he did in WEED and ended up getting ran out of WEED. So when Curley’s wife lets Lennie touch her soft hair that was a bad decision on her part because he kept getting rougher and when she tries to say stop and go away Lennie won’t let go. So Curley’s wife screams and Lennie gets scared and then grabs her and tells her to stop but in the process he snaps her neck because he doesn’t know his own strength he can’t control it. Finally, foreshadowing can be seen when Curley harasses Lennie for not talking and because he is bigger than him. That foreshadows that they might get into a disagreement or an argument possibly a fight. So when George was talking for Lennie, Curley said â€Å"let the big guy talk â€Å". But earlier that day George told Candy ,†well he better watch out for Lennie, he aint no fighter but he is strong as a bull† (27). Because Lennie is very strong. Curley doesn’t like bigger guys which Lennie is. So I drew a conclusion that they will most likely fight which they do and Curley was beating Lennie until George told Lennie â€Å"GET HIM!† Lennie crushed his hand because of his uncontrollable strength he has. John Steinbeck uses many examples of Foreshadowing in Of Mice And Men. Foreshadowing gives the readers hints or clues throughout the story. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing mostly with George and Lennie. All these examples of foreshadowing lead to the death of Lennie and the failure of a dream. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing with the event of the Killing of Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife is a â€Å"rat trap†, and Curley harassing Lennie throughout the novella.

Free Essays on Electrochemistry

Imagine that we have an object that is made of copper or steel, and that it has been properly cleaned, and that we now want to plate it with nickel. A wire is attached to the object, and the other end of the wire is attached to the negative pole of a battery (the wire is blue in this picture). To the positive pole of the battery we connect the red wire; the other end of the red wire we connect to a rod made of nickel. Now we fill the cell with a solution of a salt of the metal to be plated. It is theoretically possible to use a molten salt, and in rare cases that is done, but most of the time the salt is simply dissolved in water. The NiCl2 ionizes in water to Ni++ and two parts of Cl- Because the object to be plated is negatively charged, it attracts the positively charged Ni++. The Ni++ reaches the object, and electrons flow from the object to the Ni++. For each atom of Ni++, 2 electrons are required to neutralize it or reduce' it to metallic form. Meanwhile, the negatively charged Cl- ions are attracted to the positively charged anode. At the anode, electrons are removed from the Nickel metal, oxidizing it to the Ni++ state. Thus the nickel metal dissolves as Ni++ into the solution, supplying replacement nickel for that which has been plated out, and we retain a solution of nickel chloride in the cell. We used nickel chloride as the first example here for a number of reasons, including simplicity. But we do not recommend that nickel be used for school science demonstrations because some people are quite allergic to it; and we do not recommend that chloride salts be used, because it is possible to release chlorine gas from them.... Free Essays on Electrochemistry Free Essays on Electrochemistry Imagine that we have an object that is made of copper or steel, and that it has been properly cleaned, and that we now want to plate it with nickel. A wire is attached to the object, and the other end of the wire is attached to the negative pole of a battery (the wire is blue in this picture). To the positive pole of the battery we connect the red wire; the other end of the red wire we connect to a rod made of nickel. Now we fill the cell with a solution of a salt of the metal to be plated. It is theoretically possible to use a molten salt, and in rare cases that is done, but most of the time the salt is simply dissolved in water. The NiCl2 ionizes in water to Ni++ and two parts of Cl- Because the object to be plated is negatively charged, it attracts the positively charged Ni++. The Ni++ reaches the object, and electrons flow from the object to the Ni++. For each atom of Ni++, 2 electrons are required to neutralize it or reduce' it to metallic form. Meanwhile, the negatively charged Cl- ions are attracted to the positively charged anode. At the anode, electrons are removed from the Nickel metal, oxidizing it to the Ni++ state. Thus the nickel metal dissolves as Ni++ into the solution, supplying replacement nickel for that which has been plated out, and we retain a solution of nickel chloride in the cell. We used nickel chloride as the first example here for a number of reasons, including simplicity. But we do not recommend that nickel be used for school science demonstrations because some people are quite allergic to it; and we do not recommend that chloride salts be used, because it is possible to release chlorine gas from them....

How to Convert Fahrenheit to Celcius

How to Convert Fahrenheit to Celcius Here is how to convert  °F to  °C. This is actually Fahrenheit to Celsius and not Fahrenheit to Celcius, though the mis-spellings of the temperature scales are common. So are the temperature scales, which are used to measure room temperature, body temperature, set thermostats, and take scientific measurements.   Temperature Conversion Formula The temperature conversion is easy to do: Take the  °F temperature and subtract 32.Multiply this number by 5.Divide this number by 9 to obtain your answer in  °C. The formula to convert  Ã‚ °F to  °C is: T( °C)   (T( °F)  - 32) Ãâ€" 5/9 which is T( °C)   (T( °F)  - 32) / 1.8  °F to  °C  Example Problem For example, convert 68 degrees Fahrenheit into degrees Celsius: T( °C)   (68 °F - 32) Ãâ€" 5/9 T( °C)   20  °C Its also easy to do the conversion the other way, from  Ã‚ °C to  Ã‚ °F. Here, the formula is: T( °F)  Ã‚  T( °C)  Ãƒâ€" 9/5 32 T( °F)  Ã‚  T( °C)  Ãƒâ€" 1.8 32 For example, to convert 20 degrees Celsius to the Fahrenheit scale: T( °F)   20 °C Ãâ€" 9/5 32 T( °F)   68  °F When doing the temperature conversions, one quick way to make certain you did the conversion right is to remember Fahrenheit temperatures are higher than the corresponding Celsius scale until you get down to -40 °, which is where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet. Below this temperature, degrees Fahrenheit are lower than degrees Celsius.

Stadiums are bad for economy of a city and tax payers pay the cost (4 Research Paper

Stadiums are bad for economy of a city and tax payers pay the cost (4 real life examples, TABLES AND CHARTS) Cost enefit analysi - Research Paper Example However, the income generated in the stadiums does not directly benefit the taxpayers and the residents of the city. The amount that the fans spend when watching a match does not benefit those who work in the stadiums. The amount does not lead to increased growth of the local economy because the amount is not included in the local economy. The employees, who work in the stadiums and other sources of the stadiums like the taxpayers, do not benefit from the money earned. Instead, the biggest share of the amount pays the players. However, most of these players in many cases do not belong to the local community. Therefore, the local community, which pays tax to help in construction of the stadiums, does not benefit too. Though the stadiums collect large amounts of money, the money is spent in other locations (Barros et al. 42). Taxpayers who contribute towards the construction of the stadiums do not attend the events that take place in the stadiums yet they pay for the events indirectly through tax. Stadiums fail to improve and develop the local economy because it concentrates more on the intensity of labour. In this case, low levels of unskilled type of labour activities take place within the metropolitan area. The people who benefit from this type of unskilled labour do not get high wages or salaries. This leads to a fall in the share of the income of the region because those who are highly skilled do not get a chance to get a job in the stadiums. The jobs that the local community gets are either temporary types of jobs or part time jobs, which are not effective to improve the economy of the local region that has the stadium facility. Construction of a stadium assists a team from the community. However, the players who play for the city do not live in the city. The assumption made by the metropolitan is that even if the players do not contribute much in building of the stadium, maybe they spend their money doing shopping and paying house taxes (Andreff and Szyman ski 56). However, most players have houses far away from the cities in where they live with their families, do shopping, and spend their leisure time. The space used to construct the stadium is large enough hinder expansion and development of a city. Those people whose land is taken to cater for the area of construction of the stadium get angry and leave the city (Morris 67). However, the people who leave the city may be good businesspeople who can invest and create job opportunities for the local community and by doing so; the economy of the city can grow to a higher level. Some of those people could be good investors, and this hinders them from investing in construction of commercial buildings, which would bring more income to the city through tax and to the dwellers of the city. When a city lacks potential investor to invest in the transportation sector and other smart type of investments, which lead to economic growth, the economy is likely to go downwards. Therefore, constructi on of the stadium does not support a city’s expansion and development. The cost of operating the stadium is very high. However, this amount used in maintenance and operations in the stadium

Personal Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Personal Development - Essay Example This feeling of helplessness can further exacerbate their physical symptoms if it is not adequately dealt with. The ministrations of an empathetic and considerate nurse can put the patient at ease so that he or she does not feel too vulnerable. In this medical facility, the nurses were also responsible for administering medications to patients and monitoring blood sugar in the case of diabetic patients. I made the decision to prioritise my work in the morning in order to make as efficient a schedule as was possible for each day. Having reflected on the needs of each patient, I would then arrange them according to the cases of most importance before doing the rounds. Reflecting allowed me to be able to closely study the symptoms exhibited by each of my patients, thus allowing me to come up with the best ways of assisting their recoveries. For instance, I would accord more time for an anxious or discouraged patient in order to be able to speak more with them about their interests and f amily. This would help the patient to feel appreciated and less alienated. There are different theories on the importance of reflection and its basic benefits in a healthcare setting. Donald Schon believed that all reflective practices can be divided into reflection on action and reflection in action (Johns, 2011). Reflection on action basically describes the process of reconsidering an event that already took place while reflection in action is more concerned with processing an event even as it takes place (Redmond, 2006). In my first week of placement, reflection-on-action allowed me to be able to recount the actions of other nurses whom I had accompanied on rounds in order to... This paper approves that the nurse will be able to view his or her activities as part of the overall long-term goals. The nurse grows more confident in her or his own abilities to determine an illness without necessarily consulting medical texts. In stage four, the nurse will be more open to considering the symptoms of an illness as the parts of a whole. The nurse improves in terms of decision making and is more interested in engaging in patient-centred care. In the fifth stage, which is the last stage, the nurse uses past experiences to determine different illnesses of patients and does not rely on texts in determining different illnesses. At this stage, the nurse can also easily incorporate the latest medical procedures into patient treatment in order to produce the best outcomes and assist recovery. This paper makes a conclusion that reflecting on a regular basis will not only improve the quality of services extended to patients, but will also facilitate the personal development of individual nurses. Reflection can be conducted through official channels, such as supervised conferences that allow nurses to express their concerns without fear of censure, or in less formal circumstances like team huddles for ‘decompression’- which was something that was soon to be started where I was serving as a student nurse. While developing a nurse’s ability to confront daily challenges, reflection also seeks to make sure that nurses remain caring towards their patients, and perceptive of their particular needs.

Road and bridge construction design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Road and bridge construction design - Assignment Example Inventions are not magical, but took time to develop once they originated from human beings minds. This governs the quest to defining what engineering is, it is the process through which abstract ideas are turned into systems or products (physical representations). Engineers apply their creativity in the production of systems and products to satisfy human wants and this distinguishes them from sculptors, painters, or poets. This kind of creative act is referred to as a design. Engineering design Majority of engineering designs are listed as systems or invention-devices created by human hard work, or improvements made in already existing systems or devices. Designs or inventions do not just emerge from nowhere, but are a product of bringing technologies together to provide for human necessities. A design can also arise from someone trying to efficiently and quickly accomplish a task. Designing needs a step-by-step procedure and takes place over a period of time (Vanderwarker, 2001). E ngineers are primarily known as problem solvers. A design has a remarkably different nature of both the problem and solution because they are open- ended unlike other problem solving methods. This means that a design has more than one solution of correcting a problem which contains specified properties. In contrast to analysis problems, design problems are vaguely defined. Take an example of where one is asked to calculate the height of wall given the initial velocity of a snowball to be zero. The problem has one answer thus an analysis. Once the problem is changed to designing a device to launch 2-pound snowball to a height of 180 feet, it automatically becomes a design problem. In that it is open-ended and has many possible instruments that can be launched to determine the height of the snowball. An iterative procedure is outlined in solving design problems. This is because the solution to a design problem changes from time to time and continuous refining of the design becomes a n orm. During the implementation of a design problem, too expensive or unsafe solutions are developed. When such is the case the designer goes back to the drawing board until the proper solution is met. An outstanding example is that of the Wright brothers who experimented lots of design before attempting the powered flight. From his illustration, it is evident that design activity is a cyclic process while the analysis problem is sequential. To come up with a good solution to a design problem, it requires a well outlined procedure. This package, therefore, presents a diverse approach of a methodology referred to as the five-step problem-solving method. The mentioned methodology relates with the design process and can be adapted to solving a particular problem (Vanderwarker, 2001). The design process It consists of five crucial steps that must be achieved in designing the process. The process requires iteration and backtracking because design problems are usually vague. The design pro cess is contingent: it requires changes as it develops and the solutions are based on unforeseen complications. The five steps are illustrated below 1. Defining the problem 2. Gathering pertinent information 3. Generating multiple answers/ solutions 4. Analyzing and selecting a solution 5. Testing and implementing the solution Problem definition normally has a listing of the customer requirements and those of the

Exploring Students Attitudes Towards English Homework

Exploring Students Attitudes Towards English Homework Abstract This research aims at exploring students attitudes towards English homework. There is abundant literature regarding homework, but the voice of the students is absent from most of the literature. In this study, qualitative case study approach is used to look into the perspectives of one junior form class (F.1) and one senior form class (F.4). The literature review includes four major trends in the latest homework research: 1) relationship between homework and achievement, 2) relationship between time and achievement, 3) parental involvement and 4) homework design. I conducted 45 questionnaires and 6 in-depth interviews by purposive extreme sampling. After synthesizing all the data, I analyzed them by using constant comparison method and transcript based analysis. The results of the reserach showed that most students think homework is important to their learning. But the poor design and lack of teachers constructive feedbacks discourage them to complete their English homework. In addition, it is shown that different ages and genders require different kinds of homework to meet the learning diversity. This study contributes to the current literature in terms of its latest and un iqueness. Introduction When talking about homework, it seems that everyone has an opinion concerning its worth and purpose. Interestingly enough, in discussions of homework, it quickly becomes a debate. People either with adamantly favour or strongly oppose the practice. For myself, I struggled with the English homework when I was a secondary student. I thought it was just a burden for me without any meaningful purpose. On the other hand, when I was a student teacher, I liked assigning homework to my students because I assumed homework could improve both teaching and learning. Most importantly, homework was the communication channel between student and me. Some students who seldom handed-in their homework, but they still got a good grade in the exams, vice versa. This situation perplexed me. I have ideas and doubts about homework, but never really studied the issue. Therefore, I wanted to conduct an action research study in my honour project, in the hope that I could modify it so as to fit the needs of the students. After reviewing the literature, I decided to examine the attitudes students hold towards their English homework. My general intention was to obtain evidence indicating whether I neglected some factors when blaming on students who do not complete their English homework. I perceive the homework issue is faced among many teachers. No matter which schools and what kinds of students are the teachers working with, they must face the homework completion problem. Hopefully, this research can help teachers to handle the homework issue easily in the coming future. Part 1: Literature Review: The literature review consists of articles and books from 1980 to 2007 on the history of the homework debate. The majority of the scholarly articles are from EBSCO Databases (e.g.: A+ Education, Eric and Education Research Complete). The themes discussed in the literature are relationship between doing homework and achievement, time spent on doing homework, parental involvement and homework design. 1.1 The History of Homework Debate According to Copper (2007), homework is described as tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are intended to be carried out during non-school hours (p.5). Copper explains that the use of word-intended because students may do the homework during recess, lunch time or even during subsequent classes. Homework is not new. It has a long and controversial history (Gordon 1980; Cooper 1989a-2007; Bonyun 1992; Earle 1992; Foyle 1992; Hallam 2004; Jha 2007 and so on). Among these studies, there are both pro and anti- homework groups respectively. Gill and Schlossman (2000) analyzed the views of different stakeholders: educators, teachers and parents. Different parties hold very distinct views towards the issue of homework. Up till now, there is a lack of consensus among researchers which they only agreed that homework is a complicated issue. Apart from different stakeholders views, there are many variables related in the topic of homework: environment, students ability, time and re searchers own biases. Some of the critical views are discussed in the following part. 1.2The relationship between homework and achievement When the researchers analyzed whether there is a relationship between the amount of time spent on doing homework and achievement, they mostly used one of two research designs. The first one is experimental. They typically compared two groups of students who were assigned homework and who did not receive any homework. And then, these two groups of students were given the same test to check whether homework can carry a positive influence on students academic achievement. Copper (2007) showed that students doing homework had higher unit test scores than 73 percentage of students not doing homework 1.3The relationship between the amount of time spend doing homework and achievement The second type of research examines the relationship between time spent on homework and achievement. Kohn (2006) mirrored the work of Copper (2007), they found a positive relationship between time spent doing homework and achievement. That means time spent on homework increases, achievement increases. However, Kralovec (2000) examines that the relationship between achievement and time spent on homework is negative for younger students. He suggested that homework appears to be more effective for older students than younger students. All in all, homework appears to be positively correlated with achievement, but the effect varies dramatically with grade level. According to the research conducted by Vatterott (2009), in grades 3 to 5, the correlation was zero, in grades 6 to 9, the correlation was .07; and in grades 10-12, the correlation was.25. However, 1.00 is a perfect correlation between two measures and zero means there is no correlation between the measures. 1.4Parental Involvement In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on encouraging parents to become involved in the education of their children. Most parents think the setting of homework as necessary and important (Vatterott, 2007). There are two reasons for parents wanting children in doing homework. The first reason is because homework works as the schools commitment to educational achievement and also that it gives them a platform to apply what they have learnt in the lesson. The second reason is parents who view homework as a criterion for assessing schools. Since communication between home and school is often difficult, homework takes up the role of providing a bridge between home and school. Parents can easily check what the teacher is teaching and the progress of their children based on the homework. However, we cannot interpret parents wanting their children to do well in school to mean that they want their children to have homework if the homework is not going to improve academic achievement (Jha, 2006). Some research has suggested that parental help with homework improves achievement (Hallam 2007; Chen and Stevenson 1989). Other research suggests that the findings are not conclusive or that effects are trifling (Levin el al. 1997; Vatterott 2007). This contradictory result implies that parents may provide more help for the students than they actually need with their school work. The worst situation is that tension may develop between parents and their children over their homework. Later on, it can cause frustration and disappointment and may be counter-productive to the students performance in school. 1.5 Homework Design Among most findings, there is a considerable agreement among teachers that homework is worthwhile. There are two major reasons for teachers to give students homework: instructional and non- instructional (Xu, 2005). For the instructional objective of homework, teachers use homework as a means of ensuring that students have went over and learned the curriculum in preparation for tests. The non-instructional purpose of homework is to develop student responsibility, social skills and communication between parents and teachers. Despite this, homework was seen to have a negative influence on family involvement (Van Voorhis 2003). There has been considerable interest in the feedback given to students when homework has been completed. There is general consensus that homework must be collected and marked (Van Voorhis, 2003). However, there is much less agreement about the most effective marking procedures. Marking homework is time-consuming. Most teachers assign, collect and mark the homework regularly. However, there is variation in the kind of feedback the teachers give. Feedback can vary from teachers providing students with a mark, grade, a written comment, e.g. Very good, good or seen. Giving grades seems to be effective (Xu, 2005) but the type of grading given seems to make little difference to learning outcomes. 1.6 Summary of the literature review With the support of the literature review, the definition of homework is clear to all readers in this report: tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are intended to be carried out during non-school hours (Copper 2007). The major issue surrounding the homework controversy is whether it can improve students achievement, the views of different stakeholders and the weakness of the existing research. We can see that there is a lack of students voices among the research. Part 2 Research Questions What kinds of homework do the students prefer? Do students attitudes to homework vary according to characteristics such as age-group and gender? Does homework help to instill positive attitudes and study habits? Nowadays, almost all research regarding homework is from the adults point of view. Very few of them try to put themselves into the shoes of students to look into the homework issue. Student is the core of our education; therefore, the research regarding homework is always incomplete without the voice of students. This study aims at finding students attitude on their English homework and the reasons why students do not hand in English homework. Part 3 Methodology 3.1 Design This research is an explorative qualitative case study, but also with some quantitative features. Multiple methods are used because they will provide the data I require to produce a complete piece of research. It is unwisely to solely depend on one method because it is labeled as qualitative study. The aim of this study is to explore the students attitudes to homework in order to encourage students to complete their English homework. Finally, educators and teachers may design more effective homework to help students learning better in the future. I collected data from both teachers and students by 6 in-depth interviews (Appendix E F) and 45 questionnaires (Appendix C D). The reason for using in-depth interviews is due to its adaptability and credibility of the study. On the other hand, the use of questionnaire is due to its convenience and time effectiveness (Patten, 1998). This research explored the Form 1 and Form 4 students attitude towards English homework. 3.2 Participants The setting of this research is a secondary school in Tuen Mun. Participants were one Form 1 class and one Form 4 class students and 5 English teachers. The study required exploring the attitude towards homework on two groups of students taking the English course at school. 3.2.1 Sampling For the questionnaire, all students and their English teachers in those classes were asked to participate in the questionnaire research. For the interviews, I only picked up some samples from the participants. I had in-depth interviews with 4 students and 2 teachers using purposive extreme sampling. Patton (1990) defined extreme sampling should be used when the case are rich in information because they are unusual or special in some way. (p.109) 3.3 Instrument 3.3.1 Interviews One major advantage of the interview is its adaptability. With interviews, I could follow up ideas, probe responses and explore the feelings of the respondents, which the questionnaire cannot do. I could ask follow up questions based on the response of the interviewees, such as, the tone, the facial expression and even the hesitation. According to Bell (2005), questionnaire responses have to be taken at face value, but a response in an interview can be developed and clarified (p.157) However, since interviews are time-consuming, I used group interviews instead of one to one interviews in the beginning. But I discovered that the disadvantages of group interviews overrode the advantage of one-to-one interviews. The first disadvantage is that some strong personalitys interviewees influenced and in some extent they took over the group and made it difficult for the less assertive interviewees to speak (Refers to Extract 2). In addition, one to one interview can maintain higher privacy than group interviews. After considering all the factors, I decided to redesign my interviews to individual interviews instead it is more time-consuming. Extract 2. The transcript of the interview Interviewer: Why do you not hand in the homework on time? Student A: Well, I do want to do it. But as you know, the English homework is really boring. It doesnt matter we do not do it as I can still can good results from the exam. Interviewer: We? How about students B? Do you agree with student A? Student B: amà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.probably. (Feel embarrassed) Student A: Let me tell you more. And we are very busy all the time. It is common that different subject teachers assign the homework on the same dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Its impossible for us to finish themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Besidesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. 3.3.2 Questionnaire Since there are only twenty students in each class, it is feasible to give out all questionnaires to the whole classes. With questionnaires, all respondents are presented with the same questions. Therefore, I could compare the responses among different groups easily. As long as, there is no interviewer coming between the respondent and the question, it is essential to design the effective question wording. Before I sent out the questionnaires, I discovered the wordings in my questionnaires were very ambiguous. Bell (2005) suggested that words which have a common meaning to you may mean something different to other people (p.138). For example, I wanted to find out how often students are able to hand in their English homework on-time. Originally, I used some very ambiguous wordings, such as, always, often, sometimes and etc (Refers to Example 3A). But after the pilot testing, I changed the options to a specific period of time. (Refers to Example 3B). Precision in wording is important s ince it enables me to compare the data later. Example 3A. BEFORE the pilot test :Question 3 in the students questionnaire Example 3B. AFTER: the pilot test: Question 3 in the students questionnaire 3.4 Procedure First of all, I obtained permission from Hong Kong Institute of Education, the school principal, the participating teachers and students to collect the data. This study lasted for 8 weeks, from 14th March 2011 to 20th May 2011. At the beginning of the study, I collected archival data in the form of their first uniform test scores and some of their English homework from the participating students, so that I can get a general picture of students completion of English homework. Since I have decided my research questions, I used the problem oriented approach to limit the amount of documents. The sources included both primary and secondary sources. According to Bell (2005), primary sources are those which came into existence in the period under research, such as, the English homework, the scores of the uniform test. Apart from the primary sources, I also collected some secondary resources. Secondary sources are interpretation of events based on primary sources (Munn, 2004), for example th e report card given by the teachers. All these documents gave me the background of the participants and reinforced the core of my research. In the second week, I gave my cousin, who is a secondary school student, to do the questionnaire as piloting the questionnaire. With the trial, I understood how long it takes recipients to complete them, to check that all questions and instructions are clear and to enable me to remove any items which do not yield usable data. There are two reasons why I chose my cousin to pilot the questionnaire. The first reason is that her background is similar to those that would form the population of my study. Therefore, her perception and understanding are similar to my respondents. The second reason is sincerity. Since she is an outsider of this research, she is willing to tell me her true feeling towards the questionnaire. I distributed the questionnaires in the lesson and asked the students to do them during the lesson at once. It makes sure that the return rate is one hundred percentage and students could ask questions when they were doing the questionnaires. After glancing through all responses from the questionnaires, I carefully picked up some extreme case from the respondents to the questionnaire. Since these respondents are rich in information and they possess the common characteristics of the groups. For example, I picked up two students: 1) one hands in ALL English homework and 2) one never hands in any English homework respectively. Therefore, I could compare the similarity and differences among these distinct groups easily. 3.5 Data Analysis First of all, all data got from document, questionnaires and interviews are only raw data. They have to be categorized and interpreted; otherwise, they are useless. After synthesizing all the data, they were analyzed by constant comparison, comparing the emerging themes from all the participants in all categories (Hatch, 2002). Next, I compared the categories yield by each of the subgroups: gender and age, to check the differences and similarities among their responses. Based on students preference, I synthesized the results by using the summary sheet. Lastly, I used the transcript-based analysis to evaluate the information from the in-depth interviews. Based on Krueger (1994), Transcript-Based analysis includes the below steps: 1) Make backup copies of the recordings 2) Transfer the recordings to transcript 3) Category the data 4) Go through the research questions 6) Develop coding categories and code the data 7) Classify the data into coding categories 8) Diagram the analysis 9) Revise data to check is there any important information missing. (p.157) 4. Findings 4.1 Background Diagram 5 shows that over 80% of students think homework is important. They agree that in ideal situation, homework can help them learn better and practice what they have learnt in the lessons. However, less than 35% of them can hand-in the English homework more than 3 times a week (Refers to diagram 6). Due to this contradictory result, the following research questions will look into the attitudes of students towards English homework deeply. Diagram 5: Is English homework important to your learning? (from the Questionnaire) Diagram 6: How often do you hand-in the English homework on-time? (From the Questionnaire) 4.2 Students preferences for different kinds of homework The findings show that students disliked homework which was about copying, boring and tedious. Students also complained that sometimes the English homework sometimes has little relationship to the work in hand, is poorly set, marked late and poor feedback from teachers. In students own words: I do not return the English homework because I dont like doing those kinds of homework, such as, newspaper cutting and writing journal. They are not related to what we are learning. It is very boring to do the same type of English homework every weekend. (From a Form 4 student) I wanted to hand-in the homework, but sometimes I just cant. Once I go back home, I cant control myself to play the computer games. In the beginning of the semester, I was still able to hand in their English on time, or at least able to hand them in one day. But later on, I discovered that my English teacher did not scold me, even I did not hand in the homework. So, Im just used to not hand in the English homework now. (From a Form 1 student) From the findings, I found out that there is a range of factors affected pupils attitudes towards doing their English homework including motivation, mood, teachers response and quality and quantity of homework. Surprisingly, more than 80% students said that they would hand in their English homework if the teachers carry out some actions if the students do not hand in the homework (Refers to Diagram 7). Diagram 7: Teachers will take some negative consequences to students who cannot hand in the English homework. Do you think it is useful to encourage you to hand in the English homework on-time? In teachers own words: Im just very busy. Its impossible for me to check whether every student has handed in their English homework. (From a male English teacher) What actions I can take? If I ask them to attend the detention class, I have to go too. And somehow, I think students should take up their own learning responsibility. (From a female teacher) Students said that they enjoyed and valued homework when it was: well-explained; had adequate deadlines; interesting and at their level. Similarly, the findings show that students dislike doing homework that neither consolidated nor contributed to their learning. However, the reality is teachers are under heavy workload. They do not have extra time to care for the homework issue. 4.3 Relationships between students characteristics and altitudes to homework Students attitudes to homework seem to vary according to background factors, such as gender and age. For example, apart from spending more time on homework, female students seems to have a better attitudes towards it than the male students 4.3.1 Gender and Age Diagram 8: Relationship between gender and time spent on English homework a week From the above table, we can conclude that female students tend to spend longer time doing their English homework than the male students. Apart from the longer time, the English teachers expressed that female students are more conscientious with regard to homework and their homework are tidy, well planned and showed evidence of effort. On the other hand, male students seem spending very few amount of time on it. They are easily distracted by other things, such as, extra-curricular activities, computer games and some gang activities. Both boys and girls believe that homework is important in helping them to do well in school, although this tendency is stronger in girls especially in the senior forms. Based on the findings from the questionnaires, male students tended to spend more time in larger groups after school, whereas girls like spending time with a single close friend, which may be working on homework together. 4.4 Homeworks influence on attitudes to study Instilling a positive attitude towards study is always claimed the major reason of assigning homework to students. Diagram 9A 9B show that older students seem to give internal reasons for doing their homework, such as, revision and keep themselves on the track to the lessons. On the other hand, junior students tended to give more external reasons for doing English homework: obeying the teachers and parents. Diagram9A Diagram 9B This is probably an indication that students are developing more self-regulated and responsible attitudes when they are grown-up. Some students, especially junior students, are forced to do homework, so it is difficult to prove whether doing homework can facilitate the acquisition of self-regulatory skills. Therefore, this is another area that could clearly benefit from further research. 4.5 Summary of the responses The result reveals that most students think that homework is important to learning. Students prefer homework that is interesting and let them feel successful. Homework like journal and newspaper cutting make students feel bored because they are tedious and they only do a lot of copying instead. (Extract from the student interview). In addition, the relationship between students characteristics and attitudes towards homework is directly related. Male students like playing outside and hanging out with friends after schools, especially for junior students. Some students indicated that they learnt better through researches, projects and other learning activities. The key point in the data shows that students change their attitudes towards when they are grown up. 5. Discussion In the following parts, future directions are given based on previous literature reviews and my research findings. And then, I will suggest some future studies so as to make the homework issue clear to everybody. 5.1 Explanation of the findings 5.1.1 Students preferences for different kinds of homework Both the literature reviews and findings show that homework is mainly for scrutiny. It is routinely given to satisfy school requirements or meet the curriculum needs. It is high time that careful consideration to its purpose and the need to align tasks with aims. The role of teachers to the students completion of English homework cannot be underestimated. Both the amount the teachers set and the types of feedback given have an impact on the motivation of the students to complete it. It is rare that schools will reward students for completing homework. They always assume that students should take up their own responsibility to finish the homework. If teachers do not give constructive feedbacks or even worse they do not mark it, then the students will have no motivation to do the homework. The data from the study suggests that 80% of the participating teachers have not received any training related to designing homework. It is essential to provide professional development for designing homework. And government should help to balance the workload of teachers, so that teachers can put more time to design high quality homework. 5.1.2 Relationships between students characteristics and attitudes to homework Almost all students agree that homework is important; however, they think the nature of homework hinder them to hand in their English homework on-time. Teachers like assigning homework, like, writing journal and newspaper cutting. All these assignment are easily set by the teachers; however, students do not see the points of learning from these authentic materials. It is suggested that homework should be tailored to be aligned to the learning aims. For example, if the aim is to promote independent learning, then the teachers should try to devise some interesting tasks. Ideally, homework can even have a bigger function if teachers can skillfully set the homework. For example, homework can even help to improve examination performance. Combinations of aims can be met over time through providing variety in homework. 5.1.3 Homeworks influence on attitudes to study Students value homework because they think it can improve their learning and future prospects. At the same time, some regard homework as an encroachment on their leisure time, especially male students. They expect that teachers can give different types of homework to different students and which have to be related to their ongoing classroom work. For example, boys should be given more group work rather than individual work. Although different students hold various attitudes towards homework, all of them hope the same attitude: we need someone to listen to our concerns. There is no doubt that students are the ones who bear the consequences of not completing homework. But, as an educator, we have the responsibility to explore the students attitude towards homework and design appropriate homework to them. 5.2 Recommendations for further study The weaknesses of this study prompt three major recommendations for further study. Firstly, this study is a small scale qualitative study due to the time and resources constraints. A larger qualitative study is needed to increase the validity. It is suggested that we set up a forum for discussion, so that students can leave the comments freely in anonymous. Secondly, I tried to relate attitude to time spend on English homework in the third research question. However, students may do the homework because their parents force them to so, rather than they sincerely want to do the English homework by themselves. Moreover, it is difficult to define when the effect of classroom teaching ends and the effect of homework begins. Besides, it is not easy to check how the prior learning influences the achievement. Homework research is especially complicated because we are checking the effect of something than happens out of our sight and out of our control (Vatterott, 2009). Therefore, the settin g of the research should extend to the home, rather than simply classroom. The third recommendation is to add socio economic factors to the study. This study mainly reveals students attitude from their own individual factors, another factors should be included to strengthen the findings.