Pride and Prejudice: Women and Social class in the Regency Era Essay

Women were not considered to be equal to men. Women were regarded as being more fragile, mentally and physically, than men, and in need of care and protection. Wives were expected to defer to their husbands. Women laboured under certain legal disadvantages. When a woman married, for instance, any property she owned or any moeny she earned or ineherited automatically belonged to her husband. A husband could divorce his wife for adultery (though even for a man,divorce was difficult to come by, and carried a strong social stigma) but a woman could not divorce her husband even if he was cruel, deserted her etc. It ws possible to obtain a legal seperation, but that ws very difficult to come by. For upper or middle class women who needed to earn a living, teaching was one of the very few respectable options, and to be a teacher was not regarded as a particularly desirable occupation. A woman who became a teacher might be a governess (teaching the children of one family in their own home) or she might be a teacher in a school. Universities did not admit women at this time, and there were no female university professors, nor could women be doctors or lawyers or go into the church. The standard of education in girls’ schools was very variable, most concentrated mainly on fashionable accomplishments like dancing, music, French, and drawing, but some had more demanding curriculums. Mary Russell Mitford (who was a few years younger than Jane Austen) went to a school that taught Latin and Astronomy as well as the more usual subjects. And there were books aimed at girls which offered more challenging subjects. for instance, an immensely popular book in the Regency era was ‘Conversations in Chemistry’ by jane marcet, which taught chemistry in the form of conversations between a governes.s and her two pupils. This book was extremely popular and went through many editions. It was intended mainly for girls, but was read by men as well, the scientist Michael Faraday said that it was one of the two books that had influenced him most in his life (the other was the Encyclopedia Britannica). However, as you can see from reading the novels of Jane Austen, gentlemen were expected to treat ladies with respect. Most girls of the upper and middle class expected to stay at home until they married, but most were probably quite happy with this. It was not usual in those days for people to work unless they really needed to. This applied to men as well as women, a gentleman like Mr Darcy or Mr Bingley for instance would not expect to have to work for a living, any more than most women of their class would. Relations between men and women were often very good, for instance you can see from the letters of jane Austen that she had a lot of affection for her brothers, and they for her. It was different for working class women of course. They, like working class men, would be expected to work for a living from an early age. One of the commonest forms of employment for women in this period ws domestic service. Almost everyone who could afford it kept at least one servant, and a wealthy family might have dozens. One of the very few working class characters in Jane Austen is the housekeeper at Pemberley (mr Darcy’s home) who speaks about him so warmly when Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle visit the house. The housekeeper was the most important female servant in a large household, and she would be in charge of all the other servants, give the orders as to what they were to do, manage the household accounts etc. It was a responsible and important position. The fact that Elizabeth Bennet is impressed by the housekeeper’s good opinion of Mr Darcy shows that a servant’s opinion of her employer could be a valuable guide to his character.

Marvel Enterprises

Marketing Strategy 8050 Marvel Enterprises, Inc. Case Writing by Xiaodan Dong February, 2008 Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (b) Why was Marvel’s turnaround so successful? Would you characterize that success as a fluke? Or do you view it as sustainable? Why? How? Marvel’s success is not a fluke because its business model is sustainable. Marvel’s new strategy monetized the content library by licensing characters for use with media products. During an era in which mass media is very important in people’s life, only one media tool, publishing, is not strong enough to expand Marvel’s influence to consumers.Comic books can target a very limited market, mostly composed of male teenagers and young adults from 13 to 23 years old. It is very difficult to expand this traditional market. After many years of development, this market has matured and is very stable. Meanwhile, people have been more exposed to movies, televisions, and video games, which more effectively influence people’s consumption behavior than do comic books. All these media modes are able to reach more consumer segments than traditional comic-book publishing.Marvel’s potential to develop increased dramatically when its market expanded to broadcast media. Other consumer products, such as toys, worked in conjunction with media products, these two kinds of products reinforced each other. Marvel’s market expansion developed in both a comprehensive and intensive manner. Marvel emphasized long-term value in its new management strategy. They planed â€Å"career† for each of their characters. For example, Spider-Man’s career over the next five years is to have two more movies, DVDs, toys, a video game, and a promotion with Burger King.The intensive â€Å"career plan† extend character’s life and can have each character penetrate into people’s lives by media on a long term basis. The third main strategic dimension is to ensure the quality of the content which featured Marvel characters. Creation and consistency in characters and stories mean everything for Marvel. Before Marvel’s turnaround, the low publishing market share was mostly due to a lack of quality control. When efforts were put into improving creativity and fine artwork, the publishing business was rejuvenated and the market share increased.The publishing business provides the primary support for both licensing and toys. Marvel’s success will sustain, because the products lives are extended with well-planed â€Å"career†, and the market is expanded with thriving licensing and toy businesses. Investment in quality can enhance the product’s competitive ability in terms of both product life and market expansion. Great potential exists in each aspect of Marvel’s market. (c) How important are each of Marvel’s three divisions – Comic books, toys, and licensing – to its past and future performance? T he comic book business was Marvel’s core in the past and earned almost all revenue.Comic books were so important for Marvel that its market share determined if Marvel would live or die. That is why Marvel went bankrupt in the mid-1990s, when mismanagement caused a huge drop in comic-book sales. After Marvel turned around, comic-book publishing was important as a primary business, but not a core business. Since 1997, Marvel’s financial performance in comic-book industry has been very stable and the annual sales totaled around 300 million every year. While comic book revenue should continue to be stable, its percentage will decrease in the future as Marvel’s other businesses grow.Licensing was only a small part of Marvel’s overall revenue in the past. Marvel’s licensing was mostly concentrated within the comic-book industry, selling the publishing license to some book-related businesses or some toy merchants. After Marvel took advantage of broadcast media, such as movies, television, and video games, its licensing become the largest division and collected the majority of the profit for the company. In 2003, licensing accounted for 70. 5% of the gross profit (See Appendix A Figure 1). Licensing profit had a much sharper increase from 2000 to 2003 than the other two businesses (See Appendix A Figure 2).In the future, licensing will keep increasing and its percentage of revenue will grow, especially if the management adopts a strategy of capitalizing on it. In the past, the toy business was just an annex of the publishing industry. Little effort was invested in toys which were not even mentioned strategic plans. Now the toy industry is the second-highest profit maker in Marvel, generating over $20 billion in sales in 2003. The toy business is very promising in the future. However its percentage in revenue will still remain stable or slightly decrease, just as publishing will do, because licensing has such a strong possibility for growth.In addition, while the toy industry competition is too fierce to permit further achievements. (d) To what extent is Marvel’s success due to only one character, Spider-Man? How can Marvel develop its lesser-known characters? There is no doubt that, to a great extent, Marvel’s success since the 1960s is due to Spider-Man. However, during the 1990s, the company declined despite such a successful superhero. â€Å"Exploiting† strategy by significantly increasing the number of titles stretched out consumers’ interest. Marvel’s new CEO, Peter Cuneo, restructured the company with negative assets and turned the company around.Spider-Man was resuscitated in comic-book sales. In the Publishing Division, Marvel’s 64. 7% revenue was from Spider-Man among the top famous titles in the second half year of 2003 (See Appendix A Figure 3). In the movie box office revenue, Spider-Man collected 33. 75% revenue in the US market and 37. 2% in the world mark et among Marvel’s eight titles movies, ranking the first (See Appendix A Figure 4). Spider-Man has gained great achievements, since the company turned around. However, Marvel’s success is not due to only one character.According to figure 3 and figure 4, other lesser-known characters, such as the X-Men and Fantastic Four, have also contributed to the company’s success. The entertainment market is difficult to predict. Consumers’ interests for media products are notoriously fickle. It could be very risky to continue to infuse resources to Spider-Man. Spreading limited resources to lesser-known characters helps the company reduce risk. Marvel needs to shift their focus to lesser-known characters which have great potential to be popular with wider public.Integrated marketing communication can be a very useful strategy to promote lesser-known characters by using prominent characters. For example, the Fantastic Four can be guests in Spider-Man’s comic-bo oks or movies. When lesser-known characters and Spider-Man are presented to people as â€Å"Marvel’s Superheroes†, lesser-known characters can be promoted by the fame of prominent characters. As Marvel’s previous CEO Peter Cuneo (2003) said, â€Å"this is about converting Spider-Man fans into Marvel fans. †

Reflection on Interview Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflection on Interview Paper - Assignment Example For this interview that I have selected, I believe that my understanding and information regarding Shell would benefit me in case if someone would ask me anything related to the company. It is highly important to know your potential organization in order to avoid any embarrassment. This would create a negative image of yourself and of your personality on the minds of your employers. Therefore, I tend to appear as a knowledgeable and informative person when it comes on knowing your employers. This would also enable you to appear confident that you know each and everything in detail about your employers. How Well I Have Answered The Questions: It is not right to say that I have answered all the questions in the right manner. I believe that your answer should be appropriate no matter if you have answered it in a right way or the wrong way. Your answers should reflect your personality, your thinking and your professional approach. I think I would have answered Question 4 (How do you work under pressure) in a more detailed manner. My answer should be: â€Å"I enjoy working in a challenging yet, stimulating environment. Time management and prioritizing responsibilities are the key factors in effectively managing your work under extreme pressure and stress. When managing with stress and pressure, I believe that panicking is not the right attitude. I enjoy challenges as they make you learn different things such as how to deal with stress, how to avoid pressure, you can come up with different solutions and develops a problem-solving attitude in you.† This shows my attitude, my personality, and my problem solving approach on my employers. However, it is necessary to be more descriptive with your answers where necessary rather than going for the shortest possible answers. Shorts answers can sometimes create a negative impact of your personality on the minds of your employers. However, try to be rational, show your confidence, be polite and just be yourself. I belie ve that a person should appear what he/ she is rather than acting what he/ she is not. Analyzing All the Answers to the Questions: Answer 1: â€Å"I find this company to be a leader in it is field so I apply for this job since it matches my skills and abilities .I feel that this position will enable me to demonstrate my abilities and skills and make a contribution in an area i have studied in and see my future career in.† Analysis: I could have made this question more informative. I would have added more information regarding the strengths of the company with my strengths just to show on the employers that my abilities and my skills have brought me at Shell; which is a multinational corporation with a huge employee capacity and strong market creditability. Answer 2: â€Å"I think you should choose me because this position offers me a chance to learn new things and be part of the wining organization.† Analysis:

Auditing and Assurance Service in Australia Essay

Auditing and Assurance Service in Australia - Essay Example This over extraction also may hamper the ground support system of the mine. Here overproduction also signifies that there is a huge lack of communication and interaction between the smelting division and the mining division. In fact it the problem with the entire company where signals are not present about the amount to be produced and how much amount of ore to be mined each time period. The second major risk that the division is currently having is the inability to gel with the acquired companies. As a result of this there is redundancy in operation as well as in costs incurred. These redundancies hurt more when the market is down for the ore. The business could fall drastically if the entire mining division is not centralized and integrated. The repeated processes of transferring the ores to the internal and external divisions are taking the cost component upwards. This is one of the major painful areas in the division. An ideal system would demand a proper coordination among the s hafts, and well assigned targets of productions should be given to the individual shafts. These shafts should not be made liable for the sales of the ores; rather it would be the central sales department who would have knowledge about the production requirement of the smelting departments, the foreign and the local customer demands. According to the demands production planning should be done, not the other way round. For this to happen, the mining stores of different shafts should be integrated. This brings us to the third level of risk the division has. The stores of the different shafts are not connected and no computer data base is maintained for the amount of stocks that the division is holding. The sales department to have a better knowledge about the amount of stocks that are with the different shafts should introduce a new IT package for store keeping. A proper communication flow can be maintained between the shafts and the  sales department if proper information is availab le in both the ends.  

LMX Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

LMX Theory - Essay Example He or she may have a quality relationship with other subordinates of the group that could be characterized by warmth, trusting and open that could make followers group and could also have poor relationship with others that could characterized by coldness and suspicion which makes the followers hold back. It is the leader who initiates the relationship and through this exchange, could influence the degree of a subordinate’s relationship that could make them an in-group or an out-group. Leaders have close subordinates and are considered the in-group and their role in the group can be elevated to the degree of â€Å"trusted lieutenant† (Lunenburg, 2010 pg. 2). In effect, in-groups would be able to have greater latitude and influence in the process of decision making and enjoys the open communication from the leader. He or she may be given bigger responsibilities and more benefits to enjoy. The out-group members on the other hand are supervised according to the formality of their employment. The leader exercise his or her leadership not through the quality of relationship as enjoyed by those in the in-group but rather by the implicit relationship between a leader and a subordinate and exercises leadership as dictated by job function and does not extend beyond what is stated in the formalities of employment contracts. In sum, out-group members are treated as regular employees and only do what they are supposed to do as employees. The Leader-Member Exchange posits that relationships between leaders and subordinates go through the stages of role-taking, role making to routinization. Role-taking is the first stage when the manager’s first assesses the new member’s skills and other abilities as he or she joins the group. Role-making then follows where the leader assigns the new member either as part of in-group or out group. The members of the in-group are the trusted lieutenants of the leader whose relationships are characteristically positi ve. Often, they have the similar or share same personality with their manager. Out-group are those members who is outside the grace of the leader and whose job are not as rewarding as those who are in the in-group. The leader also deems those in the out-group as less capable. Finally, relationships are established in the routinization stage where the categorization of roles becomes self-fulfilling. In-group continues to work to maintain their status in the group where the managers delegates more responsibilities and groomed to advance in the corporate ladder while the out-groups receive casual treatment from the manager. II. Provide the results of your complemented questionnaire Score: 22 Low LMX: 20-24 III. Describe what you learned that you can apply to you leadership practice The exercise made me realized that my relationship with my leader falls into the category of low LMX. Our interconnectedness or dyad of relationship falls in the neutral and therefore, can be taken as based on the contractual nature of my employment. My leader is neither warm nor cold to me, nor trust or distrust me not initiates grand action that will make me believe him. It is basically grounded on the principle that if I do my job, I will be okay. Basically, my relationship to him is based on my job and falls on the out-group of LMX. This explains why I am not attached to the leader and to the organization because I felt that I am just an employee there whose

The role of Innovation and Convergence in Complicating ICT Regulation Essay

The role of Innovation and Convergence in Complicating ICT Regulation - Essay Example The paper tells that the concept of regulation entails a number of aspects including; a specific set of commands; a deliberate influence by the state; and socio-economic influences, all of which influence social or economic behaviour. The authors further argue that although regulation mainly elicits the perception of restricting behaviour and preventive of certain activities, it can also be viewed as facilitative/enabling. For instance, regulation permits and controls the use of airwaves, allowing for broadcasting which would otherwise be chaotic. Borras properly captures the relationship between regulation and ICT through a discussion on standards and innovation. Standards determine the interchangeability and interconnectivity of products and thus the overall technological evolution of the industry. However, the ICT environment is heavily revolutionary in terms of technology and regulator standards find it difficult to always keep up. The regulation of ICT presents with a number of challenges arising several different perspectives and contested issues about how the regulators should go about it. Whereas issues of IPR dominate the cyberspace, other areas in the ICT industry provide an opportunity to limit regulation and promote competition. For instance, elements in network industry value chains involve retailing to end-users where competition is feasible and thus limit the need for regulation. However, the limits to competition among the players in the telecommunications industry are uncertain due the impact of technology. (Baldwin, Cave and Lodge 2010, p. 501). Here, innovation and convergence play an important role in complicating regulation of the ICT sector, calling for equally inventive and capable strategies to ensure proper and healthy regulation. Role of Innovation in Complicating ICT Regulation Innovation in the ICT industry occurs at a much faster pace and from many different angles than in most other sectors. As the Regulation Reform Unit (2010, p. 5-6) argues, regulatory activities and agencies have the challenge of reflecting technological changes and market developments in the ICT environment. Regulation of the ICT sector impinges on many different aspects including competition, interconnection, management of spectrum, authorisation and price controls among other aspects (ICT Regulation Toolkit 2012). Innovation impacts all of these aspects of ICT regulation in different ways but all centering on the rate at which innovation occurs. In terms of competition and price controls, the horizontal and vertical innovations witnessed everyday in the ICT sector challenge the traditional paradigm of regulation which embeds in the economic sense. Technological developments have implications on existing market structures at the overall economic level. A stable format of regulation seeking to stabilise the ICT sector would not hold in some sections as innovations render what is today valuable absolutely unimportant tomorrow. To keep up, the regulatory mechanisms have to evolve and develop new ways of regulating the newly formed ICT market structure. This may

To what extent is the U.S.A. still the Child of Europe Essay

To what extent is the U.S.A. still the Child of Europe - Essay Example Since the United States is a product of the ideas, values and ideologies of the European peninsula, to what extent is the United States still the â€Å"child† of Europe? Seeking to address these questions and many more with respect to historical changes which have resulted in American cultural hegemony and a lessening of the bonds between the United States and Europe, this essay will emphatically argue that the United States is no longer a child of Europe but stands alone on the world stage. According to Kelly and Prokhovnik, â€Å"although the globalization of culture seems in some ways obvious in our daily lives, it is not an entirely straightforward matter. Culture is a complicated and pervasive phenomenon, taking many forms.† (48) Addressing charges of cultural imperialism and the role of the United States in cultivating a mass market â€Å"world culture†, the following will begin with a concise overview the charges leveled against the United States as an economic, cultural and military hegemon. The globalization of American values began in the post-World War II period following the near universal physical, economic and social devastation of the European continent. A social revolution paved the way for the export of American values and ideas across the world. For the United States, the social revolution of the 1960s was also a cultural revolution. In fact, the â€Å"rise of a specific, and extraordinarily powerful youth culture indicated a profound change in the relation between generations† (Hobsbawm 192). Leading this Cultural Revolution were the young: teenagers started wearing jeans – prior to that only farmers wore them – and rock music became the voice of a generation. In fact, industries saw the potential of this young and increasingly powerful generation and catered to it through the â€Å"flourishing industries of cosmetics, hair-care and personal hygiene† (Hobsbawm 193-4). Renowned

Should the U.S. step back its relationship with Israel Research Paper

Should the U.S. step back its relationship with Israel - Research Paper Example For instance, the Liberty Bell inscribes that â€Å"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof†, a statement that is taken from Old Testament scripture, Leviticus 25:10 (West, 2012). More so, the common U.S slogan â€Å"In God We Trust† came up through the influence of the Jews. Ideally, the relationship between U.S and Israel strengthened and thrived over the decades. However, the current state of the relationship seems to waver due to intensified conflicts between Israel and its neighbors known as the Middle East, where U.S intervention and objective of uniformly uniting all the warring countries seem to create bad blood from Israel, who expects U.S to back it up in spite of its reasons behind the conflict. This paper will review the current question causing heated debates on the political scene on whether or not U.S should step back its relationship with Israel. The current relationship between United States and Israel is considered as an important factor by U.S government and its overall policy. This is because congress has been and still is supporting and maintaining the relationship. The congressional research service portrays the evidence by quoting George Bush’s government prime minister Ariel Sharon saying, â€Å"‘there exists a deep friendship between Israel and U.S. - between our peoples and countries. The basis of this friendship is common values, a commitment to democratic values, freedom, peace, and common interests, including the drive toward regional stability and preventing terrorism and violence†, (ProCon, 2007). The reason unto why these two countries share a strong bond is because the share a lot in common that include deeply held self-reliance principles, religious freedom, individual responsibility, similar passion for innovation and entrepreneurship and above all they share a common enemy in radical I slam. In this regard, U.S

The Sales Promotion Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Sales Promotion - Article Example They include employment agencies, classified advertisements, web search and other employment placement service sites. The selection is based on key attributes like being self- motivated, having a disciplined work style, ability to close the sale and lastly capability to build a solid customer relationship. Next is the training of the sales team which is done through various programs such as seminars and meetings on Products, Company and Service. Thirdly, there is sales force compensation which is achieved through salaries, commissions, vacations, pensions and even repays for well job-related expenses. Fourthly, there is sales force supervision and subsequent evaluation of their performance for further improvements. Selling is a complex process that involves several steps. First, there is prospecting and qualifying which briefly involves identifying potential customers, then a pre-approach stage which involves knowing more about the needs of customers. Thirdly, there is the meeting of customers for the first time. Then a salesperson has to handle various objections to customer buying, asking the customer for order and finally making a follow-up. Relationship marketing, on the other hand, involves campaigns by aimed at customer satisfaction and retention. The sales promotion program is developed through a number of steps. There is the size of incentive determination and subsequent setting of conditions for participants. Then, a decision is made on promotion and distribution to the sales team.

Emergency preparedness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Emergency preparedness - Assignment Example Risk and vulnerability assessment is the process of investigating whether or not there is a risk or threat that poses danger to a specific institution. This is done by security personnel who look at a threat, vulnerability, and consequences of a suspected risk (Threat/Vulnerability Assessments and Risk Analysis, n.d.). Some of the major needs of a Healthcare Organization would be a complete set of medical equipments, tools, drugs; enough space to accommodate people; and most especially a group of knowledgeable and skilled nurses and doctors. On the other hand, a healthcare organization’s major responsibility during an emergency would be to be able to provide initial treatment to ease the pain or even save a life during the most crucial time, before a patient’s condition is stabilized. Emergency preparedness is all about foreseeing all the possible risks or threats that could happen with regard to a certain activity, event, or in a certain location. On the other hand, disasters are damages that could be caused by nature or man. However, though there are disasters we cannot contemplate such as some earthquakes, there are also some natural disasters that we can contemplate such as tsunamis being caused by an earthquake aftershock or a typhoon caused by global warming. Man-made caused disasters, for me, are a result of carelessness or irresponsibility which we can totally

Modern World History Essay Example for Free

Modern World History Essay The children had very different reactions to the policy of evacuation. They all had a lot of different experiences. Some liked it and felt as if it was an adventure for them, everything was new to them so they enjoyed it especially the ones who lived with wealthy hosts, some did not want to leave. It was like a holiday. But for these children some felt scared and didnt like the change, for example this is Source I, taken from the Modern World History Heinemann textbook page 138, Everything was so clean in the room. We were given face flannels and tooth brushes. Wed never cleaned out teeth until then. And hot water came from the tap. And there was a lavatory upstairs. And carpets. And clean sheets. This was all very odd. I didnt like it. It was scary. This shows hard and weird it must have been for the children, all the changes would be very confusing. It was even worse though for the children who were mistreated, here is Source M from the same book and page. Clarence and I used to sleep together and poor Clarence used to wet the bed because he was a very nervous kid. She (the foster mother) could never tell whod done it so she used to bash the daylights out of both of us. So, of course, the more Clarence got hit the more he wet the bed. It was then we started to get locked in the cupboard. This source tells us how hard it must have been for children like Clarence. First of all they leave their family behind, leave the city they grow up in and dont know what to expect just that it would be safer than the cities. Then they end up getting beaten by the foster parents. They would feel terrified and would probably wish they had never moved. It would also be very hard for children as they would miss their family and for little kids of about 5 and 6 it would be even harder. They would feel lost and not know what to do. For the mothers and fathers it would be probably be a sad experience letting your children go and live with strangers. You only knew that your children would be safer than in the city and hopefully wouldnt be killed. You yourself wouldnt know what to expect and would probably fear the worst. All you knew was that you had a job to do in the war and had to work hard. You didnt know who you children were staying with or what they were like so it would be a traumatic experience for the parents as well as the kids. Only mums with babies were allowed to evacuate out of the cities with them otherwise they had to work. But at least you knew you were doing your bit and hopefully the hard work would take your mind off things and stop you from worrying. The parents knew the policy was a good idea but probably still had their doubts about it. Another reaction was from the emergency services. They seemed to like it. It gave them a lot more time to concentrate on the war and big things rather than having little kids causing trouble. They liked the situation and it helped them out a lot which was another reason why the evacuation itself took place. There was a lot less people in the cities, less crimes, fires etc. which made their job a lot easier which Im sure they appreciated. They definitely liked the policy. So this shows the different reactions about the policy. There were a lot of mixed opinions on whether it was good or not. Some liked it some didnt, but in my opinion it was a good thing but maybe if I was there I might have a different reaction to it.

The immortality of the soul

The immortality of the soul Title: What arguments are there in the Phaedo for and against the immortality of the soul? Introduction A large portion of the Platonic dialogue Phaedo concerns itself with attempting to establish well enough the Socratic teaching of the immortality of the human soul. In all, there seem to be three main types of arguments for immortality offered by Socrates in the Phaedo. The first and third arguments are known by various names. The second main argument offered is generally known to everyone by the same name: the â€Å"recollection argument.† It should be admitted here that it seems more suitable to refer to these, not as strict proofs, but certainly as argumentative support for Socrates’ overall position of immortality. David Gallop seems to concur in his commentary on this passage of the Phaedo dealing with immortality. â€Å"Plato does not offer a set of discrete, self-contained proofs of immortality, but a developing sequence of arguments, objections, and counter-arguments,† (103).[1] Joseph Owens agrees that the Platonic arguments offered do go quite far in ma king their case,[2] though they fall short of establishing a certainty between immortality itself and an attending guarantee of immortality toward every human person. So whereas it is important to note the strength of the arguments, it remains to be seen whether their strength stands up to close scrutiny, especially the scrutiny offered by Socrates’ interlocutors. The First Main Type of Argument for Immortality Before entering into this argument proper, it would be beneficial to indicate what had been admitted prior to the first argument beginning at 69e. It was admitted by all Socrates’ listeners that the philosopher as the one who seeks after true wisdom and truth itself is aware that the body he inhabits works against these higher inclinations of the philosopher. The soul and the body are really distinct from each other. One could say that they are two separate substances, and the soul is clearly superior to the body. The soul seeks the higher things: the forms, truth itself, etc. But, the body interferes with these pursuits and brings down the soul from these great heights.[3] This is the metaphysical anthropology to keep in mind as underlying the arguments. Now onto the first type of argument, which has been categorized in several ways, depending on the commentator. It has been known as the cyclical argument, the opposites argument, or the argument from contraries.[4] We shall refer to it here by the latter option, though noting the cyclical nature presupposed by the argument from contraries.[5] The arguments begin as a result of a direct challenge by Cebes (69e6) that there have been many who have held that the soul perishes on the day of the death of the body. Socrates’ first argument in establishment of immortality begins by noting the received Greek â€Å"myth†[6] of the cycle of rebirth – the transmigration of souls (70c5). He proceeds to argue that in the whole of reality one perceives the â€Å"generation† of contraries one from another. â€Å"And the weaker is generated from the stronger, and the swifter from the slower,† Socrates notes.[7] From these several examples, he finally gets Cebes to admit that this principle applies equally well to life and death. Death is certainly generated from the living, and Cebes concedes that his only answer to what is generated from the dead is â€Å"the living,† (71d13). This â€Å"contraries† argument gains final strength with a type of modus tollens argument.[8] It could be structured in the following way. If the world were not cyclical in its generation of contraries, then all life would have reached the same state of death. All life has not reached the same state of death. Therefore, the world is cyclical (72b-d). This argument is a valid version of the modus tollens, and it anticipates objections like that of Copleston when he asserts that Plato’s first argument is reliant on the â€Å"unproved assumption† of an eternally cyclical world. However, the modus tollens above shows that it is much more than an assumption. He argues from the way things are now (i.e., continually generating and decaying and generating again) to the necessity of the cyclical world to account for present reality. Therefore, one would have to find a faulty premise in the argument in order to overturn it. Cebes, however, sees the force of the reasoning and accepts it argument wholeheartedly (72d4-5). The Second Argument for Immortality As noted earlier, this second argument is commonly called the argument from recollection. It supposes that when we know the Forms (or â€Å"Ideas†) through recognizing particular instances of those Forms, we could only do so if we were either (1) informed of all Ideas at birth (and then lost them immediately after we received them, which is absurd) or (2) merely recollect the Ideas from having known them previously (i.e., prior to our birth).[9] Hence, we all have existed previously. For example, in order to perceive equalities among things, we would have to already possess a notion of â€Å"absolute equality.† Else, we would not be able to recognize equality at all, if we had no prior Ideas with which to compare the instances of things we encounter in reality (74). Simmias and Cebes accept the force of the argument, though Cebes concludes by noting that Simmias raises an interesting point which implies that only half of the argument has been given in this second line o f reasoning. What one concludes from the second argument is merely that the soul existed and was vested with the Forms prior to its arrival on Earth (77c1-5). This does not, however, establish life after death – merely prior to death. However, Socrates’ retort is that the second argument is meant to be understood â€Å"in conjunction with the preceding argument,† (Copleston, 213). This satisfies both Simmias and Cebes, as they are moved along to the third argument given by Socrates, having to do with the very nature of the soul. The Nature of the Soul and Its Implications: Argument Three This is perhaps the most pointed of the arguments and crucial to be established in order to make the belief in immortality more firm. There are two aspects of this third argument, both of which deserve explication. The reason, it seems, why some philosophers prefer to call this the â€Å"affinity† (Gallop) or â€Å"likeness† (Stern) argument is that Socrates argues that the soul is able to peruse the invisible realm of the Forms, even though the body merely has contact with the sensible, physical world. In this way, the soul can be shown to have a propensity toward the realm of the Forms. It could be said to have a â€Å"heavenly† aspect to it, as it were. Since the forms are very clearly not subject to any change or decay, and the soul is readily in contact with them, it must be the case that this shows an immortal aspect of the soul (79). This aspect of the argument does have some force. Perhaps though the most pointed argument offered by Socrates is founded in the simplicity of the soul. Unlike any body, the soul, being immaterial, is not composed of parts. Every body though is composed of many and various parts. The soul, lacking any parts, therefore must be simple in its constitution (78b-80). Moreover, anything that is simple in its makeup is not subject to degeneration. Mortimer Adler explains, Degeneration is decomposition. The soul would be mortal, too, if it were materially constituted and decomposable. The crux of the various arguments that Socrates advances for its immortality, therefore, lies in two assertions he makes about it. It is immaterial; and it is simple, not composite. It must, therefore, continue to exist after the body perishes.[10] Richard Swinburne, in an article on â€Å"immortality† in the Oxford Companion to Philosophy reasons that since Plato argues that the destruction of anything consists (at least) in the disassembling of its various parts, yet the soul has no parts and is not spatial, it follows that â€Å"the soul can not be destroyed.†[11] Simmias’ Objection At the end of all of this there still remain objections in the Phaedo. Simmias offers one, which has been called the epiphenomenal objection (85e3-86d). According to Simmias, the soul could be seen as merely the harmony of the body, and when the body dies, that which gave it harmony dies alongside it. The Socratic reply is that the soul is the master of the body (i.e., it can control emotions and subdue desires), and it is not reasonable to think that that which merely is the harmonizing principle of a thing could simultaneously be the very ruler of it as well.[12] Concluding Thoughts There are many arguments offered by Socrates and, in the end, more or less conceded by all the participants in favor of viewing the soul as immortal. It seems that the strongest arguments unfold as the dialogue itself unfolds. The argument from the simplicity of the soul, while deserving some further explication and clarification (which subsequent philosophers do – cf. Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas), does ultimately stand up to the objections of his interlocutors. Whether they are altogether successful as a conglomerate or whether each one might stand on its own as sufficient of proving immortality is difficult to discern. Continued revisiting of these Platonic thoughts, however, seem certainly to be appropriate, as we have witnessed at times throughout this brief the various weaknesses of contemporary commentators on Plato. Works Consulted Adler, Mortimer J. The Angels and Us. New York: Macmillan, 1982. Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy: Volume 1: Greece and Rome. New York: Image Books, 1993. Honderich, Ted, ed. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Owens, Joseph. A History of Ancient Western Philosophy. New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts, 1959. Plato. Phaedo. Translated with Notes by David Gallop. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. Stern, Paul. Socratic Rationalism and Political Philosophy: An Interpretation of Plato’s Phaedo. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993. 1 Footnotes [1] Gallop goes on to note that these arguments of the Phaedo are to be contrasted â€Å"sharply with the solitary, and quite different, proofs of immortality in the Republic (608c-611a) and Phaedrus (245c-246a),† Phaedo, translated with notes by David Gallop (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988), 103. [2] â€Å"The Platonic arguments have shown that the nature of the intellectual soul demands immortality,† A History of Ancient Western Philosophy (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1959), 234. [3] See especially Socrates’ pointed comments at Phaedo 66b-e. [4] Joseph Owens and Paul Stern refer to it as the â€Å"opposites† argument. David Gallop employs the category of â€Å"cyclical† and Frederick Copleston seems to prefer seeing it as an argument from â€Å"contraries.† [5] â€Å"Contraries† as opposed to â€Å"opposites† is preferred because, as shall be seen, the argument is not reliant solely on what are true opposites. There are many times when Socrates transitions to talking about gradations in types of being, rather than true opposites. Gradations can be included under the head of contraries. [6] Mortimer Adler refers to this as a myth rather than a religious or even philosophical doctrine that Plato inherits. Angels and Us (New York: Macmillan, 1982), 161. [7] Phaedo, 71, 3-4. All quotations from the Phaedo are from the older translation by Benjamin Jowett (rather than from that of David Gallop), unless otherwise noted. The Jowett translations of Plato have appeared in numerous editions and are therefore readily available. [8] Which, if the reader needs reminding, has the following construction: If P, then Q. Not Q; therefore not P. Or, P→Q; ~Q; à ¢- ¡ ~P. [9] This argument is worked out in much detail in another dialogue – the Meno. In that dialogue, Plato attempts to establish this, we may call it along with Copleston, a priori type of knowledge in all men by questioning a boy, who has never been instructed in mathematics, in basic principles of a mathematical proof. Through this questioning he is able to draw out of the boy an abstraction for a mathematical proof – a proof with which, prior to this questioning, the boy was altogether unfamiliar. [10] Angels and Us, 157. [11] Ted Honderich, ed., The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 396. However, immediately following this Swinburne proceeds to give the following objection, which he takes to be successful. He states that since an atom (which is physical) can be reduced to energy (which is also, in some sense, physical) and thus destroyed, it must not have to be the case that a thing must have its parts separated before it is destroyed. But, of course, the argument of Plato is untouched by such an objection. An atom is both physical and composed (of at least protons, neutrons and electrons). Hence, it bears no analogy to the soul which is neither physical nor composed of anything. [12] Frederick Copleston makes this point masterfully in his History of Philosophy, 207.

General Motors Human Resources and Management

General Motors Human Resources and Management This report presents an analysis of the mission statement of General Motors as well as its key business processes. It also illustrates how the key business processes integrate with the information systems and our suggestions and recommendations to those processes that would better suit General Motors. The report also identifies the environmental factors which affect the company in terms of political, economic, social, ecological and technological factors and the impact that these factors have had on General Motors and the strategic diversity the company has had to adopt to accommodate these changes. Finally the report explores ways on how new information systems can help General Motors create great efficiency by automating and streamlining parts of its business processes. The report concludes by incorporating our recommendations of appropriate information systems for each department within the company. Introduction General Motors is the worlds largest automaker with 386,000 employees in over 50 years. Despite this sheer size, its auto sales have declined from about 60 percent of the U.S. vehicle market in the 1970s to only 28.3 percent today. This decline is attributed to stiff competition from Ford, DaimlerChrysler and the Japanese all of whom enjoy lower production costs, have a reputation for cars with better styling and quality than General Motors. General Motors adoption of a vertically integrated corporation which at one time manufactured up to 70 percent of its parts, as a power source of competitive advantage, enabled the company to build cars at lower costs than its rivals. However, over time, these policies worked in favour of General Motors competitors who were then able to make motor vehicles at much lower costs because they could purchase their vehicle parts from outside vendors and also bargain on pricing. For the past 15 years, General Motors has struggled to overcome the above legacy, inefficient product processes and thousands of outdated information systems that could not communicate with each other. Although the company has now become much leaner and more efficient by shedding off tens of thousands of workers, closing dozens of plants and squeezing costs of motor vehicle parts by scouring the globe for the lowest prices much still needs to be done. It is our recommendation that General Motors use Internet and other leading-edge information systems technology to reconstruct its entire value chain, transforming itself into a customer-focused business that provides many different electronic services to consumers as well as motor vehicles. Mission Statement General Motors mission statement states that GM is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment. We analysed the above mission statement using Druckers five questions namely:- What is our business? Who is the customer? What is the value to the customer? What will our business be? What should our business be? We arrived at the conclusion that there was a need to modify General Motors mission statement since the above questions were not fully exhausted. The current mission statement does not indicate that GM is a producer of motor vehicle; neither does it take into consideration the Global Sullivan Principle. As a marketing tool, it does not mention that it is dedicated towards providing products and services to customers who are targeted in 200 different countries. Our recommended General Motors mission statement should read as follows: GM is a multinational producer of motor vehicles engaged in socially responsible operations worldwide and committed to achieve the best in every facet of our business. Under the aspects of Global Sullivan Principles, GM is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers who are targeted in 200 different countries will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment. Key Business Processes Key business process is defined as the execution of a series of activities that work together to produce a well defined set of products and services which leads to the achievement of a measurable business result. They also represent unique ways in which organisations coordinate work, information, and knowledge, and the ways in which management chooses to coordinate work. Integration between Business Process and Information Systems Although each organisation has its own set of business processes, many other business processes are cross functional, transcending the boundaries between sales, marketing, manufacturing, research and development. These cross functional processes cut across the traditional organisation structure, grouping employees from different functional specialities to complete a piece of work. Information systems can help organisations achieve great efficiencies by automating parts of these processes or by helping organisations rethink and streamline these processes. By integrating these processes, organisations can become more focussed on efficient management of resources and customer services. Suggestions and recommendations of key business processes Functional Area Business Process Manufacturing and Production Assembling the product, checking for quality, producing bills of materials Sales and Marketing Identifying customers, making customers aware of the product, selling the product Finance and Accounting Paying creditors, creating financial statements, managing cash accounts Human Resources Hiring employees, evaluating employees job performance, enrolling employees in benefits plan External Environment There are three factors which had made General Motors in this situation. Firstly, the United States economy is not progressing cost their U.S. sales projections for 2008 have been too rosy. GM had been expecting more than 16 million vehicles, including trucks and buses, to be sold this year (Taylor III 2008). Secondly, intense competition from their global competitors such as Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai which had produce better fuel efficient engines, stylish at a much lower price compared to any GM brands. Thirdly, the worlds fuel price had increased to USD 120 per barrel in the market had made consumers not to purchase vehicle and using public transport or smaller vehicle. In the United States, consumers want to abandon their less-fuel-efficient vehicles for smaller cars, and thats illustrated by all sorts of trends, said David Tompkins, executive director of industry solutions for Edmunds.com, parent of Auto Observer (Buss 2008) (refer appendix 2). 1.0 Strategic Human Resource Management Theory 1.1 Balance Score Card Balance Score Card is a performance measurement indicator that can be used to measure the financial and non financial situation in General Motors. There are four parts; financial perspective, internal business perspective, customers perspective, learning and growth perspective. Balance Score Card is like your cars dash board where there is indicator on as you drive, you can look at the dashboard to obtain real-time information such as how fuel, speed and the distance youve traveled or even any faulty system etc. Its known to help companies and implement the changes required to meet their business goals (Pangakar Kirkwood, 2007). The balance score card enables the companies to develop a more comprehensive view of their operations and to better match all operating and investment activities to long- and short-term strategic objectives (Punniyamoorthy Murali, 2008). The loss of USD38.7 billion is a huge financial loss which in fact will affect the internal business process, the customer, and growth of GM. The huge loss was largely contributed from deferred tax charges and drop in sales. Currently, the organization financial perspective appears to the share holder is in a decline where GM shares fell nearly 5 percent, or USD1.67, to USD34.48 (Bunkley N. 2008). Thus to manage this losses, thousands of workers are laid off from duty. This will affect their internal business process and may lead to dissatisfied customers. For example, usually General Motors takes 1 week to deliver a car to a customer. When they decided to retrench workers they will lose their competitive advantage where now it takes 2 weeks to deliver a car. This will cause dissatisfaction to consumers because they have to wait an extra week to obtain their vehicle. In the end, the learning and growth perspective cant be achieved because the lack of resources will disable them to co mpete in the turbulent environment result to decline in sales. To ensure that General Motors can effectively achieve its balance score card in the future, they must handle their external environment issue concisely. They have to improve thru their internal process and learning and growth to overcome their competition issue. General Motors have to come out with new design and technology to increase the product line. Research and Development expenditure have to be spent so that they could create better vehicle then their competitors. How to create better vehicle than the competitors? This can be accomplished by purchasing the technology from their competitors or similar industry. For example Proton had acquire Lotus in the year 1996 had made them competitive at that point of time. When this happen, employees will have to be train thus it can increase the knowledge of the workers. In certain cases, workers will be sent oversea for such training to acquire technology. Workers will be more effective and consequently increase productivity in General M otors. Like a well oiled machine, every part in the organization performs best when all of them work towards a common goal. All of the four perspectives in the balances score card works hand in hand thru their substantial objectives, measures and initiatives. As mentioned above, to make sure that General Motors can make profit to cover the huge amount of losses they must increase productivity, more expenditure on research and development etc. In General Motors case, financial perspective is the key strategy for the other three perspectives. For General Motors, the learning perspective can work together with the sales department to train and coach the sales staff or even developing new efficient production, training equipment. To improve on the customer scorecard they could do research by surveys from their existing customers on how to improve customer relationships. Customer retention is important factor ignite buyers to increase sales. It ensures repeat purchase, increase positive word of mouth and reduce cost to find new customers. Balance Score Card will ensure human capital development, improving employee satisfaction and increasing employee motivation (Kaplan Norton, 1992) in General Motors. Link of each perspective in the Balance Score Card (BCS) High Performance Work System High performance work system (HPWS) is also another method to explain the situation in General Motors. Autonomous work teams, open systems and performance-based pay are known collectively as high-performance work systems (Rouse, 2000). HPWS have also come to be known as high involvement work systems, flexible work systems and high commitment work systems (Aghazadeh Seyedian, 2004) In other words, they are simply work practice that can be deliberately introduced in order to improved organizational performance The main focus of HPWS is organizing work so that the employees participate in decisions that affect the everyday operations of an organization. There are three potential factors that can affect high performance work system in General Motors; retrenchment of workers, technology used and layout design. A worker is the key success to any organization. Retrenchment will cause General Motors to lose talented workers subsequently lose competitive edge. To survive in the changing environment, a company must rely on their workers creativity, ingenuity problem solving ability and strong team work. Workers are able to make their own decision on the best way to accomplish their work. The knowledge and skill shared will create a high performance work system. For example, an engineer in General Motors is developing a fuel efficient engine. Engineer A may need assistants from Engineer B, however when GM decided to retrench workers, Engineer A will face difficulty in developing the engine. Performance of employee can be boost thru team works. A study by Thompson, Baughan and Motwani indicates that company such as General Electricity, Proctor Gamble, Xerox Corporation had huge increase productivity as high as 250 percent and double their profit (1998). The use of technology is another feature in High Performance Work System. All managers in every department of General Motors must be able to identify the technology they use in their organization. The application of Human Resource Information System that can store information on workers that can assist managers in deciding which employee is performing and which is not. The use of technology without human operating it is also meaningless. Managers in General Motor must identify whether the qualified workers are able to operate the tools or not. Layout of General Motors production plants and office be required to properly design in order for them to increase workers performance and productivity. This involves careful job designing by HR managers. According to Aghazadeh and Seyedian, layout plays a role to ensure success by using space, people and equipment effectively, increasing the flow of information and materials, boost employees morale and utterly encourage flexibility (2004). Managers in General Motors may have to come out with proposals to change the existing layout to a improved, sustainable working layout. If all of the three factors are taken into account, General Motors can recover from their huge financial losses just and can avoid retrenchment of employees. Although to implement HPWS is costly, uncertain success and time consuming but in the long run this can benefit General Motors. Recommendation for Human Resource Activities Training and development programs should be given to employee to ensure increase in productivity. Offshore training in Japan car manufacturers to learn various methods to make better cars. Mangers are required to make research and human resource planning on the best methods to do a particular task. General Motors would have to find a partner to form a strategic alliance to recover from the huge financial loss. From this alliance, both companies are potential to learn from each other on the technology and trade secrets. Develop a module which to help retrench workers to find a new job. This will avoid them from paying more money for their compensation of retrenchments Outsource to countries like China or India. Cheap labors will benefit companies to recover them from financial loss. Create a reward programme where employees are rewarded by their managers based on their ability to work in a group Create a talk to all employees at least once in 3 months to explain the companys vision, strategy and objective. This will make employees feel a sense of belonging and may be able to work extra for the company. Competitor Analysis Sheer size and market share make new entrants an unlikely to be a threat Vertical integration of GM does not encourage purchases from suppliers hence they lose out on price bargaining Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Japanese manufacturers have better styling and quality; an approach which GM should consider adopting to sustain its competitive edge Cost of GM motor vehicles is perceived as being too high Buyers are nowadays inclined to buy sport utility and pickups which are not manufactured by General Motors GM enjoys a healthy product line and segmentation in pricing and functions Information Systems Using information systems at each part of the organization creates great efficiencies by automating and streamlining parts of the business. We recommend the following information systems at each department within General Motors: Human Resource Information Systems These are systems that maintain employee records, track employee skills, job performance and support planning for employee compensation and career development. LEVEL RECOMMENDED I.S. PURPOSE Operational Employee Records Track employee training, skills and performance appraisal Knowledge Career Path Designs career paths for employees Management Compensation Analysis Monitors the range and distribution of employees wages, salaries benefits Strategic Human Resources Planning Plans the long-term labour force needs of the organization 2. Finance and Accounting Systems These are systems that keep track of the firms financial assets and fund flows. LEVEL RECOMMENDED I.S. PURPOSE Operational Accounts Receivable Track outstanding debts Knowledge Portfolio Analyses Designs portfolios investments Management Budgeting Prepares short-term budgets Strategic Profit Planning Plans long-term profits 3. Sales and Marketing Systems These are systems that help the firm identify customers for its product or services. They also assist to develop product or services that meet customer needs, promote and sell them as well as providing ongoing customer support. LEVEL RECOMMENDED I.S. PURPOSE Operational Order processing Enters, processes and tracks orders Knowledge Market Analyses Identifies customers and markets using data on demographics, markets, consumer behaviour and trends Management Pricing Analyses Determines prices for products and services Strategic Sales and Forecasting Prepares 3-5 year sales forecast 4. Manufacturing and Production Systems These are systems that deal with planning, development, production of products and services and controlling the flow of production. LEVEL RECOMMENDED I.S. PURPOSE Operational Machine Control Controls the actions of machines and equipment Knowledge Computer-Aided Design Designs new products using the computer Management Production Planning Decides when and how many products should be produced Strategic Facilities Location Prepares and decides where to locate new production facilities In addition to the information systems mentioned here above, we also recommend the following office automation systems: E-mail System: Improve GMs internal and external communication, creating an effective and efficient service Word Processing System: Office system technology that facilitates the creation of documents through computerized text editing, formatting, storing and printing Document Imaging System: System that converts documents and images into digital form so that they can be stored and accessed easily by the computer Timesheet System: Enables employees to fill in the timesheet forms online so that management can approve and track the timesheet online. Conclusion Whilst it would be make a lot of business sense for a company like Ford to close down more plants and accept a smaller portion of the U.S. market this strategy would not work in favour of GM because then the company would produce and sell fewer vehicles, meaning less income for those big pension and health-care costs. GM has to maintain its cash flow to cover these costs until a future date when it is hoped that the elderly retirees diminish in number whilst also making improvements in quality, efficiency, design and brand appeal. Although GM has cut the time to assemble a vehicle from an average of 32 hours in 1998 to 24 hours in 2003, Japanese competitors are still faster in getting new models into the market. Hondas new vehicle development cycle is only 14 months and the company is working towards compressing development time down to 12 months. GM should look at this as a challenge to embrace and strategise with a view to improve its development cycle to match its competitors if not exceed them. Whilst these recommendations provided are meant to help GM sustain its market share, they cannot be fully appreciated until they have been put to test and the results obtained critically analysed to create room for adjustments where necessary and where applicable.

Jonathan Edwards and the Puritan Mind Essay example -- essays papers

Jonathan Edwards and the Puritan Mind If one were to study the idea of Puritan thought through only the reading of these three works of Jonathan Edwards, one could probably gather a good idea of the inner workings of the Puritan mind. These three works do well to disclose to the reader the inner and outer workings of Jonathan Edwards. The Personal Narrative displays to the reader Jonathan Edwards' view of himself as he progressed through life, and the ideals and the things that were most valuable to him, and the things that were a hindrance to himself. The sermon A Divine and Supernatural Light exhibits the nature of Jonathan Edwards' intellectual mind, and the view of expository preaching that he and the Puritan mind may have held and endorsed. Finally, Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God shows Jonathan Edwards' passion for people to come to the same understanding of God as he (and most other Puritans) held. Through these three literary pieces we will see how the Puritan mind struggles with the goals of inner and oute r piety, and how they concern themselves with the eternal position of their soul. Jonathan Edwards, as a model of Puritan life, lived a life that concerned itself greatly with appearing and feeling godly. Most of the Personal Narrative shows Edwards in a struggle between delighting in God, and returning "like a dog to his vomit," (176) and going the way of sin. It seems, though, as Edwards grew in his faith, his concern for piety grew even further. At several points in his life he decided to "part with all things in the world for an interest in Christ" (177). Edwards struggled to delight himself in the things of God and surround himself with those things, often shutting other things out in order that he ma... ... salvation as some liberal theologians would suggest to us. In conclusion, Edwards paints a very unmistakable picture of how a Puritan mind works through these three essays/sermons in this book. Puritan thought is seen as very pious, reflective, spiritual, works-based, concerned about their salvation, and exclusive in nature. Edwards offers a three-dimensional view of how his mind works through the narrative of his personal life (Personal Narrative), the work of his intellectual mind (A Divine and Supernatural Light), and the passion of his soul (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God). Being a student of theology, I found it an interesting insight into how his mind worked, in seeing Edwards' view of God. I am a firm believer in understanding people and their motivation by looking at their understanding of God. Edwards was an excellent example of the Puritan mind.

Computer-Based Training :: Technology Essays

Computer-Based Training What is CBT? CBT or Computer Based Training is a difficult term to adequately define because it encompasses various modes of instruction and has evolved from the simplest definition, "The use of computers and multimedia technology for training"(http://www.unn.ac.uk/~buu504/comp_bt.htm). The best definition for CBT is from a 1995 text called Making CBT Happen by Gloria Gery. An interactive learning experience between the learner and computer in which the computer provides the majority of the stimulus, the learner must respond, and the computer analyzes the response and provides feedback to the learner (1995). Although this definition is quite dated, and CBT has evolved considerably since 1995, it adequately describes the key roles the computer and the learner have in the process. CBT (Computer Based Training) can encompass any type of training that involves a learner interacting with a computer. This means that Web Based Training, Interactive Distance Learning, and Intranet can also fall under the CBT definition. For brevity of this paper, we will only look at the CBT modules used on CD-ROM and LAN (Local Area Network). To expound on this definition, one must accurately define Interactive Learning Experience as it relates to training. There are many forms of interactive learning experiences in training. These would include: Interactive practice exercises to incorporate a skill Interactive case studies simulating situations in which the learner applies previously acquired knowledge Interactive role plays in which people can practice new behaviors, approaches, techniques Interactive drills in which learners can prove mastery levels and move along the learning continuum from familiarization to automatic operation and fluency Interactive tests in which the learner can interactively assess their own progress to demonstrate competence or achieve confidence in their own knowledge and skill (Gery, 1995). I would also add that along with the interactive learning experience CBT modules also have administrative qualities. Most CBT programs can register learners based on their status through particular career learning paths, as well as, store the learner's progress of the modules within a database. "There is a record keeping feature that can save time, maintain accurate training records, and diagnose training deficiencies" (Congram, 1995). CBT Advantages and Disadvantages Computer-Based Training modules have many advantages. First, there is the cost issue. For companies who have facilities on a national or even international scale, CBT is the most cost- effective way to train.

Body Image Essay -- Weight Health Body Image Essays

Body Image   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "Just Be" is a familiar slogan to the current American culture. It is the slogan of a well-known designer, Calvin Klein, who, in his advertisements, supposedly promotes individuality and uniqueness. Yet, Calvin Klein, along with all known designers, does not have overweight or unattractive people on his billboard ads, on his runways, in his magazine pictures or on his television commercials. Moreover, the movie, music and the mass media corroborate with the fashion industry in setting and advertising a certain standards for a physical ideal of a human body. Such propaganda promotes the public into depriving themselves of needed nutrition and generates eating disorders within people in order to fit the set standard of the physical ideal. The negative attitude towards overweight population of the modern society is a sociocultural phenomenon. Yet, historically the negativity towards excess in weight was not constant. If one examines the artwork as relatively recent as the works of the Renaissance period, it can be witnessed that women who were somewhat "chunky," were considered beautiful and they were painted and sculpted. "Fleshy" men and women are in the masterpieces of such artist as Michelangelo, de Vinci, Rafael, Goya y Lucientes and etc. Love handles, fat deposits and skin folds were regarded as attractive and were applauded. Cleopatra, for example, was praised for her beauty, yet by modern standards she would be considered overweight. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and the image of perfection, is also viewed as overweight and thickset in the contemporary society and would not be painted or sculpted as "heavy set" as she has been created previously. Nonetheless, she was painted in accordance with the timely regar ds of beauty. Thus, it   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 may be observed that during that time frame, as well as during most of the historic periods, the full figured body was preached as normal and ideal and was, though not as intensely and as high-tech, commercialized to the public and society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The change in the beauty standard has been observed since 1970's, when beauty pageant contestants, actresses and models began to continuously show a decrease in weight. The analysis of the weight of advertised models, contestants and playboy centerfolds showed that over sixty perc... ...Archives of General Psychiatry. 56, 468. Field, Alison E., Cheung, Lilian, Wolf, Anne M., Herzog, David B., Goltmaker, Steven L., & Colditz, Graham A. (1999) "Exposure to the mass media and weight concerns among girls" Pediatrics. 103. Harrison, Kristen (1997) "Does interpersonal attraction to thin media personalities promote eating disorders?" Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. 41. Henriques, Gregg R., Calhoun, Lawrence G. & Cann, Arnie. (1996) "Ethic differences in women's body satisfaction: an experimental investigation." The Journal of Social Psychology. 136, pp. 689-697. Lovejoy, Meg. (2001) " Disturbances in a social body: Differences in body image and eating problems among African American and White women." Gender & Society. 15, pp.239-261. MacDonald, Rhona. (2001) " To diet for" British Medical Journal. 322, pp. 1002. Mulholland, Amy, Mintz, Laurie B. (2001) " Prevalence of eating disorders among African American women." Journal of counseling Psychology. 48, pp.111-116. Stice, Eric (1998) "Modeling of eating pathology and social reinforcement of thin-ideal predict onset of bulimic symptoms." Behavior Research and Therapy. 36

IKEA Customer Loyalty Essay

Customer loyalty is all about attracting the right customer, getting them to buy, buy often, buy in higher quantities and bring you even more customers. In short, you build customer loyalty by treating people how they want to be treated. There are many ways by which IKEA builds customer loyalty. The goal of the loyalty program is to reward IKEA’s best customers with discounts and special offers throughout the store. The online business of Ikea was developed as a way of generating greater loyalty among the customer base, as it is this that ultimately delivers greater sales and profitability. This was the view of Adri Kraa, head of Ikea Shop Online, expressed at the Retail Bulletin Summit 2009 when he suggested that only five percent more retention through loyal customers could deliver as much as 60 percent more profits. Through a desire to give customers greater â€Å"empowerment† and convenience the decision was taken to launch the Ikea online store. IKEA’s kiosk-based loyalty program IKEA FAMILY has attracted more than 1.6 million members since its launch a few months ago. IKEA FAMILY offers special offers and benefits to customers, as well as program-branded merchandise and promotional events. The Kiosks, which are built, serviced and monitored by Kiosk Information Systems, allow new members to enroll and receive a membership card on the spot. The kiosks also encourage existing members to scan their cards for a chance to win a monthly $100 FAMILY Sweepstakes, as well as view exclusive current IKEA FAMILY discounts and offers. Mobile is playing an increasingly important role for IKEA as it continues to build momentum for its loyalty program. Mobile is a key part of the strategy, with employees using in-store tablets to sign-up new customers and IKEA sending out SMS alerts to keep consumers updated on new products.

By 2020 the world’s population could well have doubled to around 12 billion people

By 2020 the world's population could well have doubled to around 12 billion people. Are there just too many people in the world, or is it a question of a better and fairer distribution of the world's resources?† The question is asking if there are too few resources available for the increasing population, or if there are just too many people in the world. The keywords in the question are population and resources. By population, the question is referring to the number of people in the world and by resources; it is asking if there are enough natural assets, such as water, food, oxygen and space. The problems caused by an increasing population include the depletion of natural resources, such as non-renewable energy supplies, and food supplies. Currently resources, and population are very unevenly spread and most supplies occur in areas where they are not needed. Mankind has reached the point of the exponential curve. Earths population doubled in the 40-year period from 1960 to 2000, from 3 billion to 6 billion. In the last two years, the population has grown another third of a billion people. That offers the possibility of a doubling time of only 27 years to reach 12 billion. Partly as a result of this, it is reported that 420 million people live in countries that no longer have enough cropland to grow their own food. They have to rely on imports. The reduction of cropland could be caused by an increase in pollution, creating negative effects on the environment, or it could be due to the expansion of urban areas due to an increasing population. A quarter of the developing world's cropland is being degraded, and the rate is increasing. The greatest threat may not be shortage of land, but a shortage of water. More than half a billion people live in areas prone to droughts. In the next twenty years, that number will increase five times, to between 2.4 billion and 3.4 billion people. Currently, that means half of Earth's population will run out of water within 20 years. It is impossible to farm animals and grow crops without water, which will therefore lead to a decrease in food availability, especially in areas already suffering from famines. A recent report, released by the World Watch Institute, declares that, â€Å"Mining consumes 10% of the world's energy, spews out toxic emissions, and threatens 40% of the world's undeveloped forests.† These effects could be drastically reduced but, unfortunately, governments are not moving quick enough to stem the tide. This indicates that it is suspected that a major contributing factor to the problem is the attitudes of people. Very few governments are taking radical measures in an attempt to prevent the foreseen problems of the future. The reason for this is that because the problems are not yet taking a huge effect, by the time the effect becomes apparent it will be too late, and any attempts at solving the problem will be useless. One of the great challenges for governments is to help their poorest citizens feel secure in their own homes, make a living and improve their environment. Around 1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty – surviving on less than a dollar a day. As populations spiral upward, the underground water tables are dropping. Many regions face severe drought. Deserts are growing. Forests are being cut down and the land they leave behind is wasting away. Since forty percent of all vegetable and grain food supplies come from irrigated land, a failing water supply creates sever food shortages. Many countries are facing water shortages in the twenty-first century, especially India, whose population passed one billion in May 2002. They are currently expanding by 18 million per year. Water withdrawals now double the environments ability to re-supply. Half of India's grain harvest comes from irrigated land. World Watch reports, â€Å"In a country where 53 percent of all children are already malnourished and underweight, a shrinking harvest could increase hunger-related deaths.† Another threat is shrinking croplands. Some nations already depend almost entirely upon imported food. Eventually, the food will simply not be available to those nations. First, increased costs will drain those nations of their economic cash flows, and one day, the exporting nations will not be able to supply food at any price. Among the countries where shrinking croplands threaten food supplies are Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan. Nigerias population will increase from its present 111 million to a estimated 244 million by 2050, while its grain-land per person will stay the same. That means each person will have less than half the current supply. Pakistan is expected to grow from its current 146 million to 345 million by 2050. By that time, each person will be dependent upon a piece of grain-land the size of a tennis court. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan already import 70 percent of their grain. Water supplies are fixed by nature. They cannot be increased. On the other hand, an ever-increasing population can deplete them. This is also true of croplands. I feel that although an increasing population is having a drastically negative effect upon the depletion of the world's resources, and that resources are clearly unfairly distributed. It is the richest and relatively most sparsely populated countries, particularly Western Europe and America that receive the highest share of the world's natural resources. This is because they are the richest countries and can therefore afford to grow their own resources as well as import others, yet offer very little money for them. The effect this has is that the worlds resources are being unfairly relocated into the richest countries where it could be claimed that they are being wasted. It is clear that the richest countries currently have an excess of resources that they could share across the world to help combat the problem stated by the question. The problem with this is that it is non-profitable and the countries would lose a lot of money, which in a materialistic world is more important than tackling issues of poverty and malnutrition.

The Help by Kathrynn Stockett: Themes

In fact, the Justice system, thought to promote equality in â€Å"the and of the free,† was useless towards the idea of racial harmony and African Americans were treated bitterly and relentlessly during this time. The author Kathy Stocked wrote a novel In the perspective of mistreated black maids and one helping white woman during the time of the call rights movement. Through the historical events, characters, and setting compiled Into Kathy Stockpot's novel, The Help, the theme of Injustice and racial Inferiority Is portrayed.During the novel, the bus Abilene is riding stops at a roadblock and all the black people are told to get off the us. The civil rights leader and NAACP field secretary, Meager Veers, had been shot and killed by the UK Klux Klan. Abilene states, â€Å"White peoples with guns, pointed at colored peoples. Cause who gone protect our peoples? Into no colored policeman's† (230). The blacks are trapped and have no jurisdiction to control what happens in the community, or to themselves.Even a person with authority, Mayor Thompson, denoted the idea of a biracial committee and said that he â€Å"believes in the separation of races† (231). Instead of protecting the blacks, the government was useless In aiding them. The Jim Crow laws, found by Skitter In the library, also resembled how government only contributed to the destruction of racism. The events that are embedded throughout the novel reveal how the characters feel helpless to what occurs around them.In addition to resembling the theme of injustice, Hilly Holbrook is the symbol for whites who used power and influence to have blacks fired, evicted, imprisoned, fined, and even subjected to physical violence. She used her social status to influence the courts and businesses in the community to punish black omen, like Yule May, whom she targeted. After Yule May went to trial for stealing one of Hills rings, Abilene states that â€Å"A regular sentence be six months for petty stealing, but Miss Holbrook, she get it pushed up to four years† (295).For many of the black characters in the novel, and the black maids during that time, there was little justice. Acts of violence and injustice were committed against them and there was nothing they could do to fight it. The scale was of Justice was Imbalanced, heavily sloping downwards for the blacks who had no power compared to the whites. The eating also reinforces the theme of Injustice and racial Inferiority. The novel Is set In Jackson, Mississippi, one of the most segregated towns in the united States, during ten time AT ten call relents movement.I Nils was a parlor consisting AT organelle boycotts, student protests, and mass marches towards the struggle against racial segregation. The Jim Crow laws were enforced and there were strict rules and norms concerning the actions of blacks. Jackson, Mississippi was teeming with racial tensions and this affected the characters and events of the novel. Kathy St ocked rote the novel, The Help, and captured the image of life as a black maid during the sass's.In her novel, she compiled historical events, characters, and the setting to portray the emotions and hardships of blacks during this time in history. By using these devices, Stocked formed the theme of injustice that readers can either relate to or comprehend. Through her writing, she accurately demonstrated how racial inequality, injustice, and inferiority played a role in the lives of many blacks. The Help represents how the blacks, the inferior, began to stand up to the whites, the superior, through words and stories.

Managing Children’s Behaviour

When children go to preschool, they have to sit still, listen to the teacher and their classmates, understand and obey rules, and get along with others. Many of these children were unprepared to meet these new expectation when they first arrive at a preschool. These are some of the reasons for behavioural issues in preschool. Teachers who encounter these children may not have received much training in classroom management and may not know how to help them change their behaviour. Therefore, the teacher may respond with frustration and anger, inadvertently creating more problems. The teachers may in turn feel stressed and unsupported. Disruptive behaviours like hitting, complaining and disobeying will be discussed in details. Hitting Children may hit others or themselves for a variety of reasons in order to gain attention. Children get angry easily as they have a lack of self-control. Younger children in particular may sometimes have trouble communicating. This is because they may not know the words to describe how they feel or what they want, therefore they act out their feeling s or needs. Analysis of child management approach and benefits and challenges of such approach will also be discussed further. An eclectic approach is a combination of strategies and not a one size fits all approach. It has active involvement and can select the most appropriate strategy for a specific child at a specific time. Different discipline encounters will need different strategies. An eclectic approach also uses the decision-making model of child guidance. It identifies the problem and problem ownership.

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 27

Questions - Essay Example 2. Notice our lecture begins the SWOT analysis in Chapter 3 with the external environment –  an environmental scan of the opportunities and threats. The internal analysis begins in the next lecture –  Chapter 4. Why is that? Why do you begin your SWOT analysis externally, not internally? The external analysis is more important than the internal analysis for a number of reasons. The external environment analysis takes into account non-controllable factors that affect the company but which the company cannot control. If the company does not take them into consideration, they could affect the very operations of the company. An internal analysis, on the other hand, only seeks to address issues within the company- meaning that these are concerns that the company is in a position to control. 3. As a corporate â€Å"strategic planning†Ã‚  resource, is it better to have assets or competencies. Give an example †¦Ã‚  a different one than your classmates’  examples. And, do not say â€Å"both† or â€Å"it depends.† Pick one and explain it. Strategic assets are basically a corporation’s own resources. Core competencies, on the other hand, refer to a company’s best capabilities. In essence, strategic assets are worthless until they are converted into products that can be used by the company’s customers. Competencies are quite important as they can be used by businesses to leverage their strategic resources and generate a unique advantage over business rivals (Rumelt, 2011). Competencies are the more valuable choice. 4. Give an example of a product-market and why it fits the criteria for a product-market. Each student must give a â€Å"different†Ã‚  example –OR– disagree with another student’s example explaining why the disagreement. One input per student, please. A "product market" refers to the distinct society demographic to which a business targets its newly created products. For instance, a new range of age defying

Assignment /4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

/4 - Assignment Example No matter how good grammatical and phonetic skills of a speaker are, without developed lexical skills it is hard to build sentences and comprehend messages, whether oral or written. When one learns a new word and starts using it in speech, he/she might notice that this word appears more often in oral and written contexts. This phenomenon is not unique to learners of a second language and frequently happens in ones native language context as well. In case a learner starts using new word often he/she cant help ignoring the new word in every cluster of speech that contains the word. The thing is the new word could have been often overlooked by the learner before he/she fully understood the meaning of the word and learned to identify different connotations of such a word within a specific context. In my opinion, noticing the new word more often, both in oral and written contexts, depends largely on the learners perception. A learner starts recognizing the new word and pays attention to its specific meaning when he/she knows its general meaning. For instance, the word "destination" can have lots of connotations, such as a goal or a mission, but a learner frequently uses this word only in a specific context and doesnt notice using it much. Thus, one tracks the word down every time he/she experiences the new connotation of the word. This, in turn, builds up the feeling that such a word is more frequently used by other speakers than before. As a matter of fact, people always tend to identify things they know something about in the first place and neglect things they know little or nothing about. The same is true when it comes to the learning and using of new words, both in a native language and in a second language

Culture Diversity in Children's Development Essay

Culture Diversity in Children's Development - Essay Example Development can only be fully understood when it is viewed in the larger cultural context. Â  child's culture may be the mainstream or dominant culture, or it may be one of many subcultures that can be found in almost any country. Children's experiences and expectations redetermined by their local communities, particularly political and economic state, and specific ethnic or cultural groups. Therefore, each child needs education services that take into account their diverse cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Â  s the world becomes the global village, few countries can lay claim to a truly homogeneous population. Today, multicultural diversity characterizes most countries, for the hs enormous implications for early childhood educators. It highlights the need for dialogue among early childhood educators, both within their own communities and with colleagues from other countries. This collegial communication deepens early childhood educators' understanding of children's similarities and differences. Much in be gained by learning about other countries' values, expectations, and practices that relate to children and education. New (2006) argued that these multiple perspectives broaden educators' understanding of education and children's development, both of which are particularly important in defining early education goals and priorities for the 21st century. Â  Children do not come to preschool, child care centers or elementary school s "blank sites" on the topic of diversity. Facing and understanding what underlies their thoughts and feelings rekey to empowering children to resist bis. The following is the brief summary of research about how children develop rail identity and attitudes: Â  * s early s 6 months, infants notice skin color differences. (Ktz, 2007) Â  * By 2 years of age, children not only notice, they also ask questions about differences and similarities among people. Â  * How we answer children's questions and respond to their ides is crucial to their level of comfort when learning about diversity. Statements such s, "It's not polite to ask," "I'll tell you later" or "It doesn't matter," do not help children form positive ides bout themselves or pro-diversity dispositions toward others. (Damn-Sparks & BC Task Force, 2006) Â  * Between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years of age, children also become were off and begin to absorb socially prevailing negative stereotypes, feelings, and ideas about people, including themselves. ll children re-exposed to these attitudes in one form or another, usually through a combination of sources (parents, extended family, neighbors, teachers, friends, TV, children's books, movies). (Damn-Sparks & BC Task Force, 2006) Â  

Extended Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Extended Education - Research Paper Example This essay declares that the US president backs this suggestion with an argument that the system is not just aiming to curb unemployment but give the US population a good stepping-stone into the future. For this reason, this kind of education aims at providing the learners with skills and opportunities that they would not have achieved by 12th grade as well as providing them with measurable differentiated skills. This paper makes a conclusion that US is currently facing financial crisis and setting up a further a compulsory 2 years learning system requires a lot of financial assistance that may add to the list of the already suffering financial status of the country. Indeed according to CIA fact book and National Bureau of Economic Research the current US deficit stood at $487.2 billion by 2012. Compared to the rest of the countries in the world, the US deficit is the highest in the world. This figure indicates that the country is importing more goods and services than its exporting. The country is also in high debts from foreign countries and has a higher consumer debt. If this situation continues, the value of its currency depreciates and investors will not be willing to invest into a country that is facing such huge financial crisis. The increasing numbers of online degrees and masters courses pose a greater challenge to the extended education. This is because most of the online institutio ns are easily accessible, efficient, and cheaper in comparison to community colleges that will require an individual’s attendance. ... In addition to this, there will be need to train more teachers, experts, and technicians who will be required to offer their services to the community colleges (Jeff Zeleny). With the differences in different States around US there is likely to be a gap in this institutions based on the kind of resources and technology the State has. The difference resources in terms of technology are also likely to create a disparity in terms of professionalism. The increasing numbers of online degrees and masters courses pose a greater challenge to the extended education. This is because most of the online institutions are easily accessible, efficient, and cheaper in comparison to community colleges that will require an individual’s attendance. For this reason, I suggest that learners engage in higher institutions like universities and involve in further education and training rather than wasting 2 precious years in community college. This is likely to affect negatively on the labor market, as qualified labor will have to stay for two years before employment. The policy makers have failed to address how to close the gap that will be left when these institutions begin doing the system. Rising tuition costs especially for higher education is creating a challenge to the implementation of the extended education. Most of the community colleges are experiencing institutional funding shortfalls while the declining state of the quality of higher education is also adding to the challenges of rolling extended education. Extended education is not likely to contribute to increasingly competitive economy that requires proper education and skills of its workers. For this reason, there is need for students or the