Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Professional Communication Phase 5 DB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Professional Communication Phase 5 DB - Essay Example vice based model, company executives have decided to use a slightly different business model for the release of SmartFit 2.0 which is tailored toward the general membership of the partner fitness club. SmartFit 2.0 also delivered via a wireless device, will bring a suite of entertainment features to the user in addition to the performance tracking. Users of SmartFit 2.0 will be able to listen to streaming music from the Universal Music catalog, audio books, and pre-recorded fitness routines created by the leading Personal Trainers in North America. At the release of the client version, the beta testers (a focus group of selected clients at a partner facility) suggested to offer a three-month free promotion for all new signed up members to any partner facility as a part of our marketing strategy. New members would thereby benefit of the promotion for ninety days followed by an increase in membership fees to reflect the inclusion of SmartFit 2.0 in the monthly membership fee. For current members willing to upgrade to this new level of membership, we would offer one month free and a 10 percent discount on the new membership fee for a period of twelve months. Our company executives believe that in offering this promotion, we are positioning SmartFit 2.0 to be as much of a success as the Personal training version. The pricing strategy has been studied carefully during the development of the platform, and extensively compared with similar client applications in the local and national market. For answering to the diverse demographics that exits at fitness facilities, our managers decided on using a service pricing model, as well as a per-use model. The service fee model described earlier is designed for the first adopters of the technology and those who can benefit from it by becoming a new member at a partner facility. The per-use service model is made to allow people who may decide to use the wireless features of SmartFit 2.0 in a less regular fashion. The
Monday, October 28, 2019
The Role of the Ghost in Hamlet Essay Example for Free
The Role of the Ghost in Hamlet Essay The ghost is a symbol of instability in Denmark and it is the omen which signifies to Denmark that something is wrong. In Shakespeares play, to Hamlet, the ghost is a symbol of his father whom he has great admiration for, as he numerously refers to his father as a Greek God: Hyperion, and constantly measures the discrepancy between his father and Claudius: Hyperion to Satyr. The greatest juxtaposition of the two opposites serves to emphasis the salient differences between the two characters. * The ghost, who is a very image of Hamlet Senior: a figure like your father is able to take advantage of As a result of Hamlets admiration for his father. It is the ghost who encourages Hamlet to murder Claudius in order to avenge his fathers death: Revenge this foul and most unnatural murder! The pejorative words used to illustrate the ghosts opinion of murder highlight his disapproval of the murder. He dramatizes the moment, saying 0 list, list, 0 list1If thou didst ever thy dear father love. Shakespeare uses various literary elements to add-emFive power to the role of the ghost; for example, the ghost criticizes the murder, referring to ~tas most foul, strahge and unnatural. The groups of three M e r fuel Hamlet to murder the king. Ironically despite of his apparent disapproval of murder, he wants Hamlet to commit the same task. This may cause the audience to question the motives of the ghost, which seem hypocritical. The ghost continues with a battering of mixed messages when he condemns to Queen for her sexual depravity: thy most seeming-virtuous queen loved prey on garbage. However following this, he tells Hamlet to not think badly of his mother, as Heaven will deal with her actions: Taint not thy mind nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught, leave her to heaven / And to those thorns that her bosom lodge / To prick and sting her. The violent imagery he uses only further heightens Hamlets disgust at his mothers actions. The metaphor of thorns in her bosom is an antithesis because the bosom and rose are symbols of femininity, but the prick and sting2epict the idea of pain (as well as phallic references); and since Hamlet is so influenced by his father (in the fonn of a ghost), his hatred for his mother increases. These conflicting ideas haunt Hamlet later in the play, when he is confused to how he should treat his mother: I will speak daggers to her but use none. His ambivalence between acting violently but not actually using that violence is shownwhen Hamlets procrastinates in killing Claudius. Though he mentions that his thoughts are bloody he never manages to translate these thoughts into action, partly due to the contradicting views the ghost has planted in him. Overall, the role of the ghost is to encourage Hamlets obsessive thoughts about his mothers marriage to his uncle, as well as to foreshadow fateful events to follow.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Sanity of Ophelia Es
The Impact of Madness on Ophelia of Hamlet     Without question, the role of madness in Hamlet is as vital to the plot and the play's success as Hamlet himself; neither the character nor the play would be able to function without the driving (although somewhat sluggish) force that madness represents. The connection of one to the other, of character to condition, is so intertwined and entangled that Hamlet has come to symbolize the particular form of madness (i.e. melancholy brought about by a humoral imbalance) with which he is afflicted. Indeed, any discussion of Hamlet would be grossly incomplete without an examination of the madness (or lack thereof) from which he suffers; similarly, any discussion of melancholy would, perhaps, border on invalid were it to neglect the obvious connection to the world's most famous literary example. What is overlooked, however, are the effects and the drastically different results of the same condition (or at least, a condition that closely parallels Hamlet's) on the play's second mo st confounding character, Ophelia.      Early in the play (Act 1, Scene 2), during the first of many insightful soliloquies (insightful for us as much for him), Hamlet utters, somewhat offhandedly, a summation of his feelings towards his mother's "o'erhasty marriage": "Frailty thy name is woman." Offensive though the quip may be to women of contemporary society (and any not quite passive women of Shakespeare's era), Hamlet's comment was, in many respects, indicative of the prevailing attitude, at least among most men, of the time. Although exceptions to the social system were far from nonexistent (Queen Elizabeth being the most obvious example), women were discriminated against to such an extent... ... New York: Philosophical Library, 1970. Emerson, Kathy Lynn. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Renaissance England From 1485-1649. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 1996. Heffernan, Carol Falvo. The Melancholy Muse: Chaucer, Shakespeare and Early Medicine. Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 1995. Hoeniger, F. David. Medicine and Shakespeare in the English Renaissance. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1992. Lidz, Theodore. Hamlet's Enemy: Madness and Myth in Hamlet. Vision Press, 1975. Lyons, Bridget Gellert. Voices of Melancholy. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1971. Schiesari, Juliana. The Gendering of Melancholia: Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Symbolics of Loss in Renaissance Literature.   Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet.  Ed. George Lyman Kittredge. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1939.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles :: Tess of the dUrbervilles Essays
Tess of the d'Urbervilles               Through life people may fault, or get on the wrong side of the tracks. Yet hopefully they keep faith and then willingly they may recoup and redeem themselves by recovering. Many believe that, Tess in, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was a great example of this. In Hardy's Victorian age novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, he illustrates casual wrong, the will to recover, the growth of love, and death.               Almost everybody has done something casually wrong and not think much of it, many call this indifferent nature. Tess is no stranger to casual wrong. Throughout her life indifferent nature has occurred. Her parents were not the greatest of parents. She had a tough life, she was poor. When she met Alec d'Urberville, she was considerate and kind, but later on Alec took advantage of her and seduced her in a forest called the Chase,                               "He knelt and bent lower, till her breath warmed his                                face, and in a moment his cheek was in contact with                                hers. She was sleeping soundly, and upon her                                     eyelashes there lingered tears." 1 She then later fell in love with Angel, and married him. Angel found out about Tess' past experience with Alec, and he could not forgive her, even though it was all Alec's doing. Thus it is clear that casual wrong follows her and yet the wrong is not made by her.               Tess' true strength is her determination to overcome her misfortunes. When the Durbeyfields' horse, Prince died, Tess took control of the situation of the horse's death and the beehive delivery. She takes care of the kids and she had done well in school, even though Tess seems to go nowhere. Also when she leaves her job of taking care of the flock at the d'Urberville household, because of her experience with Alec, it showed she tried to take control of the situation. Even when Alec was following her home on his carriage asking her why she left,                               'Her lip lifted slightly, though there was little scorn, as                               a rule, in her large and impulsive nature. "I have said I                               will not take anything more from you, and I will not-I                               cannot! I should be your creature to go on doing that,                               and I won't"' 2 Indeed it is shown that Tess has a very strong will to recover.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation did manage to successfully handle the new west erne lands which were acquired by America after the war. Following the war America gag Ned new lands and the government needed a system to divide and govern these new lands. Many of the larger colonies claimed to own these western lands due to their original charters.B t, in order for the Articles of Confederation to be ratified and to pay off the debt from the war, t he states needed to give up their land to the national government, so that it could be sold in order to pay off the country's debt. The large states did give up their lands to the central govern .NET (Document E). In order to govern these new lands the government needed to make new law s. One of the laws passed was the land ordinance of 1785. This new law divided up the land in the e new western territories into sections which could be sold to individual citizens.The money received from the people who bought this land helped to pay off the debt . The land ordinance al so promoted republican ideals by providing a school for each of the new territories that we re created. Providing a school in each town allowed all people to be educated which pro meted equality. The northwest ordinance of 1 787 was passed to set up government in these n ewe territories. The Northwest Ordinance stated the requirements for any of the new territories t o become a state. In order for one of the new territories to become a state they were required to r each a given population and create their own constitution.The Northwest Ordinance man aged to abolish slavery in the new states as well. Although the Articles of Confederation were e effective when it came to creating new states, they were not very effective at anything else. The Articles of Confederation were highly ineffective when handling commerce e. Under the Articles of Confederation it was difficult for the national government to cool elect taxes from states. When the central government atte mpted to place a tax on Rhode island d, they refused to pay the tax and claimed the national government did not have the right to tax them (Document A).It was reported that the national government was only able to collect one fourth of the taxes they requested from the states. The government only received very few taxes from the states because they could not force the states to pay the taxes, and states obviously did not Want to pay taxes that were not required. Not being able to collect taxes had many negate eve consequences for the government. The government was not able to pay soldiers who fought in t he revolutionary war because they didn't receive enough tax money from the states (Document t C).The government owed money to the soldiers who fought in the revolution but the could not afford to pay them. Financial problems also affected the farmers of Massachusetts. As a response to crop prices decreasing and the amount Of farm foreclosures increasing Daniel Shah yes led Shay's re bellion. Shay's rebellion was when the Massachusetts farmers refused to p ay taxes and resisted foreclosures. After America gained independence they were no longer trade Eng as much with Britain. (Document B) prior to the war Britain had been America's most lucubrate vive trading market.After the war America's population increased but the value of their ex ports to Britain did not. Generally when the population off nation increases the value of their ex ports increases because they are able to produce more and their population gives them more military power. Under the Articles of Confederation collecting taxes and trading became much h more difficult for America. America was not respected by other nations and struggled with foreign affairs under the Articles of Confederation.After the war America gained a large amount of Ian d in the west that Britain had previously restricted from them. However the Americans were not able to access all of their new land due to occupied British fort s in the west (Document D). The Americans wrote a letter to Britain requesting that the forts be vacated but the British refused. The British refused because they didn't think the Americans were strong enough to remove them Because the Articles of Confederation did not have the power to raise an army it was imp Seibel for America to force Britain out of their land.America also wished to gain access to the M sipping river in order to trade more efficiently. Unfortunately Spain controlled the Mississippi river and did not allow the Americans to use the river at all. America requested that Spain grant t them access to he river but they refused because they did not believe America was strong en ugh to resist (Document F). Due to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation Spain did not respect America enough to give them access to the river.America was unable to effect Tivoli deal with foreign affairs because their government was not respected other countries. The Articles of Confeder ation were unable to control the common people who o W ere given too much power. After the war America struggled to keep both wealthy elites and the common people loyal to the government. John Jay believed that the wealthy c redirectors of the action world begin to lose faith in the new government (document G). A cried tort is someone who lends money to someone else in order to be bayed back in full with inter est..A debtor is someone who owes money to others. In this situation the creditors are the w lately elites who helped find the war, and the debtor is the US government, who cannot afford to pay back the creditors in full. America cannot pay back its creditors because the Articles of Confederation were unable to collect enough taxes. The wealthy creditors began to lose faith in the government because they did not believe they would ever be bayed back. Losing support f the wealthy was devastating for America because they were needed to fund the nation.One A intermediaries claime d that the Articles of Confederation should be refused or fixed rather t Han replaced. An analogy was used which said if a building has a problem people do not tear d own the whole building, they fix the building (document H). He argued that the Articles of C infiltration had very few flaws and they could be fixed easily. However this was not the case. The Articles of Confederation had many small problems which weakened its effectiveness. T here was also one assistant problem which was the over Reliance on civic virtue.The Articles of Confederation c could only be effective if the states and the people demonstrated civic virtue and paired their optional taxes. However human are naturally not virtuous, but more interest De in their own self interests. For this reason the Articles Of Confederation were ineffective at con trolling the people. The Articles of Confederation were unable to control the people because of the e over reliance on civic virtue and the creditors loss of faith in the government. The Articles of Confederation were a highly ineffective first attempt at go verging the new United States.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
How to Write a Dissertation Proposal
How to Write a Dissertation Proposal How to Write a Dissertation Proposal Several guidelines are provided to enable an individual to write an excellent dissertation proposal. Here they are for your attention. They should be well detailed regarding the research topic. Current research shows that to be able to write a good dissertation proposal, students have to be well conversant with the topic at hand. This means that they need to gain a lot of information on the subject matter by reading several materials and books on the topic, know current findings on the topic and be able to access various literary sources. They should be able to go outside the area of study. This mainly means that they will be able to research from related topics and as a result, the research work presented will be unique, thus outdoing previous research on the subject matter. The issue of going outside the given area of study is an advantage in that it is a good source of new ideas for a given area of study. They have to be attentive. The issue of attention is a very powerful tool, especially, in the practical application of knowledge gained. In addition, it helps individuals to know the various methods, as well as the procedures, used in a given analysis. This then becomes a great source of information for the broad topic of study. They should know how to cite papers. For instance, an individual who knows the list of authors who wrote a particular article would give a great referenced dissertation proposal paper. In addition, having a good knowledge in the area of text citations would result to a great dissertation proposal. They should be creative. When a researcher is able to refer to research papers that were written previously and come up with new ideas, the outcome document becomes of greater value in comparison to earlier documents. Below is the suggested format that should be used in the writing of a dissertation proposal: A clear formulation of the research question at hand. Justifying the Research Project. Writing a literature review. Compiling conceptual and theoretical research work. Stating the research methodology. Giving a detailed research plan that indicates how the various research stages will be carried out. Budget and Time factor. References together with appendices. Do always remember that, in case you fail to compose a dissertation proposal on your own and the deadline is due in a very short period of time, you can always contact the custom writing agency for help. Proficient writers will rescue you if you are in need and you will get a carefully composed paper within the time you had indicated to them. Do you still need dissertation proposal help online? You can hire our PhD writers who will write a custom proposal for your dissertation. Try our writing service now!
Monday, October 21, 2019
3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers
3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol Words and phrases that provide additional information to clarify relationships between people, places, or things should, for the sake of clarity, be carefully placed to aid readers in understanding a statement. In each of the following sentences, the writer has failed to achieve that goal. Discussions explain the problems, and revisions resolve them. 1. Mistakes can only be acted on and shared across the company when they are discussed, not hidden. Listeners do not bat an eye when a speaker prematurely utters an errant only, but in writing, place it immediately before the pertinent verb or verb phrase: â€Å"Mistakes can be acted on and shared across the company only when they are discussed, not hidden.†(The original placement erroneously suggests that acting on and sharing mistakes is all that can be done in response to them; the revision correctly associates the word with discussion.) 2. The agency should work to protect both the environment and enable a growing economy. Similarly, both is often incorrectly located, but this usage is more patently problematic than casual placement of only. When both follows a verb, what comes after should be parallel nouns or noun phrases, each of which pertains to the verb. Here, both refers to not only the verb protect (and the noun that follows) but also the verb enable (and the noun phrase that follows), so it must precede both verbs: â€Å"The agency should work to both protect the environment and enable a growing economy.†3. At least two men were escorted out of the meeting by police officers, one of whom had to be carried. The syntax of this sentence suggests that one of the police officers, rather than one of the two men, had to be carried. Readers will recognize the intent of the statement, but a writer should not make readers work to comprehend what is written; â€Å"two men†and â€Å"one of whom had to be carried†should be adjacent to each other: â€Å"At least two men, one of whom had to be carried, were escorted out of the meeting by police officers.†(An alternative, active revision is â€Å"Police officers escorted at least two men, one of whom had to be carried, from the meeting.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†36 Poetry TermsTrooper or Trouper?
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Start Something Using Process.Start in VB.NET
Start Something Using Process.Start in VB.NET The Start method of the Process object is possibly one of the most underappreciated tools available to a programmer. As a .NET method, Start has a series of overloads, which are different sets of parameters that determine exactly what the method does. The overloads let you specify just about any set of parameters that you might want to pass to another process when it starts. What you can do with Process.Start is really only limited by the processes you can use with it. If you want to display your text-based ReadMe file in Notepad, its as easy as: Process.Start(ReadMe.txt)or Process.Start(notepad, ReadMe.txt) This example assumes the ReadMe file is in the same folder as the program and that Notepad is the default application for .txt file types, and its in the system environment path. Process.Start Similar to Shell Command in VB6 For programmers familiar with Visual Basic 6, Process.Start is somewhat like the VB 6 Shell command. In VB 6, you would use something like: lngPID Shell(MyTextFile.txt, vbNormalFocus) Using Process.Start You can use this code to start Notepad maximized and create a ProcessStartInfo object that you can use for more precise control: Dim ProcessProperties As New ProcessStartInfoProcessProperties.FileName notepadProcessProperties.Arguments myTextFile.txtProcessProperties.WindowStyle ProcessWindowStyle.MaximizedDim myProcess As Process  Process.Start(ProcessProperties) Starting a Hidden Process You can even start a hidden process. ProcessProperties.WindowStyle ProcessWindowStyle.HiddenBut be careful. Unless you add more code to end the process, youll probably have to end it in Task Manager. Hidden processes are normally only used with processes that dont have any kind of a user interface. Retrieving the Name of a Process Working with Process.Start as a .NET object gives you a lot of capability. For example, you can retrieve the name of the process that was started. This code will display notepad in the output window: Dim myProcess As Process Process.Start(MyTextFile.txt) Console.WriteLine(myProcess.ProcessName)This was something you could not do with the VB6 Shell command because it launched the new application asynchronously. Using WaitForExit can cause the reverse problem in .NET because you have to launch a process in a new thread if you need it to execute asynchronously. For example, if you need the components to remain active in a form where a process was launched and WaitForExit was executed. Ordinarily, those components wont be active. Code it up and see for yourself. One way to force the process to halt is to use the Kill method. myProcess.Kill() This code waits for ten seconds and then ends the process. However, a forced delay is sometimes necessary to allow the process to complete exiting to avoid an error. myProcess.WaitForExit(10000) if the process doesnt complete within 10 seconds, kill itIf Not myProcess.HasExited ThenmyProcess.Kill()End IfThreading.Thread.Sleep(1)Console.WriteLine(Notepad ended: _ myProcess.ExitTime _Environment.NewLine _Exit Code: _myProcess.ExitCode) In most cases, its probably a good idea to put your processing in a Using block to ensure that the resources used by the process are released. Using myProcess As Process New Process Your code goes hereEnd Using To make all this even easier to work with, there is even a Process component that you can add to your project so you can do a lot of the things shown above at design time instead of run time. One of the things that this makes a lot easier is coding events raised by the process, such as the event when the process has exited. You can also add a handler using code like this: allow the process to raise eventsmyProcess.EnableRaisingEvents True add an Exited event handlerAddHandler myProcess.Exited, _AddressOf Me.ProcessExitedPrivate Sub ProcessExited(ByVal sender As Object, _ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Your code goes hereEnd Sub But simply selecting the event for the component is a lot easier.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Who participates in movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Who participates in movement - Essay Example McAdam disregards strict definitions of recruitment, movement, and activism, and instead focuses on the process of an individual’s participation in activism. Risk and cost assessment gives his theories a good base. Risks taken on the part of the activist cost him something (positive or negative cost). As an example, signing a petition is a low risk, low cost activity; organizing homeless people is a high risk, high cost activity. Individuals do a conscious or subconscious risk/cost assessment before they participate in activism activities. An individual may verbally support an idea yet not physically participate in higher cost activities such as rallies or writing letters to Congress. Individuals may choose to participate in higher risk/cost activities, if those risks/costs are acceptable to him. These individuals typically â€Å"(a) have a history of activism, (b) [are] deeply committed to the ideology and goals of the movement, (c) [are] integrated into activist networks, and (d) [are] relatively free of personal constraints that would make participation especially risky†(71). By contrast, Polletta states that people join high risk/cost movements â€Å"because it is fun; because their sense of solidarity with people they know who are already in the movement demands it; because if they don’t, no one else will; because they are morally shocked and compelled by an injustice†(35). She refers to McAdam’s works and expands on the â€Å"narrative†component of recruitment. Protesters and activists, whether their actions are believed to be spontaneous or are the result of long-standing commitment to the movement, tell a powerful story that inspires others to agree and perhaps join in. Participating in protest and activism is a somewhat organic process from the individual’s point of view; people are inspired when the movement’s ideology rings true with their own ideology, and find themselves participating without really understanding how they got
Friday, October 18, 2019
Chinese Popular Culture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Chinese Popular Culture - Term Paper Example Included in pop culture are comic books, cheap newspapers such as tabloids, radio soap operas, crass television game shows, paperback novels, and shallow reality shows. The Chinese have a distinct pop culture characterized by the mix of ideas, social practices, lifestyle trends, and other mass-appeal attractions. Pop culture can sometimes gain legitimacy in normal society to become acceptable. Chinese pop culture is a thread that binds the masses of Chinese society to give them a unified sense of identity. Discussion The Chinese civilization is the world's oldest continuously existing civilization dating back five thousand years ago. As such, it has undergone several changes over this long period; popular tastes varied tremendously as years went by. However, there are a few things which make the Chinese civilization unique, among which are its cultural practices rooted in Confucian ethics, a deep respect for elders and filial obedience, and a single language based on a writing system that made it possible to have a unified Chinese identity. The one person who made all this possible was Emperor Shihuangdi (259-210 BCE) who built the now world-famous Great Wall of China, created the world's first civil service bureaucracy, the first centralized government administration, introduced coinage, unified all of China, mandated the use of only one language based on a uniform set of characters in the Chinese writing system, and still fascinates the world today with his vast terra-cotta army in his giant burial compound with some 8,000+ life-sized warriors, 400 horses, and 100 chariots to serve as â€Å"spirit army†in the afterlife, truly an enduring legacy of his dynastic rule to last â€Å"10,000 generations,†but sadly, this empire collapsed within four years after his death. Despite his short-lived empire, the various reforms he introduced survived until this day. Even in modern times, his achievements still define the Chinese cultural heritage in terms of what it means to be Chinese, an identity that endures because of universal standards in Chinese laws, written language, weights, measures, and protocols adopted by all succeeding dynasties (Muller 2) and which the present Communist rulers of China are using to help restore the Chinese pride in themselves, after two centuries being under foreign colonial powers. Emperor Qin Shihuangdi set the tone of what was pop culture with the adoption of a comprehensive set of laws, known in Chinese history as legalism, which mandated all things that can be done and cannot be done (Guo 23); although its implementation period was brief, from 221-206 BCE only, it played a key role in shaping traditional pop culture. It was a basis for government control of the whole of China in subsequent years, and continues even today. Legalism has a lingering influence because it determined the laws of the land; people of the lower classes knew what was allowed and not allowed. It was supplanted by other ide ologies and religions such as Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Legalism was the main popular cultural ideology in ancient China, designed to exert control over the peasants; China was once primarily an agricultural economy and legalism governed all aspects of social life. Emperor Qin Shih
Border security issues (week 10) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Border security issues (week 10) - Essay Example Drones are radio-controlled aircrafts or ships or in unmanned aerial vehicles abbreviated as UAV (NOVA, 2013). According to Jones (2013), currently, the law enforcement agency officials say that such spy programs are useful when it comes to border surveillance, even when they are costly. Jones points out that each drone goes for $18 million and its support systems (Jones, 2013). Such activities carried out at the border by the law enforcement agencies are helpful because they are the key to protecting the American citizens. Nonetheless, there is an extent to which such technology is useful. Using this technology to threaten individual privacy rights as guaranteed by the American constitution is not the solution to defeating terrorists and drug gangs at the border. On a domestic level, drones are used when there are criminal investigations as a way of finding missing persons, when there are natural disasters and monitoring hostage situations. Drones should not be used on Americans who are not criminals to check their travel patterns, banks that they visit and carrying out searches on people’s neighborhoods and houses without court orders. According to Cornwell (2013), domestic drones look like small helicopters and radios. Though they are flown by hobbyist, there is a possibility that they have cameras that are used to capture people (Cornwell, 2013). According to Cornwell (2013), domestic drones can take pictures of people’s backyards because the Federal Aviation Administration approved t he use of more than 1,400 drones in 2006. This abuses the privacy rights that Americans are entitled to as citizens. Cornwell, L. (2013, April 08). Drone regulations: Spying concerns prompt states to consider legislation. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from
Thursday, October 17, 2019
LEARNING PAPER 3-OTHER CULTURE GROUP Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
LEARNING 3-OTHER CULTURE GROUP - Research Paper Example is means that American citizens were under obligation to play a significant role by adopting lifestyles that would maintain and preserve the youthful state of their bodies. In the next few years, the media began to concentrate on discussing various aspects of human health. This was accompanied by a considerable increase in the health related services and goods. This then spiked an even greater preoccupation, in the public, with subjects such as health consciousness. Citizens also started showing anxiety that was related to the possibility of developing conditions that would harm the body. Even in past civilizations, people sought to find ways in which their behavior influenced the state of their health. Modern medicine has shown that there is a definite connection between what people consume, how they live, and their state of health. This reality has spurred a health culture that revolves around regimens involved with hygiene, diet, and daily exercise. Today’s health culture calls for citizens to take supplements, partake in regular exercise, and consume only healthy foods. Today, there is an emphasis on self-care movements, adopting holistic practices, and acquiring attractive body images. This trend has been internationalized by the corresponding increase of media consumption, along with the efficiency with which modern advertising is conducted. Today, the internet, television, radio, newspapers, and other forms of media all carry information about weight loss, magazines, vitamins, books, energy-foods, and dieting. There are numerous educational advantages that have been brought about by the increase in health knowledge. For instance, people today are more knowledgeable about the connection between health and science. They understand their own bodies better, and have more confidence in their abilities to heal with as little assistance as possible from the medical sector. Due to the fact that many people recognize the symptoms of deadly diseases, the modern
The Boston Tea Party Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
The Boston Tea Party - Research Paper Example The first part is an overview of British colonization of America to show the relationship between ruled colonies and the ruling Empire. The second part summarizes the relationship between business and government in the colonies that led to abuses. The third part explores the role that taxation of tea, an ordinary beverage, played in the conflicts between the Crown and its colonies. The fourth part briefly discusses the protests that led to the Tea Party and the reactions of the British colonizers. The final part shows the link between the Boston Tea Party and American independence. The first English settlers sailed to America in the early 17th century, founding the colonies of Virginia in 1607. Despite harsh conditions of climate and violent resistance from natives, English settlers continued arriving in droves: settling in Plymouth in 1620, Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire in 1629, Maryland in 1630, Rhode Island and Connecticut in 1636, New Haven in 1638, North and South Carolina in 1663, New York and New Jersey in 1664, Hudson Bay in 1670, and Pennsylvania in 1681. Colonial settlements were established in Delaware in 1702, Georgia in 1732, and West Florida in 1763 (Innes 5-7). Each of these colonies was established either as a chartered company colony or a proprietary colony, which differentiates the way the colony is managed, its relations with the British government or Crown, and how revenues from trade and commerce in and out of the colony is shared with government. A chartered company is managed by business interests in behalf of the Crown, while civil servants appointed by the Crown manage a proprietary colony. Most chartered company colonies were not as well managed as proprietary colonies, so colonies such as Virginia, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were eventually turned into proprietary colonies, with the Crown appointing settlers from England as governors (Innes 11-13). America was a conglomeration of rich and
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
LEARNING PAPER 3-OTHER CULTURE GROUP Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
LEARNING 3-OTHER CULTURE GROUP - Research Paper Example is means that American citizens were under obligation to play a significant role by adopting lifestyles that would maintain and preserve the youthful state of their bodies. In the next few years, the media began to concentrate on discussing various aspects of human health. This was accompanied by a considerable increase in the health related services and goods. This then spiked an even greater preoccupation, in the public, with subjects such as health consciousness. Citizens also started showing anxiety that was related to the possibility of developing conditions that would harm the body. Even in past civilizations, people sought to find ways in which their behavior influenced the state of their health. Modern medicine has shown that there is a definite connection between what people consume, how they live, and their state of health. This reality has spurred a health culture that revolves around regimens involved with hygiene, diet, and daily exercise. Today’s health culture calls for citizens to take supplements, partake in regular exercise, and consume only healthy foods. Today, there is an emphasis on self-care movements, adopting holistic practices, and acquiring attractive body images. This trend has been internationalized by the corresponding increase of media consumption, along with the efficiency with which modern advertising is conducted. Today, the internet, television, radio, newspapers, and other forms of media all carry information about weight loss, magazines, vitamins, books, energy-foods, and dieting. There are numerous educational advantages that have been brought about by the increase in health knowledge. For instance, people today are more knowledgeable about the connection between health and science. They understand their own bodies better, and have more confidence in their abilities to heal with as little assistance as possible from the medical sector. Due to the fact that many people recognize the symptoms of deadly diseases, the modern
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Political Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Political Campaign - Essay Example We reiterate our stand that cloning is against our social ethics and moral principles and equals to questioning God (Yaro's article, third Para ). The advocates of cloning will one day be punished by the God. We promise you that, if voted to power, we will bring a permanent Federal Law banning the practice of cloning through a Bill in the Congress which has failed to pass despite its introduction several times in the past. ( Laws on human cloning, third Para ). Cloning indicates the scientific advancement man has achieved over the years and stands as a tall witness for the supremacy of science. The creation of Dolly (The first successful clone of a sheep, first Para.) was only a first step in the right direction the scientific community had moved in the area of cloning. The advocates of its ban have no right to talk of ethics and morals as these issues are not their exclusive domains. One wants to know how cloning affects the tradition, morals and ethics. God had created humans and other living beings but did not stop at that. God encouraged us to invent so many things and cloning can be one of them.
Analyzing Personal Conflict Management Styles Essay Example for Free
Analyzing Personal Conflict Management Styles Essay Conflict management is the detriment of many teams or groups in accomplishing its goals. This is because most people do not understand the different conflict styles and how to apply the rules and principles associated with the style you may be dealing with. In this paper I will analyze three of the five management styles discussed in the textbook Communication in Small Groups. Avoidance and competition are two styles that I believe have the greatest effect on hindering a group or team from accomplishing its goals. Collaboration, however, is a style that I believe is most effective in assisting a team in attaining its goals. This is a style that I use not only in my professional life but also in my personal life and have seen the difference this style of conflict management makes on individuals who are approached with this technique. Avoidance, according to the Collins English Dictionary is â€Å"the act of keeping away from or preventing from happening. †This definition sums up the reason I believe that of the five conflict managing styles, this one is among the top reasons some teams fail at achieving their goals. Whether it is just that a person does not like confrontation, are afraid to voice his or her true opinions out of fear, or simply do not want to hurt another person’s feelings, the simple fact remains that the team may not be aware of everything they need to consider. They miss the opportunity to be more objective in reaching an educated decision on the goals the team is trying to attain. This can also lead to members of the team feeling as though a member does not care and give them reason to discount whatever input that member may have. It is important to remember that there are certain instances when avoidance is needed to move the team along. For instance if what is causing the conflict is something trivial that will not have an adverse effect on the ultimate goal of the team it is likely a good idea to avoid it. It may be also be a good idea to use this method temporarily to give a team time to gather their thoughts on an important issue they need to resolve, but cannot get certain members to be objective or reasonable because they are standing firm behind their point of view. Competition is a conflict management style exactly opposite of avoidance. This is a very confrontational style, which characteristics consist of forcefully persuading others that their position is the only correct position. A person who exerts this style in most cases seeks to win with the intent of another person losing. They want control and work to achieve it no matter what. This type of style is infectious to a team. It is hard for a team to work at attaining a common goal if the level of competition in the team is such that no one can agree. Competition often leads to unethical ways of trying to persuade others in the team like shouting, or even threatening. These types of behaviors lead to defensiveness and distrust as members may feel as if they are forced into a decision rather than arriving at a decision on their own. Again, just like with all management styles it is not always a bad thing to be competitive. When working as a team it is important to remember the goals of the team and be mindful that the actions taken are working toward that goal. No matter how right a person is individually, he or she must find a way to get the rest of the team to agree that their point of view is correct or the best action for the goal the team is trying to accomplish. Otherwise, they will accomplish nothing and alienate themself from the team. The other members of the team can again feel as if that member does not care about what is best for the team and discount his or her ideas as one sided. Of all of the conflict management styles, collaboration is the style that most researchers agree is the best for achieving the goals of a team. â€Å"To collaborate is to have a high concern for both yourself and others†(Beebe Masterson, 2009, p. 52). This common belief among users of this style drives them to search for answers using all of the tools at the team’s disposal. The different dynamics of the team become assets. They see the differences that distinguish the members of the team as points of view are respected and viewed objectively. Differences like a male versus a female’s perspective, race, culture, and even social or economic status are viewpoints that give all in the team a bigger picture of the different issues they may need to consider when coming to a conclusion about how best to achieve their goal. Though this style is thought of as the best route for teams to use, it is lso one of the most difficult. Even a person who has a natural talent or personality that promotes this style of conflict management has to practice to be effective using this style in a team setting. A person cannot be judgmental and must be sure not to take anything said personally. This is something that most if not all of the team members must have an awareness of. All team members have to feel comfortable with the results and with what was given up from their own personal point of view to arrive at the team’s decision. This style is also very demanding so it requires a good amount of patience. Depending on how quick a decision is needed it is not always possible for a team to achieve and some in the team may not believe that their best interests were achieved. I realized through this research that I am a person who naturally uses the collaboration style of conflict management in many areas of my life. In my relationship with my wife, I use collaboration as a way to strengthen our alliance in running our household. Feeling as if we are a team benefits the decisions we make for our family. Our children see us as united in our decision making. This is something we had to work to achieve and collaboration was the key to its success. We had a competitive style at first and our children would use that fact to split us up on decisions that we made pertaining to them. I could break that cycle by focusing on putting our ego’s aside. Our discussions were no longer about who was right or wrong. It was a process that started with accommodation to show I was willing to take the first step. That eventually grew into compromise, which is what most couples strive for. Finding a middle ground gives most couples the sense that they are working as a team. Collaboration, however, is the ability of that team not to find a middle ground, but actively work to agree and the best plan or action together by understanding and processing each other’s viewpoint to come up with decisions together. It is a style that comes in handy when training my children on the importance of being responsible and accountable for their actions. Collaborating on goals so that they are part of the decision-making process empowers them to believe they have control over what decisions they make. In my school and professional life collaboration has proven to be a way to drive for results. Team members work better when they are at ease in their decision-making, and everyone is comfortable with each other. Disagreements work themselves out with little stress because of the trust established through everyone’s willingness to collaborate on the goals set in place. Because the goals were set together, everyone has a vested interest in its outcome and most want that outcome to be a successful one. When I do encounter a person on my team with a conflicting style, I tend to take some time away from the situation to evaluate the best course of action for our progress. I take into account the level of importance our issue may have on our ultimate goal and what if any ethical issues are involved. Collaboration, though it is my favorite approach, is not always the approach I may use to resolve the issue. I am not one to avoid the issue entirely, but I have had to use accommodation, compromise, and even competition depending on what the issue is and what personality I am dealing with. In conclusion, you can see that there is no one way to manage conflict. I believe that being able to adapt to the different conflict styles will assist a person in overcoming conflict. Collaboration best supports a person who is adaptable and best supports a team’s objective because it focuses on the goals of the team by giving each person on the team’s needs equal importance.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Impact Of Culture On Human Resource Management Management Essay
Impact Of Culture On Human Resource Management Management Essay The global anarchy has witnessed the growing importance of Human Resource Management in both business and public life. The stormy business climate brought in the wake of liberalization, globalization, changing technologies, development in knowledge and advances in information technology is offering managers a complex and challenging situation (Davis, 1995). So researchers are looking into Human Resource Management (HRM) practices on a comparative basis comes across a major question. This question has to do with the extent at which societal culture influences the way firms manage their personnel and the way HRM practices are developed and implemented within firms across various countries in the world. Globalization has shifted the attention of both researchers and practitioners to the way that organizational practices, and especially HRM, are differentiated across various countries as per their cultural context. In the literature one can find several comparative HRM studies concluding , in their majority, that national culture is a conclusive factor in shaping HRM (Heijltjes et al., 1996; Sparrow et al., 1994). In studying about Multi National Companies (MNCs) in 12 countries, Sparrow et al. (1994) found differences in the HRM practices that are perceived to be a source of competitive advantage across the countries. Of all the factors affecting Human Resource Management (HRM) perhaps none is more effective than the national culture and the most popular model for comparison at the level of national culture is that of Hofstede (1980, 1991), which has been the base of numerous research studies in the area of management in general. Hofstede (1980, 1991) argued that American management theories represent their own cultural environment. So, it can be said d that American management cannot be detached from American culture. In the meantime, Laurent (1986:92) viewed that every culture has developed through its own history, some specific and unique insight into the managing of organization and their human resources. Every culture has also developed specific and unique blind spots in the art of managing and organizing (Singh, 2009). Aycan et al (2000) described that due to the increasing demands of the globalized and liberalized business environment, both researchers and practitioners have started paying more attention to the study of culture as an explanatory variable. The researchers have also come to realize that the uncritical adaptation of HRM practices and techniques evolved in the context of Western cultural values may not be effective in other socio-cultural environments. By using Hofstedes framework of national culture, the objective of research is to examine the impact of national culture on HRM practice by applying the Hofstedes (1980) cultural dimensions of collectivism/individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and femininity/masculinity theory. Background of the study: In the new global economy, HRM has become a vital issue for the effectiveness of organizations. In accordance with the existing studies, the shift to globalization required from corporations to achieve focused performance by all means. This shift emphasized the necessity for businesses to fully utilize their human resources engaging suitable practices and strategies (Schuler and Jackson, 2005). The presence of supportive cultural factors is essential for the efficiency and success of the HRM result. It seems obvious that the ways western organizations cope with HRM practices are different from the ways Middle Eastern organizations with their different cultural and institutional situations cope with these issues (Westerduin, 2010). Because Arabic countries have different values and attitudes than the developed countries, which may determine and shape specific managerial approaches in human resource as cited by cultural research perspective. As Mendonca and Kanungo (1996) determined th at one of most important cultural dimensions, which is different in western and eastern cultures and is exclusively important in shaping their HRM strategies, is the assumption about human resource capability. This restlessness to adopt western HRM tools could results lack of suitable practice in the Arabian context (Binjabi, 2011). Saudi Arabia is the most traditional country in the Arab world; it is also the largest member of the six Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states and has the largest known oil reserves in the world estimated at around 25% of the proved reserves (Mellahi, 2006). Taking into account its strategic geo-political position and energy resources, Saudi Arabia is a major player in the stability of the regional and global economy. Saudi Arabia during the era of King Abdullah since 2005 has also introduced numerous laws and policies such as privatization and foreign investment laws to stimulate competition. He also in a smart step to diversify the economy and create more jobs for Saudis in the privet sector and attract the local and foreign investments has launched giant projects with hundreds of billions dollars. To achieve these development goals, Saudi Arabia has a major investment in human resources management in order to raise its average skill level (Mellahi, 2007). Developing the HRM syste m in a very conservative tribal society, there would be as a natural result numerous Saudi cultural impacts on the HRM system (Albugamy, 2010). The present research will reside on HRM practices in the context of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the influence of the cultural factors on HRM practices in this country will be examined for its wider implications. Rationale behind choice of setting: Saudi Arabia is chosen as the setting for this study since it is a typical example of a developing economy in Arab with the most conventional and historic cultural environment. According to U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council (2008-09), the construction sector in Saudi Arabia is the largest and fastest growing market in the Gulf region. This sector is the most developed, organized, and diverse also in terms of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in the country. Ongoing construction projects in the Gulf are valued at $1.9 trillion, and one-quarter of the developments are located in Saudi Arabia. The sector has both foreign and local organizations that bring out the different HRM practices employed by various organizations. Identification of the Problem: It is attempted through this research to create a better description of the effect of culture on HRM practices in Saudi Arabia as we know culturally Arab countries are completely different from other countries. At this moment there is some literature available on the research subject, but not much research on this subject conducted until this moment in the context of Arab countries which present an overview of the current status and trends of HRM in Middle East. It could emerge that the knowledge of HRM in Arab culture that these organizations use at this moment is outdated, or that these organization should be aware of the direction in which the differences between HRM in Western countries and HRM in Middle Eastern countries are evolving. Also, there are problems in the image that people in the Western world have of the Arab world. Negative images in the media of the Middle East prevent these people of obtaining a correct view of all aspects of the Arab culture and values. The curre nt research is an attempt to contribute in order to find out the truth. Also by the help of this research compatibility of HRM practices chosen and implemented by organizations would be checked with the respect of the Arab world (in particular, in the Saudi context with a focus on the construction sector). Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of Saudi Arabian national culture on the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within the organizations and how the cultural elements play a key role in that issue. To this end, HRM practices are viewed in terms of Reduction of status distinctions, Employment security, Performance appraisal and Selective hiring whereas National culture is viewed in terms of Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism and Feminity/ Masculinity. On the basis of the stated research aim, the following objectives are formulated: O1:- To investigate the relationship between the national culture and HRM practices. O2: To identify the effect of the cultural attributes on HRM practices. Significance of the study: It is expected that the current study will make a considerable novel contribution to the academic research in the field of organizational Human Resource Management (HRM). To be more specific, it will assess the role of cultural determinants in the Saudi Arabian context, which was not given enough attention in the previous studies. The significance of the study is that it will lead to the better explanation of HRM lessons in an international environment. On practical basis, the findings that will be drawn from the current study could serve as a guide in transferring HRM policies within the construction sector of Middle East. It also offers insights into what type of HRM practices are more likely to positively influence the organizational performance. It will also add value by suggesting the need for modified HRM practices to fit the Saudi Arabian as well as the international context. Literature Review Human Resource Management (HRM) and Culture: The impact of national culture on a variety of Human Resource (HR) practices has become one of the most important topics in management research (Chen et al., 2006; Gahan and Abeysekera, 2009). From the perspective of institutional theory (Scott et al., 2003; Westney, 2005) it is suggested that HR practices are affected by differences in national culture and that HR practices will be largely dependent on managers abilities to understand and balance different cultural values and practices (Wang et al., 2008). The contingency or external fit perspective emphasizes the fit between national culture and HR practices, implying that specific HR policies are affected by national culture. According to Alcazar et al. (2008), the theories on Human Resource Management (HRM) have focused on universalistic perspectives for number of years. Researchers have put great efforts in finding a single human resources theory that is applicable in every situation, in every organization, every culture, and every country worldwide, therefore a best practices model. During these expansions it became more and more clear that this universalistic theory was nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ existent, and that the solution to the universalistic HRM model should be sought in a contextual, contingent theory which takes into account a wide range of factors that influence the fitness of an HRM model in the given setting. By regarded it, the researchers admitted that a single outline for HRM practices does not exist. The further globalization of businesses meant that the approach HRM takes to her tasks differs from several years ago. HRM departments need to take more factors in consideration than before, inclu ding cultural differences, different labor laws in different countries and different views on labor of the employees (Westerduin, 2010). So research (Sonja and Phillips, 2004) assumes that managers in todays multicultural global business community often encounter cultural differences, which can hinder with management practices in organizations. Leat and El-kot, (2007) have emphasized the effect of national culture, a concept that includes traditions, values, beliefs, attitudes and behavior which influence HRM practices. Laurent (1986) proposed that HRM methods in any country are a reflection of the national culture of that country (Albugamy, 2010). Triandis (1972) and Schein (1992) defined culture in terms of shared ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting; shared socially constructed environments and commonly experienced events including the history, language, and religion of their members (Pellegrini Scandura, 2006). National culture is also defined as the ideas, set of beliefs and norms followed by the people of a certain country; the countrys history, religion and traditions make up for the national culture (Majee d et al., 2010). In comparing cultures of different countries, cross-cultural researchers have focused their attentions on an examination of a set of cultural value dimensions developed by Hofstede. These dimensions are based on a large sample of employees from 40 countries from the large multinational IBM, whom he studied from 1960s, 70s and 80s. According to Gannon Newman, (2002), after investigates, examines, and compares more than 50 countries; he is regarded as the authority in culture differences and how culture differences influence management strategies. He said: in global economic integration of the world, the strategies of all companies in the world are focused on how to meet the largest market to most customers by products and services; while the study of different cultures and values, is the key to success of such strategies (Jing, 2010). Leading value systems of different countries can be ordered along Hofstedes set of cultural value dimensions (Hofstede, 1980; Hofstede Bond, 1988). Peoples Dominant value systems have been crystallized in the institutions these people have built together: their family structures, religious organizations, educational structures, associations, systems of government, work organizations, law and regulations, literature, settlement arrangements, and buildings. All of these reflect common beliefs that derive from the mutual culture. Whereas the value systems affect human thinking, feeling, action, and the behavior of organizations and institutions in predictable ways, the value dimensions reflect basic problems that any society has to cope with but for which solutions differ from country to country (Hofstede, 1983). Current study (Gelfand, 2000) concludes that managers in organizations are recognizing that it is impossible to maintain bias views while doing business across different cultures. Cultural knowledge and a global focus are crucial to survive, and to thrive, within todays business environment. However, the same literature does not give a global focus that is accordant with the global reality of business. Discussion and empirical assessment of culture and HRM practices (Aycan, et al, 2000) has been focused on specific developed countries and developing countries have been given little attention (Nyambegera et al, 2000) which is the gap in the existing academic knowledge. Variables of the study For the purpose of this study the study variables have been grouped into two categories, namely cultural variables that include sub variables as defined by Hofstede, 2001, and organization variables that include HR practices as defined by Gong et al., 2009. Cultural variables: The first category of variables includes the societal culture as defined by Hofstede (2001). Power Distance: Power distance is the degree to which individuals agree that power should be dispersed unequally in the society (Hofstede, 2001). Hofstedes Power Distance Index tells how much one countrys less powerful people accept and respect the unequal power distributed. The inequality of the society is followed by peoples earlier different life experiences such as value and norms. Some cultures present the Power Distance obviously, some present inconspicuously (Jing, 2010). High power distance cultures tend to view inequality as normal or natural. In such cultures, lower-status people are addressed by their first names, while for higher-status people different prefixes are added before their first names (Pellegrini and Scandura, 2006). In low power distance cultures lower-status people are more likely to believe that they should have voice in decision processes (Alves et al., 2006), and will be less motivated if this is withdrawn. Power distance has significant implication for management styles and practices (Emmerik et al., 2008). In low power distance cultures there is a preference for leadership styles that promote flexibility, innovation, job mobility, and general skills, rather than the specialized skills that are preferred in high power distance cultures (Dickson et al., 2003). Power distance plays a role in employees willingness to accept supervisory direction, and on their emphasis on gaining support from those in positions of authority (Taleghani, 2010). People in high power distance cultures accept more guidance from superiors, and this extra attention makes high-status employees more enthusiastic about work. In lower power distance cultures wage differentials between men and women are smaller (Hofstede, 2001). Uncertainty Avoidance: Hofstede (2001) defines uncertainty avoidance denotes to the extent to which individuals feel threatened by and try to avoid vague and uncertain situations. Uncertainty about the future is a basic fact of human life, extreme uncertainty creates unbearable anxiety, and human society has created ways to avoid the uncertainty, for example by the mean of technology, which helps us defend ourselves against uncertainty caused by nature and laws, which help us against the actions of others, religions, which help us accept the uncertainties we cannot protect ourselves against. Different societies have different ways to adapt to uncertainty, how tolerant for the uncertain anxiety a single society has is talking about the Uncertainty Avoidance Index. The high Uncertainty Avoidance society has more worries about the future and anything uncertain, and therefore more ways to defend against those anxieties; and the low Uncertainty Avoidance society has fewer fears about the uncertainties, and therefore such society doesnt care so much about the rules (Jing, 2010). Dikson claims that in societies high on UA, career stability, formal rules and the development of expertise tend to be valued, whereas in low UA cultures, more flexibility in roles and jobs, an emphasis on general rather than specialized skills and more job mobility is more typical. People in uncertainty avoiding cultures are also more expressive, and driven by inner nervous energy. People in uncertainty accepting cultures may be more tolerant of different opinions and relatively unstructured situation s. In the work environment, uncertainty avoidance may lead individuals to try to avoid ambiguous situations and look for precise alternatives. Within such a cultural context, there will be many established formal rules or informal norms controlling the rights and duties of employees (Chang et al., 2007). Individualism/Collectivism: Hofstede (2001) defines individualism against its opposite, collectivism, as the degree to which the society encourages and rewards collective action (Pellegrini Scandura, 2006). The culture inclined to be individualistic is more focused on ones own desires and values, and serves their own interests by relying on individual exertion; the relations between people are regarded less important than oneself. On the other hand, compared with individualism, the culture inclined to be collective is more focused on a combination of strong social organizations, which is divided into inside the group and outside the group. People cared for by members inside the group, and pay back by their loyalty; they love their group like themselves, and they can sacrifice their own likings for the group (Jing, 2010). In collectivist societies, supervisors rely on loyalty of staff, reliability and harmonized group relationship with others while people in individualism culture people enjoy personal particula rs and successes in order to define themselves. The dimension of individualism and collectivism has received the most attention in cross-cultural organizational research (Triandis, 1994). It has been shown to have major implication for the motivational as well as employment practices. For example, in more individualistic societies HR practices tend to differentiate between employees based on their individual performance. These societies also use differentiation in the reward system (Beer and Katz, 2003). At the same time, employees from collectivistic countries prefer reward systems that are non-competitive in nature (Chiang and Birtch, 2005). Employees from more individualistic cultures tend to be more driven by improving themselves and their own positions in life, and are also characterized by feeling comfortable in competitive environments (Probst et al., 1999), whereas employees from more collectivistic countries tend to be more motivated by the success of the group as a whole. More individualistic cultures will tend to emphasize HR practices that stress individual rewards management (e.g. offering individual bonuses and perks, promoting on performance) more than in collectivistic cultures. Masculinity/Femininity: Hofstede (2001) refers to masculinity/femininity, as the distribution of roles between the genders. It is also referred to as assertiveness (House et al., 1999), which emphases on competition, success, aggressive social relationships, and limited emotional involvement with others. His research showed that womens values differ less among societies than mens values; and mens values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from womens values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to womens values on the other. Hofstede (1998) stated that in high masculine societies, men are supposed to be firm, tough, and focusing on material success; woman are supposed to be more modest, affectionate, and concerned with the quality of life. A man has the obligation to earn money for his family; he should work hard to be successful in society, the harder he works, the more respect he gets from his family and society. Therefore , competition in a masculinity society is very fierce and people pay attention to the work performance very much, they believe life is for work. In high femininity society, both man and woman are supposed to be concerned with the quality of life. A woman has the obligation to take care of the house work, such as cooking, cleaning, and the children, so that her husband can go out and earn money without any worries (Jing, 2010). Research showed that the distribution of gender roles has major implications for HR practices and for career strategies as well as career opportunities of women. Hofstede (2001) described that masculine and feminine cultures create different leader hero types. The heroic manager in masculine cultures is decisive and aggressive. In feminine cultures, the hero is less visible, seeks consensus, and is intuitive and cooperative rather than tough and decisive. At work, in more feminine societies more weight is attached to subjective, intuition-oriented conditions such as care, nurturing and relationships (Alves et al., 2006). At the same time, in more masculine societies people ascribe greater value on monet ary rewards, while in turn more feminine societies place greater importance on non-financial rewards (Chiang and Birtch, 2005). Saudi Arabian culture in Hofstede cultural perspective: Studies of the culture in Saudi Arabia have specified that it is fairly homogenous, like most Middle Eastern nations (Idrees, 2007). Analyzing and comparing Saudi cultural orientations based upon a typology developed by Geert Hofstede show that on the above mentioned cultural dimensions Saudi Arabia presents a unique culture. Saudi Arabias power distance ranking of 80 is revealing of a high level of inequality of power and wealth within the society. This ranking advocates that the population has an expectation and acceptance that leaders will separate themselves from the group and this condition is not essentially undermined upon the population, but rather accepted by the society as their cultural heritage. Idris (2007) indicated the high power distance in Saudi Arabia is evident in the Saudis strong preference for managerial positions due to the belief that labor jobs are dishonorable and considered by many to be a cause of embarrassment. Saudi Arabias high power distance also impacts decision making. Bhuian (1998) described that, generally, Saudi managers make decisions autocratically and paternalistically to subordinates who are considered as having strong dependence needs (Cassell Blake, 2011). Saudi Arabias uncertainty avoidance ranking of 68 shows the societys low level of tolerance for uncertainty. Saudi Arabias ranking suggests that new projects will be carefully analyzed to assure that whatever risk they represent is thoroughly understood and addressed. In order for change to take hold, the idea needs to be perceived as good for the group and be accepted by the group. Due to Saudi Arabias uncertainty avoidance ranking, there is a conception that Saudis prefer government intervention in business practices. Bhuian, 1998 mentioned that within organizations, the ranking is evident in the fact that Saudi managers are generally not tolerant of deviation of the generally inflexible company rules (Cassell Blake, 2011). Saudi Arabias individualism ranking of 38 interprets into a Collectivist society as compared to Individualist culture and is revealed in a close long-term commitment to the member group, that being a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Alanazi and Rodrigues in 2003 also described the Saudi culture as collectivistic with strict devotion to the teachings of Islam, which governs the social behavior and provides a strong cultural fabric that covers the whole nation. Essentially, business is affected by the collective thinking of the Saudis, which dictates that relationships trump business dealings (Idris, 2007). Saudi Arabia scores 52 on the dimension of masculinity/femininity, thus Saudi Arabia has a more feministic culture. So, in Saudi Arabia people maintain good relationships with each other. Saudi Arabias ranking also impacts hiring and firing practices. Research has found that terminations for poor performance rarely happen because the desire for relationships results in long life employment (Idris, 2007). Historically, the society has been characterized as valuing behavior displaying kindness, selflessness, and generosity; deference to those above in the hierarchy of the family; freedom from reliance on others and mastery over ones emotions; and a willingness to support other family members and accept responsibility for their errors as well (Cassell Blake, 2011). HR Management Practices in Saudi Arabia: HR professionals in Saudi Arabia view HR as a core strategy for improving organizational performance (Ramlall et al., 2012). Pillai et al., (1999) explained management practices in the Islamic world (of which Saudi Arabia is a major part) as influenced by tribal traditions where the manager is expected to act as a father figure. This means favoring the continuity of the family concept over improved organizational effectiveness and competitiveness. Their study showed that this reliance on the father-figure relationship means that leaders and managers in the Middle East face difficulties convincing the employees to be part of the solution to management problems. According to Yavas (1997), a prevailing organizational structure in which the manager makes all the decisions repels positive change. According to Bhuian et al., (2001) the people of the kingdom need to be guided and told what to do and actually prefer government involvements in business practices (Idris, 2007). Beer e t al., (1985) specified, Since, Saudi Arabias collective culture values group work, the pay-for-performance system that recognizes individuals is destabilized when management tries to moderate it by writing comforting statements on the appraisal forms to compensate for low salary increases for poor performers. The prevailing culture is in favor of life employment, so managers are restrained from purging poor performers and substituting them with high performers. Unless the difference in compensation of the high performers and low performers is great, companies risk discouraging the high performers whereas motivating the low performers to remain unproductive (Idris, 2007). Organizational Variables: The second category of variables includes the HRM practices that reflect cultural dimensions in which they were developed. HR practices that are likely to be sensitive to cultural influences are followings (Gong et al., 2009); Employment security: Employment security can be characterized as maintenance-oriented HRM because they defend employees well-being. Employment security may encourage employees to stay in their job. In the literature, employment security usually refers to protection against unfair or unjustified dismissals. According to ILO (1995) employment security means that workers have protection against arbitrary and short notice dismissal from employment, as well as having long-term contracts of employment and having employment relations that avoid casualization. Evidently this definition covers only one category of the labor market wage and salary workers. It is they who are employed by some legal entity, and are at risk of being dismissed by that legal entity, and can have a stable or unstable employment relation with their employer (Dasgupta, 2001). In an era of downsizing and rightsizing, employment security can confer yet another advantage, in that it boosts people to take a longer-term perspective on their jobs and organizational performance. Employment security policies will also lead to more cautious hiring, because the firm knows it cannot simply let people go quickly if it has overestimated its labor demand. Slenderer staffing can actually make the work force more productive, with less people doing extra work. Additionally, employment security maintained over time helps to build trust and belief between people and their employer, which can lead to better spirit in the company (Pfeffer, 1998). Reduction of Status Distinctions: The basic premise of high-performance management systems is that organizations perform at a higher level when they are able to tap the ideas, abilities, skills, and struggle of all of their people. One way in which they do this is by organizing people in work teams, a topic already briefly covered here. But neither individuals nor teams will feel comfortable or stimulated to contribute their minds as well as their physical energy to the organization if it has sent signals that they are not both valuable and valued. In order to help make all organizational members feel important and devoted to improving organizational operations, so, most high-commitment management systems attempt to reduce the status distinctions that separate individuals and groups and cause some to feel less valued. This is accomplished in two ways: symbolically, through the use of language and labels, physical space, and dress, and practically, in the reduction of the organizations degree of wage disparity. Status differences are reduced and a sense of common fate established by limiting the difference in compensation between senior management and other employees. The reduction of status differences inspires open communication, essential in an organization in which learning and adaptation are encouraged. Status differences are reduced and a sense of common fate developed by limiting the difference in compensation between senior management and other employees (Pfeffer, 1998). Conclusively reduced status distinctions include dress, language, of ¬Ã‚ ce arrangements, wage differences and behaviors across levels (Ahmad Schroeder, 2003). Selective hiring: Selective hiring is aimed at developing an organizations talent pool. Organizations serious about gaining profits through pe
Sunday, October 13, 2019
The Meteorologist Metaphor :: essays research papers
The Meteorologist Metaphor Jane Eyre is a novel filled with rich metaphors and foreshadowing that is as detailed as the characters that make up the pages. These metaphors are used to create imagery; but more importantly, Charlotte Bronte makes use of reoccurring metaphors that come together to form themes and symbolism. Think of the novel as a Jello mold. A Jello mold becomes much more interesting and tasty if it has random fruits scattered throughout trapped within the sweet gelatin. These fruits do for the Jello, what metaphors do for a novel. However, if there is one fruit that continuously is found within the Jello, say... bananas, than those bananas become more than just flavor enhancers. The bananas become a â€Å"theme†of the Jello, a â€Å"theme†that could be individually studied if the Jello was allowed to melt. Now I will attempt to melt the Jello that is Jane Eyre. In this case, weather is the bananas. Obviously I’m not as skilled at using metaphors as Charlotte Bronte. In Jane Eyre, good weather is Bronte’s tool used to foreshadow positive events or moods. Similarly, poor weather is her tool used in setting the tone for negative events or moods. This technique is exercised throughout the entire novel, alerting the readers of the upcoming atmosphere. Jane’s mood is, to a degree, determined by the weather mentioned. For example, after Jane was publicly and falsely accused of being a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst, an upcoming positive event is predicted when Jane describes her surroundings: Some heavy clouds swept from the sky by a rising wind, had left the moon bare; and her light streaming in through a window near, shone full both on us and on the approaching figure, which we at once recognize as Miss Temple. (79) After this sentence was read, Miss Temple invited the two girls to her room and treated them with cake and tea, which brings Jane comfort from the public humiliation she had recently endured. Another example of this is Jane’s first morning at Thornfield. A positive mood is foreshadowed when Jane describes the weather as such: The chamber looked such a bright little place to me as the sun shone in between the gay blue chintz window and carpeted floor, so unlike the bare planks and strained plaster of Lowood, that my spirit rose at the view. (105) This not only foreshadows the positive mood of Jane, but also the experience she will have in the near future living in Thornfield.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Relationships in Braided Lives Essay -- Braided Lives
Relationships in Braided Lives In Marge Piercy's Braided Lives, Jill goes through many consecutive, turbulent relationships with men. This pattern begins with her father, continues with her best friend, and then continues through many other relationships in her college years. Each relationship affects Jill and how she views men and herself. She has a very negative outlook on men. In fact, most of the male-female relationships in the novel are not positive experiences for the women involved. Jill's own self-esteem is continuously torn down and ruined by each negative relationship that she enters. Eventually Jill finds true happiness, but only after these significant relationships teach her how to love herself. Jill's father was not caring or kind to Jill regarding any aspect of her life. He wanted a boy and got Jill instead. He treated her like the boy he wanted. She desperately wanted his love and attention, and she spent a lot of time trying to make him happy by acting like the son he wanted. "He wanted a boy. At 12 I made the grand try...For months on end I sat ...
Friday, October 11, 2019
Application of Computer Essay
Computers play a great role in the society. Whether at home, in school, at the mall or in the office, computers significantly help in the accomplishment of various tasks. Be it at work or at play, computers have undeniably been utilized to perform general or specific activities that enable life to be more convenient and worry-free. Computers in Business In the field of business, computers are very useful. They are used in keeping records of daily sales and profits. Computers are also used to prepare materials to promote the products of the business establishments. Computers in Engineering Engineers use computers to create the design of a complex object using a computer program for Computer-Aided Drafting. Computers in the Government Computers are used to keep records of the people that the government serves. Several government agencies use computers to facilitate the task they are required to give to the people. Computers at Home Computers are used at home for recreational purposes. You can listen to music, watch movies and play games. Children use their computers at home to do their schoolwork. Parents use computers to assist them in doing their daily tasks. If your computer at home has internet access, then you can explore the amazing features of the Internet in the comfort of your home. Computers in Manufacturing Computers are used in manufacturing to manipulate machine that perform dangerous tasks or tasks that are repeatedly done. Computers in School Computer Education is one subject taught in schools today. Teachers use computers in classroom instruction, in computing grades and in preparing visual aids. Students use computers to study various computer applications. Libraries are connected to the Internet and students access the internet to do research.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
The Love in Quartier Enfants Rouges
Christina Bennett ENGL 101-043 Professor Rezendes November 7, 2012 The Love in â€Å"Quartier Enfants Rouges†As many people may know, love is a very complicated thing to understand. The film, Paris, Je T’Aime tries to show the audience many different perspectives of love in a series of short films. One of the short films in this collection is called â€Å"Quartier des Enfants Rouges†. In this short film, love is presented in a very different type of way because neither actor says they are â€Å"in love†with one another, they just express it without the other one knowing.The clip â€Å"Quartier des Enfants Rouges†, directed by Olivier Assayas, presents a story line where love seems to not be the main focus in the clip, but drugs are. Actor Lionel Dray who plays â€Å"Ken†, portrays a character as a drug dealer in Paris who goes to a house party to look for one of his regular customers, Liz (Joana Preiss). Joana Preiss takes the role of a cha racter who is in the town of Paris for an acting role in a movie. When Ken stops by the house to give her the drugs, they go to an ATM because she had no cash. As she was at the ATM, Ken was behind her and trying to touch her, showing the viewers that he cares about her.After she got the cash, they went to the bar for a couple beers and she gave him her number, and told him he could stop by the casting set where she was filming the movie. As they were leaving the bar, he handed her the drugs and she gave him the money. When she was at her trailer later that night waiting to film for the movie, she called Ken and told him to come to her trailer and bring her drugs for her friend, when they were really for her. When her trailer door knocked, it was not Ken; it was one of his friends, Jeff (Nicholas Maury) and Ken had sent him out to give her the drugs.Liz seemed really upset because she wanted Ken to come and not Jeff. After reviewing this film, it is easy to realize that Liz and Ken have a very strange relationship. In the beginning of the clip, they start off as barely knowing each other, and only knowing each other because of drugs, to falling in love and not telling one another. Olivier Assayas is trying to inform the audience by showing that communication is a huge factor when it comes to love. Without communication, a relationship goes nowhere, no matter how much love is involved.The actors present this well, because both Liz and Ken had feelings for each other, yet they both did not know so they were both left confused, and got nothing more out of the relationship. If Ken or Liz just could have said something, their relationship would go even further, and it is always good to know if someone has feelings or not. That is why communication is key in having a supporting and loving relationship. As a viewer of this film, the expectations someone may have are manipulated very quickly. Assayas makes his viewers think that the whole short film is about drugs and drug dealing, when the real story behind the drugs is love.This is a very good way to get an audience hooked into watching the film, because it draws attention to the audience, and makes them think what the real point behind this film is. As I was watching the film, I got drawn it very quickly because of the whole drug theme, since it was different from all the other films in this movie. When I watched it the first time, I did not fully understand what the short film was about, because the theme of love was so subtle, I could barely recognize why it was even apart of this movie.Since the ending left me with confusion, it just made me want to watch it again even more. Assayas does a wonderful job in getting his viewer’s attention because the plot and theme were different, and was unlike all the other love films that were easy to understand. This in my opinion, was overall the most well-thought out film, and had the best theme of love that was depicted. The film Paris Je Tâ₠¬â„¢Aime, shows the audience what love is all about. â€Å"Quartier des Enfants Rouges†shows that drugs are not the most important thing in keeping a relationship going, but communication is.Communication is a skill that everyone needs and it makes relationships grow, and even make them stronger. Without communication, it will ultimately leave someone confused and hopeless, as shown by Liz’s reaction at the end of this short film. It is always safe to keep in mind that love is not easy to find, but when it does happen, express it. Works Cited Assayas, Olivier, dir. â€Å"Quartier des Enfants Rouges†Paris Je T’Aime, 2006. Perf. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lionel Dray, Joana Preiss, Laetitia Spigarelli, Nicholas Maury. First Look, 2007. DVD.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Integrated marketing communications plan for 1 year for small or Assignment
Integrated marketing communications plan for 1 year for small or medium business - Assignment Example Their target market is presumably young people, as they emphasise their youthfulness in all their media, emphasizing that their hierarchical structure is all people under the age of 26, and emphasizing how they want to get young people involved in their mission, and also this is shown by their concentrating their efforts at universities and schools. The weakness lies in what is brought up above – Oaktree does not make financials available. These are numbers that potential donors will look at to decide if their dollars are going to be well-spent, and with Oaktree it would be impossible to tell where donations go, because there is no information about this. As I stated above, their Facebook page is not doing Oaktree any favors either. Although Oaktree regularly posts information into the newsfeed, this information garners very little attention. Very few people comment on any of their postings, and very few people even bother to state that they like the postings. Yet they have 2,700+ followers on Facebook. I am not certain what the problem is there, but they are obviously have problems getting people interested in what they are doing. Their strengths lie in their initiatives. They knock on doors, they partner with other organisations and schools in other countries, they fundraise as part of a global effort. These are all good. Their goals are admirable, and they are clearly stated – they want young people to get involved in the effort to eradicate poverty. It is just the execution of these ideals that leaves much to be desired. The potential competitors for Oaktree are Oxfam and World Vision Australia, both of which have their act together more than Oaktree does. Oxfam has over 40,000 Facebook followers if you combine Oxfam UK with Oxfam USA. Their website is much more user friendly as well. It is easy to navigate, the pages do not take forever to load, and
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Under the background of globalization, the impact of financial policy Essay
Under the background of globalization, the impact of financial policy on urbanization process - Essay Example ination of how much interest rates can be charged, and the budget that the government operates with as well as the labour market, the national ownership and more other sectors that the government provides intervention in the economy of that particular company. These policies are normally subjective of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund or The World bank and also the political beliefs that are harboured as well as the policies that the parties that are affected have. Globalisation has many scopes and it brings out different meanings to different people who are In different academic disciplines where others look at it as economic capitalism while there is a group that perceives it as a way of coming up with a culture that has high breed characteristics. Generally, globalisation can be seen as the increase in the amount of interconnectedness that exists in the world and is escalated by the blitz of market capitalism that has taken place all over the world and the improvements in electronic communication and the technologies that are related to transport. The forms of urbanisation that exist in the post-globalisation era exhibit an increased growth and concentration of population in the cities that are larger and urban economic growth has progressively contributed by services sectors, deteriorating share of industrial sector and greater labour output. Largely, the growth consequences of these relative analyses suggest a need for going on with econo mic globalisation and for a national methodology for the improvement of large cities (Narayana, 2010, p. 91-116). Agglomerations in the services which is normally measured by the specialisation index of the region multiplied by the size in the financial intermediation has normally been seen as having a positive impact on the growth and this kind of results can have implications that are particular for urban regions since financial intermediation mainly exists in the areas that are
Monday, October 7, 2019
Gangs in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Gangs in America - Essay Example Being raised in an economically depressed neighborhood can understandably lead youth persons to think that their lives are unimportant and thus want for a sense of identity. The social construction gangs offer provides juveniles with a sense of belonging, a particularly significant need for developing youths. In many neighborhoods, adolescents are actively recruited or are intimidated into becoming gang members and seemingly have little choice. â€Å"A few [teens] are virtually born into gangs as a result of neighborhood traditions and their parents’ earlier and perhaps continuing gang participation or involvement in criminal activity†(Moore, 1978). The gangs offer disenfranchised kids, who are undergoing feelings of isolation, a connection to a family-like atmosphere. Some of these youths are wavering between what they consider as their adopted and native cultures but feel a connection to neither. There are many reasons that youths join and remain loyal to gangs, all of which are complex and possibly incomprehensible to the general public. This discussion will briefly explain why juveniles join gangs then discuss gangs themselves, their motivations, general make-up, characteristics, and trends concerning street gang activity. There are numerous early factors that can lead juveniles to become gang members in addition to what might be the most obvious, living in abusive households. Poverty is another of the more significant factors. According to research conducted by the Children’s Defense Fund, nearly one fifth of all youths live below the poverty line in American cities. â€Å"Poor neighborhoods, especially ‘inner-city war zones’, generally have relatively high crime rates, unsatisfactory schools and unhealthy living conditions. They provide a child with few resources, negatively affect development and increase the chances a child will become violent†(â€Å"Rosado†, 2000, p. 15). Children who are subjected to t wo or more risk factors such as poverty and abuse, have a significantly higher risk factor of participating in criminal behavior and juvenile violence. Inner city ‘battle zones’, which have grown significantly in many of the country’s small to medium-sized towns in addition to the larger urban sections of major cities, are described as those areas in which most youths over 14 years old has attended the funeral of more than one friend, a very distinct definition, one that is difficult for most Americans to fully comprehend. (Garbarino, 1999, p. 40). The usual age range of gang members range from 12 to 24 years old with an average age being 17 to 18 but this average age is usually older in large cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago where gangs have been operated for a long time. (Curry & Decker, 1998). While the numbers of gang members are rising, the average age of gang members is also rising. Gangs are becoming progressively older as their ranks swell in throug hout the country. Predictably, male gang members outnumber females by a large majority, a discrepancy that widens as the aggregate age of the members become older. Gang membership fluctuates in size depending on the kinds of criminal activity associated with that gang. â€Å"Traditional (large, enduring, territorial) gangs average about 180 members, whereas specialty (e.g., drug trafficking) gangs average only about 25 members. In large cities some gangs number in the thousands and even
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