Synthesis

The idea of gender wage discrimination being widely practiced in the United States today is a difficult concept for many to swallow. With the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the realization of the existence of the gender wage gap surprises many Americans. These authors bring to the forefront the idea that there is more to the gender wage gap then just companies discriminating against women and minorities. They sight many sources with defined data including Burres and Zucca who looked at database information from 1992 through 1997 and confirmed that just over 3% of women held a position in the top 5 spots in most companies. Furthermore, the pay for executives showed women’s salaries were considerably lower than those of their male counterparts (Kennedy, Nagata, Mushenski, &Johnson, 2008, p. 13-14). This fact alone directly affects the productivity of the workplace, causing resentment and discontent with female employees. Add to the issue those women with disabilities and the percentages of discrimination raise a staggering fifty percent. The authors also showed evidence of wage discrimination against African Americans, adding to the argument that female African Americans are fighting an even tougher battle then white women (Kennedy et al. , 2009, p. 14). The authors provide arguments as to why these wage differences still exist, sighting Hartmann, Gault, Lovell, Sinzdak, & Caiazza (2003) who claim the most prevalent reason is fewer hours worked. Women have other responsibilities with family and home that pull them away from work, which in turn gives them less experience and training, justifying a lower salary. Even in the last 40+ years women have been working their way into male dominated positions, yet their wage is still 23. 5% lower than their male co-worker (Kennedy et al. , 2008, p. 15). Another argument is that of social and professional networking playing a part in the wage differences. Most evidence leans toward the concept that networking is beneficial in securing higher paying positions. It also showed that white men were more apt to promote other white men than women or other minorities. Yet, women with powerful social or professional connections were also able to secure higher paying positions. Other minorities seemed to have lower socioeconomic status and thus had difficulty in obtaining higher paying positions (Kennedy et al. , 2008, p. 15-16). The authors also touch on the idea that women are less apt to boast about their accomplishments, or pat themselves on the back, effectively letting their superiors know about positive situations, or client successes. Women also tend not to negotiate salaries therefore leaving money at the negotiating table and keeping their salaries lower. There is also mention of the correlation between emotions and pay reviews, being that women respond to positive feedback with more satisfaction then that of monetary compensation, thus failing to acquire the much deserved pay increase. These facts may address a small percentage of the wage gap, but in no way explain away the entire 23. 5% difference (Kennedy et al. , 2008, p. 8). If fighting the battle of wage discrimination isn’t enough, then take a look at how the laws are written. Both the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 put the burden of cost and the difficulty of proof on the employee, making the chance of winning almost impossible. The government needs to provide assistance to those facing this unjust, and assist at all levels, state and federal to enforce and prosecute those crossing the line (Kennedy et al. , 2 008 p. 14). Equal pay to all could bring harmony and cooperation to the workplace, which could encourage higher production and increased revenue, proving that elimination of gender wage discrimination is a healthy change for the economy (Kennedy et al. , 2008 p. 14). All of these arguments play into the idea that if the gender wage gap was completely eliminated the economy and the government would benefit. Education, experience, networking and negotiating all play a part in the difference in pay, but as pointed out in this article, those arguments do not justify the 23. % variance. Equal pay also promotes women to a higher pay scale and removes many single parents from government assistance, in turn saving to government money. Higher pay and abolishment of gender wage discrimination means more taxes, more discretionary funds available for spending, decreased resentment in the workplace and positive teamwork, which could result in higher productivity equating to a stronger economy.

Gothic Genre Explored in Tim Burton’s Films Essay

This is often ignited by key scenes that feature macabre, supernatural, fantasy or science fiction. This is evident in the various scenes within each of Tim Burton’s Films. Tim Burton incorporates the style of Gothic elements such as Gothic style architecture and prominent dark lighting in the film, Edward Scissor Hands (1990). Through these film techniques, Burton thus is able to explore the the dark and damaged world of the suburbia. These techniques include the bright lighting within the suburbia residences, which often emphasizes the contrasting dark lighting from black shades implemented by the hand made metal structures that is prominently used within Edward’s Victorian styled manor/home. Such discrepancies between bright and dark lighting is evident in the scene where Pegg decides to visit Edward’s isolated mansion in hopes to sell her Avon products, despite her failure from her seemingly welcoming suburbia. Pegg’s exclusion implements the idea that the suburbia is the damaged world, which is evident in the scene whereby many residences such as Joyce impolitely ignores Pegg from entering her house while selling her Avon products. This juxtaposes the seemingly warm-hearted suburbia, which in fact is not. However Edward’s home provides more warmth than the suburbia. Tim Burton also contrasts the general suburbia and the Gothic styled architecture of Edward’s Victorian style manor. The conformity of the suburbia is evident in the scene where residences of the suburbia robotically leave their picture perfect houses with clean cut lawns to work. The dichotomies of light and dark lighting, the suburbia’s commitment in submitting to conformity provides a sense of uneasiness and a sinister atmosphere for the audience, because the audience is challenged to reason that the Suburbia is actually the damaged world, despite the eerie aura that Edward’s home project through its dark lightning and threatening appearance. Through Burton’s exploration of the damaged suburbia world, he has successfully fused gothic elements such as light and dark lighting complimented by gothic styled architecture and structures, in effectively creating the horror film, Edward Scissor hands (1990). Similarly in the film, Nightmare before Christmas (1993), Tim Burton also integrates dark lighting and unconventional style of architecture, in the gothic setting of Halloween town. Tim Burton aims to depict Halloween town as the damaged world by portraying its setting with harsh and direct lighting complimented with monochromatic tones. This is evident in the opening musical scene of the film, whereby the buildings and the residents of halloween town is depicted in various panning and establishing film shots. Burton also explores this damaged world through Halloween town’s set such as narrow based structures, mythical organic structures, elongated silhouettes, bone like trees, deep shadows and textured woods. This is evident in the scene, when protagonist Jack Skellington wanders aimlessly in the deserted forest, after the previous Halloween event celebration was finished. The dark and intense lighting implemented by the unusual geometrical structures and architecture of Halloween town fabricates an unnatural, creepy and an uneasy atmosphere amongst the audience. The effect on the audience perspicuously demonstrates the expected reaction based on the standards of horror films. Therefore through Tim Burton’s employment of the gothic elements such as dark lighting and gothic styled architecture, Burton successfully explores Halloween town as the damaged world, thus fabricating an effective horror film. In the film, Sleepy hollow (1999), Tim Burton also integrates various Gothic elements such as Dark lighting and Gothic styled architecture, to emphasize the damaged world of Sleepy Hollow, in efforts to achieve a successful horror film. Tim Burton continuously present the town of Sleepy Hollow under monochromatic tones and shadows, under the principal influence of film noire, a style that highlights the macabre and haunted aura of Sleepy Hollow, through an abundant use of black and white tones with splashes of red. Burton also uses sets in the film that feature dense forests of skeletal trees, rotting and gothic styled houses with prominent exaggeration of key landmarks such as the detail and seemingly animate structure of the ‘Tree of the Dead’. This is evident in the scene whereby, Ichabod Crane with his fellow associates Katrina Vangareth and Young Jonathan Masbeth, come in contact with the ‘Tree of the Dead’, within the haunted â€Å"Western Woods†. In attempts to discover what lies inside the ‘Tree of the Dead’, Ichabod Crane is forced to cut his way through its wooden flesh while fighting to repel the showering red blood, only to see a collection of rotting and blood-soaked heads (from the victims). Burton’s emphasis on the film noire style with splashes of blood-red colours and the gothic styled and animate architectures of Sleepy Hollow, play a significant part in creating a morbid and terrifying character of the damaged world of Sleepy Hollow. Through the incorporation of gothic elements such as dark lighting and film noire implemented by gothic styled architecture, Burton successfully explores Sleepy Hollow as a damaged world and thus effectively create the horror film,Sleepy Hollow (1999). Tim Burton successfully uses gothic elements in creating the horror film, Edward Scissor Hands (1990), through the interpretation of Edward as the flawed hero. Burton delineates Edward as the flawed hero through his physical abnormality and structure considering that he has hands for scissors and that he is an imitation of life considering that he was constructed by a creator not by the normal cycle of human birth. The audience can recall that Edward’s perception of what is good and bad is seemingly altered or underdeveloped since his creator a. k. a. father died without teaching him the extensions of social etiquette and laws including his unfinished hands. Burton emphasizes Edward’s incomplete hands as it plays an important role in allowing the audience to understand Edward’s flaws and limitations to experience the normalities of being a human being which include interactions such as merely shaking hands or to touch another. An example of this is evident in the key scene whereby Edward is questioned by Kim to hold her, however realizing his physical constraints, Edward replies melancholy, â€Å"I can’t†. Burton also includes a key scene that highlights the flaws of Edward’s knowledge beyond than that of his naiveness and basic desire for goodness. This feature scene highlights how Edward is questioned by Kim’s father during Dinner after being arrested for trespassing Jim’s home. Kim’s father motions Edward to answer a simple question of wether to give a lost brief case full of money to the police or use the lost money to buy gifts for their loved ones, however Edward fails to answer correctly, quoting that it should be â€Å"be given to my loved ones†. This demonstrates that his isolation within the confines of his outlying manor/home on the hill has greatly effected his knowledge of lawful conduct within a law-abiding world that does not accept him, understand him nor want him. Edward’s physical constraints and flaws within his knowledge of social etiquette/manner and lawful conduct vividly provides the audience that Edward clearly has imperfections as a hero and thus this response creates an emphatic yet supernatural atmosphere amongst the audience towards Edward. Overall, through the interpretation of Edward as the Flawed Hero, Tim Burton has successfully used Gothic elements to create the horror component in the film, Edward Scissor Hands (1990). Tim Burton successfully uses Gothic elements in creating the horror film, Nightmare before Christmas (1993), through the interpretation of Jack Skellington as the flawed hero. Tim Burton explores the flaws of Jack Skellington a. k. a the Pumpkin King considered as the king of Halloween Town, through presenting his true feelings of boredom from the repeated and monotonous arrangement of the Halloween event, his desire to break free from Halloween Town’s conformity and to expand his vision and boundaries of how Halloween should be executed. Burton puts great emphasis on Jack’s flaws through key musical scenes such as when Jack fails to celebrate joyfully after the previous Halloween event, whereby he wanders melancholy in the cemetery towards the woods in search of better and unconventional entertainment as well as Jack’s utter amusement in his contact with Christmas Land. The audience is challenged in reasoning what jack fails to continue and submit towards the expectations of being the traditional hero, which is one whom does not let his/her inner feelings disrupt the vision of what must always be done. In this case Jack fails to continue his role as the Pumpkin King to rule the traditional ways of Halloween Town. Through the portrayal of Jack Skellington as the flawed hero, Tim Burton successfully combines this gothic element in the film, Nightmare before Christmas (1993), thus creating effectively a horror film. In the film, Sleepy Hollow (1999), Tim Burton successfully employs Gothic elements in creating a horror film, through the interpretation of Ichabod Crane as the flawed hero. Burton portrays Ichabod Crane as a mysterious man whom does not submit within the social and scientific field, given that he is not taken into consideration regarding his field as being an inventor and mortician. Ichabod is depicted as a flawed hero due to that he has a disturbed past and unorthodox approach of manner in responding towards his work and associates. This is mainly due to the fact that Ichabod has been orphaned since the persecution of his mother accused of being a witch, which explains his obsession of the truth and his association with the spiritual and supernatural realms. This is achieved through Burton’s incorporation of key scenes such as the recurrent flashbacks in the form of Ichabod’s nightmare’s, depicting his childhood interactions with his mother and also his witnessing of his mother’s gruesome death by merciless torture and also his unconventional manners as a man who faints in the sight of blood. This challenges the audience’s expectations of what a hero should qualify as being socially acceptable and independently aware to courageously face his fears regardless of their past influences. However Ichabod Crane is opposite to these expectations, which plays a significant role in creating a disturbed and uncanny feel amongst the audience and are forced to realize that this film qualify to the standards of a horror films. Through Tim Burton’s portrayal of Ichabod Crane as the flawed hero, he successfully integrates gothic elements within Ichabod’s character, in effectively producing a Horror component in the film,Sleepy Hollow (1999). In the film, Edward Scissor Hands (1990), Tim Burton employs gothic elements to achieve a sense of dread and terror, such as music and motif, costume, dialogue complimented by omens and supernaturals, which effectively creates a horror film. Burton incorporates dreamlike and ethereal music evident in the scenes where Edward is free to express his emotions such as when edward sculpts the angel from pure ice. Busy and fast-phased music parallels the fast-like mainstream of the suburbia society. It allows the audience to experience the true atmosphere which is one of perjury, social ignorance and influences of rumors. This attributes greatly in shaping the damaged world of the Suburbia, thus creating the sense of dread and terror for the audience. Burton also implements this through Edwards costume, motif, omens and supernatural elements. The dominant idea within this Movie’s setting is the portrayal of Edward’s hands as razor-sharped scissors. It serves as a constant reminder to the audience of what Edward’s hand symbolize to be the drawback of having an artificial life which include the limitations in interacting with people even those he loves. Edward is the presence of the supernatural since Edward’s jet-black body suit that is fabricated with hand-sewn patches and supportive belts portrays the physical character of Edward as a creation designed and made by man to imitate life. Burton also utilizes a style of dialogue that is concise and reservedness evident in Edward’s speech phase,which emphasizes the kind, shy and honest nature of Edward. It also indicated his awkwardness with socially interacting with people and also emphasizes the underdeveloped yet good natured knowledge of Edward. Through these gothic elements the audience is able to experience the mysterious and awkwardness nature of Edward, in contrast to the defective nature of the suburbia. In employing these various gothic elements, Tim Burton successfully fabricates the horror component in the film, Edward Scissor Hands(1990). Tim Burton utilizes gothic elements in the film, Nightmare before Christmas (1993), to achieve a sense of dread and terror, among which include music and motifs, costume, dialogue with fragments of omens and supernatural elements, designed to create an effective horror film. Their are constant musicals performed by a particular character such as Jack Skellington, Sally, Oggie Boogie Man which Burton uses to emphasize what the characters are feeling the strongest and also their personality. Such as in the scene whereby Jack sings a melancholy song in a cemetery expressing his failure in Christmas. Another example includes Sally’s wishful song expressing for her yearning feelings for Jack. An example of fast phased, rhythmic and casino like themed music emphasizes Oggie boogie’s nature of being a gambler and also highlights his dangerous and mischievous nature in gambling the victim’s lives he will consume. Burton also incorporates motifs ; omens and supernatural elements. The dominant idea within this film’s setting is the existence of the Seasonal Events such as Halloween and Christmas emphasized though the 5 seasonal portal doors inside the woods which is a portal to it’s seasonal event town such as Halloween Town and Christmas Town. Other examples include the appearance of supernatural beings such as the residences of Halloween Town such as Jack being a skeleton, Sally a frankenstein creation, vampire and zombie residents etc. , which is bizarre and otherworldly. Burton also utilizes costume that is primarily characterized to suit the nature and status of a character, such as Jack wears a jet-black and bizarre tuxedo which ultimately allows himself to be characterized as a Halloween citizen. However Santa Claus wears the traditional Christmas costume which indicates that he is a citizen of the Halloween Town. These categorical style of costumes enables the audience to understand what each character plays a part in the story, which also contributes to the sense of eeriness and creepiness. The Dialogue has a fusion of jargon, colloquialism as well as formal language that sustains the intended atmosphere such as during the scene when Sally rummages through her potions of â€Å"Frogs Breath† and â€Å"Worms squirt† to poison her creator’s soup. The use of jargon sustains an eerie, bizarre and a sense of dread and terrorizing atmosphere for the audience. Tim Burton’s fusion of gothic elements, enable him to create a sense of dread and terror amongst the audience, therefore effectively creating a the horror film, Edward Scissor Hands (1990). In the film, Sleepy Hollow (1999), Tim Burton creates a sense of dread and terror, which effectively fabricates a horror film, through the various gothic elements within the movie such as music and motifs, costume, dialogue complimented by the influence of omens and supernatural elements. Tim Burton utilizes dreamlike and ethereal theme of music evident during the scenes of Ichabod’s past childhood memories through nightmares and also when the town elders lie murdered in the church with Katrina unconscious, after Baltus Van tassel was killed by the Headless Horseman. The repetition of ethereal themed music indicates the presence of a supernatural elements such as witch craft in Ichabod’s dream and the murderous bidding of the headless horseman in the church. The dominant idea within this Movie’s setting is the consecutive appearance of the decapitated head of the victims, murdered by the Headless Horseman. The consistent appearance of the head, signifies the presence of the headless horseman and thus the continuity of the fear and complications kept alive by the residents of Sleepy Hollow. Burton also uses 18th century styled clothing to explore the modern world in contrast with the traditional and ancient supernatural world full of witches, legends and auntings, which in turn implements to the film’s sense of dread and terror. This is also paralleled with Burton’s use of formal and expressive style of dialogue, which effectively sustains the seriousness of the situation, that also emanates a suspenseful and mysterious phase to the story/ film. Last but not least burton incorporates omens and supernatural elements such as the fact the Sleepy Hollow is a damaged world influenced by ancient witch craft both good and ev il, the presence of legendary and hellbound avengers which is the headless horseman. Supernatural elements also includes the inclusion of witches in state of possession as well as Ichabod Crane’s influence within the spiritual and supernatural realms. All of these gothic elements play an essential factor in maintaing a suspenseful and sinister atmosphere for the audience. Through Burton’s incorporation of these gothic elements, he has successfully created a sense of dread and terror , thus effectively creating the horror film, Sleepy Hollow (1999). Tim Burton is a successful auteur of gothic films, a sub genre of horror. He has a easily identifiable style that creates dread and terror in the hearts of his audience. He repeats his repeated use of gothic elements such as the dark and eerie setting in the films Edward Scissor Hands (1990), Nightmare before Christmas (1993) and Sleepy Hollow (1999), are created through the use of elongated shadows, harsh lighting, stylized gothic sets and foreboding musical motifs. His flawed protagonists are consistently isolated from those they seek to be accepted by. Edward Scissor hands through his physical deformity, Jack Skellington through his loneliness and boredom and Ichabod Crane through his association with the Supernatural realms, lack of social etiquette and also his avante-garde experimental ways of thinking. Through these skillfully combined gothic elements, suspenseful and horror films are produced.

Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Political science - Essay Example The US has no official position regarding the islands but they are included in the US and Japan’s Treaty of Mutual Security and Cooperation, which ensures that any attack on the island would require the USD to aid Japan. The Government of Japan bought three of the remaining disputed islands from private ownership, triggering a wave of anti-Japan protests in China (Lohmeyer, 2008). In this case, the ESCAP and the ARF should be involved in trying to resolve the issue, even though the conflict has not degenerated into war because the liberal international theory seems to relate best to the situation. What regional and international organizations would or should have involvement? Why? ESCAP, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the pacific is the UN’s regional arm for the Pacific and Asian region. Its establishment was meant to encourage its member states, of which China and Japan are part of, to cooperate economically (Niksch, 2010). Because China and Japan are major trading partners, keeping the peace between them and attempting to resolve the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute can be carried out through the international body under the auspice of its mother organization, the UN. As well as Asian and Pacific countries, it also includes countries like the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and France, which are all trading partners with both Japan and China. Because of this, they could apply economic pressure through the organization to broker a resolution. In addition, the identification by ESCAP of potential gas and oil deposits near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands puts it in a vantage position in brokering any lasting resolution to the conflict, especially since one of the reasons the islands is under dispute stems from these fossil fuel deposits. They did attempt to mediate rounds of bilateral talks aimed at developing the resources jointly in these disputed territory, although they proved unsuccessful (Niksch, 2010). However, the fact that they were able to get the two countries on the negotiating table indicates their influence in both countries. They also managed to agree to a hotline between the two countries to diffuse any accidental situation, although, this has not also been implemented. The ARF, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, is a regional body that could also mediate in the conflict. The US also possesses membership to this organization and participates actively in maritime security cooperation. The US, which has trading relations with both China and Japan, has the ability to mediate in the conflict, which possesses maritime dimensions (Niksch, 2010). The organization also seeks to strengthen earlier efforts aimed at key elements of countering and preventing maritime conflicts and terrorism in the region. Subsequent events, which have been hosted by Japan at one time, also focus on expansion of capacity building cooperation for maritime security (Niksch, 2010). Foreign ministers from the ARF adopted, in 2005, a statement that aimed at sharing of information and exchange of intelligence in the enhancement of cooperation in combating transnational crimes in the region. The provocative actions by China in locking missile guiding systems on Japanese aircraft and vessels should be discussed under this agreement. How does this dispute

Minix 2 operating system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Minix 2 operating system - Essay Example so after line no. 21021, declare these counters. Now add hit_counter as I have said in the previous doc. And the time should be incremented each time any function in cache.c is called. So you must add variable time at 21070 & 21035 after having written the code ++hit_counter & Time_requiredtofree_block++. Remember, you have to add printf statements wherever you make an increment to these counters. Initialize hit_counter & time to zero (this is important). Well, I had written two 'C' files named fil1.c and fil2.c, which added and subtracted two numbers. When I ran this statement on bochs, I got the output of the printf statements. The tests of performance was a two step process. In the first part, don't make any changes to the Block_size and the Hash table, but include the variables hit_counter and time. Run the command and see the results. Then increase the BLOCK_SIZE & the Hash table size and then run the same command again. You will definitely find a change in the results. The answer to this lies in question 3. The first set of values was obtained for the variables hit_counter and Time_requiredtofree_block, when the value of BLOCK_SIZE and size of the hash table was 1024. The second values were obtained when the size of BLOCK_SIZE & hashTable was increased. I have found out a few more points which you can use... The second values were obtained when the size of BLOCK_SIZE & hashTable was increased. 5) fifth it says initialize the variables how and where Initialize hit_counter & time to zero at line no. 21021, where you declare them. FEW MORE FINDINGS I have found out a few more points which you can use for your presentation. This is regarding the Lru chain, which can be completely discarded. Instead we can use a circularly linked double linked list. FRONT PIVOT REAR The figure is a bit crude, but I think it can deliver the idea. Frst, the pivot is connected to the hash table entry. The FRONT is the end which contains those blocks that are least needed and the REAR contains those blocks that are expected in the near future (same as LRU). Now, this linked list has the added advantage at the time of reading the next block from this chain unlike reading from the disk thru I/o. in this, the code can be written such that the REAR is used as fast as the FRONT will be accessed. This will ensure that the performance of the cache is enhanced further over the LRU scheme. The reason being that under LRU, for accessing a REAR, it has to traverse to the end, while here, we could use sioimple logic (like a flag where if flag=1 go along front i.e. clockwise from pivot or if flag=0, go along rear from pivot i.e. anti-clockwise). Believe me, this will speed up the cache. It is extremely useful, when under our modified code, contiguous blocks will be accessed fro m the disk. So the OS will perceive that the next necessary block will be the contiguous one and it will place it at the REAR. Then accessing under theis scheme will be much faster than the one under the LRU.Pls feel

Describe how your nursing practice paralleled the code of ethics Essay

Describe how your nursing practice paralleled the code of ethics - Essay Example Nurses and the people Nurses and the people is one of the major elements that outline the basis of emulating high level of ethics in the provision of care. During the provision of care, nurses should respect the values, family customs, and spiritual beliefs of the people requiring care (Scanlon, 2000). In addition, it is imperative for nurses to provide adequate information regarding the kind of illnesses to the individual in need of care. In order to be compatible with the ethics issues relating to nurses and people, I learn the aspects of human rights, justice and equity. In addition, issues regarding confidentiality and privacy were also covered in the nursing courses in order to have the required skills on dealing with patient’s personal information. Nurses and practice In order to be competent, accountable and responsible in their practice, nurses should undertake continual learning. In this way, nurse ability to provide proper care is not compromised. In order to avoid n egative repercussions during delegating of their duties, it is important for nurses to use proper judgment concerning the level of competency of the individuals. One of the major learning aspects I covered in my nursing practice was the research that depicted the relationship between continual learning and competency for workers. This was also strengthened by the research-based studies that covered the importance of personal health and safe working conditions. It is also necessary for nurses to emulate the emerging technology in order to ensure their services are streamlined. The use of computerized system in the nursing practice was another major initiative that I covered in order to be aware of how to tackle emerging challenges that need for specialized attendance of patients. Nurses and the profession One of the ethical aspects in the nursing practice is to implement legal standards during their duties. In order to improve their services, nurses should be engaged in developing an d proper implementation of research-based knowledge. This means that nurses should register with professional bodies where they gain effective skills on how to maintain safety in their working environment as well as equitable economic and social conditions in the nursing professional (Scanlon, 2000). Some of the major aspects that relate to the nursing and the profession I covered include how to set nursing standards as well as the role of the professional bodies in the nursing practice. In the same way, the skills I gained in regard to the need for proper management in the nursing practice, are vital in maintaining the accountability and proper use of nursing resources as required by the nursing ethics, Nurses and fellow workers One of the major aspects that portray professionalism in the nursing practice is to maintain a positive relationship among the nurses. It is vital to note that due to the sensitivity of their duties, nurses should have the necessary skills to attend a patie nt in case a co-worker fails or is not available (ICN Code of Ethics For Nurses). In order to ensure there is a sustainable relationship between the nurse and the coworkers, it is fundamental to create strong teams. This means that nurses should be knowledgeable of how to form and motivate teams, major aspects that I covered in the nursing courses. Other areas that I covered that depicts parallel of my nursing with

Nelson Mandela Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nelson Mandela - Essay Example 2. When reflecting on my life and dreams, I realize that I want to become really good at whatever field I pursue. I want to excel and be one of the best in my chosen discipline. I also want to be respected and known for my good character. I am here to learn how to be a better leader and to apply my skills effectively in professional life. 3. The values that I believe are inherently required to achieve my life aims are honesty and commitment. I feel that these two values can help me make my way to the top. I assume that I will always remain motivated and enthusiastic about achieving my goals and improving myself consistently. My beliefs centre on the notion that whatever work I perform, I need to give it my best. There is no compromise on quality and I believe that one must work hard to produce the optimum results. My expectations from myself would be to respect the norms and ethos of my profession and to perform well wherever I go. I would also expect myself to generate a proportiona te work-life balance. 4. I believe that even if a person does not have intrinsic leadership qualities, he or she can develop them by understanding the mentality and thinking of employees.

Social and cognitive constructivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Social and cognitive constructivism - Essay Example However, to know, how successful technology-incorporated learning behavior concerning advanced order thoughts skill will dependent upon the strategy taken to the design, delivery, choice, and operation of suitable and efficient technologies with a support arrangement to preserve and maintain the learning transactions. For this purpose educationalists must attain fresh perception in numerous diverse regions mainly of philosophical direction to education and learning. A person’s philosophical orientation will speak how educationalists will analysis teaching, learning, knowledge, and the use of technology. Educationalists those who explain and eloquent in their rational situation concerning the use of technologies in the learning procedures make out what they are doing as they use technologies to facilitate the learning. Till now, the common rational course in instructional technology was instructivism. Instructivists - often as well referred to as objectivism - dispute that usin g an educational methods design replica can be useful to instructional planners to methodically recognize the syllabus to be taught , decide how it will be taught, and assess the teaching to decide its effectiveness. Particularly, educationalists require to be cautious on to what is that is to be taught and what is that already know earlier to the learning transactions. Further they are gradually arranged starting lower order to higher order learning. The instructionist stresses the significance of using an educational methods design model.

Market of alcoholic and non alcoholic products Research Paper

Market of alcoholic and non alcoholic products - Research Paper Example Hence products with low sugar carbonated beverages and health drinks will help the industry to witness quick survival.In order to survive in this marketplace, Pepsi must consider the recent market trends that will shape the performance in the forthcoming years. The marketing mix of Pepsi is described below:-Product: The products of Pepsi contain all the similar ingredients that are also found in other soft drinks. It includes carbonated water, caffeine, phosphoric acid and other required elements. The major brands of Pepsi are Mirinda, Mountain dew, Slice, Pepsi Max, Pepsi etc. All the mentioned products are available in different quantities. Price: Pepsi prices its product according to the price of the competition. In other words, the company undertakes competitive pricing. The company is also very flexible in case of their pricing. It can readily decrease the price when needed. Though price lowering helps the company to attract customers but covering up the cost of production will take time. Place: Pepsi has a worldwide presence. In order to enter a new country, it either merges with a company or looks for a partner. The company mainly distributes by retailing. It has distributors appointed at various places for distribution purposes. Promotion: The Company mainly promotes its product through television advertisement. Nowadays Pepsi has appointed brand ambassadors in many countries in order to connect with the target audience with ease. However, the company mostly promotes by sponsoring cricketing events.

Portugal Essay Example for Free

Portugal Essay 1.0   Introduction This presentation provides an overview of geographical, historical and cultural aspects of the Portugal. This follows discusses on food patterns and food habits among the Portuguese, their typical meals and food etiquette, frequencies of dining and food taboos that do exist. Therapeutic effects of food eaten including wine and home or traditional remedies used that involve both food and herbs are keenly analyzed. Lastly, the major public holidays in Portugal are outlined and their associated meals that are served. 2.0   Geographical overview Portugal is situated at Southwest Europe; it is one of the westernmost countries in Europe. It borders Atlantic Oceans to the west and south. To the north and east it neighbors Spain. Portugal country covers an area of approximately 92,391 square kilometers. The land surface occupies approximately 91,951 squares kilometers with about ten million people. Portugal experiences maritime temperate type of climate. Its northern parts are cool and rainy while in the southern parts are warmer and little drier. Generally, it is one of the warmest European countries. The Portugal mainland is divided by river Tagus which is the main river in the country. It has a mountainous terrain to the north of Tagus River and gently rolling plains in the south (Lovel, 2008). 3.0   History and culture Portuguese is the official language used in the country. Also Mirandese language is used but locally. Portugal derived its name partly from Roman name ‘Cale’ and the city Porto.   The word Cale used to refer the region between river Douro and Minho. Cale actually referred to the early settlers at the mouth of river Douro. The word Cale or ‘Gal’ together with the city Porto formed the county’s name Portugal. In the early times, the land of Portugal was settled by Pre-Celts and Celts. Portugal managed to gain its independence after several conquests from invading kingdoms and claimed its present border. Later it held several explorations in the world that marked the Age of Discovery. Portuguese’s zeal for exploration was because of their long shoreline that presented a favorable environment of sailing skills, needs for accessing European markets and desire to make more conquests. By the end of firth century, Portuguese had explored regions as far as coast of Africa establishing many trading stations with various kingdoms. One of the most remarkable explorations is that of Vasco da Gama when he sailed through the Cape Town en route to India in 1498. In 1500 Portugal discovered Brazil and claimed to be its territory. Portuguese conquered several Asian nations of that time and became dominant in commerce around Indian Ocean and Atlantic regions. In 1st November 1755, Portugal capital city Lisbon was severely hit by earthquake that left thousands dead and part of the city destroyed. Also, in 1807 during the Napoleon war, French troops invaded Portugal for war that was called Peninsular war or French Invasion of Portugal that lasted close to a decade when British and Portuguese formed a coalition to flush out French troops. Portuguese dominance gradually started to decline especially when Brazil showed interest for independence. Brazil was Portugal’s largest colonial territory. By close of 19th Century, Portugal had lost control over South America and sought new territories in Africa. Portuguese Colonial rule in the world came to the end after their last overseas territory Macau gained its independence in 1999. Portugal was the founding member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was established by signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 (Kyler, Brandin and Ethan, 2002). The culture   of the Portuguese traces it root to the time of   Roman and Moorish invasion .As it has been found , these invasions did left   some cultural elements   which that are seen   in archeological remains. Basically, Portuguese culture has been influenced the Latin, the Visigoth and the Muslim culture. According to the Portuguese culture family is considered to be the basic unit in the society. A kinship network tie is so knit such that two or more generations can live in the same house. Even when men and women move to the urban areas they try as much as possible to be in touch with their relatives back at home. Normally women stay at home while men move out to make for a living. Traditionally, father is the head of the house and the breadwinner and the mother takes care of the family. However, presently the role of man is not highly regarded as to that of women. Portuguese elders are highly respected. Family loyalty prevails more than any other social relationship or even business. Portuguese have high sense of formality especially when dealing with each other. However, they are traditional and conservative. Their culture is one that respects the hierarchy because both society and business is highly stratified. The conformity to hierarchical relationship is amplified by both the Catholic Church and the family structure. People have high respect of authority to a point that they look to those above them for guidance and decision making. They also regard appearance very much especially in the cities. For this reason, people strive to wear good fabrics and clothes they can afford (http://www.portugal-live.net/UK/essential/culture.html, 2008). Etiquette and customs are highly held with great care. In the first time contact, first greetings are reserved though polite, which take form of handshake accompanied with direct eye contact plus appropriate greeting of the day. After acquaintance, greeting now proceeds to be more personal where men can greet each other with hugs and handshakes while women can kiss each other on each side of the check starting with the right one. Titles includes honorific titles such as ‘Senhora or senhor’ together with the sir name. Any university degree holder is usually referred to with honorific title with ‘doutour’ or ‘douttooura’ which is the word for doctor, together with or without the surname. It is always wise to use formal case than informal until your friend suggest otherwise. The etiquette for giving gifts requires that if you are invited for a dinner please carry flowers with you and do not give thirteen flowers as the number is considered unlucky. Red flowers are not given as they are considered to be symbol of revolution. It is cultural to open gifts after they have been received. The majority of Portuguese are Christians belonging to Roman Catholic religion. But there are other groups such as Islam, Protestantism and Judaism. 4.0   Food habits and patterns Portugal is considered to be one of the southern European countries that have Mediterranean dietary habits. This is type of the diet is a good example of nutritional habits that have evolved in North Atlantic countries. The term Mediterranean diet is not necessarily associated with idea of geographical region as such. This is because for instance Portugal is not in Mediterranean coast and yet it has the most typical Mediterranean dietary tradition among the European nations. The main characteristics of Mediterranean diet   includes,   high consumption of fruits and vegetables, widespread consumption of fish, use of olive oil in the diet and   tradition deep-frying as   a method of   cooking. These characteristics are common in different varieties of Mediterranean diet based on the role and importance of nutritional groups they play especially in Mediterranean countries.   In this diet, high consumption of vegetable and fruits provide high fiber intake practically pectin which is a soluble fiber. Besides this, plenty of fruits and vegetables provide high contents of beta-carotene, folic acid and vitamin C. Portugal is considered to have high intake of vitamin C in the European countries and the most of it comes from raw food intake. Portuguese are known to be passionate about their cuisine which is reflected by their nutritious diet. One of striking features of Portuguese food habits is use of wine. Portuguese wine is classic for its taste and quality that make them to be the best wine producers in the world. Because the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the south and west, fish is the main component of their diet. Fishes like caldeirada, sardines and cod together with their recipes are the main constitutes of their menu. They also make use of pork, beef, chicken and lamb in their diet. Commonly, these meats are used as add ons with sandwiches. Portuguese are also very well known because of their pastry art. There is wide used of spices such as chillli peppers, cinnamon, vanilla and saffron. It is a Portuguese habit not often to eat breakfast; instead prefer just a coffee and perhaps a bread roll. Hot meals are always preferred even during the summers (http://www.spain-recipes.com/mediterranean-diet-01.html, n.d). In Portugal there is diet transition from traditional food pattern characterized by high availability of principal carbohydrates to high consumption of protein foods. This shift in dietary pattern is prominent in urban areas which seem to be influenced by education level and urbanization. 4.1   Typical meals, frequency of dinning and food etiquette Portuguese breakfast is called pequeno-almaco in Portuguese language.   Their breakfast most of times consist of fresh bread, with butter, cheese or fruit preserves together with a strong coffee or milk.   Breakfast cereals and sweet pastries are very popular especially when eaten cold and mixed with milk, yoghurt and fruit. But more often they prefer a cup of coffee and at times a bread roll for breakfast. There are about four typical meals from meat namely: carne de porco a alentejane, leitao assado, bife de porcolde avaca, figa com arroz and feijaoada.Carne de porco a alentejane is a meal that is made up of pork with clams.Leitao assado is a type of meal that consists of roasted sucking pig while that of bife deporcolde avaca has pork or beef steak. Figado com arroz is a meal with liver and rice and for feijoada, it is a been stew with black pudding. There are various meals made of fish. Bacalhau which is a salted cod fish is very famous in the region. Also there are other popular   fish dishes such as lulas fritas which is a grilled squid,   bacalhau a bras being a cod with eggs   and potatoes , arroz de marisco, a seafood rice, pescada which is hake ,caldeirada , fish stew and lastly sardinhas assadas which is grilled sardines. Soups form part of every meal. The most popular of the soup is caldo verde which is a moderate thin potato puree and thinly chopped collard green and slice of pork sausage (chourico). In drinks, red, white and green wine forms the traditional Portuguese drink. Portuguese have three main meals in a day that is; breakfast, lunch and supper. However, in the course of the day there are numerous cups of black coffee that grace day’s work. They take breakfast early in the morning and have lunch around 1pm to 3pm. As a norm supper is eaten at around 8 pm. Everyone has to observe dinning etiquette. If one has been invited for diner he or she should not be late for more than fifteen minutes. But in a social gathering or in a party, this doesn’t apply. Dressing code is necessary. Portuguese have no much difference between business and social attire; nevertheless, one should not discus business matters in a social gathering. If by the time you turn up for an invitation you had not carried a flower, it is necessary to sent it the follow day to the hostess. Table manners are also formal in that once you get inside the dinning room you should remain standing until directed where to sit. Portuguese consider table manners to be Continental. You should hold the fork with left hand and knife with your right hand when eating. At no time should you start eating before you hear an expression from hostess saying ‘bom appettito’.   Never rest your elbow on the table. All foods must be eaten using the provided utensils including fruit and cheese. When eating always one should keep napkin to the left of the plate and never put it on the lap and after finishing eating at least leave some food in the plate. To show that you are through one should lay the knife and fork parallel on the plate, tines facing up with handles facing to the right. In Portugal, culturally there are no food taboos. However, for those who are Catholic religion affiliates they have some religious eating habits just like any other religious Catholic country (Schwabe, 1979) 4.2   Therapeutic uses of food and Home therapies Mediterranean diet consists of high intake of vegetable that helps to lower risk of colon cancer, hyperchoresterol and aids in management of diabetes. Also there is a liberal intake of vitamin C helps to boost immune system, increase dietary iron bioavaliabity and maintenance of endothelium membranes. Beta-carotene together with vitamin C acts as antioxidants that also reduce risks of cancer. Consumption of  Ã‚   vegetable oils particularly from olive oil provides in the diet Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) and Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA) which help to low risks associated with cardiovascular diseases. Wine have been suggested to have potential therapeutic effects due to the presence of   components such as flavonoids and other antioxidants responsible in   reducing risks associated with   heart diseases. Generally, alcohol has minimal therapeutic effects such as small increments of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) as well as reduction in blood coagulation. However, it should be note that there is no scientific proof that intake of wine or alcohol can replace conventional measures in cardiovascular management (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4422, 2008) The most common traditional used herbs in Portugal include fennel (Foeniciulum vulgare) mint (Mentha spicata), pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), rosemary (Rosmarinus) and wild thyme (Thymus serppyllum). Mint has been used for a long time as herb in Portugal for its properties in treating stomach ache, chest problems and aiding digestion in form of herbal tea. Pennyroyal which a member of mint genus has been traditional used to treat flatulence, gum strengthener, a tumor remedy and a lung cleanser. Rosemary freash or dried leaves has been used frequently in traditional Mediterranean cuisine and as well as herb. It is traditionally used for management of respiratory problems such as colds and cough. Wild Thyme in Portugal has been generally used as herbal tea and also for seasoning food. Fennel is found in temperate regions in Europe and is a perennial herb. Portuguese for a long time have been using its seeds to relax intestine and manage bloating in form of herbal tea. 4.3   Portugal major holidays and dishes Portugal major holidays includes Liberty Day on every 25th of April, Labor Day on 1st May, Christmas Day on 25th, Epiphany on 6th January and New Year celebration. The major dishes during Christmas time are rice pudding (arroz doce) and salt cod (bacalhau) with olive oil potatoes, grains and cabbage. It is commonly accompanied by array of  Ã‚   rich desserts.   Also there are varieties of fried goodies offered as sweets, rabanadas which resembles French toast, rice pudding and sobremesas which are traditional Christmas pastries. Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates revelation of God in human for in the person of Jesus Christ. Families gather to eat King   cake called ‘Bolo- Rie’ which is baked. During New Year celebration a similar but slightly unique cake that consists a candied fruit decorated goody is eaten. It contains two treaties; the prize and Feve bean. Whoever gets the latter is considered responsible to bring a cake next year. Apart from in these three holidays, no special meals are taken in other holidays such as Labor and Liberty day.   However, cod dish which can be prepared up to 365 different cooking ways is the national dish which can be found during these occasions. 5.0   Conclusion Portugal lies along the Atlantic coast of Iberian Pensula south west Europe with a long stretch of coastline. Their discoveries, trade and colonialization did made them to have enriched culture. Portuguese great explorations in the world were partly due to their long time developed sailing skill coupled with the need for accessing European markets and desire to make more conquests. Portuguese culture is conservative which is characterized with strong family ties, conformity to hierarchical relationship and strict etiquette and customs that are highly held with great care. Their food habits consist of Mediterranean dietary habits that exhibit high level of therapeutic effects particularly in management of cardiovascular diseases. The main characteristics of Mediterranean diet   includes,   high consumption of fruits and vegetables, widespread consumption of fish, use of olive oil in the diet and   tradition deep-frying as   a method of   cooking. Presently, shift in the diet pattern seem to be influenced by urbanization and level of education.

Roles of Culture in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Roles of Culture in Organizations Essay Whats the role of culture in modern corporations and how can it be managed effectively? People in every workplace talk about organizational culture and that mysterious word that characterizes a work environment. One of the key questions and assessments, when employers interview a prospective employee, explores whether the candidate is a good cultural fit. Culture is difficult to define, but you generally know when you have found an employee who appears to fit your culture. He just feels right. Culture is the environment that surrounds you at work all of the time. Culture is a powerful element that shapes your work enjoyment, your work relationships, and your work processes. But, culture is something that you cannot actually see, except through its physical manifestations in your work place. There are so many different definitions of culture in the past by many scholars in the past. The variety of meaning is so diverse that it is impossible to offer any value as a research topic. Culture seeks to describe those facets of human experience that contribute the differences and similarities in how people perceive and engage with their world. We define organizational culture as a set of shared, often implicit assumptions, beliefs, values and sense-making procedures that influences and guides the behavior and thinking of organizational members, and continuously enacted and in turn reinforced –or changed- by the behavior of organizational members. Our definitions is fully compatible three characteristics universally seen as central to the concept of culture: (a) it emerges during the adaptive interaction between people and their environment, and therefore it will change when these interactions change; (b) it is by necessity constituted only of shared, intersubjective elements; and (c) it is transmitted to members across time periods and changing member cohorts or generations. In many ways, culture is like personality. In a person, the personality is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, interests, experiences, upbringing, and habits that create a person’s behavior. Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of rules (generally unspoken and unwritten) for working together. An organization’s culture is made up of all of the life experiences each employee brings to the organization. Culture is especially influenced by the organization’s founder, executives, and other managerial staff because of their role in decision making and strategic direction. Edger Schein’s (1985) three levels of culture: artifacts, values and assumptions. For Schein, the essence of culture is located at the level of basic assumptions which reflect how members of culture experience reality, how they perceive the physical and social world, and how they think and feel. These assumptions are taken for granted, and rarely questioned. A culture’s assumptions provide the basis for and interact with values –Schein’s next level of culture. Values are the social norms, principles, standards and objectives that are valued by cultural members for their intrinsic worth. Values are accessible because they are revealed by behavior and priorities. Cultural values often indicate what is seen as morally right and wrong in a particular context. Even though values remain subconscious, members are more aware of them than of their underlying cultural assumptions. In particular, members become aware of their values when they are challenged during times of change or when someone violates conventions. Values are linked to artifacts, Schein’s third cultural level, in that values-congruous behaviors express and manifest the cultural values and assumptions located at the other levels. This can happen through deliberate expressive actions, through unintended expressive actions, or through other actions that manifest cultural assumptions and values. Anything observable linked to behavior can be seen as artifacts including objects, verbal expressions and activities. But how culture effect on organizations? The culture of a country or region in which the organizations function influences the way of motivating employees. In some countries, such as Japan, giving an individual reward to an employee could embarrass the recipient and so be de-motivating. In high-context collective cultures, there are often expected norms of behavior for particular situations. Offering rewards for individual behavior that runs counter to group norms is unlikely to have a positive influence on motivation. In some countries, the perception of material items is as gifts rather than as rewards for performance. In China, for example, organizations often distribute food to all employees as holiday gifts. People in higher position positions get more or better quality items, but employees make no connection between their performance and the gifts. People in different cultures communicate among themselves differently. The major differences in how people from different cultures communicate with each other are language usage, verbal style, and nonverbal communication. Two people may speak the same language but speak it quite differently. Verbal communication styles are another way for cultures to vary in their communication patterns. In cultures employing a direct style, the speaker tries to convey his true feelings through the choice of words. In the indirect style, the speaker selects words to hide his real feelings. The direct style is common in individualistic, low-context cultures, and the indirect style in collective, high-context cultures. The direct style allows the individualist to express his own ideas clearly. The collective orientation is to maintain group harmony and concern for the feelings of others. There is a number of effects of culture on organization and making a diverse multi-cultural organization must be a great challenge to the managers, but there are also advantages of managing organizational culture. There are seven characteristics of culture which can help managers to manage the culture more effectively. (www.about.com ) †¢ Culture = Behavior. Culture is a word used to describe the behaviors that represent the general operating norms in your environment. Culture is not usually defined as good or bad, although aspects of your culture likely support your progress and success and other aspects impede your progress. A norm of accountability will help make your organization successful. A norm of spectacular customer service will sell your products and engage your employees. Tolerating poor performance or exhibiting a lack of discipline to maintain established processes and systems will interrupt your success. †¢ Culture is learned. People learn to perform certain behaviors through either the rewards or negative consequences that follow their behavior. When a behavior is rewarded, it is repeated and the association eventually becomes part of the culture. A simple praise from an executive for work performed in a particular manner molds the culture. †¢ Culture is learned Through Interaction. Employees learn culture by interacting with other employees. Most behaviors and rewards in organizations involve other employees. An applicant experiences a sense of your culture, and his or her fit within your culture, during the interview process. An initial opinion of your culture can be formed as early as the first phone call from the Human Resources department. †¢ Sub-cultures Form through Rewards. Employees have many different wants and needs. Sometimes employees value rewards that are not associated with the behaviors desired by managers for the overall company. This is often how subcultures are formed, as people get social rewards from coworkers or have their most important needs met in their departments or project teams. †¢ People Shape the Culture. Personalities and experiences of employees create the culture of an organization. For example, if most of the people in an organization are very outgoing, the culture is likely to be open and sociable. If many artifacts showing the company’s history and values are in evidence throughout the company, people value their history and culture. If negativity about supervision and the company is widespread and complained about by employees, a culture of negativity, that is difficult to overcome, will take hold. †¢ Culture is negotiated. One person cannot create a culture alone. Employees must try to change the direction, the work environment, the way of work is performed, or the manner in which decisions are made within the general norms of the workplace. Culture change is a process of give and take by all members of an organization. Formalizing strategic direction, systems development, and establishing measurements must be owned by the group responsible for them. Otherwise, employees will not own them. †¢ Culture is Difficult to Change. Culture change requires people to change their behaviors. It is often difficult for people to unlearn their old way of doing things, and to start performing the new behaviors consistently. Persistence, discipline, employee involvement, kindness and understanding, organization development work, and training can assist you to change a culture. Your work culture is often interpreted differently by diverse employees. Other events in people’s lives affect how they act and interact at work too. Although an organization has a common culture, each person may see that culture from a different perspective. Additionally, your employees’ individual work experiences, departments, and teams may view the culture differently. Your culture may be strong or weak. When your work culture is strong, most people in the group agree on the culture. When your work culture is weak, people do not agree on the culture. Sometimes a weak organizational culture can be the result of many subcultures, or the shared values, assumptions, and behaviors of a subset of the organization. For example, the culture of your company as a whole might be weak and very difficult to characterize because there are so many subcultures. Each department or work cell may have its own culture. Within departments, the staff and managers may each have their own culture. Ideally, organizational culture supports a positive, productive environment. Happy employees are not necessarily productive employees. Productive employees are not necessarily happy employees. It is important to find aspects of the culture that will support each of these qualities for your employees. Managers must know well how to manage the organization’s culture and have to explore many aspects of organizational culture and cultural change to make organization more effective and productive. The concept of culture will become useful for the managers to make successful and productive organization by managing culture effectively. Managing culture is very much concerned with leadership of a manager. Culture is a difficult to define concept and is capable of being misinterpreted by managers who must attempt to make use of it in their work activities. A range of definitions were explored, as were number of facets of both organizational and national culture relevant to the human experience of work. New employees must be effectively integrated into the organization if they are to become productive members. It is not possible to manage every person all the time that they are at work. Internalization of responsibility and knowledge of requirements must be delegated if effective management is to be achieved. Culture is able to offer a meaningful way of accounting for many related phenomena. However, the notion of culture, particularly a strong culture, however attractive, provides a conflict-free way for managers to ensure harmony and the achievement of objectives, is simplistic and does not reflect experience. Culture is a problematic concept because it is difficult to define in precise terms. It is an easy term to recognize in that it is relatively obvious how organizations differ. When visiting an organization, a ‘feeling’ becomes apparent which provides a general indication of the culture. For example, one organization might feel busy with a buzz of activity and a feeling of purpose; while another might feel relaxed with a feeling of calmness in the approach to work. It is important for managers to study other cultures also because their competitors, suppliers, shareholders, or employees may come from other cultures. In developed countries there is also an increasing number of immigrants and workers bringing their own cultures into their new homes. Managers have to be able to integrate them into the new work environment. Hence, it is necessary for managers to know their culture as well as to understand their way of life. References i. â€Å"Organizational behavior management, by John Martin fellenz.† Publisher â€Å"South- Western† ii. â€Å"Organizational behavior-an experiential approach, by Joyce S, David A, Irwin M, and Marlene E.† Publisher â€Å"Pearson† iii. www.about.com iv. www.biomedcentral.com v. www.attractorconsulting.com vi. www.academia.edu

Virgin Galactic: Global Business Management

Virgin Galactic: Global Business Management 1. Introduction Virgin Galactic is the space tourism company which was founded in 2004 by Sir Richard Branson. This is type of Limited Liability Company. This company has its different headquarters at different locations such as Las Cruces, New Mexico and USA. Now it is planning to expand its business at global level such as Dubai. This company is part of Virgin Group which is also known as its parent company. The CEO of this company is George Whitesides. They started to provide its services to customer such as spaceflights in 2008 and now they are offering lot of services to their customers such as Space Sub Orbital, Small Satellites and Orbital Human Space Flight. Although this company is on the way to success but still every company has some weak points which they can use to convert into opportunities to perform better. So the aim of this research is find problems of Virgin Galactic and eliminating those. 2. Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic In this section, there will be a discussion about the evaluation of Richard Branson track record and his strength of new venture team and also will be discussing about his creative opportunity. 2.1 What is the concept of Global Leadership and how its reflect in Sir Richard Branson Leadership style? Richard Branson undoubtedly is a global leader. It is also reflected in its leadership style. Global Leadership means, the person who can reach beyond the boundaries of their own country and continent to influence an end result. In addition to this, it is also the person who just not looking for his profit but also looks for the problems and challenges and successfully solves them. Richard Branson is the person who likes to accept challenges and make his all best affords to reach success. He believes in people and thats he behaves like family members with his employs. He encourages his employees to challenge changes and bring up with new ideas to him. This is the reason why Sir Richard Branson brands is the worlds most powerful and recognizable brand. He himself promotes his brand which no other leaders can do in world. (Sir Richard Branson | Global Zero, 2017) 2.2 Evaluation of Richard Branson Track Record Richard Branson, A successful business man, the founder and Chairman of Virgin Group was born on 18 July 1950 in UK. Like all other flourishing business tycoons, he was also a school dropout. In 1970, he started his record business in UK and very soon his business become success under the name of Virgin. (Richard Branson Biography Childhood, Life Achievements Timeline, 2017.) Later, in 1980 the Voyager Group was established as his own travel company. It is not that he had never face any problems, in the beginning of 1990s he faces financial problems and has to sell his one of the company. He had never given up in his life and thats the reason he won 400 companies in 30 countries at present. One of the famous quotes of Richard Branson is if somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but is not sure you can do it, say yes then learn how to do it later. This quote show that he always think about new business and he jump in to it and at later he succeed in that. Due to this we can see lots of diversification in his business, means there is not just music industries in which he operates his business but also have train company, a mobile company, a luxury game preserve and airline company and a space tourism company to name a few. (Michelle L.V, 2014.) 2.3 Richard Bransons Strength as a New Venture Team Lets discuss the strength of Sir Richard Branson leadership. He believes in people, who work for him, he thinks that hire best employees who have excellent ideas and then trust them and let them do their job on their own. Sir Richard Branson finds a right candidate for the particular position, who is better than him for the job, due to which his all business are achieving success. The next is Sir Richard Branson thinks that failure is a learning lesson. For that he gives an example of his own business of virgin cola and that was successfully operated but also attracts some giant revivals due to his business gone down and he has to think again about the new strategies. (Business Lessons From Mega-Entrepreneur Richard Branson, Kinney B.2013) Sir Richard Branson always follows his strength whenever he start new venture with his team. He says, challenge the status quot, by which he means that thinks like a consumers, and add values to the product. Next create value of the product in globe, means that consumers satisfaction should be in the core value of the any product. In addition to this, he believes that be confident and concrete about your business and self motivation is the main thing for any business. He says Dream Big and do big then any other in the world. The first year of any business is all about survival and dont just invest money, invest more than that. (How Richard Branson Works Magic, Glenn Rifkin, 1998) 2.4 Leadership Theory Leadership is a process which is running by people with common goal and values, several kinds of capital like economic and political, to achieve a common interest. (Leadership: Theory and practice p.425) Leadership motivates other people to achieve common goal. That means the leader and other followers have mutual purpose. So it means that followers have fate in leader and vice versa, due to this they achieve a desire goal (Rost, 1991). 2.5 Leadership Style of Richard Branson Ability to think Differently Once in an interview with the Telegraph Sir Richard Branson said that Leadership doesnt have a secret formula; leaders go about things in their own way It is his leadership skill to think in a different way which makes him different from others. Richard Branson compares his collaborative and democratic leadership style to the late co-founder Steve jobs, was famous for his autocratic style. Both successful people have great achievement and come up with their own viewpoints, beliefs and approach. It is not important that which leadership skills are the best but its all about accepting the method which suits to the organization to utilize available resources. A Positive company culture He believes personality comes first then CV. The companys employees are always looking for a leader who makes fun passes that enthusiasm onto other members of the company. An eye for talent It is important to get as much as possible from the ability of the employees, Sir Branson believes in it. Also he said Believe in yourself, your method of work, and your ideas and in your employees It would not be possible to be a great leader without leading great people. He believed that people not only who have necessary experience and talent but also should fit for the business. (9 leadership skills from Sir Richard Branson | Robert Half UK, Jammi Freed, 2015.) Attention to detail Sir Richard Branson believes that successful and efficient leaders give more concentration in deep. In the Daily Telegraph he said that it can be made possible to get good fun with minor problem comparatively if this engages in dealing with customers issues personally and going to visit them surprisingly. Passion for job At last, the business leaders need to be aware about what they are doing to make effective planning, to build a team and inspiring the employees. He said that the people can get the best results. (Four leadership lessons from Virgin Groups Sir Richard Branson, Jammi Freed 2015.) Willingness to listen and learn According to Richard Branson, it is very important for the business leaders that they are quite capable to listen and learn from that and also he advised to note down those ideas to get best results. He said that the successes will happen when you are working and learn from the inspired person. 2.6 Background of Virgin Galactic Company Virgin Galactic is a profit-making space line service. It has several carrier craft which is Space-Ship Two, White-Knight Two, and an orbital launch vehicle for small satellites which is Launcher One. The Company was established in 2004 and a sister company of Virgin Group Ltd. Virgin Galactic and its partner companies: Virgin Galactic also have collaboration with NASA, they sign a memorandum of understanding in Feb 2007. In January 2015, Virgin Group announced an investment in to OneWeb Satellite constellation. This collaboration is for to provide world internet access service to WorldVu. To Create a New supersonic passenger transport Virgin Collaborate with Boom Technology. For this Virgin Galactic has optioned 10 units. Here we are going to discuss the Richard Branson team members who are working for Virgin Galactic and they are responsible for making this business successful. George Whiteside CEO of Virgin Galactic and the Spaceship Company. He has a long experience in this field and one of the best people for this job in these industries. Prior to this company he is working for NASA where he was designated as a Chief of Staff. He also awarded with the Distinguished Service Medal from NASA. Before that George served as Executive Director of the National Space Society (NSS). Michael p. Moses president of virgin galactic, the commercial human spaceflight program is managed by Mike. He leads his team in all aspects of successful operations including White Knight Two and Spaceship Two Vehicle processing, astronaut training and flight planning also which are connected with space line. He had more than 10 year of experience of working until 2005 as a flight controller in the Shuttle Propulsion and Electrical System Groups. Doug Shane, Chairman of The spaceship company, manage the design, manufacturing and test operations of the Virgin Galatis carrier aircraft through their sister company, The Spaceship Company (TCS). Along with serving as a Director of Flight Operations, for many years he served as Vice President of Business Development. Stephen Attenborough, commercial Director of Virgin Galactic, in 2004 he joined the company as its full time employee to handle the responsibility for commercial foundations and framework for the organization as well as business development, ongoing sales, public relations, partnerships and marketing. On behalf of Virgin Galactic, Stephen always works as speaker at many conferences, at numerous industries and at important events. Jonathan Firth, Executive Vice president of Spaceport and program Development, he joined Virgin Galactic as Project Director and then started to play the role of Director of Operations and projects in 2008 1 and moved to U.S to perform his current role in 2014 as Executive Vice President of Spaceport and Program Development. (Our Team Virgin Galactic, www.virgingalactic.com) Because of all these successful persons Virgin Galactic performing really well, also Richard Branson believes in Employees comes first then clients, if you look after your employees clients come automatically. He knows that happy staff member means the most successful company and product. Creative Opportunity for Virgin Galactic Only 558 people from all around the world have had an experience to travel to Space so Virgin Galactic is going to open the opportunity for the rest of the world because of their passion and good talents. Virgin Galactic have already trust brand name under the Virgin Group from many years so there will be easy for them to attract more customers toward their business and do expansion of it. Virgin Galactic have many businesses under the name like Virgin Hotel, telecommunication, virgin satellite and so on which are linked to the Virgin Galactic like they have come for induction, business meetings, they can request to the customers to go there so ultimately that will expand the virgin business. Virgin Galactic has very strong financial back up and their reputation as a brand. 3. Five Generic Competitive Strategies In this section, we are going to discuss about the Porters five generic competitive strategies of Virgin Galactic. Generic strategy means basic kind of competitive strategy which holds across a number of business situations. Whereas competitive strategy is related with how a strategic business unit obtains competitive advantages in domain of its activities (Porter M. E). FIVE GENERIC COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES 3.1 Low-Cost Provider Strategy: A low cost strategy is that in which a company offers their products to the customers relatively at a low price. This strategy is usually adopted by any corporation, where the product has few or no competitive advantage. Moreover, it attracts the broad range of purchaser. Some companies using this strategy in order to earn low profits but incur high sales volumes. For instance, the Kmart uses the low-price strategy because it provides the goods to customers at low price (Arbuckle D. 2017). This strategy is not using by the Virgin Galactic. 3.2 Focused Low-Cost Strategy: The focused strategy is based on low cost and concentrates on narrow customer segment. It serves the customers in the niche market at a lower cost and lower price than the opponents. Most of the companies using this strategy to enjoy the high degree of buyers loyalty. This strategy is usually suited to the small business where the resources are limited and they only focus on the narrow market segment. In this narrow segment market, the suppliers have the less power of bargaining. For instance, Gap is a good example of it. (Arbuckle D. 2017) This focused strategy is not employing by the Virgin Galactic. 3.3 Best Cost Provider Strategy: The best cost provider strategy aims to provide buyers more value for the money by offering them updated products at a lower price than competitors. Moreover, it gives more emphasis on a minimal quality, service, features and performance of the product to the customers. This strategy works best in the market where the customers diversity make the product different and also sensitive regarding the value and cost of the product. For example, Amazon uses the best cost provider strategy and also uses by Toyota Company. This strategy is also not adopted by Virgin Galactic. 3.4 Broad Differentiation Strategy: The broad differentiation strategy distinguishes the firms product from their competitors with the qualities, which attract their customers with uniqueness of the product. The value added by the product uniqueness allows the firm to charge a premium price for it. This strategy is not suitable for small business but it is more useful for big corporations. For instance, Netflix uses the differentiation strategy. This firm offer to customers greater variety of movies and charge less price than rental stores by conducting its business worldwide over the internet and Starbucks is also using it (Edwards J. 2017). The differentiation strategy is not using by Virgin Galactic. 3.5 Focused Differentiation Strategy: This focused differentiation strategy concentrates on a narrow purchaser section by fulfilling the particular tastes and needs of niche members. It refers to the situation where a corporation selects the strategically differentiate itself from their competitors in a narrow market. This Strategy is using by the companies to promote the product with multifarious features, innovation, brand name and customers service in order to attract more customers towards them. Likewise, Virgin Galactic using this strategy because the target market is narrow and they are trying to serve its services to the niche market. The main focus of Virgin Galactic is to be more innovative and unique in space travelling. (Porter M. E.) The main reason for selecting this strategy is that it provides the better-quality services and good value to their customers in different ways. Virgin Galactic looking to be unique in the niche market along with some changes which are broadly valued by customers. The main emphasis of Virgin Galactic is on the safety of passengers in every aspect and also provides training to passengers about one week prior the flight. Virgin Galactic taking $25000 from public in advance who wants to fly during the first years of flights and wants to turn their dreams into realities. In addition to it, the motive of Virgin Galactic is to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to space tourists. The spaceship2 has double the crew and capacity to carry triple the passengers. However, Virgin Galactic has competitors but he always wants to serve the market first. The focused differentiation strategy has following benefits for Virgin Galactic Premium price for its product: This strategy allows Virgin Galactic to command a premium price for its product. Increased unit sales: A virgin Galactic sale has increase due to this strategy because near about 550 ticket holders in line who wants to fly with it. Brand loyalty: By offering better in flight amenities at a lower cost as compared to many domestic carriers Virgin is creating strong brand loyalty for itself and dollar value for its customers New plans: Therefore, due to strong bonding with customers Virgin Galactic plans to deliver payload low earth orbit of 100 kg to market under US$ 10,000,000 per mission. Research and Development: Virgin Galactic has strong capability in research and development. They use the modern technology for the development of their products. Creates value: Virgin Galactic uses this strategy but their main focuses on the cost value of the product versus other similar products in the market, thus it creates a perceived value among its potential customers (Kelchner L. 2017). BCG MATRIX OF VIRGIN GALACTIC High Price Low Quality High The above figure demonstrates the BCG Matrix of Virgin Galactic. In this matrix, X-axis represents the quality of products and Y-axis reveals the price of the products. Following table is comparing price and quality of different space companies. Virgin Galactic competitors Price Quality XCOR Benson Space company Space-X Virgin Galactic Blue origin Low Low High High Low High High Low 4. SWOT Analysis of Virgin Galactic SWOT: This is type of strategic tool like PESTLE and PORTER which can be used to determine the long term performance of company to make good strategic plan to overcome its weakness and to utilize opportunities in better way. As name of this tool reveals meaning of itself such as S is for strength and so on. S W International Brand Progressing in Research and development Emphasis on Safety parameters Employee Strength Brand Image Strong Planning by using reusable craft Less risky and More trustworthy Skilled workforce High industry growth rate Reasonable Price Costly Failing to protecting RFP for satellite business Overtaking by competitors Time consuming to accomplish their mission Brand portfolio Competitive market Bad craft structure Sustaining brand image Employing new and innovative ways of doing business First to market Growth rate and profitability Technology advancement Expanding global markets Lacking interest of people due to crash Government regulations Accessible to middle class people Lot of investment required O T 4.1 Strength Based on article, it is evident that company is on its success as slowly-2 it is progressing. Some of following are strength of company. International Brand: This Company have reputed image over the whole globe as this is operating different branches at different locations such as New Mexico, USA, Las Cruces. In the beginning they just have only one spaceport which is in Mexico but now they have made 2 or 3 other spaceports to other locations to make it convenient for their customers to enjoy service of them. Virgin Group which is parent company of it which has brand image from last number of years. As Virgin Group has different Product line, it offers variety of services to their customers such as virgin hotels, virgin media, virgin passenger flights under name of virgin Atlantic, virgin money and many more. So their parent company helps them to perpetuate their brand image at global level (essays writers, 2017). Progressing in Research and Development: This Company is going through research and development mode and getting progress. As initially they have made first space ship flight (SS1) which could accommodate only 3 person all together (1 pilot and 2 passenger). Now recently they have made another spaceship flight (SS2) which can accommodate 8 people all together (2 pilots and 6 passengers) (the verge, 2016). Emphasis on Safety Parameters: Safety is the main concern of their organization. They bother equally for the safety of both passenger as well as employees. They give one week training to passenger in advance and give training to employees as well (wixsite, 2017). Employee Strength: As employees are the key part of every business so their security is important concern for an industry which is well done by virgin galactic. Due to this employees are interested to work with this group. As without employees there is no business, so virgin galactic is lucky to have good employees (advisor gate, 2016). Brand Image: As Virgin Group is offering good and wide variety of services to their users so it has already branded and reputed image in market and people are used to their services and can rely on them (essays writers, 2017). Strong planning for saving money by using reusable craft: They have good strategic planning to build strong and compatible passenger craft which can be reused again to send them in space which can help them to save money that they can used to improve their services better. Less risky and Trustworthy: As it is already mentioned that safety is main concern of their company so less risk is involved. Their services are so trustworthy thats why notable celebrities (Angelina Jolie, Stephen Hawking, Tom Hanks and Prince Zulf Ali) have already booked with them to travel in space (review essays, 2017). Skilled workforce: As this industry requires more creativity which cannot be possible without the help of employees so it means that employees should be equipped with good skills and it has employed skilled person in their company which further helps them in gaining success (swotanalysis24, 2017). High Industry Growth Rate: This Company is growing at very fast pace as recently its growth rate jumps from 27% to 47% (advisor gate, 2016). Reasonable Prices: The Company should charge reasonable prices for their services over their competitors. Because this is the good way to attract more passenger and to maintain their interest. 4.2 Weaknesses Apart from having good points, this company has some negative points which hinder them from achieving success. Some of them are given below: Costly: No doubt this company is offering good services to their users but services are very costly as compare to its competitor. As XCOR Aerospace which is in great competition to it is offering high quality services at low price. As Virgin Galactic is taking $250,000 per person whereas XCOR is taking $95000 per person (advisor gate, 2017). Failing to protecting RFP for satellite business:- one of the weak point of their company is that they are not good at planning and do not have strong vision as recently they were fail to set up RFP for Satellite Business. They planned in 2010 to initiate this proposal but till 2012, they were not able materialize the flights. Overtaking by competitors: As it is already mentioned, their competitors are stronger than them as their competitors are working in this industry from long time so they more knowledge and experience than them. For Example, SPACEX which is another Competitor of Virgin Galactic who was first to start to create reusable craft before Virgin Galactic. So in this matter, that company overtook Virgin Galactic (quartz, 2017). Time consuming to accomplish their mission: Although their industry growth is at high pace but still they are taking lot of time to provide services to their customers. For example, till now they have just made 2 spaceships named SS1 and SS2. So their processing time period is very long (geocities, 2016). Brand Portfolio: As it is already mentioned they have good brand image due to offering of wide variety of services. But this is not proved fruitful to them because this has made them less capable to focus on any particular service by which they are losing control on improving their services rather making these worse (swotanalysis24, 2017). Competitive market: As Space industry is highly risky and competitive so to compete with their competitors, they should have strong vision and long term strategies to hit them. But this is the negative point of Virgin Galactic; they are not competing well to their competitors. Bad Craft Structure: Although they are trying to provide better, improved and reliable services to their passenger but still they suffering from some problems. For example, the recent crash which was due to catastrophic failure happened because of poor structure of craft (advisor gate, 2016). 4.3 Opportunities Apart from considering strength and weakness of internal environment of company, company can grab opportunities of external environment to improve their performance. Following are list of areas where they can improve: Sustaining Brand Image: This Company can perpetuate brand image of their parent company by maintaining good competition with their competitors because this is the main area where they are lacking. So they should focus on this (cayenne, 2016). Employing New and Innovative Ways of doing Business: Although this company is on path of success but still they are slow in Research department. So till now they have just made 2 spaceships. So this is good opportunity for them to improve their performance by bringing more innovative ways of operating business (wixsite, 2017). First to market: As this company was first in market as comparison to its competitor. So it is great opportunity for them to make good reputation in market to attract customers. Growth Rate and Profitability: Although they are growing well with accordance to time, but they can utilize their opportunities to improve more as they can expand their product line. For example, apart from providing space sub orbital, small satellites and orbital human space flight, they can offer more services to their users to increase their growth level (swotanalysis24, 2017). Technology Advancement: As modern era is totally based on technology and this company is lacking in technology so they should new techniques in industry to make it more competitive (swotanalysis24, 2017). Expanding Global Markets: No Doubt, they started to operate at an international level and they should continue with this because this is an effective opportunity for them to maintain their image. On the other hand, they can also expand business through advertising in schools, universities which can enhance knowledge of students as well about orbit (advisorgate, 2016). 4.4 Threats In addition to grabbing opportunities of external environment, there can be some threats in every organization which can hinders them to get progress. Some of these are given below which can create problem for virgin galactic. So they should know these things in advance. Lacking interest of people due to crash:- Due to recent happened crash, company is losing interest of people as they are not trusting anymore on them and wanted to take back their money which they deposited while registering with them (the verge, 2017). Government Regulation: As space business requires lots of knowledge of government concerns so virgin galactic should be aware of these concerns to avoid any types of governmental issues (advisor gate, 2016). Accessible to upper class people: one threat to company performance is that this is only accessible to upper class people who mean middle class and any other category people cannot have access to this (guardian, 2013). Lot of Investment Required: As this business requires availability of great amount of funds which is not possible without strong market position and they should be financially sound. And what is happening in virgin galactic as they are using revenues earned from other product lines and if they will not earn anything from other product lines then i

World War I Essay -- Trench Warfare

World War I was a stalemate right from the outbreak of the war as a result of trench warfare. With the introduction of this system, a piece of land stretching from the Belgian coast, through France, and ending in Switzerland, became the venue for majority of the conflict. For almost three years, this line shifted by no more than a few hundred yards. All of this changed when the United States joined the war and prompted Germany to make an all-out drive on the Allies so as to end the war before the American Army reached full strength on the battlefield. The American Expeditionary Force allowed the Allies to take the offensive, thereby ending the static state of war that had settled on the Western Front as a result of trench warfare. The system of trench warfare had men facing each other across opposing lines dug into the ground. The purpose of digging trenches was purely a matter of survival. In a war where technology was the worst enemy, trenches were a must. Following the Battle of Somme in 1916 where casualties exceeded one million, the High Command on both sides of the war learned of the desperate need for trenches. The first trenches, as Albert Marrin describes in The Yanks are Coming, were â€Å"not mere slits in the ground.† Each trench system was composed of line upon line of trenches. Most trench systems were composed of three trenches. In case of an attack, there was usually another trench to provide defense if the forward trench was taken by the enemy. Smaller communication trenches linked each of the major trench lines (Marrin 80). The most memorable feature of any trench line was actually the land in between. This land was known as no-man’s land. No man's land varied extremely in length. There were extremes at both ends... ... of losing at which point the Americans entered the fray. The final act that broke this deadlock was the defeat of the Germans at Belleau Wood by the Americans. In doing this, they brought a sense of newfound desire and energy on the Allied part. For the Germans, the Americans represented a force to be reckoned with. The American Army brought the â€Å"fight† back to the soldiers in the trenches. Captain Lloyd Williams of the Marines was a prime example of this spirit. When asked by the French if he wanted to retreat, he replied: â€Å"Retreat? Hell we just got here.† (qtd. Antill, Dougdale-Pointon, and Rickard). As a German soldier noted, â€Å"The American . . . had nerve; we must give him credit for that; but he also displayed a savage ruthlessness. 'The Americans kill everybody' was a cry of terror. . . which for a long time stuck in the bones of our men. " (qtd. Bonk 91)