Comparing and contrasting two lifestyle magazines Essay

The mass media has over the years evolved to what some people judge as the way we think. No longer has everyone got their own opinion but they are conjured by adverts and promotions. People are classed into different stereotypes with their opinions reflecting their own accord, thus including what they look like, what they do and who they are. With each new stereotype category arrives a new lifestyle for people to follow. People have now taken lifestyles into their own (this is known as materialism) and identified their ‘stereotype’ by indicating this to the public through the medium. Magazines are a good way to promote lifestyles because they are easily accessible through retail, any kind of lifestyle can be promoted as the amount of magazine concepts are only barred by the levels of creativity and magazines can target a certain type of audience and still sell rather than be obliged to target a mass audience such as TV. Editors play a big part in how the lifestyle is represented in any magazine. The editor’s view reflects the lifestyle, especially if it is a large selling magazine. It basically follows the theory of how media controls our opinions which relates to the trend or ‘what’s hot or not’. Advertisements within magazines also reflect the lifestyle itself because a business wouldn’t really promote their products in irrelevant locations that would not attract consumers. I have chosen â€Å"Adobe Photoshop Handbook† (APH) and â€Å"Smash Hits† as my magazines to compare and contrast. APH is a magazine for web site designers. It shows you how to make graphics using Adobe Photoshop (a popular software with web site designers). As this software costs a lot of money (i500+) and not many people choose to use extreme personalised graphics on their web sites this is not a popular lifestyle as others this magazine does not sell to a large audience. Smash Hits is a popular magazine on pop music lifestyle. It costs a third less than APH and has a much larger audience. It generally targets males and females of 9 – 16 years of age. Pop music is hard to classify because of the amount of different kinds of music such as jazz, blues, metal, rock, dance etc. but Smash Hits generalises pop music as what is in the charts and making an impact on the teenage public. This is a good way to promote a magazine because it constantly keeps up to date with celebrity lifestyles and ‘gossip’. People like keep track of what their favourite celebrities are doing because they see them as role models in how they themselves can become just like them. APH has gossip on what kinds of talent is currently hitting the art side of the computer world. Web site designers like to be individual in their work so they don’t follow the handbook ‘religiously’ but use the ideas to apply to their own graphics. This kind of editorial has a weak concept but a good reaction. The ideology is to show people how to make attractive images that relate to the current trend of web arts but the reaction is to use these guides to work alongside web designers’ own arts. The language used in APH is complex in a computer literate fashion. Throughout the magazine there are amazing eye catching images. The front cover always has the most interesting image in the handbook because this is the main advertisement for the magazine. If the image looks good then people are more likely to buy it because they will suggest that the producers of the magazine knows how to make attractive art. They try to shorthand most of the content because they repeat words over and over again in the tutorials. Smash Hits language is Basic English; this is to make it easier for the younger audience to interpret the magazine. Many of the images in the magazine are pictures of celebrities with more focusing on whoever is in the public eye. The graphics are large and colourful this is ‘easy on the eye’ and attracts attention to it because of the primary colours reflecting off the opposite colours (i. e. black and white, red and blue, yellow and blue etc. ) When you hear your favourite artist sing a song you tend to sing along with it (in public or not), APH is like a handbook of lyrics to songs and people read off these lyrics and use it to write their own songs. This is the major difference between the two magazines. One is aimed at artists and the other is aimed at the pop music market. The readerships are bound to differ. Therefore the editorials are apt to justify with their target audience. Although they are different in lifestyles they do share comparisons. The magazines both target male and females and the conventional layout consisting of; front page, contents page, editors words, letter page, main articles, interview and then a page at the end on next months contents. The costs of the magazine diverge of each other, as there is more money in the music industry than in the web design industry and many other industries. The fact that the magazine only idealises on pop music means that it will always have a large audience of people that follow popular music, which tend to be a younger audience who have yet to develop a taste in different kinds of music. More and more people are getting into web site building because it is easy and cheap. People can make their own reflections of lifestyles in their own impressions on their web pages. This then attracts other people and the ‘acceptance’ into a society is then established (because as people know, there is a website for everything). The monopolisation of the computer market by Microsoft means that the variety of software available is limited. Denoting that the amount of different advertisers available to the publisher are limited, consequently making the magazine highly priced. The advertisement in any magazine normally reflects the lifestyle that the magazine idealises. In APH the adverts are about other computer software that work in cooperation with Adobe Photoshop. These adverts are scattered throughout the magazine in a variety of sizes depending on the quality and popularity of the products. The only other adverts are of other magazines published by future publishing (the magazines publisher) that focuses on magazines that have a ‘passion with media’. These tend to be full-page adverts; about 20% of the magazine is made up of adverts. Smash Hits is made up of 50% of editorials and the rest are adverts. This makes the magazine cheap to buy. The adverts are scattered throughout the magazine and they are all of products and services that justify their readership. For example, there is a NSPCC advert at the bottom of the letters page; NSPCC is the ‘National Society of Protection against Cruelty to Children’, which is obviously targeted at children. The adverts consist of music albums of pop bands and the other magazine that the publisher publishes also feature in the magazine on full pages. Smash Hits normally comes with ‘freebies’ such as a single or extra miniature books that are sealed onto the front cover. APH came with a guide to how you can dual boot your system with Linux and Windows; it also came with a disk with Linux on. Freebies are popular with magazines because people like to think that they are getting more than what they paid for. This makes the consumer more likely to buy the magazine because of this ‘give away’ offer. Lifestyle magazines cannot represent a lifestyle completely; it just shows a reflection of an opinion on its chosen lifestyle. A person cannot instantly know about new trends instantaneously, they need to be told about them through the media or other forms of communication. This is why they buy magazines on their favourite lifestyles and to learn about what ‘their world’ is up to. Lifestyles are endorsed as guidance for people to lead and live their lives. They are popular with people because it allows them to ‘belong’ to a society. With this self – belief of acceptance it gives people a push through life. This can be related to religion; as where people follow a religion in credence of hope and these lifestyles can be seen as hope to be accepted into society.

Comparison Piece Essay

The discussion herein compares two stories which are The Odyssey and Much Ado About Nothing. The comparison shall take a look at one theme that is similar in both stories and will explain how the theme has been brought out in both stories. The theme selected is that Women are Powerful. In both stories, it is very clear that women are powerful. The power that is referred to herein is not physical but rather emotional. The power that women have over men makes them make mistakes some of which turn out to be costly. In Much Ado About Nothing, the main female character Hero seems to be at the center of all the controversy that goes on throughout the story. Claudio who had earned recognition by his army leader Don Pedro in the last couple of battles has his eyes on the daughter of the Governor of Messina, Leonato. Don Pedro, however, offered to woo Hero on behalf of Claudio (Shakespeare, p. 32). One cannot help the great efforts that the men in this story have put for the sake of women. Don John, the bastard brother Don Pedro makes Claudio believe that Don Pedro is in fact wooing Hero form himself and not for Claudio as agreed (Shakespeare, p. 24) In The Odyssey, Odyssey is believed to be dead after he failed to return from war. His wife Penelope has attracted many suitors all of who are interested. They all hope to get a chance to court even if she has made it clear that she does not want to remarry (Parks, p. 28). They are all patient and they are hoping that Penelope is going to change her and consider one of them. When Penelope is asked by the many suitors why she will not give them consideration and yet her husband is already, she argues that she needs to complete funeral arrangements (Lister, p. 14). They still wait even if the funeral arrangements do not seem to come to an end.

Is nursing an art, a science, or both Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is nursing an art, a science, or both - Essay Example ctitioners, stated that â€Å"Nursing is an art, and if it is to be made an art, it requires as exclusive a devotion, as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work, for what is having to do with the living body - the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the fine Arts; I had almost said the finest of the fine Arts†1. The lexicon defines art as, "both a human creative skill or its application"2. Further, the renowned Plato once asserted that, "Art is the things which are acquired or reduced craft or skill"3. The art and science of nursing permit it to attain its objectives in respect of providing for the health care needs of patients in home, community or institutional health care delivery environments. This entails the use of the nursing process to promote and maintain health, prevent illness, diagnose and manage potential or actual health problems, facilitate adaptation to health impairments, assist rehabilitation and maximize the opportunity for dignity in living and dying. Some authorities were of the opinion that, â€Å"Nurses are faced daily with clinical decisions making. They carry the spirit of caring through the ages as patient’s advocates but now they are being forced to examine ethics to an even greater degree from a world wide point†4. Moreover, nursing, throughout its history was concerned with caring, despite the fact that the concept of care varies according to societal events and needs. This requires the use of the scientific methodology. Furthermore, nurses comprise the largest group of health care professionals and nurses operate from a unique disciplinary perspective and they view each patient as a person in relation to their environment and the social, economic, and political forces that shape this environment. This makes it imperative to recognize that a nurse’s duty consists of maximizing the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of patients’ health after giving due consideration to the infinitely complex

Political, Social, and Economic Issues in the US between 1795 and 1840 Essay

Political, Social, and Economic Issues in the US between 1795 and 1840 - Essay Example On the political front, Rip could probably be satisfied to learn that George Washington had successfully commanded American forces into victory against attempted invasion. Besides, it could have been a big surprise for Rip to learn that America and Britain were once more working on a common interest to end slave trade after Wilberforce’s arguments gained public support. A planter in South Carolina would be more politically conscious and explain to Rip the strides made since 1795. For instance, Rip would have been informed that South Carolina was very open minded in issues dealing with human rights. He would be informed that slaves were allowed to buy their freedom before the Act that abolished slave trade came into force (White, 17). He would also learn that South Carolina as one of the first thirteen states that formed the federation, had remained committed to political development and had in fact voted for the abolition of slave trade. The British occupation of larger part o f Midwest and the burning of Washington would probably not go unmentioned too. Moreover, Rip would be surprised to tour states like Ohio, Illinois and be informed about the intense economic development in industries. He would probably learn that the economic rivalry between Ohio and Illinois in agricultural products had seen the Old North West farmers make huge efforts toward achieving of their aims. As an agriculturalist, he would also surprise Rip with Monroe’s obsession with production and the subsequent selling of Virginia. PART B The Presidential election of 1800 had been regarded as the revolution of 1800, a transition that saw Vice President Thomas Jefferson beat the President John Adams. The elections were majorly seen as a battle... The Presidential election of 1800 had been regarded as the revolution of 1800, a transition that saw Vice President Thomas Jefferson beat the President John Adams. The elections were majorly seen as a battle for ideology in which the pro-French president lost in favor of the pro-decentralization: Jefferson. The issue of concern was probably on the political direction that the people wanted versus the direction the president wanted. This conflict of interest exposed constitutional flaws with regard to a tie in results. Aaron Burr’s and Jefferson’s candidacy had to be decided by the House of Representatives which eventually elected Jefferson. On a different front, the presidential election of 1924 also came in with challenges given that no candidate acquired the required majority of the electoral vote, prompting the House of representative to vote a presidential candidate. Ironically, the candidate who had acquired majority of Electoral College votes was not the one voted by the House of Representatives. Rationale for determining who goes into the House of Representatives became so difficult to the extent that the top three candidates with majority votes were accepted into the House of Representatives. Both cases were indicators of different vested interest in party politics in the US that is occasionally characterized by propaganda. Politics in the United States has come a long way to achieve democracy that the federation not only enjoys but also offer to the world so freely.

Gaining a foot ahead in the athletic industry Assignment

Gaining a foot ahead in the athletic industry - Assignment Example is program expands on the available training opportunities because it allows trainers to be able to understand how to train adults and their learning patterns. However, the trainers might have the desire to learn so as to be able to train others, but the resources provided by the district might not be adequate enough to support this program. This might be a challenge, but it does not necessarily mean that it is unachievable as it is a necessity if the district is to create a professional learning environment. In order to cut on the cost of Training the trainer, it is important for schools to do this internally rather than having to implore the services of outside staff to conduct the training because outsourcing can be an expensive venture. External consultants can offer the same training, but do so at exorbitant rates, meaning that training internally can be the preferable way because it will be able to cut on the costs. Internal training can also provide ongoing support when the trainers are implementing the training program as this can help the educators to make the necessary changes as per the advice the trainers may receive from their trainers. Internal training is also the best way to go because the trainers are more familiar with the school curricular used meaning that they may not find it hard to apply the program as compared to external trainers that may have to understand the curricular before they can commence work (261f). Therefore, internal trainers are able to align professional training with the cultural attributes, policies and curriculum so as to ensure that the program applied becomes a success. Additionally, professional learning also requires that a teacher combines it with instructions so as to be able to support the learning needs of the students and also gauge what they should be taught. In summary, involving external trainers for the Training the trainer program can be expensive and might force a school to increase their school fees,

Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pollution - Essay Example Global warming has also been attributed in part to pollution. When these chemicals and toxins become a part of the environment they affect not just the environment but humans as well. If we can control our actions then we can make the world a better place to live. Air pollution occurs because of toxins that are released into the air by cars, aerosols, factories etc. what it basically does it make the air unclean and unsafe to breathe in and can cause many kinds of respiratory diseases. It has also been known to affect the wild life as it has killed many birds. Many people in china and Japan are known to wear masks to work and school because of the pollution there. The sad reality is that because of air pollution we do not just harm ourselves but harm the planet for the future generations. Water pollution refers to contaminants that find their way into the water reservoirs i.e. lakes and streams along with the ocean. Large companies have been known to dump toxins in streams that later on become a part of our drinking water. Many people use filters these days so that they can have clean water for their use but the sad reality is that the industrial world has a huge negative impact on the developing world and water pollution is making life tough not just for them but also sea life, fresh water fish life, and harming the plant life as well. Sewage water is also released into streams and the coastlines of many countries and have a very detrimental effect overall. Land and soil pollution refers to the detrimental state of affairs because of unhealthy and unsafe trash and toxicant dumping habits employed by humans. It has been mainly attributed to urbanization and industrialization, both of which destroy natural resources that are already present in order to build and become successful. The tearing down of God made things results in a lot of problems for example, in order to

Capstone Project -2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Capstone Project -2 - Essay Example The theory or concept of self-management of Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile Onset Diabetes that are found in both children and adolescents states that process, activities and goals are its three essential attributes (Schilling et al., 2002). In another way, Hughes (2010) describes these attributes as knowledge/education, relationship/partnership, self-monitoring/self-care and one umbrella attribute, the action-directed skills. This equates to an active and proactive process being conducted on a daily basis, on a lifelong duration and involvement of shifting and shared responsibility of diabetes care tasks, and decision-making between the child and parent (Schilling et al., 2002). This self-management theory incorporates all survival strategies for a patient with Type 1 Diabetes so that he is able to manage the disease and yet look forward to years of growth and productivity in his later life. This is exactly my proposed solution to the disease, recognizing its no-cure properties and its presence in the body system of the child until his entire lifetime. The theory will be incorporated in this Capstone project by forming a Type 1 Diabetes Clinic in which all information about the disease itself will be made available in the clinic and translated into a simple language that can be easily shared and taught by professional nurses to the patients, their families and relatives, and other concerned individuals. Self-management will be thoroughly covered in terms of all available media resources in the aim that training the â€Å"caregivers† of Type 1 diabetic patients will contribute significantly to the positive growth and progress of the patients and will be gladly anticipated by family members thereby reducing the incidence of any form of stress, burn-out and losing of hope when dealing with the disease. Thus the strategies of the Type 1 Diabetes Clinic project is directed towards, thorough education, personalized caring of patients, positive and proactive deliv ery of Diabetes-management methods and, consistent positive anticipation practices of the future for diabetic patients in order to promote mental wellness as well. This project is expected to support the implementation of a quality life for Type 1 Diabetes’ patients, family and relatives, and consequently resulting to a healthy metabolic control and, development of the patients (Faulkner and Chang, 2007). References: Hughes, L. (2010). Self-Management: an evolutionary concept analysis [Online]. University of Victoria, 72 pp. Available at: http://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8080/bitstream/handle/1828/4057/Hughes_Lori_MN_2010.pdf?sequence=1 [15 Jan 2013]. Faulkner, M.S. and Chang, L. (2007), Family Influence on Self-Care, Quality of Life, and Metabolic Control in School-Age Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 22(1):59-68. Schilling, L. S. , Grey, M. and Knafl, K. A. (2002), The concept of self-management of type 1 diabetes in children and ado lescents: an evolutionary concept analysis [Abstract]. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37:  87–99. DOI:  10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02061.x Instructions: Assignment 2 Write a paper (1,500 words) in which you analyze and appraise each of the

Measuring customers satisfaction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Measuring customers satisfaction - Research Paper Example The importance of customer satisfaction is that loyal customers are more likely to come back to the same business and this improves the profitability of the company due to increased sales which comes from loyal customers (Tarasi, Bolton, Gustafasson and Walker, 2012). They are likely to come back even if the price is lower on the competitor’s side due to satisfaction they get from their supplier. The loyal customers are likely to recommend to their friends about the satisfaction they get from their supplier hence increasing the customer base of a business leading to realization of more profits. Acquiring a new customer is 20 times harder than maintaining a customer hence its prudent and costly for a business to look into ways of acquiring new customers (Tunner, 2012). Measuring customer satisfaction using American Customer Satisfaction Model (ACSM) This is a cause and effect model with indices for drivers of satisfaction on the left side, satisfaction in the centre and outcome resulting from satisfaction on the right side and both are weighed with several questions within a model. The drivers of customer satisfaction include customer expectation together with perceived quality and perceived values, which are important aspects in measuring customer satisfaction. The questions assesscustomer evaluations of the determinants of each index which are reported on 0 to 100 scales depending on various ways the customer responds in relation to goods and services from the company. The figure below represents the ACSI Model Adopted from http://www.theacsi.org/the-american-customer-satisfaction-index From the above figure, it can be deduced that ACSI has three important component that determine its measurements and they are perceived quality, perceived value and customer expectations. Customer expectation measures customer anticipation of the quality of a company’s product and services and it represents prior consumption experience and a forecast of company’s ability to deliver high quality products in future. The customer’s complaints are measured as a percentage of the respondents who complain and this is used to gauge the various responses in customer satisfaction index (Angelova and Zekiri, 2011). Measuring customer expectation using King County Method This plan establishes three cross cutting guidelines that relate the customer satisfaction, need and the need to improve services in response to customers. This method id service oriented, results focused and innovative in the way that learning from experiences ambles seeking of new results. This method of customer satisfaction focuses on customers, employees and managers hence informing opportunities for general improvements (King County, 2013). The following diagram represents King County Process of Customer Satisfaction measurement Adopted from www.kingcounty.gov Types of industries There are various types of industries on the type of services they provide to their customers over time. Primary industries are concerned with reproduction of goods and are nature oriented industry since they require very little human effort. Manufacturing industries are engaged in transforming raw materials into finished products by the used of machines combined with manpower in a highly specialized environment. Service industries are co

Influence the West Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Influence the West - Essay Example Body Influence on Democracy of Modern West The Greek civilization has a major impact in shaping the current democratic system of America. Greeks were the ones who developed the system recognized as Direct Democratic System, this system can be easily witnessed in the way American government is operated. The Persian Empire was the one to use the centralized way of ruling the nation in which decisions were made by the head of the states and these decisions were followed by the citizens (Richard, 2010). On the other hand, the Greek Empire was created of the elements of state and cities and the empire was heavily dependent on the public’s participation in the political system. This kind of political system and means of running the country was fairly new to the way an empire was governed. During that era, other empires failed to understand the importance of the participation of the citizens of a country in decision making and running of the political system. They even failed to unde rstand how public can handle the issues faced by the governments of that time. ... Later the scenario changed and all individuals of US were granted the right to vote and were recognized as citizens. The Greeks were the ones who recognized the importance of votes of all the citizens of the nation. Therefore they created an assembly in the city of Athens where all the citizens participated in political process of electing the government body. The citizens were responsible for electing officers to different government positions and these officers were compensated for the services they offered in the government. Similarly, the assembly in comprises of individuals that represent the public and these individuals are responsible for voting for the election of different individuals to different government positions (Osborne, 2006). Influence on Republic Government The government of the Romans start with the creation of constitution, their constitution provided the government with the guideline for operating the nation. Similarly the US functions according to a constitutio n and all the activities conducted by the government are in compliance with the constitution. If activities against the constitution are conducted, the conductor of such activities is held responsible in the court of law. The US process of creating rules and regulations is even similar to the law making system of the Roman period. During the Roman period an assembly consisting of the citizens initiated the process of rule making by passing a legislation, which was later approved by the individuals that were categorized as the upper class and then the rule was passed in the name of the public (Watkin, 1986). In US, same procedure for making rules is followed, first the rule is passed by the representatives of the public which is then accepted by the senate and then the legislation is

Essay Essay Example for Free

Essay Essay There are many things in our life that we can compare and contrast to one another, but one subject that stands out to me would be the differences between male and female friends. We all have friends that are male and female in our life. Although, we do not really notice it sometimes but there are many similarities and differences between having male and female friends. Therefore, in this paper I will be explaining the similarities and differences in having male and female friends. When talking about female friends, most people think about emotions. Female friends love to talk to each other about emotions, which draws them closer as friends. They talk about the deepest problems and never hold back how they feel to one another. Female friends will also show physical contact by hugging one another and kissing each other’s cheek. They also are more comfortable around each other. For example, females are not scared to change clothes around each other and tell each other how they are really feeling. Although, having a female friend is more capable to put drama in our life. Drama is something most girls strive for; they love to have a lot of drama in their life. This addiction for females can cause a lot of problems for themselves as well as their closest friends. Having a female friend can also be an advantage for other females because; they will let their friends borrow each other’s items. Therefore, if someone needs a new dress for a party they can j ust look into their friends closet and simply take it for the night. Female friends are good to have although male friends are completely different than the female friends in our life. Although when we talk about male friends, most people think loyalty. Unlike female friends male friends do not like to talk about emotions. Males like to talk about other things as in, basketball games, different girls they think are cute, or how life is going in general. Male friends also do not show physical contact like female friends do. Male friends do not like to  usually hug or touch their female or male friends unless it is their significant other. They also do not hide anything; they will tell us the truth no matter how bad it will hurt us. Unlike female friends they do not like nor carry drama. Male friends do not like drama at all, they stand as far away as possible from it. The advantage of having a male friend is they do not strive for drama like females, so we will not be pulled into their problems. Also unlike female friends, males do not let other friends borrow their clothes, they rarely let anyone touch or wear their clothes but themselves. These many differences between male and female friends that I have mentioned also have similarities. No matter how many differences male and female friends have, there are also many similarities. Having both male and female friends give us many options on who we can go and talk to about anything. No matter if they are a female or male friend, we know that they will always be here to protect us and listen to every problem we have. Both types of friends also make us feel wanted and loved. Even if we are having a bad day we have both genders of friends to cheer us up not matter the circumstances. In conclusion, female and male friends are similar and different in many ways. We need to be friends with both female and male to make a good balance in our friendships. No matter how much female or male friends we have they all benefit us in many ways. Although, there are many differences in the gender of friends, they are always here for us no matter the differences or similarities.

Understanding the Definition of Strategy Formulation

Understanding the Definition of Strategy Formulation Strategic formulation is the process of determining appropriate courses of action for achieving organisational objectives and thereby accomplishing organisational purpose. In a business context, it means what are the products and services the organisation will deliver, what type of market they will entry, which capabilities are required, how will they allocate the resources, and what the returns organisational seeks? Strategic formulation is very important as it is the crucial part in the strategic management. A good and effective strategy is very important to the organisation because it helps the organisation handle threats, seeking and grab the opportunities, and solve the weeknesses and enhance the strengths of the organization in order to survive in the competitive environment. 3.1 Distinction between Business Strategy and Corporate Strategy Business strategy is a long-term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal or objectives. Corporate strategy is the scope of the different industries and markets the organization competes within in order to achieve its organizational purpose. Normally, corporate strategy is supposed to be determined before the marketing strategy. In strategy formulation, it must included three stages of strategy. There are business level strategy, corporate level strategy, and international or globalisation level strategy. 3.2.1 Business Level Strategy Business level strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and action of the organisation uses to gain a competitive advantage by exploiting major competencies in specific products and services. It is concerned with how the organization business competes in a specific market. It also concerned the strategic decisions about the product choices, meet the customer expectations, exploiting or creating new opportunities, and gaining competitive advantages. Besides, it is refers to the aggregated strategies of single business firm or a strategic business unit (SBU) in a diversified corporation. According to Michael Porter, an organisation must formulate their business strategy into three generic strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and long-term success. The three generic strategies are cost leadership, differentiation strategy, and focus strategy. 3.2.2 Cost Leadership The first generic strategies in business level strategy which are identified as Porters Five Forces is known as cost leadership strategy. Cost leadership is involving a firm being the lowest cost producer within the industry. This allows the firms to outperform rivals within the industry because it can be charged in lower prices. Although, the firm charge in lowest cost base, it stills can earn a profit. A dominant market share allows the firm to accumulate the greatest experience and the market share can continuing to grow to increase the cost advantages. A strategy of growth which enhance the accumulative experience and further lowers costs. A cost leadership strategy allows an organization to generate above-average profits even it is intensive rivalry. A low cost producer will be in a better position in relation to the threats of new entrants and or substitutes. Cost leadership risks can be expensive as the organisation continually updates the capital equipments. The activities of the cost leader maybe easy to imitate. 3.2.3 Differentiation Strategy Differentiation strategy is aimed at a broad market and involve the organisation competing on the basis of a unique or different product which is sufficiently valued by customers for them to pay a premium price. A major advantage of producing differentiated product is vitals will find it difficult to imitate. Besides, they also required different resources, capabilities, and organisational arrangements than cost leadership. There are some several types of differentiation strategy that are design or brand image, customizing products to suit the customers in specific requirements, state-of-the-act of technology, marketing ability, reliability, products engineering skills, and creativity. A differentiation strategy provides a defence against competitive rivalry because it creates brand loyalty which helps to protect an organisation from price competition. The brand loyalty is to be overcome by defence against new entry and substitutes. The buyers are constrained by a lack of alternatives and premium price are easier to pay back for suppliers. Differentiated strategy has inherent risks. The high or premium price charged for differentiation cannot be too expensive above the competitors that it results in reduced the brand loyalty. Competitors may narrow the attributes of differentiation which results in customers being faced a viable substitute. 3.2.4 Focus Strategy Focus strategy occurs when an organisation undertakes either a cost leadership or differentiation strategy but within only a narrow segment of the market. It also can be defined as market niche strategy, concentration on specific geographical market, isolating a unique segment product line, and isolating a specific buyer group. By focusing on a niche of the market, the organization must be placed to meet the buyers expectation. By focusing on the needs of specific segments that exist in the industry, the organisation can achieve competitive advantage either through lower costs or differentiation. The risk of following in focus strategies are the customer preferences may change and the niche player may be unable to respond, broad-based competitors believe the segment represents an attractive submarket and outfocus the focuser, and the difference between the segment and the main market narrows leaving focus-based competitors at a disadvantage. 3.3 Resource-Based Approach to Strategy Formulation The two fundamental reasons for making the resources and capabilities of the firm the foundation for its strategy are internal and capabilities provide the basic direction for a firms strategy. The resources and capabilities are the primary source of profit for the firm. Resources are the inputs into the production process while capability means the capacity to perform some task. Resources are the source of an organizations capability but capabilities are the main source of an organizations competitive advantage. The value of resources and capability of a business are sustainability and appropriability. Sustainability included durability, transparency, transferability, and replicability. 3.4 Corporate Level Strategy Corporate level strategy means overall scope of the different industries and markets the organisation competes within in order to achieve the organisational goals. Corporate strategy decisions included investment in diversification, vertical integration, acquisitions, and new ventures; the allocation of resources between the different businesses of the firm, and divestments. 3.5 Growth Strategies Growth strategies have four strategies that an organization might follow that are market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. 3.5.1 Market Penetration Market Penetration is to increase market share in your existing markets using your existing products. This strategy relies upon the organization existing resources and capabilities and therefore is relatively low risk. 3.5.2 Market Development Market Development means entering new markets with your existing products. This can be targeted the new market segments and new geographical area, or devising the new uses for the products. 3.5.3 Product Development Product Development is developing the new products to sell in your existing markets. The ability to innovate is crucial in developing products for rapidly changing customer markets. 3.5.4 Diversification Diversification is developing new products to serve new markets. This will involve greatest level of risk it may be necessary where the organization existing products and markets offer little opportunity for growth. There are two diversification strategies such as related diversification and unrelated diversification. Related diversification refers entry into related industry which there is still some link with organizations value chain. It is included vertical integration and horizontal integration. Unrelated diversification refers to a situation where organisation moves into a totally unrelated industry. It can be called conglomerate diversification to reflect that managing a portfolio of companies. Thus resulting four core categories of strategy alternatives can be achieved internally through investment and development, or externally through mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances 3.6 Portfolio Analysis Portfolio analysis is simply different business units that organisation possess. The two primary models are the Boston Consulting Group Matrix and The General Electric-McKinsey Matrix.T he business portfolios overall uses is to determine whether the combined growth and profitability of the businesses in the portfolio will allow the company to attain its performance objectives. 3.7 Corporate Parenting Corporate parenting is concerned with how a parent company adds value across the businesses that make up the organisation. Corporate parent refers to all those levels of management that are not part of customer facing and profit run business units in multi-business companies. The concept of corporate parenting is useful in helping an organization to decide which new businesses it should be proceed on. It also helps parent company decide how to manage the business. 3.8 International Level Strategy International level strategy refers to the linkages between markets that exist across worldwide. What happens in one county has an impact on occurrences in other countries. These linkages may be economic, financial, social, political, in effect, anything that leads to increased interdependence among nations. These strategies have included four types of international strategy that are multidomestic strategy, global strategy, and transnational strategy. 3.8.1 Multidomestic Strategy Multidomestic strategy is aimed at adapting products and service in national markets. Thus, responding more effectively to the changes in local demand conditions. The local manager needs to determine how the products and services can meet the local customer expectations. 3.8.2 Global Strategy Global strategy is the organisation provides a standardised products and services for international markets. An organisation seeks to have their own manufacturing, marketing, and RD centralised in a few locations. A combination of standardisation with centralised facilities and functions enable them to reap substantial economies of scale. 3.8.3 Transnational Strategy Transnational strategy is seeks to simultaneously achieve global efficiency, national responsiveness, and worldwide leveraging capabilities of its innovations and learning.

Religious Themes in Macbeth Essays -- Literary Analysis

William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth in approximately 1606. The play is a tragedy and this can be often identified before we have even read the play. The title â€Å"Macbeth† alone suggests the genre of the play is a tragedy as it is the name of a character. Life in Shakespeare’s time was very religious and the play was written in order to please King James I who was on the throne at this point. The idea of the theme of religion and witchcraft fitting into the play was also to please King James I as he was interested in witchcraft. The majority of people living in Shakespeare’s time were Christians and they believed that if you lived a good life, you would go to Heaven and if you were bad in life, you would go to Hell. At the time of the play, King James I was on the throne and this is significant as he makes Banquo a good character as he is the King’s Ancestor. This influenced Shakespeare’s writing because he had to write a play to please the King so Shakespeare included witchcraft as King James I was interested in witchcraft. The text of the play is based on â€Å"Chronicles: History of England, Scotland and Ireland† published by Raphael Holinshed in 1577. In Chronicles, Banquo is an accomplice to Macbeth in the murder of the King rather than a loyal subject of the King who is seen as an enemy by Macbeth. Shakespeare could have changed Banquo’s character in order to please King James I. The witches fit into the theme of Macbeth as the play is very religious and involves witchcraft and the powers of evil. In Act 1, Scene 1, the three witches meet in the battlefields to talk about when they are going to meet Macbeth following the fighting. In Act 1, Scene 1 Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to show the mood of the scene. The weathe... ...is warning him of what will happen. To further extend my point, the second and third apparation go on to say ‘Macbeth shall never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane shall come against him’ which again warns Macbeth of What is to come. I believe Macbeth would have done such deeds as he goes on in the play to talk about his ‘Vaulting ambition’ This line suggests that Macbeth all along could have had a burning desire to be king and just needed the edge from the witches to kill King Duncan. Throughout the whole play we could consider Lady Macbeth as a fourth witch as she try’s to persuade Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Overall, I believe that Macbeth was a villain as he had a ‘Vaulting ambition’ to become King with a little help from the witches. The witches had great effect on Macbeth as a character and a huge effect on the plot of the play.

Filling the Gap in My Heart :: miscellaneous

Filling the Gap in My Heart Flavia Weedn once said that â€Å"some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.† Recently I had a life-changing experience that narrates to that notable quote. This experience opened my eyes to a whole other part of me that I never knew about. I learned that giving second chances doesn’t always have an unconstructive outcome and that building relationships aren’t effortless. When I opened my heart I faced a lot of poignant anxiety that guided me to a blissful and rewarding ending that I am grateful for. Growing up there was always a fraction of my heart absent that I had always wanted to have fulfilled. Not having a father throughout my childhood has put a mild affect on me expressively. In my eyes, having no father for eighteen years meant that it would be too late to ever have one in my life. That emotion came to an end on the day of my high graduation when my biological father showed up on my front porch. I was absolutely stunned and soundless of words. I didn’t recognize him in any way but the reaction that dispersed through my body when I opened that door led me to know that he was my father. Why was this stranger finally deciding to see his daughter? I kept asking myself that question repeatedly in my mind until we finally got the chance to sit down and converse. He informed me that I had three half siblings which consisted of one brother and two sisters. At that moment I felt left out like as if I didn’t do my role as a big sister all their lives. The hole in my heart seemed to get deeper as he spoke until he finally confessed the real truth to why he had abandoned me for all these years. He began explaining how he had been in prison for the last fifteen years for transporting illegal drugs over the U.S border. There was no method of contacting me and if there was he didn’t want me growing up knowing that my father was incarcerated. At that moment everything seemed to make sense and I actually wanted to give this gentleman a hug and perhaps even a chance to be in my life. Once he departed all I could feel was excitement within my heart.

Music Censorship Essays -- essays research papers

Marilyn Manson, The Beatles, NWA, Garth Brooks, and the king, Elvis, What do all these people have in common? Well, yes, they are all musical groups, but there is something more. Marilyn Manson is a heavy metal group who worships Satan, the Beatles were one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll bands of all time, and NWA was a hard-core rap group from the 80’s. Garth Brooks is a country singer and greatest selling performer of all time, and well, Elvis is the king of Rock N’ Roll. So what do they all have in common? All of these artists have or had songs with indecent or obscene lyrics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the dawn of musical expression, there have been people trying to stop or hinder the constitutional right to listen and enjoy music of all forms. There were ordinary, everyday people during the infancy of Rock N’ Roll in the 1960’s who made it their mission in life to stop so-called â€Å"obscene† music like the Beatles song â€Å"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds,† from polluting our airwaves and minds. These groups succeeded in banning some songs from the radio, but most of their actions were for naught, because there was no real punishment for radio stations playing those songs labeled â€Å"obscene.† By 1985, many people wanted to cleanse the music industry of its â€Å"indecent† music, so the most prominent group in the history of music censorship was started: The Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC)-(A Brief†¦). This was just the first of many groups who made it their business to decide what the America n Population should or should not listen to. These censorship groups have also been able to get government money in order to fight, lie, and bribe their way to censoring music. The PMRC and other organizations have also convinced government organizations like the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) to regulate what music is played on the radio. Places like Target, Disc Jockey, and other local record stores are also forced to label music that the PMRC and other censorship groups find obscene (A Brief†¦)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Who is to say that what is obscene to someone might not be seen as obscene to another person? This question, as well as many others, brought forth many anti-censorship organizations who fight to give the people of America the right to listen to whatever music they want to, indecent or not. The First Amendment from anyone who tries to cen... ...ment and all the music censorship organizations to deny musicians and the public our constitutional rights? And why do we pay millions of our tax dollars to try and undermine what our whole country was built upon over two hundred years ago? We must acknowledge that ratings systems of any kind can do and result in censorship. And we all must fight to preserve free speech for everyone regardless of whether or not we agree with the message. (National Campaign†¦) When politicians and religious leaders call for censorship because they personally find the message objectionable, or you wonder why you should join the fight against music censorship, please consider this quote be Martin Niemoeller, a Lutheran pastor who was arrested by the Gestapo in 1938. He said, In Germany, the Nazi’s came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.

Bloom’s Research and Response Essay

Each domain has its own set of specific expectations. Bloom broke down his taxonomy into different levels of complexity. They are arraigned in a hierarchy from less to more complex. When teaching, the educator will use the levels so that mastery of the first level is necessary by the learner before the next level can be achieved. The Cognitive Domain focuses on knowledge and developing the skills of comprehension, it also uses critical thinking skills. There are six levels of complexity in this Domain: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The Affective Domain focuses on how the learner deals with emotions and with his ability to feel empathy for others. Bloom broke down this domain into five levels: Receiving (awareness), Responding (active participation in the learning process), Valuing, Organization, and Internalizing (values held that influence a behavior so it becomes a characteristic). The third domain, the Psychomotor Domain was not broken down into subcategories by Bloom but by Simpson in 1972. The Psychomotor Domain focuses on the ability to manipulate an object physically. This domain has seven levels: Perception, Set (readiness to act), Guided Response, Mechanism, Complex Overt Response (the ability to perform without hesitation), Adaptation, and Origination. When used, Bloom’s Taxonomy will provide the educator with a measurable way to assess the level of comprehension of the taught information by the learner (â€Å"Big Dog and Little Dog’s Performance Juxtaposition,† 2010). Nurses can use Bloom’s teaching method in educating patients with chronic diseases. First the nurse must assess the patient for level of understanding and readiness to learn. The nurse uses the Cognitive Domain to teach the patient about his specific disease and to facilitate understanding of all concepts associated with the disease and its treatments. In following the hierarchy the nurse would start with the simplest information and ideas and increase the complexity of the information after the patient has exhibited comprehension of the previously taught material. Using the Affective Domain the nurse helps the patient deal with his emotions related to his diagnosis and to attach a value to it. Once a patient has processed the information given to him, realizes the importance of managing his care and placing a value on its importance, he is ready to use the psychomotor domain. The educator uses the Psychomotor domain to teach the skills portion of education. Diabetics need to learn how to use blood glucose testing equipment; patients may need to learn how to self-catheterize these are just two examples of skills that nurses teach that fall under this domain. There are many areas of education a nurse teaches daily. One of which is the information given to patients with chronic diseases in order for them to achieve or maintain self-sufficiency. Bloom’s teaching method gives those patients the best chance at mastering the necessary information and skills needed to live day-to-day with a chronic illness.

Oxfam Operational Management

The purpose of this assignment is to apply the main theories within operations management to summaries and critically evaluate the main issues facing Sofas within the following strategic and operational contexts: l. Globalization and International management II. Environmental management Ill Social responsibility lb. Technology v. Knowledge Management Figure 1 The Operations Strategy and Management model (Slack, N. , Chambers, S. , Johnston, R. , 2007) 1 Sofas Background Information The name Sofas comes from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942 during Second World War.Sofas International was formed in 1995 by a group of independent non-governmental organizations. Sofas is an independent organization affiliated to Sofas International, a global confederation of 14 independent Sofa's (www. Spam. Org). In 2010 Sofas was working in 99 countries. Sofas works directly with communities to find and influence solutions to poverty and injustice (www. Sofas. Org). So fas are working on development programs, emergency work and research. In 1948 Sofas opened its first charity shop. Sofa's current network of more than 830 charity shops are run by about 22000 volunteers and are a key source of income.Orders can be made by mail or over the Internet. Sofas teamed up with Yahoo! (Carroll, 2010) Sofas has an annual expenditure of US $700 million and employs around 1300 staff, of whom around 700 are based in Oxford, I-J, ND the others, together with about 1 500 locally recruited staff, work overseas. Sofas is best known for its work in emergency situations providing humanitarian aid where it is needed. However much of Sofa's work continues after the initial response. Sofa's Strategic plan 2007/10 underlines five main objectives (www. Sofas. Erg): The right to a sustainable livelihood The right to basic social services The right to life and security The right to be heard The right to equity (gender and diversity) The above describes Sofa's mission stateme nt â€Å"A world without poverty and equal human rights for all people†. The Although all operations are similar, they all transform input resources into output products and services, they do differ (Slack, 2007). The Four Vs. – Volume, Variety, Variation and Visibility, have implications for the cost of product, or in case of Sofas service, to its beneficiaries.As Sofas is a non profit organization and the interest is provide improvement of lives and fast response to natural and political disasters in Third World Countries, it could be said that their success could be measured in how well tenet support Ana Involvement rennet's on loveliness AT tense teen are knelling o. The Volume for Sofas is measured by the improvement of living conditions, by how many people have an access to clear water or how many lives are saved after a natural disaster. Sofas is involved in many projects therefore the Variety should be seen as high.However due to the nature of the work Sofas do es and the help they provide, the variety demands high level of flexibility from Sofas, its employees and volunteers. In the case of a charity the Variation should be relatively low. And many charity organizations are concentrating on to one issue only. However Sofas is known for heir involvement in many projects and can offer help in various situations, natural disasters, political rows in countries of the third world, where many people are being denied a decent living.As well as providing safe water projects around the world, building schools and many others. Sofa's Variation is therefore higher than many other charities but still would not be consider high as in a profit organization. Due to the nature of raising money for their operations via their shops, appeals and various projects, the Visibility of Sofas and its people is high. The argument could be hat Sofas has more back office staff than front office and therefore the visibility is not as high. However such an argument ca n be dismissed based on the overall focus on Sofas.The contact with people is necessary for the nature of the business. Sofa's 4 Vs. summarizes in Figure 2. [pick] Figure 2 The 4 ‘v†s module in relation to Sofa's operations Operations performance objectives There are five basic performance objectives which apply to all type of organizations (Slack, 2007). These objectives specifically relates to a basic tasks of satisfying customer requirements. Every organization has stakeholders who have a high interest in its operations. As per Slack Sofa's stakeholder groups can overlap.Sofa's volunteers who work in charity shops could also be employees as well as customers. Therefore a not for profit organizations who are influenced by more complex factors which they can not affect such as natural disasters, has to even more so define its operation's role, position and operation strategic objectives to show their stakeholders how they perform. The five objectives are quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. Sofas aims to deliver high quality in each situation and project they are involved in.The quality s measured by the satisfaction of customers however in Sofa's case the satisfaction is not going to be reflected the same way as satisfaction with product or service of companies who produce these for profit. Sofa's customers are in many cases highly satisfied with a bare minimum of life standards and the help they receive. However quality coo a De considered Trot ten way AT Improvements AT humans' lives and livelihoods and its sustainability. Speed is something that is of a very high importance for Sofas. To respond fast to natural and other disasters is number one priority.The speed of the response could mean the difference between life and death. However improvement of women's rights and Sofas project of bringing education to all is anything but a speedy as the importance is to stabilize the changes first to make sure they are going to be permane nt improvements to their lives. For Sofas stakeholders dependability is a very important factor. For the people who receiving the help and support it is important to know that the support will be there and it is not Just a promise. For the volunteers and people who donated it is important to see that changes are being made and support is being given.Flexibility is the highest priority. Sofas is not only involved in various projects around the world but also needs to be able to change their plans and actions to respond fast to many situations such as political changes within the country where they providing their support. Or in the case of natural disaster, Sofas needs to be ready to respond fast, to provide basic supplies for humanitarian support. Their employees and volunteers need to be flexible to react quickly to safe lives and livelihood. Operations have to change at short notice.Even the charity shops which are mostly stable operations have to be flexible and sometimes change their operations to respond to situation in the world. In the case of natural disasters the nature of donations needs to change, not only cash donations are required but food, clothes or blankets. Cost is a very difficult measurement for a charity organization. It is important to keep its costs down to achieve more with the money raised however in many situations it is not about keeping the cost low but about saving lives, providing fast response and help when its needed and this can drive cost up.With natural disaster it is not important the amount invested in to the help but the help that is provided. When people loose everything even a little amount of help and support is highly appreciated and therefore the cost is not of a high importance. Figure 3 Sofa's Polar Diagram The role of operations Operations management can make or break any business (Slack, 2007). Hayes and Wheelwright's four stages of operations contribution evaluate the role and contribution of the operations funct ion (Slack, 2007). Sofa's operations are at stage 4.Sofas does compete with other charities for donations and volunteers. However, where other charities offering food and money, Sofas offers lives stock, seeds, smelter, coeducation anon T s well as money winner teen are name (www. Sofas. Org). Sofas gets involved in peoples live for longer to assure long term improvements in their livelihoods. Figure 4 The four stage model of operations contribution. Operations Strategy Operations strategy concerns the pattern of strategic decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of the operations (Slack, 2007).Sofa's operation strategy is to reduce and eliminate the causes of poverty and suffering (www. Sofas. Org). As an objective the Sofa's 5 Aims are used to build the operations strategy, the top down perspectives. The bottom up perspective is reflected in improvement for the next project Sofas gets involved as the knowledge management aspects will affect how the next operation is managed. Market requirements are reflected in the numbers of people Sofas has helped to rebuild their lives. However for a not for profit organization the strategy is more complex and is affected by The Operations Challenge.Figure 5 The four perspectives on operations strategy The Operations Challenge Although operations management is seen by some as being concerned largely with the routine aspects of business, it is in fact at the very forefront of almost all equines challenges (Slack, 2007). There are many changes that the operations management needs to understand, be concerned with and adjust to. The challenges and changes in the world can be seen as a positive change which helps with Sofa's 5 Aims detailed in section 1. 1 and in appendix 1 .These are highly affected by many challenges and operations managers should be familiar with Sofa's Aims and developments to be able to apply appropriate strategies. 1 Globalization With opening of new international market were o pened many new opportunities for operations managers to develop supplier relationships (Slack, 2007). Important for Sofas as the need to have a fast and affordable access to supplies all around the world, to be able to respond fast is high on their operations strategies. The Ethical globalization affects Sofa's political affluence and it works well with ethical approaches.Acknowledging shared responsibilities for addressing global challenges and affirming that our common humanity does not stop at national borders (Slack, 2 Corporate Social Responsibility In a modern business there is more and more pressure on to the general well-being of society. Economic development on a global level cannot be separated from questions of social Justice and from ecological stability (Discarding, cited in Walleye, 2008). It is a nature of Sofas business to assure that all humans are being treated with respect and as equals.As per Sofas, nobody should compromise on their human rights. Sofas provides a ssistance and protection to ordinary men, women and children caught up in conflict or natural disasters (www. Sofas. Org). It is Sofa's believe that all people have social, economic, political and civil rights as well as rights under humanitarian law (www. Sofas. Org). Not only Sofas provides provisions of eater, sanitation and hygiene promotion they also lobby governments and the international community to live up to their responsibilities to protect civilians (www. Sofas. Org).However it needs to be considered that what might be unremarkable in one country ethical framework could be regarded as highly dubious in another's (Slack, 2007). 3 Environmental Responsibility Environmental Responsibility is getting on to an agenda of any organization. Sofas is highly involved in campaigning for Climate Change. During 2010 over 1. 5 million people in 35 countries attended Climate Hearings organizes by Sofas and its ratters (www. Sofas. Org). These are organizes by Sofas to voice directly to global policy environments the reality of Global warming and its effects on to those living in poverty.Sofas is committed to reduce their carbon footprint by setting and delivering yearly targets (www. Sofas. Org). 4 Technology Technology has impact of some sort in almost every area of operations management (Slack, 2007). Internet has the biggest impact on how the business operates. Sofas improved their engagement with their supporters due to internet and other digital communications (www. Sofas. Org). This has resulted in to increase in online donations to over E. Mm in 2010. Sofas therefore invests more of their resources in to improvement of their website.Technology is also changing the ways Sofas International works. Introduction of Single Management Structure is a big step which wouldn't be possible without constant changes in technology. Supply network is also more simple and faster due to new technologies. Technology has a huge impact on to Sofas operations and the speed the y can reach people in need. 5 Knowledge Management Knowledge is rich, interpretative and often value-laden. In very complex operations recesses, It may De almost Impossible to make ten totality AT Knowledge concerning processes fully and entirely explicit (Slack, 2007).Sofa's operations the explicit knowledge is not possible. Sofas knowledge management is build over time and is a result of Sofas experience in various projects and responses to different situations. Sofas therefore employs the Tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge may be observed and accumulated over time (Slack, 2007). Sofa's strategies are changing based on their understanding of how the world is changing for poor people and what the best response to it would be (www. Sofas. Erg). Sofas needs to understand these changes and react with agility and effectiveness to maximize their impact on to poor people.By improving knowledge management Sofas improves disaster preparedness and response the main purpose of their business. Being an international organization that responds to human needs anywhere in the world it is highly important for Sofas to have a local knowledge. Supplies, its availability and access to it, are a need for Sofas and the knowledge of local suppliers is strategically important. Sofas is building team of trainers and experts to implement their new system around the oral (www. Sofas. Org).Security of their aid workers a knowledge of political situations and predictions in many parts of Third World countries is necessity. Supply Network Every operation is a part of a larger and interconnected network of other operations. Supply network will include suppliers and customers (Slack, 2007). As Sofas works all around the world and has to be able to respond fast to a natural disaster it has to consider many ways of supply. Design decisions of Sofas supply network are important agenda for its operations and supply managers. Sofas supply planning is very unpredictable.They have a network of sup pliers they working with to make sure they are able to react fast to any natural disaster. However to work with the affected community in a longer term they need to be able to find new suppliers in a very short time period who are closer to the area of disaster and can supply the needs of the situation. Attachment 1 states Sofa's supply policy in detail. In the policy Sofas is not only concentrating on to its supply and demands but also concentrate on to the operations challenges as described in section 4 of this assignment.The nature of Sofa's work means inventory problems. It is not cost efficient to keep a large amount of supply on hold in case of an emergency. Keeping too much could resolve in high cost related to storage. Keeping too little could mean that when there is a natural disaster and speedy response is needed, there is not enough of basic supplies such as water, food and blankets. In 2009/10 Sofas has rolled out new software tool knows as Hellos (www. Sofas. Org) to he lp with delivering the right supplies, in the appropriate amount, at the best cost, on time to the people who need it the most.It will provide a real time overview of what Sofas has, where it is and owe efficiently it can be moved to where it is needed. Conclusions It can De concluded Tanat even tone oxtail Is a not Tort pronto organization teen 00 understand the importance of operational management and strategies and acting upon it. Sofas sets clear strategies and reviews them every year. It acts upon the need of updating their operation strategies. The core business of Sofas operations is help to people who are in a need of help and support. Its 5 aims are stated and in their Annual report Sofas clearly states percentage of charitable expenditure.However looking closely on everything that Sofas was involved in over the 2010 eroded, it is clear that the greater the need the faster the response and the less important the money involved in the initial response are. Sofas has set proj ects over the period of time and with regards to these it is easy to apply operational strategies and management. It is when a natural or political disaster happen that Sofa's operations change in priority. Sofas has to be highly flexible to be able to fulfill its promises to all its stakeholders. The five performance objectives and its importance are changing. They are affected by outside forces.There is a need of constantly improving its services and overview its operations strategies to avoid failure in delivering its promise. Sofas works in constantly changing world therefore the operations within Sofas are not only important to keep its cost down but are important for the delivery and action of Sofas motto together we will end poverty. Recommendations Sofas has dedicated supply policy. However their policy does not specify how Sofas improves on smoothness of their supply and costs involved with it. In 2009 Sofas has introduced a system that unites all its international organiza tions.

Event That Changed My Life Essay

When I was in second grade, my dad and I did not get along very well. I used to think my father did not care about me. I would get frustrated with him because he would get mad at me about my grades and my behavior at school. I felt that there was no way that I could please my father. It made me lose all hope; I felt that I would just be a failure for the rest of my life. He would tell me that I did not care or try hard enough to get good grades. He was right. When I was younger, I did not care about grades. I had a friend who was a troublemaker. One time, we had to go to the office because we had a coat hanger sword fight in the locker room with some other kids. I went to the office so many times that year, and I am lucky I did not get kicked out of school. My dad did not like my bad attitude, and he helped me shake it off over the next three years, but it was not some mere walk in the park. It was a rough path my dad and I were on. I hated my dad back then, and I did not love him. I thought he was out to get me, but I am glad that he persisted in helping me. I eventually realized that he was trying to help me, but that was not until around fifth grade. One day, in fifth grade, our anger and frustration had built up, and it erupted into a huge fight. â€Å"How can you say that you love me and care about me?† I yelled at my dad. No, I would not believe it! There was no way he could say that to my face! I continued shouting, â€Å"All you ever do is punish me, ground me, and get mad at me!† Instead of the rage and anger I had expected, my dad grasped me in a hug and whispered in my ear, â€Å"You will not understand how much I love you until you have children of your own.† He went on to tell me that he wanted the best for me and that he was trying to discipline me so that I could take care of my own family one day. Read more:  A Book That Changed My Life Essay It was as if my eyes were opened. I realized my dad was trying to help me, and that he did love me and care about me. I understood that to be able to have children, I would need to discipline them like my dad had done with me. To take care of them, I would need money from my job. It was then that I understood that my dad was preparing me for the future, and I will never be able to thank him enough for that. That is why I love my dad so much. I remember when my dad read a paper I wrote in seventh grade. It was about who inspires me the most. He read it and asked why I said he inspired me the most. I answered, â€Å"That day, that one day back in fifth grade, it all clicked in my brain. I love you dad, and you are my inspiration.† All my dad replied with was a smile, and I could tell that meant a lot to him. Whenever someone asks me who inspires me the most, I always answer, â€Å"My dad is who inspires me the most.† Without my dad, my future would have been destroyed by my past actions. My dad has changed my life for the better. Through the pain I felt, through the tears I shed, through the rage I released towards my father, I have realized my dad does love me. He has also shown me how important it will be for me to discipline my own children, and how good grades will help me get a good job so I can take care of my family. My dad and I are closer than ever now, and I can not believe I ever hated him. I guess sometimes it takes difficulties and arguments to really show you how much someone cares about you.

Kilauea Volcano

Located in the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands are the cone-shaped tops of gigantic ocean volcanoes. Located in the southeast region of the Island of Hawaii, Kilauea sits on the flank (or the side) of the active Mauna Loa volcano, and is one of five shield volcanoes that together form the Island of Hawaii. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, and it is the youngest. Kilauea stands just under 4,200 feet tall above sea level at its highest point. The staff of the U. S. Geological Survey at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory currently lists Kilauea’s Volcano Alert Level as watch  and its Aviation Color Code as orange. Kilauea is studied and constantly monitored because of its continuous lava flow. Kilauea is a broad shield volcano which is a gently sloping mountain made from a large number of usually very fluid lava flows. It is also locally interbedded with deposits of explosive eruptions. Eruptions at Kilauea happen mainly either from the summit caldera or along either of two long rift zones (East and Southwest) that extend from the caldera and run approximately parallel to the coastline and extend to the sea on both sides. Rift zones are fractured zones of weakness within the volcano. The Southwest rift zone is very active and has a desert effect. The crater located at this rift is called Pu’u ‘O’o; the East rift zone is called the Kupaianaha crater. Steam and sulfur vents can be seen and smelt in different areas on Kilauea. The surface of Kilauea is about 90% lava flow less than 1,100 years old, and 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The Kilauea summit caldera is about two miles wide and more than three miles long. A caldera is the actual caving in of the top of the mountain. The summit caldera houses the crater. The high summit of Kilauea is caused by more frequent eruptions than other locations on the volcano. The crater is the main vent inside the caldera, the opening through which lava flows. Eruptions from Kilauea are known for creating volcanic smog (vog). This smog affects many areas of the Hawaiian Islands, including Oahu and Honolulu whenever winds come out of the south or southeast. The estimated age of the earliest above ground (subaerial) eruptions of Kilauea is between 50,000-100,000 years. The last eruption began on January 3, 1983 to the present. During this time, the lava flows have unfortunately caused destruction of nearly 200 houses, resurfaced over 13km of highway with lava, destroyed the National Park visitor center, and a 700 year-old Hawaiian Temple. It has also added new coastline to the island. There are no signs that the current eruption is slowing or will end anytime soon. Kilauea has little vegetation. Kilauea has the volcano status of Historical. Kilauea has had 61 historical eruptions, not counting the continuous lava-lake activity in the crater. The oldest dated rocks from Kilauea are 23,000 years old. The Island of Hawaii sits on (almost in the middle of) the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is a giant jigsaw piece of the Earth’s crust that is slowly moving in a northwesterly direction. It moves about four inches a year. There is a basically stationary hot spot deep within the Earth’s mantle. Heat from this hot spot makes molten lava and rock (magma) that rises through the Pacific Plate and erupts continuously on the ocean floor. After thousands of eruptions and over many many years, an island forms a rocky mass above sea level. It is estimated that Kilauea began to form about 300,000-600,000 years ago, and has been active ever since. Kilauea rose above the surface of the sea as an island approximately 50,000-100,000 years ago. Through geologic studies of surface exposures and drillhole samples, it is known that Kilauea is made mostly of lava flows. Research over the past few decades shows that Kilauea has its own magma-plumbing system, extending to the surface from more than 60km deep in the Earth. On an average day, Kilauea puts out several hundred thousand cubic yards of lava. It also causes frequent earthquakes, but many of them are small enough that only a few people feel them. In Hawaiian the word Kilauea means â€Å"spewing† or â€Å"much spreading†, referring to the continuous lava flow. Kilauea is the home of Pele, the Hawaiian fire and volcano goddess. Several special lava formations are named after Pele. Pele’s Tears are small droplets of lava that cool in the air and keep their teardrop shapes. They are jet black in color. Pele’s Hair are thin, brittle strands of volcanic glass that often form during the explosions that occur with a lava flow, usually from lava fountains. Kilauea Crater is part of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea is the Earth’s most visited active volcano. Unlike most other active volcanoes, Kilauea is approachable, is world-famous, and has been called the â€Å"drive-up† volcano because of the easy access to many of its areas of volcanic activity, especially the summit caldera. I wanted my landform to be in the USA! I chose Kilauea because it is in Hawaii, and one of the most active volcanoes in the world. I thought it would be cool to research.

There are 2 Either one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

There are 2 Either one - Essay Example Therefore, the people would need not to worry about their security and living. To begin with, the expression of freedom of rights was a progressive measure in the country (General Assembly of the United Nations 2). This did not only protect the lives of Americans, but also protected the lives of other people across the globe. For instance, many countries have emulated the universal rights in their constitution. This is to show solidarity in the world. This marked the end of an era where people’s rights would be infringed without a course of action from law enforcers. Previously, there have been judicial and unconstitutional killings and infringement of rights. Unfortunate, the perpetrators did not face justice. This was due to absence of a stringent and stipulated law that governed such activities. Progressively, with the declaration of human rights, such activities have been minimized. Similarly, in the past, citizens used to lose property through unexplained circumstances. T he epitome of leadership was in vast control, which gave the elites more power. This power and control was inappropriately used to devour the citizens of the country. Many people lost property since they had inapt fear and respect to the leaders. Under such circumstances, many people did not know what action to take in repealing their belongings. However, with the initiation and declaration of human rights, such instances are minimized. In the first article, it is explicitly stated that all human beings are born free with equal rights and dignity (General Assembly of the United Nations 3). This has enhanced the freedom of people as every person is regarded equal. Apparently, this has been a supporting clause for women who feel discriminated. Equality and equity is not based on gender. Since everyone is equal, this has been a point of focus to women in the society. Under such circumstances, it is hard to discriminate women or any other person in the society. For instance, disabled pe ople are equal human beings and should be treated equally. Since this is envisaged in the rights of human beings, there is equal treatment irrespective of physicality, gender and disability. In the previous years, race, ethnicity, language, sex, colour, religion and sexuality was used as a distinction. Such factors affected the world in the most negative way. The rights of marginalised groups were infringed without any course of action to rectify such situations. This led to a drift in the society as many people discriminated each other. As a fact, this led to eruption of tension and communal wars in the fight for supremacy. However, with the inauguration of the human rights, such situations are under control. This was a revelation to the many communities that were involved in communal conflicts. Since the human rights entitled everyone to their rights without any distinction, this would end all their conflicts (General Assembly of the United Nations 4). Without such an approach, th e world would still be experiencing the supremacy battles. In the past, slavery was a manoeuvre to enhance the economy of a country. Some countries noted that cheap labour was appropriate for enhanced economic development. As such, many people were slaves, offering fee labour. In some instances, slaves were executed by their owners. This was an inhumane treatment to equal human beings. Apparently, this was a heinous

Midlife development on Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midlife development on Marriage - Research Paper Example This paper aims to identify the challenges that couples go through during the empty nest years or midlife marriage. From a review of the current literature, the paper reveals some of the proposed solutions offered by psychologists and marriage counselors to resolve the problems that couples may encounter. The metaphor of the empty nest has been commonly used to refer to the time when couples are left alone again, after the children have grown up and left their home to build their own lives. The empty nest, as some authors identify, brings challenges to the married couple (Arp & Arp, 1996; Waldron & Kelly, 2009). Some may find these years to be challenging while others may struggle with the new setup. The problems dealt with in midlife marriage are different from those that occur in the early stages of marriage when the couples are young, children are little, and opportunities abound to offer excitement. The current literature suggests that the challenges in midlife marriage are often related to midlife crisis (Jones, 2008; Courter & Gaudettte, 2003). The sad part is, even though both the husband and wife are experiencing the crisis stage, women find it more difficult to deal with their husband’s crisis. ... In many stories, the midlife marriage was ruined by the crisis, as the husband demonstrated incapability to understand and face their crisis. In the same way, unaware of what their husbands are going through, the wives were caught unprepared for the crumbling marriage. The stories of women imply the tendency of the husband to find a new partner despite many years of peaceful marriage, and in spite of the women’s effort to build a perfect home. One of the common characteristics of unhappy midlife marriage implied in the narratives (Courter & Gaudette, 2003; Waldron & Kelly, 2009) is the man’s infidelity alongside with the woman’s financial dependency. Some women confessed doing what they thought would please their husband such as making the house tidy before the man arrives and taking care of the children. Despite these, however, they found out one day the shocking proof that their marriage has fallen as their husband found another woman. Thus, the core of the pro blem could be traced in the way the man deals with his crisis. As Courter and Gaudette note, it is the inability of the man to identify the ambiguities of his experiences and his inability to express his feelings that could lead to a further marital problem. In contrast with the men, women deal with their midlife crisis differently. In Thurnher’s (1976) study, which investigates the differences in midlife marriage perceptions between the two genders, the author notes that women more than men in the middle life express a more displeased evaluation of marriage. Comparing the result of this study to the observation from the Courter and Gaudette (2008) stories, one may verify the inability of men to express their true feelings.

What Are the Fundamental Purposes of Business and the Responsibilities Assignment

What Are the Fundamental Purposes of Business and the Responsibilities of Strategic Leaders - Assignment Example the consuming public, reference will not only be made to those who patronise the products and services of particular businesses but all other people who in a way may be affected by what a business entity does. It is not surprising that in the 1970s, Milton Friedman saw the sole purpose of business as making profits but with time, this changed to a much holistic responsibility of creating and keeping customers by Peter Drucker. Based on the dynamic needs of society by the years, it will strongly be accepted that today, the primary purpose of business is to solve peoples problems. This is certainly an all-in-all purpose that comes with a lot of implications for doing business. First, it implies that people are the real focus for doing business. With people being the real focus of doing business also, it is not just about creating business around people and taking opportunity of them but then engaging in a shared-responsibility that ensures that the people also benefit from the business (Porter & Kramer, 2006). There are a number of theories and concepts that have been used in literature to explain the form of shared-responsibility between businesses and the people. One of these is the concept of sustainability. Under the sustainability framework, businesses are expected to be functional from three major perspectives which are economic, social, and environmental (Porter & Kramer, 2006). As far as economic su stainability is concerned, the old school of thought on the purpose of making profit can be said to be applicable. In the remaining two which are social and environmental however, businesses are deemed to operate in a way that makes them useful to the larger society and the environment surrounding them (Wolfe, 2011). Because of the change with the purpose of businesses, the responsibility of the people behind the wheels of any typical business has also changed very significantly. Today, it can be said that the primary responsibility of senior leaders is to

Bachalor of Commerce, Knowledge and Organisational Learning Essay

Bachalor of Commerce, Knowledge and Organisational Learning - Essay Example Knowledge management has recently emerged to be a successful management strategy that can help organizations manage the available human capital in the business (Noe and Hollenbeck, 2004, p. 1-3). People in the organization are most valuable assets and therefore recruiting and retaining knowledgeable, skilled, experienced and productive people have become highest priority of modern human resources management. This piece of research paper described knowledge management, as an HRM interdisciplinary and examines how it becomes relevant in today’s business landscape. This paper presents various elements that are relevant in the knowledge management process and examines various strategic perspectives as well as suitable technologies for fostering knowledge management in the business. Knowledge Management As Noe (2002, p. 168) noted, knowledge management is a management process that the performance of a business can be enhanced by designing, implementing and strategically aligning va rious tools, processes, systems, structure and cultures with a view to create and share knowledge among its people and to use for overall business purpose. The very basic three elements included in Knowledge management are 1) creation of the knowledge through some effective strategies, 2) sharing of the created knowledge among people and 3) making it available and useful for any business purpose. Knowledge Management has been found to be useful for the organization as it helps it get the products to the target market quicker, develop innovative ideas, serve the customer well in order to maintain customer loyalty and retention and achieve sustainable competitive advantages. As Boxall and Macky (2009, p. 10) emphasized, knowledge management helps a business achieve high performance working through various strategic processes and organizational development programs. Knowledge Management has emerged to be a management tool that focuses on data, information and knowledge among the employ ees in an organization (Awad and Ghaziri, 2007, p. 26) and encompasses the processes by which experience, skills, expertise, knowledge and abilities are gathered, then shared among the people and utilized so that these can be converted to collective organizational learning process (Foster, 2005, p. 397). Knowledge Management Models Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Knowledge management talks about creating, storing, sharing and utilizing data, information and knowledge either throughout papers, documents and database, or throughout the minds of people. This is a classification of knowledge based on where data and information are stored. When it comes to the management aspects, pure data and pure information have relatively less impact for a manager whereas structured data and information are relatively highly useful and effective measures that can be used to analyze and find solutions to issues (Noe, , 2002, p. 170). Based in the above classification, knowledge management is systematic p rocess and strategic approach for obtaining and making use of knowledge in the business throughout papers or documents or computers as commonly referred as explicit knowledge or sharing and making use of the knowledge throughout the people’s minds as commonly termed as tacit knowledge. To be more specific, KM is managing either explicit knowledge, or tacit knowledge or both together effectively. In managing

The role of the management in organizational Behavior Essay

The role of the management in organizational Behavior - Essay Example A readjustment of work-roles and behavior of employee teams, to cope with new challenges, is the first step to initiating changes in organizational culture. It is this first step that translates into new attitudes. Thus, behavior changes attitudes, and not the reverse; change happens from bottom up, and not top down. And for this to happen effectively, the CEO should be willing to change too, based on the signals received by her from the teams at the grassroots. Additionally she has the task of encouraging these teams to 'lead' the company in the direction required, without herself being directive. Her role is that of a competent doctor assisting childbirth. If the process is going smoothly, the doctor waits and encourages the mother, and provides her all the assistance required. Medical intervention should happen only in an emergency! What is the process that teams go through while resolving business issues Beer et al (p160) state that research has proven that "interfunctional coordination, decision making, work organization and concern for people" are the four indicators of performance-in the long run-and not financial parameters, which in the short term, can spike or recede in response to other factors. These four factors are directly connected with team functioning. Apart from this, they talk of six distinct steps (pp161-164) taken by successful managers to elicit task-related responses-i.e. a response ideally suited to deal with the task at hand. What are these six steps First, mobilizing commitment to change through a joint diagnosis of business issues. Here, the operative word is 'joint'. The participation in this process ensures a commitment to the process of change required to tackle this problem. Second comes the process of drafting a 'shared vision' to organize to cope successfully with the situation. Note, it is not the CEO spelling out the steps to be taken, it is the team ('shared') doing this. In this process, new roles and responsibilities are taken on, but since it does not involve change in titles or remuneration there is less resistance to the steps. Here, cross-functional teams operate-teams from across different departments and at different levels of the hierarchy-the only criterion for the composition of teams being that it is the most conducive to task attainment. Then (third) comes a pro-active fostering of consensus for the new way of functioning, and building competence and cohesion to achieve it. The new way of functioning would require new skills, and employees seek to gain these skills. This process is assisted by the management. Apart from this, if the management sends out a message that team functioning is what is required, then the building of competence and cohesion happens quickly and smoothly. (Fourth) Once team functioning has succeeded in one department, it has to spread to other departments. However, it is likely to fail if it is a top-down effort. Other departments, which would be at various levels of readiness to reorganize themselves into new functional teams, need to work out their own way of attaining this. The management has to stand by and cheer, as it were, without pushing. (Fifth) Once the process of change has more or less spread through most departments, the new roles and team relationships have to be institutionalized, so that the company does not inadvertently slip back to the

Analysis of General Theories of History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of General Theories of History - Essay Example Experiences from one generation to another do not vary greatly; thereby it is important to learn lessons from the overall course of history. The first attempt to record the science of history was undertaken by the Greeks about twenty-five hundred years ago. The need to comprehend history and translate its effects into the future does not arise in societies with long-standing and relatively steady social structures. Such a state of affairs is not given much consideration. However, when societies face sudden drastic turmoil which triggers changes in the social structure, then understanding the underlying motives which led to the change becomes imperative. Usually wars, travelling, trade and colonization result in an entirely different culture being imposed on the society which they come into contact with. This forced integration of diverse cultures culminates in a clash between different social strata; so it becomes crucial to identify and comprehend the sources and foundations of such oppositions. Men of knowledge compare and contrast various sorts of governments and social structures in an attempt to resolve differences and bring harmony to the society. It is obvious that conflict resolution is not possible unless conflict description and diagnosis are accurate enough. The role and responsibility of creating accurate problem diagnosis is within the domain of political theorists. Neither has history been created nor have our social structures evolved in accordance with a pre-defined plan. Nature has not dictated the course of events rather it is the people who compose societies who chose their cultural norms, established various institutions and developed ideologies. It is time to realize that the human nature itself is determined by changes in life and labour. History has been shaped by economic progress, division of society in different social-economic strata, changes in condition of labour, advancements in production and trading. In this respect there have be en a number of different contributions to thought on political history from various quarters. The evolution of political history in its current forms can be seen as deriving from the Age of Enlightenment where thinkers such as Hegel and Kant picked up the gauntlet to define history in such a manner. This work was carried on later by numerous others including Karl Marx who has had a major impact on the modern day given his role in the creation of a communist ideology. In more modern terms, the earliest thoughts on the philosophy of history derived from the views and work of Kant. He held that humanity had been driven into its current state of autonomy through the use of enlightened despotism (Kant, 1991) (Murphy, 1994). Kant’s views on the issue can be seen more clearly through his work titled Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose. Kant produced a paradoxical picture by expounding on the one hand that national liberation was only possible through enlightened despotism while ultimate autonomy rested entirely with the individual’s will to gain it (Williams, 1992). Kant recognised that history ensured that progress had to come in human affairs but Kant’s method of delineating the mechanism remains self-contradictory (Hampsher-Monk, 1993). Strangely he holds that liberation lies solely through