Action Centred Leadership

John Adair – Action-centred Leadership John Adair (b. 1934) is one of Britain's foremost authorities on leadership in organisations. Before Adair and arguably still today people associated leadership with the so called ‘Great Man Theory'. One charismatic individual who used his or her personal power and rhetoric to mobilise a group. Adair approached leadership from a more practical and simple angle; by describing what leaders have to do and the actions they need to take. His model was figuratively based on three overlapping circles representing:- 1.Achieve the task. 2. Build and maintain the team. 3. Develop the individual. This creates a clear distinction between leadership and management. Creating charismatic ‘Great Man' leaders is difficult and cannot be relied on. You cannot guarantee that such a person can be developed and, once developed, that they will be reliable. Adair's theory is more practical and shows that leadership can be taught and that it is a tran sferable skill. The three circles in Adair's model overlap because:- 1. The task needs a team because one person alone cannot accomplish it. 2.If the team needs are not met the task will suffer and the individuals will not be satisfied. 3. If the individual needs are not met the team will suffer and performance of the task will be impaired. Leadership Functions Adair lists eight Leadership Functions required to achieve success. These need to be constantly developed and honed to ensure success. 1. Defining the task: Using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Constrained) to set a clear objective. 2. Planning: An open minded, positive and creative search for alternatives. Contingencies should be planned for and plans should be tested. . Briefing: Team briefings by the leader are a basic function and essential in order to create the right atmosphere, foster teamwork and motivate each individual. 4. Controlling: Leaders need self-control, good control system s in place and effective delegation and monitoring skills in order to get maximum results from minimum resources. 5. Evaluating: Assess consequences, evaluate performance, appraise and train individuals. 6. Motivating: Adair identifies eight basic rules for motivating people* in his book Effective Motivation (Guildford: Talbot Adair Press, 1987).Adair also created the 50:50 rule which states that 50% of motivation comes from within a person and 50% from his or her environment and particularly the leadership they encounter. 7. Organising: Good leaders need to be able to organise themselves, their team and their organisation. 8. Setting an example: The best leaders naturally set a good example. If effort needs to be made it will slip and a bad example is noticed more than a good example. Motivating Your Team The eight rules for motivating people:- 1. Be motivated yourself. 2. Select motivated people. . Treat each person as an individual. 4. Set realistic but challenging targets. 5. Un derstand that progress itself motivates. 6. Create a motivating environment. 7. Provide relevant rewards. 8. Recognise success. John Adair's work is in line with motivational theorists such as Maslow, McGregor and Herzberg. He emphasises the need for development of the team and team building. This can be achieved through team building events and using theories such as that of Belbin. Where Adair identifies the need, Belbin provides one of the tools.

Electricity – A Secondary Energy Source

A Secondary Source The Science of Electricity How Electricity is Generated/Made The Transformer – Moving Electricity Measuring Electricity energy calculator links page recent statistics A SECONDARY SOURCE Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. It is a secondary energy source which means that we get it from the conversion of other sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural sources, which are called primary sources. The energy sources we use to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable or non-renewable. Electricity is a basic part of nature and it is one of our most widely used forms of energy. Many cities and towns were built alongside waterfalls (a primary source of mechanical energy) that turned water wheels to perform work. Before electricity generation began over 100 years ago, houses were lit with kerosene lamps, food was cooled in iceboxes, and rooms were warmed by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves. Beginning with Benjamin Franklin's experiment with a kite one stormy night in Philadelphia, the principles of electricity gradually became understood. Thomas Edison helped change everyone's life — he perfected his invention — the electric light bulb. Prior to 1879, direct current (DC) electricity had been used in arc lights for outdoor lighting. In the late-1800s, Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of alternating current (AC) electricity, which can be transmitted over much greater distances than direct current. Tesla's inventions used electricity to bring indoor lighting to our homes and to power industrial machines. Despite its great importance in our daily lives, most of us rarely stop to think what life would be like without electricity. Yet like air and water, we tend to take electricity for granted. Everyday, we use electricity to do many jobs for us — from lighting and heating/cooling our homes, to powering our televisions and computers. Electricity is a controllable and convenient form of energy used in the applications of heat, light and power. THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY developed by the National Energy Education Development Project In order to understand how electric charge moves from one atom to another, we need to know something about atoms. Everything in the universe is made of atoms—every star, every tree, every animal. The human body is made of atoms. Air and water are, too. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. Atoms are so small that millions of them would fit on the head of a pin. Atoms are made of even smaller particles. The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are much, much smaller. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the nucleus were the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of the Empire State Building. Atoms are mostly empty space. If you could see an atom, it would look a little like a tiny center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in their shells by an electrical force. The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each other. They both carry an electrical charge. An electrical charge is a force within the particle. Protons have a positive charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other. When an atom is in balance, it has an equal number of protons and electrons. The neutrons carry no charge and their number can vary. The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance in which all of the atoms are identical (the Periodic Table shows all the known elements). Every atom of hydrogen, for example, has one proton and one electron, with no neutrons. Every atom of carbon has six protons, six electrons, and six neutrons. The number of protons determines which element it is. Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight. The outer shells cans hold even more. Some atoms with many protons can have as many as seven shells with electrons in them. The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons. Sometimes, the electrons in the outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are electricity. STATIC ELECTRICITY Electricity has been moving in the world forever. Lightning is a form of electricity. It is electrons moving from one cloud to another or jumping from a cloud to the ground. Have you ever felt a shock when you touched an object after walking across a carpet? A stream of electrons jumped to you from that object. This is called static electricity. Have you ever made your hair stand straight up by rubbing a balloon on it? If so, you rubbed some electrons off the balloon. The electrons moved into your hair from the balloon. They tried to get far away from each other by moving to the ends of your hair. They pushed against each other and made your hair move—they repelled each other. Just as opposite charges attract each other, like charges repel each other. MAGNETS AND ELECTRICITY The spinning of the electrons around the nucleus of an atom creates a tiny magnetic field. Most objects are not magnetic because the atoms are arranged so that the electrons spin in different, random directions, and cancel out each other. Magnets are different; the molecules in magnets are arranged so that the electrons spin in the same direction. This arrangement of atoms creates two poles in a magnet, a Northseeking pole and a South-seeking pole. Bar Magnet A magnet is labeled with North (N) and South (S) poles. The magnetic force in a magnet flows from the North pole to the South pole. This creates a magnetic field around a magnet. Have you ever held two magnets close to each other? They don’t act like most objects. If you try to push the South poles together, they repel each other. Two North poles also repel each other. Turn one magnet around and the North (N) and the South (S) poles are attracted to each other. The magnets come together with a strong force. Just like protons and electrons, opposites attract. These special properties of magnets can be used to make electricity. Moving magnetic fields can pull and push electrons. Some metals, like copper have electrons that are loosely held. They can be pushed from their shells by moving magnets. Magnets and wire are used together in electric generators. BATTERIES PRODUCE ELECTRICITY A battery produces electricity using two different metals in a chemical solution. A chemical reaction between the metals and the chemicals frees more electrons in one metal than in the other. One end of the battery is attached to one of the metals; the other end is attached to the other metal. The end that frees more electrons develops a positive charge and the other end develops a negative charge. If a wire is attached from one end of the battery to the other, electrons flow through the wire to balance the electrical charge. A load is a device that does work or performs a job. If a load––such as a lightbulb––is placed along the wire, the electricity can do work as it flows through the wire. In the picture above, electrons flow from the negative end of the battery through the wire to the lightbulb. The electricity flows through the wire in the lightbulb and back to the battery. ELECTRICITY TRAVELS IN CIRCUITS Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits (from the word circle). It must have a complete path before the electrons can move. If a circuit is open, the electrons cannot flow. When we flip on a light switch, we close a circuit. The electricity flows from the electric wire through the light and back into the wire. When we flip the switch off, we open the circuit. No electricity flows to the light. When we turn a light switch on, electricity flows through a tiny wire in the bulb. The wire gets very hot. It makes the gas in the bulb glow. When the bulb burns out, the tiny wire has broken. The path through the bulb is gone. When we turn on the TV, electricity flows through wires inside the set, producing pictures and sound. Sometimes electricity runs motors—in washers or mixers. Electricity does a lot of work for us. We use it many times each day. HOW ELECTRICITY IS GENERATED A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The process is based on the relationship between magnetism and electricity. In 1831, Faraday discovered that when a magnet is moved inside a coil of wire, electrical current flows in the wire. A typical generator at a power plant uses an electromagnet—a magnet produced by electricity—not a traditional magnet. The generator has a series of insulated coils of wire that form a stationary cylinder. This cylinder surrounds a rotary electromagnetic shaft. When the electromagnetic shaft rotates, it induces a small electric current in each section of the wire coil. Each section of the wire becomes a small, separate electric conductor. The small currents of individual sections are added together to form one large current. This current is the electric power that is transmitted from the power company to the consumer. An electric utility power station uses either a turbine, engine, water wheel, or other similar machine to drive an electric generator or a device that converts mechanical or chemical energy to generate electricity. Steam turbines, internalcombustion engines, gas combustion turbines, water turbines, and wind turbines are the most common methods to generate electricity. Most power plants are about 35 percent efficient. That means that for every 100 units of energy that go into a plant, only 35 units are converted to usable electrical energy. Most of the electricity in the United States is produced in steam turbines. A turbine converts the kinetic energy of a moving fluid (liquid or gas) to mechanical energy. Steam turbines have a series of blades mounted on a shaft against which steam is forced, thus rotating the shaft connected to the generator. In a fossil-fueled steam turbine, the fuel is burned in a furnace to heat water in a boiler to produce steam. Coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas are burned in large furnaces to heat water to make steam that in turn pushes on the blades of a turbine. Did you know that most electricity generated in the United State comes from burning coal? In 2007, nearly half (48. 5%) of the country's 4. 1 trillion kilowatthours of electricity used coal as its source of energy. Natural gas, in addition to being burned to heat water for steam, can also be burned to produce hot combustion gases that pass directly through a turbine, spinning the blades of the turbine to generate electricity. Gas turbines are commonly used when electricity utility usage is in high demand. In 2007, 21. 6% of the nation's electricity was fueled by natural gas. Petroleum can also be used to make steam to turn a turbine. Residual fuel oil, a product refined from crude oil, is often the petroleum product used in electric plants that use petroleum to make steam. Petroleum was used to generate about two percent (2%) of all electricity generated in U. S. electricity plants in 2007. Nuclear power is a method in which steam is produced by heating water through a process called nuclear fission. In a nuclear power plant, a reactor contains a core of nuclear fuel, primarily enriched uranium. When atoms of uranium fuel are hit by neutrons they fission (split), releasing heat and more neutrons. Under controlled conditions, these other neutrons can strike more uranium atoms, splitting more atoms, and so on. Thereby, continuous fission can take place, forming a chain reaction releasing heat. The heat is used to turn water into steam, that, in turn, spins a turbine that generates electricity. Nuclear power was used to generate 19. 4% of all the country's electricity in 2007. Hydropower, the source for 5. % of U. S. electricity generation in 2007, is a process in which flowing water is used to spin a turbine connected to a generator. There are two basic types of hydroelectric systems that produce electricity. In the first system, flowing water accumulates in reservoirs created by the use of dams. The water falls through a pipe called a penstock and applies pressure against the turb ine blades to drive the generator to produce electricity. In the second system, called run-of-river, the force of the river current (rather than falling water) applies pressure to the turbine blades to produce electricity. Geothermal power comes from heat energy buried beneath the surface of the earth. In some areas of the country, enough heat rises close to the surface of the earth to heat underground water into steam, which can be tapped for use at steam-turbine plants. This energy source generated less than 1% of the electricity in the country in 2007. Solar power is derived from the energy of the sun. However, the sun's energy is not available full-time and it is widely scattered. The processes used to produce electricity using the sun's energy have historically been more expensive than using conventional fossil fuels. Photovoltaic conversion generates electric power directly from the light of the sun in a photovoltaic (solar) cell. Solar-thermal electric generators use the radiant energy from the sun to produce steam to drive turbines. In 2007, less than 1% of the nation's electricity was based on solar power. Wind power is derived from the conversion of the energy contained in wind into electricity. Wind power, less than 1% of the nation's electricity in 2007, is a rapidly growing source of electricity. A wind turbine is similar to a typical wind mill. Biomass includes wood, municipal solid waste (garbage), and agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and wheat straw. These are some other energy sources for producing electricity. These sources replace fossil fuels in the boiler. The combustion of wood and waste creates steam that is typically used in conventional steam-electric plants. Biomass accounts for about 1% of the electricity generated in the United States. THE TRANSFORMER – MOVING ELECTRICITY To solve the problem of sending electricity over long distances, William Stanley developed a device called a transformer. The transformer allowed electricity to be efficiently transmitted over long distances. This made it possible to supply electricity to homes and businesses located far from the electric generating plant. The electricity produced by a generator travels along cables to a transformer, which changes electricity from low voltage to high voltage. Electricity can be moved long distances more efficiently using high voltage. Transmission lines are used to carry the electricity to a substation. Substations have transformers that change the high voltage electricity into lower voltage electricity. From the substation, distribution lines carry the electricity to homes, offices and factories, which require low voltage electricity. MEASURING ELECTRICITY Electricity is measured in units of power called watts. It was named to honor James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine. One watt is a very small amount of power. It would require nearly 750 watts to equal one horsepower. A kilowatt represents 1,000 watts. A kilowatthour (kWh) is equal to the energy of 1,000 watts working for one hour. The amount of electricity a power plant generates or a customer uses over a period of time is measured in kilowatthours (kWh). Kilowatthours are determined by multiplying the number of kW's required by the number of hours of use. For example, if you use a 40-watt light bulb 5 hours a day, you have used 200 watthours, or 0. 2 kilowatthours, of electrical energy. See our Energy Calculator section to learn more about converting units. Last Revised: May 2009 Sources: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2007, August 2008 . The National Energy Education Development Project, Intermediate Energy Infobook, 2007.

A Midsummer Nights Dream Analysis

There are many instances where the love potion â€Å"love-in-idleness is used in the play. The function of this love potion is to make someone fall in love with the first person/creature the see when awoken. The first instance where the love potion is used is when Oberon put’s the love potion on Titania’s eyes. The reason for this was is simply because Titania refuses to hand over the changeling boy. Oberon thinks that if Titania is so infatuated, she will be willing to hand over the changeling boy. Fortunately for Oberon, this is exactly what happens. The second time when the â€Å"love-in-idleness† potion is used is when Oberon orders Puck to place the love potion on Demetrius’ eyes, so he may fall in love with Helena. However, this is not what takes place. Puck accidently places the love potion on Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius’, this cause Lysander to fall in love with Helena. The third occurrence where the love potion was used is when Oberon puts the love potion on the correct male, Demetrius. Although Demetrius is now in love with Helena, so is Lysander. This leads to a conflict where Helena thinks the two males are plotting and making fun of her. Puck realizes that he has done wrong, and puts an antidote on Lysander’s eyes, so when he awake he will be in love with Hermia again. Another time where the love potion is used is very different. A potion isn’t being used to make people fall in love; instead it is to make them fall out of love. This potion is an antidote to the â€Å"love-in-idleness† potion. Oberon places the antidote on Titania’s eyes, out of pity, since she has handed over the changeling boy and has fallen in love with an ass. When Oberon places the antidote on Titania’s eyes that was the last time any potion was used. However, Demetrius is the only one still under a spell. b) The love potion adds to the plot of the play by giving us hints of what to expect next in the play and also complicating the plot. An example of where this idea is portrayed is when the â€Å"love-in-idleness† potion was mistakenly placed on Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius’. This lead to Lysander falling in love with Helena, and out of love with Hermia. This leaves Helena and Hermia confused. Later on, Oberon also places the love potion on Demetrius’ eyes, so instantly he falls in love with Helena as well. Helena now believes that Hermia, and the two males are making fun of her. Helena chides Hermia for treating their friendship so lightly, and the Demetrius and Lysander are ready to fight for Helena’s love. Hermia now believes that Helena has stolen Lysander from her. Hermia becomes furious and is ready to fight the two males then quickly become angry and go off into the forest to fight. Helena then runs off scared. This part of the play shows how one little mistake in the placing of the potion can lead to such huge complications. However, this is a good way to develop the plot of the play because when there are complications there must also be resolutions. c) The love potion helps us to understand the nature of human affections by showing the audience how irrational, the lovers think and act when they are in love. Helena, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, Hippolyta, and Bottom do some very crazy things when infatuated. This is idea was depicted with the love of Bottom and Hippolyta. Bottom was so caught up in infatuation that he began to lose himself as individual. He became very conceited, and was also very oblivious. Bottom was completely unaware about his appearance of being an ass, the entire time he was in love with Titania. Although Bottom was itchy and craving hay, he still had no idea he was an ass. However, Bottom wasn’t the only one who was very oblivious. Titania was also absent minded that she was in love with an ass. She was also so in love with Bottom that she gave up the changeling boy to Oberon. Other evidence that lover act irrational when in love is with Hermia. Hermia was willing to fight one of her good friends for Lysander. Although Helena seems to be the coward and the peacemaker, Hermia on the other hand is ready to fight her. Hermia says â€Å"I am not yet so low but that my nails can reach unto thine eyes. † This statement by Hermia, shows how violent she can be. This new side of Hermia that the audience sees is all brought out by love affections. The love potion certainly gives us an idea of the irrational behavior of the human nature when in love.

Libya's war and its effect on US Communities and Social Change Essay

Libya's war and its effect on US Communities and Social Change - Essay Example When I say economy, we all know that Libya is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and is one of the largest suppliers of oil in the world and in the U.S. The recent conflict that happened and is happening there and the growing efforts to overthrow the present government had only hampered the normal flow of commerce and international trade. In the case of petroleum products for example, because of the war, it will take longer than usual, if not at all, to transport barrels of oil to desired destinations or buyer countries. As a result, freight is higher than normal. Retailers will then tag prices high enough to recover cost. This is what is happening in the U.S. also. As a matter of fact, one barrel of oil has reached $ 140 on 21st of March this year which is a far leap from the $ 103 per barrel price prior to the conflict. Reports said this is a direct consequence of the war. It is a given formula that fluctuations in oil price also affect the prices of basi c commodities. When this happens, inflation is simply at the doorstep of any economy like the U.S. When inflation occurs, the U.S. government will have to opt between pursuing a fiscal or monetary policy to counter inflation.

Nursing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Nursing assignment - Essay Example This confusion poses certain problems in the practice of critical care nursing. The nurse working in the hospice environment has a clear understanding of palliative care in allowing for natural death. But in the critical care area, this understanding is clouded and misinterpreted. The aim of this study is to investigate the lived experience of critical care nurses in relationship to their understanding and implementation of care based on their assumptions. Nurses, the primary caregiver to patients, are infrequently involved in the decision to terminate life saving measures. Many nurses question why a patient with a DNR order should be admitted into the critical care area, and what care is appropriate in light of a patient’s DNR status. The current economic crisis in health care is a very real and publicized problem. Hewitt & Marco, 2004, report that intensive care unit (ICU) costs have continued to climb and now total 20% of all hospital charges in the United States (p.19). Moreover, the growth rate of hospital beds has been 1.4% per year versus 6.2% for ICU beds (Hewitt & Marco, 2004). This issue is particularly relevant in patients with terminal illnesses where the goal of care and suffering are increasingly important issues. And should a DNR order influence other aggressive interventions that are only available to a patient in the ICU? Moreover, the term DNR has different meanings to different health care professionals, fostering a broad range of interpretation. The legal term DNR, indicates that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) not be initiated at the time of cardiac or respiratory arrest (Thibault-Prevost & Hodgins, 2000). However, there is confusion among nurse’s to interpret DNR as a measure to withhold all treatment (Puntillo, Benner, Drought, Drew, 2001). Critical care nurses are particularly affected by DNR orders because they aim to

Raltegravir (MK 0158) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Raltegravir (MK 0158) - Essay Example The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus HIV and is characterized by profound immuno-suppression with associated opportunistic infections, malignancies, wasting and central nervous system degeneration. Scientists have ascertained two types of this virus. The principal cause of AIDS worldwide is HIV-1. HIV-2 is dominantly found in West Africa. HIV fit in to the retrovirus family of viruses. (Bullock and Henze, 2000) The modes of HIV transmission have been well identified and have remained unchanged throughout the history of this disease. HIV is transmitted from one person to another through: (1) sexual relations with an infected person; Worldwide, 75% to 85% of HIV infections are transmitted through unprotected sex. (2) sharing in the use of hypodermic needles or accidental pricking by a needle contaminated with infected blood; and (3) transferring of the virus from an infected mother to her baby during birth or through breast-feeding. When HIV enters the body, it destroys lymphocytes, specifically CD4+ T cells which are white blood cells of the immune system that exert critical regulatory and effector functions involving both cellular and humoral immunity. The virus commandeers the genetic material of the host cell, instructing the cell to replicate more viruses. The newly formed viruses rupture free from the host, destroying the cell in the process. The new viruses continue to infect and destroy other lymphocytes. â€Å"As a result of these observations, it was not difficult to imagine that HIV-associated immunodeficiency was due to virally mediated destruction of CD4+ T cells† (McGune 2001) Over a period that may keep going from a few months to up to 15 years, HIV constitutes an attack on the entire immune system, destroying enough lymphocytes making the system unable to function properly. An infected individual develops multiple life-threatening illnesses from infections that

The topic can be proposed by the writer Assignment - 19

The topic can be proposed by the writer - Assignment Example As a result of falling out between Louise and Sarah, Sarah decided to vote for shares in violation of the agreement with James. Was Sarah right to vote for James shares in violation of the agreement signed with James? The court of trial held that the rightful holders of the office are those people who are elected in a written consent. It reasoned that the consent was effective if only Sarah’s votes counted towards the majority side and her vote could only be counted is her agreement with James did not bind them. For an individual to act effectively as a proxy, a document must identify the shares that are to be voted by the agent. Proxies are usually revocable unless they are able to satisfy the requirements. A duly proxy that can be executed is only irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and only if it is coupled with a sufficient interest in law supporting a power that is irrevocable. The court ruled that James had no power to vote for his share by the time he made contract with Sarah. Basing on the foregoing, we hold that the proxy James gave to her daughter- Louise, failed to satisfy all the requirements of a proxy hence it was

Financial Management of a Small Burger Restaurant Coursework

Financial Management of a Small Burger Restaurant - Coursework Example They provide a rough idea of how the business can be in future and can even identify areas of concerns that can appear in future. Each head in the projected financial statement is based on certain assumptions; some can easily be predicted while some are difficult to predict as they are outside business’s control for e.g. changes in taxes, an unpredictable event etc. (Lasher. 2000; Covello. 1998) In a small business like burger restaurant operative in a college campus, since there are no proper planning departments and tools, the projection technique of financial management can be useful. A typical small burger restaurant’s sources of revenue can be sale of food and beverages. The main heads of costs could be the material costs, packaging and transportation of food etc. In any other business, the restaurants have operating expenses like rents, utilities, labor wages, cleaning expenses etc. Such businesses are not operative in a very dynamic environment nor are very large businesses which have many complexities and changes to take account of. The estimated projected income statement for such a business for 3 years can be presented as below: Pro-forma 3 years Projected Income Statement YEAR-1 YEAR-2 YEAR-3 SALES REVENUE (NET) ($) ($) ($) Food revenue 505,890 570,276 548,674 Beverage Revenue 151,110 153,884 233,682 Food Cost (143,719) (158,863) (168,542) Beverage Cost (47,906) (44,807) (42,136) TOTAL INCOME 465,375 520,490 571,678 OPERATING EXPENSES Advertising 1,200 2,400 3,000 Depreciation 36,000 28,800 23,040 Utilities and Phones 31,080 33,300 37,200 Wages 344,925 356,423 367,920 Officer's Salary 42,000 43,680 45,420 Rent 7,500 7,500 7,500 TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 462,705 472,103 484,080 OPERATING PROFIT 2,670 48,388 87,598 NET PROFIT 2,670 48,388 87,598 The analysis of the projected income statement for three years is detailed below: Revenue: The business deals and serves meals which include foods and beverages. The restaurant serves food items li ke burgers, apple pies, nachos and cheese and salads etc, while it mainly serves beverages and soft drinks with the meal. This makes two main products as the revenue generating which are food revenue and beverages revenue. Food & Beverages Revenue: The food revenue constitutes around 65% to 75% of the total revenue. We analyzed that on an average a customer spends around $6 on an order. Since we have no information about the units of sales and what items of food are preferred and sold we shall assume that out of the revenue received from each customer on an average, a portion of average selling price of food items can be taken as revenue from the food. Similarly for the beverages no information regarding the number of units sold is given, therefore we shall take the revenue as a portion of average selling price of beverages. The beverages ranges from a price range of $1.29 to $ 1.49; this means that out of the total $6 spend on an order by a customer $1.29 to $1.49 will be spent on beverages, which makes around 25% to 35% of the average order that is $6. Rest 65% to 75% of the remaining revenue will be generated from food items. Based on this assumption in year 1, if there are 300 customers everyday and the business operated 365 days a year and an average customer spending is $6, the food revenue on an estimate can be around 77% which makes $505,890 and the remaining 23% can be

Will economic reform along with political repression succeed result in Research Paper

Will economic reform along with political repression succeed result in the Democratization of china - Research Paper Example According to Rummel, democracy can be achieved by regular election; through each particular vote counts, thus leaders are chosen to represent the people and policies that governors are chosen. The right for every citizen to vote is a second way of democracy, and the third is the right for any citizen with the required qualification to vie for the highest office and the right to form political parties in a country. Rummel (Para. 5) further notes that, democratization â€Å"means that a people rule themselves through periodic elections of the highest leaders in which nearly all adults can participate for which offices they are eligible and under the rule of law.† In addition, democracy is sometimes associated with conditions such as the freedom of the media in criticizing the government, its leaders and the policies implemented. Secondly, there is the freedom of more than one political party to competing for power in a country. The third is that the most popular and elected lead er is the head of government. In addition, according to Hauss (Para. 6), democracy is important since it yields to peace in a country. Hence, there is stable peace in democracies as a result of tolerance, trust, cooperation, and reconciliation within a country especially when conflicts arise. The author adds that, just as democratization is important when achieved, it is also difficult to achieve it. The ethnic tensions that result to conflicting issues may create mistrust and intolerance that will yield to lack of cooperation. However, democracy should be effective for results to be evident. China and democracy According to Harding (Para. 3), the Chinese communist party (CCP), had shown signs of embarking on democracy reforms since some leaders of the party had endorsed some issues of democracy, thus showing signs of gradual rise of democracy. However, the Chinese communist party did not choose democratization as one of its strategies in the enhancement of stability in the politica l system. Therefore, direct elections are still limited to the lowest level and nominations are normally controlled by the party. In China, the freedom of non-governmental organizations is limited. In addition, the press in China is usually restricted to some information and so is the internet, thus indicating lack of freedom of the media, which is usually a priority in a democratic nation. The Chinese communist party has only been enhancing more forms of authoritarianism, thus evidently showing that the leaders of this party fear that pluralism may be a risky move in terms of political power and in the continuation of foreign policies, which, ironically, are viewed as of low value by the citizens. In addition, the middle class, which lead to the economic development, was said to be a driver in the promotion of democracy. However, the middle class usually demand for a voice in politics and in China, this group has been rewarded with high salaries, a political voice, and it is repres ented in the Chinese communist party. These have been the strategies used by the communist party to keep the middle class opposition low. Since the middle class members seem to have an interest in democracy, the country has to attend to their demands both politically and economically, so that they may loose their interest for democratization. The China’s middle class believe that the low levels of education and poverty in some part of the country would yield to unworthiness of democracy. Nevertheless, Harding (Para. 9) further argues that, in china for the past years it would have been easier to implement democratic mechanisms by abolishing the property

Long Term vs. Short Term Focus in Communication Essay Example for Free

Long Term vs. Short Term Focus in Communication Essay There are pragmatic differences between sales promotion and advertising, which marketers must bear in mind when attempting to communicate with the customers. The same case will apply when marketers attempt to communicate with customer by defining the appropriate media and non-media communications that are aimed at driving customer interest, demand and sale upwards. Brand value does not always increase the sale of the product depending on the price of the product and affordability. Instead, brand value may be more instrumental in customer retention. In the short term, discounts have the potential of increasing product sales, but in the long term, the customers’ perception of the product may be negative or positive as they ponder over why there was a discount. Primary Differences between sales promotion and advertising There are fundamental differences between sales promotion and advertising. Advertising is the form of communication via the diversity of media with the goal of persuading and making people aware of products or services. Advertising is equally a service to the target and consumers to inform them with truthful contents that are ethically generated in order for it to be accepted by the public. Advertisements are clear, truthful, tasteful, precise, original, reputable and ethical communications to the public. (Guideline Marketing, 1998). Sales promotion is the application of incentives to elicit a positive reaction by the consumer. Sales promotion gives the consumer advantages of using the product or service on promotion. Sale promotions are characterised by sponsorship, free gifts and vouchers, public forum of information, exhibited, educative and consultative. Therefore the fundamental difference between and advertisement and sales promotion is the on their acceptability by the consumers. (Guideline Marketing, 1998). Some media and non-media marketing communication that are typically employed to increase customer interest, demand and sales The media marketing communication that are typically employed to increase customer interest demand and sales are digital media, print media, pod casting , narrow casting and broadcasting, posting mails, telephone marketing, among others. (Promotion and integrated marketing communications, 2007) Non media marketing communication that are typically employed to increase customer interest, demand and sales are price discounts, non-media advertising, special offers, sales coupons, product and services sampling, product and service price rebates, competitions and raffles, games, product and service premium offers and counter promotions. (Promotion and integrated marketing communications, 2007) Does brand value always increase with increasing sales of the product? Not always does value always increases with increasing sale of the product. Perhaps it may help in customer retention. But in some instances, it can increase sales because more sales are a sign that the customers are crediting the brand as well as their perceptions to the product. This has implications that more sales are solidifying the brand value as long as the product is being sold for the purpose of brand building. Brand values that have increased sales due to high sale imply that the brand value is attractive. When the sales increase, there are signs that the customers are satisfied and are bound to make references to other over the value of the brand. (Bacak, 2006). How discounts have the potential to affect short term sales and long term brand value. Under a good marketing management, discounts have the potential of positively affective the short term sales and long term brand value depending on the perceptions of the customers on the brand following the discount. The understanding discount strategy is that the sale force is not overwhelmingly profit motivated. Instead, the priority is to create value that customer perceive as satisfactory. Most business would create a discount to enable more consumers interact with the product or service. (Lin Lin, 2007, p. 1-131). According to Aaker (1991), discounts will provide short term sales competitiveness while customer benefit from the value that will be enhanced in the long term. During the time that a brand is under discount sale force, the consumers are given a chance to identify the product or service with their needs. (Lin Lin, 2007, p. 1-131). An example of products where price discounts positive short term sales increase and long term brand value is the cosmetics. In this case the higher the discount the higher the sales as long as the brand image is highly placed. Thus as soon as the discount is initiated, the short term sales shoot up and the consumers perception of the brand shift and this may be positive or negative. If negative, the consumer could be expecting even more price discounts in the long term. (Lin Lin, 2007, p. 130). Conclusion: This marketing communication paper has come out with very important lessons. First, in order to be successful in marketing communication, it is important to understand the fundamental differences between sale promotion and advertising so that the choice of media and non media communication can be rewarding to the marketing plan. Second, the possibility of an increasing brand value to increase sale is hinged on other factors like affordability. Finally, product price discounts have a short term effect of increased sales but a mixed effect on the brand value in the long term. Reference Aaker, D. A. (1991).Managing Brand Equity:Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name, NY: The FreePress. Bacak, M. (2006, March 18). The Benefit of Branding: Increase Your Sales and Promote Your Product by Building a Solid Brand. Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://ezinearticles. com/? The-Benefit-of-Branding:-Increase-Your-Sales-and-Promote-Your-Product-by-Building-a-Solid-Brandid=163889 Guideline Marketing, (1998). Guidelines for publicity, advertising, practice promotion and allied marketing activities. Retrieved on April 10th, 2009, available at http://www. capelawsoc. law. za/Files%20for%20New%20Website/Guidelines/Advertising%20E. doc Lin, N. Lin B. , (2007, August). The effects of Brand Image and Products Knowledge on Purchase Intention Moderated by Price Discounts. Journal of International Management Studies. P. 1-131. Promotion and Integrated Marketing Communications, (2007). Marketing communications. Retrieved on April 10th, 2009, available at http://www2. cob. ilstu. edu/jsattaw/MKT%20230/Lectures/Lecture%209%20%20Promotion%20and%20Integrated%20Marketing%20Communication. ppt

Multimedia Systems And Applications Computer Science Essay

Multimedia Systems And Applications Computer Science Essay This report gives the details of multimedia computing. Multimedia computing is one of the major research topics in recent years, this field is widely using in different industries like web, gaming, telecommunications and broadcasting networks. Multimedia computing gives the detailed view of multimedia systems, multimedia applications, and multimedia softwares. It is used in presenting the text, audio, video, and graphics in different fields. The development in multimedia computing has made a strong impact on these fields. Fundamentally multimedia computing use the elements such as audio, video, personal computers, and the storage devices to get the synchronisation of animation, text, video and sound to present the information. The multimedia computing mainly depends on the systems and the human computer interaction. The input and output of the computer has changed to the window oriented display using the bitmapped displays. The stable rate in the continuous media like audio and digit al video must be considered in the multimedia input and output. Multimedia applications are now exploring the capabilities of the multimedia computing. Understanding the multimedia functionality in advanced application domains like visualization systems, intelligent interfaces, virtual reality environments, and collaboration environments provides the different possibilities which are not available previously in the human computer interaction. This report discusses the multimedia applications, multimedia systems, technologies and softwares with designs and operating systems. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review 2.1. Key Areas 3. Research Section 3.1. Multimedia systems 3.2. Multimedia technologies 3.3. Multimedia applications 4. Conclusion 5. References INTRODUCTION This paper presents the detailed research about multimedia computing and the contents of multimedia computing. The purpose of this paper is to present the detailed review about the multimedia computing which involves the concepts like multimedia systems, multimedia technologies, softwares and multimedia applications. In this presentation about the multimedia computing the challenges are it is difficult give the review because the multimedia computing is the integration of several multimedia concepts and is difficult to present them as a single component. As an MSc student, while developing a research paper the rule and regulations must have to be followed. And all the information which is required for the research has to be accessed in proper way by using the facilities provided by the university. The research paper should not create any controversy in further approach, and the details presented in the paper must be correct and honest. The main aim of this paper is to provide the det ailed view about multimedia computing and its concepts including the views like the back ground, current status of multimedia computing and possible advancements in future. To achieve this detailed research is required in the field of multimedia and in the technologies using and in the application domains. And the analysis on existing works in multimedia computing field is needed to get an idea about what currently happening in the field and to find the advantages and disadvantages, so that it is possible to know the future enhancements needed. Multimedia is the well known word and widely using in information industry. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Multimedia  means that computer information can be represented through audio, video, and animation in addition to traditional media like text, graphics drawings, and imagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . In general Multimedia can be defined as a field that integrates various forms of media such as text, audio, video, graphics with the computer-controlled integration. Multimedia concept is used to display the text, images, graphics and drawings in the form of audio and video presentations. (Dave Marshall, 2001). LITERATURE REVIEW According to Reisman (1994), the multimedia computing is the rapidly using technology to present the data in the audio and video contexts rather than in normal text and graphics format. In the present days the multimedia systems are using to display the presentations of data as a multimedia content. These systems are capable of processing the multimedia data such as audio, video, graphics, text and images. These systems having the window based display with bitmapped processing. The images and the videos presented through this displays are modified by using the different multimedia technologies like image processing, video compression, visualization etc. The present multimedia systems use the elements like audio, video, storage devices such as CD-ROMS, DVD, Hard disk to get the synchronisation of multimedia contents animation, text, video, audio. According to Different multimedia technologies are used in developing the multimedia content like audio, text, images and video. There are different approaches using in each context, like for displaying the image several processes like jpeg encoding, gif encoding and jpg encoding etc..And for video we use the mpeg-4 technology, and digital video technology is used. Similarly different approaches are used in editing graphics and animations etc. The technologies used for animations and graphics are different from the technologies used for editing of text, audio and video. In the presentation of general data as a multimedia data we need to us all these technologies at one instance, because the data is the combination of text, images, audio, video and more. (Fernando Pereira, 1999) The present multimedia is one the major field which is using in a high extent in information industry, because in any information related thing, there is a need of multimedia to present data. The multimedia is given as by the name itself, combining two or more media as one information. The multimedia concepts used in the development of games in high extent because the games developed depends on the graphics and animations, these concepts can be designed by using the different softwares like Maya , 3D max,3dsmax etc these softwares are mainly using in the development of visual effects and graphics animations etc. There are different softwares which are used to display the images, audio, text and video. The softwares like Adobe, Flash are used to edit or display the images, text, audio, video in the required format. These application softwares of multimedia containing different tools and each tool has its own specification in developing, editing or displaying the information. (Mahbubur Rahman Syed, 2008) Key areas: According to Fernando Pereira (1999), In general multimedia computing is the key area in information industry. The key areas in multimedia computing are multimedia systems, multimedia technologies, multimedia softwares and multimedia applications. These areas are explained in detail below. The multimedia computing has more applications and important in several fields. The multimedia computing also includes the topics like multimedia operating systems. Multimedia is mainly depends on the systems and technologies used in displaying the information and also on the multimedia softwares which are used in developing the information. To accept all these technologies and to execute the components of softwares used in developing the multimedia systems must contain the operating system which is capable of processing the multimedia components. The operating system which can capable of processing the multimedia contents like audio, video, text, graphics is known as multimedia software. The multimedia is the hot area with its applications and tools that are used in developing the multimedia components. The presenting of information which consist the audio and video along with images, graphics and animations is difficult to process, because the operating system has to run all the fields like systems and softwares and the technologies of multimedia simultaneously so that it can provides all the information in the display that contains the multimedia components. The key area in multimedia is its life cycle. The life cycle that is followed when a multimedia component is produced is known as multimedia life cycle. The life cycle consists the phases such as analysis, design, implementing, testing and executing. To develop a multimedia application such as presenting the information, gaming applications or animated displays etc, have to follow the multimedia life cycle. First we need to analyse the requirements and identfy the charecterstics and have to to the analysis abou t the designs . such that we need to clarify which designs has to be use, and which is the best software to develop the designs and the technologies that has to use. From the above analysis the implementaio or the development of the application has to done, the testing is the important phase in development, the testing has to done according to the appliction developed and the performance has to be analysed . (Ralf Steinmetz, Analyzing the Multimedia Operating systems,1995 ). RESEARCH SECTION According to Matthew E. Hodges and Sasnett(1993), Multimedia computing gives the in-depth overview of information design, advances in multimedia technology and system representations to system designers, system planners and to the users. The concepts of multimedia such as multimedia systems, multimedia designs, multimedia softwares and multimedia applications are all parts of multimedia computing. Multimedia computing is responsible for presenting the information in audio and video format. The systems which are able to process the multimedia components like data and applications are called as the multimedia systems. These systems have different characteristics, components. The characterisation of multimedia systems is based on their capability of processing, storage, manipulation, generation of multimedia information. The designs which use the multimedia concepts to present the data containing the text, images, graphics, and drawings as a multimedia presentation like audio and video format are known as multimedia designs. The designs are used based on the requirement in the presentation of data. The softwares that are used in developing the multimedia components of data are known as multimedia softwares. There are different types of softwares like adobe, flash, 3dsmax using for various applications. The multimedia computing has been using in different fields. It has a wide range of applications in various domains like gaming, World Wide Web, interactive TV, virtual reality etc. The Multimedia computing applications use the multiple fields of media sources like text, video, audio as a collection. Multimedia computing is the combination of all the above multimedia concepts. The above all concepts are explained below in detail. Multimedia computing evolved with the concepts of multimedia such as multimedia systems, multimedia technologies, multimedia softwares and multimedia applications. This research section clearly focuses on the detailed views on these multimedia fields. The existing works in these fields are described in the literature review section. 3.1. MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS According to Dave Marshall (2001), the definition for the multimedia systems can be given as the systems which are able to process the multimedia components like data and applications are called as the multimedia systems. These systems have different characteristics, components. The characterisation of multimedia systems is based on their capability of processing, storage, manipulation, generation of multimedia information. The multimedia systems use the bitmapped windows oriented displays to display the contents. These are capable of processing the multimedia contents. The multimedia computing is more dependent on the configuration of these systems. The configuration of the systems can results in the display of multimedia contents and to process some of the multimedia softwares and technologies the high configurations are required. The characteristics, challenges, key issues and the desirable features of multimedia systems are given below Characteristics of multimedia system The basic characteristics that a multimedia system is, the multimedia system should be computer-controlled. To process the multimedia components the multimedia systems should be integrated. These systems have to represent the information digitally. They have to use the interactive media as an interface for the presentation of final information. These characteristics have to be possessed by the multimedia systems. Challenges of multimedia system The multimedia systems have some challenges such as distributed networks. It is difficult to process the multimedia content over distributed networks, because different types of systems are used in different networks and the configurations are not same, so the content that is displaying may undergoes changes. And the other challenge is temporal relationship between data. This is a problem in presenting the data when there is a relationship between data using in the presenting information. This is like using the audio video for same display needs the lip sync. Key Issues The key issues in the multimedia systems are related to the representation of data such as how to store and represent the temporal data. And the issues in maintain the relationship between the temporal data in multimedia presentation. The other issues involved like data compression and representation. There is a need of compressing the data when it is using large volumes of data. And some other issues are involved related to analogue and digital data representation. (Reisman, S. 1994). 3.2. MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES According to Mahbubur Rahman Syed(2008), In general the multimedia technologies can be defined as the technologies which are used in processing of the multimedia contents to present the multimedia information. The technologies include video, audio, text, image and graphics. Each of these technologies is responsible for providing the data as multimedia content. These technologies are responsible for processing the images by using the technologies like jpeg encoding and decoding, and like the other formats gif, and jpg. And technologies that are used for encoding and compressing the videos use the MPEG-4 technologies. The technologies are based on the multimedia concepts like generations and the dimension views. The whole technologies of multimedia are responsible for presenting the data in detailed view which consist of the multimedia contents. 3.3. MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS According to Ralf Steinmetz and K. N. (2004). The multimedia computing has wide range applications in different fields, because the applications are used to present the information in audio and video formats. The sectors which are dealing with the processing of the information will use the multimedia applications. The applications of multimedia are used in mobiles, televisions, World Wide Web, networks, games, visual effects, digital video processing systems, hypermedia courseware, virtual reality, video conferencing etc. The applications of multimedia are designed on the basis of requirements of multimedia component presentations. The applications designed as discussed above, by using the designs, technologies and softwares. 4.CONCLUSION The present world is dependent mostly on the multimedia and its applications. The developments in this multimedia computing provide various features for the users and developers. With the applications of multimedia the information industry changed a lot. The evolution in multimedia provides the features like games, internet, and presentations of data in variety of formats. The fields of multimedia like systems, technologies, applications and softwares are all used simultaneously in the systems achieving the best results. And by overcoming the drawbacks like memory usage and temporal relationship between data, multimedia applications can processed easily and gives the best results. The above paper discussed the concepts of multimedia and key issues and desirable features of multimedia computing.

Compare/Contrast Rip Van Winkle and The Devil and Tom Walker Essay

Both of the stories by Washington Irving are fictitious tales written in the mid 1800’s. The author, Washington Irving, was an influential author. He invented narrators, who were both comical and fictional, to explain his stories. His work was based on German folk tales, and he added an American twist to the age-old tales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first thing that strikes me after reading both of these stories is that Irving uses inflated diction in both. This is another reason Irving became so popular. This way of writing made the story more enjoyable and comical. However, to some readers, inflated diction could be confusing and annoying. Either way, this style is prevalent in both of the stories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another thing these stories have in common are eit...

Researching the Asian American Culture Essay -- Cultural Identity Essay

Researching the Asian American Culture There are fundamental differences between Eastern and Western cultures and the meeting of these cultures has had several effects, both in Asia and here in the US. Overseas, you can see the juxtaposition of American pop culture on the older modes of Asian thought and society. Here, New Age religions find new excuses in Asian religions and philosophies and Anime is appears regularly on Saturday morning cartoons. Often, this juxtaposition becomes turbulent as the younger generations are caught between two seemingly opposing cultures. As a result, crime rates rise with the integration of Western ideals and culture into Asian society. This is true here in America too as the first generation of Asian-Americans are born and brought up by Asian parents, with Asian thinking, in American society and culture. This conflict manifests itself in our history as a nation as well as in modern universities and businesses. Historically, the United States has not been kind to Asian immigrants and until as late as 1965, legal discrimination against Asians has been an accepted part of American culture. In the mid-nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants began to come to the United States in response to the gold rush in California. By 1852, over 20,000 Chinese had emigrated to the United States. Many of these would end up working on the Transcontinental Railroad as contract laborers. Local groups demanded, however, that the flow of emigration be stopped and in 1858, a law was passed that barred the Chinese from entering. This began a series of laws and treaties with China and Japan that would govern Asian emigration to the US. In 1868, Chinese emigration is reopened as a result of the Burlingame... ...ginning to result in more and more first and second generation Americans in the business and professional world. More and more Asian doctors, always a popular profession, can be seen today. The recent dot com craze similarly resulted in a disproportionate number of Asians heading up companies, although this has yet to manifest itself in the larger corporations. (no hard data on this, but I could probably find some if you need) However, Asians are rapidly becoming a greater force in American culture as the proportion of educated Asian-Americans rises. Despite small numbers, they begin to have more and more influence in the business and professional worlds as well as academics. They are an interesting group, however, caught between two extremely different cultures as they seek to strike a balance between the ideals of their parents and the world they live in.

Performance-based Compensation - Pay for Performance Essay -- Job Work

Performance-based Compensation - Pay for Performance Corporations are looking for new ways to improve employee performance as well as remain competitive. Pay for performance is one method some businesses are utilizing to improve employee performance. Performance-based compensation exists when compensation is tied directly to that portion of an individual’s performance that can be effectively measured. There are a number of ways in which this may be accomplished and a number of examples as well how it is applied. One of the oldest examples is taken from the ancient Egyptians, where slaves working in the pyramids were given bread for superior performance. Payment of commission for sales production is one of the methods used today. Most will agree that knowledge is the ‘key’ resource in this post-industrial economy. The challenge for many companies is developing an organization that creates and cultivates knowledge and learning. Pay plays a significant role in shaping workplace behavior. Most of the traditional pay systems reward the job the individual performs rather than the skills he/she brings to the job. The system is not being able to reward the things the company needs and this presents a barrier. The trend has moved away from pay for the value of the job, service and seniority. It is being replaced with paying for skills, knowledge, competency, performance and productivity, all which can be delivered through different invitations, from changes to base pay to introducing gainsharing. HOW DOES PAY FOR PERFORMANCE WORK? If part or all of the one’s salary is contingent on how well you actually perform your job, one will go the extra mile. The individual will attack his/her work with vigor and revel in the rewards. And... ...aining 34, Number 12 (December 1998): 34-40 Hays, Scott. "Pros & Cons of Pay for Performance." Workforce 78, Number 2 (February 1997): 68-72 Johnson, Sam T. "Plan your organization’s reward strategy through pay for performance dynamics: Compensation & Benefits Review 30, Number 3: (May/June 1998): 67-72 Kalbaugh, G. Edward. "Opportunity Compensation." Rough Notes 141, Number 7 (July 1998): 71-72 Marino, Sal F. "Pay your rank and file fairly." Industry Week 248, Number 3 (February 1999): 18 Morrison, Arnold. "Performance Management and Pay Programs." [http://www/mdcs.state.mi.us/wf_aquis/Programs2.htm]. April 1997. "Bonus and Incentive Pay Plans – FAQ." [http://www.ipma-hr.org/research/bonusfaq.htm]. January 1999. "Guidelines for Administration of Merit Pay Plan." [http://www.hr.ucsd.edu/docs/classification/merits/guideline.html]. September 1998.

Bmw Startegic Planning Essay

Strategic planning can be defined as the process of developing and maintaining consistency between the organisational objectives and resources and its changing opportunities. Hence strategic planning aims to define and document an approach to doing business that leads to satisfactory profits and growth. This approach or strategy sets the general direction for the use and management of all resources including information, throughout the organisation. Generally this direction will remain valid for an extended period of time. There are several major components that make up the strategic plan. They may appear in various documentations formally or informally defined and they may collectively represent the values and priorities of the organization. These components are mission, vision, goals, objective, strategy and policy. Relationship between Mission, Vision, and Objective Both of mission and vision are relate to an organization’s purpose and are typically communicated in some written form. In mission and vision statement, BMW Malaysia can known about the value, and what they wants to run the business. BMW have a clearly communicated, widely understood, and collectively shared mission and vision have been shown to perform better than those companies without them (mission and vision), with at that they related to effectiveness when strategy and goals and objectives were aligned with them as well. BMW have the mission, vision, and objective in the process of planning strategies to attract the customer. In the relationship between mission, vision, and objective is aim the goals of BMW Malaysia Sdn. Stakeholder Stakeholders are individuals, group, or organization that has direct or indirect in an organization because it can affect or be affected by the organization’s actions, objectives, and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organization include creditors, customers, directors, employees, government, shareholders, suppliers, unions, and community from which the business draws its resources. Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholders’ analysis is a process of systematically gathering and analyzing qualitative information to determine whose interests should be taken into account when developing and/or implementing a policy or program. Stake holder analysis is important to BMW Company because they need to do an analysis for their own plans so that they can find out what mistake they has done it and make a correction on it. This analysis also will determine that they can make a comparison with other competitors. Although, the stakeholder analysis originated from the business sciences, it has evolved into a field that now incorporate economics, political science, and game and decision theory and environmental sciences. The current models of stakeholder analysis are applying a variety of tools on both qualitative and quantitative data to understand stakeholders with their position, influence with other groups and their interest in a particular reform. It also provide an idea of the impact of reforms and the potential power struggles among the groups and individuals and helps identify potential strategies for negotiating with opposing. Furthermore, another importance of stakeholder analysis is risk prevention. Analytic stakeholders sometimes would bring complicated and complex analysis and sometimes unexpected problem. Therefore, stakeholder management should carefully managed the business environment occur in the company. Unexpected negative development in the BMW Company can increase the risk. Last but not least is the rationality. The management should perceive the ability of the stakeholder group as to measure the financial performance. The stakeholder commitment can show a moral duty by claim the benefits from the stakeholder management to the ethical principle. Conclusion As a result, the stakeholder analysis is an effective methodology as to evaluate the management process in the BMW Company. This analysis can help the management construct the identifiable and effective control and management. This analysis can convey sufficient and active project for BMW Company. Introduction Most of the companies are practicing the organizational audit and environmental audit which may help them to solve any problem in the company and also give them opportunity to improving their business. Organizational audit can be defined as internal audit which is provide the independent professional service, to serve not only foe management, but also the whole organization. Besides that, it also may assurance that an organization’s risk management, authority and internal control processes will be operate effectively. This means that the organizational audits will arrange or care the important basic issues such as survival and prosperity of the company. Environmental audit can be clarified as the broad. This will include all the outsider people to involve in the company. Or in other meaning, it is a systematic of dealings between any business operation and it is surrounding. This may contain the air, land, water legal constraint. For example, it may cause the community around the business, places that they doing the business, and the public’s perception of the operating company in the local area. Besides that, environmental audit can be simplified as an independent third party of assessment of the current status which may occupy the organization’s agreement with local environmental law. It also will be the assessment of the financial advantages and disadvantages for the company. Factors that affect the internal audit Internal factors are identifying through SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis consists of strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strength and weakness probably come for the management of the manager and employee. While the opportunity and threat is coming from the customers. Factors that affect the external audit External factors are identifying through PEST analysis. PEST analysis consists of political, economical, social and technological. Technological and economical variables are affecting by the media. While the political and social are affecting by suppliers and distributors. Conclusion BMW has analysed their organisational audit and environmental audits with the SWOT and PEST analysis. The analysis tools is where you recommend and improve their through this analysis tools can helps the company measure the performance of the internal and external factors in BMW Company. Introduction Strategic positioning is important part in a company. It is because, it will advertising the strategies to consider. For example the product or brand to be effectively positioned within the customer’s mind, general research into target audience, competition’s advertising activity needs to take place. If the strategic positioning is successful, it may be situate the product in the mind of the customer when it comes to purchase time. Besides that, the criteria that a management should become aware of is the price, quality of product, convenience, time, and relevance which will attributes consumers associate to brands within a category. Strategic positioning is important to a company because they are a tiny little business which can plan heated down to one sentence. Besides that, it also will briefly define the target, the categories which the company struggles, the differentiated benefits, and what the company must do to prove the differentiated to the customer. Moreover, strategic positioning also will develop the brand positioning to forces the company to consider what they want to be successful. Without a clear and good strategic positioning, the company may lose lots of time and money in hopeless. If the strategic positioning is not be clear, it doesn’t have real, meaningful, differentiated value to the marketplace and your organization, it will be not only wandering but somehow it will aimlessly, the chances of real success are greatly lessen. Strategic Positioning Techniques Strategic positioning is a key to business success. It has the advantage to help the company to focus what they do and market place to know what you stand for. This strategic position of a business includes the devising the desired position of the basis present and foreseeable development. Their strategic positioning techniques are show as below: I. Market Segmentation Segmentation system is well designed to measure the interests, attitudes and behaviours of their marketing mix. Segmentation, targeting and positioning are tools that a company used to gain competitive advantage in the market. Market segmentation is the process of dividing the market into similar groups according to the characteristics planned for the product acquire. BMW is a huge and well known automotive industry in all around the world. Therefore, their market segmentation is bigger than others. They need to fulfil many requirement by differentiate their marketing plans. Other segmentation is target marketing. Target market can recognise the diversity of customers and what the company offering. Different customers have different needs so it is possible to satisfy their customers by treating them alike. This segment enables a company like BMW trade individual marketing plans of each customer group. Market segmentation is torn into some section which is geographic and demographic segment. Geographic segmentation variables require the region, size of population areas, population density and climate. Big population can increase the faith and build trust among their customers. BMW Company also can be their strategic position in gain the customer’s trust and believe. While, demographic segmentation includes the age, gender, family size and life cycle and others. When the family have big members, even when one of the members is purchase with BMW, the others can build their trust towards the BMW’s products. They will analyse through the product that the members bought from BMW. II. Benchmarking Benchmarking is the process of identifying the best practice on how the product is created and delivered to the suppliers and customers. The objective of benchmarking is to understand and evaluate the current position of a business or organisation. Benchmarking examine on how the company achieve their performance levels. This technique helps the company explain the process behind the excellent performance that the company acquire. Strength of benchmarking is lies on the way the organisation measure the impact of the effectiveness of their processes. For example, BMW has famous and huge benchmarking form the automotive that they produce. They own benchmarking make their financial become higher and higher. This includes the activity such attracting the customers by meeting their needs. All the department will work together to gain the customers concerned. One type of benchmarking is a strategic benchmarking. This strategic benchmarking is concerned on the strategic action and change. BMW has many strategic actions in market their product to all their customers in the international market. Their most target market are individual which has family and many member. BMW offers security for each of the automotive that they produced. The person that used the facilities that BMW offer will feel secure and they always trust to deal with BMW in future. The best benchmarking process need to carry out properly as to gain the experiences repeatedly. The best practice is used by the successful organisation as a tool of continually improving the production. The reason of product development can offer the necessary to undertake the best practice that BMW acquire. Conclusion As a conclusion, BMW has their strategic objective to be achieved. The technique that I can propose to BMW to achieve their objective is benchmarking and market segmentation. These techniques will bring effectiveness to the BMW performance and helps BMW develop their strategic positioning.

Fauquier Gas Company Essay

Fauquier Gas Company, is one of the nation’s 440 gas companies, served an area where land use was changing from agricultural to residential and commercial. The company is beginning a new project that consist of having 3  ½ miles of lines ready to be hooked up by September. This is another one of the demands that Fauquier have on their hands not including the additional 10 lines that they plan on starting for next project. It takes great deal of engineers and contractors and constructions workers to meet this deadline, not to include precise planning. Mr. Clive Byers is the construction project manager, Mr. Charlie Buck is the design superintendent, Pat Wilson is design engineer, Sam Law is project engineer, and Mr. Bill Murphy is the manager of supply management. All of these individuals are under management of the vice president of operations for the company. These individuals play a huge role in meeting all requirements and specifications for this project. In order to meet all the deadlines into building this project all parties involved have to communicate effectively. Mr. Murphy is responsible for ensuring all the supplies that goes into ordering is placed and delivered in a timely manner. Mr. Murphy has ran into a road block, he is unable to retrieve the purchase request for the pipeline. Pat Wilson, the design engineer who is in charge of going through all the specifications has change the diameter of the pipe to 24 inches. Mr. Murphy asked why they change in the wall thickness and length. Wilson informed him that the operation of the line would be governed by less stringent specifications, making the wall thickness  ¾ inches and the length would be 57 feet. Pat was considering cost as a role in the project based on her design and that lead to the change in the specifications. As the specifications is getting sorted out by Pat Wilson, Mr. Murphy was getting concerned about the economic consequences and the schedule impact of the proposed changes in wall thickness and length of the pipe. Mr. Murphy is being faced with many logistical and supply problems due to not having the purchase request. Mr. Murphy has done projects before and understands the lead time that he needs to place orders in order to get supplies delivered. There is already a time line to break ground and start construction in June. Mr. Murphy last communication with Pat Wilson was on April 14 and without the specifications being worked out accordingly Mr. Murphy is unsuccessful with meeting his deadline with the companies who supply the pipeline and  wrappers. Mr. Murphy should just contact Mr. Buck the superintendent for the design department and try to figure out how the process can be expedited. If customers are expecting their gas pipelines to be hookup by a certain deadline then I feel that since Fauquier is trying to branch off and do commercial property then they need to meet all deadlines in order to have a good review. It seems although the team of people are not communicating and instead of keeping each other informed of the process that leaves Mr. Murphy reaching out to figure out what is the hold up with the design specifications. To fix this issue I feel like the superintendent should have put deadlines on all the departments so that everyone would have adequate enough time to prepare and plan. Mr. Murphy has been asking for purchase request since over hearing a conversation at lunch that took place in January. There is no reason why he should still not have what he needs after speaking with Pat Wilson in April about the specifications. If deadlines are in place and meetings are being made every two weeks with updates then I feel like they would be able to break ground in June and the supplies would have already been on order and delivered in a timely manner. 1.What are the key facts? Mr. Murphy is responsible for the purchase of materials used in the gas distribution process such as fittings, pipes and meters. Mr. Murphy is also responsible for the procurement of furniture, stores management, materials forecasting and control, systems and forms. Fauquier Gas company has a deadline to have 3  ½ miles of lines ready for hookup by September. Mr. Murphy is concerned about being able to find a supplier who could deliver 3  ½ miles of large diameter pipe. 2.What is the problem? Mr. Murphy is unable to process the order for the project to receive the supplies in a timely manner for the construction to begin in June due to the design team and the superintendent Mr. Buck. 3.List and discuss three alternative solutions. Mr. Buck needs to have meetings in relation to the status of the project and  the specifications. He needs to set deadlines, due to a large number of workers that are involved in this project to ensure that everyone is meeting the requirements for the project to begin in June and be finish by September. 4.What is your recommended solution? To fix this issue I feel like the superintendent should have put deadlines on all the departments so that everyone would have adequate enough time to prepare and plan. Mr. Murphy has been asking for purchase request since over hearing a conversation at lunch that took place in January. There is no reason why he should still not have what he needs after speaking with Pat Wilson in April about the specifications. If deadlines are in place and meetings are being made every two weeks with updates then I feel like they would be able to break ground in June and the supplies would have already been on order and delivered in a timely manner.

Bubonic plague Essay

Bubonic plague has emerged and spread rapidly across towns, cities, and rural areas in several worldwide epidemics through the whole of history. Probably the earliest mention of bubonic plague is the Old Testament record in the First Book of Samuel giving an account of swellings and rodents that made attack on the Philistines (Ackroyd 55-57). The bubonic plague later hit the falling apart Roman Empire in the period of the sixth and seventh centuries. And from 1348 to 1350, the plague known as the Black Death brought the suffering and death across Europe and China, killing perhaps one-quarter or one-third of the population. This terrible epidemic outbreak of the deadly and highly infectious plague in China and Europe, that became possibly the worst catastrophe in all written history, still remains one of the most important and controversial tragic events through the history. Many professional historians of medicine analyzed the origin and spread of the Black Death, trying to explain or understand the origin and flow of epidemic disease during that period. This paper will discuss some of the perspectives and historical accounts by giving a glimpse of the evidence that various historians have considered. The Cause of the Black Death Most historians acknowledge that Europe and China experienced population pressure and famine in the 1300’s. Supporters of the demographic model usually link famine with plague, sometimes directly, sometimes vaguely. Famine and population pressure, state North and Thomas (1970), â€Å"set the stage for disease† and often were associated with the origin of the plague (1-17). Supporting such point of view, Le Roy Ladurie (1972) described the Black Death as a â€Å"holocaust of the undernourished† (3-34). Historians indicate that the Black Death had been preceded by the periods of famine, in particular the great famine of 1315-17 that was experienced by European population in the north, and it is also recorded that considerable population increase in general had already been reported before the Black Death. Consequently, analysis of supporters of the demographic model would suggest that the massive expansion of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries generated a situation where population growth went faster than food resources, with the outcome that lack of means by which population could maintain life became more serious and facilitated the origin of the epidemic. Other historians disagree. Thus, for example, Jean Meuvret (1993) argued that there was no simple or direct cause-effect relationship between famine/population pressure and Black Death. Jean Meuvret’s position was confirmed by Jean-Noel Biraben in a great study of the plague (Grmek and Fantini 319). Biraben demonstrated that although bubonic plague often originated after famine, there were many examples when famine came after plague and other cases in which plague was not accompanied by famine and vice versa. The historian came to conclusion that in the case of the Black Death there was no cause other than the plague itself that could have brought about epidemic. There may be found some relationship between famine and disease, he indicates, but it was not because famine became the cause of the plague; rather, it was because plague, after striking, aggravated famine as a result of the considerable stagnation of agriculture and economic disorder. Moreover, in all the recent medical literature that examines plague taking into account historical cycles, there is found no direct connection between lack of food and plague origin. These considerations generate doubt about the position of the demographic model. The Spread of the Black Death This section will begin by asking where Black Death came from, and why it emerged when it did. There is general agreement among contemporary observers and today’s historians that the Black Death of the fourteenth century originated in central Asia. Although it is hard to tell for sure, but there is also a growing opinion among historians that the Black Death came and expanded across Central Asia from China in the period of the 1340s and in 1347 it infected medieval Genoese traders who had established roots between Europe and Central Asia, it almost instantly emerged in Constantinople and was then right away communicated by the trade routes to the widespread areas of Mediterranean and western Europe. Historians have found out that already by the end of 1348 most population of southern and western Europe had been infected with this rapidly developing disease. It soon appeared in England and two years later it already hit the rest of the British land, Germany and Scandinavia. It is estimated that between a third and a half of all Europeans were killed by the Black Death of 1348-53 (Loudon 66). The dreadful disease spread every day from the sick to the noninfected. It was even not necessary to be near the infected: even being in contact with their clothes or anything they had touched was enough to become infected. Most of the poor population was not allowed to leave the houses and became sick every day by thousands. And for insufficiency of appropriate medical service and other things, almost all unavoidably were destined to terrible death. The epidemic killed whole communities. John Saltmarsh presents account of the genocide, economic stagnation and depression brought by plague. He refers to a French historian who described in detail deserted villages and farms. Saltmarsh cites a Franciscan Friar, John Clyn: Lest things worthy of remembrance should perish with time, and fall away from the memory of those who come after us, I, seeing these many evils, and the whole world lying, as it were, in the wicked one – myself awaiting death among the dead – inter mortuos mortem expectans – as I have truly heard and examined, so I have reduced these things to writing; and lest the writing should perish with the writer, and the work fail together with the workman, I leave parchment for continuing the work, if haply any man survive, and any of the race of Adam escape this pestilence and continue the work which I have begun (Creighton 115). This situation was not confined only to Europe. Beginning from the 1320s, the Black Death had carved its way along the roads of Central Asia. In particular China was hard affected. Some sources indicate that by the 1390s the population of China may have dropped to approximately 90 million from 125 million (Gottfried 35). Interpretations of the Black Death Medical professionals are now of the same opinion that the Black Death was the bubonic plague, arriving from central Asia, and carried by fleas and rats, which were widespread in medieval Europe. Medieval doctors, however, naturally possessed no knowledge to determine by diagnosis anything so dependent upon microscopic examination of phenomena. As a result, the plague was often attributed to God’s rage against the special depravity and corruption of that period. Thus, for example, in Piers Ploughman, Reason â€Å"proved that these pestilences were for pure sin, and the south-west wind on Saturday at even was for pure pride, and no point else† (Sumption 15). Contemporary astrological specialists noticed the deadly union of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. In addition, Jews were oppressed and destroyed as there was information that they had poisoned wells. Medical representatives had two opinions: the first group claimed that the cause was miasma, pollution of the air, and the second group considered that direct contact was the cause and recommended complete isolation. The quarantines were absolutely useless, taking into consideration the fact that the disease was transmitted by rats and fleas, but these nuances were not known until additional studies were done after the next great plague emerged in the 1890s. Conclusion Human devastation was tremendous in the period of the Black Death, and the demographic, economic, political, social, and psychological impact of the plague was greatly felt for many decades. This paper explored various points of view of historians studying epidemics of the past and their explanations of how and why the great epidemic emerged, spread rapidly and caused so high mortality. It also looked at various interpretations of this disease by contemporary observers.

James Alan MCPherson- Personal Life

When one begins to look Into the life of James Alan McPherson you find a very common story among people of his time. Born In 1943 In the south, he lived during a time of segregation. He worked numerous odd Jobs while going to a Catholic school to help support his mother and siblings when his father developed a drinking problem and was jailed. McPherson felt that his father had abandoned his family and that it was his responsibility to help support them in his father's absence. His father had found it difficult to be licensed as an electrician even though he was a master electrician.Since he was a black man, he was repeatedly denied his license due to his race. McPherson left Georgia and continued to work at various Jobs as well as to continue his education. In 1 962 he was a server on the Great Northern Railroad while he attended school in Baltimore at Morgan State University. He graduated in 1965 from Morris Brown College. From there he went to Harvard Law School and University of Iowa. With his formal education completed he had Hue and Cry published In 1969. McPherson married and moved to San Francisco In 1974 to teach at the university ofSanta Cruz. He remained there for 2 years before moving on to teach at the university of Valhalla. Throughout his teaching career he continued to write and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1978. He was the first African-American to win the award. Rather than being excited and speaking to people about the award, he hid out and avoided people. He found no joy in the fact that he had won; instead he feared the reactions of his white counterparts. He was afraid their reactions since he was winning â€Å"their† award. In 1979 McPherson wife gave birth to a daughter, Rachel.He and his wife .NET through an unpleasant divorce. He tried to gain custody of his daughter through the courts but was not successful. During Earache's childhood visits, they would go to Disneyland and visit friends throughout the united States. During this tim e McPherson felt that he needed to spend his time parenting his daughter. During her childhood he TLD publish any works. Instead he worked behind the scenes. When Rachel started college he began to publish hills work again since he felt like he was free to do so. McPherson writing reflects the total of his life experiences.He is able to draw upon those experiences with segregation and the changes that he has seen through his lifetime. Works Cited Henry, DeWitt. â€Å"About James Alan McPherson. † 2012. Www. Shares. Org. 12 04 2014 . James Alan MCPherson- Personal Life By clansman When one begins to look into the life of James Alan McPherson you find a very common story among people of his time. Born in 1943 in the south, he lived during a and was Jailed. McPherson felt that his father had abandoned his family and that it continue his education. In 1962 he was a server on the Great Northern Railroad while f Iowa.With his formal education completed he had Hue and Cry published in 1969. McPherson married and moved to San Francisco in 1974 to teach at the University of University of Virginia. Throughout his teaching career he continued to write and won people. He found no Joy in the fact that he had won; instead he feared the reactions would go to Disneyland and visit friends throughout the United States. During this During her childhood he didn't publish any works. Instead he worked behind the scenes. When Rachel started college he began to publish his work again since he felt

Find a story to write about and analyze the story Essay

Find a story to write about and analyze the story - Essay Example What makes the conflict more complicated is the age gap of the major people involved—the adult doctor and the ill child. Apparently, the child has no power to refuse medication; the right to resist is in the hands of her parents. But what happens if there is an element of harm involved? What if the child knows that she will feel pain or get hurt by the medical procedure based on previous experience? Is it still unjustifiable to allow the child to decide for herself? And, most importantly, is the use of force justified in a situation wherein a child with a possible life-threatening illness is uncooperative? It is a common knowledge that doctors are the people to go to in cases of life-threatening illnesses. These doctors avowed to the duty to preserve life. However, this duty has its limitations. The fatally ill patient has the right to resist medication, especially if s/he knows that it will bring him/her pain or harm. But what if the patient does not have the decisional capac ity, like a child? The release for consent goes to the parents or guardians of the child. In the story, the child’s parents obviously permitted medical intervention. However, the mother tried self-medicating her child first, and when her methods did not work, she and her husband decided to call a doctor. This fact alone shows how helpless the situation of the child is, which forcibly places her at the mercy of her parents’ decisions. It is obviously against the child’s will to call the doctor. Even at the very beginning of the incident, the child already showed signs of distress when the doctor arrived: â€Å"the child was fairly eating me up with her cold, steady eyes, and no expression to her face whatever. She did not move and seemed inwardly, quiet†¦. But her face was flushed, she was breathing rapidly, and I realized that she had a high fever† (par. 4). This observation alone may suggest that the child felt frightened seeing the doctor. As the s tory goes on, the resistances of the child becomes stronger. Despite of the reprimands of her parents, she continues to fight back and refuse medication. The child, as a human being, and not as an individual with adequate decisional capacity, is fighting for her right to avoid pain. Obviously, the child associates the image of a doctor with pain. She proves this when she shouts in frustration, â€Å"Don’t, you’re hurting me. Let go of my hands†¦. Stop it! Stop it! You’re killing me!† (par. 25) By firmly resisting, the child affirms her right to avoid pain, and her power to sway the decision of her parents. By showing them that she does not want to be treated medically, and that she is being hurt in the process, she effectively forces her parents to rethink their decision about the matter. Her mother finally said: â€Å"Do you think she can stand it, doctor!† (par. 26) Likewise, her father seems to begin to falter: â€Å"The father tried his b est, and he was a big man but the fact that she was his daughter, his shame at her behavior and his dread of hurting her made him release her just at the critical times†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (par. 23) But the doctor did not waver and insisted that he has to get a throat culture to save her from a possible fatal disease. While the child is fighting for her right to avoid pain, the doctor is strongly fighting for his professional oath—to preserve life. The doctor is trying his best to keep calm because he knows he has to fulfill his