Ebay Case Meg Whitman Essay

In 1995, Pierre Omidyar founded eBay, an on-line company whose purpose was to facilitate an environment where people could not only exchange goods, but also have discussions, make connections, and form relationships. He carefully crafted a culture based upon, â€Å"trust, respect, autonomy, empowerment, and equality,† and sought for the eBay community and company to be reflective of those principles. eBay was successful because Omidyar realized that a respectful, symbiotic relationship with this on-line community was critical, â€Å"because eBay wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for [the] community. In 1998, Meg Whitman was brought in as CEO to strengthen the eBay brand and to develop a stronger marketing strategy. In this, she was remarkably successful. In little over a year, eBay registrants grew from 88,000 to 3. 8 million users. The company successfully went public, revenue just about doubled every quarter, and acquisitions and partnerships were made to increase the customer base. However, the rapid growth under Whitman caused a major problem for eBay: it put a strain on the culture and the community upon which eBay was successfully founded. With growth came the need for more rules and policies. For instance, Whitman made the decision to ban the sale of firearms to keep the company free of legal liabilities. Many in the community and company were shocked and outraged by this policy because it violated the eBay values of open communication and trust. Also, the acquisition of Butterfield and Butterfield, a prestigious, high-end auction house, was taken as a slap in the face. It violated the eBay value of respect, and the community saw this purchase indicative of the company’s priorities being focused on higher profit margins, not building and maintaining relationships with its existing community. There are clear reasons why the eBay community felt its culture was being left behind in the wake of rapid growth. First, the strategic design of eBay dramatically changed under Whitman’s management. eBay was previously built upon a small, flat and flexible team of engineers who worked together without many formal chains of authority. This open work environment perfectly mirrored the community Omidyar sought to create online, and the internal company practiced its values of respect and trust on a daily basis. However, Whitman correctly recognized that as the company grew, more formal structures and positions would have to be put into place to bear the burden of greater demand. With expert consultation, she reorganized the engineers. She eventually added eleven different vice presidents in upper management. In little time, the company transformed from an informal, flat model to a formal functional structure. This enabled growth, but it also created tall hierarchies that diminished the culture of open communication. For instance, lower-level employees and the eBay community both back-lashed at the decision of banning firearms for largely the same reason: they had no idea such a policy was forthcoming. Upper management made this decision without outside consultation. Even though it was the right decision for the company, it was handled and presented in a way that violated the culture eBay was built upon. In 1999, Whitman formally created a Community Watch group to monitor the website for fraud. Initially, eBay â€Å"counted on its users to abide by its user agreement and take much of the responsibility for safeguarding the site themselves. But, the community had grown too large to be self-monitored. Again, the decision was appropriate, but so many structural changes implemented in so little time was too much for the community to absorb without reaction. Moreover, the political nature of eBay changed rapidly. Pierre Omidyar, eBay’s founder and developer, had the rare gift of leading with b oth referent and expert power. He used this power to create a strong sense of community throughout eBay. He also used his referent power to give Whitman legitimacy in both her position as CEO and in her consequential actions. His support was effective at getting the company to align behind her decisions, but the external community did not see this support and were more suspicious of the company’s new direction. Whitman’s decisions were all sound and applauded by Wall Street. But the community saw what was once a democratic forum turning into a big business. Her lack of consultation with the community lead one user to brand eBay as having a â€Å"cavalier attitude,† and a â€Å"political agenda. † Lower level employees also saw this lack of communication. Where there were once full company meetings weekly, now they were held, at most, once a quarter. Power was concentrating. Clearly, this power shift was positively causing growth but negatively affecting culture. In her defense, Whitman was not indifferent to the culture at eBay. She stressed hiring people who understood and wanted to expand the eBay culture. But at the same time she outsourced customer service to a location in Utah, far from where the gatekeepers of the eBay culture were to be found. Therefore, those directly working with the community may have been the least in tune with its values. Also, she applauded and maintained the â€Å"no penalty† culture where everyone could voice their opinions and feel free to change their minds. However, with the growth of the company, there were fewer opportunities for a voice to be heard, less direct contacts with upper management, and fewer voices involved in major decisions. This led to decisions being made that were sound individually but not corporately when placed in the eBay culture. It also proved difficult to spread this culture to the plethora of newly added users. And it is critical because it built the community, which built the company, and if it is removed, those elements that made eBay a unique success will be gone. Therefore, eBay needs to find a way to maintain its culture. One way to correct this problem would be to implement more cross-functional teams internally. These teams would recreate the initial eBay structure of being team-based, autonomous, and flat. They would allow different departments to address problems and offer valuable input into pending company policies. This lateral flow would lead to decisions that would keep more in line with the original eBay culture, thus satisfying the community at large. The downside to these teams is that it gives Whitman and others less authority to use in making decisions for the company. Another alternative would be to create a formal system of distributing information and gathering feedback from the eBay community. This would create an opportunity to communicate values as well as pending or upcoming policy changes. This system of polling through email would empower the community to have a cogent voice once again and would reestablish the feeling of one-to-one communication. The downside is that if the company decided to go in a direction different than that of the community, those polled and involved could lose faith and optimism in exercising their voice. Finally, Whitman could create a separate company under the eBay name where she could make mergers and acquisitions without alienating the base users and without directly affecting the company. This would help maintain the existing eBay culture, but it would do nothing to repair any damage done. Moreover, having a different arm will not expand their user community of eBay, which is eBay’s vision. Whitman should create a formal system of distributing information and gathering feedback from the eBay community. This mechanism would be two-fold in design. First, eBay would create a oalition of the â€Å"top sellers,† those truly engrossed in the eBay community and whose interests are aligned with both company and community. Upper management would formally integrate the opinions and responses of this group (on issues ranging from policy to community values) into its decision-making processes. Also, the use of widely sampled polls of eBay users on the same issues would help th e company get a feel for how the broader community at large feels about important issues. This would be positive for the community because it would give them a legitimate voice in the company again, just as it had at eBay’s inception. It is important to remember that eBay is unique in that the community it serves is the company itself. Soliciting, responding to, and implementing the voice of this community improve eBay; even with its now more functional structure, it will only help the company know the needs and opinions of its community, which will strengthen business. The downside to this move is that after hearing out the top sellers and looking at the data of a poll on a particular issue, Whitman and upper management may still feel that an unpopular direction needs to be taken. Some users may feel patronized and refuse to participate in future polls. Even so, many in the community will be appreciative to at least be involved in the process and to be forewarned of pending changes. Once again there will be a dialogue with the community that will attribute value, trust, and respect to its opinions, even in disagreement. In this manner, eBay can grow and still stay small.

Evaluation of Bretton Woods Institution’s Influence on the Sovereign Decision Making Essay

Truly our global economy works in complexity as various collaborations and interrelationships happens between countries around the globe. Because of the interaction of different economies, Bretton Woods Institutions were established to guide those developing countries towards the attainment of impressive economic growth through the assistance of developed countries. Two of the major organizations under the Bretton Wood Institutions would be the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which provides research and financial services to developing countries to boost the economic activity of developing countries. Despite of the said gains that World Bank and International Monetary Fund offers to developing countries, a lot of debates concerning the real effects of such â€Å"intermediation† of WB and IMF happening on various parts of the globe. In this regard, the main question that this paper will about to answer would be: what are the effects of Bretton Woods Institutions programs on the sovereignty of developing countries and would there be really benefits that can be derived by developing countries on such existence of international institutions in the long run? These are some of the questions that we will uncover by the end of this paper. One of the main programs of World Bank and IMF for the developing countries would be to lend funds that can be used for economic development such as building of various infrastructures like roads and bridge that are essential to attract more foreign investors (Fischer et al 2003: 4). Aside from this, both of the identified international institutions provides research assistance as to how to deal with various economic problems such as poverty, high inflation and unemployment rate as well as stabilizing financial sector of the economy. But the only problem with IMF and WB would be their policy-conditional lending wherein they demand reforms on various economic policies of developing countries like lower tariff rate for United States or higher tax discount on foreign investors from developed countries in exchange for funds. Therefore, to some extent, IMF and WB, influences the economic policies of developing countries by requiring the latter to comply first on IMF and WB’s policy reforms before granting those financial aids. Since it is the government that makes economic policies, sovereignty is now at stake every time developing countries borrow money to MF and WB since the government becomes powerless from the demands of IMF and WB, and just let these international institutions to change whatever economic policies that is currently being implemented. For the past two decades, IMF and WB have been able to influence every developing country around the globe. Lending money serves as the powerful tool of IMF and WB in successfully penetrating the sovereignty of a given developing country in exchange for funding. In the short run perspective, every one would agree that IMF and WB are of great help for developing countries. But in the long run, due to their interventions on economic policies of developing countries, there is a tendency that the policy-conditional lending of IMF and WB would not fit to the nature of economic activities a certain country has thereby will only cause instability in the next coming years. In this regard, it is already clear that the policy-condition lending of IMF and WB would only provide short lived benefits for the economy of developing countries since negative effects of the said intervention would offset all those benefits. It would be better if IMF and WB would minimize its interventions on economic policies of developing countries to give room for the latter to have sustainable economic development.

Respective culture Essay

‘The Gold Cadillac’ can be seen as quite similar to ‘A Stench Of Kerosene; where the mother appears powerful as Dee has the power to stand up to her husband. This is portrayed after Wilbert has just brought the new car and Dee says: ‘That Mercury wasn’t even a year old’. And when she refuses to ride in the car: ‘ †¦mother refused to ride anywhere’. From Dee’s character we get the impression that she has power not only as a mother but also as a woman. However in Pritam’s story only mothers have the power and only mothers and wives are respected in society because they are believed to be the women’s roles in society. This is shown in ‘A Stench Of Kerosene’ where Manak’s mother is referred to only as Manak’s mother giving us the impression that she is only considered as a mother in society and nothing more. By calling her this she is being robbed of her identity, individuality and in some ways of her freedom. On the other hand in ‘The Gold Cadillac’ it seems that even black women have power which is surprising as when this story is set there were many racist states in America. We get this impression from when the mother is constantly referred to as Dee giving her, her own personal identity and not limiting her to her role as a mother or as a wife like Manak’s second wife who we only know as Manak’s second wife. At the start of the story the father Wilbert is completely against the idea of selling his car. However, by the end of his story he has had a change of heart and decides to sell the car. This is a very surprising change in his attitude, considering his attachment to the car at the start of the story. His decision may be down to fear, which his daughter was put through whilst riding in the golden Cadillac and how much of a risk he realised they were all at after being arrested by the police: ‘driving this car any further south with you girls in the car, it’s just not worth the risk’. This could be seen as similar to ‘A Stench Of Kerosene’ in the sense that Manak’s mother is concerned about what is best for him just like Wilbert and Dee are concerned about what is best for their two daughters. In these short stories both authors show different approaches to the prejudice issues of different cultures. In ‘ The Golden Cadillac’ Taylor shows us this by telling the story through the eyes of an innocent and confused little girl. By doing this Taylor makes the effectiveness of racism all the more clear to the reader. In ‘A Stench Of Kerosene’ Pritam uses a completely different approach. She shows how women are not treated equally through Manak’s treatment of Guleri. She also shows how women are not treated fairly through Manak’s second bride, she is bought by Manak’s mother, Manak does not love her and it is as though she is a piece of property. Also Manak’s mother does not seem to care if she hurts Guleri or the second bride as long as her son benefits from it. Guleri feels betrayed as she was in love with Manak and he took a second bride, which is why she kills herself. In these short stories two very different cultures are displayed. In ‘A Stench Of Kerosene’ we see an Indian matriarchal society where mothers have the most power within their families. We also see that the women who are not married or mothers do not have much power. In ‘ The Gold Cadillac’ we see that the story is set in America where it appears at first that black people have equal rights. However, it is clear that in the south they do not. We also see that mothers have the freedom to challenge the decisions of their husbands and are respected just like all the men. The ways in which the two stories are set are similar. ‘ A Stench Of Kerosene’ is set in India; we get the impression that people get on well in this society. However, as the story progresses we realise the disadvantages faced by women. We are similarly misled in ‘ The Gold Cadillac’ in fact it is not immediately that the family in the story is black until we get further into the story. At first we think that black people are equals in society until the family travels into the south and receives much discrimination. In both of the stories ‘The Gold Cadillac’ and ‘A Stench Of Kerosene’, the authors Mildred Taylor and Amrita Pritam attempt to convey the harsh realities of their respective culture. In Pritam’s story women are not always treated as equals and in this case they are not respected unless they are married or are mothers. In Taylor’s story she is attempting to show us that in America black people have not always been treated as equals. In each case the authors appear to be pitiful of the ways in which women and black people are belittled in society. We as the readers are shown this through the strong imagery, brevity of structure and the narrative impact. Both authors give us meaning and the reader is left with a wider knowledge of how culture informs the way in which people are treated depending on race and gender.

Syntactical issues for a education bilingual Research Paper

Syntactical issues for a education bilingual - Research Paper Example For this reason, English speakers have the difficulty in choosing the gerunds, which can fit a specific context or the infinitive ending of a verb if they need to translate the language. While there is a specific way of determining the different ways through which gerunds are formed in Spanish, some cases are difficult to determine in interpretation of the different things from Spanish to English may not be straightforward. For example, in forming gerunds with Spanish word that end with -er, -ar, and –ir, the addition of the words are added the –ando for all that end with –ar and –iendo for all words ending with the –er and –ir. This may be a form that people may have ease in interpreting but still this could pose a difficulty in interpreting the different words that the English language use in different contexts. In interpretation of the words that end with the –ando or iendo, the English speakers interpret them as by adding –i ng at the end of the of the verb form of the word. This makes it easy to understand the meanings of all the words that appear in the language in both language and interpret them with ease of determination of the endings (Jehle par 2-3). In understanding the gerunds, however, there are words that take only the verb form only in Spanish but in English, they are either verbs or nouns in the language. For instance, the word viviendo in Spanish, which means living in the English language has the form of a verb only in Spanish but is both a verb and a noun in English. Another word like bablando, which means speaking in Spanish, may take the verb and a noun and therefore, may make it difficult to determine the correct meaning of the word. This means that an English speaker may have difficulty in determining the best way to translate the different forms of the words that they need to use in the English form from the Spanish language. For instance, those who are learning to use the Spanish m ay encounter difficulty to determine whether a word written in Spanish is either a verb or a noun in English (Schwartz and Causarano par 1). In having gerunds in the Spanish language, there are special cases that are common in the language use, which do not necessarily take the form of –ando for -ar or –iendo for –er and ir. This is because some forms of gerunds take the other forms of gerund, which is not the usual even though they may end with similar letters from at the end. These are determined by the endings of the stem of the sentence in which case, it is not obvious to determine when an English speaker is using it. Some of the special cases of determination of gerunds in Spanish include the change of –iendo to –yendo in some cases of words whose stems have a vowel ending that is in its basic form of the word. For instance, the word caer in its continuous form becomes cayendo and in the same case, the word leer will take the form of leyendo i f there is addition of a gerund. Another special case is some words have their own change of the stems, which may take change of –o- to –u- or to –ue- so that they may have their own gerund. For example, in addition to the gerund of the word dormir, the word changes to durmiendo, this does not take the form of the first stem and then the normal ending of the gerund (Jehle par 3-7). In terms of infinitive there are

Stagnancy Kills Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Stagnancy Kills Life - Essay Example I am a simple human being who is living a simple life in the state of Texas in a city called El Paso in country called the United States of America. I am not a philosopher or a psychologist or a millionaire to have a brilliant outlook towards life. Hence, what is stored in this time capsule is a genuine representation of the way the common people lived their life in the year 2010. It will give you an idea about how an ordinary life of mine was transformed into an extraordinary life because of the brilliant contributions in the field of music, literature, art, movies, cultural phenomenon etc. Looking at the past, I can see that there has been a tremendous change in the lifestyle of people with inventions of machineries and computers. However, one can definitely realize that even if the material and social aspects of life have changed, the emotional and the mental aspects of human beings have remained the same. That is, the emotions of love, affection, bonding, fear and comfort are the same as it was hundreds of years back. Also, the mental aspects like ambition, desires, power and basic needs have remained the same. This shows that even though the external means through which people try to fulfill their internal needs have changed from ages to ages, the basic human tendencies have remained same from ages. Hence, I am sure that the time capsule that I am going to leave to be opened after hundred years will help the people who open it to realize that no matter what changes a human being goes through on the material level, or how much ‘modern’ he becomes, his n eed for human touch will always remain the same.

Impact of the world bank and UNCTAD on developing countries Essay

Impact of the world bank and UNCTAD on developing countries - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) is a trade development agreement and the world’s apex financial institutions like World Bank have highly conjectured on the welfare dynamics of the developing nations. In the exorbitant milieu of a complex business process and developing globalization, economic inequality can be said to be one of the primal parameters in the measurement of the growth and the developmental judgment of several economies of the world. Capitalism, colonialism, an influx of capital spread and concentration of wealth has generated prosperity among several territories of the world and has given rise to the developed and rich nations. In the trading pattern also the developed countries have been seizing a mammoth amount of wealth with the dominance over the less developed and developing nations and have brought the mechanism of the trading pattern in their own hands with the dictating behavior of the wealth in their own hand and the drawing of the valuable resources for production and economic development in their own territorial entity. The less developed and the developing nations of the world have been highly lacking in resources and lacking in wealth accumulation with the dominance of the developed and rich nations in their favor. The lack of resources, as well as the lack in the wealth accumulation of these countries, have made these countries plunge into the realms of a vicious circle of poverty and have lead to the utter misfortune of these countries. Thus there has been the requirement of various international financial institutions to try and develop the economic deterioration of these countries and impart these countries towards the trajectory of sustainable growth. UNCTAD’s motive was directed towards a stylized development mission. At that juncture, the world has been changed drastically and the critical division of the East-West was making the very lit tle significant change after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The axis of the North-South was a reality of the world with the North being depicted as the developed nations and the south being that of the developing as well as the developing nations. The trajectory of the development on the angle of North-South division was becoming the prime concern regarding the division of the developing as well as the developed nations. At this critical juncture, there was a high emergence of a developmental strategy which would be throwing the developing nations towards a domain where they will be receiving a high sigh of relief. The creation of UNCTAD was basically conjectured on the agenda of promoting development and advancement to the un-developed as well as the under-developed and newly independent countries as well as the newly industrialized countries (NICs). The main purpose of its establishment was focused on the economic integration of these economies into the world economy through the method of a balanced approach. It was the time when UNCTAD was developed, the world was at the summit of the East-West conflict and the south has been emerging as an economic clustering of poor countries vis-a-vis the northern countries which are the rich countries.

Quantitative Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Quantitative Methods - Essay Example Walmart, Inc uses online customer survey feed back form regarding employees’ courtesy, quality of product and services, competitive price issues, overall satisfaction level to know the perceptions of the consumer. It is very important for a retailer to know its consumers well or it might loss the share of the market in the competing environment of today. Walmart, Inc is renowned for having happy and satisfied set of customers. It is possible only because they know their customers well. Quantitative analysis generates statistical data through the large scale survey research using different methods like structured interviews and questionnaires. The researcher tries to reach as many respondents and collect information to the highest extent possible. The quantitative analysis is mostly used by construction companies, financial market advisory company. They believe more on statically data, analysis them and finds out the future requirements, predicts the market for opportunity for exploitation. Like Gannet Company Inc analyze on financial data and publishes all the financial information of different companies. From this information, many investors find out the company of investment, where their money can grow and provide a higher return. So, it is important to analyze the data in a quantified manner so that investors can easily understand and make their choice. Science is an intellectual search. The scientific approach is essential for analyzing the data which needs an inductive reasoning to derive to general principles based on specific observations. Generalization is powerful weapon to make prediction. To control the dependent and independent variables, scientific research is mandatory. The research done with the help of scientific approach is more reliable and valid. The scientific approach minimizes influence of biased prejudices in the experiments. Companies like Merriman Market Analyst uses scientific way to analyze data from daily stock

My Position On A Healthcare Or Social Issue Essay

My Position On A Healthcare Or Social Issue - Essay Example ld be afforded quality healthcare is the main concern and how to go about it when most of these individuals are employed secretively without contributions to major healthcare services. From a personal view, I believe illegal immigrants should be granted the same quality healthcare provisions as the American citizen regardless of their financial or career status. There are many risks associated with hospitals and clinical environments when dealing with illegal immigrants, as many diverse demographics of immigrants do not have access to the same variety of healthcare providers as those who contribute weekly to such programs through their place of employment. The risks include non-payment after services have been rendered or simply having this group exploit the system through fraudulent activities. Even though there are failsafes to prevent this, in areas of the country where there are concentrated populations of immigrants, this becomes a significant concern especially for the self-practicing physician networks that rely on timely revenues from patients. Illegal immigrants, especially certain ethnic groups, have large family networks either domestically-born or travelling as a group into the country without governmental support. Poor wages and lack of access to quality healthcare providers, such as Health Alliance Plan or Blue Care Network, bring into question whether or not these large family groups will be pursuing medical treatment on an ongoing basis as part of preventative care services. There is already over-crowding in certain clinical environments which puts tremendous strain on physicians and patients alike, thus these immigrants pose risks to the general community population. However, the reason I feel so strongly about the importance of providing healthcare to this group, regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds, is due to my personal beliefs on the ethical value of human beings. The American healthcare system is one of the most advanced in the

Equity and Trusts Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Equity and Trusts Assignment - Case Study Example The second general point is that in order for any trust provision to be valid, it must comply with the rule set out in Knight v Knight2 by Lord Langdale MR. This states that there must be three certainties in the trust provision, certainty of words, certainty of subject matter and certainty of objects.3 The certainty of words requirement was described in Re Kayford Ltd.4 as being akin to a certainty of intention. The intention is to impose a mandatory obligation on the trustees of how the trust property is to be dealt with. Regarding certainty of subject matter I do no see any issues. English law has long recognised the distinction between real and personal property, with real property being land, interests in land, and fixtures.6 Coupled with the condition that the property be in England and Wales, this description would allow for a clear identification of the trust property. Per Ungoed-Thomas, in Re Golay7 as long as property is capable of ascertainment, it will be valid. Regarding certainty of objects, if this is a discretionary trust then the requirement, as set out by the House of Lords in Macphail v Doulton8 is that it must be possible to determine whether any individual is within the class of beneficiaries or not, with absolute certainty. The Court of Appeal further clarified this requirement by stating9 that what was required with a discretionary trust was 'conceptual certainty' of the class. 'Evidential certainty' would then only be required for the members of the class that were actually to benefit, and the rest of the class, or the 'complete list' of beneficiaries need not be defined. However, since it states that the proceeds are to be distributed equally, it could also be a fixed trust, in which case the stricter requirement, known as 'complete list' certainty is required10. This means that there must be 'conceptual certainty' regarding who is or can potentially be a beneficiary. As well as this, there must be 'evidential certainty' identifying clearly, every single member of the class. Only if full certainty is present in both of these senses, will the trust be upheld as certain of objects. In this case, it should not be too difficult to establish who are the grandchildren of Marcus and therefore this provision should be successful. My shares in Delta to be sold and the proceeds, at the discretion of my trustees, to the employees and ex-employees of Delta. According to the beneficiary principle, 'for a trust to be valid it must be for the benefit of individuals'.11 This follows the simple logic that without beneficiaries, there is no owner of the property. This is the basic reason why purpose trusts, trusts that have as their goal some purpose other than the direct benefit of persons, are also invalid. However, in Re Denley's Trust Deed12 it was held that the maintenance of property for the benefit of

Cumulative paper based off e-book provided Essay

Cumulative paper based off e-book provided - Essay Example My expectations were fulfilled when I read the chapter thoroughly as all core issues about crime and crime control were there in the chapter in detail. After reading the chapter, I learned the types of crimes occurring in the United States of America, as well as the some of the basic laws and official policies regarding crime control. The thing I liked the most in the chapter were the tables of statistics showing the types of crimes and number of victimizations for year some particular years. I also liked the tables showing changes in the rate of crimes from one year to another. However, I would have liked this chapter to provide a detailed knowledge of the ways to control the rate of crimes. Chapter 2: The second chapter of the book builds upon the knowledge shared in the first chapter of the book. This chapter includes a discussion on various perspectives of crime control and crime control strategies. These perspectives provide a clear knowledge of the significance of crime control for establishing peace. The chapter also includes a detailed discussion on the causes and consequences of crimes, as well as draws attention towards the limitations of retribution incapacitation and incapacitation of retribution. The chapter also includes a discussion on the basic goals and objectives of crime control and crime control strategies, such as, retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation and deterrence. I thought of this chapter as if it would be having details about the perspectives of critics and supporters about different types of sentencing or crime control strategies. I did not have an idea that the chapter would also include a discussion about the causes and consequences of crimes. When I read the chapter thoroughly, my expectations were partially fulfilled as some of the issues that I had in my mind were discussed, such as, perspectives of crimes and crime control strategies, whereas the chapter did not highlight the perspectives of critics and supporters regardi ng appropriateness of sentencing models. After reading the chapter, I learned about the causes and consequences of crimes, as well as about the limitations of adopting different crime control strategies, such as, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and deterrence. The thing I liked in the chapter were the way causes of crimes in a society and their impact on the minds of people and overall society were described. However, I would have liked this chapter to highlight different types of sentencing models and the views of critics on them from different angles. Chapter 3: The third chapter of the book covers the theory of traditional policing and underlying concepts. It discussed whether the strategy of hiring more cops plays a significant role in reducing the number of crimes or not. The chapter also includes a discussion on different approaches that can be used to increase the effectiveness of police, such as, freeing up the resources, continuing with random or reactive policing, private security mechanisms, private policing, use of detectives, and other traditional approaches to policing. I thought of this chapter as if it would be having details about the theory of traditional policing, as well as about the effectiveness of traditional policing in controlling the crime rate in the United States of America. I also thought that the chapter would bring into light the limitations that traditional polic

Economic Globalization and Civil War Essay Example for Free

Economic Globalization and Civil War Essay Researchers Katherine Barbieri and Rafael Reuveny attempt through their study on economic globalization and civil war to find the relation, if any, between the effects of globalization and the occurrence of civil wars in developing countries. Their hypothesis is that globalization has positive effects on developing countries, causing them to have more stability and become less likely to erupt in civil war. Using the examples of 74 civil wars spanning the years of 1970-1999, the researchers compared variables of globalization including international trade, foreign direct investment, foreign portfolio investment, and internet use against periods of civil war in corresponding countries. Their results revealed that when the globalization variables, with the exception of internet use, are more important to a country it is less likely to have a civil war. These variables produce an economic stability that makes people less inclined to interrupt the status quo. Their results showed that poor countries with large populations that were less likely to be economically equal in already dire financial straits are far more likely to see internal unrest. While globalization is unlikely to be the root cause of civil war and can help reduce the likelihood it cannot prevent it as there may be deeper forces at work such as cultural or ethnic inequalities that may be exacerbated by globalization.

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Essay Example for Free

The Discovery of the Rosetta Stone Essay The Discovery of The Rosetta Stone One of the most important by-products of the French invasion of Egypt was the knowledge gathered by the scientists and historians who journeyed along with the army. But, of all the discoveries made, the most important was the Rosetta Stone, the key that unlocked the ancient marvels of Egypt. Do any of you know what the Rosetta Stone is? The Rosetta stone is a very important artifact that was discovered during the French invasion of Egypt in the year 1799. You may ask why this is important. Well because of the Rosetta Stone, the historians and scientists now understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Previous to the discovery, Egyptian writing had been indecipherable. It was August 20th 1799 when the slab of dark stone was uncovered where the soldiers had knocked down a wall of Fort St. Julien. They sent it back to France to be studied. When the French surrendered Egypt to Britain in 1801, the conquerors also decided that the stone be surrendered, also. It was taken the British Museum. It wasn’t until more than 20 years later did someone start to decipher the writing. A British Scientist, Thomas Young and a French scholar Jean Champollion both contributed to the translation we have today. Then, it took another 20 years to interpret the whole slab. The text on the stone is a decree from Ptolemy V, describing the repeal of various taxes and instructions to raise the statues in temples. The Rosetta Stone is 45 inches high at its highest point, 28. inches wide and 11 inches thick. It weighs nearly 2,000 pounds and is currently described as a ganodiorite of a dark grey-pinkish color. Despite vigorous campaigns to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, it remains in the British Museum, as it has almost continuously since 1802. So thanks to Napoleon, and the scientists and historians that traveled with him to war, along with the translators of the stone, we now know much more about the ancient Egyptians, and their peculiar style of writ ing.

Play and How it Effects Children

Play and How it Effects Children The book Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn- and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less is a book that emphasizes one goal, the fact that it is a better for children to play instead of spending so many hours memorizing. After years of research, child development experts have come to a clear conclusion. This conclusion is that play is the best way for our children to learn. This book takes on the challenge of explaining why children do learn better by playing andsome ways to play and learn at the same time. Throughout this book we see facts like children who are prematurely pushed into regimented academic instruction display less creativity and enthusiasm for learning in later years. Some more good facts are that children who memorize isolated facts early in life show no better long-term retention than their peers and the fact that children who learn through play also develop social and emotional skills, which are critical for long-term success. Somewhere along the line, our culture has moved away from the normal way of life by stressing academic products and programs to our preschoolers. Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff came to a conclusion in this book and it is based on overwhelming scientific evidence from their own studies and the collective research results of child development experts. Einstein Never Used Flash Cards goes beyond killing the myths spread by the accelerated-learning industry. Within this book is a practical guide to introducing complex conce pts through smart, simple, and loving play. For every key area of a childs development, which included speech, reading, math, social skills, self-awareness, and intelligence, there is an understanding of how a childs mind actually learns. The book then goes into a long sequence of some ways to Schoenster 3 play and keep your child ready for the future. The most interesting parts of the book dealt with the steps of child development. The incremental breakthroughs needed to recognize letters or count is described as the little victories they are. The authors even provide techniques to determine a childs progress. For example, they detail the different ways a child can count and what this reveals about their understanding of quantity and numbers. From the book Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn- and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less, comes the topic of play and the role of it within the education of children. The idea that play is beneficial to children is seen throughout this book and many others. Play does not only help when children are trying to learn, but it also is helpful in a therapeutic sense. Play is a way for children to express themselves however they wish but in a comfortable environment with their peers and that can be translated into an environment with their therapists (Campbell and Knoetze, 2010). There are three theoretical models that demonstrate the ideas that play is a useful tool in a therapeutic way. These models include the child-centered play therapy model from Gary Landreth, the psychoanalytic play model and Jungian play model. The child-centered play therapy model is based on the idea that the child is being, not doing. The therapeutic key within this model is the idea that children self-actualize and will drive to do so (Axline, 1982). Children have a sense of self which comes from the child as a person and how they perceive the world around them. If the child is placed in a negative therapeutic environment their idea of self will change and they will not be comfortable. When play is introduced to this environment between the therapist and child, the child can feel more comfortable and will release more details that Schoenster 4 they otherwise would not be comfortable with revealing. The therapist may use a technique called repetitive symbolic play. This is when a type of play is introduced over a period of time in which the child begins to associate it with harmful experiences that now are being revealed in the present. This technique is very good at getting children to cope with their fears and understand problem solving. This model is used to help children with behavioral and emotional problems and has showed a very positive outcome to those it has been used to help. (Campbell and Knoetze, 2010) Sigmund Freud is known as the person who created the idea of psychoanalytic therapy. He first started to use his psychoanalytic treatment on children in 1909. The goal of his work with children was to help them try to understand their feelings which would help them to understand their behavioral problems and why the act the way they do. Anna Freud, Sigmunds wife, took over the idea of play with the psychoanalytic theory. Annas idea was to try to incorporate play as a way of treatment and to try to enhance the communication with the children. When play is introduced the therapist must interpret much of what is going on with the child. Play is used only until the child gets comfortable with the therapist and then more traditional talking takes place (Esman, 1983). Play is only used to get the child to interpret their feelings in an easier way and help them to feel at ease with the new therapist they have met. (McCalla, 1994) The next theory discussed will be Carl Jungs Jungian model. Carl Jung is also a psychoanalytical therapist who worked under Freud but left him to pursue his own ideas (McCalla, 1994). His major idea was about the personality, which Jung said had three parts. These three parts were the ego, the personal conscious and the collective Schoenster 5 unconscious. The collective unconscious was known as the self portion of the personality. The ego is what is used for thinking. When this theory is applied to children the self, at first, is the only part the child knows. Then from that sense of self comes the ego, this connection is known as the ego-self axis (Allan, 1980). This axis is crucial to the bond between the conscious and unconscious minds. If this bond is severed then the child can gain a sense of disattachment from the sense of self (Allan, 1980). Some form of symbolic attachment is thought to be needed help this axis to grow and thrive and this is the point when the idea of play is established. (McCalla, 1994) When play is introduced into this type of therapy it is different from the others. The therapist is not leading the play now but observing what the child is naturally doing in their play. The therapist accepts whatever form of play the child likes. The therapist does interpret most of the information that the play is leading them to but does not tell the child what he or she is thinking; instead they are used to help move the child forward into a more mature ego within the child. It is not the actual interpretation from the therapist that helps the child to gain knowledge about the situation but the actual creativity the child uses to show the therapist what they are feeling. The child is in full command of the session bringing them the freedom to move around and do what they want to express themselves the in a way that helps both the therapist and child understand. Playing with the therapist helps to give the child an opportunity to show the emotions they feel and to understand them which give them a sense of relief and help with their problems. (McCalla, 1994) Schoenster 6 Through these three methods the children who are given the ability to use these types of play therapy are often better of then when they began. They get the opportunity to learn from their own creativity, sense of self and maturing mind. In all three models they gain an understanding of themselves and their emotions not only from the therapist and their interpretation but their own mind, thoughts and expressions. These helpful ways of play therapy get these children with behavioral and emotional problems onto a better path that helps them understand their problems and move forward with a new outlook and understanding about what is wrong and how to control it. Schoenster 7

Moliere Essay -- Biography Bio Biographies Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

Moliere is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and famous French writers ever. His comedic plays capture the reader with a a perfect blend of intelligent and slap stick jokes. He mastered the "strange enterprise of amusing decent people"(Guicharnaud, 2) with this simple philosophy: "Nothing is more effective(in making people laugh) then holding up the mirror to nature."(Guicharnaud, 21) Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was born in Paris on January 15, 1662. His father and Mother where both interior decorators for the king, although his mother died when Jean-Baptise was ten years of age. He was sent to College de Claremont, an aristocratic Jesuit institution. Poquelin took a degree in law, which he never used in practice, and moved back to work with his father. When he turned of age, he shocked his family by declaring he would not succeed his fathers position. Instead , he took the stage name "Moliere", and began his career as a thespian. He spent a short time in a debtor's prison and then immediately fled Paris. Thus began the most important stage in Moliere's young life. Moliere wondered about France, learning the trade of which he would eventually master, and become famous for. He learned how to handle everything about the stage. From writing, to acting, to controlling unhappy crowds that where armed with fruits and vegetables as missiles. Immediately, his own skits and plays where a success. His entire career was almost one of continuous success. He worked his own theater, with his own troupe(organization of actors) of which he was president. Louis the XIV was one of his biggest patrons. For fifteen years he managed, wrote, acted and organized performance at his theater. On February 17, 1673 Moli... ... to make them realize there false preciosity. He succeeds in mortifying them, and they depart from his home. In his time, the effort towards distinction became very popular. Although to us some of the ridulous antics of the two girls trying to seem prestigous are too far fetched to be realistic, they are "exact, not exagerated."(Bishop, 3) In writing it, he made many realize how ridiculous their actions where, maybe aleaving his anoyance. This practice though, still exists today. Too a good portion of the poplulation it will be a way of life. Now a days many young people attempt to be "cool" by buying the latest clothes and practicing all the latest trends. This is of course an effort to be more prestigious to there peers, and thus is human nature. As with all Moliere plays, they are still relevant in todays world, after all human nature is ageless.

The Awakening: Casting Shadows :: essays research papers

The Awakening: Casting Shadows Happiness; is it essential or is it a mere unimportant simplistic virtue in life's plans? Does everyone have the right to happiness? It is stated in the Constitution that we as Americans have the right to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin the main Character Edna has the â€Å"perfect life†. The sweet loving husband, the cute children, enormous amounts of money and an extremely large house. Yet with all of this Edna is partially happy, but is not fulfilled. Since having a rushed marriage to spite her parents Edna never took time to examine her life to see what she wanted out of it. Edna late in the marriage wanted the freedom to explore her mind, find herself and find what this person liked. In the following I will defend the actions Edna took to find her happiness as irrational as they may seem. This story took place in the late 1800's when women's liberation was never heard of. In this era women were supposed to find happiness in serving their husbands and taking care of the children. There were no other options within the restrictive boundaries of marriage, and divorce was never an alternative. Women's lives were austere and self enrichment or self gratification were often times cast aside relative to the more mundane tasks of daily life. Most women accepted this but Edna did not. She figured that life was more than constantly doing for someone else. She wanted time for herself in order to figure out who she was. Some may see this as selfish but everyone is entitled to â€Å"me† time and space. Although I admit she did not go about it in the best way at times; Edna still was in going in the right direction. Edna's marriage to Leonce Pontellier was to spite her father the Colonel because Leonce was of a different religious faith. Also, Leonce was unceasingly devoted to Edna which was something that had never occurred in any other relationship. Edna, who had not experienced many male relationships before this was naive when it came to men. This naivetà © affected her in such a way that she neither knew love and it's limitations nor the experience it took to make it through a relationship. This showed Edna's immaturity which was a big issue in this story. This shown as the woman inside who had been asleep all those years. Her relationship with Leonce was what she sought to find happiness in. After six years of marriage to Leonce, Edna felt an ever-growing void in her The Awakening: Casting Shadows :: essays research papers The Awakening: Casting Shadows Happiness; is it essential or is it a mere unimportant simplistic virtue in life's plans? Does everyone have the right to happiness? It is stated in the Constitution that we as Americans have the right to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin the main Character Edna has the â€Å"perfect life†. The sweet loving husband, the cute children, enormous amounts of money and an extremely large house. Yet with all of this Edna is partially happy, but is not fulfilled. Since having a rushed marriage to spite her parents Edna never took time to examine her life to see what she wanted out of it. Edna late in the marriage wanted the freedom to explore her mind, find herself and find what this person liked. In the following I will defend the actions Edna took to find her happiness as irrational as they may seem. This story took place in the late 1800's when women's liberation was never heard of. In this era women were supposed to find happiness in serving their husbands and taking care of the children. There were no other options within the restrictive boundaries of marriage, and divorce was never an alternative. Women's lives were austere and self enrichment or self gratification were often times cast aside relative to the more mundane tasks of daily life. Most women accepted this but Edna did not. She figured that life was more than constantly doing for someone else. She wanted time for herself in order to figure out who she was. Some may see this as selfish but everyone is entitled to â€Å"me† time and space. Although I admit she did not go about it in the best way at times; Edna still was in going in the right direction. Edna's marriage to Leonce Pontellier was to spite her father the Colonel because Leonce was of a different religious faith. Also, Leonce was unceasingly devoted to Edna which was something that had never occurred in any other relationship. Edna, who had not experienced many male relationships before this was naive when it came to men. This naivetà © affected her in such a way that she neither knew love and it's limitations nor the experience it took to make it through a relationship. This showed Edna's immaturity which was a big issue in this story. This shown as the woman inside who had been asleep all those years. Her relationship with Leonce was what she sought to find happiness in. After six years of marriage to Leonce, Edna felt an ever-growing void in her

Critical Reflections on Health Behavior Change Essay -- SES Impact Upo

The health behavior that I chose to modify for the better was to consume more water each day. My goal for the week was to drink 70 ounces or 8.75 cups of water each day. I chose this as my health behavior change because I know how important it is to consume water, yet I have always struggled with consuming an adequate amount each day. While growing up, I drank mostly milk and different types of juices while neglecting to drink any water unless it was before, during, or right after a sporting event. Although milk and juice are not necessarily bad for me, I know they should only be consumed in moderate amounts. As I became older and found an interest in fitness and nutrition, I realized the many benefits to drinking water. Some of the benefits include helping with weight loss, maintaining balance of bodily fluids, keeping your skin looking young and acne free, increasing brain activity, and most importantly keeping you hydrated. Most of the time I am dehydrated and I know this just by looking at the color of my urine. In the past, I’ve noticed that when I do not drink enough water I feel fatigued and have occasional headaches. When I feel fatigued I have little energy, so I usually just lay in my bed and either watch T.V. or browse the internet on my laptop. However, I soon began to realize that if I keep neglecting my body such a vital factor in keeping me a live, then I will continue to always feel fatigued and waste valuable time where I could be working out, meal prepping for the week, or catching up on my studies. Studies have shown that by not drinking enough water, a person can not only become fat, but they can also suffer many health issues. Some of these issues include asthma and allergies, high cholesterol, bladder... ...amilies may tend to go to fast food venues more often than not because of the convenient access, but also because the food is cheap. Nonetheless, every fast food venue allows free cups of water which means that even people living in a low socioeconomic area still have access to clean water. However, there access to clean water is still limited since they have to actually go to a fast food restaurant to get water instead of just being able to drink from it at home. Works Cited "Clean Drinking Water." UNICEF. United Nations Children's Fund, n.d. Web. 22 May 2015. Krueger PM & VW Chang. 2008. Being Poor and Coping with Stress: Health Behaviors and the Risk of Death. American Journal of Public Health 98:889-896. Mercola DO, Joseph M. "What Happens to Your Body Within an Hour of Drinking a Coke." Mercola.com. Mercola, 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 22 May 2015.

Hewlett Packard – Review

Hewlett Packard was founded in 1939, and has continually thrived from year to year, growing to over 50 operations worldwide presently. Around 1990 things began to change. They ran into issues they had to contend with, such as the need to find the best way to satisfy customer needs in terms of product availability. They also needed to get agreement among the various parties in the supply chain. Their inventory management plans were synchronized. In the U.S. and Western Europe the market for printers was becoming mature, although it was still developing in Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, they needed to assess which particular printer market they wanted to target, so as to maximize profits and value to shareholders. Currently, the market consisted of 40% impact/dot matrix, 40% laser printers, and 20% inkjet printers. With dot matrix printers starting to become outdated and expected market share to drop 10% within the next few years, laser and inkjet printers would be the best alternative for HP to focus on. The key issue that Hewlett Packard will have to deal with, however, will be identifying the level of safety stock needed at their distribution centers and finding the lowest cost way to supply this amount. Problem Recognition: There is an assortment of problems that have contributed to Hewlett Packard's inventory/service crisis. One of these problems was a result of the considerable lead time in shipping out to Europe and Asia. Having a lead time of 4 to 5 weeks makes it extremely arduous for companies whom have a JIT system put into place. When you wish to have inventory levels of 0, but have long lead times, problems are bound to occur. Another issue arising is HP's system of inventory assessment. Currently they are devising a new system of safety stock analysis, because their old system was based on heuristics, and was not fully effective for the company. Due to the increasing difficulty of obtaining accurate forecasts, HP's safety stock analysis will probably have to be revisited. It is their choice of inventory carrying costs to be used in the safety stock analysis which is the one issue that continuously comes up. Some estimates start at 12% which comes from their cost of debt plus some warehousing expenses, whereas others are at 60%, which is based on the ROI expected of new product developments. Management must be able to determine that percentage that more accurately reflects the true cost of holding inventory. Demand uncertainties, while more controlled then past years, could have also exacerbated to the inventory/service crisis. There were three areas of concern to be addressed in this sector. The first dealt with delivery of incoming materials; whether the parts/products shipped come on time, and if the actual order was filled correctly with the right parts. Internal process uncertainties, such as process yields and machine downtimes, were another issue HP had to look over carefully. Finally, the final end demand varied too much for forecasting to be accurate enough. This issue complicates the choice of safety stock levels since they are ultimately based on expected demand. This creates what is known as the bull-whip effect. Essentially the bull-whip increases variability at various levels of the SC making efforts to integrate efforts difficult. There are four key aspects of the bull-whip effect that HP must take into consideration: demand forecast updating, order batching, price fluctuations, and rationing and shortage gaming. These are the four major causes of bull-whip that must first be understood, so that we can counteract the effect. The waterway distribution system could also be a potential problem for the company. Our analysis determines maximum air freight that is acceptable under different inventory holding cost assumptions. As aforementioned, there are quite a few issues which could have caused an inventory/service crisis within Hewlett Packard. Some issues, like the safety stock analysis problem are more likely to cause the crisis; however, it is most likely that a combination of all these factors contributed to the overall problem. Each issue must be examined so that some of the potential problems can be filtered out, and the real issue can be known and figured out according to HP's policies and objectives. Alternative courses of action: There are three courses of action that could be implemented in an attempt to rectify the problem with satisfying demand for printers in the global economy with minimal inventory and stock out costs. The first alternative is the base case scenario. This scenario consists of HP's normal distribution strategy, which consists of one main manufacturing plant in Vancouver who assembles everything on the printers and localizes it according to its destination. The means for distribution is by sea. The second alternative is an air freight scenario which will utilize the airline industry in HP's shipments to Europe. This approach reduces lead time from 4.5 weeks in the base case scenario to 1 week. All of the manufacturing and processing still occurs in the Vancouver plant. The third alternative is a generic European model to be assembled-to-order in the European DC. This approach will produce a generic product in the Vancouver facility and then ship the unfinished product to the European DC's where the final assembling and localizing will occur. We have three basic assumptions. First, lead time for the base case scenario will be 4.5 weeks. Second, air freight will create a lead time of 1 week; this includes actual transportation, customs clearing time, and other miscellaneous events. Third, the majority of the holding cost will be in generic European option. The calculations for all types of printers in the European market are located in Appendices 2-4. To evaluate these three approaches, we consider holding cost for the safety stock. When comparing these costs between the three approaches for both the best case scenario of 12% inventory holding costs we get $442,300, $626,254, and $847,412, for air freight scenario, generic European model to be assembled-to-order, and base case scenario respectively. The costs for the worst case scenario of 60% inventory holding costs are $2,211,500, $3,131,272, and $4,237,062, for air freight scenario, generic European model to be assembled-to-order, and base case scenario respectively. Necessary Supply Chain Changes: The primary change that should be made in the supply chain management in order to implement the generic product option would be to move the finalization of the product to its respective distribution center. Due to the long shipping times involved, the factory should engineer and manufacture a base assembly at the Vancouver facility and ship them to the distribution centers abroad. At these distribution centers an inventory of localizing and finishing parts will exist; therefore, the base product can then be localized and finished at the respective distribution center according to demand patterns at that time. Since inventory is generic, one DC can ship the generic product to another DC which can be finalized and localized quickly to satisfy the current demand to hedge the risk of stock outs in the higher demand regions. The result is that the total safety stock required at the DC is reduced by a factor of n1/2, where n is the number of different SKU's for which the customization is being postponed. Marketing and sales figures can then be created more accurately, and seasonal trends can be compensated for more easily. This would aid in the forecasting of demand to determine how to allocate the scarce resources to maximize profitability. Having the flexibility to better meet the changing demand of different markets should cut down on lost revenue due to stock outs. Also, the required safety stock for the distribution center will be reduced, which should cut back on inventory and holding costs. Even though these costs do not show up on the income statement, these are real costs and need to be addressed and minimized. Recommendations and Evaluations and Conclusion: There are a variety of different options that Hewlett Packard could use to help smooth out their supply chain. The first is air shipment. While it may provide a faster route to move the products, the big problem with air freight is that is expensive to use. Looking at appendix 5, if air freight costs per unit are less than $2.04 (assuming inventory holding cost of 12%) then the air freight is preferable to sea. The air freight costs per unit are less than $10.19 (assuming inventory holding cost of 60%) then the air freight is preferable to sea. The next option would be to have a European factory actually producing parts and products. This would reduce the extensive lead times that are associated with shipping out of Vancouver. The other side to this situation is that with a new manufacturing factory in Europe, the concern would be that there is not sufficient volume to necessitate the need for an additional plant. Of course, Hewlett-Packard could also always use a better forecasting method to determine demands and safety stocks needed. Obviously it has become a present problem for the company, and while they are attempting to create a method to forecast better, they are not sure they can come up with a truly effective method that would erase the uncertainties associated with demand. Because this is a difficulty, our cost allocation assumes that demand is such that the safety stock level is constant over the year. Safety stock represents the inventory level above and beyond expected demand, so assuming a constant safety stock seems reasonable. On the flip side of a better forecasting method, you could also simply increase levels of inventory to ensure product demand is met. However, this is more of a nearsighted approach as this will just lead to increased holding costs and overall inventory costs. Hewlett-Packard could also introduce a system of more localized distribution centers. The cost savings associated with this are hard to determine though. While you may reduce inventory and holding costs, the expenses incurred to have localized distribution centers built and maintained could very well outweigh the benefits received. If we were Brent Cartier, we would definitely recommend that we use the air freight alternative. This was determined by comparing the numbers seen in Appendix 5. If we take a look, if the amount of air freight per unit exceeds the cost of shipping by sea per unit by less then $2.04, then airfreight will be more cost efficient. The $2.04 essentially represents differences in holding cost per unit, which is why we analyze this difference. It is important to realize however, that this is based upon a 12% inventory holding cost. If we were to base it upon 60% inventory carrying costs, the difference would be equal to $10.19. We would have to show the board of directors the calculations derived in determining the above numbers so that air freight will sell itself. The numbers speak for themselves, and the board of directors should clearly be able to see this noticeable advantage.

Professional Skills: Emotional Intelligence Essay

This report, entitled â€Å"Professional Skills: Emotional Intelligence† was prepared as my 1B Work Report for PD2: Critical Reflection and Report Writing. This is my first work term report. The purpose of this report is to determine key emotional intelligence characteristics that define successful sales representatives at CIBC, as well as analysis on my emotional intelligence skills and how to improve them to better my academic, professional, and social performance. PD2 is designed to help students learn critical reflection and report writing. The activities of the course guide students through the process of  writing a formal report. Through the completion of the course assignments and the creation of this report, I have learned how to complete a report following a set of guidelines. I have also had the opportunity to reflect on my current skill set and to identify areas for improvement. This report was written entirely by me and has not received any previous academic credit at this or any other institution. I received no assistance. Table of Contents List of Figures and Tablesiii Summaryiv 1.0 Introduction1 2.0 My Emotional Intelligence Assessment2 2.1 Analysis2 2.2 Reflection4 3.0 Emotional Intelligence and performance at CIBC5 3.1 Analysis5 3.2 Reflection6 4.0 Conclusions7 5.0 Recommendations8 References10 Appendix A – PD2 Checklist11 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1. My Five Emotional Intelligence Areas of Interest 2 Figure 2. Emotional Intelligence Skill-sets and Scores6 Table 1. August 2012 Volunteer Schedule9 Summary This report is titled â€Å"Professional Skills: Emotional Intelligence†. The purpose of this report is to analyze key emotional intelligence characteristics that define successful sales associates at CIBC, as well as analysis on my emotional intelligence skills and how they affect my  academic, professional, and social performance. My assessment was done online through Emotional Quotient Inventory. The study done by CIBC consisted of data collected over a six-month period and emotional intelligence scores done through Emotional Quotient Inventory. In conclusion, many areas of emotional intelligence, such as interpersonal skills and self-actualization, contribute greatly to the performance of the sales representatives. Companies should start using emotional intelligence for selection of their sales representatives, and this way, they can successfully select higher performing sales representatives. From my assessment, it shows that my top three strengths are interpersonal relationship, emotional self-awareness, and happiness; and my two weaknesses are social responsibility and self-regard. I should volunteer at the local community centre to become more socially responsible, therefore become more successful in every aspect of my life. 1.0 Introduction Recently, emotional intelligence is being regarding more and more importantly by employers, parents, and teachers. Success in school, at work, and in life depends on social and emotional skills and, unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be improved. There are numerous areas where emotional intelligence can directly affect performance. This report discusses my emotional intelligence scores, and explains how my emotional and social functioning impacts my academic, professional, and personal performance. It also discusses the results from the study done by CIBC that determined key emotional intelligence characteristics that define successful sales associates. Since recruiting and training can be costly, employers always try to lower the turnover rate and increase the success rate. This report provides useful information about emotional intelligence that could solve this problem. My assessment was done online through Emotional Quotient Inventory. The study done by CIBC consisted of data collected over a six-month period and emotional intelligence scores done through Emotional Quotient Inventory. 2.0 My Emotional Intelligence Assessment By using Emotional Quotient Inventory, it helped me to identify my perceived frequency of emotionally intelligent behaviours in terms of fifteen  established emotional intelligence skills. 2.1 Analysis Among the fifteen emotional intelligence skills, five of which have been identified as significant areas, including top three strengths and two areas offering the greatest opportunity for personal development. Figure 1. My Five Emotional Intelligence Areas of Interest My top three strengths are interpersonal relationship, emotional self-awareness, and happiness; and my two weaknesses are social responsibility and self-regard. The Interpersonal Relationship component is defined as the ability to develop and maintain mutually rewarding relationships that are characterized by intimacy and the exchange of affection (Multi-Health Systems Inc., 2012). I am generally able to establish mutually satisfying relationships through communication that includes a balance of listening, empathy, and sharing of information. My results for the emotional self-awareness scale indicate that I am generally in touch with my feelings and that I usually know what my are feeling and why. In addition, I usually feel comfortable expressing my feelings and ideas to friends, fellow students, and co-workers without feeling threatened. Individuals who find their lives personally, academically, and socially rewarding are generally more successful in what they do (Multi-Health Syst ems Inc., 2012). People with happy dispositions are likely to be more proactive, resilient to adverse conditions, and less prone to stress symptoms. I am this type of person. I feel satisfied with my life, genuinely enjoy the company of others, and am able to derive pleasure from my daily routine. For the weaknesses, my results from the Social Responsibility scale suggest that that I am fairly self-aspiring and may put my own desires and needs above those of others. In some cases, my results reflect recognition that I sometimes act without full consideration of the effects of my behaviors on others and further suggest a lack of regard for others or for social regulations. Furthermore, I appear to be lacking self-confidence in many, if not most situations. It is during these moments of uncertainty when my functioning may suffer. These areas should be considered an area for improvement. 2.2 Reflection The results have been identified to help me maximize my social and emotional functioning by leveraging my strengths and by enhancing areas for development in order to achieve personal, academic, and professional success. Through the assessment, I have learned about my strengths as well as my weaknesses. What I should do to improve social responsibility is to take control of my emotions, since it is the most critical aspects of social responsibility. Also, to improve my self-regard, I should try to be optimistic and have confidence in myself. I also should try to be less critical towards my actions in order to increase my confidence level and self-regard. In the future, I will further apply what I have learned about myself, keep improving myself in areas such as self-regard and become more socially responsible. This way, by combining with the positive aspects of myself, I will be able to reach my potential and success in every aspect of my life. 3.0 Emotional Intelligence and performa nce at CIBC determined key emotional intelligence characteristics that define successful sales representatives. 3.1 Analysis The CIBC Global Private Banking and Trust team conducted a study where the emotional intelligence levels of the successful and unsuccessful sales representatives were assessed (Multi-Health Systems Inc., 2011). The results for this study were obtained over a six-month period. After the study, it turned out that many EI skill-sets are clearly conducive to higher performance. As shown in the chart below, the two key emotional intelligence skill-sets for success were interpersonal skills and self-actualization (Multi-Health Systems Inc., 2011). Interestingly, having a lower score in impulse control in combination with higher scores in other EI areas, translated into higher performance amongst sales representatives (Multi-Health Systems Inc., 2011). In addition, the difference in scores was very small for three areas: social responsibility, impulse control, and reality testing. Figure 2. Emotional Intelligence Skill-sets and Scores 3.2 Reflection Since I am working as a sales representative for the CIBC’s Petro Points Mastercard this co-op term, I have compared my results of the emotional intelligence assessment with the result from the study CIBC conducted. Also,  comparing my sales volume with the high and low performing sales representatives. Both successful sales representatives and I have high scores in areas of interpersonal relationship, happiness; and low score in social responsibility. In addition, my sales volume is in the top ten percent in the company. This shows that I am a high performing sales representative, and the emotional intelligence assessment accurately determines the factors affecting sales volume. Studies also have shown that emotional intelligence and leadership abilities are closely related. Emotional intelligence also determines the performance of debt collectors, insurance agents, and air force recruiters. 4.0 Conclusions From the study done by CIBC, it can be concluded that many areas of emotional intelligence, such as interpersonal skills and self-actualization, contribute greatly to the performance of the sales representatives. Interestingly, areas such as social responsibility, impulse control, and reality testing do not affect performance since the difference in scores between the high and low performing sales representatives were insignificant. My assessment closely matched the scores of high performing sales representatives, and my sales volume is considered high in my company. My EI scores and performance on the job are closely related. From my assessment of emotional intelligence, it can be concluded that my top three strengths are interpersonal relationship, emotional self-awareness, and happiness; and my two weaknesses are social responsibility and self-regard. By improving on my areas of weakness, I can be successful in every aspect of my life. 5.0 Recommendations Companies such as Royal Bank of Canada and Scotia Bank should start using emotional intelligence for selection of their sales representatives, this way, they can successfully select higher performing sales representatives. This method should be implemented by the end of 2013, since many companies such as CIBC already use this method for selection of employees. I should volunteer at the local community centre, Frank Mckechnie Community Centre, to improve my poor social responsibility score. I will do so from August 1st to August 31st, three hours a week, to help children and seniors who attend activities at the Centre. Below is the volunteer schedule I created. Since  the Centre is always in need of volunteers, I can easily obtain this opportunity to improve my emotional intelligence level. Table 1. August 2012 Volunteer Schedule References Champion, R., Paci, T. & Vardon, J. (2012). 1121t1125 PD 2: Critical Reflection and Report Writing. Retrieved 10 May, 2012, from https://learn.uwaterloo.ca/d2l/lp/homepage/home.d2l?ou=32500 Multi-Health Systems Inc. (2011). Emotional Intelligence and Return on Investment. Instrumental in Individual and Organizational Development. Retrieved 1 July, 2012, from http://www.qualifying.org/about/MHS_Brief_ROI.pdf Multi-Health Systems Inc. (2012). Student Summary Report. Emotional Quotient Inventory: Higher Education. Appendices Appendix A: PD 2 Report Checklist Your report must: [X] Include 4-6 pages of body content. Figures or tables that are included in the body are excluded in the 4-6 page count. (Example: 8 pages of content that includes a one-page figure and a half-page table counts as 6.5 pages of body content.) Adherence to the 3Cs (clarity, conciseness, and coherence) will allow you to meet this page limit. [X] Include at least one table (Place the table in the body of your report if you discuss it in detail; place the table in an appendix if your analysis refers to it only briefly.) [X] Include at least one figure (Place the figure in the body of your report if you discuss it in detail; place the figure in an appendix if your analysis refers to it only briefly.) [X] Use a 12-point serif font [X] Be double-spaced [X] Be written in formal, standard English, with no contractions [X] Be spellchecked and proofread [X] Include pages numbered according to the conventions described in the Report Resources tab. Your report must conform to the format and conventions described in the Report Resources page. You do not have to bind your report or include a front cover because you will submit your report to us online. Your report will include the following pages and sections: [X] Title page [X] Letter of submittal (addressed to the PD 2 course instructor) [X] Table of contents [X] List of figures and tables, if appropriate (Figures or tables in an appendix should not be listed on the List of figures and tables; figures or tables elsewhere in your report are required to be on this list.) [X] Summary [X] Introduction [X] Body (that includes both an objective analytical component and a reflective component) [X] Conclusions (the section is â€Å"conclusions† as in â€Å"findings†, not â€Å"conclusion†) [X] Recommendations (specific, measurable, and attainable) [X] References [X] Appendices (you need at least one appendix which includes this checklist)

Country Music

Country Music Purpose: The purpose and goal of this speech is to inform my classmates of the Country music and its importance. Thesis: In order to understand the impact of Country music on the very music we listen to today, we need to understand its history, the artists who made the genre what it is today, and the country artist who have found success today. Organizational Pattern: Chronological I. Introduction a. Attention Getter: Who here listens to music? In the survey I’d say almost all of you have filled out, I was surprised to see six people had answered country music as their favorite genre.That made it the highest chosen, next to Pop. b. Relevance: So all of you here listen to music at some point in any given day, it should be fairly obvious how any kind of music could be relevant to you and your present life. c. Credibility: Being a fan of Country music myself, and after several weeks of conducting research on the subject, I have been very much interested in the artis ts Country music since I reluctantly began listening a little over a year ago. d.Thesis: In order to understand the impact of Country music on the very music we listen to today, we need to understand its history, the artists who made the genre what it is today, and the country artist who have found success today. e. Preview: So first, we will learn about and understand where Country began and how it evolved. Then I’ll tell you about the artists who made the genre popular. And finally wrap things up by speaking about the Country artists who are successful and popular today. Transition: So I’ll start with the roots of country music and how it evolved into the country songs we hear today.II. Body f. First, Country music’s origins will be discussed i. In the book Country Music, U. S. A. , written by Bill C. Malone and published in 1985, he says that Country music is â€Å"older than the South itself. † Which means, as far back as it goes, the more music it ha s inspired, and influenced in the future years. ii. Country music was recognized by the beats, use of fiddles, and steel guitars and in the twentieth century, society began to urbanize and people flocked to big cities like Chicago and New York, which then created anti-rural feelings.Southern Grassroots bridged the gap between urban and rural. 1. This occurred right around the same time as the radio becoming popular. The radio made it much easier for urban influence to reach far out farm homes in the boonies. This was extremely important in Country music’s discovery and refinement into the genre we know today. iii. During the war years Country music had flourished and changed drastically 2. Pre-World War One the music industry was mostly a sheet music business. However, during the war years it evolved into a political tool for rallying the country together. . Jumping to the next World War, after the attack on Pearl Harbor patriotism in the country has soared, and the rural pop ulation which produced most of the nation’s country music, had ‘liberated by war’ as stated by the previous source mentioned. iv. After the Second World War, there was a boom in Country music’s popularity. This also began the movement of Country artist performing ‘crossovers’. Which was music that was 4. This is the type of music that was produced by legends like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.A few years later in the 50’s artists like Johnny Cash also emerged. I should also mention this genre was coined ‘Rockabillies’ being a mix of Rock and Hillbilly music. 5. This also caused a huge boom of music produced in Nashville, which then became known as the capital of Rock and Roll, and remains to be until this day. And from Nashville the music continued to evolve into the Country music we listen to, or hear about today. Transition: Speaking of the artists I have just mentioned above, I’m going to now talk about the artist s who have inspired music as we know it. . As I’ve previously mentioned, and some of you may have been surprised by Elvis’ name mentioned along with other Country artists. His style and music had begun influencing not only country music but an entire generation of future artists. v. He was one of the first artists to be considered very popular in the ‘rockabilly’ genre. His captivating voice and bad-boy hairstyle and clothing was the absolute most exciting thing for teens in the 50’s, and influenced music as we know it. vi. Another artist that came about in this time is Johnny Cash.He is more of a true country artist than most would consider Elvis because he stuck more to bluegrass and blues type roots. vii. Johnny Cash lived a literal rock and roll out of control life. He went through marriages and drugs like it was as vital to him as air. Continuing to make music until the 2000’s. One of his final songs released was a cover of Nine Inch Nai ls, ‘Hurt’ that according to Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor in a VH1 interview, â€Å"It sounded as though my version was the cover, and the song was written for Cash. Transition: Now that you know more about the artists who made country popular, let’s talk about those who make country as we know it popular. h. I realize that not everyone here likes or enjoys country music, but I have no doubt that almost every person here can name at least one country artist. viii. Country music concerts sell out all across the United States, and even the big country music festival, Country Thunder, attracts hundreds of people every year as it continues to grow. ix. Artists like Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, and Carrie Underwood are artists who continue to be successful country music artists in the music industry today.They continue to top Billboard Charts and sell out their own concerts. Transition: (cue visual aid) Now that we’ve seen Country artists both past and p resent who have been successful in making Country popular, we have a better understanding of the genre. III. Conclusion i. Thesis/Summary: It holds true that the same research done with Country music here, can be repeated with any genre, and we would still find a long history filled with artists who have been inspired, and inspire generations of artists, as well as finding current artists within the genre today. j.Memorable close: Even though Country might not be your favorite, but musicians like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash had laid the foundation for the very music you listen to today. Refrences Malone, Bill C. Country Music U. S. A. ; a Fifty-year History,. Austin: Published for the American Folklore Society by the University of Texas, 1968. Print. Lynskey, Dorian. 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day. New York: Ecco, 2011. Print. Holt, Fabian. Genre in Popular Music. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2007. Print. Petrusich, Amand a.It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the next American Music. New York: Faber and Faber, 2008. Print. Campion, James. â€Å"Elvis Presley – The Bad, The Sweet And The Boogie – Author James Campion Rates the King's Effect on the 20th Century. † Elvis Presley – The Bad, The Sweet And The Boogie – Author James Campion Rates the King's Effect on the 20th Century. N. p. , July-Aug. 1996. Web. 04 Oct. 2012. <http://www. jamescampion. com/elvis. html>. â€Å"Johnny Cash Biography. † CMT: Country Music Television. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 Oct. 2012. <http://www. cmt. com/artists/az/cash_johnny/bio. jhtml>.

Designation of Phylum Cryptomycota Within Kingdom Fungi

Designation of phylum cryptomycota within kingdom fungi Introduction The cryptomycota are considered to be to be an early branching clade of organisms, the only known members are species that belong in the genus Rozella (Lara et al 2010, Jones et al 2011, James and Berbee 2012). It has been suggested due largely to the amount of environmental sequences collected the phylum may be as diverse as the whole kingdom fungi (Jones et al 2011).While Rozella were originally placed in the fungal phylum Chytridiomycota(Jones and Pang 2012), a multi-gene molecular phylogeny of the Chytridiomycota found Rozella was in fact part of a separate linage considered to be the most basal lineage within the fungal kingdom (James et al 2006). Analysis of environmental DNA samples based on the analysis of SSU RNA (small subunit ribosomal RNA genes)had revealed 26 sequences, previously unknown, which clustered closely to two species of Rozella included in the survey (Lara et al 2010).Lara et al tentatively n amed this clade ‘Rozedilla' (Lara et al 2010, Jones et al 2011). However this clade was expanded to include 40 sequences found in marine and freshwater environments. This clade was renamed cryptomycota to reflect the position of the group relative to the fungi and its mostly hidden nature, as a large number of the phylum are only known from SSU RNA environmental surveys and their similarity in morphology and life-cycle to the Rozella is unknown (Jones et al 2011).Cryptomycota cells from freshwater samples, most notably from the Washington Singer pond (Exeter University, Devon, UK, 50. 7339uN, 3. 5375uW), were visualised with fluorescence in situ hybridization techniques. These target cells were shown to be small eukaryotes 3 to 5 ? meters in length (Jones et al 2011). Counter-staining with TAT1 tubulin revealed The target cells capable of forming a microtubule based flagellum (see fig 1)(Jones et al 2011). Chitin was not found in any of the morphs observed, this was tested by co-staining with cell wall markers (calcofluor white and lectin wheat germ agglutinin).Cellulose was also not present (Jones et al 2011). FIG 1: Micrographs showing flagella on cryptomycota cells, as detected by TAT1 tubulin antibody(Jones et al 2011) This study led Jones et al to the conclusion that the Cryptomycota were an intermediate group between fungus and protists. Others such as James and Berbee contend that †they may have lost their â€Å"dinner jacket† through convergence. Rather than evolutionary intermediates, the cryptomycota may be strange, divergent fungi † (James and Berbee 2012).The term †dinner jackets† here refers to cell walls. Some such as Griffith, Voight and Kirk would not consider the phylum fungal, but a non fungal opisthkonta like the Microsporidia(2011). In this essay I intended to explore the evidence both for and against the inclusion of the phylum Cryptomycota in the kingdom fungi. To do this it is important to understand the characteristics and life-cycle of Cryptomycota and what makes an organism part of the kingdom fungi. Characteristics of CryptomycotaThe known Cryptomycota :Rozella is a genus of entirely parasitic species that infect the thalli and sporidia of Chytridiomycota , Blastocladiomycota and some species of Oomycota. Study of Rozella allomycis , the only cultured Rozella species has shown it does ,unlike Fungi, not process cell walls at any time during there trophic phases like Fungi however they exhibit a zoosporic uniflagilate stage in which they propagate(Jones and Pang 2012) . James and Berbee demonstrated that chitin is present in the inner cell wall of immature spores via calcofluor white staining(2012).Zoospores attach to receptors on the surface of its host ,penetrating its surface with a germ tube before developing a naked multinucleate sporangium (Jones and Pang 2012)It is theorised that the uptake of nutrients is via phagocytosis (Powell 1984), however this is not known to be true of all Rozella. Zoospores form inside the host before being explosive discharged from exit papillae(Jones and Pang 2012) . Jones et al's observation of Cryptomycota cells show a certain similarity to the life-cycle of Rozella.Three life stage cycles were observed (fig 2), a zoosporic uniflagelate morph ,a non-flagellate cyst morph and a parasitic morph where the organism is attached to a host diatom . Jones et al admit, however, that stages in the life-cycle are likely to have been missed in their study and due to the diversity of the Cryptomycota, the life-cycle is unlikely to represent the entirety of the group (2011). Chitin was not found in any of the stages observed (Jones et al 2011) FIG 2:Putative Cryptomycota skeleton life-cycle (Jones et al 2011)Are Cryptomycota fungi? The penguin dictionary of biology defines Fungi as a kingdom of eukaryotic primarilary acellular organisms typically organised into cylindrical hypha . Their nutrition is osmotrophic and never phagotrop hic . Hyphal walls are characterised by chitin and ? -glucans (2004). Cryptomycota differs greatly from this standard definition of a fungi by not processing a cell wall ,forming hyphae and is likely to be phagotrophic. There are other organisms that are included in the kingdom fungi that do not fit with these definitions .For example yeasts reproduce by budding and are not organised into hypha. Zoospores are a shared characteristic with zoosporic true fungi and in most phylogenies constructed Cryptomycota are basal to fungi. Information on the life cycle stages is incomplete , it is possible some examples of cryptomycota process a chitinous cell wall at some stage in their life-cycles (Jones et al 2011). As a lot is uncertain about the cryptomycota it is hard to include or exclude them from the kingdom fungi and it seems premature to dub them the most basal fungi .As James and Berbee suggest the loss of a chitinous cell wall may be a secondary adaptation to parasitism not indicatio n of a basal fungi (2012). Almost anything could be found and much needs to be before they can be defined as true fungi such as observation of cell division and determination whether members of cryptomycota are phagotrophic or not. What is certain that if this phylum is included in the kingdom fungi , the definition for the whole group must change.

Meeting the psychological needs of teaching staff Essay

Meeting the psychological needs of teaching staff - Essay Example In April 2000, Pamela Relf, a teacher with over 36 year’s experience, took her life after an Ofsted inspector criticised her teaching at Middlefield Primary School in Eynesbury, Cambridgeshire. For a teacher of her experience to be criticised like this, was more than a rebuke. Pamela, the school’s senior most teachers left behind a note echoing the sentiments of many teachers, saying "I am now finding the stress of my job too much. The pace of work and the long days are more than I can do." Similarly, three other teachers have also been linked to stress, bullying and Ofsted inspections. They are Janet Watson (33) of Northwick, Cheshire, Jenny Knibb (47) of Exeter, and James Patton (29) of Birmingham. Though the numbers of casualties are unknown and definitely much more, the above cases alone characterise the heat teachers undergo in the face of prolonged stress and bullying. Though these teachers took their lives because of the workload and pressure to perform, it is ar gued that their suicide was because of mental health problem. But this can also come about due to the result of psychiatric injury caused by prolonged negative stress. Psychiatric injury is not the same as mental illness (Tim Field, 2006). The cases of stress and strain are numerous and would go beyond many, many pages. In order to understand the impact of stress and strain on teachers, the above cases were quoted. To overcome the negative thoughts of leaving the profession, teachers had to be offered perks and cordial work environment for retention.