Justified and Ancient by Simon Lewis

Is he on a vacation backpacking across the globe spending his rich father's money or is the only reason for his tourism the drug deal? Is he going back to Delhi or all the way back to England? Since he has both a girlfriend with potential wife-status and a child to take care of at home my guess is the last possibility – he is simply a rug dealer buying incredibly low-prized cannabis in India for re-selling in his home country. His statement at p. 2 1. 70 is obviously pointing in that direction: â€Å"My Job? Re, I don't really have one as such. † Ironically enough, Lee is filled with self-congratulation as he leaves the village.Overwhelmed with compassion he has given the children the gooey biscuits he himself described as revolting and unpalatable. Maybe he does not consider the fact that he refuses to give the children something that would actually help them: rupees. Money, he earlier referred to as â€Å"Joke money'. Instead he uncompromisingly shoes he child away w ith a â€Å"No! Don't touch me, you shouldn't touch! † Lee seems to be an egoistic, ignorant and unpleasant figure from what we are described – and is possibly supposed to symbolize the typical western tourist.Though we are not given a lot of information about the village people, they seem shy and reserved. Lee makes no two- way communication with any other than the president and one of the kids for a brief moment. It might be that Lee considers the village people naive and ignorant, but as the story surprisingly twists in the end, all is turned upside down, and it is obvious that Lee has underestimated the president. He has not fooled the president – it is he himself who have been deceived. An ancient, proud chieftain is not the obvious one to suspect for depraved actions.As he may seem proud and honorable on the outside, the president is the exact opposite on the inside. At the end of the story we are suddenly having another perspective – that of the wo man leading her donkey to the village. She entrusts us with the president's secret: â€Å"Sometimes the president and his slimy friend Punned got drunk and talked more than they should in the presence of the women. The president was a shrewd man, and under him the village ad prospered, but he was a man without honor. † (p. 4-5 1. 158-163) The president has actually prostituted himself and given up all his pride and honor for money.The president cooperates with Ram, the police commissioner, who gives him money in return for information about tourists like Lee. In this way the president can profit from his unfortunate customers buying cannabis and receive money from the police at the same time – and he does not at all seem to care about the people he may harm in the progress. Suddenly the gesture of trust on page 4 1. 123 seems more as a scorn tan anything else. Lee Is nothing more out a Oarlock In ten pralines game, Ana It quickly becomes uncertain who to sympathize wit h.At first it was the president: The proud chieftain of an ancient village thinking he made a good deal with another tourist, but at last it is the poor Lee that is the victim: And he will suffer his deeds. â€Å"She knew that Ram and the bullies he used as deputies would be getting drunk now, and when the foreigner came down they would greet him, smiling, and Ram would laugh taping his tick wooden cane against his leg† (p. 5 1. 165) It is here that the title becomes paradoxical. Lee may have been greedy and disrespectful but does he deserve to get beat up?Lee is a man with a girlfriend and, to a certain extinct, a child at home both depending on his financial success – is it a Justified laugh that bursts from the president's mouth and follows Lee down to the foot of the mountain? I do not think it is. The chieftain has become Just as grasping and greedy as any western president. And from where has those influences emerged? The boy with the Walkway bobbing his head up and down (in what seems as a prayer but very remarkably is not) â€Å"karaoke's† the phrase: â€Å"We are Justified and ancient.And we drive an ice cream VA-an† from Kills single â€Å"Justified and ancient†. This is a very good clue for interpreting the title. Given that the phrase â€Å"Justified and ancient† does not only refer to the president but to all of the people living in the village, a more general view is set on the story. The village may be Justified due to the western influences that have had negative influence on their society and their culture. To combine the word Justified with the more concrete word ancient does not normally seem irrational.After reading this short story it does though – because the ancient village with the old president represents something honorable, sacred and proud: Values that have been destroyed by western society – it is now all about materialism and money. The president does seem proud to have flour ished the old culture, surviving the civilization below them from the mountain summit – but he wants more than Just doctor visits and he has broken the traditional way of behaving in the village. Whether or not the village people are (the president is) Justified or not is a discussable topic – a topic that provokes us to think the term Justification over.

Bullwhip Efect Barilla Spa Essay

The Bullwhip Effect and Barilla SpA The Bullwhip Effect is an observed phenomenon in forecast-driven distribution channels where there is variability up the supply chain. Some of its causes are: Dependent demand processing Forecast Errors Adjustment of inventory control parameters with each demand observation Lead Time Variability (forecast error during replenishment lead time) Lot-sizing/order synchronization Trade promotion and forward buying Anticipation of shortages One way to achieve this is to establish a demand-driven supply chain which reacts to actual customer orders. The result is near-perfect visibility of customer demand and inventory movement throughout the supply chain. Better information leads to better inventory positioning and lower costs throughout the supply chain. Methods intended to reduce uncertainty, variability, and lead time: †¢Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) †¢Just In Time replenishment (JIT) †¢Strategic partnership †¢Information sharing †¢Smooth the flow of products ocoordinate with retailers to spread deliveries evenly oreduce minimum batch sizes osmaller and more frequent replenishments

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Course work - consumer behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Raymond carver's cathedral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

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Health Discrimination in Hong Kong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Bollywood as a global industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bollywood as a global industry - Research Paper Example It is very easy to establish that every local channel has an Indian music or movies. On top of that, movies, songs and dance styles are loved by many people who even do not understand the language. For example, one of the old Hindi films called Shree 420(1955) is still aired up to date, although some changes have been made to it. Bollywood is a perfect example of a global industry. It is one of the largest film making industries not only in India but also in rest the world. It is located In Mumbai, India. The name Bollywood is derived from two names; Bombay which is the initial name for Mumbai and Hollywood which is the famous American film producers. Bollywood naming mainly came to being because of â€Å"Tollywood† which refers to the film industry of West Bengal. Tollywood started at around 1932. In 1930s, Bollywood started to venture in sound filming. This was mainly because at that time, there was a huge market for the Indian music as evidenced by the first Indian sound film (Ardershir Iran’s Alam Ara) which was a great realization. However Bollywood passed through many tough times which could easily have lead it to collapse. Such times include World War 2 (1939-1945), great depression and struggle for independence. After India got its independence in it experienced a â€Å"golden age†. Under this period, Bollywood produced several films which are largely acknowledged up to today. They include Kaagaz Ke Phool of 1959 and Madhumati of 1958. It is also during this time that it produced extolled actors and actresses who include Mala Sinha, Guru Dutt and Mani Kaul. Over time, Bollywood incorporated romantic and action films and also improved in the animation sector. From the year 2000, Bollywood started to increase its market target by increasing interconnectedness of countries through adopted of advanced technology (Ganti, 2012). Bollywood has help a lot in cultural development. Through these films, it has spread

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 16

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Jet Airways Essay Example for Free

Jet Airways Essay Naresh Goyal, who already owned JetAir (Private) Limited (which provided sales and marketing for foreign airlines in India) took advantage of this opportunity by setting up Jet Airways as a fullservice scheduled airline that would give competition to state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had enjoyed a monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air transport providers were nationalised under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January 1994, when the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received scheduled airline status. Jet Airways’ 45 destinations include most of the big cities in India. International destinations include Kathmandu, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Londons Heathrow Airport, Bangkok, Brussels and Newark. Jet Airways was the first private airline in India to fly to international destinations. It started international operations in March 2004 between Chennai and Colombo after it had been cleared by the Government of India to operate scheduled services to international destinations. MACRO ENVIRONMENT FACTORS: Economic Economic environment of India and world affects the airline industry to a great extent. Factors like fluctuations in global fuel prices, exchange rates, slowdown etc have varying impact on the way Jet Airways has been operating in this sector. One of the most important aspect that has greatly affected the worlds transportation system is the high fuel price. Besides high taxes, jet fuel prices have become costlier than crude oil prices which have greatly affected the bottom-line for many airlines including Jet Airways. State taxes on ATF available through government agencies vary between 4% and 30%, making the fuel 30% to 50% costlier than the global average. In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh the cess is 25% or higher. The three listed airline companies – Jet Airways, Kingfisher and SpiceJet – all of which reported losses in the quarter ending December 2011, blamed rising ATF cost for their bad financial performance. In February 2012, the Centre gave a nod to direct import of ATF on a case-to-case basis But once airlines start importing ATF, traffic at the countrys congested ports is likely to increase, making matters worse for exporters and importers. Airlines will also have to factor in the cost of transporting ATF from the various ports in the country to airports around the country, something which could eventually lead to increase in the ATF cost. Jet Airways in its financial report has also indicated the losses that it has incurred due to rupee depreciation. It has been reported that revenue from exceptional items decreased by 61% from Rs. 18,919 lakhs in Fiscal 2011 to Rs. 7,319 lakhs in Fiscal 2012 mainly on account of depreciation of the Rupee against the Dollar in the current year. Even in the past Jet Airways has experienced slowdown because of global recession. In 2008 during recession, Jet Airways was forced to discontinue the following routes: Ahmedabad–London, Amritsar–London, Bangalore–Brussels and Mumbai–Shanghai– San Francisco. It also had to put an indefinite delay on its expansion plans. Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways promoter is unable to put in more funds via his holding company due to FDI restrictions. He holds 80% in Jet Airways through Tailwinds. He claims NRI status, where 100% ownership is allowed. However, Goyal’s investment is via Tailwinds, which is considered FDI by the Indian government. Tailwinds is registered in the Isle of Man. In India, only 49% FDI investment is permissible in aviation. Airline business is a complicated one and only airlines would be interested in investing domestic carriers. The government is looking at allowing foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers but there would be no change in FDI cap of 49%. In this 49%, currently foreign airlines are not allowed to participate. So if this change happens then there would be inflow of funds from foreign airlines. The announcement of ECB (External Commercial Borrowing) with a limit $1 billion in the Budget 2012 will also give some relief to debt ridden airline companies. Shareholding Naresh Goyal 80% FII 6. 7% DII 7% Public hold 6. 3% Social The backbone of the airline industry is people. Individuals in the management, technical and crew are responsible for undertaking the task of serving their customers with utmost care and excellence. These individuals are trained and tailored to the industrys needs before they are allowed to work. They need to meet certain standards of service and technical knowledge designed to satisfy the customers. For this reason the players invest millions of dollars to improve the knowledge of their workers. Jet Airways plans to set up a marketing services firm and launch an aviation training academy, with a total investment of Rs 1 crore. The proposal is, however, subjected to regulatory approvals, including those from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Reserve Bank of India. The proposed academy would be based in Mumbai and offer certificate courses in in-flight services, ticket reservation and check-in services, according to a brochure brought out for the institute. Operations in the northeast are guided by the governments Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which entails that all Indian carriers fly to the northeast and other remote parts of the country, more so as a social obligation. After posting a loss of Rs 298 crore in the last quarter, Jet Airways has sought government clearance to scale down its flights to the northeastern region by about half to stem the losses. Technological Technological factors in macroenvironment are the most dramatic forces in changing the market place. They help the business to create new products and harness new opportunities. Jet Airways makes strategic use of the latest technology to interact with passengers at a global level. Its significant presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr ensures increase in awareness and reach of the company brand. The companys growth on the social media networking platform has been noteworthy registering an exponential increase in the number of followers and fans on Twitter and Facebook. In the coming year, the Company aims to introduce state-of-the-art mobile applications for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows mobile phones. These applications will provide passengers with a convenient and seamless option to book tickets, check-in, access their JetPrivilege account etc. using their mobile phones. Additionally, the Company intends to commence the use of 2D Mobile Bar-coded boarding passes for guests who have checked-in for their flights, thus providing a paperless travel experience. Political In India, one can never over-look the political factors which influence each and every industry existing in the country. Like it or not, the political interference has to be present everywhere. Given below are a few of the political factors with respect to the airline industry: The airline industry is very susceptible to changes in the political environment. One instance of Government Policy resulting in great uncertainty is the fact that the Indian Government has not allowed foreign airlines to participate in FDI in aviation as yet. So the airline industry, which is currently facing draught of funds can still not expect foreign players to chip in. International airlines are greatly affected by trade relations that their country has with others. Unless governments of the two countries trade with each other, there could be restrictions of flying into particular area leading to a loss of potential air traffic (e. g. Pakistan India) Political factors can also affect the day-to-day working of the airline industry. For instance, in 2009, Jet Airways announced plans to lay-off 1800 employees that were undergoing probation with the Company. What happened was a PR disaster for the Airline. First the laid off employees suddenly became socialist in their approach and later went a step further managing to politicize the whole matter by seeking support from MNSs Raj Thackeray. Other parties and sundry ministers then followed the suit and jumped into the bandwagon, until the Jet Management had to revert the decision and ask laid off employees to join the duty back. Legal and Regulatory Operating in a cross border network of alliances and partnerships, multinational companies like Jet airways are subject to international and national regulations in terms of assignment of routes and destinations; international aviation regulations; partners legal standing as well as local laws. These constraints not only leave little room for airlines to operate but are also the sources for its highly efficient value chain. Another aspect is industrial relations. Personnel in the airlines industry from pilots to cabin crew to technicians everyone work in the capacity and provisions given by the laws prevalent globally. For this reason, everyone is cognizant of their rights to legal aid if required. Since most of the airline personnel in the world have associations and unions they tend to have an upper hand over management. The management therefore has to comply with their demands if it is within the capacity of the law Not only is this but the airlines also subject to strict safety, hygiene and efficient regulations. Airlines that do not deliver services according to international standards do not only lose out in the competition but are also subjected to aviation penalties. The principal regulatory authority that regulates the civil aviation sector in India is the Director General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA. To operate scheduled services in India, an airline requires an operating permit from the DGCA. This permit is required to be renewed on a year-to-year basis. An airline incorporated in India and operating scheduled services is also required to register all its aircraft with the DGCA, save and except aircraft which are wet leased. On July 10 2012 aviation regulator E K Bharat Bhushan was abruptly removed from his key position in the backdrop of his tough stance against debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines over its failure to pay salaries to its employees. Newly-appointed chief of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation Prashant Sukul on 13th July 2012 asked all airlines to strictly adhere to prescribed safety standards. Demographics Indian aviation industry promises huge growth potential due to large and growing middle class population, favorable demographics, rapid economic growth, higher disposable incomes, rising aspirations of the middle class, and overall low penetration levels (less than 3%). Few prominent factors we need to look at from demographics perspective: Working age population India is blessed with a young and growing population. India has amongst the best demographic ratio globally and this would continue to improve over next three to four decades. As compared to children and elderly, a relatively higher percentage of the earning population travels by air to save working hours and for business. The rising proportion of people of working age also implies higher disposable income as pressure on household for the needs of dependent children elderly comes down. Both the above factors along with a growing working age population would lead to higher demand for air travel. Exploding Middle Class McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) predicts that the India’s middle class will reach 583 million from the current 50 million by 2025. With this exploding middle class the demand for air travel is bound to go up in a unidirectional way. Nuclear families increase Increasing VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) Travel The traditional ‘joint-family’ system in India is rapidly breaking up. With increasing expenses and with more people migrating to cities for work, people are increasingly opting for nuclear and small families. This trend of smaller families has also bought a change to their lifestyles, with friends relatives visiting more frequently and families taking more vacations – implying greater frequency of travel. Air travel is finding a growing proportion of this additional travel, with smaller families making air travel for the entire family more affordable. Increasing Employment Growing employment means higher disposable income, more business travel and higher opportunity cost of travel time. All these contribute to higher demand for air travel. Increasing Leisure Travel Tourism accounts only for 2. 5% of India’s GDP, versus 6% in Asia Pacific and 5. 3% in China. However this ratio is fast changing with India emerging amongst the fast growing tourism destinations in the world.

The Neptune Gourmet Seafood Marketing Essay

The Neptune Gourmet Seafood Marketing Essay Neptune Gourmet Seafood is the third largest company in North America, it has been initiated 40 years ago. And it is growing rapidly. However, this growth in market demand is still insufficient as compared to the amount of catch the company are able to haul and process daily. As such, excess inventories have been piling up in the warehouses, and turnovers are slower than they ever were. To try to combat this issue, some strategies regarding the pricing of their premium products have been introduced for discussion. Talking about the growth possibilities and the problems that these strategies might encapsulate. Also offering a fresh perspective on the issue of launching a mass-market brand amongst existing premium brands. And give some alternative recommendations to solve the problem of oversupply. COMPANY BACKGROUND Neptune Gourmet Seafood is a $820 million company with its core business lying in providing high quality seafood and seafood-based products to its customers. Neptune is using a freezer trawler with new technologies that allow the vessel to catch and freeze fish in an environmentally sustainable way as these technologies super freeze fish to -70F while the usual is between -10F and -23F, and that retains the original flavor, texture and color of the fish, Neptune also generated approximately 30% of its revenues by selling frozen and processed fish products to United States grocery chains. Neptune had got a premium image among its customers, it had earned a reputation for producing the best seafood with high quality for the past forty years. In the $20 billion fishing industry, Neptune has managed to position itself as one of the top provider of premium seafood products. The company has been one of the best innovators in the art of fishing, with high investments made on developing tech nologies and technical know-how on maintaining the quality of its catches. Neptune also is gaining attention in its focus on environmentally sustainable fishing, in line with its tagline The Best Seafood on the Water Planet. However, the company have been facing some inventory problems due to oversupply, and have been seeking ways to remedy it without jeopardising the companys premium image. BUSINESS COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT Analyzing the business competition environment that Neptune operates in, through the porters five forces model Porters Five Forces Model of Competition COMPANYS MARKKETING MIX To identify Neptune target market, the market mix should be analyzed using four Ps model. PROBLEM ANALYSES While Neptune is one of the biggest companies in the market, it faces several challenges and problems in retain its position in the market due to the new technologies that Neptune adopted and ships that have been added to the fleet, Neptune became able to produce a large number of products comparing with the other companies where as the goods inventory shows that the supply of sixty days is twice the normal level and three times what it had been a year ago, and these products more than the targeted segments of Neptune which causing the excess inventory.Some parties believed that this inventory problem would only be temporary, as they relate this sudden influx in supply to the increase in the number of ships that would allow for a more efficient catching and processing of seafood. However, some parties have identified that the problem are not just the highly efficient fishing vessels, but truly lies on the newest amendment to the fishing law, which reduces commercial fishing near the coastal areas. As Neptune now have limited access to the waterways near the coasts, they are reduced to fish further out at sea. And due to the sheer abundance of fishes in this area, it ultimately leads to bigger catches that has ultimately put a strain on their inventory capacity. However, Neptune would have to push to sell off these excess inventories before they turn bad, and not being able to do this could lead to big losses. There are suggestions to reduce supply by stopping the usage of a few of Neptunes fishing vessels. However, having idle profit-making assets is not a very good business idea as the vessels are already sunk costs anyways. Neptune could probably sell off some of these assets but to do that would mean having to get losses from the sale of those vessels. Therefore, there is another suggestion to try to combat this problem of oversupply. Neptune suggests cutting prices of end products drastically to try to entice more buyers. However, there are several concerns surrounding the viability of this price cut. PRICE ANALYSES There are several suggested options by the team of Neptune to solve the excees of the inventory that the company facing, cutting prices is suggested by some but cutting the prices may solve problems in short term, while the overcapacity may stay long with Neptune. There also an issue highlighted in the case which is cutting price may effect negatively to the consumers image that Neptune achieved 40 years ago. After cutting the price consumers would conceive that these Neptune products sold at a lower price could be rotten and it could destroy their brand equity. Another effects of cutting price which may affects the future sales because restaurants and household consumers may buy and stock Neptune products in the period of cutting the prices, so the company will get lower sales in the future and it will consider it as an expense. As well as cutting the prices may lead competitors to reduce their prices too trying to compete with Neptune and after while the price would reach the equilibrium point. So many problems may occur due to cutting the prices the Neptune team has another suggestion which is introducing a new low-price seafood brand to the existing upmarket brand. Introducing this new roduct may lead to the cannibalization of the old premium products. Neptune has successfully positioned its Neptune Gold brand on the high end of the seafood market. Neptune are therefore scared that selling off the same seafood for a lower price under another brand would backfire as consumers could discover that both these offerings quality are at par with each other. Hence, consumers would naturally move towards purchasing the new brand instead of the premium one. Neptune also should consider the reaction of the United States Association of Seafood Processors and Distributors. This new brand by Neptune could be risky and possible to negatively affect their ASPD Gold Seal of approval that have strengthened their reputation for quality all these years retracted. This could further endanger the sales of their existing brands.. SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE MASS-MARKET Due to the problems and situation discussed above the idea of improving mass-market is suggested to distribute the excees inventory. It is an excellent idea to give opportunities of growth to Neptune. This strategy to expand their market as opposed to only threatening their currunt offerings, it is also good for the company to come up with something different to this new low-price brand to minimize the negative impact . producing low-price brand to add value to the current market segmentation by supporting the the premium one offered before. It is very important for Neptune to figure out what the consumer really wants from their seafood purchases other than price. Neptune could definitely create an edge over other competitors who are competing in the same price range by promoting the product with a focus on its quality. As a major supplier for seafood products, Neptune has definitely built a name for itself for its quality catches, and they should make sure that this message extends to the new brand as well. Therefore, Neptune could catch the attention of consumers looking for the best quality produce at a much more affordable price range. However, opening a new segment in the market by offering low-priced products will target the consumers who want products at a cheap price and differentiate them with consumers that on the normal market of Neptune. They achieve a competitive advantage over other competitors. In fact, Neptune would probably attract a lot of sales with this new mass-market brand, even with the stiff compe tition with other low-priced suppliers, as customers would assume that they could get the same value proposition delivered by Neptune with their Gold line, but at a cheaper price. This suggestion will reduce cannibalization by differentiate targeted segments, Neptune should retain its revenue from the premium offerings to restaurants and eatiers. CONCLUSION While Neptunes customers are loyal to the company to go back and repurchase its products and their demands are still continuously climbing, Neptune is still using its expertise and technologies to satisfy its customers and keep competitive in the premium seafood market.However, because of its new investment in new shipping vessels, top-quality supplies have also been climbing. However, this increase is not matched by a proportional increase in demand. As such, inventories turnovers have become slower and Neptune runs the risk of having these inventories turning bad in storage. Neptune team has come up with the strategy of slashing their offerings by half, and that is followed by the strategy to open a new mass-market brand. However, both suggestions have certain underlying problems connected to its implementation. But going through a new market segment is highly viewd as an opportunity instead of a threat for long run. As a conclusion, Neptune needs to lunch mass-market brand to solve the excees of the inventory as well as being the best in growth prospect to revive its position in the seafood market. RECOMMENDATIONS Some recommendations to Neptune to sustain its position as market leader and increase its market share through introducing a mass-market brand and implementing some strategies. To expand its offering giographically and open new market outside United States and importing seafood products. This strategy will lead the demand to rise up quickly to follow the rising of supply, so Neptune will solve the oversupply once the margin of demand increases. Neptune sould introduce promotions of its products to definite increases in environmental awareness, to encourage its customers to repurchase and then will get more profit As of currently, about two-thirds of Neptunes total revenue comes from sales made to restaurants, cruise ships and eateries. growing its consumer franchise is recommended as well. Neptune thus should try to collaborate with local supermarkets and grocers nationwide in order to let customers have access to these premium products easier. These recommendations to solve the problem of the excees of the inventory, also to help Neptune to be the leader of the market internationally and the biggest supplier of seafood products. Hisham Turban Marketing Management

Proposal for International Foods at the University Dining Services Essa

Proposal for International Foods at the University Dining Services Pedro Cabrera came to State University from Puerto Rico. He decided to be an exchange student at State because he was interested in experiencing life in the United States, and because he was excited about the excellent veterinarian program offered at State. While he loves attending college and living in the United States, there are some things that he would like to change, or rather introduce to State University. Pedro admitted that he feels homesick at times, a feeling not uncommon to new freshmen. He confessed that one of the most important things that he misses about his home is his mother's home cooking. Pedro confessed that the food that the State University dining service provides, does not offer a very wide selection of international food, especially none that are specific to Puerto Rico. Therefore, Pedro would like to propose to the State University dining service that a wider variety of international be incorporated into the daily dining menus. Comfort for international stud ents, variety and accessibility for all students, and a positive aspect of State University are some of the reasons why the introduction of international foods would be beneficial in the residence hall dining services. Pedro shyly admitted before that he feels homesick at times for foods that he eats in Puerto Rico. Like many other students, international or not, food can be a great comfort when students feel homesick. Many students who are not international students can at least relate to the kinds of foods that are found at the dinning services, even if they are not exactly the same as a home cooked meal. For international students, however, the food served at the dining ser... ...idence hall dining services. On an everyday basis, State University tries to help students adjust to college life in one way or another. The dining service would be taking a large step towards assisting international students in this matter. Not only this, the dining service would join in the campaign to educate students in something new, each and everyday, by exposing all students to new international foods. Plus, at the same time, they would be saving all students a great deal of time and money, and not to mention, keeping them excited about eating in the dining services on a daily basis! The proposed way of incorporating international foods to dining service is both simple and efficient. The introduction of new and different international foods to residence hall dining services would benefit everyone who has the pleasure of dining at Iowa State University.

Ethics of Genocide and Eugenics Essay -- Biology Medical Biomedical Ge

Gene Therapy: Genocide and Eugenics or Striving for a More Perfect Population Controversy and Ethics Just as there are different types of people who look at one glass of water and describe it as half full or half empty, the public has many different views on the future of our society. Gene therapy is also a glass that can be viewed in different angles – different perspectives. Some say it has great potential to shape the ideals of our future, while others believe it signifies intolerance for disabilities, imperfections that supposedly deplete from a person’s interests, opportunities and welfare (quoted by Peter Singer, xviii). This global issue has brought people with different opinions in the open, arguing their views using history, morality and foresight. â€Å"It is human nature to strive to improve everything.† (as quoted from Ron Harris by Singer, xxii) As the world moves forward in science and technology, it seems that only humans themselves are lagging behind. Success and perfection are so important as to even play a role in determining human characteristics – once thought to be inalterable – right down to gene selection. In our increasingly capitalist society, parents want their children to be born with as much an opportunity to excel as others. It is the same well-meaning motivation that drives parents to make more money to buy a bigger house in a better community, so their children could live better and attend a higher-scoring school (Singer xvi). So with equal or greater conviction, they want their children to be born with a relatively high IQ, good looks and a healthy body. This mentality is adequately represented by a website: ronsangels.com, which sells eggs of women â€Å"with beauty and brains† to the highest bidder (... ...ne starts life with an equal chance of health and success. Yet, gene therapy can also be thought of as a straight route towards a dark outlook, where perfection is the first priority, genes are seen as the ultimate puppeteer, and personal freedom to thrive based on one’s self isn’t believed to exist. With the emergence of each new technological discovery comes the emergence of each new ethical debate, and one day, each viewpoint on this momentous issue may be able to find a bit of truth in the other. Eventually, our society may reach a compromise on gene therapy. Bibliography: Cambridge. The Ethics of Inheritable Genetic Modification. Cambridge: Cambridge Universtiy Press, 2006. Rpt. in The Ethics of Inheritable Genetic Modification. Collins, Francis S. "Foreward." Playing God? 2003. By Ted Peters. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Routledge, 2003. Rpt. in Playing God?

Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Heroic Epic of Beowulf :: Epic Beowulf herobeo

The Heroic Epic of Beowulf In the course of time, many heroes have made their name and many stories have been written to proclaim their greatness. However, none as captivating as Beowulf. This Anglo-Saxon epic demonstrates it's power with beautiful language, usage of kennings, metaphors, similes, and alliteration. Also, it gives wondrous supernatural beings as in God, and even of powerful creatures as Grendel. On the other hand, it has human struggles and afflictions. The very first element that is discovered by reading this epic is the lofty language that is used. Although, having read only and excerpt, the writing is as glorious as the story itself. Alliteration usage and can easily recognized in line 33, "He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting nothing..." which demonstrates the "s" sound. Another example of alliteration at work using the "p" sound is line 160, "From my prince, no permission from my people for your landing here." Metaphors provide a distinct characteristic as in line 30 describing terror as "darkness had dropped." Line 128 when sailing across the sea, describing the seas "beating" on the sand. There are few similes but one that stands out most in line 133. "The ship foamed through the sea like a bird..." Using like to describe the similarity of the bird and how the ship traveled across the sea. Probably the most important element of language are the kennings which describe something simple so indirectly. Line 241 describes darkness or night by stating how the moon hangs. Also line 325 describes Grendel in two different kennings as one form of evil. Every hero has their way of fighting evil or protecting from it. In order to fight a supernatural being, one must have a superhuman power which brings us to another characteristic of epic poetry. The very first supernatural being described is the almighty God in lines 7-3 in the beginning. God is definitely been a supernatural being because of his ability and powers that he possesses. He is mostly associated with the Earth's origin and it's inhibitors. Monsters are also form of supernatural being. In this epic Grendel provokes death and cannibalizes human without thought but also enjoying it.

Individual Change Initiative- Dell Computers Essay

Dell incorporation was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Rock, Texas. A multinational technology corporation develops, manufactures, develops, sells and supports personal computers as well as those products that are related to computers. For many years since its establishment, Dell has been the largest seller of servers and personal computers. In 2008, it was the listed as the second largest seller of computers behind an upcoming company, the HP. It uses the direct business model where it develops, designs, manufactures, markets, sells and supports IT systems and services designed to fulfill the specific requirements of its customers (CNN, 2009). The company has an objective of entering the market fast with relevant and new technology that can assist in meeting the needs of its clients, providing services and reducing the inventory and capital investment costs. The strengths of the direct model enable Dell to perform strongly and deliver profitability in its business. Some of the products that are offered by the company include desk computer systems, software, peripherals, mobility products, network products, servers and storage products (CNN, 2009). Competitiveness and Rivalry Dell was the 2005 number one supplier of personal computers both in the United States and globally. This leadership in market is attributed to its focus on selling the services and products directly to the customers (CNN 2009). The prices of personal computers have fallen and Dell has faced stiff competition from other companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Sun Microsystems, Lenovo, Gateway, Sony, Toshiba, Acer and Asus. This has prompted the company to do all it can to undercut competition and to offer to its customers more attractive choice of PCs as well as other products (Bergstein 2006). It is clear that in the current economic world, businesses that deal with similar products are engaged in competition and rivalry as they try to outdo each other and make as much sales and thus profits. This calls for the businesses to restructure their internal operations so that they can forge ahead of their competitors (Hitt, 2007). This is taking place in the business environment that Dell Inc. operates as it faces stiff competition from its rivals in the computer hardware manufacturing industry (Hitt, 2007). Such kind of competition would call for the management of Dell to come up with a process of managing change that is continuous in order to have a business advantage over its rivals continuously. There are three strategies that can be used by any business organization to formulate strategies: focus, cost minimization and differences (Hitt, 2007). Vision: Being the Leading Seller of PCs and related products However since these strategies can be easily copied by the rival companies, a clear vision should be established that will guide the company in its operations. Dell should therefore come up with the vision of being the world’s largest seller of personal computers and computer related products. This vision should not only be presented in writing but should be the basis of any plan or operation that is undertaken in the company (Kotelnikov, 2009). The management and the employees must be made to understand that Dell Inc. is facing stiff competition from other companies and thus should perform every task with the aim of making the company have an advantageous edge over the other similar companies. Change may not take place unless the majority of the employees are ready to make sacrifices (short term) and they should be made to understand the benefits of that change (Kotter, 1996). Major challenges to the vision must first be identified as this would enable the company to study and eradicate them if the vision is to been achieved. One major setback has been the fact that in most cases, products by Dell are only accessible by phone or through the internet. Though this may go well with the company especially in cost cutting, it may be an obstacle for larger sales. This is because the world is in the generation of instant things and â€Å"fast foods† and thus customers may be hindered from engaging in businesses where they have to wait for a longer period before they can obtain the products that they require. Mossberg (2008) gives an example of a combination of ink-jet printer/scanner/copier called DellA940 that is very superior when compared to H-P’s 2110 in speed, services and costs, but the setback with its purchase is that the ink cartilages that it uses can only be obtained by phone or internet. Making the Dell Inc the largest seller of personal computers would also require the Dell Company to set up goals and strategies in line with the vision of making the company the leading seller of computers as well as related products. One of such goals would be to make its products the most efficient and admirable by all the customers keeping in mind the ever-changing technology and innovations. Some of the products that Dell manufactures include laptops that are in different types, such as Vostro, Latitude, Dell Precision, Specialty laptops, inspiron and studio (Del Inc. 2009). Other products include the desktops, workstations, servers, storage and networking devices, printers, monitors and projectors. However, companies such as HP also manufacture and sell personal computers, printers and servers and this has become a major business threat to Dell. For example in 2006 Dell was using the Intel chips as compared to HP’s use of AMD chips (regarded as more superior) which was seen as a disadvantage (Cantrell, 2006). Also the company can become a leading company in computer hardware manufacturing business by focusing on achieving different mix of products which may include those that are none related with personal computer such as the storage products, servers and services. This would make it not to rely so much on personal computer business, which accounts for sixty-six percent of the company’s sales. Experts believe that HP has an advantage over Dell especially with large corporate customers because it has a diversified mix of businesses (Cantrell, 2006). The other strategy that should be considered by Dell Inc should be to improve the customers’ relations. Customer relation is important because it has been proven that keeping the already existing customers is easier than getting the new ones and because those customers that are satisfied will do the advertising for the company’s products. All the Dell employees should be trained on how to improve customer relations by ways such as appreciating the customers orally, in writing or through the websites. Any complains that is raised by any of the customers should be solved immediately and in a friendly way. This can be done by replacing or repairing any product that is reported to have been faulty or even by refunding them their money or adding them a gift (Alibaba, 2009). The customers should also be given clear guidelines on how to make orders easily for any products with full information on how to do it. When customers have made any purchase, a questionnaire should be sent to them to show that the company is concerned about their satisfaction. Finally, the customers should be given as many options for contact as possible and when they send any enquiry or order it should be attended to immediately (Alibaba, 2009). For the employees of Del Incorporation to feel part of the vision, they should not only be made a part of it verbally, but should also be motivated so that they can work very hard towards it. This should be done during the signing of the contract where the employees should be given the opportunity to choose the kind of the training contract that they want to sign. â€Å"Fully self directed† contract should be encouraged as the worker will fill in the topic of training, the process of training and the mode of assessment. The document will then be ratified by the supervisor or by the HR manager. This would be very important, as employee’s resistance has been a major obstacle to the fulfillment of any company’s vision (Hitt, 2007). The workers can be motivated in different ways such as being offered morale boosters such as being offered a free ice cream at the end of every week, picnic or a movie. This makes employees to feel part of the company thus will do everything to support the vision of making Dell the leading seller of PCs and related products. Their views though may not be implemented should also be received by the management. Any time they perform a task in line with the company vision, they should be rewarded, for example with a day off or with a cash prize, a day off or a certificate of appreciation (Microsoft, 2009) For this vision to come true, every part of Dell workforce should be involved. The management of the company should be responsible in articulating the vision to the workers and motivating them. They should direct the employees in line with the strategies that they have come up with as well as supervise them in implementing them. The human resource manager is also very instrumental in ensuring that there is a communications structure encouraging the employers to work towards the vision. All employees raging from the support staff, engineers, marketers, public relations officers, web designers, managers and even accountants should be involved in the vision designing as well as its achievement. The marketers and the public relations officers will play very important roles as they are the ones who will be in direct contact with the customers and will portray the picture of the company either positively or negatively. The engineers and the researchers will be very useful as they will be involved in the process of manufacturing personal computers and other computer related products that would compete with similar products of the other rival companies. If the all stakeholders in the company join their hands and work towards the vision, then Dell Inc. will become the leader in selling PCs and related products in the entire globe. References Alibaba. 43 Phenomenal ways to improve your customer relations. Retrieved March 24,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2009, from http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/51248/43_Phenomenal_Ways_to_Improve_Your_Customer_Relations.htm   Bergstein, B. (July, 19 2006). PC market called â€Å"healthy† despite weak demand in Europe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved 24 March 2009, from http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/19/pc_market_called_healthy_despite_weak_demand_in_europe/ Cantrell, A. (Feb. 10 2006). All’s not well with Dell. CNN. Retrieved March 24, 2009,   Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/10/markets/spotlight/spotlight_dell/index.htm CNN. (2009). Dell inc- company information. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://money.cnn.com/quote/snapshot/snapshot.html?symb=DELL Hitt, M.A.et al (2007).   Strategic management concepts. Wiley. Retrieved March 24, 2009,      Ã‚  Ã‚  from   mclennan.mbs.edu/classroom/bibliographies/Strategic_management_of

Learning Lab Denmark Case Study Essay

Executive Summary The Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition, from 1914 to 1916, is a compelling story of leadership when disaster strikes again and again. In words of David Foster Wallace, Real leaders are people who help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear. Q1;- Has designing and leadership at Learning Lab Denmark been effective so far? Why/Why not? What about Organizational Culture? A1:- Organizational design is the pillar of any organization. It is the deliberate process of configuring structures, processes, reward systems, and people practices to create an effective organization capable of achieving the business strategy. It is ongoing process and simply a vehicle for accomplishing the strategic tasks of the business. A well-designed organization helps everyone in the business do his/her job effectively. A poorly-designed organization (or an organization by default) creates barriers and frustrations for people both inside and outside the organization. Organizational design affected by few key factors, which are: 1. Strategy 2. Environment 3. Technology 4. HR Learning Lab Denmark was the â€Å"Research and Development Institute† which was established by the help of Danish Ministry of Business and Industry, the Ministry of Research and the Ministry of Education and the Private sectors. Like every organization, in LLD, there was an Organizational design to perform its job smoothly. In that organization, there was a central unit which conducted all the the jobs like Management, Communication and Culture activities called â€Å"Secretariat†. It was an independent organization but affiliated with the Danish Pedagogical university (DPU). In LLD, there were two senior managers, one was managing director and other was a research director. Research director was responsible for research jobs which were going on in all Consortia. The MD was to report to the boards and to oversee the organization’s daily operations. There were six consortia where in each  consortia, a Consortium Director was deputed and under which many employees were working on different projects. The Consortium were : Math and Science (MS) Neuroscience, Cognition and Learning (NCL) Play and Learning (PL) The Creative Alliance (TCA) Workplace Learning (WL) Tools for the Knowledge Based Organization (TKO) There was a dpartment under secretariat for sharing all the information and ensure an effective network of communication within LLD. It shared all the learnings between all Consortia and between Consortia and Secretariat. It also support to LLD by developing a consortium’s website. Secretariat also focused on the organizational culture whether is was followed or not. In my view, the Organizational design and leadership both were not so effective due to that Organization failed to perform. If we consider the basic key factors of Organization design, we will find; 1. Startegy – There was lack of strategy. What we have to do and what will be the tentative time frame of completion of job. There was lack of experienced employees so that they couldn’t make proper strategy. 2. Environment – There was no favourable work environment. Leaders were not able to communicate properly. Each consortia was doing his own way. There was ego issue between two different departments and both were avoiding each other instructions. 3. Technology – This was the research institute so the first thing which was required, adequate knowledge, experienced expertise, upgraded technologies. There was lack of all these things which led to fail the organization. 4. Human Resources – The HR management was handled by DPU so there was big gap betwee n the actual scenario inside the LLD and action taken by DPU. DPU was not involved directly and there was no perfect communication networking between LLD and DPU. There was big dissatisfaction in the employees of LLD. One of the reasons to fail the LLD was weak leadership. In the case study, it was clear that the role of top leaders was not effective. The CDs didn’t follow the instructions which were taken by senior leaders. There was big  ego issue between two departments. The CDs were doing their job in their own way. Organizational Culture – Organizational culture is the basic pillar of any organization. It decides the way to achieve the goal along with growth and great satisfaction of each and every employee. The culture depends on the few key factors which have been described below:- 1. Team Orientation – Degree to which work is organized around teams rather than individuals 2. People Orientation – Degree to which management decisions take into account the effects on people in the organization 3. Attention to detail – Degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis and attention to detail 4. Stability – Degree to which organizational decisions and actions emphasize maintaining the status. 5. Aggressiveness – Degree to which employees are aggressive and competitive rather than cooperative. 6. Innovation & Risk Taking – Degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and to take risks 7. Outcome Orientation – Degree to which manager’s focus on results or outcomes Since in LLD, there was no any structured Organizational design so there was also lack of culture. There was no strategy according to which all consortia could perform. The consortia leader was not interested to follow the instruction of his senior management. The above described all factors are required to develop an organizational culture but in LLD, no any factors were lays. Q2 :- What are the opportunities and challenges of designing and leading Learning Lab Denmark? A2:- If any system fails it means that faced many challenges which couldn’t be attended on the time. In the case of LLD, there were multiple challenges in designing and leading, which i have described below. 1. Establish the Hilton Experience – Hilton experience means that the administrative side of LLD sustains the research side with supportive attitude where helpful procedures and routines make it easier, not harder, for the researcher to do their job. But in actual condition, there was lots of confliction between consortia and secretariat. 2. Common Culture and Identity – MD and Research Director of LLD wanted to establish common culture and identity across all consortia but it was very tough since the project job of all consortia were different from each other, so the working  was also different. 3. Establish the communication networking across LLD – It was very big challenge to establish the proper communication among Secretariat and Consortia and also among all Consortia. They didn’t want any interruption in their working on the projects. 4. Financial Crisis – Since LLD was an organization which was funded by Danish Govt. as well as Private investors. At the initial time when LLD was being established, the global market was facing recessions. The terrorist attacks on Sep’11, 2001 further heightened pessimism. So, it became tough to collect the fund for the Organization. 5. Execution of LLD Research model – LLD has established a research model where the involvement of Stakeholders have been introduced directly with the researchers to give their inputs so that researchers can work in that direction and at the same time, Researchers can convince with their efforts to Stakeholders. But it was not established due to weak leadership of LLD top management. 6. Recruitment of Researchers – This was research institute so the employees should have high knowledge along with experienced, only then research could be done in within time frame. This type of researchers could be recruited only when selector s having high knowledge. Other thing was the new inexperienced employees who got the first job of life in LLD, could be performed as per expectation due to lack of job experience. This was the big challenge. 7. Work Environment – A healthy and familiar work environment is required to perform well in the organization. This environment can be achieved by taking care of employee. For that a strong HR management should be there but in the LLD, this was lacking point. 8. Decision Taking Authority – There should be the freedom to take decision regarding research to all consortia but this should be controlled by LLD top management. For this, a structural frame should be in the organization with proper strategy. This was not in the LLD. 9. Get Result – All stakeholders invest on the basis of performance of the organization. They want results for that they invest the money. In LLD, only research work remained ongoing but results didn’t deliver with full satisfaction and within time frame. It also remained challenge and reason for failure. 10. Confliction – This was the big issue in the LLD and the main reason of the confliction between the employees was Power, Authority and Hierarchical Status. The top management couldn’t able to resolve this confliction. There are so many opportunities where LLD management should focus and could be improved. Few points have been described below. 1. Organizational Design – There should be proper structured team in LLD by considering few factors like; Strategy, Technology, Environment and Human Resource. This team should perform effectively. 2. Communication Networking – Communication networking to be strengthen and for communication, there should be a proper channel which should not be bypassed in any case. Communication should be monitored by senior management effectively. What to be shared with stakeholders, what to be requested to investors, what to be ordered to researchers; these all things should be monitored properly. 3. Recruitment – Since the core business of this organization was research so the employee recruitment should be on the basis of real merit and experience. 4. Training – If employees having less job-experienced then there should be a training cell where the researchers can be developed by training. 5. Feedback System – There should be proper feedback system for the ongoing projects status and it should be monitored on regular basis. 6. Fund Arrangement – There should be proper team for fund collection. Team has ability to convince the investors. They should make other strategy to draw the attention of investors. 7. Execution of LLD Research Model – The research model established by LLD was very good but it was not executed due to having much confliction between the top management of LLD and Consortia leaders. So, it should be role of top leaders that the good model should be executed effectively. 8. Resolves Confliction – There was too much confliction on the thoughts among the LLD and it created tension. The tension was created due to Power, Authority, Hierarchical Status and this was continued due to unwillingness of senior management. The senior leader should take their responsibilities and perform effectively. Q3:- Identify tensions, problems, issues, paradoxes, characteristics and dilemmas that make organizational design and leadership ongoing challenges in new ventures such as LLD. What is distinctive about LLD’s design? A3:- In LLD, there was tension between the Broker team (Communicator) and the Consortium Director and its related to whether the broker team is a â€Å"Service Team† that executes orders/requests issued by the CDs or a â€Å"Techno  Structure† that can issue orders/requests to the CDs. The tension was related to three main issues; Power, Authority and Hierarchical Status. The problem was that the more the broker team acts as if it is a technocratic structure, the more CDs resist. The paradox underlined the organization-wide tension between Standardization and Variability. The communicator team emphasized on stability and standardization as it represented secretariat of LLD where as the CDs fostered variability because they resisted the brokerâ€⠄¢s initiatives. â€Å"They accepted, the brokers are right when they say that no procedure includes all local conditions but we are also resisting because the procedures minimize our autonomy†. The consortia people also resisted to follow the standardization procedures due to which the secretariat was facing big challenge to deliver on the idea of being a Hilton experience. They were frustrated with LLD’s organizational bureaucracy, which they believed was constraining their efforts unnecessarily. Another problem was in the relationship between LLD and DPU. LLD’s managers and employees knew they belonged to DPU as an independent unit, but never viewed their organization as a part of DPU. Even though all LLD’s budget including salaries was paid through DPU’s administration, LLD’s administrators feared that if they used this bureaucracy, LLD would become like DPU means very slow, dusty and inefficient. According to LLD’s personnel, they were facing some human resource problem. They said that their salaries were not released on time by DPU. There was some management issue, due to which two Chief Financial Officers had resigned within 18 months and the reason shared was the perceived difficulty of serving as the interface between the two organizations. The LLD’s Organizational design was different in the case that only two senior managements were involved and MD was to oversee the organizational daily operations. There was confliction in the team due to having issues like Power, Authority and Hierarchical Status. The employees didn’t view their organization as a part of DPU whereas LLD was administratively governed by DPU. It showed there was no effective leadership. Q4:- As a leader, how do you prepare for and manage the difficulties and challenges identified in questions 2 and 3? Consider actions, strategies and techniques that you might want to take/use. Be specific and illustrate with examples? A4:- In this case study, i have found many difficulties and challenges and Being a leader, here i am explaining my remedial action to resolve those challenges. 1. Organizational Design – I would like to frame a design where responsibilities of everyone would be described and everyone will have to perform according to that. I would like to make a team on the basis of Strategy, Environment, Technology and Human Resource. I would introduce every consortia, a leader under whom a technical and managerial employee will work. Managerial employee will look after the basic needs of all involved researchers. And Technical employee will take reports on daily basis from the researchers and talk about their demands for doing project smoothly. Both will report to Consortia head. Consortia head will power to take decision for his consortia work and decide the time frame with responsibilities. Now in Secretariat, similarly, one top leader will be under whom a research director, a finance head , a HR head will work. Research Director will take report from all Consortia head. Finance head will manage all funding for LLD and head a cell which will work for fund collection by involving investors. HR head will look after all the basic needs of all employees across LLD. The head of Secretariat will take report from all three heads and take appropriate actions for the organization. He will shared the key points with DPU, Danish Govt. And Stakeholders. The all consortia head will be liable to follow the instructions given by all three heads, whom he will report and discuss the issue. 2. Communication Networking – Communication networking will be affected by leadership quality. If the above design will work effectively, the communication will remain strong. 3. Recruitment and Training – The HR will be responsible for recruitment and there will be selector team in which a technical and managerial employee will be involved for selection of researchers. In the selection, they will have to giv e priority to those who have much job experience and having higher degree of knowledge. Few researchers can be selected who have no much job experience but for those, there would be manage a training program on regular interval to increase their skills. 4. Financial Establishment – The finance dept will be responsible for the  funding arrangement. They will make different teams in which one will be in touch with every consortia and review their financial demands like equipments for experiment and other basic requirements, one will be responsible to review current cash situation and their expenditure plan, keep previous expenditure report, one will be responsible to involve investors, stakeholders by convincing with the performance of the organization, make some investment schemes., one will be responsible to review current market condition, take care of investors who has become partner in the organization. 5. Get Result – The organization is â€Å"Research and Development Institute†, so it’s growth will depend on the completion of projects within time frame. For this, every consortia head will be responsible for completion of all projects within time frame and share the way forward plan, if any projects doesn’t complete in within time frame. To involve the investors, everyone will keep honesty in his work. For this, HR team will responsible to arrange the meeting between investors and respective consortia at regular time of interval along with research head, so that every investors can remain updated with the ongoing research. 6. Confliction – This is the big challenge for any organization. This can only be resolved by the effective organizational design. It is the responsibility of the top leader to define the responsibility along with power and level of freedom to take decision on any topic. According to me, i will define the decision taking authority with the power and Hierarchical status. The HR department will be responsible whether the things are being followed or not. Whatever decision is taken by higher management, it should be followed by every employee. 7. Organizational Culture – Organizational culture is the basic pillar of any organization. It decides the way to achieve the goal along with growth and great satisfaction of each and every employee. The culture depends on the few key factors which are, Team Orientation, People Orientation, Stability, Aggressiveness, Innovation & Risk Taking, Outcome Orientation. In my leadership, i will assure the organizational key factors are being followed or not. Q5:- What should Vaaland and Jensen do? A5:- Being Managing Director, Marianne Stang Vaaland had much power to handle  the all obstacles. There are two types of obstacles; one can be controlled by your efforts since the reason of the obstacle remains known but another type of obstacle comes due to external agencies which is not in your hand and take much time to control that, like recession, market condition, investors demand etc. Vaaland should form an effective organizational design along with responsibility. He should take action if there is any deviation. Similarly being Research Director, Hans Siggaard Jensen should define the working responsibility of all researchers along with tentative time frame. He should take honest feedback from each consortia on regular basis and suggest if he founds any deviation. At first, Vaaland should resolve all the confliction by distribute the Power and Authority on Hierarchical base so that a healthy work environment can be developed. Both should have assured that researchers which are being selected will give benefit to the organization. It means selection process should be effective. If any researcher is selected who has less experience but having capability to learn and grow, for such type of researchers, there should be training cell. Both should have reviewed the market scenario and investors demand and according to that they should establish the working model. They should develop such type of organizational culture where whatever decision has been taken by both of them that should be followed by their sub-ordinates. Before establish any working model, both should discuss with their sub-ordinates. Both should make a strategy to collect the fund by providing different type of schemes for their investors. They should make a cell that looks after only the fund collection job. Both should have assured the project completion time frame so that investors can faith on the organization. It gives a positive message in the market and it helps to attract the investors. Both should have established the proper networking for communication and taking feedback. No one should have confliction on this. Both should have enforced to establish the Hilton Experience effectively between Secretariat and all Consortia. Q6:- What lessons can you draw from LLD? What LLD a success? A6:- The case study â€Å"Organizing From Scratch: Learning Lab Denmark Experience† is really having great lesson for all the leaders. In my  opinion, LLD was a big failure due to weak leadership and having no any strategic plan to run the organization for long time, achieve the targets, lack of organizational culture, inexperienced work force and weak financial condition. Here I am sharing the key points which I have learned from the case study to run any organization effectively:- Importance of effective and structured Organizational Design.

Communication Assignment Essay

Describe the main differences between communicating with adults and communication with children and young people (3. 2) Although there are some factors of communication that should be present regardless of age or development such as respect and courtesy, as adults and teaching staff we should adapt our communication and language with who we are talking to and their age. There is a need when communicating with children and young people to be clear and unambiguous. This helps children and young people understand what we are saying and expressing as well as helping them develop language and communication skills to use for themselves. As teaching staff when communicating with a child or young person it is important not to use too much language as the message or request could become confused and lost by the child or young person. It is important to ensure that the child or young people understand what is being asked of them and that teaching staff should ensure that this level of understanding is achieved and remember to be patient and mindful of age and development. It is also important to bear in mind that child and young people will copy adult behaviour and it is therefore imperative to model the kind of communication you would expect from them. This is why ensuring respect, accepting contributions and differences of opinions, being polite and courteous are crucial when communicating with children/ young people and adults. Identify examples of communication difficulties that may exist (3. 3) Communication is a crucial skill and helps us express feelings, make choices and aids us in all aspects of life, there are many pupils that struggle with communication and areas of difficulty can arise for a variety of reasons. This could be due to special needs or because of attitudes and beliefs. Physical Factors These could include speech impediments such as a stammer or more serious physical conditions or special needs which effect the ability of communication. Working in a special needs school I work with many students that are not able to verbally communicate for a number of different reasons such as severe autism, severe developmental delay and down syndrome. Although these students are fully supported and often have other ways to communicate they can often become frustrated that they cannot communicate their feelings. It also affects their independence. Confidence Confidence could be another barrier to communication. Confidence can be developed with practise; a pupil’s self esteem is linked to feelings of self-affirmation and belonging. As teaching staff it is important to empower pupils and give them the confidence that assists communication for example this could be done by giving a pupil enough time to respond and by being sensitive. Cultural Differences There may be communication difficulties due to cultural differences. This could be created because of different expectations created by culture. An example of this could be that a student in a school maybe part of a culture where eye contact is not encouraged this could mean that people may not pick up as many non verbal cues. Describe how to adapt communication to meet different communication needs (3. 4) It may be necessary to adapt the way in which you communicate if you are communicating with someone who has difficulties in this area. The following techniques can be used †¢ Speak clearly and appropriately when communicating. †¢ Slow your speech if necessary. Use visual aids such as pictures, photograph or flashcards. †¢ Use a translator if necessary. †¢ Use sign language. †¢ Maintain good eye contact and use positive body language. †¢ Use facial expressions and hand gestures. Working in a school for severely disabled young people, many of the students have communication difficulties, for many their communication skills are not representative of their age. This has meant that staff in the scho ol have to adapt to enable the students ways to communicate their feelings/wants/needs appropriately. Although teaching staff try to encourage speech there are other techniques that are used. For example * Makaton signing Makaton is a language programme using signs and symbols to help people to communicate. It is designed to support spoken language and the signs and symbols are used with speech, in spoken word order. * Symbols/ Visual aids/ Visual timetables Symbols can be used to re enforce a message or a request used along side speech, an example of this could be handing a student a stop sign and saying â€Å"stop† if the student was being silly. Symbols can also be used as part of a visual timetable, these are usually used in autistic classes, symbols (or words) that represent the activities the students will be doing that day and in the correct order so they are aware of what they will be doing. * Electronic speakers Some students that are not able to communicate verbally use an electronic speaker; these are specialised computers that enable people to communicate. The user presses different buttons to communicate what they are trying to say, the speaker says the different words out loud. * PECS Picture, exchange, communication system (PECS) is a system of communication in which the student hands symbols to an adult to request something or to communicate a feeling. It tends to be used in autistic settings and gives students the opportunity for spontaneous communication. Describe how to deal with disagreements between; * The practitioner and child/ young people There can often be disagreements between teaching assistant staff and young people. This could be because staff have to put boundaries and rules in place which the young people may not agree with. In the case of a disagreement it is important to address the situation. The staff member should stay calm and collected and explain why they have taken the action that they have taken. In this case, of a disagreement because of boundaries the staff team should be consistent. Depending on the nature of the disagreement it may also be an idea to discuss it afterwards when everybody is thinking rationally, this could be an opportunity to talk about why it happened and how to prevent in the future. In my care setting there have been occasions that young people have targeted staff for unknown reasons. This can be difficult for the staff, in this case it’s important to provide support as a team. The staff member may want to do activities and tasks with the young person in the future to develop relationships. * The practitioner and other adults (3. 5) It is likely that when working along side people in a work setting that there will be disagreements. This could be for a number of reasons, including poor communication or clashes of personalities and ideas, as adults we can sometimes misread situations and information given, we can also be defensive and lead by our emotions. In these conflict situations it is important to be sensitive as well as keen to resolve the situation and soon as possible. Being open and honest about thoughts and feelings can help resolve a situation and ensure that both parties do their best to prevent it happening again. It is also important to remember that as an employee you are contracted to be professional. If employees are not able to resolve a disagreement they should refer to the schools grievance policy or procedure.

Charting a New Course for Schools Essay

Marc Tucker’s article, â€Å"Charting a New Course for Schools,† highlights the most urgent problems that the American education system currently faces. He mentions the need to reform the education system in order to compete in today’s global economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tucker pointed out the deficiencies of the educational system in the country today. Furthermore, he stressed on the need to implement changes to the system. The author focused on information that evidently shows why there is an urgent need to overhaul the educational system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Tucker, the report of New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, â€Å"Tough Choices or Tough Times, provides an overview of the current status of the American labor force. It shows how the American workers are lagging behind workers from developing countries in terms of skills and abilities. Also, Tucker points out that workers from developing countries possess the same skills and knowledge as American workers and yet are paid lower wages. This poses a problem for American workers since it is a given that any business man would choose to lower costs for the same quality. American workers are losing their edge in the labor market due to the antiquated education system of the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dilemma for American workers is this, they must either give up their current standard of living or they must improve themselves in terms of skills, talents, and abilities. The latter, according to Tucker, is the reason why a revamp of the country’s education system has become a necessity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tucker points out two criteria that the United States must meet in order for its workers to continue commanding their high wages and maintain their standard of living. The author says that first, American workers must match the best academic performance in the world. At the same time, Tucker said, the country must offer workers that are the most creative and innovative.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The article also highlighted the characteristics of a premium worker or the worker that deserves to be paid premium wages. According to the author American workers should become premium workers in order to receive the current wages that they are receiving. He described a premium worker as someone who has a high level of preparation in the general areas of reading, speaking, mathematics, history, literature, fine arts, and science. Furthermore, a premium worker should be comfortable with new ideas and abstractions. He must also be creative and possess the imagination to come up with meaningful and useful products for the company. Premium workers must also possess the ability to solve problems by using their knowledge from various fields. Lastly, Tucker described a premium worker as someone who is a team player and can easily adapt to the various changes around him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Premium workers are products of a good and up-to-date educational system. This is the current problem of the education in the country as the current system is no longer adept with the conditions of today. To tackle this problem, Tucker suggested seven steps that can be taken to reform the American educational system. First, Tucker suggested charting a new course for student progression through the system. This requires a total reorganization of the system and opening of new educational opportunities as the students progress. Secondly, the author pointed out the need to reinvest resources where they are most needed and where they will be most efficiently used. This means that available resources should be allocated to areas of the system which can produce the greatest amount of rewards for the students. Another step is to initiate a universal preschool educational system. Tucker viewed preschool education as the foundation of school-based learning. If students are to become highly-skilled workers, they must have a good education foundation and preschool education is the integral aspect of such foundation. For teacher recruitment, Tucker suggested that schools recruit those coming from the top third of the college class. This will ensure highly-educated and competent teachers. Moreover, Tucker suggested the adoption of high-performance management modes to improve schools and districts. Also, he pointed out the need to provide strong support to disadvantaged students. Finally, he proposed the rebuilding of standards, assessment, and curriculum to reflect today’s needs and tomorrow’s requirements. In general, Marc Tucker’s article discusses the problems of the antiquated American educational system and its severe effects on the country’s labor force. I believe that there is indeed a pressing need to revamp the current educational system. Education in the country today no longer meets the needs of the economy. The labor force that the educational system produces is insufficient in terms of skills and abilities. The workers lack the necessary skills that warrant the wages they get. It is for this reason that American and international firms seem to turn to developing countries for their labor needs. If American workers are to remain deserving of the wages they receive, they must become more competent and highly-skilled. It is my opinion that the only way that the country will produce highly-skilled, creative, and innovative workers is to change the educational system. The system should focus more on the development of skills necessary for the various employment needs today. It is the right of every citizen to be properly and adequately educated in order to survive. The current system can no longer provide the educational needs of the people. The primary reason why people go to school is to prepare them for work. Since workers currently receive sub-standard education, they lack the skills and abilities that the labor market needs. Evidently, the only solution to this dilemma is, I believe, to revamp the educational system.

Strategic Planning Utilizing the Balanced Scorecard Assignment

Strategic Planning Utilizing the Balanced Scorecard - Assignment Example Vision and strategy statements often contain phrases such as superior or top class service or excellent product quality and so on. Often, these statements do not provide accurate meaning to internal and external stakeholders. Through the process of Balanced Scorecard, the management provides a clear-cut definition, for example, the top class service as 97 percent on-time delivery to customers. With this clarity, everyone concerned will focus and put their efforts to achieving the top class service rather than speculating on its abstract meaning. Scorecard provides a platform to translate the strategy overcoming vision barrier. Scorecard creates understandable measurement criteria that guide all employees to achieving desired goals. Customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and market share are the critical indicators that inform how close the company is to customers. The organization needs to create the performance drivers that not only measure the customer perspective but suggests the ways to improve upon them. Entirely new processes such as product development, production activities, or service capabilities may be considered in this perspective. The organization needs to create the performance drivers that not only measure the internal process perspective but suggests the ways to improve upon them. Skyline College’s vision statement is: "Skyline College inspires a global and diverse community of learners to achieve intellectual, cultural, social, economic and personal fulfillment" (Skyline College, 2014). Keeping in line with vision statement, several strategies of Skyline are in operation for achieving its goal. To know about the effectiveness of the strategies formulated, Skyline has devised several measures such as retention, persistence, all course success, basic skill course success, student-counselor ratio, and many more. Through these measuring criteria, it is possible to know