Why I Am A Physician Dr. Charles Katzenberg - 1379 Words

My shadowing experience overall has been quite knowledgeable, my physician Dr. Charles Katzenberg has demonstrated and expressed much wisdom to me about what it takes to become a cardiologist. He has demonstrated the ability to approach patents with deep concern and understanding to fully get a sense of what and how the patient is feeling. He has also demonstrated the expertise it takes to solve cardiovascular enigmas, whether it is within the realm of medicine or outside the realm of medicine. Furthermore, he incorporates preventative techniques used to reduce and prohibit these cardiovascular diseases from happening to others by suggesting a dietary plan and the promotion of aerobic exercises to minimize the risk of heart disease. For†¦show more content†¦He stated that in order to ascertain heart conundrums it is essential to look at the spacing of the lines on the EKG. The thinner narrow lines on the EKG usually indicate regular heart beats, and in contrary, the thicker wider lines on the EKG generally indicate an irregular heart pulse or rhythm which is also known as arrhythmia. In addition, our second patient was suffering from shortness of breath and what she said she experienced was â€Å"fluttering† in her chest. In addition, psychological factors were in place as well, she mentioned expressing stressful feelings and anger to her husband based upon minor situational arrangements. In the past, our patient had also experienced a brain bleed also known as subdural hematoma. Dr. Katzenberg began to check her vitals, her pulse and lungs with his stethoscope and after he recommended that she takes a stress-echo test to study and get a read of her heart rate capacity. Next, our third patient is suffering from stage IV breast cancer, according to her pet/cat scan information it revealed that she had developed edema and possibly spasms of the esophagus. Due to this data, her oncologist has deduced that the cancer has metastasized (cancer-spreadi ng) throughout her lungs resulting in her to pursue chemotherapy for 6 months to 2 years. During this transition, she has experienced much emotional distress as well as physical stress. She came in for a checkup because she was

Business Process Change Plan Evaluation - 1049 Words

BUSINESS PROCESS CHANGE PLAN EVALUATION GB560 Designing, Improving and Implementing Processes Session # 1105D Unit 6 Assignment Alicia Fields Kaplan University August 30, 2011 The importance of understanding Business Process Change Business processes comprise a set of sequential sub-processes or tasks, with alternative paths depending on certain conditions as applicable, performed to achieve a given objective or produce given outputs. Each process has one or more needed inputs. The inputs and outputs may be received from, or sent to other business processes, other organizational units, or internal or external stakeholders. Business processes are designed to be operated by one or more business functional units, and emphasize†¦show more content†¦The possible effects on staff members could include outsourcing, training requirements and staff development opportunities, or even equity impact and any negative impact on staff and/or directly or indirectly affect a particular group. In regards to relevant financial information, one might want to consider general relevant financial information and provide a cost benefit analysis if the change is financially driven. Also include details regarding how the prop osed change will ensure the financial viability of that particular division. Conduct a self-evaluation and describe your own performance and approach to the class throughout the semester. In performing a self-evaluation, I would describe my own performance as minimal, yet, contributory. I use these terms because my discussion involvement usually took place toward the end of the unit, but I always participate in a manner which, I believe, brought out a unique perspective and triggered an advanced thought process. I enjoyed the fact that each assignment was a building block from the previous week, but I will admit that the assignment portion was very intimidating from the beginning. The structure of the course really made you view yourself as an expert at process change. You had to put yourself in that role in order to not only understand theShow MoreRelatedUnderstanding The Business Process Change1285 Words   |  6 PagesUnderstanding Business Process Change To speak intelligently about the importance of understanding business process change as it relates to employment, it is important to define what business process change means. In the simplest of terms, business process change is a modification to a company’s existing business process. This process could be manual, automated or both. The goal of such changes are to improve the performance and productivity of a company. Advances in technology and globalizationRead MoreThe Stage Of A Project971 Words   |  4 Pages4.6 Stage 6- Close Out and Evaluation Description: 4.6.1 Project closeout: It is the final stage of a project during which the stakeholders signify full acceptance of the project’s completion, without outstanding reservations, and in so doing accept that project funding is no longer available. †¢ Prerequisites for closeout include: The plant, facility, addition or alteration (i.e. the project) is commissioned and any needed Performance Test completed; †¢ Deficiencies identified at the MechanicalRead MoreTechnology Implementation Paper1570 Words   |  7 Pagesresources, whereas smaller companies must resort to outsourcing this process. The ultimate goal is the same, to cut expenses, and stay competitive. A big decision, a company will need to make, is whether to cut personnel or can implementing new technology give the same result. 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Project manager is required to create the project plan and coordinate the project execution. Business analysts will create the scope management plan, requirements and business use cases. They are also involved in testing every component of the application as it gets developed including notifications and UI. Developers are required for UI and Process development. Business users will function as testers. Few of the developers are retained on call basis to assistRead MoreFinal Strategic Plan For Silicon Valley1131 Words   |  5 Pages Final Strategic Plan Name Institution Final Strategic Plan Executive Summary From extensive research and analysis, Method Company has come up with the final strategic plan that will be used to start the expansion process in conjunction with Ecover. The new chapter of the business will deal with the same products that were being offered previously. However, the business strategy will greatly improve for the better. 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Brainstorming and using other decision-making tools can also help an idea to grow into action. There are a lot of ways to end an excellent plan. Poor decision making skills and mismanagement can destroy any hopes of a plan reaching its goal. This was true in our scenario. The problem with the employees beingRead MoreVision And Mission Statements Provide Information About The Organization954 Words   |  4 PagesVision and mission statements provide information about the organization. They appear in strategic and operational plans. How do you define vision and mission statements? How should they be developed and used? The mission of a company is considered to be its purpose. Basically, it should include what you will provide, who you will serve and also highlight your key attributes that should distinguish your organization from your competitors. 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Performance Measurement Paper Free Essays

Performance Measurement Paper LaVonda Jones MGT/437 6/30/2010 Dr. Kemit Grafton Performance Measurement Paper Project managers use performance measurement to help plan, initiate, execute, and close projects that they work on. Using measures like evaluating, controlling, and budgeting helps project managers and team members monitor progress on the project. We will write a custom essay sample on Performance Measurement Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this paper, one will compare and contrast the above measurements and discuss the importance of each within a project. Evaluating a Project Using the evaluating measure helps the project manager improve the performance of the team. They determine what the team needs so that the team may accomplish the goals set in the planning phase of the project. When the project manager evaluates a project, the manager makes sure that the goals for the project are clear. The strategies and objectives are coherent for the team to understand how they should complete a successful project. The project manager must work with the team and agree on a plan for the project. The team will use all resources that are available to them when evaluating their project. Clarifying ground rules are necessary so that all team members are working together in the same direction. Negotiations are necessary by the team as a whole and documentation is necessary to keep written proof of project ordeals. For a project manager to efficiently evaluate their project, the project manager should keep track of past projects and use them to set the standard or determine if things are moving along on track for the new project. 2. To Control How can managers ensure their subordinates are doing the right thing. Today managers do not control their workforce mechanically (measurement of time-and-motion for control as during Taylor) However managers still use measures to control, while allowing some space for freedom in the workforce. Robert Kaplan David Norton) Business has control bias. Because traditional measurement system sprung from finance function, the system has a control bias. Organisation create measurement systems that specify particular actions they want execute- for branch employess to take a particular ways to execute what they want- branch to spend money. The n they want to measure to see whether the employees have in fact taken those actions. Need to measure input by individual into organisation and process. Officials need to measure behavior of individuals then compare this performance with requirements to check who has and has not complied. Often such requirements are described only as guidelines. Do not be fooled. These guidelines are really requirements and those requirement are designed to control. The measurement of compliance with these requirements is the mechanism of control. 3. To Budget Budgets are crude tools in improving performance. Poor performance not always may change after applying budgets cuts as a disciplinary actions. Sometimes budgets increase could be the answer to improving performance. Like purchasing better technology because the current ones are outdated and harm operational processes. So decision highly influenced by circomstance, you need measures to better understand the situation. At the macro level, elected officials deciding which purpose of government actions are primary or secondary. Political priorities drive macro budgetory choices. Once elected officials have established macro political priorities, those responsible for micro decisions may seek to invest their limited allocation of resources in the most cost-effective units and activities. In allocating budgets, managers, in response to macro budget allocations (driven by political objectives), determin alloactions at the micro level by using measures of efficiency of various activities, which programs or organisations are more efficient at achieving the political objectives. Why spend limited funds on programs that do not guarantee exceptional performance? Efficiency is determined by observing performance- output and outcome achieved considering number of people involved in the process (productivity per person) and cost-data (capturing direct cost as well as indirect) How to cite Performance Measurement Paper, Papers

Business Ethics for US Consumer Product Safety -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Ethics for US Consumer Product Safety. Answer: Introduction Leaders are those people who are capable of helping themselves and other people into doing the right things. They are the ones who set the right direction, build up an inspiring vision and go on into creating something new. Leadership is all about the mapping out of where one is required to be going for winning as a team or as an organization and at the same time it is exciting, dynamic and inspiring. Even after that, as leaders set the direction, they also require using management skills for guiding their people in the right destination, in an efficient and smooth way[1]. Leadership is not a one size fits all solution to every problem, nor is it a magic formula that would instantly make anyone a good leader. Instead it is a time taking process that required dedication for learning the way of achieving the goals one set and the way they need inspiration for following the leader and doing the same. Each individual has their own way of doing things, either with the help of rewards, or with providing freedom within the job roles or sharing responsibilities alongside the other employees. Every approach works in a different way for everyone, but every type of leader has developed over time for figuring out their exact style[2]. Discussions regarding leadership in this essay is in context with the Bottle Shock exercise. This exercise asks for individuals to act as they are a part of the person committee and a representative from a department of one manufacturing plant in a large Canadian consumer goods manufacturer. The issue to be faced in this organization as a representative is the recalling of the baby bottles after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission asked for a recall for all the feeding products for infants that have been made out of a specific type of plastic. This would be looking into the situation, analyzing it and then putting it in the context of leadership and responsibility. Discussion Inside the organization, the engineering department is the one taking care of all the things related to product concept specification or the different prototypes from the marketing department and the development of an engineering design which could be manufactured with the help of equipment and production lines inside the plant. The department also takes care of the design modification of the products and the production lines at different times within the lifecycle of the product. As there has been no engineering problems which has turned out unsolvable on time by the department, it has been a matter to be proud and confident about. Reviewing the research on the product recall and determining if at all the product is unsafe. In doing so it was found that the recall was just based on one single study of the general properties of the bottles and the plastic used for it, and that the harmful health effects were very minute and much lower than the previous thresholds for human use. There is no need for the recall. With the help of further research it was found that another study has shown that there are no adverse effects found in infants from their exposure to the bottles and the plastic used in it. Based on these findings and the science involved it can be easily believed that the recall was unnecessary. Instead of that exporting can be a good idea, as the research has shown that the bottles are safe for use by humans and that implies that the worldwide market is open for the bottles to be sold out. Taking time out now for redesigning the existing products would be hard for fitting into the project schedule the staff needs to be well organized and the project schedule would be filled completely for more than 120 days. The estimation has been done on redesigning the products and production line for using a different plastic that would require taking approximately 2 months. Alternately, starting on redesigning immediately would be posing different kind of a problem - beginning with something fresh at this time would be delaying the other projects that have already seen approval and received their schedule. There have been attempts in the past made for making the department heads from Marketing and Production ready for assisting in the prioritization of what is needed to be done. Schedules for engineering are difficult to make and if it is once made then it needs to be followed for efficient running of the plant. From an ethical perspective the work of the engineering team is m to be proud of and it is evident that there are responsibilities for both the company and the consumer health and safety. The senior leadership team were open for any other options if needed and suggested, provided they are realistic. The only condition on the suggestions are that the solutions must be ready for operation implementation as soon as possible due to the fact that the product recalling is scheduled for immediate start. In every organization, leadership is a critical aspect. Workers of every organization are looking for someone they can look up to, someone they can learn from and thrive with. Each leader has their own specific style and strategy. Moreover, leadership styles and methods differ due to external influences and individual challenges. Even though leadership is special for everyone, there are some common methods of defining the term[3]. Leadership is the embodiment of decisiveness, focus, awareness, accountability, confidence, empathy, honesty, optimism and inspiration. Leaders are not present for simply ordering their workers around. Even though they are responsible for overseeing their team, a real leader is always up for taking initiative and trusting their employees for performing efficiently and independently. If the company has any positive culture they the employees get more motivation and confidence for doing their job. Leaders are the person responsible for setting the tone for bo th the team they are overseeing and the organization as a whole. It is the responsibility of the leaders for establishing goals, innovating, motivating and trusting. A compassionate and passionate leader has the capability of energizing the company[4]. Good leaders are always looking for their whole company to succeed, involving everyone. They take time understanding each worker so that they can provide them with help for achieving their personal goals that are aligned with those of the organization. A good leader puts the people around in a situation that prepares them for success. A good leader holds their emption in check in tough situations and guides the team during challenging times, encouraging them towards remaining positive all along the way. Team morale is largely contingent on the attitude of the leaders. Leadership has the capability of seeing the problem and giving the solution. Leaders cannot and must not be alone. Leaders must ask for developing more leaders from the get-go. Great leaders also recruit and motivate other great leaders, whom they rely on for carrying out the mission and instilling a sense of purpose that would be touching every staff member. Leaders build their employees for becoming as successful as they are[5]. Being a bad leader is an easy job, and history has provided many instances of this. In the Bottle Shock exercise, there has been a need of a good leader. What the exercise got was not what can be considered as the appropriate leadership approach for the situation. The exercise received an unresponsive leader, someone who faced issues getting connected emotionally. Disregard was present in the context of the needs or the requests of those around them as that being trivial or unimportant. There was a lack of strong leadership, lack of strong leaders who would be taking up the responsibility for their defense and actions with regards to the situation around them. There was present only the blame game and evasion of responsibilities[6]. Gaining morale from the team became a tough job. Change was not welcomed always, as risk adverse nature of people made them avoid any form of change that are required for the developments to take place and for the advancement to happen. There was focus on ly on those ideas that backed up the perspectives that are detrimental to the growth of the organization but beneficial for individual development. Differing opinions got disregarded and no engagement was seen with the person who is speaking up. Inconsistent behavior was seen from the side of the leader, who were able to swiftly convince people that they are not reliable or capable enough at the mouth of the project starting. It left team baffled and confused, which in turn raised the probability of expensive and time consuming errors and missed connections. There was no presence of acknowledgement or appreciation of the team, even if there was good performance. The teams received no push for achieving more and no recognition was meted out if something good happens. It led to the people refusing to not work outside their comfort zone and they had no motivation of wishing to do so in future also. There was failure noticed in informing others of the decisions that were being made. No clarification was provided on important things that were related with important people and it was difficult to understand situations[7]. Leaders are required in organizations for guiding or saying things what other cannot say or do. Leaders are not any different than others. But leadership is an attitude. Each person has a different mindset and different personality traits. At times, there has been instances where the subordinates have outshined the leader and then got elected as the leader, all because of the attitude. There is a need for being in the front, being daring and willing to face it as it comes[8]. What was required in the Bottle Shock exercise is a leader who digs out the hidden potential out of his team members. A real leader tries to bring out the best in the people working under and motivate them into expanding their abilities and keep improving them. It is the work of the leader to inflate the shy people with huge confidence and get their due reverence and acknowledgement in the organization and the society. Leaders must have delivered the mighty power of making decisions more confidently. The leaders in this situation must have proactively looked for replacements, chosen their successors wisely for carrying out their responsibilities responsibly[9]. Failure in Bottle Shock can only arise if there is failure in this, with the result coming out as struggle and vanishing for the organization. A good leader would have loved to see the subordinates grow. Some of the managers are always scared of their outstanding team members. There is the notion that the smarter team member would anytime overtake them and go up the ladder. This fear led them into undermining the real performers. They forgot that if the subordinates grow then they would grow as well. The real leader should have nurtured their team member as their own. There was a need of providing appreciation when expectations were exceeded. They should not have missed any opportunity of encouraging such bright team members and also should have recognized them in front of everyone. There is a need of leaders who would help everyone grow, both personally and professionally. Leaders need to work hard for earning the respect and get recognized. There is a need of great leaders in this world. The most important fact is that even leaders look for leaders[10]. A business manager or leader is burdened with a lot of responsibilities, which includes legal ones and moral ones both. Moral responsibility might be distinct, implying each worker in the company is responsible for doing the right things, or fulfilling communal responsibilities, which involves all the employees. The culture of a company most of the time dictates the significance of moral responsibilities inside the organization[11]. No questions can be raised regarding the current scenario, which has prompted several companies into tackling ethical issues. More and more people are into setting of moral values as a significant part of their corporate culture. Some of the most forward looking companies have started offering ethics trainings to their employees and managers. Companywide ethics awareness is a great thing, and the moral center of every organist ion is lying within their leaders[12]. These leaders are and is always required to be held at a higher standards of ethics and mor ality, which was not seen in case of Bottle Shock. Business ethics today is a significant part of doing business all over the world. The society today has come not just to be expecting, but also to demanding that every business is conducting themselves in accordance with the basic rules of ethics, integrity and honesty[13]. Business ethics, not just as an academic topic but also as a growing topic of actual practices, is not just the new trend, but is something that is developing and has come a long way since the publicizing of price-fixing and many other corporate scandals in the late 1960s and 1970s. The recent scandals have been able to serve to a the reinforcement of a widespread perception that usual business is no longer enough for attending to the financial bottom line. The topic of leadership is linked closely to ethics, with the involvement of linked values for human behaviors for the accomplishment of objectives and mission. It has been for long that business leaders have recognized their major role in the promotion of ethi cal conduct in their businesses[14]. Conclusion Leaders are those people who are capable of helping themselves and other people into doing the right things. Leadership is all about the mapping out of where one is required to be going for winning as a team or as an organization and at the same time it is exciting, dynamic and inspiring. Leadership is not a one size fits all solution to every problem, nor is it a magic formula that would instantly make anyone a good leader. Instead it is a time taking process that required dedication for learning the way of achieving the goals one set and the way they need inspiration for following the leader and doing the same. Each individual has their own way of doing things, either with the help of rewards, or with providing freedom within the job roles or sharing responsibilities alongside the other employees. Discussions regarding leadership in this essay is in context with the Bottle Shock exercise. This exercise asked for individuals to act as they are a part of the person committee and a re presentative from a department of one manufacturing plant in a large Canadian consumer goods manufacturer. This was looked into the situation, analyzing it and then putting it in the context of leadership and responsibility. References and Bibliography Amabile, T., Kramer, S. (2012). How leaders kill meaning at work.McKinsey Quarterly,1(2012), 124-131. Brown, R. C. (2013). Moral responsibility for (un) healthy behaviour.Journal of Medical Ethics, medethics-2012. Crane, A., Matten, D. (2016).Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press. DesJardins, J. R., McCall, J. J. (2014).Contemporary issues in business ethics. Cengage Learning. Du, S., Swaen, V., Lindgreen, A., Sen, S. (2013). The roles of leadership styles in corporate social responsibility.Journal of business ethics,114(1), 155-169. Groysberg, B., Slind, M. (2012). Leadership is a conversation.Harvard business review,90(6), 76-84. Hanson, B. (2013). The leadership development interface: Aligning leaders and organizations toward more effective leadership learning.Advances in Developing Human Resources,15(1), 106-120. Hartman, L. P., DesJardins, J. R., MacDonald, C. (2014).Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hoffman, W. M., Frederick, R. E., Schwartz, M. S. (Eds.). (2014).Business ethics: Readings and cases in corporate morality. John Wiley Sons. Jennings, M. M. (2014).Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings. Cengage Learning. Kim, T. Y., Kim, M. (2013). Leaders moral competence and employee outcomes: The effects of psychological empowerment and personsupervisor fit.Journal of business ethics,112(1), 155-166. Kramer, R. M., Pittinsky, T. L. (Eds.). (2012).Restoring trust in organizations and leaders: Enduring challenges and emerging answers. OUP USA. Nixon, P., Harrington, M., Parker, D. (2012). Leadership performance is significant to project success or failure: a critical analysis.International Journal of productivity and performance management,61(2), 204-216. Northouse, P. G. (2015).Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications. Schyns, B., Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes.The Leadership Quarterly,24(1), 138-158. Stanwick, P., Stanwick, S. (2013).Understanding business ethics. Sage. Thorn, I. M. (2012). Leadership in international organizations: Global leadership competencies.The Psychologist-Manager Journal,15(3), 158. Trevino, L. K., Nelson, K. A. (2016).Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley Sons. Weiss, J. W. (2014).Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Western, S. (2013).Leadership: A critical text. Sage.

Aspects of Belonging Notes Essay Example

Aspects of Belonging Notes Essay English questions: -Explain how some of the specific events that are presented in your texts provide insight into belonging/ not belonging? -Relationships are integral to human beings feeling like they belong. Assess the truth of this statement in regard to your prescribed text and one other text. TODAYS LESSON: -Thesis statements for each aspect of belonging: -Acceptance -Understanding -Relationships -Notions of Identity -Experience -Landscape Write an introduction and conclusion for each of the questions at the top of the page. Acceptance: A strong sense of belonging within a community is reliant not only on the willingness to assimilate, but also on those already in the community to be accepting. †¢Feelings of acceptance can heighten a sense of belonging whereas rejection can alienate individuals. †¢An individual’s fear of alienation can lead them to think or act in ways that are not true to their ideology. Understanding †¢For an individual to feel that they belong to a particular person, place or group, they need to accept and understand the social expectations and behaviours of that community. Understanding the values of a person, place or group is the fundamental foundation for mutual respect that allows for a sense of belonging. †¢An understanding and appreciation of individual differences – even within a group – is essential for the smooth running of the society and thus is the origin of the sense of belonging or not belonging. Relationships †¢The need to belong to a group or community shapes our behaviour, attitude and actions. When humanity experiences a strong connection to a place the notion of belonging is strengthened and enriched. †¢When our relationship with a place is shaped by a narrow and biased view of the world, our notion of belonging can be questionable. †¢Connections with individuals, groups or places can nurture a sense of belonging through the relationship with that other person, group or place. †¢Relationships are the basis upon which an individual may feel a sense of belonging or not belonging towards a person or place. When significant relationships in life are fractured, often many other aspects related to an individual’s wellbeing will be negatively impacted. †¢Relationships come in many forms and can either allow an individual to experience a sense of belonging or hinder this sense of belonging. Notions of Identity †¢When your cultural identity is marginalised, you can feel dislocated and displaced, and believe that you do not belong to your culture or part of the dominant culture. Our search for who we are is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we feel we belong. †¢Time and the passage of time can have a significant impact on our notion of identity and from that – to whom and to where an individual might belong. †¢An individual’s fear of alienation can make them act or think in ways that a re not true to their ideology. †¢Our individual identity is greatly constructed by how others perceive us. †¢The community surrounding you impacts your opinion of selfhood, consequently moulding your identity. Experience We search for a place to belong, not realising that it is our perceptions and attitudes, not the place, that ultimately allows us to feel a sense of belonging. †¢Personal experiences shape our beliefs and values and hence contribute to their sense of self and ultimately where they belong. †¢Experiences can have both positive and negative effects on individuals depending on the extent and power of the knowledge gained. †¢The way we view and assess the experiences of life can change overtime and thus impact how we establish the present and future. Place/Landscape †¢ Strong conclusion: Strong relationships nourish belonging, whilst damaged relationships may be detrimental to the experience of belonging† It is evident that both compos ers represent this interpretation, but in varying ways – while Romulus focuses more on so how relationships – and barriers to these – can hinder belonging, â€Å"other related text† focuses much more on the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. and how these flourish and nourish one’s sense of belonging/ Although different, both composers effectively present their interpretation of relationships, and how these can either nourish or hinder one’s sense of belonging. OR In conclusion, both â€Å"† and â€Å"† show the various ways in which relationships with people and surroundings can impact an individual’s experience of belonging. Degrees of empathy, understanding, prejudice and sexual attraction, as shown in the examples above, clearly help determine the nature and strength of some of the relationships within the respective texts, and the extent to which they can and do impact on an individual’s broader sense of belonging or exclusion. Romantic, professional and cultural affiliation with others and his surroundings are integral to Romulus’ efforts to belong in his new country, Australia. We will write a custom essay sample on Aspects of Belonging Notes specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Aspects of Belonging Notes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Aspects of Belonging Notes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Knowledge VS Ignorance essays

Knowledge VS Ignorance essays Take a look at your bag, take a look at your table, take a look around you, theres one item you can find almost anywhere in the world now-BOOK. Students learn knowledge from books, Professors search projects from books, teachers teach base on books. A book can not only reflect the authors idea, but most likely represent certain category of phenomena in the society. Each book is a teacher, knowledge comes from the book, book has been proved necessary for the society. But can you ever believe people someday will act hostile to the books, they destroy them, burn them, theres a special institution named Firehouse, a government agency used only for burning books and the place where books are found. Well if dont believe it, I can tell that it is exactly what happened in the novel Fahrenheit 451. You may wonder how can people live normally without books and knowledge, well obviously they figured out a way to substitute them -Ignorance, a strategy that wiped all the books and knowledge source to make people One of the reasons why people considering ignorance as a major choice is that people feel dangerous about the books. In the novel, Captain Beattys opinion is a very strong evidence Colored people dont like LITTLE BLACK SAMBO, burn it. White people dont feel good about UNCLE TOMs CABIN, Burn it. Someones written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the books! As a perception of his idea, books are always hurting people. This utterance is very unilateral, it only described the negative part of the ideas people making comments on books. Firstly, certain category of books may offend certain group of people, but they may well- accepted by another group. A book is distasted by a certain group doesnt mean its a bad book, in fact, all ...

Question is in the instruction box Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Question is in the instruction box - Essay Example This is so because since the end of colonialism many countries and states have become less and less influenced from European countries and any external forces of other governments, leaving countries to determine their own fate through controlling their internal activities and affairs. Therefore, the traditional perspective of nations monopolizing their exercise of powers over the territory and the citizens within its boundary has been discredited as the perfect definition of sovereignty, since modernity demands for a more liberal approach to governance. Thus, with the end of colonialism and the advent of the concept of modernity, sovereignty has emerged to focus on the rights of the citizens within a country, as opposed to the rights of the nation-state or government, over its territories and its subjects 2. Sovereignty under modernity now refers to the rights of the people to access and use the natural resources within their country, without any undue interference with that right fr om either the government of the land or even the foreign powers. Since the end of colonialism, most of the foreign interrelationships are based on commercial, social, political and other cultural activities, which are based on the mutual respect and understanding amongst the member countries2. Thus, the traditional relationship between countries, which was based on the dominance of some countries over others has been replaced by the commercial relationship between such countries, where investors from different other countries can invest within a country where they find ample business opportunities3. However, the right to the access of the natural resources is primarily given to the citizens of the country, who have the rights to access and exploit the natural resources that are bestowed within their regions of jurisdiction, thus making the rights over the natural resources a matter of sovereignty for the people, as opposed to the powers of the governments to exercise its authority o ver the people. Therefore, the modern concept of sovereignty is defined in terms of the rights that the people within a country have access to the natural resources and their application for their benefits, as opposed to the application of such resources to benefit other external forces, at the expense of the people of the country within which the resources are bestowed. Therefore, the principle of sovereignty over natural resources now requires that such resources shall be applied towards the interest of national development, and the well-being of the people of the countries that has such resources 4. The principle of sovereignty over natural resources, which came about as a result of the concept of modernity started in the period after World War II, when the countries realized that the freedom of other countries from interference by others in the conduct of their internal affairs, was vital and essential for the peaceful co-existence of countries in the world3. The first aspect to wards the establishment of the concept of sovereignty started with the establishment of the United Nations, which sought to enhance democracy in the world, through ensuring the non-interference in the affairs of one country by the others, where such interference is unnecessary, or where the interference is likely to interfere with the rights and freedoms of the country to govern itself without any undue interference 9. With the

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

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

Accounting Changes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Accounting Changes - Assignment Example Michael Ramos (2008) professional opined the primary reason for restatement is to present a more realistic picture of the company’s financial statement reports in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and accounting standards. The company’s plan to restate the financial statements generated a corresponding -35% decline in its sales figure. The company has been desperately using all its collection expertise to force one of its major clients, Sinovel Wind Group, to pay for its long overdue liabilities to American Superconductor. Sinovel is strategically located Chinese company. The financial statements were restated to reflect the adjustments on American Semiconductor’s results of business operations for the year 2010. The financial statement restatement precipitated to the reduction of the company’s revenues from U.S. $ 215.7 million to only U.S. $ 74.7 million for the year 2010. The restatement precipitated to the reduction of its 2011 1st quarter financial statement revenue from $360 million to only $307 million.... The restatement was overdue because the financial statements were originally prepared to present projected data that had to be adjusted. Specifically, American Superconductor had booked its sales before the revenues were received. Question 3. There are changes that American Superconductor is expected to introduce related to the company’s internal control and accounting principles as a result of the need to restate the company’s balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows. Orice Williams (2007) reiterated the changes are needed to comply with the stock exchange policy of ensuring public confidence is not reduced. The change includes the implementation of the new accounting data as a basis for the preparation of the next accounting period’s financial statements. The next accounting period will no longer take into consideration data which had not been included in the restated financial statements. The auditing and accounting officers must adopt the restated financial statement accounts for all future financial statements accounts in compliance with the financial accounting principle of consistency and understanding. Consistently prepared financial statements enable the users of the financial statements to compare and contrast financial statement data between two accounting periods. Management must explain the reason for accounting change as well as the effects of the accounting change to dispel any doubts among the financial statement users. For example, the users can scrutinize the difference in the revenues for 2010 and 2011. Question 4. John Tracy emphasized (2009) the restatement of the company’s leadership will cast doubts on the need to restate the financial statements. The trustworthiness

Auditor Crazy Eddie

Auditor Crazy Eddie Question: What specific mistakes (apart from failure to notice â€Å"red flags†) did the auditor make? For each mistake, describe what the auditor should have done. If you were the Managing Partner for the CPA firm and had full knowledge of all the facts and events in this case, what changes in policy or procedures would you implement to make sure this audit failure does not occur in the future? The Crazy Eddies financial statements had many fraudulent over and understatements done in many ways that the auditors should have caught. They created fictitious revenues by a number of means. They prepared phony invoices showing sales which overstated their revenues to show the company was growing faster than they actually were. Their vendors collaborated in the fraud by lying to the auditors when the auditors attempted to confirm some of these receivables. The auditors were not diligent when they verified these invoices. They should have probed further into the vendors to verify that these sales occurred. They also should have understood the relationship between Cray Eddies and their vendors to understand if there were motives for fraud. They overstated their assets by overvaluing inventory. They would borrow merchandise from suppliers to inflate the ending inventory. The suppliers would ship the merchandise to the Crazy Eddies stores and hold the billing until after the end of the accounting period. The employees of Crazy Eddie went to great extents to deceive the auditors. They would move inventory to the stores or warehouses that were being audited to conceal the shortages. The auditors should have caught that the merchandise was not billed and understood what accounts they charged in the books when the merchandise was received. Another means of overstating the inventory was they shipped inventory from one store to another store so it could be double counted. This should have been caught by the auditors by having the entire inventory verified in parallel. The employees included in their inventory consigned merchandise and goods being returned to suppliers. This could have been found by understanding the details of Crazy Eddies inventory. The auditor should have identified the consigned merchandise and goods being return to separate it from the normal inventory. Crazy Eddie used the accounting periods to overstate assets and income. They held off closing the books past the end of the accounting period to overstated assets and income by boosting sales. The other means used was to reduce liabilities and expenses by not recording them until the next period. The auditors should have verified books at the end of the accounting periods to make sure that all transactions were recorded. The auditors needed to verify the transactions around the end of the period to verify their timing accuracy. Another category of fraudulent activities was when they were completing their financial statements. They didnt adequately disclose facts in the financial statements according to GAAP. The footnote during one period stated that certain income was recognized when received and the following period disclosed that income was recognized when earned. The auditors should have added an explanatory paragraph or a modification of wording for lack of consistent application of GAAP. Main Hurdman was the auditor for the companys annual audits and its consulting division was charging Crazy Eddie millions of dollars to computerize Crazy Eddies inventory system. This violates rule 102 for integrity and objectivity. Auditors cant objectively audit an inventory system they developed which means this is a conflict of interest. They should have chosen to develop the inventory system or be the auditor but not both. Crazy Eddies employees later stopped using the computer based inventory system designed by Main Hurdman and used their manual inventory system. The auditors should have noticed the change in the inventory system being used and understood why they changed. This should have been a signal that they were removing some of the quality controls in the inventory system. Many of Crazy Eddies accountants were former members of Main Hurdman accounting firm. The SEC added a requirement in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that requires a member of the audit team not work at the client for one-year in certain key management positions. The firm is not independent with respect to the audit client if a former auditor accepts employment with the client. There were several reported instances where the auditor requested the client documents and were told that those documents were lost or inadvertently destroyed. Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all working papers must be retained for 7 years. The inadvertent destruction of working papers that are less than 5 years has a penalty of 10 years in prison. The collusion of key personnel at Cray Eddies made it very difficult for auditors to uncover the fraud. If the auditors would have done a risk assessment prior to engaging with the client they would have identified a risk with so many family members employed at the company. The success and growth rate of Crazy Eddie was not normal. The auditors should have completed a comparative analysis of other electronic retailers. This would have shown that their high growth rate wasnt typical compared to others. This would have prompted the auditor to look closer at why they were outperforming the competitors. To prevent the CPA firm from having this occur in the future, they should follow the elements of quality control. The one element is the policies and procedures before accepting or continuing a new client relationship. They should complete a client evaluation form which includes evaluation of the clients management. If this was done in the Crazy Eddies case, they would have found that it was a risky client based on his selling techniques alone. The firm should follow the element of personnel management where all new personnel should be qualified to perform their work competently. The personnel should have adequate training and proficient. The field auditors for Crazy Eddies were young and inexperienced. The management team was able to manipulate and influence the auditors. The auditor needs to follow the procedure of verifying the inventory count by observing it. Precautions must be taken to avoid allowing the inventory to be moved by verifying it in parallel if multiple locations exist. Crazy Eddies auditors were fooled by not taking precautions to avoid double counting the inventory. The firm must follow the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. One of the standards of field work is to obtain a sufficient understanding of the entity and its environment including its internal control. If this was done, the auditors could have seen that Crazy Eddie had influence over his suppliers to cooperate in inflating the assets. The change in the inventory system back to the manual system showed a lack of internal control. The firm must follow the rules of conduct. They must keep their objectivity by not providing other services such developing or advising an inventory system. They must remain independent by not auditing a client that has former members of the audit team working at the client within one-year.

SOCIETY VS INDIVIDUAL: REPRESSION ON DIONYSIAN PERSONALITY IN THE STRANGER :: essays research papers fc

Many books have been written by many authors that deal with a struggle between society and individual. Albert Camus’ The Stranger (L’à ©tranger) deals with this same topic, but it can be analyzed from a unique and very interesting point of view. The way of life of people can be analyzed by classifying them into two main forces that oppose each other. These forces were named after the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theses terms were first used by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The main concept of the Apollonian personality is that these persons’ main mode of functioning is by reason, whereas the Dionysian personality functions by intuition. In Camus’ The Stranger, Mersault’s personality can be seen as Dionysian (reasons will be discussed later), but his main attitude towards society is quite Apollonian. This leads to the statement that the Dionysian personality of Mersault is restrained by society, making him seem or behave in an Apollonian style.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The term Apollonian was first used by Nietzsche to represent principle of order, logic, clarity, moderation, and control in human personality and society. He applied the word Dionysian to represent spontaneity, passion, intuition, an excess in human personality, and rebellion against society. The Apollonian self is what makes people be organized, be on places on time, follow the rules, etc. An Apollonian person often wants solitude and quiet moments to think. Some of these persons often loose temper when they encounter their clashing personality, the Dionysian personality. The Dionysian personality always wants to have fun, live the moment, resist authority and act on hunches. A Dionysian person usually has a tendency to resist authority, jump to quick conclusions (whilst the Apollonian tends to think a lot before jumping to conclusions or making decisions) and indulge, or overindulge, him/herself. While the Apollonian person likes to have quiet time to think, a D ionysian person likes to daydream. The Dionysian personality basically revolves around the senses and what is natural and beyond reason.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In The Stranger, Mersault’s personality can be difficult to analyze. Some people say that his personality is strongly Apollonian; some say that he is a balance of both personalities, and others say that he is Dionysian. Mersault, as society sees him, he is an individual with antisocial traits, a person who rarely speaks and does not show many emotions. All these traits can be related to the Apollonian style. But we can also see that he enjoys laughing, going to the beach, basic human needs like eating, drinking and having sex and he resists or rebels against society.

The Effects of Misconduct on the Armed Forces

The armed forces of the United States is one of the most feared and respected military organizations in the world. This image is helped by documentaries, news reports and even by the movies. But the real reason why the US military is considered very powerful and a dangerous enemy can be understood after reading the following explanation:The United States military is unique in the amount of power it can project globally. Although France and the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, PRC, and European Union, are capable of projecting power overseas, the United States military is the only one with the higher military capacity to fight a major regional war at a distance from its homeland. The U.S. is also one of the few nations in the world that has a sizable nuclear arsenal and maintains active doctrines for plausible nuclear attack operations. (see Wikipedia: US Military).This is why America is feared and respected. Although there is reason to believe that Americans would pr efer that their country and its citizens are respected rather than feared; there is also a lot of apprehension over the notion that U.S. superpower is a bully in the global theater.This negative image which others believe to be the dark side of this great institution is   putting a lot of pressure on the military organization to behave appropriately and to borrow from their lingo: there should be no conduct unbecoming a military officer. For when this happens the chain reaction can be unbelievable. One indiscretion and the whole structure will be placed in a bad light. Consider for example relatively recent events about U.S. soldiers abusing POW’s and some of its members involved in an alleged rape case overseas are a few instances when the rest of the world shakes its head and would love to believe that all this power had corrupted the men and women in uniform.In order to prevent such misconduct and to keep its integrity intact the U.S. military is keeping in place a syste m of rules, regulations, traditions, and protocols that would ensure that the rest of the world will hold the said institution in high esteem.Military DisciplineThe word discipline when put inside the world of soldiers takes on a different meaning. This has nothing to do with the kind of discipline kids get at home when they fail to do their homework or when they do not clean their room. Discipline in the ordinary day to day life of normal people can sometimes mean a temporary abstinence on doing something or a temporary increase in work volume to accomplish a task or simply to grit ones teeth and do something that is normally not done if the circumstances are more favorable. In the military soldiers do not wait until things are worse before they will begin to be disciplined.In other worlds soldiers do not wait until they are overweight before they start doing morning jogs and calisthenics. They trained before the need arises, they practice long and hard before the fight and they pr epare before the crisis. Discipline in the Army, Navy and the Air Forces is a lifestyle. It can be said that it is more than a lifestyle in fact it is the blood that keeps the institution alive and the invisible force that holds it together. Without discipline the armed forces can easily disintegrate in quickly destroying everything in its path including itself. The infamous tortures at the Abu Ghraib prison – where prisoners of war were being held – was well documented and shown around the world.It was an example of a breakdown in discipline. And noncommissioned officers figured prominently in this fiasco. CNN reporters J. Johns, D. Ensor and M. Mount quoted Rep. Jane Harman in a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Harman said, â€Å"The fog of war is thick, but these acts of abuse and humiliation contradict international norms, military regulations and the very values that our military fights to defend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (see CNN.com)The report adds that a ll the perpetrators were, â€Å"†¦all officers or noncommissioned officers† (Johns, Ensor & Mount). In an ideal setting this should not have happened especially in the presence of NCOs.The Role of Noncommissioned OfficersNCOs are leaders, period. The military cannot function without leadership as much as a body cannot survive without a head. Everything depends upon leadership and in this regard NCOs play a major role.An Army Officer’s guidebook expounds on the meaning of the term and it says:A leader is people fitted by force of ideas, character, or genius, or by strength of will or administrative ability, to arouse, incite, and direct men in conduct and achievement. Leadership is the art of imposing one’s will upon others in such a manner as to command their respect, their confidence, and their whole-hearted cooperation. (Bonn, 320)In the NCO guidebook leadership is seen as basic in the structure of the U.S. armed forces and it says, â€Å"Leadership, des pite the great strides in technology, remains the same – influencing and motivating people to get the job done† (Rush, 34).  With regards to the NCOs taking up a part of the burden of leadership, Rudyard Kipling was quoted as saying, â€Å"The backbone of the army is the noncommissioned man!† (as qtd. in Fisher, 3).An article in Wikipedia’s website expounds on the words of Kipling:The noncommissioned officer corps is the junior management of the military. An experienced NCO corps is a key component of Western armies: in many cases NCOs are credited as being the metaphorical backbone of their service. By contrast, the weak NCO corps of the modern-day Russian armed forces, and those modeled after it, is widely blamed for the general ineffectiveness of those militaries. (see Wikipedia: Noncommissioned Officers)NCOs and the Concept of DisciplineThe U.S. military structure amounts to a pile of junk without discipline and the people that are tasked to instill discipline and order in the ranks are the noncommissioned officers. NCOs do the dirty work and this is very much evident in shaping a bunch of boys who know nothing about authority and following orders prior to enlistment into hardened men who will obey first before they complain.  Discipline is very important in the military because it is an organization tasked to do jobs that are out of the ordinary and in many instances, in life and death situations. These kinds of jobs will determine the safety of a country, the lives of their fellow soldiers or the civilians under their sphere of influence.NCOs instills this concept of a more serious kind of discipline by being an example for his men. In Semper Fi, a book about the highly respected U.S. Marine corps, a description of the NCO’s methodology – in terms of how he earns the respect of his men and how he hammers discipline into their system – was provided by the authors:The authority of the Marine NCO does not rest on fear; its foundation is the well-earned respect of equally tough men. He leads, and inspires, by being the man he wants his troops to become. The NCO personifies his expectations of the men he commands. He wants his Marines to look â€Å"squared away† and so he dresses and marches smartly himself. Since he wants to instill instant obedience, his men will see him obey instantly when an officer commands. He wants his men to be aggressive in combat, so he himself is the epitome of aggressiveness. The Marine Corps NCO, through his own behavior, creates a desire to be like him. (Carrison and Walsh, 69)The apt description of what an NCO is all about as presented by Carrison and Walsh answers the question on what happens when NCOs misbehave. Using the ideas discussed earlier it would be easy to list the reason why NCOs should always be the quintessential soldier.First of all it is due to his position as part of the leadership of the armed forces. An NCOs actions does not go unobserved and will always be an influence and guide to the new recruit and those under his command. If the NCO is unruly, does not follow orders and breaks the code of conduct then it is not surprising for the rest of the soldiers to do the same.An NCO could not afford to appear irresponsible and uncontrollable or speaks in a manner that show disrespect to his superiors and fellow officers simply because he is not in a normal setting. In an office or in a school perhaps undisciplined behavior and a rebellious attitude towards authority will not really cause too much damage in relative proportion to a similar behavior in the army. When NCO acts like a spoiled brat men dies and blood flows unnecessarily. Worse, the unit can be in grave physical danger and the morale of the troops would significantly decrease leading in more losses and more damage.The chain reaction from an NCO’s lack of prudence can not simply be taken lightly as the repercussions will be felt for many generat ions. And this is not an exaggeration. The following is an account of what happened more than 200 years ago – in America’s war of independence – that helped changed the course of history. It is a testament to the fact that undisciplined men would cause a series of events that will lead to catastrophe:Following the British victory at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, Queens County came under military’s control [†¦] From the outset, military officials realized that the war had both military and political dimensions. [†¦] Military misconduct against civilians would only create enmity, hinder the effective prosecution of the war and make post war reconciliation more difficult [†¦] By wars end the people of Queens had become, not loyal subjects, but Patriots – as much by British default as by personal choice. (Fingerhut and Tiedermann, 50)ConclusionThe effect of military misconduct especially when an NCO exhibits such undesirable behavior will first result in a breakdown of discipline but it will not end there. The men under the NCOs command will use said breakdown as an excuse for caving in under pressure. Thus when the going gets tough the men who witnessed insubordination and disrespect to senior officers will use that as an excuses for not following orders and then a chain reaction follows.When things begin to turn really uncontrollable, when the spirit of discipline that holds the army together is gone, the same soldiers who are selfless, hard workers, united and having one mind and heart will suddenly transform into a selfish monster who will do everything that seems to be right base on selfish interests. The result of which is written in the annals of military history. These events are labeled as infamous but it has cost more than shame it has resulted in the deaths and humiliation of the innocents. But from a military’s point of view it all boils down to failure in accomplishing a mission and for some cases it means losing the war.Works CitedBonn, Keith E. Army Officer’s Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002.Carrison, Dan and Rod Walsh. Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way.New York: American Management Association, 1999.Fingerhut, Eugene R., and Tiedermann, J.S. The Other New York: The American RevolutionBeyond New York City. New York: State University of New York Press, 2005.Fisher, E. F. Jr. Guardians of the Republic: A History of the Noncommissioned officer corps of  the U.S. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001.â€Å"Military of the United States.† Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 May 2006. Wikimedia  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foundation, Inc. 28 May 2006 .â€Å"Non-commissioned officer.† Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 May 2006. Wikimedia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foundation, Inc. 28 May 2006 .Rush, Robert S. NCO Guide. 7th ed. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.

How To Guess if a Spanish Noun Is Masculine or Feminine

How To Guess if a Spanish Noun Is Masculine or Feminine Although it is seldom possible to predict with certainty whether a given Spanish noun is of masculine or feminine gender, Spanish has numerous guidelines that can usually be followed. Key Takeaways: Spanish Noun Gender Nouns ending in -a, -cià ³n, -à ­a, or -dad are usually feminine.Nouns ending in -o, an accented vowel, -or, or -aje are usually masculine.Names of rivers, lakes, and oceans are usually masculine; names of mountains are usually feminine. The most well-known rule or guideline is that nouns ending in -o are masculine and those ending in -a are feminine, but there are numerous exceptions to this gender rule, especially for those ending in -a. Some of the exceptions are listed below. Following are some other guides to gender determination. Note that many words have definitions in addition to those listed: Feminine Suffixes Nouns ending in certain suffixes are usually feminine. They include -cià ³n (usually the equivalent of -tion), -sià ³n, -à ­a (usually the equivalent of -y, although not in the diminutive sense), -za, -dad (often used like -ty), and -itis (-itis). la nacià ³n (nation)la intervencià ³n (intervention)la hospitalizacià ³n (hospitalization)la ocasià ³n (occasion)la tensià ³n (tension)la economà ­a (economy)la taxonomà ­a (taxonomy)la probreza (poverty)la felicidad (happiness)la caridad (charity)la mastitis (mastitis)la meningitis (meningitis) Masculine Endings Nouns of Greek origin ending in -a, often -ma, are nearly always masculine. Most of these words have English cognates. el problema (problem)el drama (drama)el poema (poem)el tema (subject) Nouns ending in an accented vowel are usually masculine. el sof (sofa)el tabà º (taboo)el rubà ­ (ruby) Nouns with certain other endings are usually masculine. These include -aje (usually the equivalent of -age), -ambre, and -or. An exception is la flor (flower). el coraje (courage)el mensaje (message)el espionaje (espionage)el hambre (hunger)el calambre (cramp)el calor (heat)el dolor (pain)el interior (interior) Masculine Infinitives Infinitives used as nouns are masculine. el fumar (smoking)el cantar (singing)el viajar (traveling) Months and Days Months and days of the week are masculine. el enero (January)el septiembre (September)el martes (Tuesday)el jueves (Thursday) Letters and Numbers Letters are feminine while numbers are masculine. One way to remember this is that letra is feminine while nà ºmero is masculine. la d (d)la o (o)el siete (seven)el ciento (100) Abbreviations and Shortened Words The gender of abbreviations and acronyms typically matches the gender of the main noun of what the shortened version stands for. la ONU (the O stands for Organizacià ³n, which is feminine)los EE.UU. (United States; estados (states) is masculine)las FF.AA. (armed forces; fuerzas is feminine)la NASA (NASA; the word for agency, agencia, is feminine)el FBI (FBI; burà ³, the word for bureau, is masculine) Words that are a shorter form of another word or of a phrase retain the gender of the longer word or of the main noun in the phrase. la moto (motorcycle; the word is a shortened form of la motocicleta)la disco (disco; the word is a shortened form of la discoteca)la foto (photo; the word is a shortened form of la fotografà ­a)la bici (bicycle; the word is a shortened form of la bicicleta)un Toyota (a Toyota. The masculine may be used here as a short form of un coche Toyota, as coche, the word for car, is masculine. However, una Toyota may refer to a Toyota pickup truck, because the common word for pickup is the feminine camioneta.)la Alcatraz (the word for prison, prisià ³n, is feminine) Compound and Two-Word Nouns Compound nouns formed by following a verb with a noun are masculine. el rascacielos (skyscraper)el dragaminas (minesweeper)el guardarropa (clothes closet)el tragamondedas (slot or vending machine) Two-word nouns, which are unusual in Spanish, carry the gender of the first noun. el kilowatt hora (kilowatt-hour)el sitio web (website)el aà ±o luz (light-year)la mujer objeto (sex object)la noticia bomba (bombshell news story) Chemical Elements With the exception of la plata (silver), names of the chemical elements are masculine. el flà ºor (fluorine)el cinc (zinc)el hidrà ³geno (hydrogen) Geographical Names Names of rivers, lakes and oceans are masculine because el rà ­o, el lago and el ocà ©ano, respectively, are masculine. el Danubio (the Danube)el Amazonas (the Amazon)el Titicaca (Titicaca)el Atlntico (the Atlantic) Names of mountains are usually masculine, because el monte (mountain) is masculine. An exception is that the Rockies are usually referred to as las Rocosas or las Montaà ±as Rocosas. los Himalayas (the Himalayas)el Cervino (the Matterhorn)los Andes (the Andes) Names of islands are usually feminine because la isla (island) is feminine. las Canarias (Canary Islands)las Azores (Azores)las Antillas (West Indies) Company Names Names of companies usually are feminine, because la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a (company) is feminine, as are sociedad anà ³nima (corporation), corporacià ³n (corporation), and empresa (business). This rule is not consistently followed, however, and some well-known companies (such as Google) are referred to as either masculine or feminine. la Microsoft (Microsoft)la ExxonMobil (ExxonMobil)la Nestlà © (Nestlà ©) Imported Words The default gender for foreign words adopted into the language is masculine, but a feminine gender is sometimes acquired if theres a reason for doing so. Thus foreign nouns that end in -a sometimes become feminine, as do some words related in meaning to a Spanish feminine word. el marketing (marketing)la web (the Web or World Wide Web; the feminine is usually used because the Spanish words red and teleraà ±a, words for web and network, respectively, are feminine)el internet, la internet (both genders are used)los jeans (jeans)el rock (rock music)el software (software)el show (show)el champà º (shampoo)el bistec (beefsteak)la pizza (pizza)

Production-Possibility Frontier Essays

Production-Possibility Frontier Essays Production-Possibility Frontier Paper Production-Possibility Frontier Paper Production-possibility frontier In economics, a production-possibility frontier (PPF) or â€Å"transformation curve† is a graph that shows the different quantities of two goods that an economy (or agent) could efficiently produce with limited productive resources. Points along the curve describe the trade-off between the two goods, that is, the opportunity cost. Opportunity cost here measures how much an additional unit of one good costs in units forgone of the other good. The curve illustrates that increasing production of one good reduces maximum production of the other good as resources are transferred away from the other good. edit] Productive efficiency, opportunity cost, and allocative efficiency The production possibilities curve shows the maximum feasible (obtainable) amount of one commodity for any given amount of another commodity, as of the societys technology and the amount of factors of production available. The concept is used to show the options open to a firm, individual, household, or economy for a 2-good world. In microeconomics, the 2-good case readily generalizes to the n-good case. In macroeconomics, it illustrates the production possibilities available to a nation or economy (corresponding roughly to macroeconomic notions of potential output at a given point on the curve) for broad categories of output. All points on a production possibilities curve are points of maximum productive efficiency or minimum productive inefficiency: allocated such that it is impossible to increase the output of one commodity without reducing the output of the other. That is, there must be a sacrifice, an opportunity cost (given by the slope of the curve in absolute value), for increasing the production of a good by one unit. Conversely, points inside the frontier are feasible but productively inefficient. Point A in the diagram for example, shows that FA of food and CA of computers can be produced when production is run efficiently. So can FB of food and CB of computers (point B). For a firm, a point on the curve is productively efficient but, given market demand, could be less profitable than another point on the curve. Equilibrium for the firm with given resources is at the most profitable and productively efficient point on the PPF. There is a parallel for an economy as well. It may have productive efficiency but not allocative efficiency. Markets and other institutions of social decision-making (such as government, tradition, and community democracy) may lead to the wrong combination of goods being produced (and the wrong mix of resources allocated) compared to what individuals would prefer, given what is feasible on the PPF. All points to the right of (or above) the curve are infeasible for given resources. A move from point A to point B indicates an increase in the number of computers produced. But it also implies a decrease in the amount of Food produced. This decrease is the opportunity cost of producing more computers. As mentioned, the two main determinants of the curve are production functions (reflecting the available technology) and available factor endowments. If the technology improves or the supplies of factors of production increase, the production possibility frontier shifts to the right (upward), raising the amount of each good that can be produced. A military or ecological disaster might move the PPF inward and to the left. In neoclassical economics, production possibility frontiers can easily be constructed from the contract curves in Edgeworth box diagrams of factor intensity. In other interpretations (often seen in textbooks), the concave production-possibiliity frontier reflects the specialized nature of the heterogeneous resources that any society uses: the opportunity cost of shifting production from one mix to another (e. g. , from point A to point B) reflects the costs of using resources that are not well-specialized for the production of the good which is being produced in greater quantity. The line curve in Figure is not straight but is concave to the origin (that is, curved inward toward the axes). This can represent an assumed disparity in the factor intensities and technologies of the two sectors. That is, as we specialize more and more into one product, the opportunity costs of producing that product increase, because we are using more and more resources that are poorly suited to produce it. With increasing production of computers, workers from the food industry will move to it. At first, the least qualified (or most general) food workers will help start making computers. The move of these workers has little impact on the opportunity cost of increasing computer production: the loss in food production will be small. This cost of successive units will increase as more of specialised food manufacturers are attracted. For example, in the second diagram, the decision to increase the production of computers from 5 to 6 (from point Q to point R) requires a minimum loss of food output. However, the decision to add a tenth computer (from point T to point V) has a much more substantial opportunity cost. The the neoclassical interpretation, if the factor intensity ratios in the two sectors were constant at all points on the production possibilities curve, the curve would be linear and the opportunity cost would remain the same, no matter what mix of outputs were produced. In other interpretations, a straight-line production-possibiliity frontier reflects a situation where resources are not specialized and can be substituted for each other with no cost. Products requiring similar resources (bread and pastry, for instance) will have a nearly straight PPF, hence constant opportunity costs (when increasing production rates). [edit] The marginal rate of transformation The slope of the production-possibility frontier (PPF) at any given point is called the marginal rate of transformation (MRT). It describes numerically the rate at which one good can be transformed into the other. It is also called the (marginal) opportunity cost† of a commodity, that is, it is the opportunity cost of X in terms of Y at the margin. It measures how much of good Y is given up for one more unit of good X or vice versa. The shape of PPF is commonly drawn as concave downward to represent increasing opportunity cost with increased output of a good. Thus, MRT increases in absolute size as one moves from the top left of the PPF to the bottom right of the PPF. Marginal Rate of Transformation If, for example, the (absolute) slope at point BB in the diagram is equal to 2, then, in order to produce one more computer, 2 units of food production must be sacrificed. If at AA for example, the marginal opportunity cost of computers in terms of food is equal to 0. 25, then, the sacrifice of one unit of food could produce 4 computers. The marginal rate of transformation can be expressed in terms of either commodity. The marginal opportunity costs of computers in terms of food is simply the reciprocal of the marginal opportunity cost of food in terms of computers.

Spanish Civil WAR, critical commentary on 4 primary and secondary Essay

Spanish Civil WAR, critical commentary on 4 primary and secondary source materials including literary or film sources - Essay Example The following discussion will examine the question whether or not the defeat of the Republic was inevitable. The sources for the analysis will include a variety of primary sources including a painting, a novel, a journal, and a newspaper article. Secondary sources will be employed to add context to these primary sources. Together this historical evidence will be mined for the causes of the Republican defeat in the spring of 1939. The conclusion will then return to the inevitability of the Nationalist victory. Comparing the aerial bombing of Guernica to the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the Allied firebombing that engulfed Dresden, Oxford Professor Raymond Carr describes it as merely a minor act of vandalism. However,viewed in the context of 1936 it was a terrifying, revolutionary and effective operation. According to Preston, â€Å"Guernica was the first total destruction of an undefended civilian target by aerial bombardment.† (Preston, 2006, 5) Precise casualty figures remain a subject of debate amongst historians but on the seventieth anniversary of the attack the BBC summarized historical opinion, â€Å"The figures for the number of casualties in the bombing are still disputed, but most historians think between 200 and 250 people were killed and many hundreds wounded. â€Å" (BBC, 2007) Also, Guernica was the historic capital of the Basque nation and as such its destruction was designed to terrorize the Basque and undermining their resistance to the Nationalist forces. A second element of Prestons description of the event is also significant. Guernica was attacked by the Condor Legion, German aircraft and aircrew seconded to the Nationalist forces to aid in their victory and gain experience in aerial bombardment. Simply put, they were military professionals. Technologically, the Republicans could not match them. Guernica had no anti-aircraft defenses and the

Malicious Software, Unknown Threats & Potential Solutions Research Paper

Malicious Software, Unknown Threats & Potential Solutions - Research Paper Example Malicious intentions result into destruction of system hardware, information, and software whereby, disclosure of confidential information results, through unauthorized users having access to the system and information. Unauthorized usage also results in modification and interruption of the information system. Interception occurs when information that resides in a computer system is copied by unauthorized user (Abdullah, 2010, p.3). Other threats include malware, which is constituted by viruses, computer worms and Trojan horses that are generally common in the computer networks and websites. The possibility of making money through malware distribution and solution has propagated the online distribution, which is a major threat. This is the case since the popularity of viruses, computer worms and Trojan horses consequently increases popularity of similar antivirus that is traded for commercial purposes (Ryuya, 2011, p.514). Defects with respect to homogeneous binary files are an indic ation of presence of unknown threats and malicious software. Indications of threats may include infections such as viruses, Trojan horse programs and even original file format alterations (Weber, et al., 2002, p. 2). Motivation Malicious software and unknown threats have time and again presented new threats that call for new ways of detection and prevention within the information technology environment. Unknown threats and malware software call for modern malware detection solutions such as proactive malware detection system that enables prevention of future attacks and those that were previously unknown. Modern detection system also reduces the rate of false alarms, since successful detection of attacks is made (Volynkin, State University of New York at Binghamton: Electrical Engineering. 2007, p.47). Dynamics of malicious software are characterized by strains such as code red-2, which is a fast spreading worm that can be solved using a complex mathematical model that is based on a pproach of compartmentalization. The solution is made possible through predicting the state of the system for the purpose of converting unaffected targeted nodes into noninfectious and infectious nodes (Hemraj and Dinesh, 2007, p. 491). Hackers have gone ahead to exploit zero day threats, since these threats have no characteristic signature that can be detected. The exploitation takes advantage of polymorphing code of the unknown threat that varies with every page loaded. However, technological firms have competitively undertaken to advance models for detecting malicious and unknown threats for their customers. Through intensive marketing and competition, new knowledge regarding malicious software attacks has been created by software firms. Although software firms seek to gain profitability in software applications, solutions for complex and dynamic malicious software attacks are gaining a positive insight (Michael and Mikhael, 2010, p.597). Invisible malicious codes on the web exec ute when the browser loads web pages containing the software. Malicious codes use cross-site scripting to retrieve codes that are more dangerous from third party sites, which plants the malware, steals data and takes control of the system through leveraging operating system and web browser vulnerability.

To develop a policy to address an issue identified in a practice Research Paper

To develop a policy to address an issue identified in a practice setting in nursing - Research Paper Example This is achievable through the establishment of an effective bedside policy that promotes effective hand off in the health care setting. Reporting in this case refers to the transfer of accountability, responsibility, and authority of a patient and their care from one caregiver to another. Bedside reporting, on the other hand, refers to a concept that involves providing a report to the incoming caregiver in the presence of a patient. This report provides a policy that seeks to maximize the benefits bedside report (Athwal, Fields, and Wagnell, 2009). To maximize the benefits of bedside report in the hospital, nurses will be required to adhere to the following policy initiatives. Firstly, immediately on the day of admission, a bedside nurses or any other hospital staff will be required to explain briefly the process to patients and families, as well as invite patients and families to form part of the bedside shift report. In addition, bedside shift nurses will be required to give patients a brochure on the bedside shift report. Secondly, at each shift, nurses must ensure that the shift report takes place at the patient’s bedside. At the same time, nurses will be required to invite patients and families to take part in the shift report. Anderson and Mangino (2006) observed that, in some instances, patients or families might not be privy to certain information or diagnosis. However, bedside shift report is not the right place to discuss bad news. In this regard, nurses will be required to refrain from divulging any sensitive information or diagnosis during bedside shift. Instead, they will be required to follow the procedure set out by the hospital for discussing such sensitive information. Families also tend to complicate matters during bedside shift report (Griffin, 2010). This sometimes makes it difficult for nurses to know

Cultural Differences Essay Example for Free

Cultural Differences Essay Dear Vice President of Production, Mark Jones, a Production Manager, has been transferred from the manufacturing plant in his hometown of Chicago to his companys overseas manufacturing plant in Osaka, Japan and I am writing to let you know the differences that Mark will experience in managing front-line plant workers in Japan in contrast to in the United States and also address how cultural differences may play a role in individual differences Mark will experience. Three differences that Mark may experience are: * Language Barriers * Technology * Politics In the United States individuals tend to speak loudly and are more assertive or aggressive when addressing workers or giving direction. Individuals in Japan speak softly and are generally more passive. With language barriers making a conscious effort to be considerate of others can aid in effective communication in the business setting. The increase of conduct business with each other is due to globalization. Technology aids people to connect one another much easier, however it may be easy for most but there are individuals that are completely lost when it comes to technology. Another thing to consider is the time zone differences. Yes you may be able to video chat with someone in Japan they are not in the same time zone as you are, so ensuring to conduct whatever form of communication you choose is considerate of the time difference. The way a company conducts business can be affected by political influences. Some cultures pose a strong sense of government pride, and nationalism. Other cultures tend to negotiate with companies that have minimum conflict with their culture. I believe with our help Mark can move overseas with minimum transition problems. I suggest these three things that could stand to aid Mark make the transition as smooth as possible. It is important that Mark researches the Japanese cultural. I recommended this because knowing what to expect can give him a head start so that he can address any possible doubts or concerns that might arise with the font line workers. Mark should be clear and careful in communicating with the workers. Due to the language barrier that already exists Mark has to be extremely careful when communicating to ensure the workers understand what he is asking or telling them to do. Finally Mark should regularly check with his employees to ensure they have what is needed for them to do their job as well as how things are going for them. Mark would also want to aid his employees in the transition as well. Not only doe’s transition problems affect Mark they affect the works as well.

The Historical Background Of Virgin Atlantic

The Historical Background Of Virgin Atlantic The importance of Tourism and hospitality industry can never be over-emphasized in the development and growth of many nations in the world. As a result of the advancement in technology and globalisation, tourism and hospitality industry serve as a vital driver of job creation as well as being the main source of income for many developed and the less developed countries. Due to the pivotal role of this industry in the creation of wealth for nations, several companies as well as international organisations devise efficient and cost effective operational management methods in order to maximise their profits. A key industry that propel tourism and enables tourism and hospitality industry to its present global height is the aviation industry, which not only transport people from one place to the other, but ensures that places that were deemed unreachable can be discovered, thereby creating wealth for organisations as well as enhancing the geographical prominence of countries in the league of nations. Virgin Atlantic, the second largest commercial airline in the United Kingdom play an active role in the tourism and hospitality business by ensuring that it provide cost effective and innovative services to its various clients. As a result of keen competition in the aviation industry, Virgin Atlantic is renowned to be one of the pioneers of in-flight entertainment as well introducing a premium economy class services for its customers that can not afford to travel on an upper class but still wants to benefit and enjoy some of the privileges of the upper class clients. The global economic recession as well as the harsh business climate has made it imperative for companies to re-evaluate their business models and device strategies to cope with the ever changing macro and micro environmental factors that affect the company. These are made possible by the analysis of the companys Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT) it faces while operating in relation to their competitors. Despite the advancement in technology, the three core functions of any organisation i.e. marketing, product and service development, and operation are well guided in order satisfy the ever increasing customer demands. To do these, most organisations align their operation management strategies to the changes in the external and internal forces that affect their operational model. Kim and Olsen (1993) corroborated this by advocating that a balanced approach must be used to monitor the events that occur in the external domain and assessing the potential impact on business and unit level operations. Organisations must focus on their strengths in order to deal with the wide range of external factors in creating opportunities for themselves. On these basis, the identification of the external and internal operational management methods are clearly identified as a tool in increasing productivity ,customer satisfaction as well as promoting their products to their target audience. STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM In every research, there are various problems that are identifiable, but for the purpose of this research, the following questions need investigation. What operational method can organisation adopt? What is the significance of operational management to an organisation? Should organisations in the hospitality industry adopt similar or different operational management? OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objective of this research can be summarised as follow; 1. To analyse the operation management of Virgin Atlantic in relation to tourism and hospitality. 2. Establish the impact of internal and external factors that affects Virgin Atlantic operations. 3. How company formulate and adopt strategy. 4. Identifying the strengths and weakness of Virgin Atlantic 5. How the company measures service quality and improvement. 6. To established the best operational management methods for productivity and promotion. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study is of great importance because it underlines the understanding of the operation management of Virgin Atlantic which is one of the pioneers in innovation in the tourism and aviation industry. The research highlights the various approaches used by Virgin Atlantic in their daily operations and how it has been able to remain a viable and competitive company LIMITATION OF THE STUDY Due to time constraint, it was not possible to do a comparative study of the operation management of Virgin Atlantic in relation to other organisations in the aviation industry in relation to hospitality management. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF VIRGIN ATLANTIC Summary Virgin Atlantic is the second largest commercial airline in the United Kingdom that starts operation in 1984.It is headquartered in Crawley near Gatwick airport and owned by Sir Richard Branson (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%).The airline operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from its bases at Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport, using a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-bodied jets (web 1). Almost uniquely among major airlines, it operates no short-haul services whatsoever, with its shortest route being from London to Accra (web 2).It offers three classes of travel: Upper, Premium Economy and Economy classes which all bears the hallmark of Virgins award winning inflight entertainment and based on airlines aims of provision of innovative service at excellent value for money for all classes of air travellers (web 3). Birth and Formation Virgin Atlantic was conceived as result of an idea from Randolph Fields who wanted to be operating flights from London to the Falklands islands after the Falkland war. But due to Logistic and operational cost, the Falklands operation was aborted and an alternative arrangement to have flights operating from London to the United States was agreed upon. Randolph Fields proposed his idea of flights operations to Richard Branson at a party in Central and he agreed to be a partner in the flight business with 25% stake going to Randolph Fields and 75% to Richard Branson (Web 4). Like all Richard Branson businesses, he approaches the partnership as a venture that must succeed within a year or he exits the partnership. The airline was an instant hit in its first year and it was able to lease more planes in the second and subsequent years. Richard Branson eventually bought out Randolph Fields stake in the business in 1997 after disagreement over operations of the airline. After its maiden flight to Newark in the United States on its leased Boeing 747 in 1984, the airline had acquired more aeroplanes to cover different routes and destinations ranging from Tokyo, Boston, Los Angeles, Rolando etc. Despite the apparent success and popularity of the airline, the company faced financial problems in the 1990s due to the recession, the Gulf War and the subsequent collapse of International Leisure Group (ILG), there was need to save Virgin Atlantic from collapse and involves the abolition of the Traffic Distribution Rules (TDRs) which was meant to create equal distribution air traffic between Heathrow and Gatwick airports in order assist Gatwick airport to make profit. The TDRs rule stated that airlines that do not operate international flights from Heathrow airport prior to 1977 would not be permitted operations there, but will instead be using Gatwick airport. The abolition of the rule made it possible for airlines to commence operational flights from Heathrow. This subsequently paved way for Virgin Atlantic to begin operations at Heathrow airport despite opposition from British airways who was the largest operator then. As a result of this move, Virgin Atlantic was able to increase its long-haul flights and survived the recession in the economy. In order to consolidates its position and expand its flight operations, Virgin Group the parent company of Virgin Atlantic, sold 49% stake of the airline to Singapore airlines in year 2000, while Richard Branson retains 51% stake of the airline. This increased the value of the airline  £1.25 billion thereby making it one of the biggest private operated airline in world (Web 5). Rivalry with Competitors The movement of Virgin Atlantic operations to Heathrow signal a rivalry between the airline and British Airways. Amongst the rivalry between both airlines was the famous libel fine of  £500,000 and  £110,000 in 1993,that was awarded out of court to Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic as well as  £3million court charge against British Airways for its dirty tricks campaign on Richard Branson and his airline (Web 6).Subsequently in June 2006, and British Airways was fined  £271 million as a result of a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic after investigation by the US and the British office of fair trading for alleged price-fixing between both airlines (Web 7) . Agreement and Co-operation with Other Airlines Despite Virgin Atlantic fierce rivalry with British Airways, the airline do partners and codeshare agreements with other airline in the world namely; South Africa Airways, Air China, Cyprus Airways, Flybe, Gulf Air, Scandinavian Airlines, US Airways, Malaysian Airways etc. in order to spread its reach across the world (Web 8)(Web 9). Service and Innovation Virgin Atlantic has been a pioneer in services and innovation in the aviation industry through its introduction various services and technology that are used to distinguish itself from other airlines in the in Industry. It operates three-classes (Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class) of travel in order to cater for the needs of its passengers. The Economy class is the standard class and it provide among other facilities such as free meals, drinks and lumbar support for its passengers. The Premium Economy class provide clients with a wider seat having more leg room, priority boarding as well as separate check in area from the economy class passengers (Web 10). The Upper Class provide the passengers with first class services ranging from larger menu and in-flight bar. It is also equipped with the biggest fully fitted flatbed compared to any other airline business class services. Virgin Atlantic airplanes also are equipped with the state of the art In- flight entertainment system, that provide entertainment to all its passengers in order to ensure that they have a memorable time while flying the airline and maintain their loyalty them. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW The aim of any service business organization is to create goods and services that are of high quality, quantity and cost efficient in order to satisfy the consumers needs. This can be achieved by ensuring that detailed attention is devoted in the planning and control of day today running of the business, design of products and creating a competent processes for employees to work. Operation management covers all these essential functions from the top level management to the immediate control of operations in the business. Operations management according to Nigel Slack et al. (2010) is defined as the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver products and services. This system of management relates to the function of any organization responsible for the design, planning and control of resources for the provision of goods and services (David R.B and Paul L.F, 2010). Operation Management Model Source: Operations Management, 6th edition, Nigel Slack et al (2010, p.25) The Evolution of Operation Managements The history of Operations management can be traced to different projects in the development of human history from the construction of Egyptian pyramid to the building of the Great Wall of China and the industrial revolution that began in England in the 18th century. Before the industrial revolution, production of goods and services are made through custom made products. But as machines were invented, there was an increase in the factory system thereby leading to the specialization of labour as proclaimed by Adam Smith in 1776 in The Wealth of Nations which emphasize the benefit of breaking down production activities to smaller parts and assigned to individual worker through the manufacturing process. This ensures an increase in the production of goods and services through specialization as opposed to the cottage system of manufacturing for individual needs of the consumer. By the mid 19 century, most cottage industries were being replaced by factories which expanded to urban workforce with effective communication thereby paving way for the great output explosion of the 20 century (David R.B and Paul L.F, 2010). A number of techniques were later introduced during this period among which is the scientific management principle developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) (Taylor, 1911), that was used for the creation factory Ford Rouge plant in which mechanized assembly lines, specialized labour,mass production and interchangeable parts were featured. But with the major studies in the relationship between output production and human motivation by Maslow (1943) and Herzberg (1966), the essence of developing a social as well as a technical system for manufacture processes. The growth in the Asian economic coupled with new manufacturing processes such as Just-in-Time (JIT) principle and Lean Operations in the 1960s brings a different perspective to quality and design management thereby making businesses to improve on their product delivery. Wickham. S (1985) and Terry (1985) also emphasized this in their studies by recognizing that the view that techniques and systems are not the most important part of operation management but taking a more balanced strategic view of management operations. As a result business competitiveness depends not only on low level, limited impact system of operation but on a broader management operational view (David R.B and Paul L.F, 2010). CHAPTER 3 MACRO AND MICRO ANALYSIS OF VIRGIN ATLANTIC The operation of every business is affected by several internal and external factors which determine the growth and survival of a business organisation. These factors can analysed by looking at the environment in which a business operates otherwise called Environmental Scanning or Macro environment. Macro environment refers to the clients, markets, industries and competitors which an organization interact with during their business operations. These factors are outside the control of an organisation and indirectly affect its activities. Kroon (1995) defined environmental scanning as the study and interpretation of the political, economic, social and technological events and trends which influence a business, an industry or even a total market. Based on this definition, Macro environment can be analysed by six factors or segmentation called PESTEL which is Political.Economical, Social, Technological and Environmental and Legal factors. These are in constant change and organizations must define strategies to meet up with the changes. Holloway (2004) stated that macro business environment is subject to continuous changes and in order for the business to survive, it must learn to adapt to these changes. The Political and Legal factors such as government policies and legislations affect the mode of operation of every business. This factor can encompass political stability and favourable legislations such as tax concessions which encourage and promote the operation of business. Since Virgin Atlantic operate flights to different countries from the United Kingdom, the political environment in which it operates play a long way in the determining its success. The political decision of abolishing the Traffic Distribution Rules enables the airline to expand its operation flights and increase revenue for the company. Furthermore, countries of high political instability in Africa and Asia have a negative impact on the airline because the tourism potential reduces as a result of less people flying to these countries. The Economic factors are significant in determining the operation management of Virgin Atlantic in the hospitality industry. The factors such as inflation rate, recession, spending power, deflation determine the role of Virgin Atlantic in the hospitality industry. The recent recession as well as the euro zone crisis has deeply affected the tourism and hospitality industry with less people travelling on holidays due to job cuts and ,high inflation rate and redundancies have lead a reduction of flights of Virgin Atlantic thereby affecting its profit. Furthermore, deregulation of the airline industry has created an avenue for Virgin Atlantic to reduce to reduce airline fares. Although financially distressed airlines have cut fares to boost operational profit, Virgin Atlantic operates different incentives for their customers such as discount for senior citizens in the society as well as group travellers in order to stay ahead of their competitors. Social and Environmental factors play a great role in the tourism and hospitality industries because the society demands the services that are rendered by the airline industry. Virgin Atlantic strive in is staff recruitment to employ people that care about the customers and provide their best for the customers by bringing their individual personalities to work while having fun at the same time (Virginatlantic.com, 2011).Consequently, as part of its corporate social responsibilities, Virgin Atlantic allows trained pets that accompanied disable people on its flights as well as providing assistance to unaccompanied children to travel. It also offers its customers complementary limousine pick up and provide in-flight beauty treatment for its business economy passengers. The commitment of Virgin Atlantic to reduce its environmental impacts of its operations was highly lauded by the government for introducing biofuel in to some of its aircrafts in order to reduce emissions to the environment. It has also introduces recycling programme on board of all its aircraft as well companys office in order to reduce the amount of waste generated and become a conscious and cost effective organisation(Virginatlantic.com,2011). Technological factors are important in the provision of highly effective and accident free operation in the hospitality industry. Virgin Atlantic Airways believes in the role of technology in improving services and ensuring that safety of its staffs and passengers. It has been able to accomplish this by ensuring that it acquires new technological advanced aircrafts in order to improve the operation management and safety of the airline. Since flying is an highly dangerous operation if effective checks are not carried on airplanes, Virgin Atlantic have engineers that are highly trained have been researching to improve safety and security of airlines. They also introduce technologies in-flight entertainment to entertain the passengers while waiting for arrival as well while travelling on their flights. MICRO ANALYSIS The micro analysis factors influence the operation of any business organisation. These factors directly affect the operation of an organization and can change in order to align with organisation vision and goals. The micro economic factors that affect the operations of Virgin Atlantic in the hospitality business are; Customers, Suppliers, Employees, Competitors and Shareholders. The customers are the main contributor to the survival of any business because they contribute to the revenue in which the business operation is being run. Virgin Atlantic take utmost care in providing a second to known service for its numerous customers, based on the original philosophy of Richard Branson, which is to offer the best possible service to its clients while delivering the best possible value. People also regard Virgin Atlantic as a distinctive, fun-loving and highly innovative brand and one that is admired for its friendliness, intelligence and integrity (Virginatlantic.com, 2011). It also try to retain the patronage of all its customers by operating frequent flyer incentives such as the flying club where points accumulated from previous flights can be redeem later for free flights in the company. The introduction of in-flights entertainments on all is flights is also a ploy to make flying experience with Virgin Atlantic a memorable one. The Virgin Atlantic employees are the assets of the organisation that project the values and culture of the organisation to the outside world. As a result of their importance to the goals and vision of Virgin Atlantic, serious emphases are placed in the recruitment of staffs that care about customers and bring their individual personalities to work in the company. It provide perks for its customers in form of staffs flight discount, excellent retirement benefit as well as good health care entitlement while working for the company. The main suppliers to Virgin Atlantic airlines are Airbus and Boeing; aircraft manufacturers. They play a significant role in the operation of the airline by providing reliable and state of the arts airplanes the company. There are other companies that contribute to the successful operation of the airline such as Fuel companies that supply fuel for the operation of the airplanes, airports staffs that management the successful taking off and landing of the airplanes ,IT companies such as Del,IBM,CSC etc,that provide the hardware and software for the administrative activities of the company. Virgin Atlantic must work harmoniously with all these companies in order to have successful operation management. Since the airline industry is a highly competitive industry different airline devise methods and promotions to lure customers to their airlines. The core competitor of Virgin Atlantic in the United Kingdom is British Airways. There have been several legal as well industrial disputes between both airlines in order to entice customers from each other. Since the reduction in government influence on the aviation industry in the United Kingdom, there have been intense completions between airlines to provide services that are better than its rivals. The core services provided by Virgin Atlantic which differentiate it from competitors are innovative technologies as well cheap and affordable flight tickets in relation to its rivals. The shareholders of any business organisation are the ones that provide the capital for the operation of the business. As a result of this fact, their interest in ensuring that the business runs successfully in order to generate profit is very important. Virgin Atlantic is owned by Richard Branson (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%) which form a global partnership and increase their operation capital for effective operation and to remain completive in the airline industry. SWOT ANALYSIS All businesses must assess and evaluate their positions in terms of where they are at the present and where want to be in future. In order to do this, the SWOT Analysis is carried out whish focus on the companys Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities as well as Threat it faces in relation to its operation and survival. Strengths The strengths of any organisation are toe positive advantages that it possess in relation to other organisations. The strengths of Virgin Atlantic are; Innovative and comprehensive services: Virgin Atlantic has innovative and comprehensive customer services which are designed to meet the ever increasing needs of their customers. The companys passenger services unit arranges check-in facilities, baggage handling, meal catering, and in-flight entertainment. It also provide work in association with special assistance department unit to provide customers with special travel needs such as mobility aids, special meals, health camps at departures and arrivals (Datamonitor, 2011). Association with Singapore Airline: Virgin Atlantic association with Singapore airlines has been highly beneficial to the customers of both airlines which enable them to book their flights through both companies. This association also enables virgin Atlantic to tap into the highly lucrative Asian countries thereby increasing revenue for the company as well as better services for the staffs and customers. Weakness Small Size: The apparent small size of Virgin Atlantic in relation to other big players in the aviation industry makes it difficult to compete fairly in the aviation industry. British Airways and Air France operates flights to about 300 and 244 destinations in the world in comparison to Virgin Atlantic that operates to just 30 destinations in the world. Virgin Atlantic also 38 aircrafts compared to the British airways and Air France with 238 and 558 respectively which also limit their competitiveness. Price Fixing Allegations: The Office for fair Trading (OFT) found Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific guilty of price fixing allegations after a three-year investigation. They were fixing the price for flights between London to Hong Kong route and were likely to face a severe penalty of about  £250 million. Allegations of this type of nature can severely dent brand image and make customers to lose faith in the company for providing competitive price for its services. Opportunities Increase in the Global Freight sector: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasted that aviation will handle 38 million tonnes of air cargo in 2014, up 12.5 million tonnes from the 26 million tonnes carried in 2009. International freight volumes are expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% over the forecast period (Data monitor, 2011).As a result of this promising forecast from IATA, which most of the activities occurring in the Asia pacific routes, Virgin Atlantic will benefit significantly through its association with Singapore Airline. Positive outlook of the Airline market: As a result of the Olympics coming up in the United Kingdom next year, Virgin Atlantic will benefit immensely in the transportation of tourist as well as other participant to the United Kingdom for the games. This will increase the revenue for the company as a result of the prominent position it plays in the United Kingdom aviation industry. Threats Price Discounting from Competitors: The ever increasing discount pricing in the domestic market by close competitors a such as BMI, Ryan Air, British Airways, Air France etc., has made it increasingly difficult made for Virgin Atlantic to have stable pricing structure thereby making it extremely difficult for the domestic operations to be profitable. Consequently, the increase in the size of airlines route system have significantly increase the competition between airlines thereby affecting the profitability as well as impacting on their operations. Natural Disaster: The Volcanic eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajà ¶kul in 2010, created a huge dent in the operation of Virgin Atlantic. The ash from the volcanic eruption disrupts air travel operations across Europe, with flight being grounded several European countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. It was estimated that airlines during this period lost hundreds of millions of pounds due to flights cancellation caused by the volcanic ash. This situation severely affected the operation management of Virgin Atlantic profit. European Union (EU) Regulation: In 2005, an EU regulation came into effect for compensating passengers with valid ticket but which were denied boarding an airplane irrespective of the situation. This law also imposes fixed compensation to passengers for cancelled flights except if the airline can prove that such cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as weather, air-traffic control delays or safety issues (Datamonitor, 2011).Subsequently, this law makes it to the prerogative of the airlines to provide meals, drinks, and accommodation as well as telephone calls for customers if delayed overnight. The overall expenses created by this law made impacted on the operational profitability of airlines in which Virgin Atlantic were one of the casualties. Jet Fuel Cost: Since the airline operation depend on the jet fuel, the instability the fuel prices has significantly affected the operations of Virgin Atlantic. The volatile price of jet fuel exacerbated by the political uprising in the Middle East has impacted on the profitability of margin of Virgin Atlantic in its operations as result of high cost of buying the fuel for the aircrafts. CHAPTER FOUR CURRENTAND FUTURE OBJECTIVE OF THE ORGANISATION After the SWOT analyses of Virgin Atlantic, it is imperative to take a deeper look into the current objective of the company in relation to its future plans. The current objective of any organization must align with its vision which is reflected in the organisations mission statement. The mission statement of Virgin Atlantic is To grow a profitable airline, that people love to fly and where people love to work (Virginatlantic.com, 2012). As result of this statement, the operation management of the organisation was designed to cater for the needs of its customers by providing the best service while delivering it in the best possible values. It also ensures that its workers not only work for the organisation but derive enormous pride, fun and sense of well-being in the course of their services to the clients. Furthermore, in-line with socially and corporate responsibility of Virgin Atlantic, introduced a wide range of environmental initiative that are meant to reduce the amount of waste generated in the company. These initiatives involves the recycling of all waste such as plastic glasses, vending cups, papers aluminum cans which are collected and recycled in order to raise money for the various charity organisations the company supports. Virgin Atlantic is also a trail blazer in the technological innovation by volunteering one of its Boeings 747 for the test of bio-fuels in operating airlines with the hope of reducing the dependency of airlines on jet fuel. As a result of the initiative, the company intends to use biofuels composed of algae as a part supplement to the jet fuel in its flight operations (Airline in first biofuel flight, 2008). The future objective of Virgin Atlantic is to seek ways in order to be competitive in the United Kingdom aviation after the tie-up agreement between British Airways and American Airlines (Sir Richard Branson begins strategic review of Virgin Atlantic, 2011).As a result of this, the company appointed Goldman Sachs to advise them about the potential approach from Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines in order to re-align its business for future challenges (Virgin Atlantic Airways, 2011). CHAPTER 5 MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES According to Baines et.al (2008), marketing strategy serves as the basic plan and template in which an organisation commences its operations in order to achieve its goals. The essence of marketing and communication objectives of any organisation enables it to differentiate its products and services from other related organisations. Marketing and communication strategy enables Virgin Atlantic to analyse its opportunities and target customers which it believe are relevant to short and long term goals as well as the objectives of the organisation. These strategies are achieved through various marketing mix i.e. the price, product, place and promotion which are used to communic