Sbi Change Management

THE WORD CHANGE Change is inequitable; not a respecter of persons. Change is for the better or for the worst, depending on where you view it. Change has an adjustment period, which varies on the individual. It is uncomfortable, for changing from one state to the next upsets our control over outcomes. Change has a ripping effect on those who won’t let go. Change is awkward — at first. Change is a muscle that develops to abundantly enjoy the dynamics of the life set before us.Change calls own strength beyond anyone of us. Change pushes you to do your personal best. Change draws out those poised for a new way. Change isn’t for chickens. Change does have casualties of those defeated. Change will cause us to churn or to learn. Change changes the speed of time. Time is so slow for the reluctant, and yet it is a whirlwind for those who embrace it. Change is more fun to do than to be done to. Change seeks a better place at the end and is complete when you realize you are different. Change Management:Change management is a set of processes that is employed to ensure that significant changes are implemented in an orderly, controlled and systematic fashion to effect organizational change. One of the goals of change management is with regards to the human aspects of overcoming resistance to change in order for organizational members to buy into change and achieve the organization's goal of an orderly and effective transformation. Organizational change management takes into consideration both the processes and tools that managers use to make changes at an organizational level.Most organizations want change implemented with the least resistance and with the most buy-in as possible. For this to occur, change must be applied with a structured approach so that transition from one type of behavior to another organization wide will be smooth. SBI: State Bank of India is the largest state-owned banking and financial services company in India, by almost every p arameter – revenues, profits, assets, market capitalization, etc. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank ofCalcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. The Government of India nationalised the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India. SBI provides a range of banking products through its vast network of branches in India and overseas, including products aimed at NRIs. The State Bank Group, with over 16,000 branches, has the largest banking branch network in India.With an asset base of $260 billion and $195 billion in deposits, it is a banking behemoth. It has a market share among Indian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI accounts for almost one-fifth of the nation's loans. * The Stat e bank of India is the 29th most reputed company in the world according to Forbes. * State Bank of India is the largest of the Big Four Banks of India, along with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank — its main competitors. Change Trigger: Liberalisation of the Indian Banking system:During the 1990s, the Indian economy began a period of rapid growth as the country's low labor costs, intellectual capital, and improving telecommunications technology allowed India to offer its commercial services on a global basis. This growth was also aided by the government's decision to allow the creation of private-sector banks (they had been nationalized in the 1960s) Private sector banks made their first appearance in January 1993. The private-sector banks, such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, altered the banking landscape in India.Core banking systems and electronic delivery channels that allowed these banks to introduce new products and provide greater convenience to customers acted as a hur dle for the PSBs. During that period, Public Sector Banks accounted for over three-fourths of total banking industry assets. They were weighed down with huge NPAs(Non-Performing Assets), falling revenues, lack of modern technology and a massive and highly unionized workforce. New entrants began to erode the market share of the nationalized banks, especially in metro cities and urban areas.The PSBs found it increasingly difficult to compete with the new private sector banks and the foreign banks. These banks also employed state-of-the-art technology, which helped them to save on manpower costs and concentrate on providing better service. Changes in SBI: Drivers for a New Core System Though SBI had undertaken a massive computerization effort in the 1990s to automate all of its branches, implementing a highly customized version of Kindle Banking Systems' Bankmaster core banking system (now owned by Misys).However, because of the bank's historic use of local processing and the lack of r eliable telecommunications in some areas, it deployed a distributed system with operations located at each branch. Although the computerization improved the efficiency and accuracy of the branches, the local implementation restricted customers' use to their local branches and inhibited the introduction of new banking products and centralization of operations functions.The local implementation prevented the bank from easily gaining a single view of corporate accounts, and management lacked readily available information needed for decision making and strategic planning. The advantages in products and efficiency of the private-sector banks became increasing evident in the late 1990s as SBI (and India's other public-sector banks) lost existing customers and could not attract the rapidly growing middle market in India. In fact, this technology-savvy market segment viewed the public-sector banks as technology laggards that could not meet their banking needs.In 2002, SBI adopted a new tech nology that included the implementation of a new centralized core banking system. This effort encompasses the largest 3,300 branches of the bank that were located in city and suburban areas. The State Bank of India's objectives for its project to modernize core systems included: †¢ The delivery of new product capabilities to all customers, including those in rural areas †¢ The unification of processes across the bank to realize operational efficiencies and improve customer service. Provision of a single customer view of all accounts †¢ The ability to merge the affiliate banks into SBI †¢ Support for all SBI existing products †¢ Reduced customer wait times in branches †¢ Reversal of the customer attrition trend Challenges for the bank: The bank faced several extraordinary challenges in implementing a centralized core processing system. These challenges included finding a new core system that could process approximately 75 million accounts daily — a number greater than any bank in the world was processing on a centralized basis.Moreover, the bank lacked experience in implementing centralized systems, and its large employee base took great pride in executing complex transactions on local in-branch systems. This practice led some people to doubt that the employees would effectively use the new system. Initial Conversion Project: The conversion effort began in August 2003, when SBI converted three pilot branches to the BaNCS system. The successful conversion and operation of the pilot branches was followed by the conversion of 350 retail branches with high-net-worth customers between August 2003 and September 2004.At this point, the bank intentionally halted the conversions to analyze and resolve reported problems. After the software and procedural changes were implemented, SBI converted an additional 800 branches between December 2004 and March 2005. Unlike in the previous conversions, this group of branches included predominan tly commercially oriented offices. The conversion effort then refocused on retail branches until November 2005, when the bank paused again to resolve problems that came up during this second group of conversions.After the second round of changes, the system and processes were functioning smoothly, and management believed the branch conversion could be accelerated. Based on the successful pilot survey, SBI decided to convert the approximately 6,700 remaining SBI branches to the BaNCS system. The conversion of the remaining branches began in June 2006, with the stated goal of completing the conversion by year-end 2008. Managing the change: The factors which helped SBI in managing such a huge change are as follows: * Senior management commitment.The project was driven by the chairman of SBI, who met every month with the information technology (IT) and the business sector heads. The chairman monitored the overall status and ensured that sufficient resources were allocated to the project . TCS senior managers were thoroughly committed to the project as well and periodically met with the SBI chairman to review the project status. †¢ Staffing and empowerment of project team. The core banking team consisted of the bank's managing director of IT acting as team head and 75 business and IT people selected by the bank.TCS also staffed the project with approximately 300 IT professionals trained on the BaNCS system. Importantly, the SBI business people were viewed not just as contributors to a key project but as future bank leaders. This team reported to the SBI chairman and was empowered with all decision-making authority. †¢ Ownership by business heads. The regional business line heads were responsible for the success of conversion of their respective branches and reported the status to the chairman. Thus, the business heads' objectives were aligned with those of the project team. Focus on training: SBI used its network of 58 training centers across India to trai n employees on the new system. TCS personnel first educated approximately 100 SBI professional trainers, who then trained 100,000 SBI employees at the centers; the remaining employees trained at their respective job sites. Benefits of New Core Systems Implementation The new core system has resulted in benefits throughout the bank for both the customers and the employees of SBI. For example, the new core banking system has allowed the bank to redesign processes.It established 400 regional processing centers for all metro and urban branches that have assumed functions previously performed in the individual branches. The customers after implementation of this CBS system were no longer only the â€Å"customer of the branch is no longer only the customer of the branch but has also became the customer of the bank†. Meaning, they can carry out any transaction in any branch of the bank. After implementation of this system the bank has reversed the trend of customer attrition and is n ow gaining new market share.

Why Do I Want to Teach

I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. I attended NYC Public School 77, JHS 127 & Alfred E Smith Technical & Vocational HS. The Glee Club under the direction of Edna Floyd was my first step in to the world of music. It was in elementary school, that I received valuable training in singing as well as music theory and history. I marched in the drum line as a member of the New York Lancers Jr. Drum & Bugle Corps based in the Bronx where many of my instructors where themselves, public school educators. After 3 years with the Lancers, I decided to Audition for the Garfield Cadets, a drum corps from Garfield, NJ. Garfield competed on a national level where the competition level was very high. We captured the world championship title four out of six years as a marching member and one of two years as an instructor. We won the best percussion trophy twice scoring a perfect score for one of the wins. It was at Garfield where I began to develop very valuable teaching skills under the direction and guidance of some of the best educators in the activity. I have taught many young people in various places of different ages, races and economic position. Young people want to be challenged and they love to develop skills they never knew they had. Most of all, they love to play music. The benefits conveyed by music education can be grouped in four categories: * Success in society * Success in school * Success in developing intelligence * Success in life I can teach & train your percussion ensemble if one already exist, or we can start one up, either way the students get great training and information but most of all we have fun. We can have the group training culminate with a recital where the musicians get to perform live. Students learn a combination of marching and hand percussion techniques. It’s fun for those looking for a musical outlet as well as those who desire to study music in college. I believe that music education is a very important element to the development of a young mind. Scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes for better math and science students and enhances spatial intelligence.

Using attachment theory in assisting parents and infants engaged in Term Paper

Using attachment theory in assisting parents and infants engaged in stressful interactions - Term Paper Example Tony is a healthy nine-month-old male child, the product of an uneventful pregnancy followed by an uncomplicated full-term vaginal delivery. Ellen and Roger, Tony's parents, are both overweight, but have otherwise no significant health issues.They are in their early thirties, and have been involved in a relationship continuously for the past sixteen years. Tony was actively planned and eagerly welcomed by Ellen and Roger, as well as extended family. (*Names have been changed for privacy.) When Tony was six months old, Ellen and Roger decided to train Tony to sleep through the night independently according to the method outlined by Ferber in â€Å"Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems† (Ferber, 2006).This method involves allowing the child to cry himself to sleep; As such, it is frequently referred to colloquially as the â€Å"cry-it-out method† or â€Å"CIO.† In literature, it is called â€Å"graduated extinction† (Dewar, 2008).Ellen and Roger agreed that this was the most appropriate decision for their family based primarily on their desire to ensure both their own sleep and private time to engage in leisure activities, jointly and separately. Both committed to complete the first three weeks of sleep training, and to re-evaluate the program if it was not having the desired effect on Tony. The Ferber Method has received a great deal of criticism from parents and scholars, and while it is one of the best known sleep training regimens it is also one of the most controversial for several reasons (Dewar, 2008). Ferber acknowledges in his book that this process does not teach children how to sleep independently, it merely deprives them of access to their parents as sources of comfort (Ferber, 2006). Ellen and Roger successfully employed Ferber's techniques over a two week period, during which Tony would initially cry himself to sleep. When he awoke during the night a parent would stand near the door of Tony's bedroom, outside of his visual ra nge, and attempt to ascertain his physical state of being. In the event of specific concerns relevant to physical health or comfort, those concerns were addressed quickly by the attendant parent, and without fanfare. There was minimal parent-infant interaction during these addresses. Diaper changes accounted for the overwhelming majority of these concerns. If there was no specific physical concern to address, Tony was allowed to continue crying in his crib. Though Tony's cries were extremely distressing for both Ellen and Roger to endure, the two of them persisted in their efforts to teach Tony to sleep on his own. Over the first two week period of sleep training, Tony began crying less, fell asleep more quickly, and stayed asleep for longer periods of time. By the end of the first two weeks Tony was sleeping from 19:00 local time through 0:800. Caregivers who sleep train their children believe that they are teaching the children to self-soothe and encouraging independent behavior. In reality, infants who are left to cry alone are at high risk for developing ambivalent relationships with their caregivers. Tony internalized the lesson that after the lights have been turned off, his needs will not be met, and as a result his behavior, particularly in the evenings as bedtime approaches, Tony's behavior is that of a child who is ambivalently attached to his primary caregivers. Tony's behavior has become more subdued in general; He spends less time in both active alert and crying phases. Tony hardly seems to notice when he is separated from his parents, but he does actively prefer them to strangers. Ellen, Tony's mother, truly believes that sleep training was an appropriate choice, and defends her decision vociferously. She points to the ease with which Tony sleeps and his cooperation in the evenings as proof that she and her husband made the correct decision. Ellen feels that this process has been beneficial not only to Tony but to her, and that while it was

Literary review, leadership project third part Coursework

Literary review, leadership project third part - Coursework Example In most cases, it has been established that this lack of adequate supervised practice is caused by many factors, but some of them include inadequate staff for supervision and lack of enough facilities. When handling students with disabilities in learning and reading, only being aware of the strategies required to apply is not enough. The most important thing to do for these children is to provide an intensive and systematic practice in how the strategies should be applied to the learning activities of the children. To achieve this, there should be adequate support from teachers, peers and parents. However, in the inclusive classroom, the most important person to implement this issue is the teacher. When the teachers are very few, or when they are not properly trained, they might not be able to implement these strategies effectively. Inclusive classroom is regarded as a teacher-led classroom where intense and thorough supervision should be provided to the students with learning disabilities. Collaborative strategies should, therefore, exist between teachers with special training to handle special students with disabilities and teachers trained to handle normal classes (Conti-DAntonio, Marcia, Bertrando, Robert, & Eisenberger, 1998). The same collaboration should be extended to the parents since they also contribute a larger part in influencing the learning behaviors of their children with disabilities. It is not just enough to beef-up staff in the inclusive classroom to deliver the services required, however, it is necessary to realize that the staff handling the students are well trained to deliver the services in a better way (Bauer & Shea, 1999). For instance, various teaching strategies should be applied when teaching various subjects. Students with disabilities in learning may experience some difficulties in computational and basic counting skills. This means that they may have

Finaly Apply It Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finaly Apply It - Assignment Example An understanding of factors affecting wage rate is therefore important to these parties’ interests and this paper investigate relationship between offered annual wages and employees levels of education (measured in terms of number of years in school), age, and number of years of an employees’ experience. Results from empirical studies suggest a positive correlation between amount of wages offered to employees and the employees’ levels of education. This data, according to Youssef (2008), has been consistent over the past decades. The author further notes possible effects of other factors, such as age, experience, economic environment, and personal background. Data from Canada supports significance of education level, an employee’s age, and number of years of an employee’s experience. The data shows low wage rates for individuals with high school education and limited post high school education and the rate has a significant difference across levels of education from degree qualifications. Difference in wage rates across the factors was significant even after control on possible confounding factors such as gender. These differences have however not been consistent and data suggests possible convergence towards future insignificance (Green & Kesselman, 2011). Even though data shows significant effects of education, age, and number of years of experience on employees’ wages, trend in previous years suggest possibility of the factors becoming insignificant with time. This study seeks to determine significance of the factors in the contemporary environment through the following research question. Regression analysis results shows a significant general model (F= 26.367, P= 0.000). The model is also reliable as it accounts for 60.3 percent of the data (adjusted R squared= 0.603). the following tables show these in the model summary and ANOVA tables. A consideration of each of the independent variables

Biology Student's Achievement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Biology Student's Achievement - Essay Example It appears that the issues of achievement, attitude, and course completion are not taken seriously, since despite attempts, the average attrition rates in community colleges are 41% from the first to the second year, and only 34% of the remaining students persist in the course to complete a degree (Conway, 2010). In order to find out the reasons why there is failure to retain students, especially in community colleges, the attitudes of the students have been found to be at fault. Studies conducted on students in community colleges have revealed that the goals of educational programs in community colleges are different from those in the university colleges. Aslanian (2001) indicated that the average age of the students in community colleges is higher than an average university student. Community colleges tend also to enroll underprepared students from low-income and low parental education families and often from ethnic minority backgrounds in part-time programs (Cohen and Brawer 1996). While these ensure ease of access and facilitates enrolment, this might be a major factor inhibiting desired retention. Thayer (2000) indicates that while first-generation students get enrolled to these community college programs with higher frequencies, they also tend to demonstrate higher attrition rates. Alt hough the specific impacts of these factors on attitudes to complete the course and achieve education have not been studied, certain factors appear to be significantly contributing to this phenomenon. Age appears to be an important factor, since this indicates a large number of adult and returning students creating an opportunity for higher education, which may serve as the gateway for job (Powers, 2007). Sherman, Byer and Rapp (2008) emphasize it is important to ensure that online courses add to the value of traditional courses and improve student preparation. Labov (2006) states that the federal No Child Left Behind Act, with its emphasis on testing, accountability and teacher quality coupled with concerns about performance of US students and employer expectations for sound training in preparation for employment has set the stage for a thorough scrutiny of the performance of education at all levels. This means despite adversities from other determinants of pursuing education, the students enrolled for courses in community colleges may have many other determinants. However, the aspect of mode of learning and form of class room has also drawn significant attention. While the students of community colleges tend not to persist as has been finally concluded by Thayer (2000), the form of student teacher interactions, teaching expertise, timing of program are all important possible determinants. Recent improvement of technology has also made possible on-line courses in a virtual environment as opposed to the traditional classroom lecture and laboratory methods especially for the science subjects. Fike et al. (2008) further

Social Deviance and Autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Deviance and Autism - Essay Example The society does not favor deviance as groups are more likely to work in a unified, product way if there is coherence and conformity in the acts and attitudes of the individual members; however, it is possible to observe positive effects of deviancy in certain cases especially for people who are unable to fit in the defined social structure. Social deviancy and crime are closely interrelated; criminals indulge in damaging activities which are a threat to the individual and societal rights and are prosecuted by the law according to preset regulations. These activities are often a more deliberate and extreme form of social deviance and are shunned by the society at large. But within different contexts a set of activities which are against a law may be accepted as commonplace such as speeding on the highway and similarly there are deviants who go against the norms of the majority but are not criminals. When distinguishing between ‘crime’ and ‘deviancy’, John Ha gan’s classifications provide a good reference point with the regards to individual acts. He gives the three dimensions on which deviancy can be measured, these include the perceived harmfulness of the activity to the society or any individual, the consensus of the society as to whether deviancy occurred and severity of action proposed against the perpetrators. Each of these dimensions can be ranged from high to low; an activity which ranks as high on all three will be immediately classified as ‘consensus crimes’ which provide immediate danger and are wildly against accepted social behavior. In the case given, the individual in question Mr. McCollum had a self confessed obsession with trains and places related to trains. Suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome, the man’s great interest in locomotives is not unusual for someone with the affliction. The problem arose when he tried to impersonate ticket wardens, steal a locomotive and indulge in other delin quent activities like joy riding and trespassing train control towers to satisfy his need to be ‘near trains or a train yard’. These activities got him arrested several times, yet he went against the terms of his parole in 2006 because of his obsession with trains. As far as social deviance goes, his behavior was potentially dangerous as it involved interfering with the mechanisms of sophisticated machinery which could endanger the people using or working with them. The consensus that his behavior is different from socially established rules is similarly high as safety protocols are given the highest importance in modern society and people breaking these regulations are looked upon very negatively. It is difficult to classify Mr McCollum’s actions as consensus crimes, however, because there is disparity in the opinion for the severity of his castigation- the reason being his suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. His advocates claim that even though Mr. McCol lum was aware that his actions were not acceptable at large he still felt a compulsion to perform them. This is true of people affected by Autism spectrum disorders which are one of the most common neurological disorders, and most common developmental disabilities in our society. Aspergers is classified as high functioning autism, marked by social inhibitions, a lack of relation to the social interactions which form the basis of the society and a compulsive behavior

HR Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HR Management - Essay Example Even though man material and machine are some of the essential resources needed for an organization, mobilization or effective utilization of these resources is possible only with the help of the human resources. Cross cultural business or international business is growing day by day because of the huge popularity of the globalization, liberalization and privatization policies. All the countries realized the importance of foreign direct investments in their economic growth. Many of the big organizations which faced saturation in their home country are currently trying to exploit the opportunities in international market and as a result of that international business is growing rapidly today. The growth of international business brought many new challenges to organizations and the communication problem is one among them. Human resource management department is responsible for formulating necessary strategies needed to avoid communication problems in international business. Culture and communication plays a vital role in international business and hence the training given to an employee/ manager before an overseas assignment must target cultural and communicational differences between the native country of the employee and the target country. When organizations move into foreign markets they must adapt to communication, culture and human resource issues. Domestic business and international businesses have more differences than similarities. It is easy to start a business in the home country whereas it is difficult to establish a business in a foreign country because of the difficulties in communicating with different stakeholders in the foreign country. This paper briefly analyses different communication problems faced by companies while engage in international business and the HRM strategies needed to overcome it. Before the establishment of business in another country, the entrepreneur must know some basic facts about the target country. The political, social, cultural, legal and economical aspects of the target country could be entirely different from that of his home country. For example, suppose an American company is trying to establish a business unit in China. China is a communist country whereas America is a democratic country. English is the official language of America whereas that of China is Mandarin. The Chinese economy is developing at a much faster rate than that of America. Human rights and freedom of expression are less valued topics in China whereas these things are extremely important in America. There are many other areas in which America and China vary drastically and the HRM strategies should account for all these differences before establishing a business unit in China. David A Victor (2009) has proposed his famous LESCANT model for knowing more about the communication issues in international business. According to him Language, Environment, Social organizations, Contexting, Authority, Nonverbal communication means, Time concepts etc of different countries are different (Victor) In America, English is the official language whereas in China, it is Mandarin. The importance of language in the communication process cannot be neglected while formulating HRM strategies in international context. If communication is the body of an organization, then language is the blood of it. In an organizational set up, communication can take place between the organization and the

If I Were a Doctor Essay Example for Free

If I Were a Doctor Essay For a sick person, a doctor is a God on earth. The very presence of doctor instills immense confidence in a patient. But, today doctors are found to be indifferent to their patients. However, we find then inhumane these days. How could patients look up to them as the incarnations of God! I feel that the general image of doctors has taken a beating in the eyes of general public the public has realized much to dismay that doctors are now only interested in minting money and have lost the real touch with the fellow human beings and the humane life. It is true that individuals have become money-spinning machines, but the doctors who once represented God should have stayed out of the melee. This has not happened vilifying the avocation as any other profession. If I were a doctor, I would try to recover the lost image of doctors, at the outset. My prime objective shall remain identifying myself with the host of patients. This could mobilize me behave humanely with them. Next, instead of keeping an eye on the amount of money spent for the treatment, I shall try to cure the patient fully without bothering how much had been paid for the service. I would also take money and lots of which from the very rich, and then treat the poor patients free. With this balancing act, I think I would be able to earn enough money to maintain my life and family and earn a sea of goodwill in return, from the appreciable mass of poor. I would earn, besides money, love, respect, and the unflinching reverence. Thus, contrary to what doctors could earn these days, about heaps of money, I would earn love and respect in such heaps. With this attitude, I am sure I could bring back the angel status of doctors.

The Simpsons Essay Example for Free

The Simpsons Essay Stereotypes are known beliefs about certain types of races, ethnicities, genders, and even occupations. They are based on assumptions and are known as â€Å"silly† judgments which classify or group individuals together. Stereotypes can either be good or bad but they also can be hurtful, especially if one takes their culture seriously. If one chooses to stereotype, they are putting someone down based on their perceptions which will cause them to not succeed. Stereotyping can often encourage bully-like behavior that children will stick with until they’re adults. Stereotyping can also lead to hate, and can cause the victims of those stereotypes to often live in fear. For example, many homosexuals are afraid to admit their sexuality because they fear they will be judged and misinterpreted. Depending on how you look at it, it’s an ironic situation for those who are doing the stereotyping and those who are playing the victims. Stereotyping can lead to hate crimes, discriminations, and prejudice among different groups of people. One cultural researcher says, â€Å"We use stereotypes in part because it’s so hard to take in all of the complicated information about other people in the world. It’s difficult to spend the amount of time necessary to understand why or in what different ways people behave. So instead, we learn early in our lives to accept stereotypes of groups, or individuals. We develop stereotypes not just for large cultures, but smaller, specific sects; such as police officers, Mexican Americans, women, or executive males. † Stereotypes, generally carry a negative undertone, are widely used because they are overly present in today’s media, strengthened by individual experiences, and reiterated throughout history. The most significant source of stereotypical content comes from sitcom media. A cultural researcher explains, â€Å"The media continually normalizes violence, reinforces racism, and creates myths of who we are as Americans. Advertisement and movies are constantly reinforcing women as sex objects, and rarely as heroes except to throw a twist in a movie or story. The media really reinforces our notions of cultural stereotypes. † For example, on the well know television show The Simpsons, the average American family is perceived as being lazy, incompetent, or stupid. It also plays on the stereotype of â€Å"hillbilly farmers†, as one of the characters from the show, Cletus Spuckler, is shown to be very messy and is usually portrayed wearing a white t-shirt and pair of jeans. On the show, he has done many things associated with hillbilly stereotypes, such as dressing in a straw hat and white smock, chewing or sucking a piece of straw and carrying a pitchfork or rake, playing bluegrass music on a banjo, and eating animals such as raccoons, opossum, and squirrels. This influences society into believing that all people who live deep in the country are like Cletus, and they may discriminate and bully them because of what they see on the show. Stereotypes also come from people’s experiences or what experiences other people have had. A good example of this is the stereotypes placed upon African Americans, such as they are â€Å"hoodlums† or they are gang affiliated, and being physically violent or using constant vulgar profanity. This comes from the old assumptions about slaves by their slave-owners. Another damaging stereotype in society is the stereotypes amongst Hispanics. Majority of the women in this ethnic group are portrayed as being olive-skinned women. These women are seen as â€Å"the housewives† while the man of the house is out making a living. They are also portrayed as working in low-class jobs, such as a gardener for males or a maid/housekeeper for women. One last popular stereotype is the stereotype on Asians. Asians in society are portrayed as knowing karate, being smart and excelling in school, especially math and science, and having poor English skills. In society, these beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation and it affects the way people live their lives and how likely they are to succeed.

Comparing Leadership Styles | Effect of Leadership Styles of Business

Comparing Leadership Styles | Effect of Leadership Styles of Business Any organization can not survive without a sound management system. The management and how to manage the company from an overall aspect is mainly established by a core person in this company and he/she is called the leader of this company. It is wide accepted that no company can be successfully without effective management and without a competent leader. Therefore, the leader of the company plays a vital role for the organization. Different leaders with different natures and characteristics may bring up completely different management theory to the company, which will also decide the developing model of the company and determine the success of failure of the company. The leadership style will greatly decide the companys development for the future. It is a careful decision who to be hired or selected to be in charge of the company and guide the strategy of the company. Therefore, in order to analyze how the role of leader plays in an organization, two different leaders have been selec ted in this report. The objective of this report is to analyze leadership styles by selecting two leaders from two companies. One is Carly Fiorina with HP Company, and the other one is Michael T. Duke with Wal-Mart Company. These two different leaders are different in their leadership in many ways and the differences between their leadership approaches are demonsrtated in the critical analysis section. In the end the conclusion of the effectvie leadership is made based on the findings of the two cases. 2.0 Introduction As to the development of a company, the importance of the leader is obvious to the whole company. With reference to each successful enterprise, it is obvious that there is an outstanding leader guiding an excellent team, such as Jack Welch with GM Corporation America and Chinese Zhang Ruimin, leader of Haier Company and so on. Therefore, whether a company will be successful or not is greatly connected with who is leading the company. As the leadership topic is mentioned, this report is going to focus on the leadership in an organization. In this report, two famous leaders have been chosen and discussed from HP and Wal-Mart Companies in terms of their ways of leading the company and the major characteristics they have which may affect their ways regarding managing the team and the company. Based on the findings of the case study, comparison and contrast of both leaders with respect to their managing styles and leader style will be analyzed. At last, reasonable and information-based co nclusion related to leader management will be drawn. 3.0 Leader 1 Carly Fiorina with HP Company Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. which is HP company for short and established in United States in 1939, is a company specialized in developing and manufacturing computers, printers, software and other digital fields. HPs Corporate Objectives which was written by co-founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard have guided the company for decades. The objective is It is necessary that people work together in unison toward common objectives and avoid working at cross purposes at all levels if the ultimate in efficiency and achievement is to be obtained. HP Company has been developed very fast in technology areas and expanded to the worldwide. In anywhere you can see HP logo and its products in everywhere. HPs development and success can not be real without excellent leaders. Here Carly Fiorina as one of the excellent and competent CEOs is selected to analyze for the purpose of explaining the relation between a leader and company success. Carly Fiorina was born in 1954 and graduated from Stanford University. In 1999, she was presented as the CEO of HP company and ended as the CEO role in 2005. Carly Fiorina is a very competent leader. Before she took the CEO position, HP Company was encountering years of depressing time, especially in the years of 1997 and 1998, the company faced the unprecedented difficulties and the sales income was far behind its expectations. Fiorina started her career in business as a receptionist, but later she jumped very fast to the positions of management and leadership. Fiorina is also a very excellent communicator and her speech is convincing the same as the Ex-president Bill Clinton. Carly Fiorina was the first female CEO in HPs history (Carlys biography, 2010). During her stay with role of CEO in HP, she has developed comprehensive skills in leadership which include planning, delegating, decision making, coordinating and communication. She brought a lot of changes to HP and turned the HP ways into the Carly way (Forsyth, 2006). Carly Fiorina is characterized with board decision making and brave in taking actions. When made the merger with Compaq Company with a 25 billion USD in 2001, it was a broad step for taking. In terms of leadership style, Carly Fiorina could be determined as authoritarian in controlling and regulating policy, procedures within the company. Besides this leadership feature, she should also be concluded to be equipped with democratic leadership style (Sprenger, 2010). Carly Fiorinas leadership styles are most cultivated by her personalities. She is very diligent and hard working at the same time she is also good at selling. She stands very calm in any situation and is good at calculating and thinking. She is very dedicated to the pursuit of goals that she thinks that it is well-intentioned. She is very persistent with things. In Fiorinas view, every person is capable of far more than they realize. Fiorina holds this view in her life and applies it into her management. She is capable of digging and encouraging her teams ability. Some of her team workers feel very thankful to her, because she gave the chance to them to realize who they were and what they could do and where the y could reach in the future. With this characteristic, it is good to gather people and make them work hard to achieve the goal. Fiorina likes to engage activities personally which is another factor contributing to her successful leadership (Sadler, 2003). After she took the position as CEO, she started her trips to anywhere the HP covers and to investigate the problems and potentials there. She is very responsible for her position. She is persistent in doing the right things, for the right reasons and the right way, most of the time; it will turn out all right. When she was with HP Company, she will never give up what she thinks is a right choice or decision and she will lead her team to go for it. Thanks to Carly Fiorinas effective leading approach, HP Company has grown and developed very fast and achieved with the most important merger in HP history. During the period she took the leadership in HP Company, HP expanded very quickly to the world and its market share has grown. Compared with the developing and expanding and profit making situation before Fiorina as CEO, HP has made great success in terms of both self-development and its fast expansion to overseas markets. However, although Carly Fiorinas leadership has brought HP benefits in a range of areas, she was still not welcomed by all people within the company. Her leading behavior was not always appreciated by HP board (House and Price, 2009). Carly Fiorina holds her direction was right for HPs development for long term; however, other HP board worried about the direction of HP under Fiorinas leading. And also because Fiorina is a female leader, to some extent, most males are not really accepted the fact of being manage d or controlled by a female. Plus Fiorina is a relatively authorized person with respect to management. Therefore, in 2005, Carly Fiorina finished her CEO life within HP Company. 4.0 Leader 2 Michael T. Duke with Wal-Mart Company Wal-Mart as one of the worlds largest retailers has developed and expanded very fast. It has now expanded to many other countries and has occupied a relatively large retail market share there. Wal-Mart has thousands of products where consumers can find their various needs. The company now is continuing to broaden and accelerate its global efforts on sustainable development and responsible sourcing and opportunities. Until April this year, Wal-Mart has established businesses in 14 countries besides its businesses in United States. There are more than 4000 stores running around the world. Compared with the finance statement in 2009, the sales incomes in overseas markets have broken through 100 billion US dollars (Charles, 2009). Mike Duke is the president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. As CEO, Mike leads a strong management team that is focused on keeping Walmarts mission of saving people money so they can live better relevant to every customer, every day. Mike Duke joined Walmart in 1995. Mike has taken various positions in Wal-Mart before he reached his current position as the leader of Wal-Mart. He has led the divisions of logistics, distribution and administration. He was capable and active in developing and executing corporate strategy. Duke is a low-key person which is very consistent with Wal-Mart style. He does not like to flaunt. The only leisure hobby of Duke is to play Golf. Duke is the fifth CEO of Wal-Mart. He is appointed by the previous CEO, Scot Lee. Lee appreciates Duke very much. Some people comment that Lee and Duke are very similar in their personalities and management. The most distinguished difference is Duke is better at social relations with people. From Dukes colleagues view, he is a considerate person as loyal to friendship and helpful to others. As a senior manager of Wal-Mart, Duke is very clear when to start a fight for Wal-Mart business growth. One retail analyst has commented that Duke is very ambitious. The development strategy held by Duke is that Wal-Mart must occupy the leading position in the retail industry. Therefore, Duke made decision to withdraw Wal-Mart from Germany and South Korea where the sales are not desirable. And also he decided to hold 95.1% of stake from the previous 50.9% of its subsidiary Japanese company Seiyu Department Store. At that time, every one warned that it might be a very high-risk decision, but Duke believed that as long as Wal-Mart gets more control stake, it will make things different. As a successful leader, you must be competent in the areas you exert in. The competence areas such as envision, involving and goal-oriented. Duke is experienced in the management field. Before he joined Wal-Mart, he was an executive at Federated and May Department Stores for 23 years. And before he took CEO role, he was engaged in various sectors in Wal-Mart, which enabled him the wide knowledge about the whole operation in the Wal-Mart. And also from the change perspective speaking, leaders should have the ability of responding to and managing the external changes. When Duke saw Wal-Marts poor sales in Germany, he made the broad step to withdraw from the Germany market. Personal characteristics and behaviors also contribute to be a successful leader or not. Duke gives his colleagues an impression of friendly and kind and easy-going, which does not mean he is not strict or decisive. On the contrary, Duke has the talent of gathering his employees and also has a clear direction where the company shall develop into. Duke made commitment that in order to make up the bad sales in American local market; Wal-Mart would fasten its pace in expanding to other potential overseas markets. He said to his employees that the anticipation is to attract more consumers and set up more stores world widely and accelerate Wal-Mart global expansion. For Wal-Mart, Dukes presence as the CEO is like change blood to Wal-Mart. Firstly, it was the very right time for Duke to take the position after the depressing year in 2008. Secondly, due the change of the political leader in United States, Wal-Mart had to choose a different CEO the represent a different Wal-Mart to the whole America Society. Because the political environment sounds not advantageous to Wal-Mart since Democratic Party won the election. In the previous years , Wal-Mart was supporting the Republic Party with its 85% amount of political capital went to Republican and just 15% left to Democratic Party. Duke may have to transfer its political policy within the organization for seeking a better development in its local market. Therefore, Despite Dukes leadership style will probably bring a bright future to Wal-Mart; Duke will definitely meet new challenges in this position. Under Dukes leading, because Duke is paying highly attention to his employee staff, it will be easy to gather and establish competent team. Also due to Dukes rich experience working the stores Company and his working experience in various sector of Wal-Mart for years, Duke has a very comprehensive view over the overall company developing. However, everything has its two sides. Although Wal-Mart may have the potential of grasping a good chance to develop and expand under Dukes leading approach, there are also potential challenges or disadvantages posed to its development. 5.0 Critical analysis-comparison and contrast between the two leaders with respect to their leadership styles 5.1 Differences in personal characteristics Carly Fiorinas characteristics: Somebody was born to a competitive, such as Carly. She has extraordinary passion, confidence, courage and endurance. In order to achieve goals that can endure hard to imagine the enormous pressures and challenges, even troubled, still self-improvement and never give up. Carly is an insightful strategist, led by her customers and makes the management of excited and kind, but also to carry out different tactics to ensure the smooth realization of goals. Carlys distinct personality made her very difficult to achieve harmonious, peaceful way to deal with things, so she makes many people feel hurt. While she was taking the reforms of HP Company, she also encountered difficulties in the realization of the merger plan. Carlys extraordinary will and unyielding personalities support her to become successful in her career. But at the same time, most of her colleagues do not agree with her in terms of the direction of the development etc. Thus in 2005, company board has fired her as CEO of HP. Michael T. Dukes personal characteristics Duke is a Georgia man, in his spare time; he and his wife did a lot of charity work. For example, they have been taken care of an orphan until finally found the orphan with an adoptive family. He is a low-key person. This moderate character is very easy to integrate into the Wal-Marts way of treating its employees and Wal-Marts humane enterprise culture. Although Duke has been regarded as a good and kind person in the industry, this does not mean his is not a strict man. Actually his work style of being slightly conservative but strategic is very good and helpful for promoting the smooth development of Wal-Mart. The difference in character between these two leaders is obvious, Carly positive attitude is very positive in work. Her enthusiasm for work is the key to her success in her career. However, being sometimes too tough and persistent and anxious to be successful often cause great resistance to the development. Carly belongs to the authoritarian leadership style. For HP Company during its depressing time before Carly took the CEO position, this passionate characteristic was very helpful for the company. Duke is moderate and communicative; Duke more belongs to the emotional intelligence leader type. He is easy-going and listening to others. He is the type of leader who affects his employees by emotionally. 5.2 Different in their reforming pace as leaders of the companies. Carlys reform of the HP, focused on control of the company, focused on adjusting strategy and simplifying the companys structures. Company just needs to keep useful functional departments. She made HP into four groups, which improved work efficiency a lot. Employees felt the sense of urgency in doing their jobs. Carly emphasizes on efficiency. She firmly believed that if she could correct the mistakes of HP made in the past few years, the company will become strong and competitive again. She led HP to the pursuit of speed and passion, and meanwhile to distinguish HP from other competitors in the characters. During her remodeling process for Hewlett-Packard, other senior managers and ordinary employees did not show their disputes openly, but actually some disagreement was originated. Besides continuing implementing the past successful business strategies, Duke made several marketing strategies aiming to survive from the global financial crisis. These strategies, such as improving consumers shopping experiences, more special products included, are attracting more and more consumers. But compared to HP Company, Wal-Mart reforming is relatively conservative. 5.3 Team organization capability Carly has a remarkable ability to communicate. She is good at communicating with her employee personally. She always travels to visit HP worker in different places. And this communication is very essential for the establishing an effective team. However due to Carlys strict and sometimes tough personalities, it is not very easy for her to establish a loyal team. Especially in the reforming period, most of people do not like changes at the same time, gender is another unfavorable factor contributing to her difficulties in managing an effective team. Many people, especially for male workers, it is very uncomfortable to work under a female manager. In the Dukes eyes, the future of employees is Wal-Marts future. He emphasizes this point to his staff that Wal-Mart will continue to work to build a better life. Duke is very popular and respected by his employees. His attitude towards life and relationship with workers gains support from his employees. So for Duke, he is more capable of organizing an effective team. 6.0 Conclusion In conclusion, leader is the most important figure in an organization. When a person is hired as the leader of a company, he/she becomes the core part of the whole company. The way he/she adopts for leading the company will greatly affect the companys development. The leaders leadership approach is greatly influenced by his/her personal characteristics, her/his competencies and his/her culture values as well. Different leaders to manage a company may turn the company into a completely different one in terms of its developing direction, its company values or culture and so on. In this report, two different leaders with different companies have been introduced and analyzed regarding to their personalities, leadership styles. Through their respective contribution made to their companies, we can conclude that effective leader is very crucial for the development and direction of the company. In the comparing and contrasting part, the two leaders differences with respect to their leadershi p have been addressed and proper reasons have been investigated regarding the differences. The leadership styles can also affected from the organization variables. The leadership style will be affected by the external environmental changes, such as in the case of leader 2. The change of the leadership is to some extent forced by the economic times and political environment changes.

Essay example --

A lens is an optical device that transmits or refracts light. Eyeglass lenses are glass or plastic items that are placed inside eyewear frames in order to correct the wearer’s vision. More than 80 percent of all eyeglasses worn today are plastic lenses. The glass lenses were popular in the 1945 until the plastic lens was introduced in 1952. Convex and concave lenses are known as spherical lenses. Convex lenses were the first lenses used to correct vision problems. They are used to correct hyperopia (farsighted vision). These lenses are thicker in the middle than at the edges. Concave lenses are used to correct nearsightedness. This is a condition that makes people see things that are close to them but struggle to see things far away. Concave lenses are curved inward like the inside of a spoon. Whether you have plastic or glass, concave lenses or convex lenses they are produced in much of the same way. Years ago opticians relied on separate optical laboratories to produce eyeglass lenses. However today optical outlets receive lens â€Å"blanks† (blanks received from optical laboratories) which are plastic pieces already formed to fit exactly into the front of the lens. The stages are grinding, polishing, and shaping. Materials used are plastic or glass blanks, which are thick in size to eyeglass frames, though slightly larger. Thickness may vary depending upon the prescription. Other raw materials used to make eyeglass lenses are adhesive tape, a liquid with a lead alloy base, metal, and dyes and tints. Eyeglass lenses are designed in many shapes in order to match the eyeglass frame. Assuming that plastic lenses are being made at an optical laboratory technician’s input optical prescription for a pair of lenses i... ... may also verify optics and optical prescription in the lensometer. The manufacturing of lens has progressed over the years. The labor-intensive nature of making glasses has made it hard for U.S. companies to make high-precision lenses to compete with forms located in countries with low labor costs. However the manufacturing process has become more automated which makes the process more capital intensive rather than labor intensive. American companies are able to compete on even ground. Now there is computer assisted grinding process using the Opticam. This machine is capable of surfacing, edging, and centering in one setup, which save so much time. Whether you use the old-fashioned labor-intensive approach or use newly developed technology it is important to know that the manufacturing of lenses requires strict adherence to guidelines and quality control.

Two Great Rebellion Films :: essays research papers

Rebellion is a common topic in movies because it draws in audiences with its bad boys and bad attitudes. Two of the greatest rebellion movies of all time are Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, and Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The opening scene in Rebel Without a Cause shows a drunken teenage boy lying in the street, giggling, while he plays with a toy. The directors of these two films show rebellion using the same elements: themes, characters, and memorable scenes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In both films, the main characters are all rebelling against common things that audiences can relate to. In Rebel Without a Cause, Jim Stark is rebelling against his parents because he is upset with the fact that his father will not stand up to his mother. His girlfriend, Judy, is also rebelling against her parents, but for a different reason. Her father refuses to give her any affection because she is too â€Å"grown up.† Jim’s friend, Plato, is rebelling against his parents because they have abandoned him. These three characters rebel in many ways. Jim and Judy both smoke because they were told not to. Plato shot and killed puppies to get attention. Jim and Judy are both involved in a gang because it is â€Å"wrong.† Jim and Judy both pay a visit to jail: Jim because he is drunk and Judy because she ran away from home. In Bonnie and Clyde, Clyde Barrow is rebelling against the law and the common way of making a living. He rebels by robbing b anks. Bonnie also rebels against the law and her old life working as a poor waitress in a small town. She rebels by helping Clyde rob banks. C. W. Moss rebels against his overbearing father. Buck Barrow rebels against the law, but his wife is never too keen on the whole rebellion thing. Clyde, Bonnie, C. W., and Buck all rebel by robbing banks and stores, stealing cars, and killing. C. W. also rebels by getting a tattoo on his chest because he knows that his father will not approve of it. The theme of rebellion can be seen in both films by showing what the characters rebel against and how they rebel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comparable characters can be seen in both films. Jim Stark is just like Clyde Barrow in that they are both the leading men and the main rebels. They are also played by cute actors.

Monopoly †economics Essay

?I consider the case of Qualcomm faces antitrust probe in china. Qualcomm Incorporated is an American global fabless semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services. In the article it states that Qualcomm is the world’s biggest makers of cellar phone chips so they wanted to merge companies with china due to the potential market growth china has compared to the United States. So the speculation of this deal is that the company in china and qualcomm plan to do a launch of TD-LTE by early 2014. This causing an issue simply because it seems as though they broke the antitrust violations; in the article it does not say what violation it is but my thought from reading it would be the Celler-Kefauver Act which states that the Clayton Act, Section 7, which prohibits a firm from merging with a competing firm (and thereby lessening competition) by acquiring its stock. The issue seems to the rise of a company in which other companies would suffer from the merge taking down competitions and so forth. From the article we can tell that with any company trying to succeed in the business world especially a company that makes cellphone chips comes into a merger with china then the production and economic profits is unimaginable. China is one of the world’s leading productions in products worldwide now combing that with the cell phone chip makers, no other company would dare go against them or even try to keep with the company. The Marginal Revenue or Marginal Cost will skyrocket in competition. If the merger occurs it would call a Deadweight Loss to Society meaning that the costs to society created by market inefficiency and loss occur when supply and demand are not in equilibrium. Did not formally state why the company was being investigated but some say it is because of an attempt to gain leverage in royalty negotiations with Qualcomm ahead of the expected rollout of new 4G wireless infrastructure in 2014. The probe coincides with a recent surge of investigations into large foreign corporations that are currently operating in China, with speculation by market analysts that the move has been instigated to advantage domestic firms as markets shift toward a new generation of wireless technology. Some Pecuniary associated with the antitrust behavior is: Preparing major move to 4G wireless technology, merging of Qualcomm and china mobile, Asian smartphone makers has also emerged to help meet demand for low end handsets, pushing for local technology suppliers to increase revenue. Some. Nonpecuniary associated with the antitrust behavior is: Chip making for low cost phones Monopolies and oligopolies are not always bad for society. â€Å"A monopoly, as many people know, is a market condition in which only one vendor (usually a large corporation) is in play. There may be other somewhat similar businesses, but a monopoly exists when only one business or individual can provide a product or service. In an oligopoly, the product or service may be available from more than one vendor or merchant, but only a few big players dominate the market and make competition very difficult for new entries in the field. Examples of monopolies are difficult to produce, as federal antitrust regulations prohibit monopolistic market conditions in the United States. Regardless of legal issues, though, monopolies do exist, primarily in the utilities market. Electricity, for example, is generally available from only one â€Å"electric company† in any given market. Water and cable television are equally exclusive. During the 1990s, Microsoft commanded such a large portion of the computer operating system environment, and demonstrated such a propensity to absorb upstart competitors, that it was believed to be a monopoly as well. Examples of oligopolies are considerably more plentiful. The automotive industry, for example, has many competitors but is dominated by General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota. Breakfast cereal is also such an excellent example of oligopoly that it is often used in teaching the concept to Junior Achievement students; while the market is open to many competitors, almost all breakfast cereal — in the United States, at least — is manufactured by General Mills, Post or Kellogg. † An example of industry (where monopoly is warranted and is beneficial for the society) is electricity distribution industry. It is a natural monopoly industry because it involves large fixed costs and there are economies of scale over the entire significant range of output. In such industry, there is huge cost advantage if only one firm is operating but if there is more than one firm, cost will rise and consumers will have bear burden of this increased cost in the form of increased price. So allowing monopoly in such industry may actually benefit the society. Reference Mukherjee, S. , Alawadhi, N. , (2013, November 25) Reuters, Retrieved from http://www. reuters. com/article/2013/11/25/us-qualcomm-china-idUSBRE9AO0E.

Discuss the relative importance of physical and human factors in accounting for changes to vegetation over time within ecosystems in the British Isles Essay

There are many factors that account for the changes to the vegetation over time within ecosystems in the British Isles, such as human activity, climate, soil, light availability and intensity and natural disasters. The characteristics of the vegetation that are influenced by these factors are height, distribution, variety of species, adaptations and density of the vegetation. Some of these factors have relatively little influence on the succession development, whereas others have a dramatic influence over a long period of time, such as human activity. These factors, over time, result in the progression of a succession until the climatic climax vegetation is reached. However, sometimes these factors can mean that a plagioclimax is reached, as they prevent the succession from progressing any further and the climatic climax vegetation is never achieved, which in the UK are Oak, Hawthorne and Birch trees. This succession results in the development of an ecosystem. An ecosystem is a dynamic, stable environment which is composed of interacting and functioning biotic and abiotic components and can be of any size. There can be composed of variety of successions, such as lithoseres in grassland and woodland areas for example the Isle of Aaron, psamoseres along the coastline or small scale urban successions in urbanised areas. In an ecosystem, all the component are characterised as biotic, for example animals and plants, or abiotic for example climate, pH, soil characteristics or drainage. These biotic and abiotic factors determine the changes to the vegetation in the ecosystem overtime as they have a great effect on it, such as flooding and animal grazing. Within the ecosystem, there are inputs, outputs, stores and flows which transfer minerals, nutrients, water and light energy. The most important input is light energy from the sun, which is the source of any food chain. Producers start a food chain, but they would not be able to do so without the 2% of energy provided by the sun to allow photosynthesis to occur. 10% of this energy is then transferred through the trophic levels in the food chain, from the autotrophs, through the consumers to the detritivores. Energy is lost at each stage as a result of movement, excretion and heat loss. As long as there is sufficient sunlight, consumers will continue to be able to use the vegetation in an ecosystem is a food source, which will have a dramatic affect on the characteristics of the vegetation. In this case, both human and physical characteristics are equally important for accounting to changes in the vegetation. Nutrients in an ecosystem are transferred through the nutrient cycle, a balanced cycle which ensures that there are enough nutrients for the ecosystem to survive. This cycle is represented in a Gersmehl Diagram. An example of an ecosystem is a temperate deciduous woodland. The main human factor that affects the development of a temperate deciduous woodland is deforestation. Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons; to use the timber for commercial use, to use the land for agriculture or to use the land to build on. Once the land has been deforested, it will never be able to be used for the same environment again as the soil washes away in the rain. Therefore, human activity has an extremely large impact on the development of vegetation as it can result in the environment becoming inhospitable. One of the physical factors that affects the distribution of vegetation is the height and density of the exsisting vegetation. This is because the more dense the canopy layer, te less light will filter through the leaf mosaic to the shrub layer. This means that only plants that require little sunlight will be able to survive, unless they have adaptations that enable them to absorb as much sunlight as possible such as having bread flat leaves so that they have a large surface area, or flowering earlier or later than other plants, such as Dogs Mercury and Bluebells. Another physical factor that affects the distribution of vegetation is the climate. If an area receives too little or too much rainfall, the plants will not be able to survive. On average, the temperate deciduous woodland should receive around 750-1500mm of rain per year. If this number is greatly exceeded, then the soil will become saturated and the area will flood, suffocating the plants as they do not have access to sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide. On the contrary, if there is not enough rainfall then the plants will also die because they do not have access to a plentiful supply of minerals that the water contains such as nitrogen and magnesium. One type of succession that can form an ecosystem is a lithosere. A lithosere is a plant succession that begins life on a newly exposed rock surface, such as one left bare as a result of glacial retreat, tectonic uplift as in the formation of a raised beach, or volcanic eruption. The lithosere succession is initiated by pioneer plants, such as blue and green algae with colonise the sock as there are into a lot of nutrients available and they have no root systems, so they can survive in the hostile conditions. The succession then progresses due to the pioneer plants dissolving the rock, resulting in a release of nutrients. This then means that mosses, lichens and liverworts are able to thrive on that ground as the moss can absorb nutrients from rain water and they provide their own energy from photosynthesis. These plants chemically decay the rock by releasing acids, and physically decay the rock as a result of their root systems, leading to an amelioration of the plants so that the lithosere can progress to the next seral stage. Herbs grasses and small flowering plants can now colonise in these conditions, which are followed by ferns, brackens and small shrubs as the soil is now thick enough to support their roots and their seeds become lodged in the cracks made by the moss, so colonisation continues. Once these plants die and decay, they leave humus which adds to the richness of the soil and enables more developed plants to grow in their place. At this stage, the soil is developed enough and contains enough nutrients that it can host small tress, such as Alder and Rowan. Once these trees die, the lithosere is able to reach its climatic climax vegetation of Oak, Birch and Pine. There are many physical and human characteristics that affect the development of a lithosere. In the Isle of Aaron, there is no vegetation in areas of high relief. This is because the seeds for the plants slide down the slope, and do not colonise the steepest areas but colonise the top and bottom of the slope. Another physical factor which causes a lack of colonisation is the salt spray from the sea. The salt dehydrates the rocks that it lands on, so the area becomes inhospitable to the hardiest of plants. The prevailing winds from the south west result in a higher wind chill factor, therefore temperatures are lower, resulting in niche conditions. The winds also deliver seeds which can colonise the area, if the niche conditions that have been created are an appropriate for their survival. The southerly facing beaches receive more light and heat energy, therefore decreasing the time in which it takes for the succession to reach its climatic climax vegetation. This is because the increased heat energy results in more photosynthesis taking place, as photosynthesis needs carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to occur. As a result, the plant has more energy and so the root systems develop at a fast rate, weathering the rock. In this particular example, the physical factors have a great effect on the development of the lithosere as its development is regulated by factors such as climate, relief of land and pH of the environment. A plagioclimax is when human activity interferes with the succession of a sere and prevents it from reaching its climatic climax vegetation. Human activity which causes a plagioclimax to occur could be deforestation, animal grazing or fire clearance. Conversely, it is not just human activity that can result in a plagioclimax. Natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions can also result in a plagioclimax being reached. However, if the plagioclimax is reached as a result of physical activity then it is generally not maintained and secondary succession can occur, which is when plants develop on land that has previously been vegetated. An example of a plagioclimax is the heather moorland in the North York Moors. The North York Moors were once covered in woodland, and heather would have featured in very small quantities. However, as a result of sheep grazing and deforestation, the regrowth of the climatic climax vegetation has been prevented and now heather is the dominant species. To control the uplands and encourage new heather shoots, managed burning is employed every 15 years, a technique that eliminates the less fire resistant species, allowing heather to dominate and conserves as many nutrients as possible. To conclude, I think that both physical and human factors play a significant role in accounting for changes in vegetation over time in the British Isles. However, I feel that physical factors have a greater impact in the long term that human factors, as physical factors are such that they generally change the environment or habitat on a permanent basis, such as climate change. Nevertheless, I believe that human factors play a significant role in changes to vegetation over time, but I feel that human intervention is not as long term as a change made as a result of physical factors because humans generally have the control and power to continuously change the environment and possibly restore it back to the way in which it was originally, whereas physical factors are not controlled.

Berawan death practices

Death is not only a physical process, but a social and spiritual paradigm infused by a culture's specific ‘beliefs, emotions and activities which give it its distinctive character' (Hertz 1907, p. 197). Facing another culture's beliefs around death can be confronting, often creating ethnocentric reactions and cultural misconceptions. Comparing American and Aberrant death practices highlights how these rites, and the spiritual beliefs underlying them, can appear horrifying when viewed only from the observer's own cultural paradigm.Anthropologist Peter A. Metcalf observed the practices of the Aberrant tribe, found along Borer's north-central waterways, including the tribe's four-stage funeral rites (Metcalf 1993, p. 325). The first stage lasts two to ten days and includes ‘rites performed immediately after death' (Metcalf 1993, p. 325). The second stage, eight months to several years In duration (Metcalf 1993, p. 325), sees the corpse stored on a platform or in the communal residence with the remains contained in a coffin, earthenware Jar or similar vessel (Metcalf 1993, p. 5). During this period the corpse decomposes, allowing the soul's transformation to ‘perfect spirit' (Metcalf 1993, p. 326). However during this period the soul lurks close by, restless and uneasy, spreading the risk of Illness to the living and the possibility of corpse reanimation by an evil spirit (Metcalf 1993, p. 326). During the third stage, which Hertz referred to as the great feast' (Metcalf 1993, p. 326), the remains are brought into the residence and guests celebrate the deceased for six to ten days (Metcalf 1993, p. 325).The bones ay be removed and cleaned in preparation for the fourth stage – the decease's final burial wherein the physical remains are housed in a receptacle of value, such as a glazed Jar or wooden coffin, with that receptacle accommodated in a large mausoleum; safe in the knowledge the soul had transcended (Metcalf 1993, p. 325). American f uneral practices, by contrast, alma to preserve the body appearance (Hertz 1907, p. 201); embalming fluids replace bodily fluids, Injections fatten gaunt corpses, cosmetics enhance skin color, padded coffins give Impressions of a peaceful, endless slumber (Metcalf 1 993, p. 27). The American death,'afterlife transition is perceived as immediate, with little time between death and spiritual judgment (Hertz 1907, p. 197). In contrast, the Brawn's soul must await the body decomposition – and transformation – before beginning its journey to the afterlife (Hertz 1907, p. 202). Only when dry bones remain, is the soul ready (Metcalf 1993, p. 326). American practices offer horrifying outcomes for the Aberrant exemplar.For a body not given appropriate time for full decomposition and a premature final burial, ‘death ill not be fully consummated, the soul will not leave the earth, the mourning of the living will not be ended' (Hertz 1907, p. 204). The American rites suspend the deceased In a limbo between life and death – the period the soul Is most discontent, still with great capacity to affect the living through illness. During this time potential America is a land carpeted with potential zombies', all awaiting reanimation via the evil spirits that exist in Aberrant culture (Metcalf 1993, p. 26). With such a spiritual intent it can be understood why Aberrant are horrified by their belief the American culture traps a soul at the point of greatest unhappiness, dooming them to restlessly wander eternally; the dead never finding peace and the living never progressing past grief and mourning. The Aberrant-American comparison demonstrates that to fully comprehend a culture's significant, spiritual customs one must first seek to understand the social, spiritual and cultural paradigms surrounding those customs.

Operations Performance Objectives

1. OPERATIONS PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES In accordance with Slack, Chambers and Johnston, performance objectives is a generic set of performance and indicators that can be used to set the objectives or judge the performance of any type of operation. In this context, there are five key most objectives that can or will be used to help improve the operations of a service industry (Dental health care as stated earlier). a)Quality Quality can be defined in so many ways. In simpler terms we will describe it as the element in a product that rises above the other and is able to satisfy the needs/specifications of a consumer and has some high value attached to it. Quality in operations performance objectives for a dental health care ensures that most appropriate treatment is delivered and that customers are all treated with courtesy (getting value for their money). This entails doing the right thing at the right time and meeting customer specifications, which leaves them satisfied. b)Speed Speed is defined as the elapsed time between customers’ placing orders and the goods/services being delivered to them. With speed, it means that the delivery of the service required is done within the shortest possible time. For example the time it takes for the dentist to screen the teeth of the patient to the time he gives an answer of what his findings are should be reduced and acceptable to the customer. In turn, this reduces likeliness of lagging behind and not being able to finish attending to all the patients in time. It does impact positively on the improvement of operations when time is highly considered. As the cliche goes, ‘time is money and time wasted is never gained, so use it wisely. ’ )Dependability Dependability is the delivery or making available of goods/services when they were promised to customers. It can also be defined as staying true to one’s word and trustworthiness. In this context it would mean avoiding cancellations of appointments with customers. It really pays highly to an organization for customers to know that they can depend on the services provide d to them at that particular organization. It helps in creating rapport with the customers, hence allowing for them to even encourage other people to come and seek for services from you. d)Flexibility This is the degree to which an operations process can change what it does, how it is done and when it is done. When something’s flexible, it simply means that there is room for change or adjustments. In this case, it means that the service industry (dental health care) should be ready to introduce new treatments and/or have many more treatment to match up to the customers’ ever changing and varying demands. This helps the industry to expand. e)Cost Cost can be defined as the monetary value attached to the services/goods provided and also attached to the production or offering of that good/service. Cost helps to identify how operation scan be run at a more affordable price right for the marketplace the industry operates in and be able to achieve good profit margins. To the producer or service provider, the lower the cost of production the means lower the prices for the customers, which means more savings. In conclusion, â€Å"performance objectives are the key to unlocking any communications or performance initiative. The answer is the foundation and structure of your work on any project: the performance objective. † Document Information Design Inc. 2004.

Indifference Curve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Indifference Curve - Essay Example The list of indifference curves associated with different utility level is called an Indifference Map. The rational consumer prefers the higher or right most, Indifference curve, since they represent combinations of goods providing higher utility levels. The slope of the indifference curve is called the marginal rate of substitution. It is the rate at which consumers are willing to give up one good in exchange for more of the other good. For most goods the marginal rate of substitution is not constant so their indifference curves are curved. Indifference curves are typically assumed to have the following features: Today's Economy is market driven where customer is the king. The market price is determined by forces of 'Demand and Supply'. To excel in the market, the firms must asses the demand of the customer. Consumer theory uses indifference curves and budget constraints to produce consumer demand curves. A budget constraint shows the consumer's purchase opportunities as every combination of two goods that can be bought at given prices using a given amount of income. Consumer's optimal combination of goods to consume is the amount that maximizes his utility subject to his/her budget constraint.

MicroEconomics Supply and Demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MicroEconomics Supply and Demand - Essay Example The world’s leading brands are accessing the Japanese departmental stores to sell their limited edition products. The sales of chocolates in the Valentine season pick up like anything. Primary Economic Elements The soaring demand for chocolates in Japan near the Valentine season presents a positive opportunity for the local and international Chocolatiers. It is not that the Japanese are particularly fond of chocolates. In general, the Japanese are not avid chocolate fans and their panache for the local delicacy â€Å"Wagashi† does tend to have precedence over chocolates. However, the Valentine’s-Day celebrations are a different thing. The contemporary Japanese youth closely associates the Valentine season with love and romance and the consumption of chocolates registers an exceptional spike in the Valentine’s season. Not only the local Chocolatiers do their best to profit from this surge in chocolate consumption, but the Chocolatiers hailing from around th e world, including Belgium, Switzerland and other European countries do know well that during this time of the year, the price is not a big consideration for the local chocolate lovers. The demand for chocolates in Japan during the two weeks preceding the Valentine’s-Day augments to the extent that it is getting really difficult for the suppliers to import and manufacture a commensurate stock. Most of the malls and departmental stores do run out of stock just a few days before the Valentine’s-Day. The sales of chocolate that rest at a conservative monthly average of 34 billion yen during the regular season incredulously soar to 55 billion yen during the valentine season. People do not hesitate to buy boxes of chocolates costing as high as 28, 350 yen or $ 340. The Chocolatiers play on the fantasies of the consumers by offering variations like chocolate doll houses and even chocolate furniture costing 10, 000 yen a piece. The foreign and local Chocolatiers leave no ston e unturned to accrue sales from niche segments that have a particular predilection for â€Å"Kawaii† chocolate, exchanged amongst women as a part of a local custom, comprising of a menagerie of chocolate animals like chickens, flying pigs, bugs and bunnies. This trend for chocolate is expected to become stronger in the times to come. The global players in the chocolate business have already taken cognizance of this fact. Graphical Analysis During the regular season, the demand for chocolate in Japan, as any other perishable consumer good is price elastic and follows the classic law of demand. As the Price of chocolate increases from P to P’, the demand for chocolate falls from D to D’. Besides, people start opting for local substitutes like Wagashi. Price of Chocolate P’ P D1 D’ D Units of Chocolate During the Valentine season, the things are different. The increase in the demand for chocolates moves the demand curve up along the supply curve from D1 to D2. This movement along the supply curve gives way to a new equilibrium price. This not only leads to an increase in the price of chocolates, but also results in a commensurate increase in the demand for chocolates. The Chocolatiers can benefit from this situation by pouring in more supplies in the Japanese markets. Price of Chocola

Comparing and contrasting the Frye standard, [Frye vs. United States Term Paper

Comparing and contrasting the Frye standard, [Frye vs. United States (293 F. 1013 (DC Cir 1923)], with the Daubert standard [Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (509 U.S. 579 (1993) - Term Paper Example s called â€Å"Fyre in drag.† Problems have come up with this standard, due to the fact that it has led to eyebrows being raised regarding the vitality of the standard and on its flexibility to be able to adjust to different situations and fresh and new scientific matters, where "general" or "widespread" approval is not gathered. Conversely, whether fresh or new, supposedly scientific matters are issues of significance to the court have been quizzed. As a substitute to this standard, many law courts apply Rule 702 of the  Federal Rules of Evidence, as the basis for professional testimony and scientific evidence. In my essay I will provide an explanation of how courts view science and how that view has changed over the last century. I will make also make a prediction of future evidentiary issues for forensic evidence and explain whether forensic evidence in criminal investigations and trials will increase or decrease over the next two decades.   Jason Daubert and Eric Schuller were born with abnormal birth problems that relate to the physicality of the body. Both them together with their real parents had decided to take legal action against Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc, which is a branch of Dow Chemical Company, which is solely situated in some state court in the state of California in the United states of America, They believed that a specific drug in the name of Bendectin had caused the birth abnormalities. Merrell Dow thus transferred the case to federal court, and then made the move for Summary judgment owing to the fact that their legal committee submitted records indicating that no published scientific research and experimentation pointed out a connection between Bendectin and birth abnormalities. Daubert and Schuller, forwarded their professional evidence formulated by themselves which postulated that Bendectin might cause abnormalities resulting from the birth process. In the case in the year 1923, Frye vs united states, 293 F1013(D.C Cir 1923), the

Whether the prisoner can be tortured to obtain the information needed Essay

Whether the prisoner can be tortured to obtain the information needed - Essay Example Terrorists are a group of people dedicated to a cause who perform an unconventional act of violence against civilians for political gain. While Prisoners of War can be held without answering any questions except for name, rank and serial number, terrorists are criminals. Terrorists need to be captured and brought to trial. If American troops capture the terrorist, they need to be sent back to American to be tried. If a foreign government or army captures a terrorist, the American government should follow the extradition laws of the foreign government. In the case of the captured number two Al Qaeda terrorist, he should be questioned. If he refuses to talk, this terrorist must be sent to a federal prison to await trial. He should not be tortured, but the terrorist does not necessarily have the rights of an American citizen. That means they can be held in the comfort of a federal prison for an undetermined length of time, until a trial can be arranged. That is not torture. Torture is defined as anything that causes pain to punish or coerce. It would be unethical to withhold medical attention from a terrorist. The use of beating, punching or any other physical means of torture would also be wrong. It is also wrong to withhold food and water from a prisoner. Now psychological torture is different. Loud noises, bright lights, isolating a prisoner or even having the prisoner remain nude is humane. Americans employ these methods against unruly prisoners in America. These psychological methods will not permanently harm a terrorist. So they could be used against the number two Al Qaeda man to find out information. Victims and the victim’s families of 9/11 might disagree with giving a terrorist any rights. If the 9/11 tragedy could have been prevented by torture, some would argue that the means would justify the end. In a perfect world this argument would be true. If American Intelligent was a perfected science, where the military would know

Theology and arts reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theology and arts reflection paper - Essay Example This is due to their perceived insubordination to the government, which is attributed to their subscription to an alien Westernized culture. Apparently this culture is synonymously equated with the Christian faith (EndÃ…  and Johnston 31). The persecution of the foreign missionaries alongside their Japanese Christian faithful is thus traced back to the Japanese emperor’s concern about the Christianized Japanese inequality loyalty. This is in favor of the foreign Christian emissaries and to the defiance of the government’s directives. In addition, Japanese cultural ethnicity had a cognitively entrenched religious identity in form of Buddhism, which formed part of the Japanese ethnic identity (EndÃ…  and Johnston 18). Contrarily, Christianity challenged some of the religious ordinances of the Japanese tradition such as Buddhism due to their contravention with Christianity dogma teaching against idolatry. This was subsequently viewed as an attempt by the Japanese ethnic conservatism to obliterate and substitute Japanese ethnicity with Western European identity. On the other hand, the film â€Å"Mission† posits a purely evangelization missionary approach aimed at spreading Christianity as an integral part of the South American Gulani community cultural identity. The evangelism aspect of the missionary work amongst the Gulani community is exhibited by the mutual and harmonious coexistence between Christians and non-Christians groups. In addition, challenges to the Christian faith within the Gulani community exclusively come from forces outside the Gulani’s geopolitical locality such as the Portuguese. This is accompanied with minimum or no resistance experienced within the community’s multiethnic groups (Morricone). Evangelism missionary approach amongst the Gulani community is thus directed towards the exclusive substitution of the pagan religious dogma of the

Bioethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bioethics - Research Paper Example This is exciting for scientists because being able to harvest these cells means that there would be ways in which organs and disorders could be fixed. However, the highest concentrations of stem cells are found in developing embryos because they are still growing and developing. There are clearly ethical parameters regarding this due to the sensitivity of the use of unborn embryos and fetuses for scientific research. This stems from the religious and political conservatives that believe that these types of matters are crossing into a domain in which humans should not have direct control over. Even though there is much opposition to stem cell research, I think that it is the future of the evolution of biomedical science. Because stem cells have no pre-existing programming and can be turned into anything, it could eliminate cancer by replacing cancer cells with healthy cells. In addition, they could be used in gene therapy to rewrite damaged code or mutated code. In order to harvest th e cells, I believe scientists should be able to take them from aborted fetuses and adults. In this way, it is not taking away the natural rights of the unborn individual and it is making use of biological material that would otherwise be discarded. Instead, it can be used to save lives.

Understanding of ethics and ethical understanding of life event or Essay

Understanding of ethics and ethical understanding of life event or life stage and of the ceremony that celebrates it - Essay Example This article highlights the concept of ethics in its simplest possible form. Many people tend to equate ethics with feelings. They believe that being ethical is like following one's feelings. This is however clearly not true because feelings frequently deviate from what is right. On the other hand ethics should not even be identified with religion. It is true that most religions do preach ethics in the purest form. Many believe in supernaturalism i.e good is what god has ordained. However, we must understand that ethics and observation of moral codes of behaviour are as much a duty of a religious person as that of an atheist or someone who is not that religious for that matter. Therefore ethics is clearly not a factor of religion. Ethics is also not the same as following the law. It is true that more often than not laws regulate ethical conduct in a society. However, laws like feelings can deviate from being right. Lastly, ethics is not about doing whatever the society accepts. Accor ding to the theory of cultural relativism good is equivalent to what is acceptable in the society. Cultural relativism exhorts that ethics is not about objectivity and that they vary from place to place and culture to culture. This is partly correct. However; socially approved is not always good for the following reasons. Standards of behaviour in societies frequently deviate from what the right thing to do is. ... Although it was by no means an ethical thing to dowhen we look at it logically through the eyes of reason. Even though cultural relativists may not agree with this statement and argue that female infanticide was the right thing to do in the context of the Arab culture. It was the accepted norm in the society and few dared to challenge it. In addition to this the lack of social consensus on many issues prevents societal acceptability to become an ethical standard. Therefore it is futile to assume that any of the above mentioned sources of ethics can dictate ethical standards. Another approach to determining ethical standards is that of consequentialism. This theory asserts that an action is good or bad because its results are good or bad. Thereby the morality of a certain behaviour or conduct is determined by its results. More simply put the ends justify the means. Consequentialists would consider Robin Hood to be ethical because he was stealing for a good cause. However, there is a catch in this theory. It completely disregards means. Although I believe that means are as important as the ends. If you are collecting money through unfair means and giving it for charity, you are by no means being ethical because your means are wrong. Ethical behaviour should comprise both the right means and the right ends. Only then can conduct be classified as truly ethical and right.( Gensler.H, 1998) Other than this many believe that intuition is the perfect judge of right and wrong. Most moral judgements can be made by relying on one's intuition and that there are certain objective moral truths which are universally acceptable. The basic moral truths are thereby though to be evident to

IT Professional Responsibilities toward the Society Essay

IT Professional Responsibilities toward the Society - Essay Example Nevertheless, metadata can be dangerous if the document gets passed on to others electronically. This can happen, for instance, during the submission of an electronic document into a court, distribution of the documents among the adverse groups, or during the document’s circulation to the opposing counsel during negotiations. â€Å"The document’s metadata may contain hidden information that the sender would not want to share with the recipients, such as comments on revisions or the time and by whom the comments were made† (Day et al., 2008, p. 12). Computing professionals assume this responsibility to be very careful in their handling of the metadata for their own safety, safety of their coworkers, and of the whole society. The responsibilities of the computing professionals extend beyond compliance with the policies and goals of their company to include the interests of the society at large. â€Å"Lack of security awareness and training, operating system design and security, open source issues, design complexity and multiple layer approach are some of the current issues with ICT† (Beqiri, n.d.). Computing professionals need to have a firm hold over all these areas to secure the information whose leakage may put the future of the society in the hands of the enemies. The responsibility of computing professionals toward members of their profession and the society translates into the broader area of business ethics. Over the passage of time, organizations have become quite experienced and informed about the delicate nature of information technology issues. This has brought a change in the employers’ attitude toward what skills they want in the information technology professionals. â€Å"When employers of newly qualified information systems professionals are asked what it is they would most like them to know, the answer is very rarely