Relationship Diversity

A look into the deferent variations of relationships] APRIL 9, 2014 [PROOF. MCCRACKEN] Soc. SSL. 17 ? Human Sexuality Duffer 1 Marina M. Duffer April 9, 2014 Human Sexuality m{oh learn to like someone when you find out what makes them laugh, but you can never truly love someone until you find out what makes them cry. † Finding someone that completes you Is never an easy task. It takes time to find that special person that can make you smile. The one person that understands you completely. During my observations on campus I saw many different types of couples.Many of which seemed to be pure Infatuations. There are seven different types of relationships. The first is consummate, which is a type that is high on the levels of passion, commitment, and intimacy. The second is an infatuated couple, one that is purely passion. Then there is fatuous which is high on both passion and commitment. The fourth is an empty relationship, which is pure commitment. This means that this certain t ype of couple does not need a big amount of passion or intimacy. The last three are all high on intimacy but differ very vaguely. There is compassionate which includes ointment.Romantics which is a mixture of both intimacy and passion. And the last friendship, which Is high purely on intimacy. The one thing that I noticed with most of the couples that were under Infatuated relationships Is that they were young. Well between their early twenties and their mid-twenties. They were somewhat Inseparable. High on passion and life Itself. Nothing, for what it seems can tear these two apart. The newly formed couples. The ones that are still in the honeymoon stage. Duffer 2 The couples that were put into the consummate category were those that have been aired for a while and the long-term couples.These are in full commitment to each other and are still in high light though they have their down sides but they stay fully strong. They are full of passion and intimacy as well as committed to one another. The romantics and the compassionate groups are somewhat similar, in which they are high on Intimacy. But, they differ in which romantics are high on passion. The compassionate couples are high on commitment. These couples range from friends who convert into couples or people who arrange an agreement to be with each other. Woo groups may end up in disarray.What was supposed to begin without emotions ends up being a love affair. The friendship group, which is high on Just intimacy only. This is a special group. They share secrets and intimate details about each other. They are the group that I believe to be the greatest on of them all. No matter what you throw at them they know how to deal with every issue. Even with all these issues they still keep that sense of friendship. That sense of honesty and trust. The empty group, which is only high on commitment levels, is actually not so empty at all.They share a love that does not require and sense of romance, passion, or intima cy. They with each other to last with each other. They are an open couple who can laugh and smile. But not need anything more. They live off of each other's happiness and not the way their body looks or feels. My observations have showed me a different perspective on relationships and where they can lead. They are such a beautiful thing to cherish and keep. They are obscure and complicated. Two people sharing different qualities and characteristics is Just an amazing and wonderful.

Affirmative Action Essay

Affirmative Action has remained one of the most controversial social issues of our time. Aggressive non-discrimination was the original intention, but it soon became clear that merely promising not to discriminate would have little effect on the racial bias in our society. My own opinion was first formed by my father and influenced by the conservative environment in which I lived. Since then, I have experienced a much broader view of American society. I have heard many different opinions on affirmative action from all aspects of our culture and I have changed my mind. The roots of affirmative action can be traced back to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, where legislation redefined public and private behavior. The act states that to discriminate in private is legal, but anything regarding business or public discrimination is illegal (Affirmative† 13). There are two instances when opposing affirmative action might seem the wrong thing to do. First, the nobility of the cause to help others. Second, affirmative action was a great starter for equality in the work place. The case against affirmative action ests heavily on myth and misunderstanding, and following illustrates that an absence of affirmative action in today’s society will only reinforce racial injustice. Myth 1: The only way to create a color-blind society is to adopt color-blind policies. Although this statement sounds unthinkingly possible, the reality is that colorblind policies often put racial minorities at a disadvantage. For instance, color-blind seniority system tends to protect white workers against job layoffs, because senior employees are usually white (Ezorsky, 1991). Myth 2: Affirmative action has not succeeded in increasing female and minority representation. Several studies have documented important gains in racial and gender equality as a direct result of affirmative action (Bowen & Bok, 1998; Murrell & Jones, 1996). For example, affirmative action has helped five million minorities and six million whites and minority women to be promoted in the workplace. The effect of the affirmative action program previously documented show important gains in racial and gender equality according to, Roger Clegg of the Academic Search Premier. America is known as the land of opportunity. However, it became evident that â€Å"opportunity† was only available to white men. Later, laws were passed to ensure equal opportunity regardless of race, sex, and religion. These affirmative action laws were set in place by our government with the intent of correcting the social evil known as prejudice; but in doing so, they created a monster. Affirmative action has become an ineffective, outdated, and socially harmful policy that is weakening our great nation. Should Affirmative Action be mended or ended? Affirmative action is an attempt to correct unequal distribution of benefits (status, income and wealth, power and authority,) and burdens associated with ethnic and gender differences. When we become citizens of this nation, at birth or otherwise, we get a warranty. That warranty is supposed to be honored by every government franchise in every village and hamlet of this nation. It is non transferable, and it is good for the life of the vehicle. We are guaranteed the right to vote, the right to due process; the right to be free, not to be enslaved, as long as we conduct ourselves in accordance with the laws of our nation; and the right to equal treatment under the law, regardless of our race, color, sex, religion national origin. These are rights which attach to us as individuals, not as members of a group. Affirmative action has its roots in that passion for fairness. When President Lyndon Johnson explained affirmative action to the nation, it is significant that he said,’ You can’t bring a man to the starting line who has been hobbled by chains and expect him to run the race competitively. ‘ Fairness dictated that the nation pursue affirmative action to compensate black Americans for the wrong that had been done. Affirmative action was a technique for jump-starting the process of integrating black Americans into the fabric of American society, for changing the culture of America from an exclusive society into an inclusive one. I will never abandon my faith that America can become Ronald Reagan’s â€Å"shining city on the hill,† a society in which a person’s gender or race or ethnic background are irrelevant in the transactions of their government. Let us not mourn the death of affirmative action. Instead, let us proclaim our belief that the spirit of equal opportunity, which affirmative action engendered, has become a permanent fixture of America’s social, economic, and political landscape. Let us have faith in our own sense of fair play and keep affirmative action alive. Efficiency is important to the success of any machine, including economic machines. Affirmative action increases diversity, but it does so at a cost. The cost is that it promotes racism indirectly by focusing on differences. I have a better idea. The main goal behind affirmative action is to promote unity and efficiency. So the question is what is the best way to do that? One way, is to simply provide unity incentives. Instead of punishing qualified white males, we should instead provide incentives to white males to promote diversity and unity. The best way to do this is to use the tax system. Greater unity should mean lower taxes, meaning tax incentives to anyone who promotes unity. The more women you hire, the lower your taxes. The more minorities you hire, the lower your taxes. If your business is diverse according to guidelines, you should actually be able to earn money for promoting diversity and unity. Affirmative action is wrong; you should not punish qualified employees. You should instead reward shareholders, CEO’s, and the corporation itself for doing what is rational, and in the best interest of the bottom line. So one replacement for affirmative action could be unity tax deductions. Another replacement for affirmative action could be unity credits, where individuals who choose to run their business or give to charities which promote unity, can actually receive credits for doing so and abolish affirmative action. That great American pastime—baseball—is a reminder of the intensity of our passion for fairness as we encourage the crowd to ‘kill the umpire’ if he makes what we consider an unfair call. As we drive home at the end of the day, our hands gripping the steering wheel, our bumper kissing the one ahead, when to our right a vehicle speeds along the curb and merges ahead of us at the moment when an opening appears, our passion for fairness surfaces. The protrusion of one of our fingers signals our belief that one of the rules of fairness has been violated. In every sport I can think of—baseball, basketball, football, tennis—one is expected to play between the white lines. To do otherwise is unfair and carries a penalty. The problem with affirmative action is that it singles out a particular ethnic subsection of the lower class, while leaving many deserving people behind solely because of their heritage. Instead, this society should focus on raising the bar for all members of the lower and middle class who wish to educate themselves and better their economic, intellectual and cultural positions in life. We should do this by providing more lower class young adults of all colors and creeds with inexpensive higher education. I strongly believe that only when affirmative action is unnecessary and outmoded should we abolish it. We should not destroy our current solution without creating a newer, better one. In conclusion, affirmative action policies, as they exist right now, are ineffective, outdated, hypocritical, and harmful. On the other hand, affirmative action is the best thing since peanut butter, where all people of all race can enjoy a good sandwich. Though all of these may be argued well by both sides, this last point is indisputable. Affirmative Action, no matter how it is explained, rationalized, justified, or disguised, will still be the center of social issues in our time and the time to come.

Skin Deep Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Skin Deep - Essay Example A recent newspaper article in the New York Times by Natasha Singer, dated October 4, 2007, titled "SKIN DEEP; Is the 'Mom Job' Really Necessary" reveals an interesting trend in this regard. This essay shall analyze the mentioned article and study its relevance, and the way in which the article corresponds to the ideas and issues discussed by Emma Goldman in "Love and Marriage" and "Woman Suffrage." The essay shall argue that, while the article is well presented in terms of the main argument, the limitation of the article is that the empirical evidences cited by Singer do not present the dangers of the surgical treatment adequately. The article is indeed very relevant to the thoughts expressed by Goldman. Natasha Singer reports about the cosmetic changes that are brought about in a women's body by means of plastic surgery. She discusses the work of Dr. Stoker in California, who promises a "surgical cure for the ravages of motherhood" called "Mommy makeover." Singer sets the reader thinking with her title "Skin Deep; Is the Mom Job Really Necessary" Providing adequate information about what the surgery actually does on the women who go in for the treatment, and why women agree to take the treatment in the words of Dr. Stoker, Singer then begins her attack on such extreme steps taken by women, despite the involved risks of high cost and danger to life. The main argument of Singer as can be understood in two parts: a) women who had altered bodies after childbirth, lost their self-esteem regarding their attractiveness and femininity because of the changed definition of beauty in modern times, with media pressure exacerbating the problem. b) They resorted to the readily available technology to modify their bodies in order to fulfill their cosmetic aspirations even at the risk of hefty expenditure, and danger to life. Singer supports first part of her argument well, and the cost factor in the second part. She states that "narrowing beauty norms are recasting the transformations of motherhood as stigma" and examines the role of the media in accentuating the situation: "...unforgiving standards are the offspring of pop culture and technologyGossip magazines excoriate celebrity moms who don't immediately lose their ''baby weight'' a luxury parenting magazinedescribed post-pregnancy breasts as ''the ultimate indignity'' and promoted implant surgery;" (Singer 1) Citing Diana Zuckerman, the president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, Singer further supports her argument of pressurized mothers, stating that the "the post-pregnancy body" was transformed ''into a socially unacceptable thing," (Singer 1) to suit the marketing goals of plastic surgeons, who could profit from the operations. She provides statistics from the Society of Plastic Surgeons, to point to the increasing numbers - "325,000 ''mommy makeover procedures'' on women ages 20 to 39, up 11 percent from 2005" (Singer 2). Singer cites Dr. Stoker and Dr. Huffaker to give the reader of the cost -ranging from $10,000-30,000. However, the empirical evidences of the women operated, like "Katie Helein" and "Ms. Sharlotte Birkland" (Singer 3) presents only the positive side of the

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

Group reflection paper - Essay Example Moreover, a member who does not work is quite noticeable in a small group so that every individual is forced to give some output in order avoid criticisms. In addition, quality work is more assured in a small group for similar reasons therefore, small group concepts are widely used in schools and other institutions. The first phase of decision emergence theory was quite obvious is the group of Cuisine Queens during which, there was quite a tension among us, not knowing much about each other. When we were getting acquainted with each member, there was a high degree of politeness and consideration, each wanting to show respect and hoping the same to be given by the other member of the group. The group had to make clear the goals and procedures of the activity to avoid misunderstanding among us. We agreed on our topic and we decided to work individually on the questionnaire before we continue with the interviews as a group. Questions were raised to clarify matters that seemed vague. Everyone seemed to be satisfied with the results of this stage because the process went on smoothly and we were able to make new friends. During the second phase, some conflicts sprouted because of individual differences. As the group was getting more acquainted and comfortable with each other, reservations were minimized and there were some who spoke their thoughts openly. There could have been no problem about this if all the members agreed on just one opinion but just like in every group, there were differing opinions that were presented. In addition, the attitudes of each member became more evident so that the group was able to choose on a leader who should be responsible in keeping the group on track. During the emergence stage, our group improved from arguing to being more focused on achieving goals. Some who earlier had strong oppositions turned to a compromised attitude in order to finish the task and perhaps for the reason that things have been made clear that one

Recycling in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Recycling in the US - Essay Example It should however be noted that all this developments in waste management took place against the backdrop of lack of mandatory legislations on recycling. Consequently, states like New York, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Hawaii among others introduced measures to popularize and enforce recycling as a waste management strategy. Through legislations, disposal of recyclable wastes was penalized and the offenders had to part with heavy fines. Keywords: recycling, waste materials, legislations Recycling in the United States of America Recycling entails collecting and processing materials that would otherwise end up in trash. The recycling process converts such material into new products. As such, recycling is very beneficial to both the community and the environment. Many countries across the globe have embraced the concept of recycling. For instance, the United States has been in the frontline in ensuring that recycling is done in an effective way. As much as there lack any federal law that mandates recycling in the United States, various states and local government have taken it upon themselves to institute a wide range of recycling requirements and procedures. Various states have established law oversee the recycling of various products. In a nutshell, mandatory and voluntary methods were employed in implementing the introduction and adoption of recycling. While the mandatory strategy drew its backing from compulsory laws and regulations, voluntary techniques were enforced without coercion and were built around winning the goodwill of concerned parties and letting them participate at will. Many states employ the two strategies combined in order to increase the avenue for effective waste management and so far the results are tremendous. The country has lived to see trucks which collect garbage being combined with waste processing trucks to speed up the recycling of unwanted materials Waste management is currently a burning issue as the world dawns to the harsh realities of global warming together with the ever changing climatic patterns. Many conventions and declarations have been made to try reversing the trend but still there remains a substantive work to be done (Pellow, 2007).Garbage has been identified as a contributor to this threat to sustainable human, animal and plant life on the planet earth. The question then comes to how best can these wastes disastrous as they are be managed with the least of resources to attain an efficient pollution free environment? It is upon this basis that recycling as a waste management technique comes in. This presentation critically looks at the advantages and disadvantages of employing it as a waste management strategy in the United States of America (Pellow, 2007). Advantages of Recycling It promotes the conservation of scarce natural resources. Due to their limited availability, resources like timber, minerals and water need to be protected from depletion as they play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of life and minimizing conflicts that may result from the scramble for the little available resources. Trees play a crucial role in the gaseous exchange of the ecosystem besides providing ground cover and protecting water catchments. Water is a necessity of life for both the flora and fauna. Its absence or limited presence thus poses a great risk to the environment. Minerals are limited in supply meaning their continued extraction leaves nothing. It is thus

Short answers about Introduction to Political Economy Essay - 2

Short answers about Introduction to Political Economy - Essay Example Another cause of monopolies occurs when one firm expands to the point where it has tremendous economies of scale; other competitors drop out of the market because they cannot compete. Companies are likely to collude with each other if there are very few firms in an industry. Because of this, a change in one firm is likely to result in a change in another firm so that market forces remain the same. On the other hand, companies are likely to compete with each other when there is free market economy that allows consumers to pick and choose from many different companies. Regulations can cause a huge shift in the market, particularly in the labor market. When the government stipulates that employees must certain type of social security, employers have to respond to those changes. This can often mean that a business downsizes because it cannot afford to employ the same number of workers. Regulations primarily stifle business because of all the extra red tape that comes along with it. Capture theory stipulates that a government agency may allow the industry that it is charge of to dictate policy that favors the industry as a whole. On the other hand, public-interest theory deals with the interest of consumers. For example, when the market is not efficient as it could be, a regulatory body can act to make changes in regulations. The abolition of private property and the application of all rent to public purpose is designed for zoning laws that allow the government to own property. Progressive income tax makes all Americans pay their fair share. The abolition of all rights of inheritance offers limited inheritance through tax statues. Confiscation of property of rebels allows the government to seize property belonging to terrorist groups. Centralizing the credit system gives the state control over loans. Centralizing communication and transport allows the state to set regulations. Corporate capacity allows land to be improved. Equal labor

The creation and consumption of Pornography objectifies women Research Paper

The creation and consumption of Pornography objectifies women - Research Paper Example To objectify means to present or regard as an object. While the pornographic industry has presented women as objects, it is equally guilty of degrading women and belittling their status in the eyes of men, especially those who are subscribers to pornographic magazines. Back in the days before pornography was so rampant, social attitudes towards sex were that it was a deeply personal subject and public displays and discussions about it were strictly taboo. Then came the Golden Age of Porn, a period lasting from the 1960s to the 1980s, in which there was a movement for sexual liberation following the Flower Power revolution. ‘Make Love, Not War’ was a popular message on T-Shirts from the Woodstock era. It opened the way to live-ins and the love-child. Opportunists like Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt saw a quick and easy way to make big bucks out of the changing scenario. Playboy was launched in 1953 and Hustler in 1974, making both of them millionaires in the process. Although there have been efforts to suppress pornography and the victimization of women from many quarters, the foremost objections coming from religious leaders, feminists and moralists, the evolution of the Internet, the profusion of media types and the effects of pornography’s rich contribution to the media industry have been some of the reasons even the Government is reluctant to take steps to stop this billion dollar industry (Schlosser, ‘Reefer Madness’, 32). It has been estimated that on the average, 70 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 34 years visit a pornographic website, a store or a brothel in a typical month. The sad thing is that the profusion of pornographic sites on the Internet has brought this evil right into our homes without much public outcry at all. Try as we might, pornography will prevail. The outrage is that not only do pornographic magazines demean women, they also help create sex offenders and weirdos by

Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government Essay

Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government - Essay Example It was, however, Charles Louis de Montesquieu who clearly defined the three branches of government and laid down the basics of the concept of separation of powers. Some countries being underpinned by the concept of separation of powers, like the United States, have written constitutions that clearly laid out and allocated the various powers and functions of the government to the different branches (Barnett pp. 105-106). This is not so in the United Kingdom. The UK Constitution does not consist of a single, written document but rather of various uncodified laws scattered in several documents like statutes, court decisions and treaties and unwritten ones like customs and conventions. A strict separation of powers normally divides separate powers and functions and allows them to the three branches government: the executive; Parliament, and; the judiciary. In the UK, the components of the three branches of governments usually share powers held by other branches in a mixed government fash ion. Eric Barendt, however, author of the book Separation of Powers does not believe that the UK necessarily has a weaker constitution because of this disparity. He believes that â€Å"the separation of powers should not be explained in terms of a strict distribution of functions between the three branches of government, but in terms of a network of rules and principles which ensure that power is not concentrated in the hands of one branch.† The UK government, like other democratic governments, has three major institutions, all exercising various functions and powers and sometimes sharing the powers of the other branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The executive department is made up the Crown and the central government, the latter of which is composed of the Prime Minister and his/her Cabinet Ministers. The central government is accountable to Parliament, which can choose to dissolve it and force a new election of a new set of officials if it believes that circumstances warrant it.  

Investment Strategies Employed by McDonald's Essay

Investment Strategies Employed by McDonald's - Essay Example With every organization expanding their horizons and making an imprint in various markets, the finance department had to put in an extra effort to formulate strategies to reach company’s financial target. So, this paper will focus on the American food major, McDonald’s and will discuss the major successful strategies adopted by it to deal with international finance and investment issues, then evaluate its performance overall in relation to those financial issues and finally will pick up the potential challenges it could face in the 21st century in the financial segment of its functioning.   McDonald’s, the world’s largest chain of fast-food restaurants, went through ups and downs in its 60 years of functioning, in every aspect of the organization including the financial aspects. Financial aspects, which are the lifeline of any organization, needed to be handled or solved first for the organization to succeed or even survive. In the case of McDonald’s, financial issues have not given any major troubles before 2000. After early 2000 only, McDonald’s faced financial problems and that only led to the implementation of various strategies, which turned out be successful. One of the successful strategies adopted by McDonald’s to deal with its international finance and investment issues is its â€Å"Plan to Win† strategy. Using this strategy, McDonald’s brought wholesome changes, particularly changing the financial issues to the positive side. That is, it introduced new health friendly dishes, refurbished the store’s e nvironment and also signed new celebrities to promote the product and store. â€Å"Plan to Win, a combination of customer-centric initiatives designed to deliver operational excellence and leadership marketing leveraged around five drivers of exceptional customer experiences - people, products, place, price and promotion† (biz.yahoo.com).

Developmental psychology Essay Example for Free

Developmental psychology Essay I have identified a number of themes from both interviews which relate to Jo and Tonys childhood and life experiences and how these have influenced their development and how their childrens lives have differed from their own. Â  Educational influence Educational issues appear to have influenced both Tony and Jo Tony refers to himself as being uneducated: And then I only went to school for a year, after I was eleven. Tony ex plains this was due to the years education he did receive: I had a very interesting year the years education I had was very interesting situation in at a boarding school in Sussex. Where I was I learned a great deal actually. Lines 34-36 He says that other influences had contributed to his education: strange influences, and yes I suppose I am self-educated Ive read an awful lot obviously Lines 40 41 Jo describes her education as being different I went to school in Leeds til I was eight and then I was evacuated. Lines 44 45 I then went to boarding school for the next ten years Lines 46 -47 * Parental influence There are several references to Jo and Tonys views on the important role of parenting, for them this had been through their parents work and religious beliefs: Tony: Victorian Work Ethic in Line 54 Tony and Jo agree that religion was a very big influence from their parents Tony Lines 63 67: Jos mother was brought up as a Methodist and my father was as well. And I think Methodist principles were fairly firmly entrenched. And Yes I think that has, that makes us to a certain extent the sort of people we are. In lines 81 82 Tony talks about which career paths were available to them and ones parents experiences and aspirations certainly entered into it as well In the second interview both Tony and Jo make reference to separation from their fathers because of the war, this appears to be a shared experience for both of them. Jo then compares this with their own childrens experience of separation, their children feared that Tony and Jo would separate like another family that they knew. Jo says that when the children are young it is important to make sacrifices or you adapt Line 122 Interests could be pursued later. She emphasizes this further if you want to nurture and encourage your children, then some one or other had got to stay, perhaps hold back a little to give as much as you can to your children Lines 145 148. Although Jo acknowledges that women have equal rights today in contrast with the past, she believes that in order to provide a nurturing role women should still put their children first. She also talks about the importance of stability for children children like stability. And its the stable base that you make around them that matters more Lines 154 -156 * Social/cultural/historical influence Historical influence has played a part in Jo and Tonys development, the war had a huge impact on them, their fathers went away and there was uncertainty as to whether they would return. The educational opportunities available differed between them, Jo went to school and boarding school but Tony only had one year of education and apart from this was self taught.

SWOT Analysis Of The Post Office Ltd

SWOT Analysis Of The Post Office Ltd The Post Office Ltd in United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Royal Mail Group Ltd, attained its separated identity in 1987 Post Office in UK is quite famous for two main services, first and the obvious one from its name is clear, that it provides the Postal services to its customers. Second reason for its popularity is the Post Office Card Account which is basic account allowing customers to collect benefit payments. There are other services also being provided by the Post Office, which are discussed in brief in the assignment. Today, Post Office has around 11,843 (according to an auditor working for the post office) branches spread around UK, and offer various range of services for its customers. The management of Post Office have been very resourceful in adopting technology as a part of its operational functions, with the new horizon system introduced in the year 2000 (ref), revolutionizing the basic system of serving Post Office customer. As, technology is advancing, traditional manner of Post ing letter is fading away, exposing the entire Post al industry with danger of extinction. Thus, it has now become imperative for the organization like Post Offices to conduct a through SWOT analysis in order to sustain and survive in immensely hi-tech global market. Strengths The Post Office of United Kingdom has to be appraised of its diversified operations. The process of division and diversification can be traced back to the year 1986, when the company got separated and became subsidiary of Royal Mail Group Ltd, to attain its separate identity from mere the once providing the Post al services. The process of diversification was persistent and continuous and today Post Office provides more than 8 different kinds of services to its customer veering from saving and investment, to telephone and from government licenses to bill payments. So, it would be justified to evaluate this diversification of Post Office in different services to be one of its major strength. This diversification helps Post Office to attract a large mass of customer, ranging from men, women and children, old and young as well as business and social. Extensive and Diversified Services The different kind of services that the Post Office provides starts from its Post al services, where the branches accept mail for two collection and delivery divisions i.e. Royal Mail and Parcel Force. In banking services, the Post Office has arrangements with various banking corporations and customer of these banks can use basic services of banks like cash withdrawals and cash deposit. In savings and investment services, the Post Office since long has been an agent of national saving and investment, providing customers with the basic services of depositing money and withdrawals from their saving accounts. For telephone services the Post Office provides home landline telephone services, and also provides top-up for various services networks. Insurance services is quite diversified in itself, as Post Office provides insurance in most of the areas, starting with Car and Van Insurance, Home Insurance, Business Insurance, Life (term) Insurance, Over 50à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s cover (for elderly citizens) pet insurance and its very famous travel insurance. Foreign Exchange services is a very essential service that the Post Office provides, as the customers just walk in to their Post Office and can convert currencies, but not all Post Office branches provide these services. Government Services include providing checking and sending services for passport Offices and the driving license authority (DVLA), and providing fishing and well as road tax. It was important to briefly describe the services the Post Office provides, as it is one of its major strength diversified services for diversified group of people. Post Office has done extremely well in identifying its opportunities in the past and kept on introducing new service lines in its portfolio, this has helped the Post Office to survive in its long journey, and grabbing these opportunities in the past has today become its strength, the Post Office no longer just survives on the Post al services that it provides to its customer, and has successfully made its other services like insurance and license services very profitable. Infrastructure The venture of General Post Office began in the 1660, by Charles II and has eventually evolved as the modern Post Office as we know of today. Today the Post Office has around has 12,000 branches spread widely and all around UK. This major establishment sure has taken time, but today when we evaluate this wide coverage by the Post Office it sure is its true strength. The only word to describe this coverage by the Post Office is National infrastructure. It truly has developed over a period of time a national infrastructure enabling it to reach to each and every customer all around UK. Possessing this national Infrastructure is quite advantageous for the Post Office as it becomes quite effortless to make its new product reachable. This large infrastructure also facilitates more customers spread all around UK. It has also helped the Post Office to reach its customer and for the customers to reach it easily, making them closer and intact with their customers. Weaknesses Improper distribution It is very important for every organization to be able to evaluate its weakness. Weakness is internal interference that becomes hurdle for the organization to achieve its objectives. In case of Post Office the operations have been suffering losses since the year 2006 and the management had to take drastic measures to convert these losses in profit in order to survive. There lies the weakness in its strength of national infrastructure, in the financial year 2008-09 the Post Office had to close down around 2500 Post Offices all around UK in order to reduce the operating expenses of the organization. The organization had around 14,376 branches spread around UK, which got reduced to around 12,000 branches in the year 2009, which shows how the distribution of the Post Offices was unproductive. Unproductive distribution of Post Office resulted in division of customer to a part that it became unprofitable. Questionable customer service quality Out of its extended number of branches which is around 12,000 only 373 are directly owned by the Post Office Ltd. The rest around 98% are either sub-Post Offices or franchise are privately owned. The Post Office has not got any consolidated training system, which would enable its braches to provide consolidate training to its customer advisors. The only training method adopted in Post Office all around UK is the old staff training the new staff, which is certainly not a professional manner of training a staff. Training becomes an important part of working with the Post Office as the system it uses to serve the customer is horizon. It is a very complex hi-tech system, which enable the advisors to reach all its product with ease, but in order to be able to use the system efficiently, a systemized training methodology should be adopted, which is not practised in case of Post Offices. Hence leaving an efficiently trained customer advisor to serve the customer, which certainly reduces its quality of services, and the direct effect of these can be seen with the Post Offices losing its largest footfall customer to highly efficient and quality customer services competitors. Industrial dispute Post Office is a subsidiary of Royal Mail Ltd, which also own Royal Mail, and Parcel Force, which are its collection and delivering division. Royal Mail is been a centre of a number of recent industrial disputes with the Communication Workerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Union. The extended dispute between the management and the staff lasted around 7 months and resulted into the staff going on a number of strikes, which disrupted the business severely. Post Office thrives certainly, but not majorly on its Post al foot fall customer for its other services. There was a enormous decrease in the number of Post al customer, because of the strike called on by CWU, in the year 2009, which makes its internal dispute with the staff a major weakness. The strike carried on by the staff resulted into inefficient delivery of the mails, which makes the customer hunt for another more efficient delivery or courier service provider, hence decreasing its own customer line. Opportunities Extensive range of services enabling cross-selling opportunities Extended customer line of the Post Office, from banking, Postal, investment, insurance, pension, licensing customer and others provides a huge potential to the Post Office to enable the cross selling to its customer. Every pension customer is a potential over 50 life cover customer, and bureau de change customer is a probable customer for selling travelling insurance. Every DVLA customer is a probable car insurance customer. With such a huge potential customer foot fall, the Post Office surely gets a competitive advantage over its rivals in the market. Further consolidation in the banking industry The Post Office offers a huge line of financial products, from foreign exchange, to insurance, from credit cards to investment opportunities to its customer. The Post Office offers basic banking services by the means of cash withdrawals, cash deposit, cheque deposit etc, looking at such a huge line of customers. The post office should capitalize on their banking customers by providing basic savings and current account services either through organic growth or with a joint venture with a trustable partner and take advantage of reforming financial services. A national infrastructure would surely provide them with the competitive advantage and make their operations economical and sustainable for longer period of time. Further consolidation of brand image The Post office in the year ending 2008-09 closed down 85 of its crown post offices, out of, which 70 were sold to W H Smith, which is expected to make 2.5 million in additional profit in that financial year. This strategy can be critically evaluated and taken at a next level, by creating a joint venture with Hallmark, Greetings cards or such established organization, to which posting services can be related. The customers will have the convenience of two related services at a single stop. This can work in advantage for both the organization as it adds value to the product and the services. Threats Revolutionary changes within the Industry The postal Industry, is going through a lot of changes, technology is taking over the traditional mailing system. People as well as corporate industry rely heavily on technology for communication. Using the technology has its own set of benefits, as it is safer, cost effective and faster than traditional mailing methods. Advancements in technology are inevitable and the near future can be visualized with reducing dependence on postal system. This is a sure threat for the postal industry as technological advancements is eating away its probable market. A research conducted at the royal mail showed a reduction of 10 million customer using postal services compared with the last year, this give a serious indication as to how the reliance on the postal system is reducing (http://search.bbc.co.uk/search?q=royal%20mail%20striketab=allscope=allstart=2). Increase in competition The mailing industry is becoming intensely competitive, unlike in the past, where the post office enjoyed the monopoly of having the maximum share of the industry. Companies like DHL, TNT, Fed-ex etc are providing intense competition to the UKà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s oldest posting organization. The customer has evolved from merely being cost effective to cost against time evaluation, today the customer are ready to pay a suitable extra amount for ensuring the time and safety of the delivery, the private players have certainly gained their confidence in this sector by providing safe, secure and timely services. Thus, the Post Office faces sever competition from these private players in national and international market. Overall assessment of the organisationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s position 10% of the marks are allocated for overall conclusions on the balance of SWOT elements. SWOT analysis is a continuous process, and just as important as other management functions. The fact that the post office has been extending its line of product and service offerings to its customers proves that the post office has been conducting a continuous research on the product line. Recently, it has been offering its postal services on-line, which facilitates the customer to utilize their services at the comfort of their home. Industrial dispute, for which the Royal mail has faced much criticism, has proved very damaging for it overall brand image. National joint-venture or organic growth in banking industry is one of the biggest opportunities that lie in-front of the post office. Advancing the product line of the post office, a national level merger with W H Smith or any other stationary or greeting cards organizations will be an opportunity of adding brand value to its organization. Finally, talking about the threat that the post office faces is quite clear with the significant increase in the number of customer reeling on technology to communicate. Modern customer is ready to let go of cost if the services offered are time specific, private player are surely a notch ahead of post office in providing such time efficient services, which gives a set back to post office services. But, I see a promise in post office management, as it has been able to overturn its losses into profits and been able to maintain an extended and well diversified product and service portfolio, which I see being continued in the near future.

Compariing Three Versions of Chaucers Pardoners Tale :: Chaucer Pardoners Tale Canterbury Essays

Compariing Three Versions of Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale One of the interesting things about the works of Chaucer is the amount of difference one can find between the different manuscripts of his work. I thought it would be interesting to look at the difference between two manuscripts, using the transcriptions available in the Chaucer Society Specimens of all the Accessible Unprinted Manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales. I found a copy that has comparative versions of the manuscripts assigned to us, taking a look at the Pardoner's Tale. While we have not looked at that tale in class, and given that it was the only sample I could find in the scattered volumes of the Specimens, I felt it would be interesting to look at them, especially compared to the Riverside edition we are reading in class. Beginning with the Riverside edition, the introduction to the Pardoner?s tale begins with ?Heere endeth the Phisiciens Tale? and ?The woordes of the Hoost to the Phisicien and the Pardoner.? (Benson, 193) These introductory words, as well as the closing words for the previous tale, are not present in the Bodleian text. One could surmise that the transcriber of the text felt these to be perfunctory and unecessary, and though the reproduction I have does not reproduce it, it?s possible that there could be some other dividing point to break off one tale and begin another. The Additional MS has a conjunctive phrase, though it is different than that presented in the Riverside edition. ?here ende the Maister of phisikes tales? and ?Here bigynneth the prologe of the reheytyng of our hoost.? (Specimens 91, 2) It is interesting to not the difference of terminology here. The physician is ?Phisicien? in the Riverside text, yet the ?Master of phisikes? in the Additional MS. One wonders why one i s preferred over the other, and which is the more authoritative version. With only these three texts assigned, it is not for this author to speculate, and again, with a small sample, there can easily be isolated differences. One of the most interesting things to note in these differing manuscripts, I?ve found, is the variance and change that even identical passages can take, separated into various edition. Much like modern English, when you ask several different people to write the same thing, you can get many different variations base on how they?re transcribed.

Half-Caste by John Agard How effective is the light-hearted ridicule :: English Literature

Half-Caste by John Agard How effective is the light-hearted ridicule in this poem? In the poem Half-Caste by John Agard the poet uses ridicule to put his point across, he uses this technique very effectively and many times and by the end of the poem you realise how stupid the fact of someone being a Half Caste is. The poem is about a man from the West Indies and is called Half Caste, which means of mixed race. The poem starts off with a verse off three lines all written in Standard English. Even in this very short part we can see the way the poet is using ridicule when he says ‘standing on one leg’, this is inferring that because he is a ‘half-caste’ he is only standing on one leg and that only one half the white half of him means anything to most people. It may seem like a ridiculous idea that he should stand on one leg but it does show how stupid the idea that someone can only stand on one leg because he is off mixed race. The poem then goes into a West Indian accent and it then makes another example like mixing colours makes him a half-caste. It then says ‘explain yuself’ again as it did at the start of the verse, this is repeated many times through the poem and becomes a sort of chorus. It is then always followed by an example, in this case comparing light and shadow to black and white. Light and shadow is a euphemism for black and white. The poem then goes onto a line, which really uses ridicule to get the point across, but whilst adding a little humour it shows an extremely vital point that we all as individuals should think about, it says about English weather being half caste. We all know the joke about English weather being bad and traditionally always cloudy and rainy. When we say that the weather is half-caste we are really saying it is not as good as it should be, do we also mean this when we call a person of mixed race a ‘half caste’. That line has double intentions as well as saying about English weather not being very good it also questions our thoughts on people of mixed race and whether we look down on them. The poet then uses light hearted ridicule again when he says about Tchaikovsky using the black and white key on a piano this is saying that he is not half caste but what about someone who only uses white keys does that make them a racist.

My Teaching Philosophy Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching Education Essay

My Teaching Philosophy I believe that teaching is one of the most important professions in the world today. From the very beginning, until present time, teaching has been around. The book of Genesis speaks of God walking and talking with Adam in The Garden of Eden, God was teaching Adam. I will be proud to, one day, be a part of this great calling. There are many reasons why I want to be a teacher. Starting with the most important, I want to influence children positively with Christian perspectives that will help them achieve satisfaction in their life. I also would like the opportunity to coach. I believe coaches have more influence on children than teachers. I think this is true because sports are something that the child participates in because he/she chooses. For that reason, coaches are usually well respected by their athletes. Another reason I want to teach is for the opportunity to meet people. Teachers and coaches both have a great influence on children’s lives. I want to be a positive influence while helping prepare children for their future role in society. My father was a teacher and coach for many years and I am amazed at the lives he has touched. His students love him, even after not seeing him for years they remember the little sayings and quirks he said in the classroom. My father cared about the students, and he had a respect and trust for them all. Sometimes they didn’t deserve such trust, but I think the trust he put in them caused them to want to live up to his expectations. If I can be half the teacher that he was, I will consider myself a success. In addition, I want to be a teacher that instills Christian principles in all my students. I plan on being a lifetime learner by a... ... paid for our tuition, then, by paying taxes, paid for other people’s children to go to school also. I do not think that is fair, therefore, I plan on supporting the voucher system for all the United States. My decision to become a teacher was a major crossroads in my life. It took me a long time to decide which way to go, and now I feel great about the decision I have made. I have thought and prayed, and now I KNOW that this is what I want to do. I don’t want to be another teacher that does the same old thing. I want to be the best teacher that my students ever have. I want to be remembered by them and hopefully have a great influence in helping develop successful, happy adults. I understand the amazing responsibility and pressure that is placed on teachers and I am prepared to work hard and take on this great challenge of shaping our future generations.

Social and Mobile Marketing

Technological advancement triggered a change in the traditional marketing midway and strategies. The Internet is now considered as one of the most effective ways to communicate to customers, to advertise and launch products. People relied more and more on the Internet for research, com/social-networking-boon-or-bane/">social networking, online communication and shopping. Without the luxury of time, people started to prefer to stay home or in the office to process transactions through the Internet.The Internet service industry along with computer sales drastically increased because of the growing need for Internet surfing for personal and business use. Remarkably, direct and digital marketing through Internet became the preferred marketing midways used by companies since it offers direct communication with the customer base through email, online ads, search engine listing, online public relations, social bookmarking, affiliate marketing and viral electronic word-of-mouth marketing.Wit h all these options to choose from, a company can properly profile the needs and wants of the customers. Moreover, surveys are normally done to define the needs, feedback and preferences of the customers. With the wide range of scope that the Internet can reach, the price is a lot cost-effective than that of the traditional mediums of marketing through TV, print and radio. One benefit of mobile advertising is the accessibility of the target market and the impeccable knowledge about the customer in terms of demographics, usage and channel.Moreover, the delivery mechanism enables marketers to receive campaign statistics and measure campaign effectiveness. With the evolving changes in the behavior of people in this technological world, the mobile marketing strategy can surpass and grow in the next 3 to 6 years. If the behavior of people and the technological growth will be the metrics for advancement of mobile marketing, it can be confidently said an advancement will happen to this mar keting practices category. On the other hand, social marketing will also be affected with the phenomenal growth in technology.Social marketing is mainly focused on changing the intractable behaviors in complex environmental, economic, social, political circumstances for the common good of people. It's main purpose is to improve the quality of life which can be considered as ambitious. A thorough and comprehensive planning is needed for social marketing and it requires accurate profiling of the customers. In lieu with the objective of social marketing to change the behavior of the market, the world wide web is the best place to profile and to influence the market.The remarkable usage of Internet created opportunities for social marketing and advocacies. Three or six years from now, social marketing will be more comprehensive and accurate, with the availability of resources, it is more manageable to directly reach out to a customer base. Technologically speaking, it is very much possi ble for the global marketing to be widely used through enhancing and automating the processes. To change the behavior of a market is far too ambitious to achieve, however, the behavior of people towards advocacies and programs have evolved.Support for such have grown in the last few years. With this change in behavior, opportunities for profiling and changing the views of people is somehow more achievable and realistic. In conclusion, there are possibilities of the decline in the social marketing practices as well as the digital advertising. However, these two categories of marketing can also adopt to the ever changing market preferences but enhancements will be formulated to improve the approaches of

Animal Farm Russian Revolution Analysis

Russian Revolution and Animal Farm Image a brutal Communist Soviet revolution. Now imagine a group of barnyard animals who free themselves from humans in an effort to be free, and rule themselves. In the well-renowned fable Animal Farm by George Orwell the Old Major’s Dream, the construction(s) of the windmill and Napoleon himself are all symbolic representations of the Russian Revolution. Old Major’s Dream blatantly represents Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. Orwell simplified the basic ideas of Marx’s Manifesto into Major’s dream.Major states that humans are the only species that consume without producing and animals must overthrow them which is relevant to Marx’s main idea, that capitalists collected all the profit from the worker’s profit, and he suggested they overthrow the capitalists if they wanted to be more successful. Old Major’s dream also represents the Manifesto the way he ends his speech. Marx ends the Manifesto wi th commanding the workers to unite, while Old Major ends his speech with commanding his comrades to rebel, both were advocating change.Orwell clearly portrayed Marx’s Manifesto in the story by allegorizing through Old Major’s dream. Another even that directly represented the Russian Revolution was the construction(S) of the windmill, and it represented the conflict between Stalin and Trotsky. Trotsky wanted to continue to spread the revolution, while Stalin wanted to focus on establishing communism in the newly attained Russian countries. This dispute really caused a division, with people following certain sides.In Animal Farm Napoleon felt it was unnecessary to build the windmill and suppressed it, while Snowball promoted it, which divided the Farm. Once Napoleon realized that Snowball’s promotion could have an impact, he exiled him from the farm, as did Stalin to Trotsky. Once their rival had been exiled, they continued to build the windmill and Communism. The decision whether or not to build the windmill represented the decision whether or not to spread Communism, the windmill symbolized Communism. In Animal Farm, the character Napoleon symbolizes Stalin himself.Napoleon acted as an allegory of Stalin, mirroring many of the actions he made. For example, Stalin exiled Trotsky and Napoleon got rid of Snowball, Stalin removed many other opponents and then adopted some of their ideas similarly Napoleon who eliminated Snowball but took his idea of building the windmill, both had a serious of purges where they murdered many traders and such, both were very harsh to their workers with Stalin and collectivization which lead to a huge famine and Napoleon with reduced rations, and they both were deceived, Stalin by Germany and Napoleon by Mr.Federick. Orwell adequately portrayed Stalin as Napoleon which is evident due to all these similarities. Old Major’s dream represented the Communist Manifesto, the construction of the windmill represen ted the feud amongst Trotsky and Stalin, and Napoleon represents Stalin. The author brilliantly allegorized features of the Russian Revolution into a fable consisting of barn animals, and each individual animal’s supposed personality fit well. â€Å"Animal Farm† is a direct symbol of the Russian Revolution.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twenty-Two

Bonnie knew the minute that Zander and his friends came into the party, because the noise level went way up. Honestly, Zander was calmer than his friends, sort of, at least around Bonnie, but as a group, they were definitely wild. It was kind of irritating, actual y. But when Zander appeared next to her – hip-checking Marcus into a wal on his way – and gave her his long, slow smile, her toes curled inside her high-heeled shoes and she forgot al about being annoyed. â€Å"Hi!† she said. â€Å"Is everything okay?† He cocked an eyebrow at her inquiringly. â€Å"I mean, you said something came up with your family, and that's why you've been †¦busy.† â€Å"Oh, yeah.† Zander bent his head down to talk to her, and his warm breath ghosted across Bonnie's neck as he sighed. â€Å"My family's pretty complicated,† he said. â€Å"I wish sometimes that things were easier.† He looked sad, and Bonnie impulsively took his hand, twining her fingers through his. â€Å"Well, what's wrong?† she asked, striving for a tone of understanding and reliability. A dependable girlfriend tone. â€Å"Maybe I can help. You know, a fresh ear and al that.† Zander frowned and bit his lip. â€Å"I guess it's like†¦ I have responsibilities. My whole family is in a position where there are promises we've made and sort of things we have to take care of. And sometimes what I want to do and what I have to do don't line up.† â€Å"Could you be any more vague?† Bonnie asked teasingly, and Zander huffed a half laugh. â€Å"Seriously, what do you mean? What do you have to do? What don't you want to do?† Zander looked down at her for a moment and then his smile widened. â€Å"Come on,† he said, tugging her hand. Bonnie went with him, weaving their way through the party and up the stairs. Zander seemed to know where he was going; he turned a couple of corners, then pushed open a door. Inside was a dorm common room: a couple of ratty couches, a banged-up table. Someone's art project, a large canvas covered with splotches of paint, leaned against the wal . â€Å"Do you live in this dorm?† she asked Zander. â€Å"No,† he said, his eyes on her mouth. He pul ed her toward him and rested his hands on her hips. And then he kissed her. It was the most amazing kiss Bonnie had ever experienced. Zander's lips were so soft, yet firm, and there were little fireworks going off al over Bonnie's body. She lifted her hand and cupped it against his cheek, feeling the strong bones of his face and the slight scratch of stubble against her palm. Once again, she felt as she had during their first date, standing on the roof, when it had been like she was flying. So free, and with a wild kind of joy zinging through her. She slid her hand to the back of his neck, feeling Zander's fine pale blond hair brush softly against her fingers. When the kiss ended, neither of them spoke for a moment, they just leaned against each other, breathing hard. Their faces were so close, and Zander's bril iant blue eyes were fixed on hers, warm and intent. â€Å"Anyway, that's what I want to do, since you asked. Do you† – his voice cracked – â€Å"do you want to go back to the party now?† â€Å"No,† said Bonnie, â€Å"not yet.† And this time, she kissed him. â€Å"Oh, thank God,† Chloe said when Matt came up to her. â€Å"I was beginning to feel like the biggest wal flower.† She crinkled her nose appealingly at him. Her nose, which tilted up just a little, was spattered with freckles, and she had a pretty cupid's bow of a mouth. He wanted to tug gently on the soft brown ringlets of her curls, just to see them straighten and then spring back into shape. â€Å"What do you mean?† he said, pul ing himself back together, although he was painful y aware that he sounded half-witted. â€Å"A wal flower?† â€Å"Oh, just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She waved one hand vaguely at the crowd. â€Å"There's hardly anyone I know here besides you and Ethan. This whole party's completely stuffed with freshmen.† Matt's heart sank. He had forgotten that Chloe was a junior. It shouldn't be a big deal, real y, should it? But she sounded like she thought freshmen were beneath her, or something. Disdainful, that was the word he was looking for to describe her tone. â€Å"I thought the party seemed okay,† he said weakly. Chloe pursed her lips teasingly, then socked him gently on the arm. â€Å"Well,† she said softly, â€Å"there's only enough room for one freshman in my life. Right, Matt?† That was more of a hopeful sign. The problem was, Matt realized, that his only dating experience had been in asking out girls who he either didn't real y care about, but was just thinking of as potential dates for dances or whatever, or who were Elena. Who, yes, he cared tremendously about, but who he knew for long enough and Wellenough that he could tel she was going to say yes. Stil , he thought he could see an opening here. â€Å"Chloe,† he said, â€Å"I was wondering if you would – † Matt broke off as Ethan joined them, smiling widely. For the first time, Matt felt a flash of irritation toward him. Ethan was so smart with people. Couldn't he see he was interrupting a moment here? â€Å"I liked your friend Stefan,† Ethan told Matt. â€Å"He seemed very sophisticated for a freshman, very Wellspoken. Do you think it's because he's European?† Matt only shrugged in response, and Ethan turned to Chloe. â€Å"Hey, sweetheart,† he said, putting an arm around her and kissing her lightly on the lips. And yeah, wow, maybe Ethan had realized he was interrupting a moment. It wasn't a long kiss, but there was definitely a possessive air about it, and about his arm flung across Chloe's shoulders. When it ended, Chloe smiled up at Ethan, breathless, and Ethan's eyes flicked to Matt, just for a second. Matt wanted to fold right over and sink into the sticky, beer-stained floor beneath his feet. But instead he eked out a smile of his own and tipped his beer to Ethan. Because Chloe – adorable, sweet, funny, easygoing Chloe – had a boyfriend. He ought to have anticipated that he wouldn't be the only one who saw how amazing she was. And Matt would have backed off no matter who Chloe's boyfriend was. He didn't want to be that guy who sleazed al over other people's relationships; he never had been. But since Chloe's boyfriend was Ethan? Ethan, the Vitale Society leader, the one who had made Matt feel like he was special, like he could be the best? Since it was Ethan, Matt was just going to have to grit his teeth and ignore that hol ow feeling in his chest. He was going to be strong and keep himself from even thinking about what he wished could have been with Chloe. There were some lines he just couldn't cross. Ever.

Royal Ahold’s Case Write Up

Executive Summary The case discusses the Royal Ahold’s the major events that led to the demise of a great European company. The case presents some of the key issues in the areas of leadership, strategy, audit and accounting fraud that resulted in their disaster. The case identifies the problems made by the management in selecting the improper growth strategy and incentive plan that encouraged unethical behaviour from the senior management. The events presented touch and highlight management and governance issues, which are so important in managing global companies.After analysis of the cases and financial statements, I have come with questions and concerns on the management and financial statements that could have caught this earlier on. Questions to be asked and process of approving budgets, corporate strategy, risk controls would have raised concerns on the management style. Some of the other recommended actions for board and its various committees would have discouraged the improper management practices. Some of these questions might have surfaced real issues and / or encouraged the right practice.I found various accounting standards, challenges of global audit process; in this case it was led by Deliotte. The CEO’s and leadership growth strategy was the reward and recognition was improper. The number of acquisitions made during the 90s and continuous pressure was put on all subsidiaries to grow the sales by 15% were bad decisions. This alone led to many other problems within the company. The CEO’s growth strategy and desire to quickly grow the company put immense pressure on all other companies and senior management to somehow meet the CEO’s expectation.It all resulted into fraudulent activities and ultimately disaster of great company. I recommend adopting changes to incentive plans, non-financial factors be part of success criteria. In measuring financial success, working capital ratio, inventory days, receivable and payable ta rgets should be part of incentives. Above all, I recommend changes to the board committees and ensuring their work is independent was also important, i. e. audit committee, establishment of HR committee to raise issues and improve the overall organization culture. The case also highlights the issue of multiple accounting standards being practiced in very country.A standard corporate wide accounting standard in Royal Ahold must have been used. Both external and internal auditors must have report ed numbers in a consistent approach. I recommend that auditors had direct reporting to board and should have empowered and trained to look for documentation and management structures in their audit process. Had they dig deep on all areas of concerns of material significance they might have found side letters. I have also highlighted other recommendations including the controls in the accounting standards and in preparing financial papers.Incentive plans and corporate strategy be realistic to avoid unwanted behaviors. Tone of the top management including the board’s, assignment of responsibilities be clearly stated and periodically measured. Student id: 250712690 1 Management Accounting Exam Problem Identification: The case depicts another case of fail of governance and business ethics. This appears to be a fraud and not just accounting mistakes. By 2003, the time of the case, Enron, WorldCom and few others had already identified the need of business ethics and corporate governance.Royal Ahold series of events happened mainly due to greed and unethical behaviour but what really underlies is the objective setting, growth strategy and, rewards recognition criteria set by management. The case also presents issues of cost accounting, in terms of, when to apply the manufacturing rebates. Consolidation of subsidiaries and joint ventures also played a role in this fraud. It also shows bad governance, flaws in external audit, failure of internal audit functions and to som e degree their competency. Leadership strategy: Royal Ahold’s CEO’s strategy of 15% growth year-over-year was very aggressive.The reward and recognition structure around the sales number was improper as it led management of all subsidiaries and other business units to increase the revenue and meet the targets. CEO kept communicating to board and shareholders the expectation around the sales strategy and likelihood of meeting these targets. Consequently, it created a culture whereby senior management were under pressure to meet the sales objective. The senior management and head of subsidiaries must have felt that missing the sales targets is not even an option. Accounting Fraud: The case presents few big issues of accounting.Firstly, the issue is of the incorrect accounting treatment of manufacturing rebates and promotional allowances. My opinion is that rebates cannot decrease the cost of goods unless there is a certainty of getting the rebates. If the rebates are unc ertain they cannot decrease the cost of goods incorrectly. From the case, it appears that management ordered more quantity of goods then they could have sold. They booked the rebates at time of goods received and decrease the cost of goods prematurely. (Assumption: It is not very clear from the case, if these rebates were booked as income or adjusted against the cost of goods i. . decrease in cost of item. I have assumed that Royal Ahold accountants decreased the costs (prematurely as per above paragraph). If these were booked as income, then it is even a bigger fraud and not an accounting error) Second accounting fraud problem is the accountants preparation of Royal Ahold’s parent company financial statements. They consolidated the financial statements including some of the joint ventures when Royal didn’t even had control over them. Royal Ahold did not own more than 50% of these Joint Ventures and did not have the control of the decision making.They created fraudulen t paper work to show they had control on these join venture companies. This is a pure fraud as they created agreements to satisfy auditors and try to hide the real facts. Audit: Both external auditors and internal auditors (and audit committee) failed to detect any of the accounting issues. It could have been missed as accounting standards in many countries is different. External auditors, even though they may all be of Deloite, of one country only audits that country statements, so they may not be familiar what might be happening in other parts of the company.However, the Royal Ahold parent company auditors are responsible to have an oversight of companywide audit and should be held responsible for over -looking these fraudulent transactions. Internal audit and board’s audit committee failed to detect any of the misrepresentation either. On top of that in Netherlands there were two boards (Governing Board and Supervisory Board) and both boards weren’t able to detect o r raise red flag on any of these problems and misrepresentations. Management having two sets of paper work with JV (Joint Ventures) without coming under the investigation shows incompetency of audit functions.Governance / Audit Structure The way the governance and audit structure was laid out at Royal Ahold, there were five different committees and entities were responsible to review accounting and financial controls and practices that could have asked questions and raise concerns (red flags). They were: The governance board, supervisory board, the audit committee, internal audit department and the external auditors. Each should have independently reviewed management controls and financial statements and raise concerns and issues. Raising Red FlagsIn my opinion, the governance structure and audit committees and external auditors were sufficient enough to handle or uncover such fraudulent activities had they been critical, created the right controls, empowered the internal auditors a nd obviously asked the right questions while reviewing the financial statements and other management documentation. As part of board, I would have asked questions following questions, or have acted when seen abnormalities. This would have helped me in identifying issues, concerns and in raising red flags on the Royal Ahold 1999-2001 financial statements.Also some of them are related to mid 90’s management attitude and strategy. Strategy and Growth Approach: The target of meeting 15% year-over-year in sales, especially in US in 2000-01 when economy was in recession should have alarmed the board and internal auditors. They should have investigated how the sales targets are being achieved. It is not easy to meet 15% sales in US food industries under this economic climate. This may have led the management behaviour in meeting the targets.As board member, I would have asked CEO to explain the strategy of rewards and recognition, mainly on top line bonus as it is a wrong choice. (I have personally worked at Compaq during 1999-2000 and have seen the issue of top line bonus and commission on sales. This led to Compaq’s continued crises and eventually it was bought by HP in 2003). I would tried to influence the board and hence the CEO to consider a more comprehensive rewards strategy. From my experience bonus strategy plays a big role in company culture. The other important factor that develops the management attitude is what CEO likes to hear.It seems Royal Ahold’s CEO, Cees van der Hooven, wanted to hear from all his subsidiaries and Joint Ventures that sales targets are being met every quarter. I would have influence the management style and company culture to be protected by changing (or diluting) this approach. CEO’s attitude and leadership style was one of the leading cause of Royal Ahold demise. His aggressive acquisition approach would have resulted in integration issues within the company. As board member, I would have asked the man agement plans on integration and how culture of the organization would not be negatively impacted.I would have created the board HR committee to influence management not to allow the negative impacts on the organization culture, integration within the organization, rewards and recognition be such that it would not have allowed the culture to deteriorate. The cultural issues, integration issues and above all greed among the management team members was uncontrolled in Royal Ahold’s accounting scandal. The growing number of acquisitions was extremely risky initiative; the corporate strategy was carrying high risks at all operational levels including controls, integration that may have led to frauds.Also, this had potential to be a reputation risk as well. In my opinion, board should not have approved such an aggressive corporate growth strategy. Consolidated Statements Although Royal Ahold ownership is less than 50% in some Join venture companies, they showed controlling interes ts in some companies. To me an agreement paper presented by the management is not sufficient. I would have asked the significance of Royal Ahold’s control and ask management which areas of Joint Venture management we have been making decisions on.If we are making decisions, even though we don’t own more than 50%, what are the risks associated with these decisions. As a board member, I would have understood how Royal Ahold has influenced the Joint Venture management. I would have also asked audit committee to understand the management structure of Joint Ventures. Taking a step further, assuming that 20% share would have given Royal Ahold right to appoint a board member on Joint Venture’s Board, I would have understood from the Joint Venture board member (through Royal Ahold appointed director) how the joint ventures decision making process really works.By asking such questions and efforts in trying to understand from the board and management of Joint ventures how the organization is actually structured and working. If Royal Ahold does not have a controlling authority on the acquired company, the company financial statements cannot be consolidated. Royal’s accounting practice o f consolidation will first bump up the revenue numbers. This was purposely done to beef up the revenue figures. This may have resulted bigger bonus for the senior management. Also, the balance sheet would be more attractive to the shareholders (and potential shareholders). To explain this here is simple illustration:Parent Current Assets Assets Total Assets Current Liabilities Liabilit ies Total Liabilities Shareholder's Equity Debt to Equity Ratio Subsidiary Consolidated 3 7 10 1 3 4 4 10 14 4 1 5 3 7 0. 5 1. 5 3. 5 8. 5 3 2. 5 5. 5 2. 3 0. 6 1. 5 As illustrated in the hypothetical example above example, by consolidat ion the debt looks more attractive then it would have looked otherwise in the parent company. The debt to equity shows debt-to-equity of ($1. 5: $1) when consolidated, and ($2. 3:$1) when not consolidated. Similarly, other financial ratios would have looked good with consolidation of financial statements.The consolidation resulted in better financial statements; hence Royal Ahold used this approach. In actual, this should not have used consolidated method. As per the accounting text, Parent when owns an investee company’s 20%-50% should use the equity method of accounting. The equity method would have mainly impacted the earnings on the Income statements. The net income, however, would result the same earnings without changing the revenue numbers. On the balance sheet side, the equity method would only show true â€Å"Assets† number, as per the investments made in the JV by Royal Ahold. The financial ratios (e. . debt to equity or quick ratio etc. ) will not be as appealing as it started to sound with consolidated statement. Risk Controls: As board member, I would have influenced the entire board not to approve the corporate strategy as a budget was too aggressive and unrealistic. As pointed out above, realistic targets are extremely important. If strategy is too aggressive and corporate culture is to share good news with the CEO the unrealistic budgets targets may lead to malpractice and improper (fraudulent) activities. In my opinion it is supervisory board obligation to approve only realistic targets.The corporate strategy in the growth years of mid ‘90s was too aggressive. This has done part of the damage in the culture and mind-set of the senior management that 15% growth is not unrealistic and has created an attitude to meet these targets in any way possible. This encouraged the wrong doings and possible frauds that started to take place in 1999-2001. Although it is not very clear from the case, were there any wrong doing (or activities) in 199798, but in the hind-sight, it appears that some of the issues must have started or existed in that time as well.The board and senior m anagement should actively work on identifying risks to the organization and work on strategies that mitigates the risks. A key here is to have a formal risk assessment process on an annual basis. The assessment is under supervision of the board and results are reviewed by the board. Inventory 2001 balance sheet shows 20% rise in inventory, I would have raises some concerns that might have uncovered the management improper decision to order such high quantity of stocks to get the manufacturing rebates. Accounts ReceivableIn 2001, accounts receivable increased by Euros 605M i. e. 21. 2%. I would have asked questions around the assumptions and likelihood receiving the Account Receivable. More importantly, who owes this receivable to Royal Ahold. This may have been due to the manufacturing rebates included in the accounts receivable. If so, it would have led to the whole issue of management aggressive behaviour on ordering stocks to get rebates. It might have opened up the entire incorr ect accounting treatment of manufacturing allowances and rebates. General ReserveRoyal Ahold is showing consistently on their balance sheet a general reserve item that is over 5 to 6 Billion euros (approx). This appears to be high, I would have asked on what assumptions these provisions are made. It might have uncovered some of the assumptions that are being made by management. This general reserve is in addition to the 1. 5B euros in other provisions. This is should have been a red flag. Other Recommended Preventive Measures Besides the concerns and red flags mentioned above, I would have raised based on what I would have seen.I would have also taken following measures to prevent this from happening. Incentive (Bonus) Structure: The bonus structure cannot solely be based on financial goals. The bonus structure has to base on non-financial goals as well. Within financial goals all aspects to kept in mind when designing the appropriate incentive program. The increase in working capit al (inventory, receivables, payables etc. ) is kept at minimum or in line with the net income. The increase or decrease in working capital beyond the realistic proportion to earnings should be discouraged through the incentive program as well.Audit Committee Structure: The case presents the audit committee and internal audit department weaknesses and signs of some of their inefficient processes and competency issues. Besides reviewing the audit committee performance, monitoring and control issues were also been found. I would have influence the audit committee to have a metrics of internal audit department. This may have encouraged more objectivity of audit functions and may have aligned management controls to the overall governance issues. It is the responsibility of audit committee that internal and external auditors have an open communication.Besides audit of the current financial statements, and review of controls and structures, the auditors must identify areas of improvement i n controls and work on action plan in improving the organization controls and monitoring process. HR Committee As mentioned above, I would have asked board to create HR committee that takes an active role in setting the controls in the organization. The committee should take an active role in reviewing the annual compensation and objective setting. Committee should have taken an independent review of key hiring decisions and management capability on integration and organization culture.Some key decisions in this area should only made by committee after consulting with the management, audit and board’s general direction. IT System: I would have asked internal audit committee to ensure all IT systems are audited to ensure proper controls are in place. Usually, in fraud IT systems controls could have loop holes or management may have the ability to bypass some of the checks and balances and/ or segregation of duties. Consistency in financial Statements Royal Ahold had companies in four different continents and in many countries.Financial statements presentation and laws across the globe are not consistent. US GAPP, Netherlands GAAP, IFSA and others are not standard across all countries where the Royal Aholds companies are in operation. While the fact makes a challenge for the board, it doesn’t give them an excuse of letting things slip. The board should have worked out with internal and external auditors in creating a minimum corporate standard across the group of companies. It is the flaw in governance and leadership to over-look this fundamental point.

Media Culture in Canada Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Media Culture in Canada - Assignment Example Canada has two primary languages English and French. Canada has a very unique blend of customs and traditions because of migration into its country; therefore, because of the cultural diversity it’s very necessary for the Canadian government to promote its own culture. The Canadian government faces many challenges because of its influx of citizens from European cultures and an extensive migration between America and Canada. Canada struggled immensely to protect its identity in 1920(Media Awareness Network 1). At that time, Canada introduced commercial radio broadcasting but some politicians were concerned about U.S radio programming. This concern introduced the hybrid system of broadcasting. The policy makers split this system into two parts public and private. The reason behind this division was that Canada wanted its own traditions; as time passed the Canadian government made its own broadcasting law. History Media plays one of the most powerful and important roles in buildi ng nations. Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was the first radio broadcaster in Canada; he is known as the â€Å"Father of Radio Broadcasting†. In 1906, Fessenden broadcasted his first official program. The era of media culture in Canada started in 1906 and noticeable improvements were seen within the next few years. In 1929, the government of Canada took remarkable efforts. The Arid Commission on public broadcasting suggested the establishment of a national radio broadcast network. In Canada, there was an increasing trend of listening to radio broadcast and because they didn’t have any national broadcasting station, they would listen to American radio. This was a major concern for the Canadian government and therefore, they launched their own national broadcasting radio. In 1932, Canadian Radio Broadcasting was founded under the administration of R.B. Bennet’s government. CBC was mainly responsible for innovation in Canadian media culture and all the broadcasting stat ions were under the control of CBC. CBC, Crown Corporation, was based on the model of the BBC. In 1940, an association was founded and named as Radio Artists of Toronto Society. This society was basically established for the radio performers and they were responsible for securing the rights of radio artists (James Lorimer & Company 24). The Association of Canadian Radio Artists was formed in 1943 and it was a flexible, national alliance of a variety of groups of actors. In 1946, FM radio was introduced in Canada but distinct FM service was launched later in the 1960s. In 1952, the era of television broadcasting was started with the launch of stations one after another in Montreal (CBFT) and then in Toronto. The first privately owned station of CBC was a television station in Sudbury and they owned it in 1953. In 1962, the English language radio network was divided into two different services (i.e. Dominion Network and Trans-Canada Network); Dominion Network was dissolved in 1976. Th e Trans-Canada Network was simply known as CBC. Over the next few decades, CBC was known to be the second English language FM Radio network and in 1976 its’ name was changed. It was now known as CBC Stereo (The Wendy Michener Symposium 65). According to the Canadian Broadcasting Act, it is mandatory for the broadcasters to ensure that they are broadcasting authentic information that reflects the points of view of the different cultures living in

Radiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Radiation - Essay Example Finally, I could be exposed to radiation from radio nuclides ingested into the body through food, say from crops that might have taken up radioactive isotopes from the ground or soil as noted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, EPA (2012). Therefore, both natural and artificial objects could expose me to radiation. Exposure to radiation poses adverse health effects, particularly when the duration of exposure is elongated and the intensity of radiation is high. Radiation could cause cancer as tissues get exposed to radioactive elements. Secondly, when foetuses are exposed to radiation, birth defects could occur which include smaller brain size or head, mental retardation or poorly formed eyes. Finally, radiation, particularly ultraviolet radiation from the sun, causes cataracts which are the leading cause of blindness (Nadakavukaren, 2011). The sievert, Sv, is the unit of radiation weighted dose which measures the harmful potential of radiation based on the type of radiation and also the sensitivity of the body organs and tissues involved. 3. Imagine that the LADWP decided to build a power plant on the vacant land at the northwest corner of Lassen and Zelzah.   For the purposes of this exercise, they are considering one of the following three options: a coal power plant that employs 100 people, a solar plant that employs less than ten full time employees, or a nuclear power plant that produces three times the amount of energy as the other two choices. Provide 9 full sentences describing the pros and cons of the proposed options.   Focus on the environmental health issues and include at least 2 statistics in the response. The argument should be balanced and incorporate factual material from at least 3 journal articles from the database link noted above. Should LADWP opt to build a coal power plant, they could benefit from its widespread availability which further protects the environment from the pollution that could result from its transportation had it

Management Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Accounting - Assignment Example Economists and accountants imply that two diverse fields in terms of cost and variance analysis. Therefore, when economists describe cost through variance analysis and standard costing, they include the sacrifice of opportunities and important choices. From an accountant’s perception, standard costing and traditional budgeting are prospective, subjective, and occasionally costs-evaded. The following paper will look into the alleged advantages, and demerits of standard costing, variance analysis and traditional budgeting in management accounting (Callahan, Stetz, and  Brooks, 2011, p. 199). Certain criticisms of traditional budgeting arise from the descriptions of the significant terminologies used by economists and accountants in the government and organizations (Emmanuel, Kominis and Slapnicar, 2008, p. 2). Time management is the establishment of interceding variables that improve the perception of time. A budget is an estimated total cost or income for an operation or activity covering a particular period. This way, accounting managers are able to ease pressure on their behaviors and perceive control over time and operations assumed significant in variance analysis (Emmanuel, Kominis and Slapnicar, 2008, p. 3). A budget can also be an arrangement for the management and control of assets and expenses. Motivation in variance analysis involves control through a set of processes, instruments, performance measures that organizations or governments deploy to lead and inspire all workers to accomplish set goals (Callahan, Stetz, and  Brooks, 2011, p. 199). Human relation s association forms part of the base for motivation in accounting to enhance an easy repetitive assignment involving financial compensation of all transactions in an organization (Eker, 2007, p. 105). Performance evaluation is the valuable control of the chief tasks from diverse units. These units are normally situated at the very end of the production procedure

Denialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Denialism - Essay Example In most cases of such dissenters, the stronger the emotion behind their beliefs, the more they are likely to invariably use cognitive inaccuracies to hold onto the false belief. In general, human beings tend to believe that there is a reason, and a physical logical one at that, why certain things happen. This especially true where emotional subjects such as the health of children is concerned. For example, they will feel that there is a reason why autistic children are that way. Some parents will also use examples of coincidental situations that occur to prove that there is a connection between autism and vaccinations. For instance, if a child dies soon after being vaccinated, its parents are likely to use that incident as justification for refusing to let their other children get vaccinated. Also, people have the tendency of expressing reservations on only the procedures that they are able to remember easily. In most cases where children receive vaccinations, they have no adverse re actions to them. This is an extremely common occurrence that is never reported on. Moreover, the media will report extensively whenever a child has adverse reactions to a vaccine. ... In the false consensus effect, parents are led to believe that the subject belief concerning the danger of vaccines is one which is widely held. This is mainly the result of being exposed to selective data through various elements of the media (Specter, 2009). In addition, most parents have no way of getting feedback from others about questions regarding this premise due to the unspoken rules regarding social interaction. For instance, if a parent suspects that his son or daughter is autistic because of the administrations of multiple vaccines, this view is not likely to be corrected by others or by doctors because it is unlikely that the parent will express it out loud. In recent years, the people who believe that vaccines cause autism have been influenced by the consistency with which the media reports on the subject of vaccines in relation to autism. It is also a fact that the parents who feel that vaccines are the actual cause of their children’s autism are more speak abou t it more often than those who do not believe this. Another reason why people might be persuaded about the accuracy of this inaccuracy is that it is the one issue over which they feel that they have control. Healthcare, in most nations, is the responsibility of government ministries; which many people distrust. Most citizens in nations around the world do not have a choice about the vaccines that their children get because governments have determined that the child’s rights to health are more important than the parent’s feelings about the matter. In some nations, children are vaccinated before being allowed to attend school while in others, parents are obligated to deliver the child to clinics for vaccinations. Many parents are irritated by the fact

Honesty versus Justice and Due Process versus Crime Control Essay

Honesty versus Justice and Due Process versus Crime Control - Essay Example According to the classic definition of Justice each person should get his or her due. Aristotle more than two thousand years ago defined that "equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." This fundamental principle has been followed by many nations while developing the laws for their country and countrymen. Our legal system is based on a system of justice. The whole lot from Police to Judiciary and legislature that enacts the laws play a part in the legal system; in fact all have their roles defined in the criminal justice system. As far as honesty is concerned it has been often alleged that it has taken the worst beating within the criminal justice system and judiciary while dispensing justice gives more importance to technicalities than sometimes the truth that though is quite apparent but has no witness to falsify the opposition's claim. This debate has continued for centuries on the trot. It doesn't mean that the system is there for the corrupt and the dishonest. When the leading functionaries within the criminal justice system like the Judges, Police officials are inducted they take an oath to uphold the integrity of their office with all honesty. There are sometimes a few among the flock who bring a bad name to the whole system by manipulating the system to satisfy their narrow e nds, they should be dealt with sternly when their conduct comes to light. The other pillars of the criminal justice system have a role to play. For example it is true that Police can be misused by lodging a false complaint against someone, but if the cops are honest to their duty then there are inbuilt procedures within the system to be followed during the investigation process that can make clear at the first stage itself if the offence alleged is true or not without committing the case to the court. Here at this stage itself sometimes the Investigating officer by being careless and negligent during investigation can book the innocent victim, who later might be honorably acquitted by the court but in the process undergoes a lot of harassment, shaking his faith in the whole system and starts to think that the system is corrupt. The same can be said about the judiciary that follows the rule quite diligently that an innocent must not be punished. Sometimes some overzealous lawyers in order benefit their client's interests manipulate the truth or facts on record to suit their end. But it can be said that lawyers are professionals and they have a work to do. It is their duty to put the facts before the court in the best way possible and then for the court to dispense justice. Generally Lawyers cannot be expected to turn the apostle of peace, honesty and justice when they see there are many loopholes in the prosecution case and they exploit those to the hilt. Technically it can be called dishonesty but as discussed above that it is their job to protect the interests of their client in the best possible manner. Here the burden of upholding the truth is more on the judges and to bring the rules and procedures within the system to their best use so that the truth, honor and honesty is not a victim within the criminal justice system. Within the Criminal justice system and private security 'due process' and 'Crime Control' are given a lot of importance. According to the 'Random House Dictionary