Stated in the case

From the case, I could notice that divisions and therefore company itself is treating AM division almost as a separate business and the three divisions would like to make more profit while selling goods to AM division. Partly it is a exult of incentive system based only on ROI, and historic fact that in the past all these divisions were separate companies. I would recommend short term solution to make process of fixing the price for AM division simple. Solution could be that we use simple formula for internal AM division : cost price + minimum profit margin.Since, incentives are not affected directly by this formula, it should be very easy to use it and I can ‘ t see any valid reason why not to use it instead of current one which is spending directors and division managers time and effort to set the price for every case separately. Long term solution based on my experience is to integrate three divisions into AM division, but keeping all their major advantages as separate divis ions and also to incentive divisions as part of AM sale. Second concern is that three divisions are treating AM division as an unwanted brother.Since company has quite frigid incentive systems divisions don ‘t benefit while selling to AM division. In their ROI based incentive system it has much more sense to sell same products to MOM than to AM. By keeping this behavior in Abram organization, they are holding AM to grow bigger and show its full potential. By combining incentive with AM division results this problem would be solved. Third concern is excessive inventory throughout the year. Based on my experience would say that this problem has roots in quite complex and slow† organization/management.Three completely independent division are unnecessary and by having one one main planning for production (three division) and one planning for sales (AM division), Abram could implement a more leaner inventory planning since instead of having 4 separate planning, and with thre e of them for production, we will have two major planning. Side effect would be increasing negotiation power while purchasing goods and more efficient inventory level. 2nd Question: What is your overall evaluation of Abram s management control system? Describe and strengths or weaknesses that you identified, but did not include in answering previous question.What changes, if any, would you recommend to top management? Abram current measurement system is based on ROI. My opinion is that it sin ;t suitable for a company like Abram is. Any investment done in this year will affect your bonuses in the next, and actually this system denominates oh to improve your systems, equipment or educate staff. In the era of fast changing companies and Internet, it is extremely dangerous to have a system in a company that forces managers all the time to use maximum from the equipment and people without any upgrades.Sometimes, if a competition is strong, and it is stated in the case, that industry is very price sensitive, if you don ‘ t upgrade or invest you will lose you market share since somebody else will invest only because we gave them the space. Weaknesses of Abram company would be: Dangerous ROI measurement system Fragmented inefficient organization, with implementing leaner systems it can become much more cost efficient Strategy that stops divisions to reach its full potential.Examples, AM can ‘t sell products from other brands. Some brands are market leaders in the industry and Abram spare parts could be sold as a side part or compatible part or combo. Divisions are denominated to invest in the future and upgrades. Each division has it own sales director selling to MOM. By having sales centralized, by accomplishing one big MOM deal Abram could sell products from 2 or even three divisions, at the moment their maximum is to sell only product from their division.Planning is not centralized and therefore company is not using its full negotiating strength Streng ths of Abram company would be: They have incentive system which shows that they understand that one of the main drivers to success are employees engaged in companies goals They have clear management structure. It is quite inefficient but by having a structure it shows that they could change it and have more efficient firm structure again They have ongoing business and therefore good position to feel all positive changes they implement.

Engaging Generation Y Employees Essay

The ability of employees to combine their commitment to the organization and the organization’s values and to work hand in hand with the other team members creating a comfortable work place that lifts up their morale to competently perform their duties is referred to as employee engagement (Bullivant 2005). These efforts enable employees to make decisions that cater for the success of the organization creating a strong bond between the employees and the organization. The virtue of self confidence and trust to the organization is developed as employees categorize themselves, as core members of the organization. Assets and resources provided by the organization are efficiently used and taken care of in an attempt of securing the future of the organization. Although employee engagement has been studied for a long period of time, its implementation seems difficult as the concept behind it has not been fully understood by employees and employers. The attempt of including employee engagement into the education curriculum has also not been successful (Bullivant 2005). The change in industrial relations has lead to the increased need of organizations to recruit an engaged workforce that assures the development of the organization. The upcoming generation Y that occupies about 40 % of the employment sector in Europe has raised concerns in their performance capability (Bullivant 2005). Employers complain about their inquisitive attitude towards the workplace culture which is not replicated into their work output. To overcome this hurdle generation Y has devised motivational schemes that help them to form an engaged workforce. A change in the order of preference between the public sectors and the private sectors is evident in this generation as a higher percentage has been employed in the public sectors comparing with the percentage of generation X and boom that are employed in the public sector (Townsend & Gebhardt 2007). Generation Y attributes job stability in the public sectors as the security of employment is enhanced. Generation Y comprises individuals that are still growing financially and require stability in employment to enable them fulfil their needs. Generation Y also associates public sectors with the ability of enhancing good employment relationship that links the employer to the employees by providing a balance between work and the personal life of the generation. In the public sectors opportunities for career development training are unending and are also provided outside work hours resulting to a quick progression of employees, because of the fairly well defined career path. This organizational culture attracts generation Y to work in the public sector, fully formulating an engaged workforce (Cook 2008). A plethora of campaigns wants the inclusion of generation Y into political activities thus increasing the desire of the generation towards politics. Public sectors provide opportunities that advocate for the development of the community to improve their welfare by improving the economic status (Milner 2000). This prevails an opportunity for the generation to actively be involved with the community and thus create better opportunities of winning their votes during political rallies. Also the recognition of their views by third party organizations results to a good development of their reputation especially since they are the future generation. Public sectors offer an attractive sum of money in their entry points thus encouraging generation Y to be fully engaged in the fundamental functions of the sector which leads to the growth of the sector and increase in the profit margins (Terry 2000). Problem statement The economy of Europe has seen its better taste in the 21st century as it has steadily grown, however due to the economic stability that the world is facing Business Secretary John Hutton of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has announced a review on the importance of employee engagement in the performance capability of British organizations (BERR 2008). The role undertaken by the public sector which mainly comprises the government and local authority departments in engaging generation Y employees aged between 27 years and below needs to recognize the generation as valuable assets to the organizations. The public sector needs to invest more on the generation by devising mechanisms which will advocate creation of an engaged workforce that will be more beneficial towards the performance of the sector. Therefore, this proposal will formulate strategies that will engage generation Y employees in public sector and recommendations of the evaluation criterion to be used (BERR 2008). Significance of the study (practical and ethical issue) Organizations that strive to invest in their employees so as to improve their skills and engagement usually have big profit margins which depicts a positive growth of the organization. Therefore this study is congruent in fulfilling the research objectives depicted in the problem statement as it will advocate for the establishment of business environments that will encourage employee engagement. This will help the public sector to view the employees as valuable assets thus creating an employment relationship that is long lasting. Hence this study will identify strategic measures to be implemented during employee engagement processes to help improve the productivity level of the British sector. The study will also explain the benefits British industry will attain in regards to the UK business competitiveness which depicts a progression career path for the employees. The study advocates for the abolishment of trade regulation and market barriers that affect the capability of the public sectors to stipulate policies which would help them ensure employee engagement. The study also encourages adoption of the practice by outlining the achievements of employee engagement. The study will also correlate employment engagement with business ethical behaviour that are in accordance to human, economic and social norms through the use of compliance programs that help to implement the stipulated government policies and regulations to govern the behaviour of team members in organizations. Literature review Statistics show that employee engagement creates a workforce that works with passion as it find a profound connection to the organization it is working for, resulting to the accomplishment of the organization’s policies which include the mission, vision, goals and objectives. The functions of the organization, customer service, and cost of production and marketing processes are advocated by the personal growth and unification of the common goal because of employee engagement (Bullivant 2005). A flexible organization culture that involves inclusion of team members in decision making, training programs to improve the competence of the team members and the incentive pay systems are supported by incorporation of employee engagement (Bullivant 2005). Organizations that advocate employee engagement have the advantage of retaining their employees as approximately 13% are likely to seek other employment opportunities (Milner 2000). Therefore, the need for government departments to review the importance of employee engagement in the performance capability of British organizations has increased (Bullivant 2005). To enable the public sector to engage generation Y employees they should re-evaluate their work culture to help improve employment relationship that exists between the sector and its employees. This will help the managers of the sector to value the rights of the employees and devise strategies that will lead to the respect and provision of their rights such as sick offs and company infringements. This will enable employee engagement to prevail, as the employees will connect with the managers of the sector improving their correlation (Tamara 2008). Management communication will help to spell out the functions of each team members and regularly evaluate the performance of the organization in regards to the work output of each employee. Trust and integrity will prevail as the team members will freely air their comments and grievances to a listening ear, thus helping the development of employee engagement (Fitz-Enz 2009). This will help the sector to effectively distribute their duties in accordance to the capability of generation Y thus improving their work performance. An instance where the team members will look after the welfare of the others will crop up as team work will be depicted. Through management communication the managers of the sector will be able to recognize the effort of the team members rewarding them accordingly through provision of benefits and promotion schemes which will lead to career development. This will result to retention of the dynamic generation Y employees who will take pride in the sector and thus maximize their capabilities to also develop the sector (Cheese, Thomas & Craig 2008). Offering training programs that will help the employees to understand the sector’s vision, ethics and improve their competence should be among the strategies the mangers of the public sector will use to engage generation Y employees. These programs will help the employees to increase their self confidence and knowledge thus adhering to the ethical codes stipulated by the policies of the public sector (Johnson & CIPD 2004). The managers of the sector will also attend training programs that will help them to learn strategies, values and tactics that will help them in the engagement of generation Y employees into the public sector. This will further increase the credibility of the sector as employment engagement will improve the reputation of the sector thus marketing it. The sector will also increase its scope of customers and thus strive in the stiff competition presented by the private sector (Pinnington, Macklin & Campbell 2007). Research design The research methodology used in this study will measure on the generality and applicability of engaging generation Y employees in the public sector to improve the British industry. Action research that identifies the problem of this study in the existing business practice will be used, as solutions that will be immediately incorporated into the business plan and organization culture of the public sector will result. The study will also rely on the historical perspective of the study problem to help determine the success and failures of previous attempt in engaging generation Y employees in the public sector. The scope of the research will be controlled by the information availed by library and field research. The information collected will be ordered in a descriptive manner to effectively elaborate issues that correlate with the study problems.

Adv. Accounting Theory & Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adv. Accounting Theory & Practice - Essay Example It is obvious that corporate social responsibility is a part which is very important for running the businesses successfully. But following the predefined the environmental policies compels businesses to behave in a certain a way, for example using high quality raw material, and atmosphere friendly plants. It brings cost to the business which is certainly not favorable for businesses. So, businesses have started deceiving the regulatory institutions and other stakeholders. They have found their ways in fulfilling the requirements of the regulatory bodies. There are loop holes in the system which companies use for manipulating the data and information shared with the stakeholders (Hooghiemstr, 2010). Businesses always communicate with their stakeholders in written form. So there is a lot of documentary material involves. They are shared with stakeholders periodically. Companies which are always under pressure by their stakeholders seem to be using different tactics for the satisfactio n of their stakeholders (Clatworthy and Jones, 2001). For that they give out the company information in a manner that will always highlight the areas with positive performance figures regarding company. They never talk about their weaknesses. This is called impression management. Two types of information are presented in the above mentioned documents of company. One is related to the qualitative data and the other is about calculated accounting figures. The qualitative narratives are highly manipulated. They never give out the exact matter. The quantitative narratives used in financial reporting are obtained from accounting books and financial statements of the company (Jones & Shoemaker, 1994). The usage of rhetorical devices in following accounting standards helps companies to manipulate the opinions of the readers of those reports. Rhetorical devices are related to accounting standards which allows businesses to present their accounting information in a customized format of their choice. The accounting narratives used in accounting reports mostly are out of the consideration of the auditors. The reason is that they do not come under the scope of auditing. This gives room to the companies to manipulate the information they share with their stakeholders. Generally, the external auditors of the company are restricted to check limited amount of information in financial records of the firms. The accounting narratives which are outside the scope of auditing have been given the name of discretionary accounting narratives by Brennan & Merkl-Davies, 2011. Impression management is complicated. Because while following the impression management strategy companies have to look into the interests of all stakeholder, then they decide which of them are at conflict with business, and which of them are conflicting with each other. Then they look at the multiple choices available to them for communicating their financial information. Then they analyze all the choice and choos e the best, which aids in attaining the utmost interests of

The gaze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The gaze - Essay Example There was little in the way of direct nudity in most images of stars, but photographers used great skill in appealing to the unconscious in their pictures. They found ways to hint at emotional dimensions below the surface, thereby triggering the desired reactions in the audience in a subtle way. The image above of the iconic film star Marilyn Monroe makes use of a very striking color contrast to emphasize the partially naked body in the center of the frame. The composition is fairly symmetrical apart from the back of the wicker chair which paradoxically juts out to the right of the central figure. This suggests that the subject sits uncomfortably in a world that is not quite suited to her needs: she is something of a rebel, but at the same time, this attitude makes her vulnerable, because her seated position is not quite secure. A low horizon line at the bottom separates the bright blue floor from the almost black background. The stiff netting material of the dress presents an angula r and yet see-through shield around the subject’s lower body: it is very structural in form, as if to protect her, and yet the light shining through reveals a great deal of the bare skin beneath. This is no doubt a deliberate strategy used by the photographer to tease the eye with an illusion of modesty. The feature of the photograph that I find most interesting is the combination of both mature and immature connotations of female sexuality which exist together in one and the same human subject. The very red lipstick draws attention to the subject’s sensual mouth, and the red fingernails accentuate this still further. Likewise the red toenails hint at deliberate efforts on the part of the subject to make herself sexually attractive to men. On the other hand, the posture bending forwards on the chair serves to hide the upper body, notably the breasts, and the naked feet pointing clumsily inwards suggest a childish awkwardness in front of the camera. The pose is modest, and yet revealing at the same time. This tension is reflected also in the silhouette that the human figure forms. Sitting in the middle of the picture, Marilyn Monroe appears to be slightly off-balance, as the eye is drawn by the outline of the dress from upper left to lower right. This too, makes the figure look insecure and in need of support. The male gaze finds therefore cause to feel both lustful and protective about the figure in the image, and this in nutshell describes the cultural value of the Marilyn Monroe â€Å"brand† in Hollywood cinema terms. The â€Å"look† which she offers the viewer is disarming and innocent, but there are many subconscious clues of a mature sexuality beneath the surface. There are parallels between this image and classical paintings, in which the interplay of light and shade serves to highlight the human flesh tones. This modern photograph is, however, more overtly sexual than classical paintings. A deliberate untidiness in the hairst yle and the direct, full-face angle of the picture suggest a kind of artful frankness. The model is pretending to be caught off-guard in a moment of relaxation, possibly after dancing, but in fact the composition looks very much as if it has been carefully staged to give this impression. A very important part of the picture’s impact is due to the complete lack of background

Christianity and Judaism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Christianity and Judaism - Essay Example Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because: Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies, Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah, Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations and Jewish belief is based on national revelation (Rabbi Simmons) Jews believe that the coming Messiah will build The Build the Third Temple (The Good News Bible, Ezekiel 37:26-28), Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (The Good News Bible, Isaiah 43:5-6) and the God will be King over all the world -- on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (The Good News Bible, Zechariah 14:9).Jews are still waiting for the Messiah to come. As per Jews beliefs, Jesus was not a prophet and he has taken birth on earth after the prophecy was ended. They also believe that the Messiah will take birth quiet naturally, same way like all the other human beings and will not possess any supernatural qualities like the Jesus. Jews don’t have much belief in miracles as they believe that the miracles done by the Jesus was with the help of magical powers rather than any Godly power. The above beliefs seem to be baseless since nobody can predict the actions of God. Sin has entered the world through one human being Adam and the whole world is filled with sins because of the gene transfer from Adam. It is an accepted fact now, that the children exhibit the characteristics of their parents because of the gene transfer. Thus the sin committed by Adam has been transferred to the blood of the whole future generation. As per God’s rule, death is the punishment for sin. But the death of future generation cannot be justified since they were not responsible for their sins directly. So as per God’s plan, a sinless person must sacrifice his life in order to remove the dark spots caused by the sins of Adam. But, unfortunately, there were no sacred persons on earth as everybody was the sons of Adam. Because of the above

Surrogate motherhood Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Surrogate motherhood - Dissertation Example Surrogate motherhood is a theme that evokes numerous opinions. There are many supporters of surrogate motherhood as well as many opponents. Neither of them is right or either of them is right in their own way. This research project is not focused on considerations of opponents or proponents. The literature review presented further on is focused on a current paradigm of surrogate motherhood. It is supposed that it is relevant to pay for surrogate motherhood to women who have already given birth to their own children. Physical and emotional load of surrogate motherhood is evident and it is not an easy labor. There should be no commercial spirit of surrogate motherhood, but it should be paid like any other kind of labor. Legal aspect of surrogate motherhood A common surrogate motherhood criticism is determined by the claim that it is impossible to buy or to sell a child. A child is not a commodity and money relationship is irrelevant from this perspective. In the New York State Task For ce on Life and the Law it is concluded that â€Å"the exchange of money for possession or control of children.., threatens to erode the way that society thinks about and values children, and by extension all human life†Ã'Ž Thus, from this perspective, a child’s birth is the natural outcome of a certain deal and it can be transferred from one party to another for money. A supposition that children in this case are treated like commodities can be contradicted by the fact that sometimes parts of a human body are treated like objects (Meehan, 2000). It can be argued that commodities require cleaning, cherishing etc, so it is not wrong in this context to treat children as commodities or objects. Thus, it is relevant to consider in this context people who pay money to buy a child from a surrogate mother. A good treatment is usually guaranteed to a child who is bought. From another perspective, such kind of an immoral treatment is irrelevant, because children are not commodi ties from the very beginning. Babies are given by God and it is not proper to sell or too buy them. With this respect one may argue that for example, when an individual wants to meet his spouse he pays for a matrimonial agency. But in this case a future spouse is not bought; it is just a money transfer to a matrimonial agency. Thus, it can be said that not a child is bought, but services of a surrogate mother are bought. Moreover, the services of a commercial surrogacy agency are bought. At this point it is relevant to talk about surrogacy arrangement. It is a cruel reality of the modern world that parents want to become legal parents and receive custody rights and for this purpose they have to pay a certain sum of money. A surrogate mother wants to get money for her services of bearing a child since it is a hard work to bear a child. An interesting suggestion is provided by†¦: â€Å"In a commercial surrogacy agreement, the commissioning couple could be thought of as buying pa rticular services from the surrogate mother. But it is not necessary to suppose that anything at all is bought or sold† (Mitchell, Pellegrino, Elshtain, Kilner & Rae, 2006). In this case obligations of one party imply that it gives money to another party in case obligations are fulfilled. This is a pragmatic paradigm that is often discussed in the contemporary researches and studies in this field. Therefore, we can surely claim that no illegal basis lies in terms of these contracts. There is a well-known paradigm suggested by Blyth and Potter, who claim that surrogacy does not imply buying or selling children, because future parents â€Å"might even imagine that they have purchased a particular baby.., what they have paid for is not necessarily the same as what they think they have paid for† (Mclachlan&Swales, 2009). This is an interesting claim and it is worth considering. There is such kind of cases, when future parents rejected to take the baby from a surrogate mothe r when it has already come into the world. Therefore, a legal

American Revolution Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Revolution - Term Paper Example The American Revolution, which took place from 1775 to 1783, can be considered as a remarkable event in the United States history (Fiske 2009, p. 26). The revolution played a significant role as it brought the United States into existence. As a result of the revolution, the United States gained independence from the oppressive British rule. During the political upheaval that accompanied the American Revolution in the second half of the 18th century, thirteen colonies from the North of America joined together. These colonies broke from the British Empire and combined to become the United States of America. First, the colonies turned down the authority of the Great Britain Parliament, which aimed at governing them overseas and denied them representation. This lack of representation made the states condemn the oppressive British rule, and they worked extremely hard to get rid of it (Wood 2002, p. 34). The introduction of new taxes can be regarded as a significant cause of the revolution. Since the British government wanted to come up with ways of generating income, it made a decision to levy new taxes on the colonies. These taxes could be used to offset the high costs of defense incurred by the Great Britain. For example, the Sugar Act of 1764 introduced a three pence tax for every gallon of molasses. The act also included a list of the goods that could be exported to the Great Britain. Contrary to other previous acts, this act had to be strictly enforced; this placed a heavy burden on the colonies and led to enormous economic downturns (McNeese 2003, p. 42). The â€Å"taxation without representation† triggered the onset of the revolution as colonial leaders complained of lacking members of Parliament to represent the interest of Americans. Further, the implementation of the currency act worsened the situation 2in the United States; the act prohibited the printing of paper money by the colonies. A number of

Write a report on the article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write a report on the article - Essay Example To provide a context for the case described in the article, there has been an exponential growth in the number of e-learning programs offered by universities around the world. Hence, it becomes imperative to erect suitable measures to prevent these systems from going down. There is a need to ensure that e-learning systems that are the backbone of many of the courses offered by these universities are robust and can withstand the onslaught of cyber warriors who delight in hacking into these systems and bringing them down. The case described in the article is about how the e-learning system that went down was a result of poor maintenance and inadequate measures taken by the administrators responsible for maintaining the system. As the authors point out, there were several lapses in the way in which the system was maintained and run by the IT department of KU. Some of them include, not taking backups regularly, improper use of the C drive and no structured effort to maintain user accounts and delete them after the students have left the university. These and other errors led to the system crashing and threatening the conduct of the e-learning course in the university. What is galling is the fact that there was a lackadaisical approach to the whole issue of maintaining the system from failure. This is something that the management of KU ought to take seriously and ensure that such haphazard methods of maintaining the system are avoided. This case holds lots of lessons for the system administrators of all kinds of IT systems and in particular, those of the e-learning modules that are very popular in the education sector. The fact that downtime in a system threatens the conduct of the entire course and leaves the fate of the students in the balance should be a wakeup call to all those who are in-charge of maintaining the system. The article is an important

Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Coursework Example that the company should consider includes ensuring that the quality of the products is not compromised at any time as this will help to maintain the sales levels and the profit margin. Absorption costing also known as full costing is a costing technique that value the closing stocks at the fill production cost including the fixed production costs. This method treats the fixed costs as product costs and they are incurred when the stock has been sold. The cost per unit constitutes both the fixed and the variable production costs. The process of absorption costing is as follows: gathering the raw data from the financial records, classifying the raw data in respect to the type of expense a process known as coding, cost analysis, determination of the cost centres that provide services to production cost centres, identify product cost centres that are involved directly with the production process and finally overhead absorption. This technique can be applied in different types of organizations that deal with the production and manufacturing of various products. For example the organizations that deal with sales have different costs that can be absorbed using the absorption technique to prepare the financial statements. A manufacturing organization is another example where this technique can be applied to absorb the various overhead costs using the direct costs incurred as the cost centres for allocation of the overheads. Absorption costing absorbs the total overheads into production and this generates implications when measuring performance, cost control and also the valuation of stocks. It is worth noting that the fixed costs do not vary with the level of activity and therefore this can lead to managers making incorrect decision about the business operations. Additionally, absorption costing allocates the overhead costs including the fixed costs on the basis of the cost driver. This method can be biased in determining the cost driver for each cost and therefore this

Thrmodynamecs Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Thrmodynamecs - Coursework Example The coolant that is in liquid form gets into the expansion valve is shown by 1. There is a sudden decline in pressure that causes the liquid to expand cool and vaporize into gas as it advances to the inner compartment of the fridge. There is a round pipe buried at the back wall of the fridge through which the liquid passes, and this chiller cabinet serves an important role of absorbing heat from the food inside the compartments. This is true according Kelvin-Planck law that states that heat transfer occurs from a region of high temperature to the region of low temperature. This law accounts for limitations of the first law of thermodynamics for failing to give the direction of heat flow. The part labeled 3 represents the compressor whose purpose is to convert the coolant into a hot high-pressure gas. This compressor squeezes the coolant raising its temperature and pressure (Serway, Faughn, & Vuille, 2009). The coolant passes through thin radiator pipes at the back of the fridge repre sented by the part labeled 4. In this radiators, most of the heat in the fluid is given out and cools back into a liquid as it advances to the next level. It is equally important to notice that Kelvin-Planck law requires that heat transfer should occur from a warmer to a cooler environment. The liquid then passes through an insulated cabinet to the expansion valve back to the reservoir, and the whole process repeats over and again. Eventually, all the heat in the compartments containing food or beverages is completely extracted resulting to temperatures that are too low for invasion of bacteria that causes decomposition of food (Serway, Faughn, & Vuille, 2009). The objective of a refrigerator is to remove heat from a cold medium. On the other hand, the objective of the heat pumps is to take energy from a cold source. Then transfer it to a hot source for purposes of raising the temperature of the part or

Psychological review Essay Example for Free

Psychological review Essay This interesting movie had many twist and turns that always kept you on the edge of your seat. The mysterious ending could have been interrupted in a variety of different views depending on the person watching the movie. The psychological role of the movie was tremendous, with patients ranging from paranoid schizophrenia to multiple personality disorders. The patients in the Manhattan Institute are suffering from various different disorders. The patient Prot was a delusional person that also suffered from PTSD. He thinks he’s from another planet, and many other of the patients are starting to believe him. Bess is another patient that is in a state of depression called paraiod schizophrenia and psychotic depression. Maria is a patient that is suffering from Multiple Personality Order. Her personalities vary form one to another. Howie is a patient that is on tranquilizers, and he has a desire for perfection. He spends most his time reading dictionaries and encyclopedias which enables him in his mind to speak without any mistakes. Prot is to be said from another planet, K-Pax. The evidence that is supporting his statement would be numerous events in the movie. First, he gave an entire map of his solar system and the exact coordinates. It was an amazing discovery that no other astronomer has yet discovered in our time. Next would be when the scientist said that Prot could see ultraviolet light, no human being can see this light. Also when Prot talked to the doctor’s dog about the kids sneaking up on the dog that the dog did not like that and the dog told him that which he talked to the kids about not sneaking up on the dog from the left side because he was hard of hearing in that ear. Prot said that he was going on a trip to Iceland and Greenland. The doctor didn’t believe him but Prot was missing for a couple of days. When he said he was going back to his planet at that exact time and date, a light came into the room and messed up all the security systems. Also Bess was missing because he said he was going to take one person back with him. After this incident Prot didn’t have to wear his sunglasses, and didn’t talk at all. All of the other patients didn’t recognize him at all. Also where Robert Potter lived near Roswell, New Mexico, which is a place where aliens have been spotted. Also after Robert killed the rapist and murderer he went down to kill himself in the river. The movie never really gives you the exact answer you are looking for as far as if he was an alien or not, it leaves the viewer to determine their own answer. All in All, k-pax is still one of my favorite movies just because of the psychological elements behind it.

Defining And Understanding Empowerment Social Work Essay

Defining And Understanding Empowerment Social Work Essay Empowerment can be defined in general as the capacity of individuals, groups and/or communities gain control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals, thereby being able to work towards helping themselves and others to maximise the quality of their lives. In health and social care empowerment means patients, carers and service users exercising choice and taking control of their lives. It is not that one is empowered means he or she become all powerful like God. Even if we are empowered still we have limitation. Actual meaning of empowerment is that one feels that he or she able and feels powerful enough in certain situations to take part in decision making. I also will explain how politics played a part in disempowering women in health and social care services. It is a greatest challenge in health and social care to achieve progress with the empowerment of carers and people who receive services. Beginnings of twentieth century women were disempowered because of politics played a part. Emancipation is a commonly used word in other western European countries to refer to what in the UK mean by empowerment. The word emancipation has is useful because it has overtones of the struggle for votes for women in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century, so it reminds us that empowerment  Ã‚  in the health and social services has a political aspect. When carers and people who use services experience being disempowered and excluded, this is a form of political disenfranchisement. In other words, it is as though they have no vote and are not treated as full members of society. In contrast, when people become empowered, they can exercise choices and have the possibility of maximising their potential and living full and active lives.   There is a tension between enabling people to take control of their lives and recognising that workers may need to intervene and take control sometimes, in order to protect other people. This applies to both empowerment and advocacy. Empowerment for people with learning disabilities is the process by which they develop increased skills to take control of their lives. This will help them achieve goals and aspirations, maximising their quality of life. A key feature in empowering people is giving them a voice and actively listening to what they have to say. Empowerment is, therefore, closely linked to the concept of advocacy. Empowerment in learning disability can be described as a social process, whereby people who are considered as belonging to a stigmatised social group can be assisted to develop increased skills to take control of their lives. This increased control will help them to achieve their goals and aspirations and thus potentially maximise the quality of their lives. The concept has connections with assertiveness and independence and is clearly linked to the various forms of advocacy. When considering the current climate it is somewhat an indictment on our times that the Government sees the need to name the White Paper regarding its vision for learning disability services as Valuing People. The title alone inversely suggests that as a society we are not valuing people. The content presents the evidence on levels of exclusion, disempowerment and lack of valued social roles facing those with a learning disability and how services should be planned to address this. (A similar Scottish Executive Review of Learning Disability has the title The Same As You.) For the individual with a learning disability, the subjective experience of empowerment is about rights, choice and control which can lead them to a more autonomous lifestyle. For the professional, it is about anti-oppressive practice, balancing rights and responsibilities and supporting choice and empowerment whilst maintaining safe and ethical practice. Education is often seen as the main engine of empowerment, equality and rights of access. Thus, as a group, people with a learning disability can be at a particular disadvantage. They may have to be enabled and supported to perhaps overcome social obstacles and can be dependent on others to make important information accessible to them, assist them with advocacy and help safeguard their rights. A key feature in empowering individuals is giving them a voice and then listening actively to what they have got to say. Person Centred Planning with its focus on placing the individual at the centre of the process and using techniques to obtain meaningful participation can be a major contribution to finding out what people have got to say. Empowerment will bring along with it rights and responsibilities plus also potential risks for people. It is often the fear of physical risk which can inhibit empowerment processes for people who see themselves as responsible for vulnerable people. They may fear a blame culture if things go wrong. Surprisingly, as recently as 1998, the Social Services Inspectorate noted there were no systematic approaches for risk assessment and management in the field of learning disability. The Foundation for People with a Learning Disability set out to identify good practice in how to reconcile the tension between ensuring the safety of an individual with a learning disability and empowering them to enjoy a full life in the community. A report was produced called Empowerment and Protection (Alaszewski et al, 1999) which suggested that organisations needed to develop risk policies which embrace both protection and empowerment issues at the same point. The definition of risk should look at consequences and probability. Procedures should also include, from the start, the wishes and needs of the person who has the learning disability and involve them  throughout, including the decision making stage. Such comments about organisations developing appropriate risk strategies show that empowerment is not there just  as a concept for front line staff, but should penetrate the strategic planning levels. Valuing People states (Section 4.27) that people with a learning disability should be consulted for their views on services and these views utilised at a corporate planning level. In Mrs Ali case she is empowered by Muslim religious faith to take of her bed-bound husband although in contrast her care taker Jean believes that Mrs Ali should be empowered. This indicates religion also empower some people to take care vulnerable people.

Internal Communication and Organizational Changes

Internal Communication and Organizational Changes Internal Communications and Organizational Changes Budi Santoso Introduction Institutional changes are unavoidable. It happens to any kinds of organizations; no matter how stiff the structure is (we can take military institution as a sample). One significant factor that holds important role in the process of change is communication. Change, however, requires communication supports, not only formal but also informal. When interaction and social doings among leaders and staffs within organizations has to be established according to the needs of change, communication about this is necessary (Vos and Schoemaker, 2001, p. 101). Therefore, internal communications holds a vital role to make a desired change successful. The basic idea of this is that internal communication’s role ranges from communicating to stimulating the process of change (Vos and Schoemaker, 2001, p. 100). In this paper, writer should focus on one of internal communications functions, namely, communicating the facts of the intended change to the inside stakeholders. The reason for this is that changes can possibly create a lack of clarity and uncertainty amongst inside stakeholders (Vos and Schoemaker, 2001), hence the need for information is relatively large. More importantly, to communicate the change to staff and employees is a significant initial phase within the whole process of change. Organizations, as stated by Vos and Schoemaker (2001), are basically based on collaboration (p. 81). All sections are interconnected, and by that, are interdependent. All parts are directed to involve in mutual cooperation to realize or achieve organizations’ goals which are usually manifested in their missions. The output of mutual cooperation among all segments is based on the quality of internal communication which takes place. Organizational structure cannot obviously be separated from internal communication as it, essentially, is resulted from communication process that happened continuously within an organization. Structures save us time and trouble, while they help us build on past experience (Cheney et al, 2004, p. 20). However, the climate of internal communication of an organization should actually be developed from symmetrical systems of communication. In this paper, I try to explain how the organizational structure regulates internal communication climate in organizations, as the way in which people communicate depends strongly on the nature of organization (Vos and Schoemaker, 2001), by giving reasonable arguments which I elaborated from several sources. Organizational Structure Cheney et al (2004) symbolized structure of organization as a skyscraper: a tall building with many rooms and main parts, such as pillars or roofs, which are used to hold the whole divisions to stand up. The main part of organizations, then, is the communication atmosphere which colors the works spirit of all manpower to give their ideas, energy and services for the sake of their organizations. Online business dictionary (2007) defined organizational structure as formal and informal Framework of policies and rules, within which an organization arranges its lines of authority and communications, and allocates rights and duties. Organizational structure shapes the manner and degree to which roles, power, and responsibilities are delegated, controlled, and coordinated, and how information flows between levels of management. Structure is aimed to give shape and direction to internal communication activities that take place, whether it is vertical or horizontal. On the other hand, type of structure determines coordination and cooperation process within organizations. Internal communication is vital if an organization is to function properly (Vos and Schoemaker, 2001). Internal communication climate and structure of organization Grunig, in his writing Systems of Internal Communication (1992), quoted Schneider (1985), wrote that the concept of communication climate came from organizational psychology. It refers to a psychological atmosphere in organization like warm, tolerant, and participative. The values of communication climate can cover some features such as consistency, credibility, trust, openness, accuracy and frequent communication. However, there are also negative senses such as intolerant, rigid or imbalanced communication atmosphere that could result in ineffectiveness in organizations. Effendy (1983, in Ruslan, 2007) internal communication which exists in organization can be categorized in three. First is vertical communication. This kind of communication is centered on two ways aspect. Downward and upward communications principally are manifestation of vertical communication. Nonetheless, in downward style, management stands the instruction, information, explanation, or delegation to person in charge in the units or their subordinates. In upward, subordinates give reports, suggestions, or even complaints to their direct managers. Second is horizontal communication. This sort of communication takes place amongst ordinary employees or staffs, or managers in the same level. Cross communication can also be come about in horizontal communication. Presently, structure of organizations has massively been developed. The most common and traditional type, bureaucracy where most decisions are centralized, has no longer been the one and only, even though some big business and governmental offices still use it. The terminologies such as boundaryless or virtual organizations have been popular amidst organizational scholars and adopted by many organizations. Some high-tech firms in Silicon Valley, USA, for instance, have been organizing themselves to implement a relatively flat structure (Cheney et al, 2004), where the decision making power is distributed and the divisions have varying degrees of autonomy. Flat structure is often used by organizations where their works are fundamentally about new ideas (Cheney et al, 2004). This happens as a result to cut off the stagnation in communication flows within the organizations and to drive a favorable work atmosphere. Vos and Schoemaker (2001) confirm this by saying that structure offers a framework for the processes occurring in organizations. The differentiation and specialization in organizations as described in units, or departments may probably be potential to induce unclear communication processes, particularly in big organizations or corporations who applies rigid bureaucratic model. Specialization, in other words, may mystify and exclude other departments’ staffs since each has its own language or jargon. Organizations with many divisions or levels will be likely to have more basic problems in their internal communication compared to organizations who adopt simple structure, if procedures and guidelines are not established in good order. This means that inconsistency in performing the guidelines, for instance, may emerge unclear job responsibilities and, in turn, can lead to significant communication problems. More divisions, levels or employees, of course, will cause extra managerial efforts to reach mutual relationships to get common sense in reaching organizations’ ends. Vos and Schoemaker described this condition by stating that communication problems about who is doing what can originate in problems of the structure (2001, p. 96). Simply saying, flat and fluid organizational structure may give leaders more chances to interact informally with their subordinates to get feedback or to give constructive motivation. Motivation, as one important factor to achieve work quality, can be improved by the way leaders communicate. Leaders may increase their credibility before the employees by, perhaps, showing them their trustworthiness, openness and appreciation. In some extent, these characters can raise employee’s motivation to improve their job performance as well as to experience job satisfaction. Writer tried not to say that flexible or simple structures are better than conventional ones, as they have their own strength and weakness. However, the type or size of organization which can be drawn up from its structure undeniably also affects the way internal communications carried out and determines the quantity and quality of it. Military institutions, for example, may not have fluid and informal structure since their philosophy is based on chain of commands and thus, centralized. If an army adopts fluid structure, it can even jeopardize its internal communication since there is a solid system in rank stratification. Communicating the Change Internal communications is required not only to let members of organization know about the change which is going to take place but also to keep the process of it running properly. Cheney, Christensen, Zorn, Ganesh (2004) stated that communication is the means by which change is implemented, as implementers negotiate plans, announce changes (p. 339). To communicate the facts about the desired change to inside stakeholders, in this case shareholders, staff and workforce calls for good strategies. Excellent internal communications plans and actions are needed to result in less-turbulent reaction of the insiders. It is a common thing that not everyone in organization becomes aware or even expects changes. And yet, as told by Cheney et al (2004), change is considered successful if it is accepted by key stakeholders rather than rejected; is compatible between the intended use of designer and the actual use of user; and give benefit to the organizations as well. The prominent key of announcing the intended change is based on how to handle the flows of information regarding the change itself. Vos and Schoemaker underlined that Information about change should be managed well and provided timely to prevent rumours (Vos and Schoemaker, 2001, p. 110). This entails the need that inside stakeholders would better receive the information from the management directly and at the first place, not from external parties such as media or their counterparts from other organizations. The facts should be communicated as clear and concise as possible to reduce uncertainty and anxiety among them. Furthermore, management should consider the possibility of messages may not be heard or be met with cynicism of the stakeholders. Mental noise may stop people from receiving messages. Practical ways to support the change It is crucial that management classifies and selects message delivery methods which suit the circumstances and the need of the receivers by conveying the information constantly and frequently as well as using selective channels that fit to types of target stakeholders. For instance, if the change is large-scale and will relatively give profound impact to most frontline employees, like downsizing or outsourcing, it is much better that the top executives not to directly communicate this to them. It will be more appropriate to delegate this task to frontline supervisors as frontline employees usually do not trust top executives (Cheney et al, 2004, p. 331). Frontline supervisors may have closer and more emotional relationship with frontline employees than those at middle or top management. Trust is usually built on intense, direct interaction. Basically, management can communicate the change through multiple channels, including speaking, writing, video, training, focus groups, bulletin boards, Intranets, and more. Again, it always depends on the kinds of changes. For example, management can apply internal media like bulletin boards or intranet as well to introduce a new design for corporate newsletter. Using generally accessible internal media to announce a small-scale change seems to be better than personal ones as this can save money and energy. This means that organization treats all stakeholders (staff and workforce) equally to give everyone fair notice of the change (Cheney et al, 2004, 332). Especially to shareholders, personal approach or media like individual calls or special meeting may be more effective as they own the organization and their claim on organizational resources is often considered superior to the claims of other inside stakeholders (Jones, 2004, p. 32). Persuading those who do not accept (opponents) or are still floating (potential promoters and hidden opponents) concerning the change is included in communicating stage. It is very possible that management will get resistance from shareholders, staff and employees who feel uneasy. They may think that the change will bring uncertainty to their future and may threaten their positions (some kinds of changes like downsizing or restructuring will, indeed, threaten some people). Basically, rejection and uncertainty could also be possible as a result of lack of information about the change itself. To cope with it, management can arrange a kind of meeting, for instance, small group gathering, and invite this group or its representatives to talk over about the change by giving clear and comprehensive understanding about it. On the other hand, in persuading the resistance, negotiation may appear to be a wise way to compromise with the existing interests. At this stage, the planner should stimu late the process of change by providing transparency. Communicating the change also includes facilitating the process of change by giving appropriate trainings or exercises to keep the change in line with the programmed procedures. Facilitating the change is directed to provide more information through education for the involved stakeholders to strengthen their knowledge and skills related to the change. In this stage, getting and providing regular feedback and updates will be useful. It is important for executives and managers to know what sorts of responds emerge, such as acceptance, commitment, and productivity (Cheney et al, 2004, p 330). Taking feedback is not a linear process which is conducted only at the end of the intended change. It is actually a circular process that covers the whole phase of the change. For instance, an input from employee about the new-adopted administration filing system may force a reconsideration of the original formulation. By getting feedback, management can measure the ongoing process and do improveme nts if needed. Conclusion As a summary, writer finds out that in order to achieve successful desired change, organization should be able to constitute applicable communication plan to announce the change to their inside stakeholders. Well-planned strategy mitigates chances that the change will be rejected by inside stakeholders. Proper action will ultimately increase the organisation’s ability to get and take feedback effectively. Writer also comes to a conclusion that structure of organization really affects the climate of internal communication. On my perspective, today’s organizations need to have more fluid and flexible structure in order to have clearer and transparent communication flows. But, I believe that organizational structure is not the only thing involved as there are some other significant factors like culture or economic reasons which also have to be taken into account. However, we should remember that based on the fact, 90 per cent of intended change were not suitable with the expectation (Becht, 2008). This implicates that actually the successful change is not merely determined by the methods it is communicated. The current internal communications climate in the organization may possibly affect the successful of the change. Bibliography Becht, Agaath. 2008. Presentation on Change management, presented on January, 17 2008. The Hague: The Hague University. Cheney, George. Christensen, LT. Zorn, JR, TE. Ganesh, Shiv. 2004. Organizational Communication in Age of Globalization: Issues, Reflection, Practices. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. Jones, Gareth R. 2004. Organizational Theory, Design, and Change (4th Edition). NJ: Prentice Hall Vos, Marieta. Schoemaker, Henny. 2001. Integrated Communication: Concern, Internal and Marketing Communication (2nd Edition). Utrecht: LEMMA Publishers Organizational Structure. (2008, January 10). BusinessDictionary.com, The free online business dictionary. Retrieved January 10, 2008, from Business Dictionary Website: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-structure.html *Dosen PNSDpk Kopertis II Palembang

Affirmative Action :: essays research papers

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION A NECESSARY POLICY TO PREVENT DISCRIMINATION AND INEQUITIES OR A DISCRIMINATIVE AND INEQUITABLE POLCY INTRODUCTION Historically, there have been arguments about what Affirmative Action (AA) really is. The basis of the argument for the most part, debates the goal(s) of AA. Is the goal of AA to erase past inequities for the disabled, minorities and/or women without protest? Or is Affirmative Action a culture or spirit that rewards diversity and differences? Basically there are two definitions or schools of thought for AA. The first school of thought is that AA is an umbrella term for laws and policies that the United States Executive, Judicial, and legislative bodies have mandated. Specifically, AA is a series of social policies and statutes that regulate activities and laws with the primary intent to achieve equity and increase opportunity for all. The second school of though is that AA is an umbrella term defining a broader set of activities whereby public and private institutions voluntarily incorporate practices and polices to increase diversity, opportunity and equity. Under this school of thought, AA is in spirit and an institutional policy. The intent of this paper is to address the serious and profound arguments of both schools of thought. In addition, this paper will address issues relative to determining whether or not AA is necessary instrument for the demise of discrimination and the formation of justice and whether or not AA needs to be maintained, modified or terminated. I. Affirmative Action Background A. A Brief History of AA in the United States of American Contrary to popular belief, the concept of AA actually began prior to the executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The concept of AA began upon the signing of Amendment XIII of the Constitution. 1. The Late 19the and Early 20th Century America began to deal with the inequities and lack of justice for mean of African decent in the 1800s. In my opinion, the initial and most significant policy or law relative to AA was Amendment XIII to the Constitution. The 13th Amendment states, â€Å"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction† (US Constitution, Amendment 13, Section 1). Further cited, â€Å"Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation†, (US Constitution, Amendment 13, Section 2). While the intent of the 13th amendment was to abolish slavery and begin the long process of just and equal rights for all American citizens.

Philosophy of Education :: Philosophy of Teaching Educational Essays

Philosophy of Education Most of the teachers that have taught me in my time as a student have come across as positive role models to their students. When I look back at my experiences with those teachers, I want to be like them. I want to help my students just like those teachers have helped me. Those teachers that made a positive impression on me are the reason I want to be a teacher. Those teachers that I look back on played a huge part in developing the human being that I am today. I want to be able to play that same part in the development of other people. I yearn to give children a good solid education and a good start in life that my teachers have given me. A good foundation in education is extremely important to a child; I want to provide good solid foundations for children. Teachers that genuinely care for their students and provide good solid foundations are the reason I have chosen teaching as my profession. Unfortunately, some children are without steady home lives. Children that do not have a substantial home life yearn for solid ground. I would like to be the teacher that is a role model for inopportune children. I want to be able to provide the firm, safe background that those students aren’t able to have. I want to be a teacher so I can make a difference in children’s lives. Even though most of the teachers that taught me in school were very high-quality, a few were just not up to par. I hope to be a better teacher. I want children to look back and think that I was the one teacher that was different than the rest. I want to be on the same level as the children that I am teaching. I want to motivate my children to learn, to enjoy learning. I want to teach so I can show children the joys of learning. Also, teaching is a way to help people. I have always wanted my life to be a help to someone, and through teaching I can live out that dream.

Free Speech -- The First Amendment

When you think about America, the first thing that comes to mind is liberty. Liberty of the government and its citizens is one thing that colonists exceedingly desired during the British oppressive regime. When United States gained independence, the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution of the Unites States, a document that has been governing our country for more than 200 years. The constitution was drafted accordingly to ensure that people’s opinions were heard. What our Founding Fathers could not foresee is that in our 21st century, The Freedom of Speech not only gives a person such a massive power, but also an opinion even if it is immoral and goes against citizens’ values. Thesis statement The First Amendment is the right that has been belonging to people since the birth. When we think about freedom of speech, we tend to remember the protester who expressed his opinion through burning the United States flag or about journalists who exposed a corrupt official. But now the trend is to use the First Amendment to release hatred and worshiping mindsets that go against society’s values and morals. Background, History In the United States of America, the First Amendment is one of the things that distinguishes us from any other nations. The First Amendment guarantees the absolute freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom to exercise any religion and freedom to assemble. In many countries,the press gets censored and people who publicly express their opinion end up in the jail. In our country, however, political speech is protected and any citizen can sue an other if one feels his or her opinion is suppressed. The Westboro Baptist Church, Neo-Nazi, Neo- Klu Klux Klan, and many others emerged as groups that invoke and in... ... on Corporate Speech, the Press Is a Problem." New York Times 8 Feb. 2011: A12(L). Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Document URL†¨http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=IPS&docId=A248547954&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=moun43602&version=1.0 Welch, Matt. "The 'costs' of free speech: consequentialism and the First Amendment don't mix." Reason July 2010: 2+. Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. Document URL http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A227945164&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=moun43602&version=1.0 Lawver, Bryan. "Laws Do Not Prevent Hate Speech." The Globe. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

Motorola Mobility/Mgt 521

Business Analysis Part I – Motorola Mobility MGT/521 University of Phoenix Business Analysis Part I – Motorola Mobility Deciding whether or not to invest in Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) requires critical and creative thinking. Research provides a greater understanding of business trending in order for stakeholders to make educated decisions regarding personal and business investments. The following passages present part one of a three-part business plan designed to aid the author, a mutual fund manager, in making a fundamental investment decision.A SWOT analysis of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. proposes pertinent details, encompassing internal and external stakeholders' needs, and further providing a scope of investor needs and how they are met by MMI. SWOT Analysis â€Å"SWOT Analysis is a useful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for identifying both the Opportunities open to you and the Threats you face† (Mind Tools Ltd, 2011, SWOT Analysis, para. 1). The subsequent paragraphs represent a snapshot of Motorola Mobility from an internal and external perspective. StrengthsOperational efficiency. Resourceful manufacturing is an integral component of an efficient operation. Motorola (2011) stated, â€Å"From the warehouse floor to product delivery, mobility solutions provide access to information in real time and help automate operations, ultimately creating a seamless, error-proof work environment† (Motorola, 2011, Manufacturing, para. 1). MMI will have no debt at spinoff. According to Brand (2011), the disjointing of Motorola's corporate business divisions, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions, means zero debt for MMI upon development.Therefore, the newly defined entity is more easily leveraged and less inclined to accrue disadvantageous debts. A pioneer of cell phones. – Motorola is a leader in the market for cell phone technologies and has forged a direct path to success. â€Å"Mot orola is one of the pioneers of mobile phones, and along with Nokia and Ericsson it has one of the biggest and most profitable phone patent portfolios in the world. † (Barak, 2011, Devices, para. 8). Innovative Products. Motorola Mobility has two of the most scientific smartphone products on the market.A Middle East news portal, Al Bawaba (2011), proposes one leading innovative Motorola product is highly regarded in Middle East and Africa: Motorola ATRIX  is the world’s most powerful smartphone with a dual-core processor that is the fastest yet offered in a mobile phone and is designed to essentially become a user’s primary digital hub to create, edit and interact with documents, media and content. (para. 7) Weaknesses Weak profitability. â€Å"Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. , spun off in January from Motorola Inc. declined in New York trading after the Droid smartphone maker forecast profit for this quarter and full year that trailed analysts’ estimat es† (Miller, 2011, News, para. 1). While the current financial forecast is stunted, long-term focus on profitability is the key. Poor Customer Service ratings. Customer satisfaction is a dynamic component of any business whether the business is corporate, entrepreneurial, or nonprofit. According to Customer Service Scoreboard (2011), an online review and rating system, Motorola Customer Service rates a disappointing score of 36. 33 out of a possible 200.Lag in LTE technologies (4G products). Motorola Mobility is slacking in the production of LTE technologies, causing a decrease in the company's market shares. MMI is currently working toward the manufacturing of patented silicon for the 4G products in the lineup. However, according to Woyke (2011), the competitors are taking the lead in the LTE market. Opportunities Google to acquire Motorola. â€Å"The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and wi ll enhance competition in mobile computing† (Google, 2011, Investor Relations, para. ). Merging two well-established entities which complement one another will prove to enhance an already-flourishing group of technologies at the core of the mobile industry. Strong demand for Android. â€Å"A  recent report from Nielsen  showed that Android controlled 39% of the domestic smartphone market, with Apple’s iOS controlling 28%† (Meyer, 2011, Devices, para. 4). The statistics are favorable for MMI's existing innovations and are suspected to increase with the sales of the upcoming lineup. Expanding smartphone lineup.Atrix, Droid X2, Droid Bionic, Droid 2 Global, and Photon 4G are five Android-based smartphones Motorola has in the lineup with the potential to compliment the Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility (International Business Times, 2011, para. 2-8 ). With the current demand for the Android platform and technologies in the mobile arena, the five forthcomi ng Motorola smartphones are expected to stir up the competitive market. Threats Competitive Pressure. According to a current Yahoo Finance posting of a Dow and Nasdaq report, Motorola Mobility's primary competitors are Apple, Cisco Systems, and Nokia (Yahoo!Finance, 2011). As the demand for even more enhanced technologies become greater, Motorola Mobility will also find a need to stay ahead of not only the existing competitors, but competitors in the making. Pending US litigation. Motorola is in a longstanding power struggle against several top companies in the mobile technology and electronics industry. Google acquired three pending US litigations along with the acquisition of MMI. According to United States' leading patent law blog Patently-O (2011), Google also acquired awaiting lawsuits with TiVo, Microsoft, and Apple regarding patent infringements.Investment Decision The decision to invest in Motorola Mobility is not an easy assessment to make. However, as a mutual fund manager , the educated decision is based on the information gained from the SWOT analysis conducted. Internally, MMI is strong with above-average manufacturing efficiencies. Additionally, the quality of smartphones made by Motorola significantly compliments Google's existing Android platforms. Externally, with Google's acquisition of MMI, the business decision to invest in Motorola Mobility is a secure long-term decision accompanied with only a few risks.Internal and External Stakeholders and Needs Motorola Mobility is a spinoff company which separated from Motorola and then merged with Google. Internal stakeholders include both Motorola and Google along with the employees, shareholders, manufacturers, customers, suppliers, traveling consumers and home consumers of the innovative mobile technologies. External stakeholders of MMI include device manufacturers, service providers, social media, marketers, advertisers and application developers. Every stakeholder has a need which, ideally, must be met by the coupled organization.MMI's internal stakeholders need increased sales, economical supplies, and efficient processes. However, external stakeholders seek efficient and effective platforms and software in order to make use of the mobile technologies supplied. Need Fulfillment and Implications At the present time, Motorola Mobility is deficient in profitability, but is excelling with product manufacturing efficiencies and processes. Profitability can be expected to increase over time as the merge with Google stabilizes and leverages the overall company portfolio.Furthermore, the sales can be expected to increase with the introduction of Motorola LTE products once the company establishes and patents the unique silicon currently in the works. Finally, the existing Android-based platforms Google has already patented are complimentary to Motorola Mobility's offered products and also the devices in the lineup to be launched. On the other hand, one of MMI's chief focal points s hould include a goal of improving the quality of service provided to the consumers. Increased orientation time and interactive training would provide more involved and knowledgeable employees.Conclusion Motorola Mobility Holdings is currently struggling with profits, customer service standards, and competition; however, the judgment to invest in the newly-acquired company is sound regardless of the existing risks. As shown in the provided SWOT analysis, MMI has several favorable factors in the immediate mobile technology market. With MMI's historical cell phone quality, current and future innovations, lack of current debt, recent merge with the prominent Google Company, and ever-growing demand for mobile technology, the decision to invest stands firm. After all, between Motorola nd Google, even the company's minor flaws and external pressures are presently under control and projected to stay that way. References Al Bawaba. (2011, February 6). Motorola to showcase most powerful innov ative mobile devices. Retrieved from http://www. albawaba. com Barak, S. (2011, August 15). Google's bid for Motorola Mobility – a play for patents only? Retrieved from http://siliconvalley. rcrwireless. com Brand, C. (2011, January 11). Motorola Doubles Down on Cell Phones with Mobility Unit Spin-Off, But Should Investors Tread Carefully? Retrieved from http://www. peridotcapitalist. om Customer Service Scoreboard. (2011, September 5). Motorola Customer Service. Retrieved from http://www. customerservicescoreboard. com Google. (2011, August 15). Google Investor Relations. Retrieved from http://investor. google. com International Business Times. (2011, September 2). Top 5 Android-based Motorola Smartphones That Could Compliment Google-Motorola Deal. Retrieved from http://www. ibtimes. com Meyer, D. (2011, August 15). RCR Wireless. Retrieved from http://siliconvalley. rcrwireless. com Miller, H. (2011, July 29). Motorola Mobility Drops as Profit Forecast Trails Estimates.Retri eved from http://www. businessweek. com Mind Tools Ltd. (2011). SWOT Analysis. Retrieved from http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newTMC_05. htm Motorola. (2011). Manufacturing. Retrieved from http://www. motorola. com Patently-O. (2011, August 15). Google's Purchase of Motorola Mobility. Retrieved from http://www. patentlyo. com Woyke, E. (2011, July 15). Motorola Seeks To Shore Up Weakness In LTE Devices. Retrieved from http://www. forbes. com Yahoo! Finance. (2011, September 2). Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (MMI). Retrieved from http://finance. yahoo. com

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Eleven

â€Å"Coffee, my dear?† Professor Campbel – James, Elena reminded herself – asked. At her nod, he bounced to his feet and bustled over to the tiny coffeemaker perched on top of a teetering stack of papers. He brought her a cup of coffee, creamed and sugared, and settled down happily in his chair, gazing across his crowded desk at her with an expression of innocent enjoyment. â€Å"I think I have some cookies,† he offered. â€Å"Not homemade, but they're reasonably tasty. No?† Elena shook her head politely and sipped her coffee. â€Å"It's very good,† she said, and smiled at him. It had been a few days since she had told Stefan and Damon she needed to take a break from them. After a much-needed sob session with Bonnie and Meredith, she had done her best to be normal – going to class, having lunch with her friends, keeping up a brave mask. Part of this attempt at normality was coming to James's office hours, so that she could hear more about her parents. Even though they couldn't be there to comfort her, talking about them offered some solace. â€Å"My God!† James cried out. â€Å"You have Elizabeth's face, and then, when you smile, Thomas's dimple comes right out. Just the same as his – on only one side. It gave him a certain raffish charm.† Elena wondered if she should thank James. He was complimenting her, in a way, but the compliments were real y directed toward her parents, and it felt a little presumptuous to be grateful for them. She settled for saying, â€Å"I'm glad you think I look like my parents. I remember thinking when I was little that they were very elegant.† She shrugged. â€Å"I guess al little kids think their parents are beautiful.† â€Å"Well, your mother certainly was,† James said. â€Å"But it's not just your looks. Your voice sounds like hers, and the comments you made in class this week reminded me of things your father would have said. He was very observant.† He delved into his desk drawers and, after a bit of rummaging, pul ed out a tin of butter cookies. â€Å"Sure you won't have one? Ah, Well.† He chose one for himself and took a bite. â€Å"Yes, as I was saying, Elizabeth was extremely lovely. I wouldn't have cal ed Thomas lovely, but he had charm. Maybe that's how he managed to win Elizabeth's heart in the end.† â€Å"Oh.† Elena stirred her coffee absently. â€Å"She dated other guys, then?† It was ridiculous, but she had kind of imagined her parents as always being together. James chuckled. â€Å"She was quite the heartbreaker. I imagine you are, too, dear.† Elena thought unhappily of Stefan's soft, dismayed green eyes. She had never wanted to hurt him. And Matt, who she had dated in high school and who had quietly gone on loving her. He hadn't fal en in love, or even been real y interested in, anyone else since then. Heartbreaker, yeah. James was watching her with bright, inquisitive eyes. â€Å"Not a happy heartbreaker, then?† he said softly. Elena glanced at him in surprise, and he set his coffee cup down with a little clink. He straightened up. â€Å"Elizabeth Morrow,† he said in a brisk businesslike voice, â€Å"was a freshman when I met her. She was always making things, particularly amazing sets and costumes she designed for the theater department. Your father and I were both sophomores at the time – we were in the same fraternity, and close friends – and he couldn't stop talking about this amazing girl. Once I got to know her, I was sucked into her orbit, too.† He smiled. â€Å"Thomas and I each had something special about us: I was academical y gifted, and Thomas could talk anyone into anything. But we were both cultural barbarians. Elizabeth taught us about art, about theater, about the world beyond the smal Southern towns where we'd grown up.† James ate another cookie, absentmindedly licking sugar off his fingers, then sighed deeply. â€Å"I thought we'd be friends forever,† he said. â€Å"But we went in different directions in the end.† â€Å"Why?† Elena asked. â€Å"Did something happen?† His bright eyes shifted away from hers. â€Å"Of course not,† he said dismissively. â€Å"Just life, I suppose. But whenever I walk down the third-floor corridor, I can't help stopping to look at the photograph of us.† He gave a self-conscious laugh, patting his stomach. â€Å"Mostly vanity, I suppose. I recognize my young self more easily than I do the fat old man I see in the mirror now.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† Elena asked, confused. â€Å"The third-floor corridor?† James's mouth made a round O of surprise. â€Å"Of course, you don't know al the col ege traditions yet. The long corridor on the third floor of this building has pictures from al the different periods of Dalcrest's history. Including a nice photo of your parents and yours truly.† â€Å"I'l have to check it out,† Elena said, feeling a little excited. She hadn't seen many pictures of her parents from before they were married. There was a tap on the door, and a smal girl with glasses peeked in. â€Å"Oh, I'm sorry,† she said, and started to withdraw. â€Å"No, no, my dear,† James said jovial y, getting to his feet. â€Å"Elena and I were just chatting about old friends. You and I need to have a serious talk about your senior thesis as soon as possible. Come in, come in.† He gave Elena an absurd little half bow. â€Å"Elena, we'l have to continue this conversation later.† â€Å"Of course,† Elena said, and rose, shaking James's offered hand. â€Å"Speaking of old friends,† he said casual y as she turned to go, â€Å"I met a friend of yours, Dr. Celia Connor, just before the semester started. She mentioned that you were coming here.† Elena whipped back around, staring at him. He had met Celia? Images fil ed Elena's mind: Celia held in Stefan's arms as he traveled faster than any human, desperate to save her life; Celia fending off the phantom in a room ful of flames. How much did James know? What had Celia told him? James smiled blandly back at her. â€Å"But we'l talk later,† he said. After a moment, Elena nodded and stumbled out of his office, her mind racing. The girl who was waiting held the door open for her. In the hal outside, Elena leaned against the wal and took stock for a moment. Would Celia have told James about Stefan and Damon being vampires, or anything about Elena herself? Probably not. Celia had become a friend by the end of their battle with the phantom. She would have kept their secrets. Plus, Celia was a very savvy academic. She wouldn't have told her col eagues anything that might make them think she was crazy, including that she had met actual vampires. Elena shook off the unease she felt from the end of her conversation with James and thought instead of the picture he'd told her about. She climbed the stairs to the third floor to see if she could find it now. It turned out that the â€Å"third-floor corridor† was no problem to find. While the second floor was a maze of turning passageways and faculty offices subdivided from one another, when she stepped out of the stairWellon the third floor she discovered it was a long hal that ran from one end of the building to the other. In contrast to the chatter of people at work on the second floor, the third floor seemed abandoned, silent and dim. Closed doors sat at regular intervals along the hal . Elena peered through the glass on one door, only to see an empty room. Al down the hal , between the doors, hung large photographs. Near the stairWell, where she began looking, they seemed like they were from maybe the turn of the century: young men in side-combed hair and suits, smiling stiffly; girls in high-necked white blouses and long skirts with their hair pul ed up on top of their heads. In one, a row of girls carried garlands of flowers for some forgotten campus occasion. There were photos of boat races and picnics, couples dressed up for dances, team pictures. In one photo, the cast of some student play – maybe from the 1920s or '30s, the girls with shingled flapper cuts, the guys with funny covers over their shoes – laughed hilariously on stage, their mouths frozen open, their hands in the air. A little farther on, a group of young men in army uniforms gazed back at her seriously, jaws firmly set, eyes determined. As she moved on down the hal , the photos changed from black-and-white to color; the clothes got less formal; the hairstyles grew longer, then shorter; messier, then sleeker. Even though most of the people in the photographs looked happy, something about them made Elena feel sad. Maybe it was how fast time seemed to pass in them: al these people had been Elena's age, students like her, with their own fears and joys and heartbreaks, and now they were gone, grown older or even dead. She thought briefly of a bottle tucked deep in her closet at home, containing the water of eternal life she'd accidental y stolen from the Guardians. Was that the answer? She pushed the thought away. It wasn't the answer yet – she knew that – and she'd made the very clear choice not to think about that bottle, not to decide anything, not now. She had time, she had more life to live natural y before she'd want to ask herself that question. The picture James talked about was close to the far end of the hal . In it, her father, her mother, and James were sitting on the grass under a tree in the quad. Her parents were leaning forward in eager conversation, and James – a much thinner version, his face almost unrecognizable beneath a straggly beard – was sitting back and watching them, his expression sharp and amused. Her mother looked amazingly young, her face soft, her eyes wide, her smile big and bright, but she was also somehow exactly the mother Elena remembered. Elena's heart gave a painful but happy throb at the sight of her. Her father was gawkier than the distinguished dad Elena had known – and his pastel-patterned shirt was a fashion disaster of epic proportions – but there was an essential dadness to him that made Elena smile. She noticed the pin on his horrific pastel shirt first. She thought it was a smudge, but then, leaning forward, she made out the shape of a smal , dark blue V. Looking at the other figures, she realized her mother and James were wearing the same pins, her mother's half-obscured by a long golden curl fal ing across it. Weird. She tapped her finger slowly against the glass over the photograph, touching one V and then the others. She would ask James about the pins. Hadn't he mentioned that he and her dad had been in a fraternity? Maybe it had something to do with that. Didn't frat boys â€Å"pin† their girlfriends? Something nudged at the edges of her mind. She'd seen one of these pins somewhere. But she couldn't remember where, so she shrugged it off. Whatever it stood for, it was something she didn't know about her parents, another facet of their lives to be discovered here. She couldn't wait to learn more.

Cross Cultural Perspectives Essay

In this paper I am going to cover the cultural and ethical factors involved with a company by the name of Levi Strauss and Company and the issues the company faces when attempting to expand to another country. Expansion is a goal that all companies want to achieve; because there are a lot of benefits a company can receive when expanding, makes more money, getting into the stock market, lower cost for part and labor, and most of all becoming a well-known name brand. With expanding it is not just glitz and glamor there are moral cultural and ethical issues to face. When bring a product and organization to another country. Cultural Issues when Facing a Global Organization Levi Strauss and Company is a well-known clothing brand. This organization was originated in North America, state California City San Francisco. Levi Strauss and Company manufactures clothes in 110 countries outside of the US; and as a result of that t50% or more of the organizations profits came from overseas. Levi Strauss and Company has had to face some of those ethical and cultural issues for the public and exterior partner companies. This issue stems from factories in Bangladesh because there are reports of the organization having under age workers. In Bangladesh children working at a young age in common. In their soil this is not an issue because without the children and parents working there is not enough money to support the family. The issue in this situation is in Levi Strauss and Company terms and engagement is say that the organization is not allowed to higher or work kids under the age of 16 because in the US it is illegal. Child labor laws is an issue that always get the media, workers right unions, stock holders and investment firms upset. (Levi Strauss and Co., 2010). The Ethical Perspectives Ethical perspectives set by last Levi Strauss and Company comply with the majority of other global organization. To be considered ethical all global businesses must follow the following. †¢Emphasizes accountability for anticipating and responding to ethical crises †¢Encourages participation in decision making †¢Aligns personal, professional, and organizational aspirations and behaviors †¢Promotes courageous efforts to identify and resolve ethical dilemmas †¢Fosters dialogic communication †¢Establishes transparent structures, policies, and procedures As of now the only standards being upheld and practices by Levi’s are A Global Anti-Bribery Policy An Anti-Corruption policy (Shaw, W. H., & Barry, H.,2001) A Worldwide Code of Business Conduct 2010 was not the only year Levi Strauss and company had issues complying with child labor laws; back in 2008 the company has issues with their cotton fields in Uzbekistan. The organization has not tried to cover up any of the information that has been found; in fact the company said they have been looking into changing that correcting that situation. That situation ended in Levi Strauss and Company not accepting any fabric from Uzbekistan and all of their factories. Doing this solves the issue in regards to the company but this does not stop Uzbekistan form doing the same thing with other countries. Levi Strauss and Company has been good about handling their issues when it comes to violating child labor laws. In most cases when the organization finds out this is happening the first thing they do is fire all of the underage workers and make sure they cannot be rehired until they reach the proper age limit. Another step Levi Strauss and Company has taken is education students and teachers of the child labor laws to avoid future issues with child labor laws. Ethical Perspectives in Different Cultures When a business has expanded to over 100 countries facing ethical and cultural issues is something that can’t be avoided; and sorry to say child labor laws are not the only ethical or cultural issue the organization has to deal with in the global market. Some may try to compare this to a discrimination issue, because this topic has become popular today. In most cases decimation consist of religion, race, age, or gender. However that is just in the US because in other countries businesses are straight forward when it comes to discriminating and it is not viewed as illegal. This raises the question should businesses adapt to the ways of the country that they are doing businesses in? But if this is done will it lower the standers of the organization and the relationship between the public and the business. Aside from child lobar laws corruption is another issue Levi Strauss and Company has to face. The organization have factories in Vietnam and just like all other businesses in Vietnam there is a tax to be paid; not a government tax but a tax form corrupt people in the country, it is said that 67% of businesses in Vietnam have to pay bribes. (Unruh & Arreola, 2010). These are just some of the issues that a business has to face when they expand to other countries. it is clear to see the different ethical stander set be different countries in regards to Levi Strauss and Company. This organization is not different than any other working outside of the US; they must commit to fixing the issue that come about when operation a business in another country and maintain the ethic codes set by the organization. Levi Strauss and Company has ablations to their employees, customers, and the public. They took a vow to operate their business in an ethical manor. Just talking the talk is not enough Levi Strauss and Company need to stay on top of everything to avoid child labor and all other issues when running a business outside of the US Conclusion In all there are a large number of businesses they have traveled outside of the US in efforts to make more money. What the businesses need to work in is businesses sticking to ethical standers; and making sure that all standers being set by the company are completely being followed. The best thing a business can do is stay up to date with all methods of operation in countries outside of the US. Also being properly educating the key players in the organization is how to be successful in a global market. References Adler, I. (2006). Double Standards. Retrieved from http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1780-double-standards Levi Strauss and Co.. (2010, April). Case Study: Child Labor in Bangladesh. Retrieved from

Galvanic corrosion

Galvanic corrosion (also called ‘ dissimilar metal corrosion' or wrongly ‘electrolysis') refers to corrosion damage induced when two dissimilar matter l's are coupled with a corrosive electrolyte. Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process In which one metal corrodes onto another when both metals are in electrical co intact, in the presence Of an electrolyte. When a galvanic couple forms, one Of the metals I n the couple becomes the anode and corrodes faster than it would all by itself, while e the other becomes the cathode and corrodes slower than it would by itself.So basically the anode metal is breaking down onto the cathode metal. For galvanic corrosion to occur, three things must be present: Electrochemically dissimilar metals must be pre .NET, these metals must be in electrical contact, and the metals must be exposed to an electrolyte. Galvanic Corrosion was discovered in the late part of the eighteenth century b Lugging Galvanic in a series of experiments wi th the exposed muscles and nerves of a frog that contracted when connected to a conductor.Its humorous to think Galvan ICC corrosion was found on accident when experimenting on frogs. The concept was also e engineered into the useful protection of metallic structures by Sir Humphrey Davys and Mice hall Faraday in the early part of the nineteenth century. The sacrificial corrosion of en metal such as zinc, magnesium or aluminum is a widespread method of protecting metallic Structures. While galvanic corrosion is potentially problematic to civil engineer s, they can use it to their benefit.For example buried or submerged structures, in HTH s case, sacrificial anodes work as part of a galvanic couple, promoting corrosion of the e anode, in order to protect the cathode metal. To dumb it down one metals life is been g drastically reduce so the other metals life will last longer. On another note if you do not want galvanic corrosion taking place corrosion inhibitors such as sodium nitrite or sodium moldboard can be injected into the systems to reduce the galvanic potential.However, the application Of these co erosion inhibitors must be monitored closely. If the application of corrosion inhibitors increases the conductivity of the water within the system, the galvanic corrosion potent al can be greatly increased. A different means of avoiding galvanic corrosion is to coins deer the 2 electrical potential of the metals you are selecting. A galvanic series list the el citric potentials of metals, the relative position of two metals on such a series gives good indication of which metal is more likely to corrode more quickly.Looking back at my opening statement, you can now understand why galvanic corrosion can be so hostile. If you select the wrong metals in a system, and the e load bearing metal of the system corrodes, you systems is bound to fail. On the to her end of the spectrum, galvanic corrosion can possibly be helpful, if indeed you want t o sacrifice one metal in order to protect another. With an indented knowledge of galvanic corrosion civil engineers can predict and act upon potentially hazardous situations. 3