Literature Review and Learning Journal

Energy is an extremely significant cost factor in managing the United States petrochemical industry (Neelis et. al, 2008). According to the current business scenario, US faces an increasingly competitive and challenging business environment all over the globe, the US petrochemical industry seeks out to curtail their production costs without affecting their production output or yield. The uncertainty in oil prices is one of the most crucial factors that have a negative impact on forecasted earnings of the petrochemical industry. The most applicable method of price forecasting in petrochemical industry is making the estimations of average cost that has to be produced in a new plant in order to determine the economic size and eventually the reasonable profit. Viable and cost-effective investment in the petrochemical industry through installing energy efficient practices as well as technologies meets the tremendous challenge of preserving the maintenance of a high quality energy product. Energy usage is a significant source of emissions incorporated in the petrochemicals industry. This source of emission in the petrochemical industry causes a tremendous improvement in energy efficiency. Also the competitive factors comprising of number of manufacturer as well the employment of new technologies for the development of petrochemicals are the cause of strategic options employed in the manufacture of petrochemicals. Discussion Strategic management evaluates critically the significant initiatives taken by an organization’s top management to allocate its resources efficiently and effectively in order to attain maximum business feasibility nd profitability. The Chinese petrochemicals companies are Petro China Company limited and China National Petroleum Corporation. CNPC holds approximately total reserves of 3. 7 billion barrels (590,000,000 m3) of oil equivalent. CNPC produced approximately 54 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2007. CNPC invested most of its domestic assets into a separate company known as Petro China, during a plan of restructuring their organization. CNPC has around 30 international production as well as exploration projects. These projects are completed in joint coopeartion with numerous Asian, European, American as well as several countries that are included in USSR. The countries that are included comprised of Azerbaijan, , Peru, Sudan, Thailand, Canada, Iran, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, Myanmar, Oman. The exploration projects, both domestic and overseas, are run by a wholly owned subsidiary, the Great Wall Drilling Company (GWDC). So, strategic management consists of making clear the organization’s mission, business goals that are necessary to be achieved for the survival of business as well as its objectives. Public sector does not measure in cost but it is equivalent that is very much central to the production as well as delivery of public commodities and services. The market failure occurs because the goal of private sector in the economy organizations is usually to increase efficiency and effectiveness, thus attaining the business objective of producing the goods and services at a lower cost in comparison to the prevailing production costs in the industry (Baume & Tolbert, 1985). As private sector failed because of the market failure, public sector does fails because of the higher inefficiencies in the deliverance of service. The most common example of these inefficiencies is regarded as Public Education. The area of public education has immensely failed to match up to the level of Private Institutes that are operating independently in providing quality education as well as incorporate improved learning with the students. There have been dire movements that consist of demanding the transfer of the Public Education charter into the cruel hands of the Private sector NPO’s. If the public sector is to collaborate effectively with the private sector, the most important decision is to tackle the appropriate selection of organization related to that sector (Bryson, 211, pp. 473). The discussion of the most eligible alternative that is widely known as public choice is very critical. This also holds true for how values that are holding private sector’s infrastructure can be institutionalized into public sector. Institution itself is independent (Olson & Euyong, 1998). It is the design that is the most integral part of any organizations goal realization. Conclusion: Furthur research and development should be conducted in order to set up plants for producing oil efficiently and effectively. Also, there is a need to eliminate and reduce oil wastage in order to maximize oil production. 2nd literature review Introduction: This literature review highlights the issue of building up manpower through effective human resource management skills. Setting up an oil company requires good people management skills as any good organization always requires the capable human resources to fulfill the needs of a successful and viable organization. Organizations work through people and these people need some skills and competencies to perform their duties. Today, skillful workforce is considered as a single source of gaining sustainable competitive advantage and to manage this force human resource departments are established and huge amount of budget is allocated for this purpose. Recently training is taken as a critical component for the success of any organization. Therefore, companies are increasing their investment in training programs to improve employees’ performance that in turn can give rise to overall performance of organization. Basically training is conducted because of current or expected performance deficiency related to skills, knowledge, and abilities. So, undoubtedly, training and performance is naturally interlinked. When any management person realizes the problem in productivity they identify which type of training is required for solving the issue. Discussion Employee training in an oil sector is an important factor in the success of an organization. Also the labor is particularly cheap in China so it requires effective management in working efficiently and effectively (Armstrong, 2000). Training is not a single step process but it is a group of activities to provide employees with required or improved KSA’s that helps them to perform efficiently and in accomplishment of organization’s goals. It provides organizations increased employee commitment, improved job performance, enhance organization flexibility to adopt changes due to internal and external factors, reduce conflicts among employees, gives high motivation, improve thinking, creativity and physical competencies, and create an overall environment of dedication towards organizational objectives. Training is a five step process that starts from the training need analysis and ends at evaluation stage. Training is not only provided to improve and teach new skills but also to refresh existing skills with the alignment of new technologies and other factors. According to the research, there are five major benefits of training programs. First one is enhanced skills, second is succession planning, decrease time of supervision, management of risk, and improved motivation. Performance management is also a major function of Human Resource Management. It has different components related to measures of managing and assessing employee performance. Performance management includes improvement of individual and overall performance, delivering expectations of management from supervisors and managers, promote communication between management and employees, supervising subordinates to improve their performance by rewarding and recognizing them, and solve poor performance issues. Performance management comprise of five key factors as motivation, appraisals, promotions, coaching or supervising, and poor performance issues are resolved. The US petro chemical company operating in China needs to set up a learning organization in order to enhance faster growth and sustainability in the region. The successful organizations have focused on creating learning organizations through incorporating the five disciplines of personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, team learning and systems thinking (Senge, 2010). As human resources are the assets of an organization they need to be developed efficiently and effectively through the approaches of gaining personal mastery. Personal mastery is a discipline that focuses on creating and broadening personal vision as an employee to gain focus and motivation for achieving better results in terms of output and profit as well as personal development (Senge, 2010). Mental models describe the perspectives, generalizations and assumptions that the employees hold in their minds about the world. If the mental models are negative then it can hamper the employees in their personal growth as well as in attainment organizational objectives and vision. Positive attitudes of employees helps build up a shared vision towards organizational success. (Senge, 2010). This can be major human resource gap. Human resource development is an strategy to fill out HR gaps that causes major problems in achieving effective organizational performance and profitability (Ulrich, 2012). Human resource development encompasses human resource practices that are crucial to the effective, competitive and sustainable development of human resource management system. The categorization of human capital has been sub-divided into three categories which are intellectual capital, social capital and organizational capital. Human resource development encompasses crucial aspects of effective work practices that include recruitment and selection processes, employee training and development and performance management and compensation management to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees. These HRM practices conducted effectively results in the retention of quality employees and the dismissal of shirkers. One is of the major aspect of human resource development and management is the recruitment and selection of employees (Senge, 2010). Job Assignment, Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and selections are crucial for the organization, because it makes sure that the right kind of individual is selected so that they can bring success to the company (Senge, 2010). The strategic fit between the individual and the organization is done through recruitment and selection and it can be seen in the following diagram. Recruitment and selection is one of the most crucial and important phases of human resource development. It is the most initial phase in human resource development and management. As a first step a pool of candidates are selected that meet the eligibility standards for the jobs in an organizations, then out of these pool of candidates the most suitable ones are screened and selected through various tests and interviews by which their knowledge, skills and abilities are analyzed. After the recruitment and selection phase comes the next crucial step of training and development of employees. Conclusion It is a fact that China is a very successful company and its overall economic performance is improving year after year. The proof of its success can be seen in its wide operations in almost every country. Training and performance management as HR functions are very important for developing a sound management in the petrochemical sector of the country. So, the US management believes on the key role of performance management system and training programs in retaining and attracting high performers that in turn leads to improved overall business performance and gives extreme consideration to these functions. So, in the success or increasing financial results training and performance management functions are playing vital role. In conclusion, performance management is directly related to business performance or success. Training is indirectly related to business success because without measuring performance gap, need of training cannot be identified and performance management helps in recognizing this need. Training is directly related to performance management because when training is given it increases performance of individuals that leads to improve business performance and when a business perform well it becomes successful. The success of an organization is based on attracting and retaining the right kind of individuals. The process of recruitment tends to discover the sources of human resources to meet the requirements of staffing of the company and to implement effective measures so that talent could be attracted to fulfill the positions within the organization (Senge, 2010). Recruitment is very much Recruitment and selection are one of the major functions of the HR department. Recruitment process is based on a systematic procedure that starts from sourcing the talent and ending on interviews (Ulrich, 2012). There is a major gap in efficient recruitment procedures if they are not planned by keeping in mind the HR needs of an organization. (Senge, 2012) Recruitment procedures can be conducted effectively by laying out a proper recruitment plan through extensive research and analysis by creating a strategic human resource management plan and recruiting employees to create a competitive advantage in the industry. It is a strategic task and forms the basis for how the company is able to grow and achieve their business targets (Ulrich, 2012). Learning Journal Introduction The United States of America is faced with cut throat competitive and challenging business environment all over the globe, the US petrochemical industry seeks out to curtail their production costs without affecting their production output or yield. The uncertainty in oil prices is one of the most crucial factors that have a negative impact on forecasted earnings of the petrochemical industry. The most applicable method of price forecasting in petrochemical industry is making the estimations of average cost that has to be produced in a new plant in order to determine the economic size and eventually the reasonable profit The modules I have chosen are strategic management to gain competitive advantage and development of a core competency that is what others do not have is the key to implement a successful business strategy as is the case with the globally successful business schools of the world. Micheal Porter’s five forces also impacts to a great extent in the viable strategic management of a business. These forces are bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, threat of new entrants, existing rivals and threat of substitute products and services. These are the industrial competitive forces that have to be analyzed and assessed for capturing the market by implementing a viable strategy. The mangers who are involved in the strategic planning concerned with the business of petrochemicals must be concerned with the future prices forecasting of petrochemicals as well as the factors that regulate these prices. Strategic management is concerned with developing effective policies as well as strategic plans, more often related to projects and the programs. These projects and programs are effectively developed and designed to accomplish and achieve these goals and objectives. After that the allocation of resources is done to implement strategically these policies as well as plans, in addition to projects and programs. A balanced scorecard is often used to evaluate the overall performance of the business and its progress towards achievement of its business goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. Recent studies and leading management theorists have advocated that strategy needs to start with stakeholders expectations and use a modified balanced scorecard which includes all stakeholders. I learnt that the collaboration between the public and private sector organizations is inevitable to ensure that the public policy has been implemented and met. Public sector organizations are mostly government owned. They cannot ensure efficiency in every public goods and service they are providing. This is the system where private sector organizations are offered the tenders from public sector in order to carry out the production as well as deliverance of different varieties of public goods. Personal development is one of the major factors of attaining success in achieving one’s learning objectives as well as career development. Personality traits, economic stability, social status, institutional, cultural and dispositional variables are some of the most important factors when people decide upon their career decisions. Career development and decisions are one of the most crucial decisions of one’s life as they shape a person’s future prospects and sets out his vision for future. Discussion Economic stability is one of the major factors that influence the role in executing one’s career objectives. The ever increasing tuition fee is one of the major causes that affect students of not so high calibre for students who could not get into the university they choose. There seems to be a dearth of good educational institutions particularly in Asian countries because many high achievers in academics do get scholarships for getting into the best university. The students who cannot get scholarship are often the ones who have the aptitude for the subject but just because they have not secured good grades they are left out from scholarships. There is a contrasting situation if we analyze the European countries and United States as there is a wide range of good universities to take into account when applying for higher education in universities (Daib, 1999). Psychological factors also impacts to a great extent on career choices. The introverts and the extroverts are the two major personality categories; the introverts choose to vary in their selection of subjects as compared to extroverts. There is also a third category of individuals which is known as extroverted introverts ( The extroverts usually choose careers that require field work whereas the introverted personalities choose careers that will not let them reach out from their comfort zones. Both can choose the same career fields relating to the level of how introverted or extroverted are they (Wright, 1987). The extroverted introvert individuals are one of the important and complex personalities when it comes to analyzing their career choices (Sofer and Raimes, 2002). They pose a defensive self which reflects their extroverted side whereas deep inside themselves they know that they are introverts. Their career choices can be unexpected as compared to both the categories of individuals that is the extroverted and the introverted (Blackhall and Michelle, 2010). There are four stages of career development that consists of exploration, option analysis and decision-making, planning and implementation (Sofer and Raimes, 2002). The stage of exploration consists of analyzing different career options and exploring a wide range of career options including different studies and aptitudes required. The stage of option analysis comprises of the options available to make a successful and promising career as well as the fulfilment of learning objectives (Underwood,1989). The third stage is planning in which you plan to tread on the way as a career you have chosen for yourself (Bouma and Atkinson, 1995). The research and development should have to be enhanced in order to support the further viability of the new petrochemical setup in China Conclusion The module also helped me in understanding personal development. Personal development is one of the major factors of attaining success in achieving one’s learning objectives as well as career development. Personality traits, economic stability, social status, institutional, cultural and dispositional variables are some of the most important factors when people decide upon their career decisions. Career development and decisions are one of the most crucial decisions of one’s life as they shape a person’s future prospects and sets out his vision for future. The determination of career and learning objectives is one of the basic human rights and it is the right of every person to have his dreams of education and careers fulfilled. Also, it is of utmost importance that an individual should make a right career choice irrespective of the cultural, social and other pressures that have an impact on the long term mission and vision of an individual. With many factors influencing the career choices and learning objectives it is imperative that the right learning and career choices should be made in order to have a promising and successful future. Direction For Furthur Research How can the strategic management of the US petrochemical industry be improved to gain more markets in China? What are the ways to attract ideal employees for the organizational setup for petro chemical industries in China?

Busi 650-ILP Final Essay

Table of Contents I. Abstract II. Organizational Setting III. Key Concepts a. Quality b. Total Quality Management c. Innovation d. Strategy Map e. Balanced Scorecard f. Six Sigma g. Bench Marking h. Inventory Management IV. Conclusion V. References Abstract The main purpose of the Integrative Learning Project (ILP) is to introduce an authentic or fabricated company/industry to research. The company’s organizational setting includes the mission statement of the company, who the internal/external customers are, what aspects can be contributed to achieve the organizations mission, and what role Christianity has with the organization. The research includes using eight different concepts learned throughout the course, explaining in detail how these concepts relate to the organization and the benefits the concepts offer to the organization, and what needs to be done to implement these concepts into the organization  successfully. This ILP will prove that a successful business can be run effectively and efficiently when implementing the key concepts. Organizational Setting Dover Saddlery, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer in the English-style horseback riding industry in the United States. The company offers a large selection of quality and premium equestrian products to care for, ride, train, and compete a horse. Founded in 1975 by Jim and David Powers, the company has grown to be the largest multi-channel marketer of premier equestrian products by selling through direct and retail sales. The company serves the English rider through Dover Saddlery and the western rider through Smith Brothers. The company sells their products using catalogs, the internet, and retail stores. The product line includes a variety of items such as tack, horse clothing, horse health, footwear, and specialized apparel. Dover Saddlery, Inc. is headquartered in Littleton, MA, including a warehouse and call center facility. The company has 18 retail locations in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolin a, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. The company’s third quarter 2013 total revenues were $63.6 million, a 6.4% increase from the $59.7 million achieved in the corresponding period. Dover Saddlery, Inc. stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol DOVR. The company’s mission is to grow the business by providing a broad variety of quality and most advanced equestrian apparel, equipment, stable, and horse care products to all equestrians, while operating efficiently and being profitable. The company carries 5,800 items comprising of approximately 28,000 different SKU’s. The company carries entry-level price points to the premium high-end price points to meet the wide range of customer needs and expectations. The company carries a distinctive and broad selection of need-based and high quality products at competitive prices with prompt order fulfillment ability. The company differentiates itself from competitors by their large inventory consisting of non-branded products, private label products, and premium brands. The current equestrian products market is  estimated by the American Horse Council at $7.6 billion with an estimated 9.2 millions horses in the United States. American Sports Data estimates that over 16.8 mill ion people ride horses. The equestrian industry has many indicators that the equestrian products industry will continue to grow. The company is known for their excellence in customer service and large comprehensive selection. The company promotes a culture of courteous, knowledgeable, and prompt customer service representatives. 90% of the sales and customer service representatives are horse enthusiast. The company offers customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The company has one of the largest detailed customer databases. The database consists of customers that have purchased items with the last 12 months and their demographic information. The use of the catalog, internet, and retail stores has enabled the company to capture customer information, cross-market products, and provide a convenient shopping experience for customers. The company’s customers are primarily females with a passion for the riding sport. The customers are affluent and luxury oriented who tend to choose to buy from the company for the high quality and premier products. The customer base shows high repurchase rates and has been ve ry loyal customers. The role Christianity has in this organization is customer service is essential and Matthew 10:31 states, â€Å"Fear not, therefore; you are more value than many sparrows† (ESV). In the service industry, customer satisfaction is key and the company has to recruit the right people and reward them for there expertise. Colossians 3:23-24 states, â€Å"23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving† (New International Version). Another verse that can be applied in this organization is 1 Peter 4:10, â€Å"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace†. The company uses the gifts God gives us and pass them on to consumers to benefit from. The role of Christianity plays a great role in this company. Key Concepts The first key concept that is applicable to Dover Saddlery is Quality. Quality has a huge impact on the quality of products and the success of the organization. According to Dinh, Igel, & Laosirihongthong (2010), â€Å"quality, considered a key strategic factor in achieving business success, is more than ever required for competing successfully in today’s global marketplace and it has become the key slogan as organizations strive for a competitive advantage in markets characterized by liberalization, globalization, and knowledgeable customers† (p. 931). The design and performance of the product are two very important concepts of quality. Quality should start with the customer, the experience the customer has with the product or service will impact the customer’s satisfaction with the total experience. The management and control of the quality of the products and services is very important to the success of the organization. It is very important for organizations to implement a quality assurance program (QAP) to ensure the quality of the products and services. According to Rouse (2007): In developing products and services, quality assurance is any systematic process of checking to see whether a product or service being developed is meeting specified requirements. Many companies have a separate department devoted to quality assurance. A quality assurance system is said to increase customer confidence and a company’s credibility, to improve work processes and efficiency, and to enable a company to better compete with others. Quality assurance was initially introduced in World War II when munitions were inspected and tested for defects after they were made. Today’s quality assurance systems emphasize catching defects before they get into the final product (Quality Assurance). There are many advantages for the company to have a QAP in place, include a competitive advantage, increase in sales and market share, increased customer sat isfaction, better management control, clearly defined organizational tasks, structure, and responsibilities, more effective recalls, and price premium (Aramyan, Meuwissen, Oude Lansink, van der Vorst, van Kooten, & van der Lans, 2009, p. 624). According to Yang (2006) â€Å"several studies on quality management have demonstrated that delivering superior service quality enhances productivity, reduces costs, increases customer loyalty, improves market share, and brings other general benefits to a service organization (p.1129). The QAP helps fulfill the needs  and expectations of the customers and improves the quality of the products and services. The second key concept that is applicable to the company is total quality management (TQM). According to Richards (2012), TQM can be defined as an integrative approach to management that supports the attainment of customer satisfaction through a wide variety of tools and techniques that the end result is higher quality of goods and services (p. 37). TQM is an organizational-wide concept of continuous improvement to ensure the products and services exceed their customers’ expectations. According to Richards (2012), â€Å"this kind of quality management requires the company to always check to make sure that product or service is at the standard that both the company and customer wants is maintained† (p. 37). Exceeding the internal and external customers satisfaction is a key focus of TQM. According to Talib, et al. (2011), TQM â€Å"has received a great attention due to its effectiveness in achieving sustainable competitive advantage and enhanced business performanceâ₠¬  (p. 1331). TQM is â€Å"a total look at the quality of the organization† (Richards, 2012, p. 41). â€Å"All service industries should seek to adopt and implement TQM so that proactive identification and response to needed changes can lead to continuous improvement† (Talib, et al. 2011). â€Å"Quality-conscious companies normally have a strong quality culture, which is helpful for achieving customer satisfaction† (Delgado-Hernandez & Aspinwall, 2008, p.1016). The practice of TQM can grow a company to have a sustainable advantage in local and international markets (Richards, 2012, p. 36). The third key concept that is applicable to the company is innovation. â€Å"In the modern business world, innovation is just as important as quality, so they must go hand and hand and one complements each other† (Perodomo-Ortiz, et al. 2009, p.5088). Innovation is one if the driving forces of a successful business and allows an organization to introduce new and improve products in the market place. According to Bigliardi (2013), innovation is a complex phenomenon that involves the production, diffusion and translation of knowledge in new or modified products or services, or the development of new production processing techniques. Innovation is very important to the  success of an organization, it creates jobs and promotes the growth of organizations. The fourth key concept that is applicable to the company is the strategy map. As a strategic part of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a strategy map provides an organization â€Å"with a tool that helps them better monitor important details about their strategic business processes, thereby enhancing their employees’ understanding of the strategy interactions, which in turn facilitates implementing the business strategy† (Meredith and Shafer, 2013, pg. 99). According to Kaplan and Norton (2004), â€Å"the strategy map provides the visual framework for integrating the organization’s objectives in the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard† (pg.45). According to Markiewicz (2013), a strategy map is a tool integrating the developed strategy with operating activities of various organizational units operating in an organization. A specific feature of strategy map is that it describes in a clear manner the process of creating values in organization by indicating a number of cause and effect relationships between four perspectives (learning and growth, intemal-business-processes, customer, financial) and goals adopted within these perspectives. (pg. 161-162) The four perspectives a strategy map addresses include the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the internal business process perspective, and the learning and growing perspective. According to Markiewicz (2013), a strategy map â€Å"enables illustration of cause-and-effect relationship between the processes in all four perspectives and performance indicators at the organizational level. Strategy map and performance indicators at the organizational level constitute the basis for different departments when preparing their individual effectiveness indicators† (pg. 160). The top of a strategy map is the goal that has been specified by management, the next step is how the goal be accomplished, and the remainder of the map shows the cause-and-effect relationships that manag ement has developed on how the goal can be accomplished. The strategy map is used very frequently by all organizations as a simple strategy development tool by management to report the progress of the strategy implemented in their organization to achieve its vision or mission.  The strategy map is a powerful technique that can be applied to any type of business from a public sector organization to a non-profit organization. It is very important to organizations because it encourages its managers to think logically about the elements of their strategy and how the strategic elements interact. This effective tool ensures the managers understand the role of the strategy and how the effective strategy embraces all of the organization’s activities. According to Umayal Karpagam and Suganthi (2012), the strategy map describes â€Å"how the four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, learning and growth are linked and how they create a balance between the more tangible outcomes through intangible resources† (pg. 7). The fifth key concept that is applicable to the company is the balanced scorecard. Kaskey (2013) says the balanced scorecard â€Å"provides an organization with ways to develop and evaluate strategic objectives and goals† (pg. 22). The balanced scorecard uses financial and nonfinancial strategic information and is â€Å"an accounting report that includes the firm’s critical success factors in four areas: financial performance, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth† (Blocher, Stout, Juras, & Cokins, 2013, pg. 11). The benefits of the scorecard include ability to implement strategy, ability to track the process of the organization in their achievement of the strategic goals, the organization’s ability to determine manager’s compensation, achieving organizational change, and the ability to achieve the critical success factors. According to Werner and Fuyuan (2012), â€Å"when the score card is adopted, employees become awa re that their performance will be judged based on these measures and targets. Accordingly, employees will act to achieve the established performance targets† (pg. 92). The balanced scorecard is a critical tool for organizations in todays challenging and competitive business environment. It is very important for organizations to achieve its critical success factors to help the overall performance of the organization and to stay competitive. The sixth key concept that is applicable to the company is Six Sigma. This concept is a strategy to increase employee engagement that will then increase customer satisfaction. According to Meredith and Shafer (2013), six  sigma is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes. (Page 129) This method is an inspiring factor for employees and employees have to be completely engaged in the program for it to be successful and impact employee satisfaction. Six Sigma has been embraced by many organizations, that drive’s improvements in processes, products, and services. When implementing the Six Sigma approach, first provide necessary leadership and resources, implement a reward system, provide ingoing training, select early p rojects, break up difficult projects, and avoid employee layoffs. â€Å"Six sigma’s popularity and success is catching fire throughout the service industry across the globe as no other process improvement (PI) movement before (Sunder, 2013, pg. 34). The seventh key concept that is applicable to the company is benchmarking. According to Cruceru (2013), benchmarking is â€Å"viewed as a continuous process of evaluation of products, services, processes and performance of competitors in order to obtain competitive advantage, benchmarking involves knowledge of all elements occurring when implementing in practice† (pg. 6). Benchmarking is a strategy where the desire to be competitive is a challenge for managers to become knowledgeable and analyze their competitors in the industry and implement competitive strategies to be successful. According to Meredith and Shafer (2013), benchmarking is used for a variety of purposes, including the following: Comparing an organization’s processes with the best organization’s processes. Comparing an organization’s product and services with those of other organizations. Identifying the best practices to emulate. Projecting trends in order to be able to respond proactively to future challenges and opportunities. (pg.133) Benchmarking involves three steps: the first step is concerned with preparing the study, the second step is collecting the data, and the third and final step is what was learned to improve the organization. This process has become one of the most valuable processes to identify performance improvement areas. Benchmarking allows an organization to analyze and improve performance, profitability, business  processes, and market share. There are many types of benchmarking including: process benchmarking-compares business processes and operations, product benchmarking-compares products and services, strategic benchmarking-compares organizational structures, internal benchmarking-internal comparison, competitive benchmarking-comparison of direct competitors, functional benchmarking- comparison of organizations in the same field, and generic benchmarking- comparison of the best com petitor in other fields. According to Cruceru (2013), â€Å"those competitors who will know to focus on benchmarking implementation in management and marketing activities of the organization will achieve increased performance and competitiveness in terms comparable to the best competitors of the time† (pg. 9). Appendix A In order to implement benchmarking in Dover Saddlery the following steps are needed: 1. Understand the company’s current process performance gaps. 2. Obtain support and approval from the executive leadership team 3. Document benchmarking objectives and scope; document the original process. 4. Agree on the primary metrics and put them in writing. 5. Agree on what to benchmark. 6. Develop a data collection plan. 7. Identify research sources and initiate data gathering. 8. Determine how to contact and screen companies. 9. Design a detailed survey to gather information. 10. Decide if gathered information meets original objectives. 11. Conduct a site visit. 12. Apply the learning to performance gaps. 13. Communicate to the executive leadership to ensure continued support. 14. Develop a recommended implementation plan with process owner. 15. Know when to update and recalibrate. The eighth key concept that is applicable to the company is inventory management. Inventory management is extremely important for the success of a organization and having the correct number of items in inventory that is necessary for operation is vital for inventory management. According to Chen (2011), â€Å"the inventory in an organization may contain a large amount of items. A logical inventory classification is necessary for managers to have efficient plan and control of the items† (pg. 1702). Inventory management can be a challenge for any business, but can be even more important for businesses with changing product life cycles or product needs. The development of information systems, has eased some challenges faced with inventory management. The introduction of advanced information system, which aim at better performance than manual product identification and inventory data-keeping procedures, hold much promise for the reduction of inventory inaccuracies. Inventories include work-in-process, raw materials, finished goods, component parts, and so on. By eliminating storage space to business is not only saving on space but also removing defective parts from being hidden until no one knows who had made them (Meredith & Shafer, 2013, p. 176). Appendix B Inventory An additional way that we differentiate ourselves from our competition is through our breadth and depth of inventory. We believe our inventory is deeper than our competitors with $10.1 million in on-hand inventory as of December 31, 2005 and more than 5,800 items comprising approximately 28,000 different SKUs. With our extensive inventory position and rapid fulfillment capability, we have historically been able to fill approximately 95% of the items ordered within an average of 1.5 business days. Based on our inventory management systems, continuous monitoring of the products we carry and the fact that we carry very few fashion products, we have historically had very little obsolete inventory. Despite the high level of inventory we have historically maintained, we have turned inventory approximately four times per year and we historically have had no material inventory write-downs. All of the products that are presented in our catalogs are available online and customers can use our websites to enter orders, shop online and check order status and inventory availability. On average, our retail stores stock inventory items represent over 70% of the merchandise  sales we make available through our direct sales channel. All items are available to customers entering our stores by either direct shipment to a customer’s home or for in-store pickup. Conclusion Dover Saddlery is a company that prides on their success and always providing 100% customer service to their customers. Utilizing these eight key concepts, along with successful implementation into the company’s initiatives, they will produce overall success and a winning organization. References Aramyan, L. H., Meuwissen, M. M., Oude Lansink, A. M., van der Vorst, J. J., van Kooten, O., & van der Lans, I. A. (2009). The perceived impacts of quality assurance systems on tomato supply chain performance. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 20(6), 633-653. Bigliardi, B. (2013). The effect of innovation on financial performance: A research study involving SMEs. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 15(2): 245-256. Blocher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., and Cokins, G. (2013) Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis (6th Ed). McGraw Hill: New York, NY. Chen, J. (2012). Multiple criteria ABC inventory classification using two virtual items. International Journal Of Production Research, 50(6), 1702-1713. Cruceru, A. (2013). Benchmarking – a method of improving organizational competitiveness. Romanian Journal Of Marketing, (1), 6-9. Delgado-Hernandez, D., & Aspinwall, E. (2008). A framework for building quality into construction projects – Part I. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 19(10), 1013-1028. Dinh Thai, H., Igel, B., & Laosirihongthong, T. (2010). Total quality management (TQM) strategy and organizational characteristics: Evidence from a recent WTO member. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 21(9), 931-951. Inventory. (2011). Appendix B of Dover Saddlery, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.hotstocked.com/companies/d/dover-saddlery-inc-DOVR-description-52723.html Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2004). How Strategy Maps Frame an Organization’s Objectives. Financial Executive, 20(2), 40-45. Kaskey, V. L. (2013). The Balanced Scorecard: A Comparative Study of Accounting Education and Experience on Common Measure Bias. Advances In Management, 6(7), 22-25. Markiewicz, P. (2013). Methodical Aspects of Applying Strategy Map in an Organization. Business, Management & Education / Verslas, Vadyba Ir Studijos, 11(1), 153-167. Meredith, J. R., & Shafer , S. M. (2013). Operations management for MBAs (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Perdomo-Ortiz, J., Gonzalez-Benito, J., & Galende, J. (2009). The intervening effect of business innovation capability on the relationship between Total Quality Management and technological innovation. International Journal Of Production Research, 47(18), 5087-5107. Richards, J. (2012). Total Quality Management. Business Management & Strategy, 3(2), 36-42. Rouse, M. (2007, Feb). Quality Assurance (QA). Retrieved from http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/quality-assurance. Sunder, V. (2013). Six Sigma— A Strategy for Increasing Employee Engagement. Journal for Quality & Participation, 36(2), 34-38. Talib, F., Rahman, Z., & Qureshi, M. N. (2011). Prioritising the practices of total quality management: An analytic hierarchy process analysis for the service industries. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 22(12), 1331-1351. Umayal Karpagam, P. L., & Suganthi, L. L. (2012). A Strategy Map of Balanced Scorecard in Academic Institutions for Performance Improvement. IUP Journal Of Business Strategy, 9(3), 7-16. Werner, M. L., & Fuyuan, X. (2012). Executing Strategy with the Balanced Scorecard. International Journal Of Financial Research, 3(1), 88-94. Yang, C. (2006). Establishment of a Quality-Management System for Service Industries. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 17(9), 1129-1154.

Evaluate the idea that class conflict is on the decline in contemporary France, paying particular attention to the strikes of winter 1995

Evaluate the idea that class conflict is on the decline in contemporary France, paying particular attention to the strikes of winter 1995. Abstract: Evaluate the idea that class conflict is on the decline in contemporary France, paying particular attention to the strikes of winter 1995. A critical evaluation into the decline of class conflict in contemporary France requires an in-depth analysis into the various political and economic subject areas which surround the issue of class struggle. The main objective of this paper is to discuss declination of class conflict in France and to discuss the significance of the 1995 winter strikes. A conclusion is to be reached after a thorough but concise assessment of this movement and its effects on French class struggles. In order to evaluate this issue there must be a thorough understanding of French political culture in the years post World War II, together with a comprehensive understanding of the specific events and movements that led to an alleged decline. The implication of European integration and French economy must also be understood, as well as the relation of this movement to the values of the left in France compared to that of the right. To initiate this evaluation, one of the factors that must be taken into consideration is France's volatile political culture. One could describe French culture as volatile, because of the numerous changes the French political system has undertaken over the last century. Some may suggest that they are still suffering from teething problems of a relatively new republic and the episodes of 1995 and the elections of 2002 still prove that the French are a nation who are susceptible to political issues they feel may blur their traditional way of living. One of the arguments brought forward is that the strikes of 1995 were ‘fundamentally sectional stemming from national fragmentation and French nationalism than any vision of a different future.'1. This is to be discussed in this paper, along with the factors of, economic change in France due to the conditions of the Maastricht treaty; trade unionism and socialism vs. liberalism in relation to the strikes. Firstly, when mentioned the consensual perception of class conflict tends to be based on the proletariat vs. the bourgeoisie. An old argument that has filtered through to contemporary politics via social and hierarchical structures that were originally discussed by Karl Marx. The question in hand asks one to look at a possible decline of class conflict in France. However some would argue that it still remains in France, just not as explicitly as before. Nonetheless the aim here is exploit literature and modern thought to suggest that it has. A classic definition of class conflict can be found in the ‘Communist manifesto' Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.2 For Marx and Engels, class conflict or class warfare as it is described by Marxists, surrounded the notion of two main classes. This can be seen in the fragment ‘oppressor and oppressed' and the coupling of the descriptive terms, the bourgeoisie were the ruling class and the proletariat were seen as the submissive class with little or no control over production. In the case of the France in 1995, these two classes can be identified as Jacques Chirac and his government taking on the role as the bourgeoisie and the numerous activist workers taking on the role as the proletariat. Here it can be discussed that the view of a socio-political imbalance between those with excessive wealth and those with little wealth is a common thought amongst Marxist's, but arguably a concept that is declining in contemporary French politics. However, looking back on French politics in the last 50 years, is there sufficient evidence to support this notion? The role of political culture is imperative in this discussion and often gives reason to the actions of the masses under a system of rule by the elites. The political culture of France has an almost unforgiving tradition of being conflictual alongside a highly activist nature, using previous strikes in 1935 and 1968 as examples. The division in political ideologies into the left and right, arguably goes back to the French Revolution and continues to remain an important characteristic in the contemporary arena. Consensus often has been reached by uniting behind a strong, charismatic leader, de Gaulle is the prime example here, only to be lost when the leader dies or goes into disfavour. Cycles of consensus followed by alienation seem to be typical of the French political culture.3 While there is admiration for the French nation, language and culture, there are also continuing disagreements caused by these traditions. Division over the meaning of these universal symbols leads to political, ideological and partisan fragmentation. The French seem to combine a distrust of politicians and the political system with a devotion to political s truggle.4 It becomes apparent that the issue of class struggle was once again thrown into the centre of the French political agenda, because of the essential ‘reform' that France needed in order to progress as an intergratable nation state, in relation to the EU. The ‘sà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cu' otherwise known as the social security plan devised by then French Premier Alain Juppà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ , was received by the public sector workers, with resentment and anger, with the consensual feeling amongst academics and French citizens that EU criteria for satisfactory budget deficit, was the driving force behind the 1995 strikes. This plan coupled with the tradition and characteristics of French political culture have been blamed for the uprising of 1995 and the discontent of the French nationals that was witnessed all over the globe. However just how ‘essential' was this reform by freshly elected Premier Juppà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½? The proposed reforms, were all but too far for the French working class, from the proposals of an increase in work before pension entitlement to the taxation programs suggested, the French working class felt they were being victimised by a bourgeois government, echoing the previous period of revolt in 1968. By introducing such an austere program it put the new right wing government in a bad situation, which would ultimately, lead the way for devastating repercussions. Nonetheless, this set of measures was seen as crucial for reassuring the foreign exchange markets that France would be able to stick to the Maastricht timetable. However, these plans were obviously not essential enough for the 5 million citizens that protested against it. Of course, if an individual or a section of society feels that government plans are not in their best interests and will effectively jeopardise their current position, why shouldn't they protest? However it is this type of attitude that have led some to describe the French nationals as being sectionalist and backward looking. By using this sectionalist argument in favour of declination, Tony Adreani comments that we are witnessing the disappearance of major social conflicts, the decline of revolutionary ideologies, the replacement of class struggles with single issue and sectoral movements and a general pacification of society'6. However this comment was made two years before the 1995 uprising which in turn, proves Adreani theory as unfounded in this case. Expanding on this further, it could be suggested that France needed such harsh reform in order to move forward with European integration. The Juppà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ plan threatened to sacrifice short term discontent for long term prosperity, unfortunately using proposed tactics that were unfavourable to those from the lower classes. Thus, igniting the issues of class struggle once again. By introducing such a plan a perception was drawn that the elites are too far removed from the lives of the ordinary French citizen. At this point of the discussion it can be suggested that one may find difficulty in arguing that class decline is present, but class consciousness in fact, is increasing as France becomes more fragmented. On the other hand, it could be suggested that class decline was present because of the handling of the situation by the lower class. With one of the original definitions of the proletariat being unable to control the means of production and in order to survive they must sell their labour to capitalists. It becomes apparent from these strikes that the workers who protested, have realised their rights to be treated equally and their activism was a direct attack on the government and its ideals. Rather than the working class, settling for reform, they protested to protect their privileges. To strengthen this argument, the participation in each mobilisation and the support that it received from intellectuals increased the feeling of a unified state. These factors give foundation for the argument, in the sense that the lower classes would not let the ruling class exploit their powers over them anymore. Although the strike did not involve the private sector, there was enough disruption to immobilise the French economy and force the governments to negotiate with the workers, through the trade unions. Which leads to the next point of evaluation, the role of the trade unions. The unions play a role of incredible complexity in the movement of 1995. The values of the Left in France, embrace trade unionism and working classes and in a majority of democratic states, the role of mediator between governments and workers should theoretically provide a democratic and logical way of fusing the ideologies and interests between organised workers and the employing classes and attempt to blur the struggles between them. Trade unionism participation in France is a reflection of the political culture, volatile and susceptible to change. In fact coexistence of more than one union within the same occupation is a fundamental feature of French trade unionism. Which may explain the low level of trade union membership, due to the overwhelming amount of choice. However, although the Juppà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ plan involved the reorganisation of a large part of the public sector, the unions were not consulted. The undermining behaviour of Juppà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ towards the unions, only fuelled the tension between the governments and the unions, which proved to be a catalyst for the resurrection of class struggle. This move by Juppe, saw the unions questioning their role as partners to the government. The influences of the masses are epitomised by the 1995 French strikes. Illustrated by the way the government tried in vain to stop these strikes, the CGT and the FO would not back down until they were absolutely sure of withdrawal of the welfare reform plan. However, not all unions were united on the movement, as Chris Harman argues, ‘ union bureaucracies always try to end mass strike movements when they go beyond a certain point†¦ Political issues are raised and that requires the sort of political response that the trade union bureaucracy is incapable of making'7 From this, it can be argued that the barriers of political negotiation can be described as a restrictive mechanism for the working class against the elites. In direct relation to class, trade unions can be described as the basic organisation of the lower class which are â€Å"not only a natural, but also an essential phenomenon under capitalism and†¦ an extremely important means for organising the working class in its daily struggle against capital and for the abolition of wage-labour†. But once established, the trade unions cannot confine their sphere of activity to economic demands, but inevitably tend to move into the political plane8. This has been proved by the negotiations which took place after the government backed down. However the governments tend to have the upper hand when political negotiation is involved. Here, what is involved is not the occasional struggles of individual groups of workers against their employers, but the struggle of the proletariat as a whole against the bourgeoisie as a class, and its state. In conclusion, the winter strikes of 1995 had a profound effect on the consciousness of the working class in France. The social upheaval that lasted for five weeks involving hundreds of thousands of workers was undoubtedly the highest expression of the class struggle in France since the revolutionary crisis of 1968. The ruling class only narrowly avoided an extension of the strike to the private sector, in which case the movement could have rapidly assumed a pre-revolutionary character. Indeed, it was the growing threat of such a development, in spite of the treacherous role of the trade union leaders, which eventually forced the Juppà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ government into an embarrassing retreat.9 The radicalisation of the working class as a whole was an awakening of a formerly immobile section of society and the shift of middle class and rural opinion to the left all indicate that French society is hurtling towards a new confrontation between the classes. Which finally leads to a conclusive disagreement that class conflict is on the decline. The factors assessed above hold far too much substance to be dismissed and for all classes to come together as a united front. The elites and the working class, will remain apart until there is a common political and ideological consensus, amongst all parties involved.

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Condition of women in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War - Essay Example The first quote I chose is one that was given to Lucy by her soon to be husband, Henry Blackwell. She had voiced concerns over the marriage to which he responded, "I wish, as a husband, to renounce all the privileges which the law confers upon me, which are not strictly mutual. Surely such a marriage will not degrade you, dearest" (Lewis, 1999). This quote deals with the marriage laws that were in place during the mid 1800's when Lucy and Henry were married. The laws took all the rights, property and identity away from the woman and gave them to the man. They released a statement mutually protesting the laws that essentially robbed woman of their selfhood by stating, "The legal existence of the wife is suspended during marriage" (Lewis, 1999). They would not agree to any law that did not afford mutual benefits and power. Looking at the marriage laws of their time it is easy to see how things have changed. In virtually every civil and religious marriage ceremony performed today, unless the couple have written their own vows, the vows exchanged are identical. That was not the case at the time that Lucy Stone was married. Had she agreed to said laws, she would have lost any rights she had as an individual, and would essentially be the property of her husband.

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7 best countries to visit - Essay Example With regard to expenses, America is relatively expensive. Regarding the type of company one may accompany it is suited both for group and family tour. Best times to visit the country are mostly around September. Shopping zones are plenty few of the mention worthy are Rodeo Drive, Michigan Avenue, Nicollet Avenue, NW 23rd avenue. Other attractive places are historic places, statue of liberty, casinos ( las Vegas), Manhattan and various other places. Washington D.C is its capital city. Located in the South Eastern part of Asia .its currency is India Rupee. Transportation means that are adopted both locally and internationally include airways, railways, in town Rickshaws mostly in usage .It is relatively cheap with regard to the spending and visiting places. It is purely suited for family outings since the culture is more so eastern. Best times to visit the country is Spring around February onwards.Shopping zones are Dil Hatt, Chandi Chowk, Connaught Place, Hauz Khas, Atria Millennium Mall. Attractive places: Taj Mehal Agra, Shimla, Kashmir, and many others. New Delhi is its capital city. Its currency s Qatar Riyal . Transportation means employed locally and internationally are Qatar Airways, Railways ( state of the art), Luxury cars. It is relatively expensive with regard to the spending. It is family oriented and can be best suited to family outings. Best times to visit the country are November to May. Places to visit are Doha, Ras Laffan, Halul Island. Shopping zones are AL Khor mall, Lagoona Mall, Safari Hypermarket. 4-Thailand: Its currency is Thai Baht. Transportation means employed are Airlines ( thai Airways), Bus, Cycles in town, Tuks tuks . It is Relatively affordable with regard to other countries like America or European countries. It is suited both for Family and group. Best times to visit the country are November to February. Temperatures around 20 degree centigrade. Places to

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Answer the question - Assignment Example Lastly, depending on the time of the day, those students who will get interviewed quite possibly will have no classes; hence have the free time to walk around. The result of this particular study may get generalized in some populations, the first one being those that exhibit high levels of the eternal validity of the study (Fraenkel &Wallen , 2009). Secondly, the population should produce a sample nature as well as the environmental conditions that prove for generalization to get made. The particular sample of study must also represent the population of interest, the sample has to be relatively large so that the usefulness of the findings become unlimited. If these particular two communities meet the conditions for generalization, then the researcher can conclude by saying that playing soft classical music increases the ability of scholars in understanding arithmetic studies. At times, a researcher may feel not interested to generalize the result of a study, and this mostly happens when the particular samples used fails to show the external validity of the study. It may also occur in those samples used shows high levels of relevancy about the characteristics of the population under study. In some cases, the samples may fail to demonstrate some of the essential part of the population under study as well as the representation of the relevant variables. Finally, when the sample size is reasonably small or narrowly defined, the generalization from this particular study becomes limited. It is true, to some extent, that the larger a sample, the more justified a researcher is generalizing from it to a population. This can only be more valid if the researcher takes into account the issue of timing and proximity, among other factors depending on the given case study (Fraenkel &Wallen , 2009). The larger sample always tends to take into consideration on most of the essential and other relevant characteristics of the entire population,

Formal systematic learning is of less important than informl learning Term Paper

Formal systematic learning is of less important than informl learning. Discuss this statement with reference to theories of learning - Term Paper Example In relation to standard typology, there is a need to gain more understanding of intended learning not separately, but in connection to others. The role played by informal learning and tacit knowledge in organizations is widely acknowledged but insufficiently understood. It is one of the core premises of adult learning that adults resort to life experience to beneficial outcome in learning or training programs (Smith & Defrates-densch 2008). There is sparse previous empirical evidence regarding how this occurs, and none of which puts emphasis on tacit knowledge use and its role in the learning mechanisms and outcomes in shifting between contexts over time (Smith & Defrates-densch 2008). The need for broader recognition of skills and knowledge through informal learning is only one aspect of a debate focused on the characteristic of the purported knowledge-based economy and the ways whereby the knowledge involved is organized and applied (Moon 2004). The current debate has been intensified by economists and labor market scholars, generating new potentials for interdisciplinary engagement with learning scholars and social/educ ational specialists in attempting to understand more what it is that really makes up the knowledge-based economy and the position of informal learning in this context (Rainbird & Munro 2004). Informal learning includes accidental learning in the workplace and in areas of endeavors outside the formal economy. It may also involve intended and explicit frameworks of learning performed in any of these contexts which are not acknowledged within the system of formal education and training (Bratton, Mills, & Pyrch 2003). Informal learning has well-built tacit domains. The explicit is easily collected, organized, and communicated to others whereas the tacit is personal, subjective and experiential, and considerably harder to communicate (Evans, Hodkinson, & Unwin 2002). This paper argues

Canadian Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Canadian Identity - Essay Example The first step toward solving the problem will be recognizing the identity issue as a national problem. The government and the Canadians should then search for a common solution to the problem. In this paper, I will analyse the issue of Canadian identity from both perspectives. Regionalism is a dominant factor in Canadian social and political framework. As a political ideology, the Canadian regionalism is based on the dominance of one region over the others in national affairs. Regionalism is the main factor that has prevented Canadians from realizing their national identity (Charles 67). Firstly, regionalism has introduced divisions among Canadian citizens. It would be difficult to realize or define a true national identity on a country that is divided between social classes and generation gap. Canadian identity exists and it is responsible for our national prosperity that is based on our regionalism. Canada is divided into six basic regions that are based on geographical and social economic factors in the country. Regionalism is vital for Canadian identity. Regionalism provides a basis for national unity, which is instrumental in defining Canadian identity. ... However, Canada has been experiencing increasing numbers of immigrants from other countries (Charles 67). The existence of people from different cultures has made it impossible to define Canadian culture. Culture is a significant in defining the identity of a country. Thus, Canadians lack a common culture that they can identify themselves with or that associate them with the country. Currently Canada has become the leading country in social diversity. The country is home for people from all over the world including the Americans. As Canadian, we are a multicultural society that is not divided along ethnicity or any racial structures. The intercultural cohesion that exists among Canadians defines them as Canada citizens and people of the modern world (Mathews 98). Lack of a dominant culture or social group in the Canadian society promote national unity and freedom that defines the life of the Canadians and hence their national identity. Canada has a widening generation gap that adds c ontroversy to the issue of the Canadian identity. Since the arrival of the European immigrants, Canadians have been loosening their attachment with their European origin. There has been a continuously increasing variation in societal values across different generations. The association of Canadian citizens with their European countries of origin has been reducing constantly. The first generation of immigrants is completely different from the current generation of Canadian citizens. This trend is increasing constantly resulting into a wide generation gap. This factor is responsible for the lost Canadian identity. For instance how can we define where we are going if we do not acknowledge where we came from. It is a fact that Canadians originated from Europe and

School Workload and Sleep Deprivation in Adolescent Tardiness Research Paper

School Workload and Sleep Deprivation in Adolescent Tardiness - Research Paper Example Student’s Study Time and Their Homework Problem (Zuzanek, 2008) explores the students’ workloads, its demographics, trends, and its personal implications for the student’s well-being. The study explores the relationship of the study time the students spend (both at school and at home) and the so-called â€Å"homework problem† raised by North Americans. It is interesting to know from the study the possible reasons behind tardiness related to the time spent by students at school, though no direct analysis was stated in this study between school workload and tardiness. This should provide a vague understanding on what might a student experiencing heavy school workload for them to consider being tardy in classes. Both independent (study time) and dependent (â€Å"homework problem†) variables used in this study are broadly defined, but may provide valuable information for this paper. The participants in this study used time diaries programmed with  "beeper self-reports† wherein they log their activity, its importance and interest, their location, people around them, affect, feelings of time pressure, willingness to do anything else, and will take place when they were signaled by the â€Å"beep†. ... This research measured the student’s study time (also in comparison with other countries) and the determinants of what was called â€Å"homework problem†. However, the article did not further discuss the â€Å"class time problem† even if it mentions its greater urgency than â€Å"homework problem† in when students prefer to do anything else; perhaps it is already beyond the focus of the paper. Psychosocial Aspects of Truancy in Early Adolescence (Nielsen & Gerber, 1979) investigated the aspects of truancy among the selected 33 truants within those individuals, their families, their peers, and their school teachers and administrators. The independent variables are the psychosocial aspects while the dependent variable is truancy. This study presents an interesting concept of truancy, for even if it is a different concept from tardiness, it does have a common similarity: the former speaks of absence from school in terms of school days while the latter deals w ith the absence from school in terms of school minutes or hours. Caution must be exercised not to consider tardiness as a less harmful form of truancy, as these concepts are perceived to be completely different, as truancy is likely intentional while most cases of tardiness is not, though students disliked their habit of being truant. This study used different methods in extracting the psychosocial aspects of truancy, namely interview to the truants and school administrators, analysis of the school data of the incidences of truancy, grades, test scores and attendances of the truants under study. The sample truants were scheduled for interview using a 60-90 minute

Individual assignment Essay Example for Free

Individual assignment Essay Comment on the merit of the paper which is arguing for a separate HRM model for Oman? It is essential to have a unique HRM model specialized for Oman due to few important reasons. The first reason is the cultural influence and there is relationship between the HRM and the social principles, values, ethics and rules. Second, the cultural aspects must be respected when considering about HR philosophy. Nonetheless, the economic conditions are greatly important as there is a strong link between the economic conditions and the HR policy. At the end, I can briefly say that there must be a special and unique HRM model for Oman due to the special conditions that made this country a different case. 2. Do you think (based on the argument raised in the paper) a distinct HRM Model for the Saudi Arabia can be advocated? If yes, how and why? What should be its constituents and why? How it will be different from the Western Model? I believe it is perfect idea to have a distinct HRM model for Saudi Arabia. I presume this can achieve a lot for the good of the Saudi market. The suggested HRM for Saudi must put some items into consideration such as the culture, institutions, and industry sector. When we consider the culture, the HRM model must be suitable for the common values, norms of behavior, customs, influence of pressure groups ,assumptions that shape managers’ perceptions, insights and mindsets, management style, meaning of work and values, personal dispositions, attitudes and manners, approaches to cultural diversity, match to the organization culture. Regarding institutions, the HRM model must cope with following institutions; National labor laws, trade unions, politics, educational and vocational training set-up, labor market, professional bodies, international institutions, industry by itself, employers’ federation, consulting organizations, placement organizations, trade bodies, government institutions, local authorities, voluntary bodies. In addition to considering the institutions, the HRM model must coordinate with the following industrial sectors; Common strategies, business logic and goals, regulations and standards,sector-specific knowledge, informal and formal benchmarking, cross-sector co-operation, common developments in business operations, labor or skill requirements, merger activity, workforce mobility, capital mobility. At the end, The HRM for the Saudi market should be different from the Western market in variety of ways since it must cope with the Saudi culture, and economic and political conditions. 3. Mellahi and Budhwar (2006) and many others are of the view that there is no such thing as a Middle Eastern HRM model and the current forces shaping HRM in this region will lead to more divergence than convergence between and within these countries (GCC and Middle East) in the foreseeable future, Comment. The Middle East region is a conservative cultural and religious area that grew at only half the rate of other developing countries during the 1990s. A number of factors such as structural imbalances, the so-called curse of natural-culture and religious conflicts, are highlighted for the slow economic development in the Middle East. Similarly, Abed (2003) identifies five main causes holding back the economic growth of the Middle East i.e. lagging political reforms, dominant public sector; underdeveloped financial markets; high trade restrictiveness and inappropriate exchange regimes. apart from these , some of the others factors include the lack of integration into the global economy; growing unemployment rates; closed economies, over-dominance on the oil sector; lack of privatization and the weakness of local entrepreneurial cultures. So far, most countries in the Middle Eastern region seem concentration on the development of their human resources (HR). The oil-producing countries in the GCC region want to reduce their dependence on the oil sector and develop other sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture or services, and all of these need skilled HR. And on the other hand, the non-oil-producing countries of the region already rely on efficient human resources. In conclusion, there is need for more research for understanding the dynamics of a distinct Omani HRM model and the learning gained will surely contribute to enrich the people management function and its role in achieving organizational performance and excellence in Oman.

René Descartes Essay Example for Free

Renà © Descartes Essay Philosophy begins as an art of wondering. This art of wondering, leads man into asking a number of questions about himself and the world around him. Variations in philosophical thoughts as result questions posed by man, help in modification of philosophy. The purpose of this essay therefore, is to do a comparative analysis of Sophie’s World by Josteen Gaarder with three philosophical texts: George Berkeley’s Treatise on Human Knowledge, John Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding and Rene Descartes’ Passions of the Soul. We shall also show the roles of authors and texts in Philosophy. TREATISE ON HUMAN KNOWLEDGE VERSUS SOPHIE’S WORLD One of the outstanding efforts of Berkeley in this work was to show that the world exists as it does because of the ideas perceived by the mind of God and as such, existence of things depends on their perception through the senses. Likewise in Sophie’s World, Aristotle through his belief showed a similarity with Berkeley’s stance in this text Treatise of Human Understanding. For Aristotle, highest degree of reality is what we perceive with our senses. Berkeley also said that existence is the state of being perceived by a perceiver, but on the contrary, Descartes in Sophie’s World believed that he exists because he thinks. It furthermore means that his existence depends on his ability to think. He used such words like cogito ergo sum (latin) and je pense, donc je suis (French) all meaning `I think therefore I am` to illuminate his thesis on this. Plato while stressing the sovereignty of reason in Sophie’s World said that the reason can only give us the true reality of things and as such contradicted the empiricist approach of Berkeley. ESSAY ON HUMAN UNDERSTANDING VERSUS SOPHIE’S WORLD John Locke illuminated in this work that idea is derived from experience of sensation or reflection, just like it reflected in Sophie’s World in which his fellow empiricists likewise stressed the inevitability of experience as the source of true knowledge. David Hume in particular established that man has two types of perceptions, namely: impressions and ideas. By `impressions` he means the external sensations of reality. By `ideas` he means the recollections of such impressions. Aristotle the trail blazer of empiricism, in alignment with the empiricists believed our reason to be completely empty until we have sensed something. John Locke in this book made an attempt to refute the notion of `innate ideas` by proving that it does not exist, whereas in Sophie’s World, philosopher like Plato believed in an innate idea, an external world of ideas outside of the natural world. Descartes even believed that the idea of God is innate. PASSIONS OF THE SOUL VERSUS SOPHIE’S WORLD Descartes defined passions of the soul as a mental state or thought that arises as a direct result of brain activity and such passions can move us to action. He also suggested that one needs to learn to control one’s passions, for they can move one to perform vicious acts. Benedict Spinosa in Sophie’s World, suggested that we must free ourselves from our feelings and passions only then shall we find happiness. Conversely, also in Sophie’s World, the Epicureans through the teachings of Aristippus believed that the aim of life is to attain the highest possible pleasure or passions and by so doing, they contradict Descartes belief. AN EYE ON THE ROLES OF AUTHORS AND TEXTS IN PHILOSOPHY Authors in philosophy play incredible roles in modification of philosophy through their texts. There various attempts to answer the underlying questions of nature and man have led to the developments of dialectical methods like thesis, antithesis and synthesis used in philosophy today. An eye on the three authors and philosophers: Descartes, Berkeley and Locke whose works where compared with Sophie’s World above showed the vital role they played in philosophy. While Descartes was a rationalist, Berkeley and Locke were empiricists, but through their texts, they contributed in `epistemology` or theory of knowledge. CONCLUSION Having done these comparisons, we can see the successful deduction of similarities and differences between the Sophie’s World and three aforementioned philosophical texts. I attest that Sophie’s World is necessary philosophical paraphernalia needed by a neophyte in Philosophy as seen from its versatility in the course of this comparison done, and also how it covered aspects of history of Philosophy in such a sublime manner. POPE JOHN PAUL II MAJOR SEMINARY OKPUNO, AWKA NAME: UMENABA BENJAMIN C COURSE: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY COURSE CODE: PHIL 101 REG NO: PJPS/NAU/013/O69 LECTURER: REV. FR DR. AUGUSTINE OBUROTA TOPIC: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOPHIE’S WORLD WITH THREE PHILOSOPHY TEXTS WITH AN EYE ON ROLES OF AUTHORS AND TEXTS IN PHILOSOPHY DATE: 28TH NOVEMBER, 2012 OUTLINES INTRODUCTION TREATISE ON HUMAN KNOWLEDGE VERSUS SOPHIE’S WORLD ESSAY ON HUMAN UNDERSTANDING VERSUS SOPHIE’S WORLD PASSIONS OF THE SOUL VERSUS SOPHIE’S WORLD AN EYE ON THE ROLES OF AUTHORS AND TEXTS IN PHILOSOPHY CONCLUSION.

National Health Promotion Policy Impact

National Health Promotion Policy Impact Critically analyse the impact of the National Health Promotion Strategy 2000-2005 in the context of overall health provision and the relevance to Public Health Nursing Introduction The National Health Promotion Strategy addresses a new orientation towards illness prevention and reduction of use of secondary and tertiary care services. Its key focus on aspects of community, health and the individual, and the intersections between these disparate elements, is suggestive of a great capacity for improvement in key areas of health. This essay will look at this in relation to health provision and Public Health Nursing in Ireland. Lifestyle Choices and Health, Population Approach and Major Determinants of Health The strategy considers the particular lifestyle factors and choices which appear to affect health in the Irish population, and examines key sectors and sub-groups of the population in relation to particular health needs. This is nothing new, and nursing in the community setting, in primary care and in longer term tertiary care has long incorporated specialist provision for specific health-needs population groups (Watkins et al, 2003). However, health promotion at local and population levels may be focusing on a means of changing public opinion as well as personal choices, and there may be considerable resistance. Research might be needed into identifying where the greatest resistance is and in developing strategies specifically to overcome this. Determinants of health remain related to issues such as socio-economic status and location, access to health services, level of education, and the like. These are wider public-health related issues, and ones which require longer term strategic changes and longer term investment of resources. However, it might be that targeting the settings described below may contribute to this. The policy/practice interface may change with time, with emergent social forces and changes in the economic climate, and so it may be important to build in a degree of flexibility and scope for growth. Community organisations may play a key role here, but again, the funding of these is still indeterminate and poses questions for longer term sustainability. Settings Bringing health promotion into a range of community settings in a more proactive way seems a very positive step forward. Public health as a concept is very much about every sector of the community (Cowley, 1995), and public health programmes are historically very much concerned with areas of greatest need (Ewles, 2005). However, the strategy would need to overcome the professional/cultural hegemonies of different settings, and set out ways in which inter-professional and inter-agency communications and collaborations can be fostered. Breaking down the barriers between health services, community settings, organisations and agencies may be challenging. An incorporation of primary care principles and models (Starfield, 1995), into other settings might be particularly challenging. There may be a real need to identify expertise in relation to professional knowledge of the identified settings and to use this expertise, as a means of delivering the strategy and as a means of educating a wid er range of professionals to meet identified needs. This could form part of the community health needs assessment, a mapping of existing resources and expertise against needs, and might perhaps form a more realistic component of the implementation of the strategy. However, this would have to be carried out on an individual level as well, which could in itself pose a significant resource question, in relation to who will go and collect the information about individual employee/professional expertise and capability available in each location, setting or district. The coordination of such a comprehensive garnering of existing resources presents yet another challenge. Challenges and Strengths While the strategy has a strong community focus, medical models still dominate much of the rhetoric. Medical models and community-focused health promotion do not necessarily sit well together (Carr, 2007). The issue of resources is also challenging, because while it will contribute to developing a skilled and responsive workforce, this itself must be resourced, as well as changes and expansions in service provision. Topics The topics focused on are unsurprising, and are key areas of health promotion need across the developed world. All of these are public health concerns for the general population, but although there is reference to mental health, there is not enough of a focus here on wellbeing and what constitutes wellbeing for different sectors of the community, social, racial, cultural or other. Similarly, it is important to look at the intersections between the different topics, such as education and eating, socio-economic factors and healthy eating or lifestyles, and the like. This constitutes a major need for investigation and evaluation as an ongoing component of the plan, drawing on academic resources as well as healthcare service resources. Public Health Nursing The role of the public health nurse in Ireland is that which is most suited to deliver on all the above key areas of the strategy (Chavasse, 1995). However, the limitations of current systems might mean that public health nurses are being asked to be jack of all trades, and master of none. There may be a need to specialise in order to meet the needs of specific population sub-groups (Poulton et al, 2006; Barlow et al, 2007; Foxcroft et al, 2004). Public Health Nursing may provide a model of healthcare provision which can be used to develop services in line with the Strategy (Clarke, 2004; Markham and Carney, 2007), and contribute to the development of community health profiles, but extra resources will be required to ensure they can do this as well as carrying out their patient-facing role (Clarke, 2004; Cowley, 1995). Public Health Nurses can also provide a means of disseminating good practice, service innovation, change and innovation. However, the considerable demands would sugges t there is a need to examine the current models of provision and supervision of these key members of staff. Conclusion Acheson (1988) defines public health as a community endeavour, the art and science of preventing disease, promoting health and extending life through the organised efforts of society. This is a very laudable sentiment, but it still remains to be seen if the priorities of those in power, in society, those who define policy, are able to meet the needs of all those who constitute that society, without prejudice, or inequality. The history of health services would suggest otherwise. References Acheson, D. (1988) Committee of Inquiry into the future Development of the Public Health function. HMSO, London. Acheson, D. (1988) Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in health. The Stationery Office, London. Barlow, J., Davis, H., McIntosh, E. et al (2007) Role of home visiting in improving parenting and health in families at risk of abuse and neglect: results of a multicentre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation Archives of Disease in Childhood 92 229-233. Carr, S.M. (2007) Leading change in public health – factors that inhibit and facilitate energizing the process Primary Health Care Research Development (2007), 8 : 207-215 Cambridge University Press Chavasse, J. (1995) Public Health Nursing in the Republic of Ireland. Nursing Review 14 (1) 4-8. Clarke, J. (2004) Public Health Nursing in Ireland: A Critical Overview *. Public Health Nursing. 21(2):191-198, Cowley, S. (1995) Health-as-process: a health visiting perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 22: 433-441. Department of Health and Children (2001) Primary Care: a New Direction. Available from: http://www.dohc.ie/publications/pdf/primcare.pdf?direct=1 Accessed 10-11-08. Department of Health and Children (2005) National Health Promotion Strategy 2000-2005 Dept. of Health Available from www.dohc.ie Accessed 17-11-08. Ewles, L. (2005). Key Topics in Public Health. London. Churchill Livingstone. Foxcroft, D.R., Ireland, d., Lister-Sharp, D.J. et al (2003) Longer-term primary prevention for alcohol misuse in young people: a systematic review Addiction 98 (4) 397-411. Markham, T. and Carney, M. (2007) Public Health Nurses and the delivery of quality nursing care in the community Journal of Clinical Nursing 17 (10) 1342-1350 Poulton, B., McKenna, H., Keeney, s. et al (2006) The role of the public health nurse in meeting the primary health care needs of single homeless people: a case study report Primary Health Care Research Development 7 (2) : 135-146 Starfield, B. (1994) Is primary care essential The Lancet 344 1129-1133. Watkins, D., Edwards, J. Gastrell, P. eds. (2003). Community Health Nursing: Frameworks for Practice. 2nd ed. p.35. London, Baillià ¨re Tindall.

Hitler an the Holocaust :: Essays Papers

Hitler an the Holocaust Adolph Hitler was known as the dictator of Nazi Germany. As a youth, Hitler already showed signs that characterized his later life, such as the unableness to make ordinary human relationships, a hatred for non-Germany people such as the Jews, and the dream of living in a world of fantasy. So when Adolph Hitler came into power in 1933, he lived out these characteristics in a very publicized way. Once elected, Hitler went on to create an absolute dictatorship and had an ultimate goal of establishing a greater Germany that had ever existed before in history. In the establishment of this great Germany, Hitler was able to murder approximately six million Jews with his Nazi Germany during World War II.1 The Jews were believed to have an inheritance that threatened German and Christian values. This attempt made by the Germans to kill as many Jews as possible came to be know as the Holocaust. On January 30, 1933, the German president Hindenburg named Adolph Hitler the Chancellor, which was the most powerful position in the German government.2 At this time Hitler was already the leader of the strongest and most powerful party in Germany, the Nazi Party. The Nazis first called the German Workers’ Party, were a nationalist and extremely racist group that held the same views as Hitler.3 Hitler first started out as a member of the Party, then moved his way to the top. He soon changed the name of the German Workers’ Party to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, otherwise known as the Nazis.4 The party all had basically the same views and ideas; they were all violent, racial, nationalists, and opposed liberal democracy. The party took the symbol of the swastika and the Heil greeting from other German racist groups, and the German salute.5 Hitler rose to become the highest power in the Nazi party and was ready to become the leader of Germ any. As soon as he was put in power, Hitler was out to end German democracy and instead make an absolute dictatorship. In March of 1933, the Enabling Act gave Hitler ultimate dictator power.6 As soon as this power was granted, Hitler began preparing for the war. In preparing for war, Hitler recreated a universal military service; he then went on to build a powerful air force.

Power and Starvation in the Novels and Lives of Emily and Charlotte Bro

Power and Starvation in the Novels and Lives of Emily and Charlotte Bronte      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the fictional worlds of Charlotte and Emily Brontà «, one of the few ways that women who otherwise have very little say in their lives are able to express dissatisfaction is through self-starvation and illness. It is noteworthy that in their own lives the Bronte sisters exhibited many eccentric habits in regards to eating, and both Charlotte and (especially) Emily engaged in self-starvation similar to the strategies used by the characters in their novels.    Anorexia is a general term that describes the decline of appetite or aversion to food, though it is most commonly used to refer to self-starvation. Anorexia was not new during the time of the Brontà «s. Although eating disorders are often thought of as being a modern day phenomenon, it is in fact only widespread diagnosis that is a recent occurrence. Those who had no other means to wield power, other than in terms of individual self-control, have long used starvation and fasting as a means of exerting control over an environment in which they felt powerless.    In his book, Holy Anorexia, Rudolph Bell sites a case of anorexia in a 20 year old girl from as early as 1686 (3). In fact, eating disorders were fairly common in the time leading up to the Brontà «'s era, although the motivations behind them were often quite dissimilar. Today, young women are often driven to starve themselves because, "they must conform to an impossible, media-driven standard of beauty which holds that 'you can never be too thin.'" (Orenstein 94) In the 18th and 19th century, however, thinness was not an ideal to strive towards, and the psychology behind fasting and starvation was oftentimes more complica... ...    Bemporad, Jules R. The Psychoanalytic Approach to Psychosomatics and Eating Disorders: The Prehistory of Anorexia Nervosa. New York: The Newsletter of the Psychosomatic Discussion Group of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Sept., 1997.    Bell, Rudolph M., and William N. Davis. Holy Anorexia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.    Frank, Katherine. A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontà «. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1990.    Gordan, Lyndall. Charlotte Brontà «: A Passionate Life. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1994.    Orenstein, Peggy. Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap. New York: Anchor Books, 1995.    Terris, Susan. Nell's Quilt. New York: Sunburst, 1996.    Vine, Steven. Bronte, Emily Jane. Date unknown. University of Swansea. 30 March 2002. http://www.litencyc.com/   

South Africa :: essays research papers

AMAGASAKI, Japan - The death toll jumped to 71 Tuesday as crews pulled more victims from the wreckage of Japan's deadliest rail crash in decades. Investigators focused on whether excessive speed or the driver's inexperience caused the train to derail and slam into a building. AP Photo AFP Slideshow: Train Derails in Japan, Dozens Dead Train Derails in West Japan, Killing 50 (AP Video) The seven-car commuter train carrying 580 passengers left the rails Monday morning near Amagasaki, a suburb of Osaka about 250 miles west of Tokyo. It hit an automobile and then a nine-story apartment complex. More than 440 people were injured. Rescuers working under floodlights pulled out a conscious but seriously injured 46-year-old woman then reached a 19-year-old man passenger, also in serious condition. But most of the work was grim as crews pulled 14 more bodies from the twisted rail carriages, pushing the death toll from 57 to 71. Two of the five derailed cars were shoved inside and flattened against the wall of the building's first-floor parking garage. Distraught relatives rushed to hospitals looking for loved ones who might have been injured or killed in the 5:18 a.m. crash. They struggled to comprehend their loss. "I only saw him the night before," said Hiroko Kuki, whose son died in the crash. "I wish he were alive somewhere... I wish it were only a nightmare." Takamichi Hayashi said his elder brother, 19-year-old Hiroki, might be among those still in the wreck. He said Hiroki had called their mother twice on a mobile phone from inside one of the train cars hours after the crash but remained unaccounted for.