Wednesday, August 26, 2020

History Journals essays

History Journals expositions The library I chose to direct my quest for History diaries was at the University of Buffalo, Amherst Campus. Having made outings there on two separate events and having skimmed rapidly through maybe twenty or so various diaries I inevitably chose a bunch that I felt were a decent portrayal of what's in store in a history diary. These were delicate or hard spread running from a lean 100 pages to a strong 500 page book. Likewise I directed further exploration on the web by looking at any rate thirty promising history destinations to at last select about six that I felt what be a decent estimation of a book-structure history diary. Here I had numerous issues acquiring data the same number of the destinations were secret key ensured and membership get to just, and there were numerous impasses, anyway I had the option to get data. A great deal of these diaries are distributed by individuals related with the History branches of colleges, while others were distributed by History association s. I likewise found that numerous magazine or book-structure diaries additionally had web locales and those that did had some type of the diary there for survey, either edited compositions, features, or full content articles. Thusly my portrayals for Internet diaries are increasingly constrained. History Workshop Journal, Issue 50, Autumn 2000 This specific diary is distributed through Oxford University press and modified works are accessible online at www.hwj.oupjournals.org. The diary is in book structure, delicate spread, and around 320 pages. Within spread page gives distributers data while the substance are recorded on the first and second pages. The diary is partitioned into areas called: publication, articles and expositions, include history and list of sources, documents and sources, history on the line, history workshop history, surveys, report back, eulogies, and notes on patrons. The article is short and examines why the current issue is uncommon (fifty years... <!

Saturday, August 22, 2020

What are the discoveries of Dr. Maria Montessori free essay sample

Dr. Maria Montessori, globally prestigious kid instructor, was initially a clinical specialist who brought the logical strategies for perception, experimentation, and research to the investigation of kids, their turn of events and training. As a specialist, Montessori came to accept that huge numbers of the issues of the kids she was working with were instructive as opposed to clinical. In looking at instruction she felt that youngsters were not accomplishing their potential since training did not depend on science. Her initial step, at that point, was to endeavor to forsake assumptions about training and to start to examine youngsters, their turn of events and the way toward learning through logical techniques for perception and experimentation. In doing as such, she made what she viewed as various surprising disclosures. Through her examination, she found that youngsters had unique and high characteristics than those we normally ascribe to them. Among these characteristics are: an) Amazing Mental Concentration: Previously it was accepted that youngsters had limited capacity to focus. Dr. Montessori was astonished to watch the time allotment that exceptionally small kids would decide to take care of undertakings which intrigued them. At the point when unconstrained redundancy of an action is finished with intrigue the common outcome is fixation. Yet, fixation isn't the final result of instruction, it’s just the start. Any evident learning happens just with fixation. The kids uncover that they can work with fixation when they locate the correct conditions. b) Love of Repetition: On their own, youngsters would decide to rehearse things they were attempting to ace again and again. When something answers an inward need meets with the internal inclination the unconstrained intrigue is ignited. At the point when this intrigue finds reasonable conditions to work unconstrained reiteration is come about. At the point when this unconstrained reiteration of an action is finished with intrigue the common outcome is focus. For instance, when a kid chooses to figure out how to tie shoes, the youngster may tie and unfasten shoes commonly, proceeding with the reiteration until the undertaking is aced. c) Love of request: Whereas we typically consider kids chaotic, Dr. Montessori found that kids have a characteristic tendency for association and deliberateness. This normal tendency can benefit from outside intervention and created if arrangement is made to encourage it. This request need not be just with things in the earth yet in addition with qualities, capacities and other human exercises. The youngster needs to encounter human qualities like â€Å"telling the truth† being polished. If not really, the kid gets befuddled and this can make a twist in his turn of events. An opposite guidance about conduct tangles his choice. We have to recollect that the little youngster is in procedure of building his character which keeps going his lifetime. He needs consistency in everything in his condition. It takes some time for him to comprehend that things likewise can be unique. d) Freedom of decision: Children like to pick things they do. On the off chance that materials are set out for youngsters so they have simple access to them, kids will pick, take and supplant them with without the need of help from a grown-up. Dr. Montessori discovered that the kid is fit for picking the kind of movement that fulfills his internal inclination and offers challenge. At the point when a situation gives numerous choices in formative exercises, the youngsters pick exercises as per their abilities. This further encourages them to improve their capacities and formative characteristics. The grown-up should be the instigators yet just need to give the essential conditions. All out advancement results just when the youngster can work in the different fields of human action. e) Children Prefer Work to Play: One of the best astonishments for Dr. Montessori was the revelation that kids favored work to play. Here and there grown-ups will in general think youngsters just need to play and not to work. Notwithstanding, Dr. Montessori found that play filled in for what the kids truly needed to do, yet couldn’t. For instance, youngsters like to play â€Å"house†. They may profess to cook, to prepare pies, to clean house, and so on be that as it may, whenever given a decision, the kids like to be in the genuine kitchen with their mom (or father) figuring out how to get ready â€Å"real† food. The presentation of activity of handy life as formative exercises was Dr. Montessori’s commitment to training. She discovered how the kids expected to play out the exercises in day by day life since they brought the knowledge, will and deliberate developments together. This co-appointment realized mix of the character. f) No Need for Reward and Punishment: Montessori found that kids are inherently propelled to work. Nobody needs to be issue. In this way, they needn't bother with outer prizes and disciplines. What they do require is help. The grown-up can help the youngster by telling the kid the best way to do what the person is attempting to achieve. Achievement, fitness, and being a contributing individual from a general public are remunerating in themselves, and it is reward enough. There are numerous occasions in Dr. Montessori’s work where she clarifies why she â€Å"eventually†¦gave up either rebuffing or compensating the children†. She clarifies that this technique is â€Å"always a type of repression†, and depends on our †as she would see it appallingly wrong †conviction that youngsters â€Å"come into the world awful and brimming with wickedness. † She found, after cautious perception, that both discipline and prize were similarly inadequate devices for supporting the kind of advancement that she felt was significant (I. e. the standardization of the individual and the valorisation of humanity). Truth be told she saw that youngsters were impartial in both of these strategies and frequently couldn't differentiate between them. g) The Children Refuse Sweets: Children regularly demonstrate a lack of interest to the allurements of desserts when put in struggle with the enthusiasm of the psyche. Youngsters love to work intentionally. On the off chance that it compares with the inward improvement need they work until they arrive at their objective, in this any outer energizer impacts irrelevantly. The inward drive is adequate to show them the correct way. h) Lovers of Silence: Whereas it is anything but difficult to consider youngsters uproarious, Montessori found that kids appreciate discovering how calm they can be. The kids like to tune in to quiet and to delicate sounds. It resembles a game to check whether they can move a seat without making a sound. I) Sense of Personal Dignity: Children have a profound feeling of individual pride similarly as grown-ups do. They need to be competent and held in high respect. They need to have the option to get things done for themselves. They can get humiliated and can feel embarrassed. A youngster would prefer to tie his own shoes than have tied for him. j) Desire to Read and Write: first and foremost, Dr. Montessori didn’t accept that small kids of four and five years old ought to be engaged with perusing and composing. Notwithstanding, the youngsters demonstrated such intrigue that she gave some starting materials. She was surprised by how the kids leaked to â€Å"burst spontaneously† into composing and afterward perusing whenever furnished with the correct materials. Dr. Montessori found that the kids are frequently observed to carry on in a specific way; damaging, confused, difficult, insubordinate and so on. Be that as it may, in uncommonly arranged conditions and with extraordinarily prepared grown-ups they show methodical, dependable, cherishing conduct, both are apparently genuine. As an explanation of logical inconsistency, Dr. Montessori clarifies that the subsequent occasion is the genuine one and they exceptionally normal conduct is the consequence of the kid not finding the correct conditions for improvement. This disclosure was conceivable in light of the fact that she could observer this loftiness of human ordinariness. It is notable that human life is a progression of steps in picking up freedom and credit would go to Dr. Montessori who pointed this is valid in child’s life too. All the assist we with offering should lead the youngster to autonomy in his individual and public activity. We may finish up by saying Dr. Montessori calls upon each grown-up person to build up the lowliness to gain from the youngsters so as to enable the kid to make a sound individual.

Friday, August 14, 2020

A Study of Step 8 of the 12 Steps Program

A Study of Step 8 of the 12 Steps Program May 24, 2018 Willing to Make Amends?. © Getty Images More in Addiction Coping and Recovery Methods and Support Overcoming Addiction Personal Stories Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use Making a list of those harmed before coming into recovery may sound simple. Its becoming willing to actually make those amends is the difficult part. Step 8Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. For the Alcoholics Anonymous member, the list usually begins with friends and family that have harmed by a long and tumultuous drinking career. But as recovery continues - and the fog begins to lift - many others are usually added to the list as the process continues. Like taking most of the 12 steps, this one is not necessarily a one-time event. It is a process that continues to unfold as more is revealed. Many Al-Anon members, however, are sometimes surprised to learn that the first person on their list is the alcoholic! As they begin to put the focus on themselves in the Al-Anon program and do their own inventory, many discover they owe amends to the alcoholic in their lives if for no other reason, blaming him/her for all the familys problems. Making the list is one thing. Become willing to actually make amends to those harmed is another. It can be a very humbling, but growing experience, to actually admit wrong-doing, especially to the person harmed. But the process can relieve those trying to recover from so much guilt! Here are the experiences of some visitors to this site who have worked the 12 steps: Step 8: Becoming Willing Step 8 is simply a list of people we have harmed. I was told that if I had done my 4th step inventory, that much of this list had been covered. The second part of the 8th step is to become willing to make the amends necessary. I didnt actually have to do anything in the way of amends just yet. This perspective relieved a little of the fear I had regarding making the list. I was advised to ask my higher power to guide me through this step as I had all the others. My sponsor asked me to look at my behavior whether drinking or not. Was I kind, tolerant and considerate of others, or was I mean spirited, impatient and selfish? What were my motives when dealing with family members, friends, co-workers etc. Was I hell-bent on getting only what I wanted and not concerned with what was right? Oh, and lets not forget the self-pity that I poured out on those from whom I was sure to extract sympathy. Upon looking at the 8th step in this light, the list grew by leaps and bounds. I now not only had a list of those whom I had resentments  but a list that included those I may have given resentments and caused harm. Promises made but not kept. Telling that homeless (surely lazy, drug-addicted alcoholic) to GET A JOB! There is no way of knowing exactly how many people I hurt through my insensitivity. Some of these amends would be direct. Humbling but not impossible. Others through changing my attitude and behavior by not perpetrating the old sick self-serving behavior on friends, family or strangers. If I work this step to the best of my ability, the promise of living a life free of isolation from my fellow man and God will come to be. My sobriety is the priority! I must be willing to go to any length to get it. So far its working, so I think Ill just keep coming back! Magic Step 8: Step Toward Maturity Making a list of the persons I have harmed is difficult because I would have to admit to being wrong. Its hard for me to be wrong because I have had to work miracles, endure all things and pull things together for so long. Making a list will help me to examine my behavior and take away the excuses. Just as I have maybe been able to point out all the inappropriate behaviors of others, I have to face my own. Thats a great step toward maturity. Elve Step 8: Letting Go of Hurts Step 8 forms the base for all future relationships. If we can let go of our previous hurts to others, we can begin a new facet of sobriety. As in the 4th step, the relief is enormous. We need to address omissions as well as the obvious. For me, that was the most difficult part. Carol Who Did I Harm? Who did I harm? Well, step 4 gave me guidelines as to who and how, and why, and I began step 4 with specific individuals who I directly harmed as a consequence of my drinking. Then as I progressed in this program, I re-read step 8 and discovered it said: all people we had harmed. That meant people I had harmed both during and prior to my drinking and drugging. Then, as I progressed further, and discovered that laws of physics apply to human emotion too, I realized that I had harmed many more than I believed at first. Consider the doorman who I shouted at for his insufferable incompetence. He took my rebuke to heart, took it home with him, yelled at his wife and kids, perhaps yelled at the train conductor. Consider the newsboy who broke my window, and who I gave a dressing down: Perhaps he dropped out of school, or just gave up on self-esteem. Everywhere I went, whatever I did or said, any action has an equivalent reaction. Suddenly my 8th step list got a lot longer. As it turned out, I had a high profile job for 12 years that caused me to interact with over 2,000,000 people. How many of them did I harm? How many did they harm after crossing my path? It became painfully obvious that I would never make amends to them all. I could make direct amends to those I directly harmed, but what about the nameless, faceless minions that were out there, and never knew they suffered because of me? You know what? The answer was already in the steps. This program is about becoming a better person, and improving ones life. It is about living life in an unselfish and compassionate way. It is about giving in order to receive. It is about taking more interest in our fellows. And by practicing these principles in all my affairs, I think I turned out to be a better person than I once was. So all those minions, all the poor people that I tread upon, all the people that reciprocated my actions towards others, and those others, well, it is my sincere hope that you now need not worry about suffering because of me. And maybe, just maybe, my continued sobriety makes the world a wee bit better place for you to live. Sox Step 8: Moving Forward Next to finding a higher power, of which I try and honestly commit to daily, I find this step difficult. Most of my life has been spent with a negative attitude and probably have harmed many along the way with this nature. The only thing I can do now is, not look to the past, but move forward and live by my newfound example of a trying positive attitude, look at the negative and try and find something good in what I have always found bad. It seems to be slowly working for me. I am lucky to have the full support of my family, who are positive people. Gregor Index of 12 Steps and Traditions Study

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Theory Of Criminal Behavior - 955 Words

The theory I believe that explains criminal behavior and delinquency the best would be the Differential Reinforcement Theory, reviewed by Robert Burgess and Ronald Akers after it was criticized by C.R. Jeffery. Burgess and Akers argued against Sutherland’s work by using what he had used already and adding operant conditioning and modeling/condition in order to explain criminal behavior more clearly. They offered seven propositions to summarize the Differential Reinforcement Theory, which was a justification of Sutherland’s none principles of differential association. The following are the seven propositions, criminal behavior is learned according to the principles of operant conditioning, criminal behavior is learned both in nonsocial situations that are reinforcing or discriminative and through that social interaction in which the behavior of other persons is reinforcing or discriminative for criminal behavior, the principal part of the learning of criminal behavior oc curs in those groups which comprise the individual’s major source of reinforcements. The first proposition is very important to this theory. The fourth one states that, the learning of criminal behavior, including specific techniques, attitudes, and avoidance procedures, is a function of the effective and available reinforcers, and the existing reinforcement contingencies. the fifth and sixth propositions are the specific class of behaviors which are learned and their frequency of occurrence is a function ofShow MoreRelatedThe Theories Of Criminal Behavior893 Words   |  4 PagesCriminal behavior can be defined as any type of disruptive behavior or antisocial behavior that violates a law and is punishable by society. The three main causes of criminal behavior are psychological impacts, sociological influences, and biological factors. Although there are many more factors that can trigger criminal behaviors, they can all be summed up into the never-ending question, nature ve rsus nature? The psychological approach to criminal behavior is categorized into the nurture sideRead MoreTheory of Criminal Behavior2402 Words   |  10 PagesRunning head: Theories of Criminal Behavior Theories of Criminal Behavior Theories of Criminal Behavior The beginning of civilization dawned a new era in which man came together to live amongst one another in relative peace and prosperity. The advent of civilization however also brought about people who choose to live a life outside of societal norms and law, norms and thus was the creation of the criminal. All civilizations tried to suppress and discourage crime by using aRead MoreThe Theory Of Criminal Behavior1333 Words   |  6 PagesCriminal behavior has been a difficult term to define over the years due to the many variables that must be taken into account in order to present an accurate definition. However, the definition provided by Bartol is as follows, â€Å"Behavior in violation of the criminal code that is intentional and without justification or excuse† (Bartol, 2014). A vital variable that is represented in criminal behavior is crime. The fundamental purpose of theory is to explain things that can be observed. When discussingRead MoreThe Theory Of Criminal Beha vior1412 Words   |  6 Pagesof social process theories that are rooted in their notion that criminal behavior is learned by a social context. There has been a learning perspective that assumed that there are law- breaking values, norms, and etc. The section goes on to explain the theories envision that a criminal’s behavior is a product of the same learning process of noncriminal behavior. Crime is known for being constructed as a normal behavior rather than pathological. The task of this learning theory is to detail theRead MoreThe Theory Of Criminal Behavior Essay2360 Words   |  10 Pageseven though there have been harsh laws enforced for those who commit crimes. These people have come up with theories as to why people commit crimes to understand these theories, we must understand what a crime is and understand the definition of theories. Crime is a human conduct that violates the laws of a state or the federal government. There are different ways people view criminal behaviors either through the view of the social problem perspective which blames the society and the social responsibilityRead MoreThe Theory Of Criminal Behavior1608 Words   |  7 Pagescauses of his criminal behaviour through the three different criminological schools of thought: classical, positivist, and sociological. There are a number of concepts of crime including human nature, the society, social contract, the law, and punishment. The central concepts of the classical school of thought is that people are egotistical, rational, motivated by pain and pleasure, people choose their behaviour, and behaviour can be modified by fear of punishment. The classical theory focuses onRead MoreThe Theory Of Criminal Behavior1191 Words   |  5 Pagesreason being is criminal behaviour sometimes can t be defined. Law in our society is defined by social and legal intuitions, not in biology. What is criminal in one country may not be in another so how can one gene deformation cause one to become a criminal ? So, as these studies have found, there appears to be some genetic traits that can influence criminal behaviour such as a person’s gender or mental illness. But this doesn t mean there is an evil gene which all criminals inherit, socialRead MoreBiological Theories Of Criminal Behavior844 Words à ‚  |  4 PagesBiological Theories are vastly growing with fascinating research. The main stump is concretely linking it to criminal behavior, because some theories are more relatable than others. Theories involving temperament and hormones give real life biological explanations, while others like extrovert and introvert behaviors, and neuroticism explain a weaker link to crime. However, all theories are valuable in exploring the root of crime. Temperament can be described as the natural mood disposition determinedRead MoreThe Psychological Theories Of Criminal Behavior883 Words   |  4 PagesPsychological Theories The psychological theories of criminal behavior focus on the lack of socialization, incomplete cognitive development, and bad childhood experiences. Those who study psychological theories believe that failures in cognitive development can be a major factor in malfunctioning behavior. These criminals have difficulty controlling anger and containing violence, which causes them to lash out. The results of these episodes are murder, rape, robbery, assault, and battery. Many moreRead MoreEssay on Theory of Criminal Behavior1000 Words   |  4 Pages1.0 Introduction Crime depicts any act or omission that is prohibited by the public law. On the same note, behavior is a function which has measurable differences in psychological characteristics among individuals (Brennan-Galvin, 2002). Such characteristics may be influenced by constitutional, personality attributes, and neurophysiologic or genetics factors. Likewise, criminal behavior is the commission of acts which in their situational and social settings are considered crimes due to the fact

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Essay on Music Censorship - 880 Words

Music Censorship The tall, lanky fifteen-year-old ambled slowly up to the counter and tossed his music selection toward the clerk. The salesman began to ring the sale up in his routine manner, but just then something caught his eye. It was a small black sticker on the corner of the CD. This sticker plainly read explicit lyrics. As the teenager fumbled through his pockets searching for a method of payment, the clerk gave him a questioning glance. Could I see some identification please? The clerks voice cut through the silence like a knife through butter. Immediately the boys face went from something of a blank stare to a frown. Im sorry this particular CD is not available to minors, the clerk apologetically stated. Yeah†¦show more content†¦By removing the libretto of La Traviata Verdes opera has lost at least some of its impact or meaning. Though we can not be sure what this particular librettos content was, we can be sure that we have missed out on some of Giuseppe Verdes work of art. The issue of censorship has been with us for centuries. Due to the argumentative nature of the human race, this issue will in all probability remain with us for centuries to come. Radio broadcasters in the Nineteen Fifties regularly altered and removed certain lyrics that were determined too offensive for listeners. The Billie Holiday song Love for Sale was banned outright by the ABC radio network in 1956 because of its prostitution theme (Volz 2). In other cases lyrics were changed in order to allow these hit songs some guaranteed air time. ABC changed a line in the Cole Porter tune I get a kick out of you from I get a kick from cocaine to I get perfume from Spain(2). Sure, these lines may well rhyme, but they totally lack the artists intended meaning. Cole Porter was deprived of a main point he was trying to get across. Once again the unjust act of censorship has robbed the meaning of a song from millions. In 1966 an Irish group named Them wrote, and sung, the top selling European song Gloria. One line in this song, she comes in my room was marked offensive by WLS, a radio station in Chicago. This song was soShow MoreRelatedCensorship And Censorship Of Music1544 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the years, music has evolved and transformed in many ways. However, there are restrictions in today’s music, otherwise known as, censorships. A crisis has emerged concerning the issue of censorship. This argument consists of two possible stances: one, supporting the continuation of censorship, and two, eliminating the status quo of censorships in the music industry. There have been countless debates and arguments regarding the issues of censorship ever since the U.S. Congress passed theRead MoreEssay on Music Censorship1049 Words   |  5 PagesMusic Censorship   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today, in the 1990s, citizens in our society are being bombarded with obscene material from every direction. From the hate lyrics of Guns N Roses to the satanic lyrics of Montley Crue and Marilyn Manson to the sexually explicit graphical content of todays movies, the issue is how much society is going to permit and where we, as a society, should we draw the line. The freedom of speech has always been considered a right, but that doesnt mean that you can shout, FireRead MoreCensorship in Music Essays1076 Words   |  5 PagesCensorship in Music Censorship in music has been a major problem plaguing America since the early nineteen forties. It came to a head during the nineteen sixties with the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. During the nineteen seventies and eighties heavy metal and hard rock were getting the brunt of the censorship heat. Now in the nineteen nineties the major focus of censorship is rap; primarily gangster rap. Some of the main factors of music in general that cause legal ramifications are sexualRead MoreThe Problem Of Music Censorship1280 Words   |  6 PagesAttention Getter: Imagine yourselves listening to music at a party, you’re jumping around yelling, screaming, and majority of the time singing or rapping along to whatever song is playing. Now imagine every other word, or whole verses in the song getting bleeped out frequently because of the message it presents even though you have the right to listen to whatever you so desire. This is the problem of music censorship we all face today. B. Relevance: BeingRead MoreMusic Censorship Essay625 Words   |  3 PagesMusic Censorship Since the being of time people have been making and listening to music. Music has been considered the best way to express ourselves. The Bible even talks about how music was used to praise God. Music has been used for all type of things ranging from to getting a girl to notice guy, trying to get over a broken heart, or maybe losing a love one. Now society says that music has become too violent and sexually oriented. Many people have different point of view on this topic someRead More Music Censorship Essay640 Words   |  3 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Why is it that when a person that listens to music that may promote violence and contains â€Å"objectionable† lyrics does a bad thing, families are quick to point out that it was external materials such as the music that influenced the person to do it? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This is the controversy over music censorship. Music censorship is the attempt or action taken by any agency to limit or hold back anything in music that a community may find offensive to its beliefs or valuesRead MoreEssay on Censorship of Music1406 Words   |  6 PagesCensorship of Music In todays society, all types of music artists are expressing their views, opinions and feelings in their songs about what they see and what they know. This is on of the great things about this country, the freedom to express yourself. It is not fair, nor is it constitutional that music should be censored in anyway. It is not only rap music trying to be censored it is in all types of music. They are taking away their rights and it isnt fair. As reported in the New York TimesRead More Music Censorship Essay3364 Words   |  14 Pagesfuss about? Censorship, Government officials, and raving mad protesters alike have been trying to stop the expressive creativity in everything from rap music to Mark Twain. Censorship in music is a topic that has brought about much controversy in the past two decades. There have been many different arguments on the topic, however the question still remains as if it should be censored or it should not be censored. In Paul Blanshard’s book The Right To Read: The Battle Against Censorship, he speaksRead MoreMusic Censorship Essay2897 Words   |  12 PagesCensorship in Music When listening to the radio, most people come across a song that has been changed from its original version, whether certain words are beeped out, or a string of lyrics are replaced altogether. This is censorship, and it is very common on the radio. It is also very controversial. People don’t agree what should be censored or if anything should be censored at all. However, we believe that censorship is a good thing. Censorship allows offensive music to be altered so that it isRead More Music Censorship Essay2636 Words   |  11 Pageslyrics. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Since the dawn of musical expression, there have been people trying to stop or hinder the constitutional right to listen and enjoy music of all forms. There were ordinary, everyday people during the infancy of Rock N’ Roll in the 1960’s who made it their mission in life to stop so-called â€Å"obscene† music like the Beatles song â€Å"Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds,† from polluting our airwaves and minds. These groups succeeded in banning some songs from the radio, but most

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Importance of Civil Disobedience Free Essays

Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez. Each of these people were leaders and role models to different civil rights movements. However, they all share similar views on how society should react to oppression. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Civil Disobedience or any similar topic only for you Order Now The motive behind each and every protest in American History is civil disobedience, an idea thought up by Thoreau while he spent the night in jail, due to tax evasion. He believed â€Å"that government is best which governs least. †1 His revolutionary idea weaved its way into the fabric of American life. As free people, we see it as our right to protest any laws we see unjust. In a society which controls, the need to rebel will always be present. This theme is abundant throughout the many different time periods in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Early American newspapers were often opinion based. These articles slowly became less and less fond of the King and his laws. For example, the Pennsylvania Gazette contains many articles pertaining to the injustice of the stamp act. This particular paper contains a segment from a meeting with the Sons of Liberty. The first point states, â€Å"we will cheerfully, to the utmost of our power, defend all of our just rights and privileges, as they have always been heretofore allowed us†2. The Sons of Liberty make it clear to the public that no injustices will go unnoticed. The paper continues, â€Å"that we will oppose all attempts to deprive us of our rights and privileges as Englishmen. And therefore will at all events oppose the operation of that defeatable thing called the Stamp Act, in this colony†3 This article is one of the first to take a stand against oppression. The Sons of Liberty published many columns similar to this one in papers throughout the colonies. Although these articles may seem aggressive the motive is still passive. â€Å"That we will, in all cases, behave ourselves peaceably as far as our influence extends, weill preserve the public peace†¦ †4 They are recognized as pioneers in the field of civil disobedience. Thoreau can be thought of as the father of civil disobedience, turning what was once a bloodbath for power into a peaceful yet effective plan for change. In all of his writing it is clear that Thoreau is not fond of American government, or any other government. Henry Thoreau once said, â€Å"any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it†5. This quote summarizes how Thoreau felt about politics. It is frustrating how one fool can pass a law which effects everybody, however what Henry could not stand, is how the majority of people would stand by and let it happen. Anyone who has studied Thoreau would know that his biggest pet peeves are the government and conformity. He believed that â€Å"disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves†6. As Americans, we deserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The dictionary definition of liberty is â€Å"freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control. †7 This means that we deserve the right to rebel against government control. Maybe Thoreau was not as revolutionary as some thought, he was simply quoting the Constitution of the United States of America. Civil disobedience was catching on in the colonies as taxes got higher. However the phenomenon was not as popular in Britain. â€Å"It has been reported to the King that several writings†¦ nder the title of Revolutions, or Protests or different bodies and communities, cary with them an air of disobedience and revolt. These writings are in their form-illegal-in the effect that they are intended to produce-fallacious superiority over the royal authority†8. These letters were a response to articles such as the one put forth by the Sons of Liberty. The King would send ultimatum after ultimatum, attempting to stop civil disobedience from becoming mainstream. â€Å"The King being in his council, orders that the deliberations and protests of his courts and other assemblies made since the publication of his laws of the 8th of May†¦ articularly officers of the courts, or other judges, to afflict just penalties†¦ †9 Yet his threats did not stop the rebellion from coming. Like previously stated, in a society which controls, the need to rebel will always be present. Through the hard work of Henry Thoreau, the Sons of Liberty, and all those who opposed British rule, America is now a separate and free country. However as long as a government controls the way people live there will always be a need to rebel. Society’s right to free speech is essential in the preservation of freedom. Hopefully citizens will always see the positive outcomes of peaceful rebellion, it has and continues to shape the way our country works. The American society would not be what it is today without people crossing the line in order to show better ideas that will benefit the future that we live in today. Martin Luther King proved this when he crossed the line and protested in order to eliminate segregation. Now Americans can live freely together, in a society that rebelled, and is now better off than it ever has been before. How to cite The Importance of Civil Disobedience, Essay examples

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Climate Change and Industrial Policy

Question: Discuss about the Climate Change and Industrial Policy. Answer: Introduction: John Elkington brought the triple bottom line framework forward in the mid-1990s, to measure corporate performance. The framework incorporates social and environmental dimensions on top of profits returns and value of shareholders. The framework outlines the organization operations and the areas, which it relies on to generate its profit as well, as for how this areas are interrelated. The framework differs from the traditional reporting frameworks due to its inclusive nature that includes environmental and social dimensions. (Bohmholdt, 2014). Triple Bottom Line or the three Ps as it is commonly known stands for, planet, people, and profit. The original focus of this framework is on business performance, which makes it an important tool for sustainability in structuring business goals. TBL measures the impact of business activities on the ecology. Business activities comprise of profit-making, capital, shareholders value and social human (Naud, 2011). However, the framework has its limitations in that; some aspects lack units of measurement. Environmental impacts created by business such endangering of species and wetlands, lack a monetary value tag that can match the impact (Halkias, 2016). The six forms of capital used by business The six forms of business capital broadly recognized in businesses, which adhere to the three Ps, include the following (Khomba, 2012). This form of capital involves monetary asset. The performance of this capital is greatly determined by the regulatory and market forces and changes in lease accounting such as relating market information to traditional strengths such as data interpretation, analysis, and tools that help to conduct these activities to provide opportunities for development and growth (Bohmholdt, 2014). Intangible assets such as brand equity, patents, and trademarks are referred to as intellectual property. These assets are capitalized on by use of license agreement, brand and line extensions that aim to increase the value of the organization. Ideas born through intellectual capital harness important insight that is applied to existing and future operations This form of capital is very useful to managers regarding decision-making. Manufactured capital is made up of distribution networks, product, and services as well as the means used to reach the customer. Analyzing the returns and expenses of the asset is fundamental for the purpose of sustainability. Investing on energy and operation efficiency with the lack of proper analysis might result to over improved and underutilized capital asset (Backhaus, 2013). Employees in every organization are viewed as the most valuable and integrated asset. Due to this reason, company management have come up with plans to leverage employees intellectual capital by ensuring that they provide a suitable work environment and proper training. This has contributed immensely to the level of efficiency, productivity and return on investment. The social and rational capital involves the involvement of social networks that contribute to the growth of a company brand. The capital has further been enhanced by organizations through the involvement of universities, think tanks and other resources of future intellectual capital. The natural form of capital pertains, putting up structures that ensure business sustainability like the construction of sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings as well as the use of alternative energy sources. The analysis of the impacts brought by this form of capital has been a key area that enabled the decision makers to build strategies (Stubbs, 2008). The six phases of business approaches to sustainability The activities carried out by the business, greatly affect the surrounding but the organization does not realize the environmental damage being caused, thus does not put measures to restructure its operations to reduce the environmental damage (Benn, 2014). The significance of the environment is not considered as relevant when making strategies and strategic decisions. Resources from the environment are taken to be subsidies, which help business activities. The organization fails to consider the opportunities, threats, and costs relating to the environment. At this stage, the company still considers the technological and profit factors to be the main agenda on their strategy. Also, the company is observing the legal framework according to the management view. However, issues that relate to the community are only addressed when the organization faces a possible prosecution or damage that could affect the publicity of the organization (Kuhlman, 2015). The efficiency stage is characterized by the attempt to reduce cost by merging the functions in the human resource department. The organization now values the employees as part of an important asset that is utilized as effectively as possible. There is considerable involvement of total quality environmental management. Environmental issues that are not increasing efficiency are not highly considered (Backhaus, 2013). Strategies relating to the environment and present an opportunity for business that can provide a competitive advantage are given priority. Businesses maintain their competitive edge by producing environmentally friendly products and processes (McNall, 2011). The observation of environmental sustainability is crucial to organizational strategy, and the organization tries to influence other key participants in both society and the business industry. Examples of businesses engaging in sustainable business Businesses that are already engaging in sustainable business include, Alcoa, Xylem, Exelon, PGE and Bank of America (Confino, 2017) References Backhaus, K., 2013. Corporate Sustainability. Organization Management Journal, 10(2), pp. 85-85. Benn, S. D. D. . G. A., 2014. Organizational change for corporate sustainability. 1st ed ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Bohmholdt, A., 2014. Evaluating the Triple Bottom Line Using Sustainable Return on Investment. Remediation Journal, 24(4), pp. 53-64. Confino, J., 2017. Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/best-practices-sustainability-us-corporations-ceres [Accessed 2017]. Forbes Welcome. (2017). Forbes.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017, f. h., 2017. Forbes Welcome. (2017). Forbes.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/01/17/the-worlds-most-sustainable-companies-2017/#7fe145304e9d. worlds most sustainable companies, 12 April. Halkias, D. . T. P., 2016. Entrepreneurship and sustainability. 1st ed ed. london: routledge . Khomba, J. K., 2012. Relevance of financial reporting systems: Single-bottom line or triple-bottom line. African Journal Of Business Management, 6(9). Kuhlman, B. W. D. . B. H., 2015. Business fundamentals. 1st ed ed. La Crosse: Schweser Study Program. McNall, S. H. J. . B. G., 2011. The business of sustainability. 1st ed ed. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. Naud, W., 2011. Climate Change and Industrial Policy. Sustainability, 3(12). Stubbs, W. . C. C., 2008. Conceptualizing a "Sustainability Business Model". Organization Environment, 21(2), pp. 103-127.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Amazon Self-Publishing How to Publish on Amazon Step-by-Step

Amazon Self-Publishing How to Publish on Amazon Step-by-Step Amazon Self-Publishing: How to Publish on Amazon Step-by-Step Amazon self-publishing is on the rise. With it being the #1 retailer for books worldwide, that makes sense.But if you wind up making some errors in publishing on Amazonlets just say your results as an author will be less than satisfactory.After all, the self-publishing industry is pretty sensitive to those making mistakes.But Amazon self-publishing is the best option to self-publish and weve made it even easier for you with this guide for  doing it with Kindle Direct Publishing.You no longer need to go through painstaking efforts to land a book deal which locks you into unrealistic deadlines and cuts you out of most of the earnings.You can now have complete control of your book and its revenues by Amazon self-publishing.But many writers get overwhelmed by the abundance of information about self-publishing. It can be intimidating for first-time publishers. We get it we were just like you!So to ease some anxiety and uncertainty, we created this step-by-step comprehensive self-publ ishing guide for you to follow in order to get your book published on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Network.Here is your full guide for Amazon Self-Publishing:Creating a Kindle Direct Publishing AccountCrafting Your Book Title SubtitleWriting Your Book DescriptionChoosing the Right KeywordsSelecting the Right CategoriesUploading Your ManuscriptCreating a Book CoverPricing Your BookLet’s get started!NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing process broken down with videos in our VIP Self-Publishing Program.If you are ready to publish your book NOW then make sure to check out our comprehensive, step-by-step guide to becoming a bestseller. Learn more about it hereAmazon Self-Publishing Why its the Best OptionTraditional publishing is on the way out. This has been the reality for some time now and for good reason.While traditional publishing had its time and was once theonly option for publishing a book, th e system in place right now is one made for the next Stephen Kings not for those who have value to share with the world.Why Amazon Self-Publishing is the Best OptionThough traditional publishing is still a viable option for some, Amazon self-publishing is the best option and heres why:Over 70% of books are sold on Amazon310 million book buyers through Amazon last yearThose buyers accounted for over $178billion in salesIts easier and faster with Amazon self-publishingThere are major differences between traditional vs self-publishing with the majority of authors opting to take their talents to Amazon instead of through one of the Big 5 publishing houses.And you should too. What is Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)?Throughout this guide, youll read the term Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP. It might sound self-explanatory but well cover some basics.This is an Amazon self-publishing platform that allows you to create and manage your Kindle eBook, paperback, and even audiobooks in a single place. It’s widely used to build books from the ground up.And fortunately, setting up your KDP account is easy, and should be the first step you complete.Your Guide for Amazon Self-PublishingSure, anyone can technically self-publish on Amazon, but that doesnt mean it will do well and actually sell. You have to know the specifics, from setting up your KDP account to the pricing of your book.If done correctly, you can expect a successful launch and a substantial amount of passive income. Here are our steps for Amazon self-publishing.#1 Create a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) AccountBefore you can start with Amazon publishing, you first have to have an account set up with them.Heres how to set up your Kindle Direct Publishing account:Go to https://kdp.amazon.com and register with either your Amazon account or with your email address.Next, click â€Å"Update† in your account information and fill in your tax information. It’s important to note that you need to compl ete your tax information BEFORE you can publish your first book. So don’t skip this step!Once your tax information is complete, click â€Å"Finished† and return to the main page.Your profile is complete!With your KDP account setup, proceed to setting up the details of your book, as seen in the areas below.#2 Choose a Book Title and SubtitleIn your Kindle Direct Publishing profile, you need to fill in the title and subtitle of your book. While a subtitle is optional, having a good subtitle is something you should definitely consider to bring in more views and create stronger intrigue and help people find your book when searching.Here are a couple tips to crafting a great book title:Use a Book Hook: Your book hook should speak to the reader in a unique voice that grabs their attention and feeds into what they are looking for.List the Benefits: Your potential readers want to know what they will get from reading your book. One technique is to deliver the benefits in the s ubtitle, providing enough tantalizing information to further attract readers.Think about what you would be attracted to in a book title. Keep it simple, clear, and unique. Research the title you want to use and make sure it hasnt been scooped up by a high-performing book already.You dont want to make competition for yourself.#3 Write Your Book Description for AmazonYou need a powerful book description in order for potential buyers to read what its about. Even though the cover and subtitle should do a great job of this, we all want more information when it comes to putting money toward something.Here’s what people notice first when seeing a new book:TitleCoverBook DescriptionA book description is essentially a short written narrative that illustrates what your book is about. It should be written like a sales page to capture the interest of your reader.This is crucial because the description, in many cases, is the final factor that determines whether the reader will read your book or not. That, and great Amazon reviews.When done correctly, a well-written book description can practically sell a book on its own.Here are some strategies to help craft your perfect description:Make your first sentence as enticing as possibleWrite your description like a sales page or advertisement, not a dry summary of your bookHave the description feel personal and empatheticDetail the benefits your reader will gain by reading your bookHeres a great example of a full book description on Amazon:You can find more amazing description examples with these books:Champion Mindset: Tactics to Maximize Potential, Execute Effectively, Perform at Your Peak – Knockout Mediocrity!By Patrick KingNovice to Expert: 6 Steps to Learn Anything, Increase Your Knowledge, and Master New Skills by S.J. ScottSpend some time crafting your eye-catching book description. It will make your book stand out to your readers and motivate them to purchase your book.For the best results, we recommend using the Free Amazon Book Description generator at kindlepreneur.com#4 Choose Your Amazon KeywordsIf you want your book to show up in Amazon and Google search engines, you’ll need the right mix of keywords. Since Amazon allows only seven keywords per book, keyword selection requires strategy.But whatare keywords exactly?Keywords are specific words or phrases used to describe your book. If someone was looking for a book on your topic, they might type one of those keywords into Amazon or Google in order to find it.For example, if your book is about perseverance, you might find keywords like this useful:how to have perseverancewhat is perseveranceperseverance examplesperseveringpersevering when its hardThese are all phrases or words people looking to better themselves with perseverance would type into search engines in order to find what theyre looking for, like in the image below.You can research the right keyword phrases by using search tools such as:KDP Rocket: This is a gr eat tool for comparing Google search results to Amazon. It gives you a competitive score from 1-99, keyword results from both Google and Amazon, and how much money other books are making.KW Finder: This tool gives an analytical view of the keyword popularity using a competitive ranking. You can search for five keywords for free per day.Amazon’s Autofill Function: Take advantage of Amazon’s search box to find good keywords. Amazon’s suggestions are based on search history so you want to search for words that are high in demand with little competition.Make a list of possible keywords for your book, then leverage the tools above to test your keywords. Putting in the time to get keywords right will have your book rank higher and appear more frequently to readers.#5 Select Your Amazon CategoriesAmazon provides a collection of categories and subcategories to choose from. Like keyword selecting, your goal is to look for trending areas that don’t have tons of co mpetition.If you visit your book page, these categories will appear partway down the page, displaying the rank like in the image example below.These categories are what you will rank as a bestseller in, which is why you want to make sure you pick fitting categories that are specific, but also not super competitive. You want to stand out.You can also check the rankings of the top three books on the first page of each category.Amazon sales ranking measures how well a product is selling compared to its competitors. All books that are ranked 2,000 or less are considered to be highly purchased products in that particular category.Here are a few tips when publishing on Amazon in order to rank in more categories:Research your competitors keywordsChoose trending categories with lower competitionAcquire additional categories by contacting Amazon and asking for keyword placementUnless you have an established audience with significant downloads and reviews, try to aim for categories with books that rank between 10,000-30,000.Do you want to know how to rank for ten categories? Check out our blog post that detailshow to get approved for more categories on Amazon.#6 Upload Your Manuscript to AmazonTo upload your manuscript, it first must be saved in a supported kindle format.Heres how to upload your book to Amazon:In your Kindle Direct Publishing account, go to â€Å"Your Bookshelf†.Locate and click on â€Å"Kindle eBook Actions† next to the title of yourbook.Locate and click on Edit eBook Content†.Click on â€Å"Upload eBook manuscript†.Upload your manuscript file on your computer.Upload complete!Once Amazon finishes uploading your file, a confirmation message will be sent and you can preview the uploaded file to check for any errors.You can upload the manuscript as many times as you want and the new version will override the existing.It’s important to check how your book looks using the â€Å"Look Inside† feature once the book is live on Amazon. This feature is often the first thing your prospective readers will click on when checking out your book.If the formatting is off here, it can deter readers from picking up your book. Take this extra step to make sure your formatting looks good here too.#7 Create Your Book CoverWhen it comes to publishing a successful book on Amazon, having a perfect book cover design is one of the most important aspects to get right. Contrary to what we were told growing up, people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover. Its actually one of the biggest deterrents.Your cover is exactly how your book will be judged at first glance.So you must make sure that it is created professionally and that it will stand apart from the rest of the books in your genre or category.You can find cover creators on freelancing sites such as:99 DesignsHappy Self Publishing100 CoversPrices will depend on the level of service, but these sites will give you plenty of amazing graphic designers to choose fro m! It’s a great investment that will make your book stand out perfectly.If youre a Self-Publishing School student, we will actually provide a list of qualified, trusted book cover designers you can work with in order to get a worthy cover.Make sure to do your research regarding what type of book cover does best in your genre. Fantasy books, for example, will be a lot different than a memoir or even a historical fiction.#8 Price Your BookA question often asked is: â€Å"How much should I be pricing my book at after the initial launch is over?†This is up to the author, but generally, the best range to have your book priced is between $2.99 to $9.99.The royalty payments vary depending on the country, but you can learn more on KDP Select pricing page.One popular strategy for beginners is to price your book at $2.99 and gradually increase it by $1 per week. At some point, your sales will begin to dip. And while that’s normally a negative statistic, for this case, it confidently tells you the perfect price of your book that guarantees a profit.Here are the 4 main pricing strategies to consider in order to be competitive and sell books:Know the price of your competitors. Compare the list price of your book to the books around you and determine if you would be able to sell your book for a higher price.Know the size of your followers. Famous authors can charge a lot for their books because they have a big following. If you’re not in this category, your book should be priced lower to encourage new readers to buy your work.Determine price based on the size of your book. Size does matter when it comes to books. Don’t charge $20 for a 75-page book. Customers will immediately be turned off with the lack of content at that price point.Measure price based on reviews. Reviews carry a big weight on influence, and is social proof that your book has been read and well received. Therefore, a book with higher reviews (1000+ reviews) can be priced higher compared to a book with fewer reviews (30+ reviews).You can get legitimate and honest reviews from:Your personal launch teamAmazon’s top reviewersFans of your social media pagePersonal email listAdding a note to leave a review in your bookExperiment with these strategies to pinpoint the price for your book, it will drive long-term success.Your Next Steps for Amazon Self-PublishingIf you want to become a self-published author, you must be fluent with platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and more. For that reason, you must take actionnow because you can never have too much knowledge when it comes to self-publishing your book.#1 Utilize your FREE training!Thats right. We have some free training all ready to go for you. Chandler Bolt put together this video training guide that will help you learn what it takes to go from blank page to self-published author in as little as 90 days!

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Working capital management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Working capital management - Essay Example Implementation of an effective working capital management system will certainly assist a company to improve its earnings. Ratio analysis and management of separate elements of working capital are two major aspects of working capital management. Organisations normally give great emphasis on working capital management, because ineffective use of working capital may end up in net losses. Since the management of working capital is crucial for companies irrespective of their size and nature, well structured corporate governance strategies are inevitable for properly dealing with the working capital spending. This paper will discuss the significance of working capital management and various approaches to the management of inventory, receivables, cash, and payables. 1. Management of working capital As discussed above, nowadays firms give specific focus on working capital management because thoughtless short term financing has already caused several corporate failures. As Bokadiya (2011) poi nts out, there are two concepts associated with the management of working capital: gross concept and net concept. The gross concept indicates current assets and this model is known as quantitative aspect of working capital.... stimation is a difficult task for firms in accordance with its nature and size; hence, different firms follow different methods to estimate working capital. Generally, conventional method, operating cycle method, cash cost technique, and balance sheet method are the major approaches adopted for the estimation of working capital. Longenecker, Petty, Palich, and Moore (2009, p.576) describe that the working capital is primarily used to purchase raw materials for production purposes. Through the production process, the raw materials are converted into finished goods and which is then reconverted into cash by the sales process. This whole process is called working capital cycle (ibid). Effective management of working capital assists organisations to deploy current assets and current liabilities efficiently and thereby to maximise short term liquidity. A well structured system of working capital management entails short term decisions generally relating to the next financial period. The p rocess of working capital management mainly involves two steps; forecasting the amount of working capital and determining the sources of working capital. Through proper management of working capital, a firm aims to make optimum level of investment in various working capital assets. This process may also aid companies to assess the optimal mix of short term and long term capital. In addition, effective working capital management can be of great help to choose appropriate means of short term financing. Management of inventory, receivables, cash, and payables are different aspects of working capital management. Inventory management is of great importance in modern business transactions as this process plays a evident role in establishing balance between purchase and sales (Indian Institute of

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Consequences of Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Research Paper

Consequences of Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy - Research Paper Example (Mian et al, 2008). Another source of captive demand was the money market funds. This boosted their yields since they were required to hold only the high rated securities. The managers that funded these securities knew well what gamble they were playing with these funds but could not resist the temptations and benefit it came with them. The managers also hoped that if any shock arose from these funds, their immediate competitors would also face the same consequences which would result in a reduced reputational cost and this may result in the government interference and may end up supporting these companies through incentives and lowering of taxation. The problem was even strict and severe in the short bond funds. In contrast to the market funds, short bonds fund are not restricted to the types of gadgets they can own. Generally the regulation relies greatly on credit- rating agencies procedures of risks without understanding the incentive created on the regulatory game system. As sta ted, (Morris and Shin, 2002) in circumstances where there are numerous equilibrium, an increase in public information does not necessarily to enhance welfare since it can direct to unproductive bank runs. (Diamond and Dybvig 1983 ). Lack of transparency The other major problem that contributed to the downfall to bankruptcy of the Lehman Brother company was the lack of transparency in big markets. In the last ten years the market for acclaimed default swaps grew uncontrolled from almost zero to 44 trillion, which was more than the of the us stock market in twice the number. Generally the levels of these contracts were very low and did not exist... This paper aims to summarize economic repercussions of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, that essentially marked the beginning of the global financial crisis. Many companies around the world are affected by bankruptcy at a certain time in their financial year. When a company is declared bankrupt, it can no longer invest in the stock exchange. The government declares the company insolvent. An example of such company is the Lehman Brothers, a housing and real estate company that went into bankruptcy in 2008. Regulatory constraints brought about the inflation demand for products thus seeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac getting the approval of investing in these securities. Another source of captive demand was the money market funds. This boosted their yields since they were required to hold only the high rated securities. The managers that funded these securities knew well what gamble they were playing with these funds but could not resist the temptations. The managers also hoped that if any shock arose from these funds, their immediate competitors would also face the same consequences. The effect that accrues from a company being declared as bankrupt is huge. Businesses and companies should ensure that they adopt proper measures that will make them stay healthy and avoid being insolvent. They should do this by getting involved and seeking support from the government especially if the business is new in the market. The business should also encourage investors from foreign and local to invest in them.

Monday, January 27, 2020

Service Delivery And Service Recovery Strategy Tourism Essay

Service Delivery And Service Recovery Strategy Tourism Essay Expectation is one of the most important thing related directly to the guest that the hotel has to know in order to be able to provide the service that fulfill the needs and desire of the guest. Its the key to know whats the hotel has to provide in order to make the guest feel satisfy. Before experiencing the service, each guest must have their own expectation. As what Pizam and Ellis had discussed in their research, the meaning of expectation can be describe as a mutable internal standard which is based on a multitude of factors including needs, objectives, past personal or vicarious experiences with the same establishment restaurant, with similar establishments, and the availability of alternatives. Besides on past personal experience and other factors have been mentioned, the expectation of the guest can also be based on whats the hotel had been promised to the guest. Not only that, another factor such as advertisement which is based on external communication can affect the expectation of the guest. For example, the guest who is looking for five star hotels for the accommodation during their holiday will search some particular hotels through the website, brochure, etc. If the advertisement of that particular hotel is very attractive and the physical of the hotel looks luxury and interested, most probably it will build higher expectation to the guest. Halstead (1994) also stated that the guest who, didnt have any experience before they go to one particular hotel, will rely on external source of information. H1: Good advertising could probably affect and increase the expectation made by the guest. Moreover, through the research made by Getty and Thomson in 1994, it is known that the expectation should be elicited prior to the service being provided; otherwise it will be influenced by perceptions of the actual service being provided.For instance, the guest may change her expectations during the service encounter and use those changes (perhaps more realistic) expectations as the standard of comparison. Many researchers support that statement because some think that the information that the guest receive during the current service will affect the expectation they have made before the service experience. Halstead (1993) found that expectations that are measured after service experience was higher for dissatisfy customers than for satisfy customers. On the other side, the guest, who has little or no experience of product and service before, will generate little information that leads to lower expectation made on the first time they experience the service. For instance, the guest who has never been stayed in five star hotel will have lower expectation about the five star hotel they are about to stay. This happened because the guest doesnt know whatare the products and service offered by the five star hotel, the guest just has little information that might be gotten from the advertisement they have seen before. Though there are differentiations for both the factors influence expectation and the times the guest makes their expectation, but normally the expectation of the guest can be grouped as several parts. As written in the research made by Lewis and McCann (2004), they classifying the expectations that based on what the guest expect from three or four star hotels. Below are the results of the ranking both business and leisure guests expect through their staying in three or four star hotels: Clean, comfortable bedrooms with all items in working order. Good quality food and beverages. Friendly, helpful, polite and efficient staff. High level of room security. Speedy, efficient check-in and out. The data above was made in the research made by Dolnicar (2002) to show that most of people expect to have clean room (including bathroom). Meaning to say that the guestwho are staying in three or four star hotel are more concern to the cleanliness of the hotel. Even the data was obtained through the questionnaire; it can change according to how many star of the hotel. Besides, she had completed her data with the expectation from the business travelers hotel expectation by hotel star category. The data is shown below. */** *** **** ***** Good food 8.0% 10.0% 5.6% 3.7% TV 5.3% 6.0% 2.1% 0.0% Good service 1.3% 4.0% 2.6% 4.9% Good location 2.7% 3.0% 2.1% 4.9% Staff 2.7% 2.0% 1.0% 0.0% Good value for money 5.3% 1.5% 3.1% 0.0% Pleasant atmosphere 0.0% 1.5% 3.6% 3.7% Large room 0.0% 1.5% 3.1% 3.7% Toilet 1.3% 1.5% 0.0% 0.0% Cheap 1.3% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% Shower 9.3% 1.0% 1.5% 1.2% Internet 0.0% 1.0% 1.5% 2.5% High quality 0.0% 0.5% 1.5% 2.5% Food 6.7% 0.0% 0.0% 2.5% Comfortable bed 2.7% 0.0% 1.0% 1.2% Comfort 0.0% 0.0% 0.5% 3.7% It is shown in the data above that the expectation from business travelers hotel expectation is different according to the star of the hotel theyve been staying at. Both of the data above broaden the factors influence expectation of the guest; star of the hotel and type of the guest are also influence the expectation made by guest. Jonathan D. Barsky also stated that the perception of product or service performance will influence the response made by guest if it combines with the expectation or pre-experience standard. When the guest has no pre-experience standards or expectation, the response of the guest will directly reveal their perception of the product or service experience without being affected by their expectation. Satisfaction In hospitality industry, the guest will evaluate more on its service than its product. Quality of service becomes the most important things that the guest will experience and give their valuation through. Since every guest wish to perceive the best service or in the other word; excellent service, hotel has to make efforts in giving them what they wish. The meaning of the excellent service is given in the research made by Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithami which is a profit strategy because it results in more new customers, more business with existing customers, fewer lost customers, more insulation from price competition, and fewer mistakes requiring the re-performance of services (1994, pg. 32 Vol 8. No. 2). It is clearly said that through the excellent service, hotel will increase their customer and decrease the lost of the customer. In other words, if hotel gives excellent service to the guest, it will result in having more profit for the hotel itself.However, excellent service will lead to satisfaction of the guest which will cause in the increasing of guests loyalty. When it comes to satisfaction, every guest who feels satisfy with the service given will disposed to be loyal to the hotel. So, it can be said that the satisfaction the hotel wants to obtain from the guest is to gain the loyalty from them.It was said by Jones and Sasser (1995) that increased customer loyalty is a critical driver of a firms long-term financial performance. Besides, the guests who feel dissatisfied with the hotel will reduce loyalty and the reputation of the hotel through the action they may do after experienced service failure. Therefore, satisfaction is the goal that the hotel wants to achieve. The meaning of customer satisfaction had been written in the article as a psychological concept that involves the feeling of well-being and pleasure that results from obtaining what one hopes for and expects from an appealing product and/or service (WTO, 1985). Through this definition, it is known that satisfaction can be obtained by fulfilling guests hopes and expectation. Furthermore, satisfaction is not a definite thing that will go constantly the same; each person will perceive different level of satisfaction even when they are in the same hospitality experience. The reason behind it is that each guest has their own needs, objectives, and past experience that will affect their expectations. Based on this statement, its very important for the hotel to know how to measure customer satisfaction. Of course, the reason for measuring customer satisfaction has to be clear in order to get the right information from the guest. According to Naumann (1995), five objectives that are the reasons the hotel measures customer satisfaction are: To get close to the customer It was well explained that the hotel has not only just know but also understand the most important attributes to customer, why those attributes affects customers decision making, the importance of those attributes, and get a feedback of how well the hotel perform to deliver each attribute. Measure continuous improvement The attributes that are necessary for the customer are linked directly to value added processes in the firm and are put into a form consistent with the internal measurements used to evaluate the process. To achieve customer driven improvement Not all customers are from the same source of valuable innovation. This will need creation of a comprehensive database that not only tracks sales, but sources of innovations. To measure competitive strengths and weaknesses Perceptions of the customer will be determined by the competitive choices. This is achieved through the possible survey and future customers as well as current and past customers. To link customer satisfaction measurement data to internal systems (Naumann, 1995, pp.22-7). Knowing that satisfaction is very important to be learned in the industry especially service industry such as hospitality industry, there have been research discussed about this topic. There have been nine distinct that researchers developed about the theories of customer satisfaction. The nine theories include: expectancy disconfirmation, assimilation or cognitive dissonance, contrast, assimilation-contrast, equity, attribution, comparison-level, generalized negativity, and value-precept (Oh and Parks, 1997). Based on expectancy disconfirmation theory, satisfaction is caused by confirmation or positive disconfirmation of consumer expectations, and dissatisfaction is caused by negative disconfirmation of consumer expectations. (Pizam and Ellis, 1999). When the outcomes received by the guest are different from what the guest have been expected, negative disconfirmation occurs. According to the research made by Yuksel (2001), there is positive disconfirmation when the service performance is better than what the guest had been expected before which lead to the satisfaction of the guest. When service performance is the same as the guests expectation, there is a confirmation which still leads to the satisfaction of the guest. Moreover, the guest will feel dissatisfy when the service performance is not good as what the guest had been expected which there will be a negative disconfirmation occurs. At the time the guest feel dissatisfy, it means that the need and wants of the guest cant be fulfilled by the hotel. Even though the satisfaction of the guest depends on the service performance and the expectation, minimum tolerable level also give impact to the satisfaction of the guest. Minimum tolerable level is the situation where the guest still can accept the failure that the hotel made. According to Yuksel (2011), depending on the situation, some of the guests will still feel satisfy when the service performance falls short of their predictive expectation but above the minimum tolerable level. Each person has different minimum tolerable level as they have different expectation. Basically, this minimum tolerable level cant be predicted and measured, so the hotel cant provide the service based on this minimum tolerable level just to prevent the guest feel dissatisfied. H2: When the hotel cant meet the high expectation made by guest, they will still feel satisfy if the service meets their minimum tolerable level. According to Pizam (1999), Dissatisfiers were more likely to earn a complaint for low performance or absence of a desired feature than anything else. But an operation that exceeds the threshold performance standard apparently will not receive compliments on the attributes. Meaning to say, the guest can be easily feel dissatisfy of the failures or the small things that not happened smoothly but will be very hard to appreciate the higher performance level achieved by the hotel. For example, the guest will easily feel dissatisfy when they expect the bathroom was clean but they found a rubbish near the basin. However, the guest will not be easily impressed when they expect the room was clean and the hotel provide more than that with decorating the room with a flower. Service Recovery Service Recovery was made because its impossible to give a maintain service that will never change nor have a mistake. In order to compete with other industries, each has to improve their performance all the time. Not only creating new stuff, products, or refurbished the building but also improving the service. Unfortunately, even there is a significant improvement, mistakes and failures will always be made since theres no so called perfect service.Through this realized condition, hotel creates recovery service to obtain positive response from the guest. Service recovery involves those actions designed to resolve problems, alter negative attitudes of dissatisfied customers and to ultimately retain these customers (Miller et al., 2000, p.38), and it includes situations in which a service failure occurs but no complaint is lodged by the customers (Smith et al., 1999, p. 359). There are always the strategies made before doing the recovery of the service. According to Lewis and McCann (2004), service recovery strategies are the actions that services providers take, in response to defects or failures, comprise a combination of psychological recoveries and tangible efforts. In addition, service recovery strategy is made to avoid bad response showed by the guest after theyve experienced service failure. When the guest experienced service failure, they may switch their option and move to the competitors, make a complaint that will give bad impact for the hotel if they speak out in public media, and the worst thing; they may use negative words to share about the bad experienced theyve had. As word of mouth is one of the media that works fast among people, negative words shared by the guest can influence hotels profit and reputation.There have been many researches stated that dissatisfied customers might tell ten to twenty people about their bad experience with their colleagues (Zemke, 1999). In order to decrease dissatisfactionthat lead to the negative consequences for hotel, some strategies have to be performed to the guest that experienced service failure as the recovery. H3: Service recovery strategy will prevent the hotel from the negativeopinion shared by the guest who had experienced service failures. At the first time the guest chose the place to stay, they have made their expectation and when the guest dont get what they have been expected or the quality that they evaluate is very poor, the guest will feel dissatisfy. After feel dissatisfy, the guest will either make a complaint or give their feedback to the hotel. From those situations, then only the hotel know that theres some failures occur.Sundaram, Jurowski, and Webster (1997) had mentioned in their research that Dissatisfied customers expect that service failures will be recovered when they complain. Moreover, there are five broad service dimensions that the guests use to evaluate or judge the service quality. The five dimensions are: RELIABILITY : The ability to perform the promised service dependably (32%) and accurately. RESPONSIVENESS : The willingness to help customers and provide prompt (22%) service. ASSURANCE : The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their (19%) ability to convey trust and confidence. EMPHATY : The caring, individualized attention provided to (16%) customers. TANGIBLES : The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, (11%)personnel, and communication materials. Those five broad service dimensions will affect to the evaluation made by the guest. Once one of the dimensions cant be fulfilled by the hotel, the evaluation from the guest through the hotel will decrease and vice versa. As human being, we will absolutely make a mistake. Thats why the service which is done by the staff will never be constantly perfect. Its a common thing for a hotel to do some failures to the guest. However, when some failure occurs, the hotel will definitely do the recovery to enhance customer satisfaction, build customer relationship, and keep the loyalty of their guest. Service recovery strategy is described by Gronroos (1988) in their research as the actions that hotels take in response to defects or failures. The action of recovery strategy is done with the range of doing nothing to do some efforts to fix the problems or the failures occur. A lot of researchers have made the research connecting with service recovery strategies theme. The summary of the research, about the strategies the hotel do after the failures occur, made by Bitner et al. (1990), Kelley et al. (1993), Johnston (1994), Hoffman et al., (1995), Tax et al. (1998), Miller et al. (2000) and Lewis and Spyrakopoulos (2001), generate the result that the strategies may be classified as : Apology; Corrections; Empathy; Compensation; Follow-up; Acknowledgement; Explanation; Exceptional Treatment; and Managerial Intervention. Apology is a basic strategy the hotel does after some failures occur. The moment the hotel does some failures, the first action to be taken is to apologize to the guest. When apologize is compulsory to be implemented as a service recovery strategy, the other action needs to be done according to the failures made by the hotel. Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml (1994) stated that even though the guests appreciate an apology, the apology will not make the guest forget the memory about the service failure happened. That makes the other recovery strategy was made to be fit in the type of failures. Even though some strategies may need to be done at the same time, some may not need to be done at all. For example; compensation will not necessary be donewhen the failure occurs is just the small failure such as mention the name of the guest wrongly. Effectiveness After service failure occurred, hotel will give the prompt service recovery strategy that match the failure and the guest will react according to what theyve received. The response of the guest will determine whether the service recovery strategy is effective. Meaning to say, the effectiveness of service recovery strategy can be measured with seeing guests response. When the guest feel satisfy with the service recovery strategy given by the hotel, it means the service recovery given was effective. Dissatisfaction of the service recovery given by the hotel is evidence that the service recovery was not effective. The guest who feel satisfy with the service recovery strategy offered will forget about the failure and may increase their satisfaction level after dissatisfaction occurred. In contrast, when the service recovery offered didnt match what the guests expected, they will feel dissatisfy and may not be loyal to that particular hotel.Other than that, Tax et al. (1998) had mentioned in his research that even though a customer may be satisfied with the type of service recovery strategies offered, the recovery evaluation might be poor because of the process endured to obtain the recovery outcome. So, the process how the hotel delivers the service recovery will affect the overall satisfaction of the guest. However, the service recovery strategies given by the hotel will be affected by some factors. Each strategy may give different result for different people. A man who has been travelling for 2 years will have different expectation and will have different result in receiving service recovery strategy than a man who has never been for travelling. Many researches about the effectiveness of recovery strategy were built upon this kind of situation. Further, factors that influence the type and effectiveness of service recovery strategies are : The service (e.g. Mattila, 2001); Purpose of purchase (e.g. McDougall and Levesque, 1999); The failure (e.g. Smith et.al, 1999); The magnitude of the failure (Kelley et al., 1993; Smith et al., 1999; Michel, 2001; Mattila, 2001); Previous experience with an organization (e.g. Tax et al., 1998); and Service recovery expectations (e.g. Miller et al., 2000). When the hotel offered one of service recovery strategies, they have to choose the right strategy that can possibly increase guests satisfaction. Magnitude of the failure will definitely affect the type and effectiveness of service recovery strategy. For example; hotel has made the failure throughthe bad temperature of the food given to the guest. Since it was a small failure, the recovery strategy given will be different from the time the hotel did big failure such as; the room where the guest stayed wasnt clean. According to Zemke (1999), only the guest themselves who can describe and tell how annoying is a particular service failure has been. Miller et al., (2000) stated that if the failures made by hotel are very serious, it will later require more drastic reparation. That will make service organization need to train more of their front-line employees so they can be able to handle the guests complaint and asses their situation correctly. Moreover, service recovery expectation also gives big impact on the effectiveness of recovery strategy. Kelley and Davis (1994) found that the guest who rated highly for the service quality will mainly have higher expectation on service recovery strategy. It can be understood by the guest to have a better service recovery on five star hotel that to have service recovery by four star hotel. In other way, it can be said that the quality of the hotel will surely affect the expectation of the recovery strategy. It is stated by Hart, Heskett, and Sasser (1990) that the main reason of the guest dissatisfaction is the problem resolution which cant satisfy the guest and up to 50% of the guest who experience service failure not feel satisfy with the recovery strategy (Best and Andreasen, 1976; Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman, 1990). Based on this situation, hotel has to follow up the guest to make sure that the service recovery they have made was successfully increasing the satisfaction of the guest. After the hotel has given the recovery strategy to the guest, they will not know the response of the guest until they follow up their guest and receive their evaluations. Giving the service recovery to the guest for the first time when the hotel made some failures will not always give the same result on the guest for the second time. When the first time the hotel made mistakes, some guests can be offered the minimum service recovery strategies or another service recovery strategy depends on the failures made by the hotel. That can reduce dissatisfaction of the guest, but it will give different result on the second, third, and on the next arrival. On the second arrival, the guest may not be able to accept the same way of service recovery strategy theyve ever offered. With the same recovery strategy given by the hotel on the second time with the same service failures experienced, the guest may not feel satisfy.Thats why, the evaluation and feedback is needed to know the guests response. Of course there will be more advantages on hotel when they can successfully give service recovery strategy that match the failure theyve made. First, they can get loyalty from the guest. Loyal customers are those who continue to stick with an unsatisfying product/seller with the hope that things will soon improve (Boshoff, 1997; Hirschman, 1970). When the guest feel satisfy with the service perceived, they will be loyal to the hotel and willing to come for another time. Loyalty of the guest will directly impact the profit of the hotel. It will lead to the increasing of the profit of hotel. Besides the loyalty and profitability, the effective recovery strategy can prevent the spread of negative word of mouth that is believed to be the most important post-purchase behavior. Service entities could increase their profits up to 85% by reducing the customer defection rate by 5% (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990).It has been proved that word of mouth has an effective power in spreading their opinion as a free advertisement tools. So, if hotel make the guest satisfy, the advertisement via word of mouth will be very useful to be used for spreading good advertisement. In the other way, if the hotel make the guest dissatisfy, the advertisement via word of mouth will not be useful anymore. It will even give bad impact to the hotel and may decrease the profit of the hotel. The last thing, when the hotel can handle the complaint of the guest and give the best service strategy match with the failure was made, they can build the trust from the guest. Moorman, Deshpande, and Zaltman (1993) defined trust as the willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence (p. 315). The moment the guest trusts the hotel, the guest will willing to come again to the same hotel. The trust built by making the guest satisfy can also make the guest increase their minimum tolerable level. Both loyalty and trust will give long term benefit for the hotel. Basically, when the hotel had successfully build trust in the guest, loyalty will directly follow. As the guest has trust the hotel, they will be loyal to that particular hotel. They will feel safe and comfortable with the hotel because they have trusted that the hotel will do their best to provide and deliver the best service. It is proved by Gilly (1987) that the guests who experience the service failure and did complainthen feel satisfy with the service recovery given, have higher repurchase intention than the guest who already satisfied with the service and did not complain. H4 : Guest expectation will be higher after he experienced service failure and offered recovery strategy.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Colonial Synthesis in-Class Essay

Colonial Synthesis In-Class Essay The literature of the Colonial Period has left a positive mark upon American culture. The connotations of the literature are sometimes hypocritical, and are often contradictory to other works at the time. As a result, the messages conveyed through writing have not been overlooked. Source A’s narrative of an enslaved African American arriving in America would just be one of many that would take place over the course of 200 years.I remember in the vessel in which I was brought over, in the men's apartment, there were several brothers, who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and it was very moving on this occasion to see and hear their cries at parting. â€Å"O, ye nominal Christians! might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you? † (Source A). The excerpt bluntly criticizes more prominent works at that time, from the staunch Puritan literature of Taylor. Make me O Lord, Thy spinning wheel complete. † (Source E) Taylor preached goodwill to men and stressed religious freedom, but he owned slaves at the same time. Jonathan Edwards, whom preached â€Å"So that, whatever some have imagined and pretended about promises made to natural men's earnest seeking and knocking, it is plain and manifest, that whatever pains a natural man takes in religion, whatever prayers he makes, till he believes in Christ, God is under no manner of obligation to keep him a moment from eternal destruction. (Source F) Many slave owners throughout the 18th and 19th century believed this, fueling conflicts like the Civil War and in some respect, the Civil Rights Movement. Racial persecution in the south can be attributed to blacks not necessarily being deemed by the Bible, as Puritans such as Edwards had preached. As a result, much of the negative bigotry had been sparked by Puritan work.On the other hand, Eqiuano influenced a much more positive as pect of American culture, as his autobiography can be deemed one of the earliest Abolitionist works. It depicted the cruel and bitter environment of a slave ship, and the often futile fate of being a slave. By being one of the first AfricanAmerican authors, many more African Americans after him would be inspired to write themselves.For better or for worse, early Abolitionist writings like Eqiuano’s and religious works like Taylor’s both have a significant impact for centuries after they have been written. They model conflicting sides of a society condoning secularism and one that promotes it. Whatever the case may be, these writings have given us a glimpse of early society in America, and better our understanding about the ways people responded to controversial subjects like slavery.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Growth Performance Management Essay

In this report I have given a lot of research into the relevant subjects. I think that the way I have looked at the possibilities will help Helen Marsh and Brian Taylor overcome some of the obstacles in their organisation in order to make there business successful. Suggestions on what you should be specifically looking at in order to make your business a success, in my view would be the try to improve employee attitudes and training for employees. I think I have covered all the points that you have given me in depth if I have not apologies on my behalf. Introduction- Aims of the Report The aim of this report is to show Helen Marsh and Brian Taylor the problems of their business in more detail than the report give (case study). I will outline and investigate further into the following matters: * Growth * Performance Management * Performance Appraisal Systems and Motivation * Motivation * Rewards * Employee Turnover/Retention * Training and Development * Communication Growth To consider the growth of Brian and Helens company, we will look need to examine into the PEST (Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors) and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis for this company, this will help us identify if the company should continue to grow. By understanding about the SWOT and PEST analysis this will show us key information and help us identify some of the problems with the business. SWOT Analysis: SWOT Analysis is a very effective way of identifying your Strengths and Weaknesses, and of examining the Opportunities and Threats you face. Carrying out an analysis using the SWOT framework helps you to focus your activities into areas where you are strong and where the greatest opportunities lie. SWOT Analysis is a strategic method for identifying your businesses’ Strengths and Weaknesses, and to examine the Opportunities and Threats. These are just some of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats there may be more if you feel that there are, pleases do not hesitate to call me we can discuss these further. By reading the report that you gave me (case study) I found more weaknesses than strengths. This is not ‘bad’ as this shows you that you can improve on these to make your business a success. Read more:  Difference Between Performance Management and Performance Appraisal PEST Analysis: It is very important that an organisation considers its environment before beginning the marketing and decision planning process. In fact, environmental analysis should be continuous and feed all aspects of planning. The SWOT analysis shows a lot of weaknesses in the business, the points that I have mentioned in the SWOT analysis affect the future growth of the business. I think that if you over come the weaknesses that are outlined in the SWOT analysis this will help improve and develop the company significantly because the employee would contribute to the full potential and would also create a good working environment which means less staff turnover. I suggest that you should postpone in growing for the moment and consider improving on the weaknesses that I outlined in the SWOT analysis. I suggest that you should consider growing in the future rather than now. I found out that: †Weakness are not necessarily indicating bad things of the organization but showing a path to a better future†¦.† ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (1990) Northcraft. G page 437 You should consider improving the weaknesses into strengths as this would be beneficial in the future when you should consider to grow (it is not necessary yet) by improving weaknesses the business would function better and more advantages would be gained such as more share and profit. Performance Management In the report given to me (case study) I see that you have a problem on monitoring the ‘field based’ staff. This is a important issue as the staff may or may not be doing what you have told them this would cause all sorts of issues with your company for example you may be losing money, valuable resources and time. Field based staff may be difficult to manage but there are ways. Staff that work in the office are easier to evaluate on what and how that are doing. When managing or monitoring employees you have to be aware of their privacy and not to breach that mutual line as this may inevitably cause conflict in the work place. But When you can’t be present to observe employee performance, be sure that you have the right processes in place through which you can learn about how they’re doing this can be undertaken for ‘field based’ staff also. These processes should be open, fair, and understood by everyone. Options for obtaining input about performance in your absence may include, but are not limited to, the following: * Evaluate the output and products of the employee’s work. * Have routine one-on-one meetings with your employee and include discussions of performance. * Every so often review and discuss with your employee the standards of performance for his or her job and your expectations. * Ask your employee to do periodic reports and share them with you for discussion. * Obtain feedback from customers – in writing when possible. * Do brief stand-up check-ins or phone calls to ‘field based’ staff as well as ‘office based’ staff. * Ask an appropriate person who is present day-to-day to serve as a work leader or give the person authority to act in your stead, and ensure that everyone understands the person’s role. * Perform routine spot checks of the employee at work. * Ask for confidential evaluations of employee performance by peers (or direct reports of supervisors). This process should be clearly understood by everyone and applied fairly to all. Performance Appraisal Systems and Motivation Performance appraisal systems are designed to serve the company’s and employee’s interests. They are used to inventory the abilities and resources of employees and to let an employee know where he stands so that he will be stimulated to improve his performance. Employee motivation can be enhanced and performance improved with the monitoring of employees’ performance level and the use of feedback to advise those employees about their effectiveness. Performance feedback exchanges can be ongoing and informal, on a day-to-day coaching basis or on a formal basis, annually. I found this statement: ..Employers want to be sure their employees are doing a good job, but employees don’t want their every sneeze or there trip to the toilet logged†¦ Managing People 2nd edition Tomson. R I think that employee monitoring is acceptable to a reasonable level but should nod be exceeded. I used to work at ‘KFC’ (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and the manager was constantly monitoring me and other staff that work there. I can understand this as people in other restaurants have tampered with food for example a ‘Mc Donald’s’ restaurant in USA Mississippi once was shut down because of food tampering. So to some degree a lot of monitoring needs to be undertaken. But I think you should use some of the procedures I have given for example I would recommend these: * Perform routine spot checks of the employee at work. * Obtain feedback from customers – in writing when possible some sort of feed back sheet of possibly a questionnaire * Do brief stand-up check-ins or phone calls to ‘field based’ staff * Ask your employee to do periodic reports and share them with you for discussion. Motivation Staff motivation is the one of the most significant factors in managing people. No one style is better than another for motivating employees, but it is essential that leaders are aware of their staff motivation style and are able to adapt for different circumstances. Some circumstances will call for a strong direction to inspire staff motivation other circumstances will call for staff motivation to be influenced by a more advice-giving approach. The necessary skill is in knowing what motivates people and satisfying the needs of individuals and groups at a given time. Staff motivation in regard to reward and recognition means taking account of and balancing the needs of the organisation and its objectives as well as the needs of the people expected to achieve those objectives. One of the worlds most successful Software and Hardware entrepreneurs stated: â€Å"When we create a desirable workplace and find good ways to have work/life balance, we’ll attract and we’ll retain the best people and that’s our competitive advantage.† Lewis Platt, CEO, Hewlett-Packard (1001 Ways to Reward Employees 2000) Source: www.nelson-motivation.com/hpackard/ceo Hear is an example of a motivational theory: Douglas McGregor, was a American social psychologist, he proposed his famous X-Y theory in his 1960 book ‘ The Human Side of Enterprise ‘. Theory X and theory Y are still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation. Mc Gregor’s X-Y Theory remains a valid basic principle from which to develop positive management style and techniques. McGregor’s XY Theory remains central to organisational development, and to improving organisational culture. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y THEORY X THEORY Y 1. Workers must be supervised as closely as possible, either through direct oversight or by tight reward and/or punishment systems. 1. People usually do not require close supervision and will, if given a chance to control their own activities, be productive, satisfied, and fulfilled. 2. Work is objectionable to most people. 2. Work is natural and enjoyable unless it is made offensive by the actions of organisations. 3. Most people have little initiative, have little capacity for being creative or solving organisational problems, do not want to have responsibilities, and prefer being directed by someone else. 3. People are ambitious, desire autonomy and self-control, and can use their abilities to solve problems and help their organisations meet their goals. Creativity is distributed â€Å"normally† across the population, just as is any other characteristic. 4. People are motivated by economic factors and a need for security. 4. People are motivated by a variety of needs only some of which involve economics or security. Figure Obtained from: MANAGING PEOPLE R. Tompson, 2nd Ed, Pub: Institute of Management I think that employee motivation in regard to reward and recognition means taking account of and balancing the needs of the organisation and its objectives as well as the needs of the people expected to achieve those objectives. I think that motivation should also have been included in the SWOT analysis. I think you should also consider how you can motivate staff you could use the web site I have given above for more information. The more you motivate staff the better they will work, this will also help with the monitoring of employees. You should also consider looking at the various patterns used by managers to encourage motivation in the work place, for a good example see Appendix 3. Rewards There are a staggering amount of reward types and schemes, you just have to make sure you have the right ones chosen for your business because performance of staff is the key to the success of any organisation. One of the main rewards that I think is relevant for your business is PRP (Performance Related Pay) One of the key contributors to effective performance is a well-designed performance management process. Such a process should incorporate objective setting, the day-to-day management of performance, the review or appraisal of performance, and rewarding performance. Your employees are your most important asset, they are the people who shape and form the company’s future. Rewarding staff can develop healthy in-house competition between individuals, teams or even departments. Another major factor in rewards are employment benefit packages. Reward and incentive programs are a popular part of employee benefit packages. Many employees value such offerings as flexible scheduling, tuition assistance, and child care in order to satisfy personal needs and professional development. I think that you too should consider re designing your employment package. Nowadays society, it is becoming more and more common to support these reward systems with the overall business strategy of an organisation in order to satisfy business needs and to improve shareholder value. In addition, many organisations are developing or restructuring their rewards programs based on employee performance. This trend is likely to continue as costs continue to increase and competition continues to thrive in a highly unpredictable economy. Some other useful reward types that can be used are as follows: Social Rewards: Which include praise, employee recognition, and social acceptance within the business. Psychic rewards: Which include self esteem, job satisfaction, and feelings of accomplishments You could also give piece-rate pay, commissions, merit pay and bonuses. When I was talking about the business and how it will grow in ‘Conclusion of Growth’ in the first part I think that in order for the business to grow you need the best employees you can get. So you would need to have the reward schemes that the employees are looking for. I the way you are rewarding employees at the moment is not working in fact ‘I know it is not working’ I think you should use the PRP (Performance Related Pay) method, and also consider giving annual bonuses. Also if you give PRP (Performance Related Pay) you will sort out the problem you have with the monitoring of ‘Field based staff’ as they too will be attracting more customers for the business. You should also give bonuses if the company is making a stable profit as this would encourage more work to be completed. Employee Turnover/Retention One of the most difficult problems companies had to cope with in the increasingly volatile business climate of the 1990’s was the high rate of employee turnover. When employees, particularly long-term employees leave a company that has made a substantial investment in them, they take with them training, skills, experience, and productivity. Output is inevitably diminished during the training process of new employees, no matter how qualified. additionally, a high level of workplace turnover rends the types of social bonds that encourage other employees come to work and maintain their normal levels of productivity. ..In today’s workplace, employers are not only having a hard time attracting employees, but are also having a difficult time keeping them.. (Harkins, 1998) I found out that employees leave for a variety of reasons, including poor supervision, unchallenging positions, limited advancement opportunities, lack of recognition, limited control over work, perceived pay inequity, and the perception of more favorable opportunities in other companies. Measuring Absence Obtained from: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES J. Weightman, 2nd Ed, (1996), Pub: Cromwell Press This overall figure, however, leaves many questions unanswered. For example, is the absence rate a reflection of a few employees suffering from long-term ill-health or are a substantial number of employees being regularly absent for relatively short spells? A more in depth way to monitor absence and retention is give in Appendix 1. Hear I found some of the ways in which to help with retention: * Align your employees with company goals and visions * Establish department goals and standards * Set employee goals and performance measurements * Conduct performance reviews that test the established goals * Train managers to effectively coach their staff * Identify barriers & find strengths to build upon * Isolate key performance gaps and craft a plan to improve performance * Define the relationship between job satisfaction, goal alignment and individual performance growth I suggest that you should consider some of the points above in order to combat turnover/retention. You should regularly try to monitor staff absence. Try to make the rate as nearer to 8.5 % as possible if it goes over this may be critical to the business. You should have a maximum number of days for employees to comply by, for example I work as Safeway Petrol station in the Penn, employees there are only allocated 50 hours off of work (excluding sick or acceptable absence). You should check out Appendix 1 in how to measure turnover and retention in your organisation. Training and Development There are a number of advantages to training and development and this is another point that was added in the SWOT analysis that needed to be improved in order for the business to function properly and effectively. Training has become the most important feature of a successful organisation. Training is necessary because it improves profitability and/ or more positive attitudes towards profit orientation. Enhances the job knowledge and skills at all levels of the organisation. The work force gets a high morale. Due to proper training employees can identify with organisational goals, corporate image gets improved. Training fosters realism, openness and trust. A boss an the subordinates get to work in a better environment and relationship. Some typical reasons for employee training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, for example: * When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed * To â€Å"benchmark† the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort * As part of an overall professional development program * As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organisation * To â€Å"pilot†, or test, the operation of a new performance management system * To train about a specific topic I found out some key topics for employee Training and Development they are as follows: * Communication- The increasing diversity of today’s workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. * Computer skills- Computer skills are becoming a requirement for conducting administrative and office tasks. * Customer service- Increased competition in today’s global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers. * Diversity- Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity * Ethics- Today’s society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, today’s diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace. By giving the appropriate training and development you can gain a lot of advantages. The general benefits from Employee Training and Development are: * Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees * Increased employee motivation * Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain * Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods * Increased innovation in strategies and products * Reduced employee turnover * Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!) * Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training I think that training aids in developing leadership skill, motivation, loyalty, better attitudes and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display which we discussed earlier in the report. The quality of work is also increased and so is the productivity. Its cost effective as well, it cuts costs in different areas e.g. production, personnel, administration etc. it develops a sense of responsibility to the organisation for being capable and knowledgeable. Labor management is also improved, as workers instead of feeling ignored, feel taken care of which develops a sense of loyalty Communication Effective communication skills are vital for success in a business environment with most business people being engaged in some form of communication activity most of the time reading, listening, writing or talking. Business communication is, however, different from educational or literary writing and speaking it requires precision, clarity and efficiency since business people just do not have the time to savor an idea or an expression. †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Moreover, unethical behavior in the workplaces arising from the lack of ethical communication by the top management to the first-line supervisors proves the fact that employees are either directly or indirectly rewarded for unethical acts or harshly abandoned for going against the norm of practicing corruption†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Zimmerman: Jansen and Von Glinow, 2001, p. 119). As explained in this text that I researched into, Jansen and Von Glinow through their in-depth study that encouraging â€Å"counter norms† in an organisation is also a form of promoting corrupt standards in a company in order to save the firm’s name or to avoid charges by this means reflecting the decreasing ethical communication in organisations. There are many factors that help establish an organisation’s ability and skill in maintaining the stability and organisation among its employees/members. One of these factors includes attaining an organisational communication process through effective communication skills. The most prominent forms used by most organisations are the development of verbal and non-verbal communication since these are the most obvious ways of communication that provide a dialogue for employees and the management in an organisation. However, what is not realized by both the employees and management is that listening is one important communication aspect that precedes verbal and non-verbal communication. I think that in order to attain effective communication verbally or non-verbally, communicators must first learn to listen in order to assess carefully the issues at hand and the required action that must be taken. If you have a look at Appendix 2 it shows you different types of communication processes. I would recommend that you try to focus on the ‘complete network’ as this would make communications in your business better. Overall Report Conclusion and my Recommendations I think overall this is what we should be doing in order to maintain and run a successful business: * Growth- we should not be growing just yet as there are to many problems as indicated in the SWOT analysis. We should be improving on the weaknesses and consider to grow and expand in the future. * Performance Management- monitoring needs to be undertaken but only to some degree that is acceptable by you and the employees. But I think you should use some of the procedures that I have indicated in this previous section (please refer to Conclusion for Performance Management). * Performance Appraisal Systems and Motivation- Performance appraisal systems are designed to serve the company’s and employee’s interests. * Motivation- You have to consider Douglas McGregor Theory X and Theory Y. to offer the best motivation go through the chart that I have drawn and consider what you can do to have a successful motivated staff. Look at Appendix 3 for patterns of managerial approaches to motivation. * Rewards- if you offer better rewards and better benefit packages then Turnover/Retention will be low, and employees will work more and contribute their highest potential. * Employee Turnover/Retention- you need to make sure that you monitor employees sickness and absenteeism and make sure it dose not go over 8% Check Appendix 1. * Training and Development- if you train and develop employees better the function of your business will be better, you should try to encourage more employees to gain different skills and knowledge. You should also try to offer recognised qualifications. * Communication- look at Appendix 2 I recommend that you try to bring in the process of complete network communication. There are numerous factors that help conclude an organisation’s ability and skill in maintaining the stability and organisation among its employees/members, one of these factors includes attaining an organisational communication process through effective communication skills.    References I recommend that you look at the following text as this will help you improve on the factors mentioned in this report and also help you with difficult decisions about your business. I recommend looking at this text: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: INDVIDUALS, GROUPS AND THE ORGANISATION I. Brooks (1999) 1st Ed, Pub: Financial Times HUMAN RESOURCE STRATAGIES Salman, (1998) Pub: The Open University MANAGING PEOPLE R. Tompson, 2nd Ed, Pub: Institute of Management ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: A MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE G.B.Northcroft & M.A.Neale (1990), Pub: Ronda Colour PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT GA Cole, 4th Ed (1997), Pub: Ashford Colour Press MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES J. Weightman, 2nd Ed, (1996), Pub: Cromwell Press The following Web-Sites are useful also: www.bized.com www.hrmang.co.uk www.humanrecourses.co.uk/text/hrissues www.resourcemanage.co.uk