Thursday, August 27, 2020

Principles of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Standards of Finance - Essay Example The organization ought to be increasingly inspired by steady incomes in contrast with the complete incomes on the grounds that gradual incomes would mirror the expansion in the incomes from the venture though the organization could in any case be indicating positive all out benefits regardless of whether the undertaking is having a misfortune. In this way it is increasingly critical to utilize the gradual incomes as by utilizing this strategy, the organization would have the option to break down the minor advantages that the task would provide for the organization and on the off chance that the steady incomes are certain, at that point the venture ought to be acknowledged. The organization ought not utilize the gradual benefits since it would likewise mirror the expansion in the bookkeeping benefits from the task instead of demonstrating the incomes. Likewise the absolute benefits or steady incomes ought not be utilized to take capital planning choice in light of the fact that a firm can in any case be in positive all out benefits or positive gradual benefits regardless of whether it is experiencing negative incomes. In this way, utilizing the steady incomes would be the best method for the firm. ... As devaluation is a cost, and in this manner the higher the estimation of the deterioration cost, the lower would be the bookkeeping benefits of the organization and along these lines the lower measure of expense the organization needs to pay consequently devaluation would impact the incomes as such. Part C: Sunk Costs and its Affect On Cash Flows When capital planning methods are utilized to assess the practicality of the venture, sunk expenses are overlooked. The principle center in around the gradual incomes especially the steady incomes after conclusion of assessments as they basically mirror the incomes toward the end the organization would get. Regardless of what the choice has been made on the acknowledgment or dismissal of the task, the sunk expenses would at present happen (Khan, 1993) and this would imply that sunk expenses are not to be considered as gradual incomes. Along these lines fusing the sunk expense in the capital planning strategy would be superfluous. Part D: In itial Project Outlay Initial task expense is the measure of venture that would be required for the undertaking. The underlying cost for this would be: Initial Project Outlay = All costs identified with the Plant and gear including transportation and establishment costs + increase in the working capital due to the venture Here, the establishment and delivery cost is $100,000 Plant and hardware cost is $7,900,000 Increment in working capital is $100,000 So, Initial Project Outlay = $8,100,000 Part E: Differential Cash Flows Over The Project's Life Operating Cash Flow: Â 1 Â 2 Â 3 Â 4 Â 5 Revenue 21,000,000 36,000,000 42000000 24000000 15600000 Variable Cost 12600000 21600000 25200000 14400000 10800000 Â 8,400,000 14,400,000 16,800,000 9,600,000 4,800,000 Depreciation cost $1,600,000

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Video Game violence and the effects it has on children and Teens Essay

Computer game viciousness and the impacts it has on kids and Teens. Arguementative Paper talking about the two sides and picking a side to work with - Essay Example since regardless of whether the computer game portrayed savagery, (for example, the Atari boxing match-up), the game was ridiculous and much tilted away from the genuine experience of the action. ‘Boxing’ included little â€Å"men† with square appendages who battled each other through a progression of redundant developments. (History, 2007) The universe of present occasions has seen a change †for the more terrible. Our young ones have been tempted into their very own universe, one which is loaded up with fear and brutalities. To place it in a careful way, the savagery ‘imparted’ through the computer games is simply a lot to deal with and it is about time a conclusion to this pandemic must be recognized, for a superior and prosperous tomorrow. Today for a gamer, computer games take after simple specks on a screen. By the late 1980’s and mid 1990’s, PCs were getting significantly more remarkable and with the presentation of the Nintendo Entertainment System, somewhat progressively sensible games began to make their imprint. The characters in the games started to take on more â€Å"human† (physical) traits; they really looked human as it were. In the light of an understanding which is reached between the moral standards of computer games and the individuals in charge of issues making major decisions, as of late there have been numerous endeavors to either blue pencil computer games or to confine access to them by kids and youthful crowds. (Prohibit, 2007) Some have even connected rough computer games to a more prominent inclination for homicide. (CBS, 2005) Thus the distinction between computer game reenactment and real reality started its long advancement to the present circumstance wherein the absolute most developed computer game frameworks, for example, the Playstation 3, have top notch illustrations that approach where the characters being constrained by the gamer could be confused with genuine individuals in a film. As computer games created during the 1970’s and 80’s and afterward truly detonated in the 1990’s, various classes of computer games

Friday, August 21, 2020

Challenge Yourself! - UGA Undergraduate Admissions

Challenge Yourself! - UGA Undergraduate Admissions Challenge Yourself! I was at a swim meet last night watching my son and daughter compete, and I had a chance to watch some amazing athletes. In one 11-12 year old heat, my son was up against a young man whose times were better than some 18 year old swimmers. While it was tough knowing that my son would not win, I also knew that could only improve from this challenge. Would I rather have him race against the 8 year old group and crush them? No way. The way to improve, be motivated and get ready for the future is to challenge yourself. I am guessing you can see where I am going with this. UGA puts a great deal of emphasis on the rigor of a students course work, and wants students who will rise to the challenge and be ready for the level of work in our classrooms. I am not saying go out and take 14 AP classes and make all Cs. My statement has always been to challenge yourself to the level of difficulty you can handle. This is important to UGA applicants because rigor is a major factor in our evaluation, and because overall, it will benefit you in your UGA classes. So go out there and challenge yourself with Honors classes, IB programs, AP course work, and dual enrollment college courses! Do it for admissions, but more importantly, do it for yourself.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Business Ethics Are An Integral Part Of International Business Strategies - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3056 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Ethics Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? This topic review investigates the business ethics and their uneven implementation in international business. Business ethics are an important part of any business strategy of a company. Ethics have been discussed from centuries. Companies represent the people, where they spent most of the time. Some of their actions make many multinational organizations more influential in the world trade. Hence some of decisions taken by organizations, whether they are good or bad affect the companys image in political, social, legal societies. This review has discussion on the behavior of companies. Discussion has examples from different societies and countries. INTRODUCTION: The topic for this research essay is business ethics are an integral part of international business strategies but implementation is often uneven. Discuss using examples from one sector. This topic is broader in its true meanings so for the purpose of discussion, boundaries have to be drawn for better understanding of the topic. International business basically originated from international trade. Trade among nations has prehistoric evidences. Ancient African tribes took dates and clothing for spices and olive oil. In those times trade was among neighboring countries, with the passage of time trade expanded to far away nations. During past centuries Roam, Italy and china were the major trading centers. International business succeeded to the present time when concept of global business appeared. Different societies and countries have different ethics and values. These differences in ethics could be due to religion and traditions. These ethics also have their influence over the cond uct of business. These differences in ethics and values raise problems in the conduct of business internationally. To get rid of these problem companies and industries need universal code of business ethics. The importance of universal code of business ethics became more evident in 20th century due to increase in international investments, franchising, licensing and emergence of multinational corporations. Companies and industries make agreement on transnational standards or universal ethical standards for business purpose, but this does not mean that those standards are implemented as desired. There is a gap between desirable and desired implementation of ethical norms. Desirable means that what is right and good, where as desired means what people actually want to get. Due to this gap, the implementation of business ethics is often considered to be uneven. This uneven implementation is discussed in this research essay, using examples from private sector. How and why organizations have uneven implementation of business ethics. What are the results of this uneven implementation? Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Business Ethics Are An Integral Part Of International Business Strategies" essay for you Create order HYPOTHESES: Following questions were created to specify the research area of the essay: What is business ethics? What is the need of business ethics? How organizations make uneven implementation of ethics in international business? Why the implementation of business ethics is uneven in international business, discussed in examples? What are the results of uneven implementation of ethics in international business, discussed with examples? THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: ETHICS: Ethics are defined as the moral standards of a person or in a collective perspective it examines the moral standards of a society. The study of ethics also asks the questions that how these standards apply to lives, are these standards are reasonable or unreasonable, if they are reasonable then whether they support of good reasons or poor reasons (Velasquez, M.G ,2006,p.10). BUSINESS ETHICS: Business ethics consists of the principles and standards which guide lines in the world of business. Stakeholders of the business like investors, customers, employees, the legal system , interest groups and community decides that whether a specific behavior is right or wrong, ethical or unethical in a business environment. Although these groups may or may not be right in their decision but it true that their decision influence the societys behavior of acceptance or rejection of a business and its activities(Ferrell, O.C et al ,2000,p.6). INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: Any business which is involved in trade or investment across the national borders is known as international business. In todays world it is not necessarily to be involved in trade of physical products, companies also trade intellectual assets like technology, know how, capital and services across the national border (Cavusgil, S.T et al, 2008, p.4). MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT BUSINESS ETHICS: Following are major misperceptions regarding Business ethic, Business ethics are related to religion and not the responsibility of management. But its not true because business ethics does not try to change the basic values or souls of people. It only concern with the behavior of people at business place. Most of business managements think that their employees are ethical in their daily life so their actions in business environment will also be ethical. Hence organization has no need to pay attention to business ethics. But the situation becomes much more difficult when business faces complex ethical issues like when a business decision have a significant effect over the stakeholders of the business. Business ethics have major concern with philosophers, academics and theologians. Business organizations have no direct concern with it in day to day activities. Reason behind this misperception is little involvement of business leaders or managers in ethical discussions or lit erature. So many believe that ethics are only for the discussion of philosophers and academics. Business ethics is the lecture given to bad people by good people. But its the reality that good people can also take bad actions, especially when they are working under stress or confused. So managing business ethics is not a preaching but helping others to take ethical actions even under stress or confusing situation. Ethics cannot be managed in a business. Ethics are managed in a business but often indirectly. The organizational behavior or the behavior of the founder / leader has great moral influence on the behavior of employee. Laws regulations and strategic priorities like market share, cutting cost, and profit maximization have great influence over the business ethics. Business ethics and social responsibility is the same thing. But in general social responsibility is one aspect of business ethics. Business ethics involves an application of ethics to the corporate communi ty, a way to determine responsibility in business dealings, the identification of important business and social issues, and an assessment of ethics in business. Where the social responsibility deals firstly with the identification of important business and social issues, secondly with critique of business. Organization is not in trouble with the law, so its actions are ethical. One can be unethical even he operates within the law. For example hiding the information from higher management, making constant complaint about others. Mostly the unnoticed unethical behavior leads to law breaking. (Mcnamara,2010) NEED OF BUSINESS ETHICS: Business ethics gives the directions for making a choice among alternatives decisions and business actions. Mostly it is considered that business ethics have to be ideal. But it is reality that ideals have little relationship with daily life decisions. Ethics offer the way to select among different judgments and actions focusing over the values those actions or judgment will impose latter on in the specific environment of host country. (Kline, J.M, 2010) UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR BY ORGANIZAIONS: A businessmans ultimate objective is to make profit. As Friedman, M (1973) states in an article the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits (p.2). Anything that a businessman can do in the best interest of society is to be a good businessman. It means that they should try to maximize the profit which is the ultimate target of any business. Here is the point when businessmen think that instead of wasting time and resources with ethics they should focus on finance, marketing and business operations. As long as a business is operating within the rules, the only social responsibility of business is to increase its profit with the use of business resources. Concisely it can be said that remain in open and free competition without being involved in fraud or deception (Friedman, M, 1973, p.2). Multinational corporations operate in countries where bribery, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and lack of concern for the environment are neither illegal nor un ethical or unusual. The company must decide whether to adhere to constant ethical principles or to adjust to the local rules to maximize profits. As the costs of corporate and white-collar crime can be high, both for society and individual businesses, many business and trade associations have established ethical codes for companies, managers, and employees. REASONS BEHIND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNETHICAL BUSINESS STRATEGY: While developing the strategy for international business, organizations fail to focus over the following point. These the basic reasons for the development of unethical business strategy, Organizations fail make consensus on the objectives for doing business on global scale. Organizations do not involve the person into the strategy development process, who has knowledge of ethics in host country. Unable to realize the importance of ethics during strategy development as a competitive advantage. Organizations lay the base of their policies only on legal requirement and do not consider the ethical values. Organizations do not recruit a person whose sole responsibility is to focus on ethics at international locations. Organizations appoint their employees or experts to fill ethics positions from organizations headquarter who have no experience of host country ethics. Focusing on the few cultural differences rather than acknowledging the many cultural similarities. (The international business ethics institute,2005) EXAMPLE: NESTLE CORPORATION: During the promotion of infant formula in third world countries especially in Africa, the Nestle corporation hired the women and without giving them necessary training, they dressed them up as nurses. Those nurses recommend the formula over breast feeding to the mothers. They convinced that using the formula is sophisticated and looks like western, while breast feeding is old fashioned and third world practice. When mothers get convinced to use infant formula, free samples of Nestle infant formula were given to them. Those free samples lasted long enough to dry up the mothers breast milk due to the lack of use. Now at that stage mothers were forced to purchase the infant formula. The company continued this strategy regardless of worldwide protest. Protesters claimed that chance of getting sick is higher in children who were using infant formula as compared to breastfeeding in third world countries. The company changed its strategy only after years of massive boycotts of Nestle prod ucts by consumer. (Hooker, John, 2003, p.4). DISCUSSION: From the business point of view the companys inflexibility was perfectly justified. Because the major social responsibility of any business is to generate profit by using company resources and operating within legal boundaries. (Friedman, M, 1973, p.2) The company directors had no right to withdraw a profitable and legal product, although innocent babies were suffering due to it, until boycotts changed the public opinion and company started to suffer financially. Although the infant formula itself was not the cause of deaths but the unethical strategy used to promote marketing in third world countries was major cause of those sufferings. Following are four problems that can arise when poor mothers in developing countries switch to infant formula, Infant formula needs to be mixed with water, which is mostly contaminated in poor countries. By using this contaminated water leads to diseases in infants. Due to higher illiteracy rate in those countries, majority of mother did not kno w how to wash the bottle and prepare it for feeding. Nestle write direction for use only in English. So the mothers how know to read in their native language, cannot understand the directions. Even the mothers, who understand the directions, do not have the means to perform it. Due to the lack of fuel. Most of the poor mothers cannot afford the infant formula. So they use infant formula in less quantity as compared said quantity in order to make it last longer. But baby will suffer by this practice because he not getting the required amount of nutrition. Infant formula cannot be the true substitute of breastfeeding. Breast feeding has many natural benefits like, transfer of antibodies from mother to baby, essential amount of nutrition required for brain and nerve development and frequent breastfeeding can also delay the return of fertility in mothers. This can help the mothers of poor countries to space their births. Although Nestle knows that these problems were arising by use of its unethical marketing strategy, but it continued the promotion, until public boycotted its products. (Wikimedia Foundation Inc, 2011) CONCLUSION: Business actions of Nestle in this particular case fall in that category which includes actions that may be legal but can also be said bad. Most of the business issues related to ethics fall in this category. Companies claim that if they do business legally then their actions are ethical. They do not accept the reality that ethics are something more then to obey law. Nestle is among the leading providers of products and services that make life easier for millions of people worldwide. This can only be accomplished through the managers who do the good work. But as said earlier mangers must pay attention to whether they are really doing good business. EXAMPLE: BHOPAL DISASTER: On the night of 2nd December 1984, a pesticide company near the Bhopal (India) released the 40 tones of poisonous gas in to air. 50.9 percent shares of plant were owned by Union carbide, an American owned company. As the white clouds of poisonous gas settled over the sleeping citizen, it burned their eyes and lungs. Many died a little after inhaling the gas, local authorities says that 3000 people died on that night. But these are gross underestimates. According to Aminesty international total deaths were at least 7000. But campaigners say that total deaths in last 20 years are 20000 due to Bhopal disaster and half a million are still suffer with chronic illness. After the disaster Union carbide made an out of court settlement with Indian government and paid $470m in 1989. The families of victims received $550 per fatality as compensation. (Ramesh, 2004) DISCUSSION: A number of factors led to the leakage of gas. The commonality among all of them is that they were all related to cost cutting. Plant was under loss and was running only at one third of its capacity. Before the disaster night, safety auditors pointed out safety concerns. But no action was taken by management. Ultimately on the disaster night, all six safety measures responsible to prevent leakage were either stopped, malfunctioning or were not sufficient, all this was due to the cost cutting behavior of company. This was one perspective of incident. After the accident a major issue was whether the case should be settled in American court as wished by Indian government or in an Indian court as wished by company. The reason behind that was that if case had been in American court, then compensation made to victim families might be many more times than actually it was made at that time. After five years fight Union carbide made an out of court settlement with government of India for $470m. A case is still present against the chief executive of Union carbide. He was released on bail in 1984 and never came back to India. Union carbide left the city in 1999, but tons of chemicals were left behind. These chemicals contaminated the underground water in surrounding areas and are a major cause of diseases in the poor of Bhopal. (Fisher, C and Lovell, A, 2009, p.479-481) CONCLUSION: This case shows that some time multinational companies take advantage from the legal systems of different countries. Because they have the choice over which jurisdiction they want to submit the case. Union carbide took the advantage of Indian jurisdiction and closed the case from its sheets by making a low price deal. If company had to face the similar case in its home country, the payment may be many times higher than they did. However examples of such cases are mostly from developing countries. Those developing countries are more interested in foreign direct investment. So the exploitation or taking advantage of developing countries weak institutional jurisdiction can ethically objectionable. EXAMPLE: THE CHINESE TAINTED MILK SCANDAL: China dairy industry is a major exporter of dairy products. But with the disclosure of tainted milk case in 2007, many countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Australia banned the Chinas dairy products. Many other companies who were using Chinas dairy ingredients in their product also recalled products. Sanlu Group is a Chinese dairy product company; in August 2008 it was found that they are using melamine in their dairy products to increase the protein like look. Melamine was added in such a large amount that it caused kidney failure in children. Later it was found in government investigation that 21 other dairy companies were also using melamine in their products. All the contaminated products were recalled and said to be disposed off. Sanlu Group stopped production after the confirmation of contamination. Chinas ministry of health informed the other countries about the presence of melamine in dairy products. Chinas dairy industry suffered badly after this incident.(IBS center for management research, 2011). DISCUSSION: Sanlu Group customer service department received complaints from consumer in December 2007 about babies getting sick after the use of baby formula. But customer service department of company did not report these complaints to executives until May 2008. Later in Jun 2008 Company received complaints regarding kidney stones development in babies being fed the Sanlu baby formula. Again the customer service department did not took notice until the scandal became public in August 2008. After investigation 21 other dairy companies and many government officials found guilty. Companies did all this to meet the high demand of dairy products. In China the demand per capita of dairy product risen from 2kg in 1980 to 22kg in 2004. Companies tried to exploit this high demand of dairy products and to get financial benefits. CONCLUSION: From above case it is clear that business ethics are how unevenly applied in real life. Chinas Tainted milk case has put more emphasizes on the implication of business ethics and norms. This case severely affected the repute of chinas companies. Companies also faced criticism over their late response, as they were aware of contamination but still waited for the investigation report before apologizing. It is also clear from this case that being ethical in daily does not confirms does not a guaranty that one will also be ethical in business environment. Employees of Sanlu groups customer service department were maybe having good ethics in daily life but they didnt perform ethically in business by hiding the information for top executives.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Invention Process - 893 Words

Invention The invention process to any good piece of literature involves re-thinking and re-writing of initial ideas to improve upon previous concepts. My first attempt at discovering a thesis for the Explaining Relationships Essay seemed to be too broad, leaving me without public resonance. There was not a noticeable struggle through the invention process, because most of the questions asked in the book aiding in invention can be answered without a relevant thesis. Simply exploring the meaning behind my writing was the portion (and most important) part of the invention process I struggled with. For the most part, my own intellect created or invented those initial ideas; however, this lead me to wonder if my paper had any†¦show more content†¦This forced me to invent (and re-invent) thoughts derived from my own mind and the insight of my peers. By consulting my peers and instructor I further developed my ideas without having the influence or urge to copy another writers work. Th e sources I used as works consulted were not that of papers which have the same thesis as mine (as many of my peers were), but simply web pages and articles which helped enforce my ideas. I started my paper with a brief history of what would eventually lead into my topic. To ensure that this information was accurate, I utilized Google as a starting point for research. I also gathered ideas from recollections in my past and proceeded to gather more information on them using common search engines. If more time had been available for the composition of my essay I believe deeper insight into my thesis and support would have key relevance. Many of the examples used in formatting my essay were brief and to the point. While this was sufficient for the time and length constraints, more detail would have further developed and supported my thesis. With the help of my instructor, peers, and self-intellect my invention and re-invention process was a success. A different time restriction might have allowed me the opportunity to perform yet another invention process enabling an improvement to my thesis and essay.Show MoreRelatedUse Of Computing Ethics And Globalization1602 Words   |  7 Pagesgrant generally given by the government of a country certifying that a particular individual or group was the creator of an invention or innovative process. The patent holder is given exclusive rights to their invention for a set amount of time; during this time they have full authority on dicta ting how the invention is used by others. An invention is defined as a product or process that is designed to solve a specific technological problem. 2. History 2.1 Before America The origins of patents in theRead MoreGenetic Discoveries And Intellectual Property Rights1270 Words   |  6 Pageschange, grown, and evolve so has the application of the Canadian Patent Act. 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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Analysis of Hillberg and Berk Company †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Analysis of Hillberg and Berk Company. Answer: Introduction There are certain strategies that a company focuses to maintain its brand reputation in the market and to gain competitive advantage. The chosen organization for the analysis is Hillberg and Berk founded by Rachel Mielke in 2007 (Hillberg Berk. 2018). It has a personal plan to create world class jewelry with the goal to achieve brand presence in the market. Its goal is to empower women and build strategies that would make its customers loyal. The report will highlight a complete strategic analysis of the organization with specific tools and frameworks namely, value chain, PESTLE, SWOT, Power matrix, Porter's five forces and VRIO analysis which will help to evaluate the overall strategic and company current profile. It will also help to identify certain strategic issues with amended solutions to fix it. The other part of the report will recommend the go-forward strategy to the business when expanding. In addition to it the external vision, organizational vision, mission, values would be further recommended in order to provide Hillberg and Berk with a better opportunity towards performance and collaborative approach. The report will also include a designed balanced scorecard and performance measures to support the strategic imperatives and present the organization with a roadmap to depict strategies and implement them effectively. Discussion: Value chain Primary activities Inbound logistics: it stocks its material in the factory under inventory management. Operations: the company manufactures its jewelry with the help of their women employees to give the customers that are mainly the women, a unique and personalized design. Outbound logistics: The company uses boutique retailers, retailers in location and online store to distribute its product. Marketing and sales: Investments in the national and international women organizations and various effective strategies such online marketing and shopping are adapted (Harmouche, 2017). Service: HB offers personalized jewelry with fine quality. Support Activities Procurement: This is controlled internally by HB Technology: Technology is used in the distribution, manufacturing, polishing and designing departments to enhance the operations at a faster pace. Firm infrastructure: the company works supportively with the suppliers and carries its mission to empower women. Human resource management: The organization provides its employees with several kinds of training and development programme which will induce the employees to develop their skills for the organization growth. Strategic Issues HB is operating with only one product order which can be a drawback as it needs increasing investment with normal sales. SWOT Strength Weakness The company strength lies in its high quality jewelry at competitive prices. Women empowerment Skilful and trained employees Strong brand identity Strong presence over media. Supply chain, in times of rapid growth Inventorymanagement Limited product range Opportunities Threats Diversification in the field of women garments. Innovate and create new jewelry lines Explore ways include freelancers for fresh ideas and designs Expand distribution channel Copy of design collection Competitors as Swarovski, Pandora and Kendra Scott Downturn in Global economy Fluctuations in raw materials Strategic Issues The organization do not have a strong supply chain which is a critical issue if not resolved will affect production and brand reputation. PESTLE Political: the political factors are essential as they play an important role in the operating of the organization. Tax policies, trade control, tariffs, discrimination law, employment laws, health and safety laws and competition regulation are considered by the organization. Economical: Per capita consumption can affect the Hillberg and Berk business and its consumer purchase. Interest rate in banks, production factors, confidence level, consumer behavior and the interest of the consumers are preferred by Hillberg and Berk. Social: People consider gold and luxury fashion products and love to invest in the same. Diamond and gems have become arising interest in the market. Also, several financial schemes that are being introduced in turn of the jewelries are adding importance to the gem and jewelry industry. Technological: Technology solutions are available for production control, supply chain and inventory management. The company have skilled labours and workforce to maintain its value chain. In case to maintain quality production of gems and diamonds technology is enabled in the environment. Legal: the legal issues are the manufacturing laws and regulations of the country that affect the business. Trade laws, taxes and suppliers acts combinable affect the organization. Environment: the organization does not hold any critical social responsibility regarding environment but any how does not even harms the environment significantly. Strategic Issue HB lacks in competing and achieving technology advancement in its processes to bring efficiency and effectiveness. Porter's Five Forces Bargaining power of suppliers: The Hillberg and Berk have low concentration over its suppliers. The added value of the quality of the products matters the most to the customers for which the company increases its investment frequently to maintain suppliers. The organization is a new emerging in the industry for which there are medium chances of bargaining power of the suppliers. Bargaining power of Customers: the HIllbeerg and Berk and the other players o f the industry enjoy low bargaining power of customers. Even the price of the product will increase still the buyers will purchase the product. It is a long-term positive impact on the industry. The choices are limited to the buyer which again ends up paying for the product at available prices. However, the buyer requires quality and customization. The threat of substitutes: There are limited numbers of substitutes regarding designs offered by HB. The designs are made of great quality which later is copied exactly to same design but with low performance and quality. As there is low risk of competitors which enables the customer not to switch to other product easily. The threat of new competitors: As the gems and jewelry industry is a cost assuming industry the threat of new competitors is medium to Hillberg and Berk. There are barriers to entry such as strong distribution network, high requirement cost and a strong brand reputation. Existing rivalry: There are several competitors of HB some are large-scale competitors and some small influencing company's. The riding power of the existing organizations is high as many are established way before the establishment of HB. Strategic Issue HB lacks in making value relations with the suppliers to prevent fluctuations with suppliers power of bargaining. The threat of new competitor is a significant issue that can affect the organizational brand value and market position. Power Matrix Low A Stakeholders/customers Suppliers B Suppliers employees High C Stakeholders/customers Competitors D Newsletters Website Social media High Low Meeting the needs of the customers and suppliers is done by the company to maintain and increase the level of interest in order to perform effectively. It also engages consultant with them to prevent risk to the sales of the product. Hillberg and Berks key players are its suppliers and employees that contribute their efforts to make achievements. The company maintains its relation with the suppliers and engages its employees in decision making. Stake holders and competitors are generally communicated and monitored to make them keep updated with the information of current product and offers. They monitored in terms to make of low influenced to aim to shift them to the right. The organization uses newsletters, a well organized website and properly makes uses of social media such as Instagram, twitter and Facebook to make its customers keep informed. Strategic Issue The organization is less focus towards its suppliers and hence need to monitor its competitors strategy to override the market demand. VRIO analysis Strength/Resources (what are those strength and resources that the organization have that it can leverage on) Valuable Rare Inimitable Organizationally Supported Brand identity YES NO YES YES Personalized jewelry YES YES NO YES Sparkle collection YES YES NO YES Designs of jewelry YES YES NO YES Quality of the jewelry YES NO YES YES Women based organization YES YES NO YES Employee development and women empowerment YES YES NO YES Warranty period of one year NO NO NO YES Strategic Issues The designs offered by HB are not likely to be imitated, but it gets designed in the same complete style which is a drawback for the organization. Recommendations and Implementations Go-forward option along with maintaining creative culture The company should hire leaders that would support the employees to develop new skills and allow them to make smart decisions that will help in the growth of the company as well. Provide the employees with the training skill of using and handling the computer-aided design software, to make the designing of the object in 2D and 3D designs. The company can give a boost to its creativity and design making of jewelry by giving an additional opportunity to the potential women or fresher that cannot work as a full-time employee but can contribute huge quality. This will enable the company to grab freelancers and fresh perspectives of designs. Also, maintaining the organizational culture to empower women. It is highly recommended to Hillberg and Berk to offer for gathering the feedback from its customers and all connected resource suppliers before expanding the business. This enables the organization to understand the requirement of the clients with regard to the local market to be able to craft an effective go-to-market strategy (Macchion, Danese Vinelli, 2015). The work life balance programme should be promoted to provide the employees more space to relax regarding the stress generated from their personal life. It would make ensure that the employees are relief from their personal life, hence would enhance the work attitude and culture of the employees. It is necessary to build an inspired workspace for the employees. Providing wide work space, advanced technology with airy space will let the innovation come out of and develop new ideas. Organizational vision: It is recommended to Hillberg and Berk not to change the organizational vision of empowering women and develop a corporate culture with sustainable business growth. Additionally, the company can add ensuring quality and growth of profit to their vision to make competitive position in the market. Values: External stakeholders are the key elements of success for Hillberg and Berk. It is recommended to gather the valuable insights of the customers, suppliers and even the top management to inspire the growth of product lines. Balanced scorecard Key strategic Objective (that needs to be achieved) Initiative (initiatives to achieve the objective) Measures (how do you measure the achievement) Customer/communities Improve customer retention Customers are to be awarded with various collections of designs to prevent switching to another brand. It can be measured with the growth of sales revenue. Financials Lowering the cost Increasing the revenue By introducing new product line the company would benefit in spreading brand awareness which would lessen the advertisement cost. Increasing supply chain will result into increase profit It can be measured with the growth of sales revenue. Internal Processes/Operations Increase process efficiency Empowering the women Making close working relation with the suppliers will enable efficiency Making training and development programs. Increase in suppliers supply in time. Encouraging women contribution in the organization Organizational Compacity and Technology Improve knowledge and skills Improve tools and technology Introducing CAD program to the employees. Introducing technology in distribution, polishing and cutting of diamonds and gems Skilled employees contributing in organization process. Speed in process. Strategic imperative Acquisition Strategy HB should adapt acquisition strategy to increase growth and revenue. Acquiring retailers will benefit the company to increase its distribution strategy. HB is not a large organization, for which it needs to build its strategy strongly (Cooper Finkelstein, 2014). Increasing business opportunities The company after extending the product lines and by broadening the target can develop a new brand identity. This will also prevent investing more capital to improve brand image. Sales strategy HB should engage in organizing events to display the jewelry collections to the customers. The shows may be of different kinds such as trade fairs, exhibition, craft shows, art festivals and organizing galleries (Ingram et al., 2015). High level implementation The organization should adapt Push and pull strategy to increase customer satisfaction by developing new product lines to increase its market share and enter into new business. The push strategy includes the product development with the help of its resources whereas the pull strategy includes customer feedback/demand to develop the new product (Carrigan et al., 2017). The organization should implement Hallmarking in its jewelry which will enable the organization to build brand reputation and customer loyalty by protecting them against victimization of the jewelry and quality. It will ensure that organization that the designs that are being copied do not harm its reputation. The organization is recommended to reduce its cost without cutting out the quality and making the time lower to design its products by making the close relationship with the suppliers will gradually increase the profitability. The organization always needs to make extra effort towards brand building to stay constantly a strong competitor of the market by promoting more of its consumers interest and attracting them with discounts and gifts. However, adding up all the strategies the organization might invite certain issues such as product failure regarding expanding new product lines. The company would need extra investment into its research of the market and for a new product to introduce. The company would also face tensions when the price of diamond and gems decrease which can be challenging. To increase distribution channels, the acquisition might be a risky part to explore where the acquisition is to be done in the country (Pantano, 2016). Conclusion It can be concluded that HB founded by Rachel Mielke in 2007 was a result of her passion for jewelry design and entrepreneurship. The organization is operated under the maintenance of women, and they drive each of the facility. After completing the analysis of HB with the help of Value chain, SWOT, PESTLE, power matrix, Porter's five forces and VRIO analysis it is observed that the company is mainly focused to empower women with providing various training on skill development and establishing a future for the company. Relating to this mission the organization contributes to several women organizations and charitable organizations. The organization is standing upon its success on the feet of brand loyalty, and it further has a lot of opportunities as building the stronger brand reputation with the help of delivering more qualitative products and designs with the help of its employees. The threat of the organization is its existing rivals that are well established in the market. Howeve r, the organization can adapt to acquisition strategy to acquire local retailers which will in turn help to increase its distribution strategy and revenue growth. Then by increasing the product line by introducing garments for women and men will also help to increase brand awareness without investing much. By putting extra effort and implementing the strategies effectively, HB can increase its impact on the market. References Carrigan, M., McEachern, M., Moraes, C., Bosangit, C. (2017). The fine jewellery industry: Corporate responsibility challenges and institutional forces facing SMEs.Journal of Business Ethics,143(4), 681-699. Cooper, C. L., Finkelstein, S. (Eds.). (2014).Advances in mergers and acquisitions. Emerald Group Publishing. Harmouche, B. (2017). Nurturing empathy for social cohesion: Participatory, community-based communication design research with gay youth living with HIV in Lebanon. Hillberg Berk. (2018).Hillberg Berk Gemstone Jewellery, Engagement Rings, Jewellery Stores.Hillberg Berk. Retrieved 6 April 2018, from https://hillbergandberk.com/?utm_expid=55757320-5.pU51p37CT8-cVr_q_zgRDA.0utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.in%2F Ingram, T. N., LaForge, R. W., Williams, M. R., Schwepker Jr, C. H. (2015).Sales management: Analysis and decision making. Routledge. Macchion, L., Danese, P., Vinelli, A. (2015). Redefining supply network strategies to face changing environments. A study from the fashion and luxury industry.Operations Management Research,8(1-2), 15-31. Pantano, E. (2016). Benefits and risks associated with time choice of innovating in retail settings.International Journal of Retail Distribution Management,44(1), 58-70.

Monday, April 6, 2020

Accordion crimes essays

Accordion crimes essays Racism and segregation among different races took place since the beginning of time, Accordion Crimes by E. Annie Proulx explores a similar situation of new immigrants coming to America seeking for a better life also known as the American dream but soon realize what its all about. The story spreads over about 100 years. The life that immigrants were living was very difficult. Racism and discrimination was part of every day life, it can be pretty similar to what Muslims have to go through since the catastrophe of September 11, 2001 that changed the world for ever. When new coming Italians arrived to United-States, they were all seen as part of some mafia, generalization was punishing those that had nothing to do with it like the Muslims today. What can be done to stop hatred between races? The easy answer is education, but thats not the only solution. In order to recreate the world of new immigrants coming to America Proulx didnt use traditional narrative style but instead tried to use fragmentation style by not giving full complete stories which didnt link to one another except of the accordion which was passed from family to family. By the traveling of the accordion we can see what went on in different houses (families) since he was part of them for a moment. We have a feeling of violence in each story; in almost every story the ending finishes in a violent way; when Felix gets killed by a Japanese bomb, broken necks, car accidents and heart attacks. What those examples shows is that usually in poor environments the violence is more present then in rich and high educated neighborhoods. This is a proven fact, so when the television shows the camps of Bin Laden, lets not be fooled the reason is that those people a raised like that from a very young age to hate America or United states. Thats when education plays a central role. By not being well educated, their information is controlled ...

Monday, March 9, 2020

Food Inc. Documentary Analysis Essays

Food Inc. Documentary Analysis Essays Food Inc. Documentary Analysis Paper Food Inc. Documentary Analysis Paper Food Inc Movie Analysis Write a short paragraph or so about what you know about where your food comes from. I want you to think about where It comes from before It gets to the supermarket or the restaurant. If you feel youre not really sure where It comes from, write about that. Why arent you sure? Wow! Thats a huge question, since there are many types of food. I believe fresh fruits and vegetables are harvested in bulk from farms, orchards, vineyards, etc. , and then go through facilities that handle the cleaning, sorting, packaging (for fresh), and Nanning. Dairy farms Milk originates at dairy farms and either gets bottled there, or shipped in bulk to facilities that process it into many forms, some of these forms winding up in other processed foods. Im not sure if butter, cheese, yogurt and the like are done at or outside of the dairy. I know that beef and pork now usually comes from processing farms rather than real farms or ranches. It passes through faceless for either minimal processing to pass on fresh to markets and meat stores, or for full processing and packaging. Chicken and eggs come from facilities that are more Like factories than farms. Plants : Bulk grains from farms goes through extensive processing at facilities, winding up in an endless variety of forms and products. I guess just about everything gets some type of processing through factories, plants, and other facilities before it is offered to the consumer. 1. In the beginning of the movie, Eric Closer, who narrates quite a lot of the film, talks about the idea that Americans are misled into believing that the origin of our food is still largely agrarian. What does agrarian mean, and do you agree with Chlorates assertion? Be sure to explain either your agreement or disagreement. I think agrarian describes farms and fields. I think his statement Is Incorrect because the origin is still largely agrarian. If were being misled about anything, its about the amount and types of processing between the origin and reaching us. 2. What did you learn about chicken farming from this movie? What seemed most important to you about that segment of the film? The conglomerates that finance the farming seem to choose cost efficiencies over all other factors. And they must feel themselves that some of the resulting methods are questionable because they bar the public and the media from viewing them. . What did you learn from this movie about the connection between corn and beef? What are the benefits of the connection and what are the drawbacks? Cattle are natural grass grazers, out are now Dealing raise on corn alone, since It Is subsidized and cheap and fattens them quicker and to a greater degree (the benefit). But they know now that the harmful types of bacteria found in t he cows digestive tracks grow much more plentifully on the corn diet. 8. In the section titled The Dollar Menu, Eric Closer says, Weve skewed our food system to the bad calories and its not an accident. The reason those foods are heaper is because those are the one were heavily subsidizing. This movie talks quite a bit about food commodities and food subsidies. Describe your understanding of those concepts and how they lower the prices of certain foods. The government pays farmers extra money to grow some of the basic general/ multi-use foods and grains such as milk, wheat, and corn, all them to be sold at lower prices. Then various components of these foods (not necessarily the healthy ones) are chosen as ingredients because of their lower cost. 9. Closer also says, One of the biggest predictors of obesity is income level, but e does not talk a lot about why that might be true. What is your understanding of why it might be true? The cheapest foods available (and therefore purchased the most by the poor) are full of the above-mentioned not-so-healthy derivatives of subsidized foods. 10. In the section of the movie titled, In the Grass, Joel Gallatin, owner of Populace Farms, says that some people look at his farm and his way of producing food and ask, Can you really feed the world this way? His reply is, Thats a specious argument because yes were every bit as efficient if you plug in all the inefficiencies of the industrial system. First, what does specious mean? Next, consider Gelatins reply. Do you think he answers the question about whether you can feed the world using his methods? What inefficiencies of the industrial system is he talking about? Specious means misleading or deceptive. Im not sure what the inefficiencies ref ers to other than maybe to utility and fuel costs of running the large processing factories. And I dont think comparing efficiency really address the question asked. Gallatin says people look at his organically grown eggs for $3. 00 a dozen and 11. Hey think its far too much to pay. Then Gallatin points out theyre holding a 75-cent can of soda. Why do you think were so willing to pay 75 cents for a beverage that gives us no nutritional value but we hesitate to pay $3. 00 for a dozen eggs grown in an ethical, healthy way and that could feed a whole family breakfast? I dont fall for this trap (l seldom ever drink soda), but most consumers seem willing to pay a higher price for something that is ready to consume immediately and satisfies the sugar/salt/fat craving, rather than something you have to prepare and add taste to. In ten chicken-Tarring segment AT ten movie, we see now ten chickens In a major farming operation are treated, and in the section on Gelatins farm we see how chickens are slaughtered and cleaned. Write about your impressions of these two segments, especially when considered alongside one another. The chickens in the major operation tumble through chutes and conveyor belts while they are still alive, like they are some non-biological material. Gelatins chickens are processed by hand and are slaughtered by bleeding them out, which Eve heard before is the least traumatic way to die from an external physical force. 5. Gary Heisenberg of Stonewalled farms describes Walter as one of the most vilified corporations in America. He goes on to say that a sale off million dollars to Walter [of organic products] helps to save the world. First, what does vilified mean and why do you think Walter is vilified? Second, why is a huge sale of organic products to Walter one way to help save the world? Vilify means to portray as the bad guy or villain. Many people think Walter is harmful to communities by taking sales away from local small business. But a healthy, organically produced product on Walters shelves can reach a lot more nonusers due to their large customer base. 16. What do you unders tand from the movie about why Monsanto is able to sue farmers for something as basic as saving their own seeds? What is your response to this kind of corporate prosecution of farmers? Because Monsanto patented the their gene modification, they legally own all rights to any seed containing even a trace of this gene. It seems like their aim through the legal action is control the entire market, not Just their brand of seed. 17. Near the end of the movie, Closer makes the claim, We eat a lot of oil without knowing it. What does he mean? Running the vast amount of processing machinery and equipment requires fuel, and fuel comes from oil. 19. Closer makes the argument that the battle against tobacco is a perfect model for how an industry irresponsible behavior can be changed, implying that its possible to change the behavior of the food industry. Do you agree? Be sure to explain your response. I believe any industry behavior is driven by profit and market. Because its extremely difficult to effectively reduce the demand for a popular heavily-marketed, profitable but questionably produced product, the only alternative is legal action, which has its own challenges to being successful. Ill A DSSSL premise AT tens movie Is at TN tenure Is a veil Detente consumers Ana t food sources. The argument is that consumers are deliberately being kept in the dark about what theyre eating, where its coming from, and what its doing to their bodies. For this question, Id like you to consider two things: a. Before you watched the movie, I asked you to write what you know about where your food comes from. Now write another short paragraph about what you knew before the movie vs. what you know now. Do you feel that you know more? How do you feel about what you learned? Do you question any of what you learned or feel it might be one-sided? If you dont feel you know more after the movie, why not? I feel like I did learn a little. I realized beforehand that some of the processing practices are not pretty, but the film highlighted some that are downright ugly! I did get a strong sense that the presentation was one-sided, and that the film was made to try to prove their views rather than to be an unbiased investigation. So they probably played up the very worst aspects of the issue. B. Do you agree with the premise that there is a deliberate veil between consumers and their food sources? If you do agree, do you think that lifting the veil will help change behaviors and choices about food in this country? Why or why not? If you dont agree that theres a deliberate veil, why not? I do believe that people are largely unaware of all the intermediate processing, but Im not convinced its because of a corporate conspiracy to hide it. The true test would be to say, look, as our children grow up they to learn know how all of life works, including the food chain. So at some point in secondary school well educate them about how food is processed. How the food industry reacts to that will tell the true tale.

Friday, February 21, 2020

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Education - Essay Example There was also push for marriage and fatherhood for these disabled veterans. After the war, several Britons believed that independent, skilled labor would help cure the veterans disabled in battle. This would enable them to earn their own living as well as support themselves. In addition it would change them from being helpless to independent strong men. The most interesting things I learnt from the lecture include a lot of exciting insights from the World War I. For instance the fact that the first world war was fought by people from all the continents even though some did not know why they were fighting. The scientific research also that was going on shifted attention to this war; many new things were discovered that were for the first time ever used in war of that magnitude. The use of newly invented machine guns by the soldiers was also another thing that caught my attention. The issue of the veterans being given wives to marry as a way of rewarding them is also another very striking thing that caught my eye. The use of plastic surgery on injured soldiers is another thing that caught my

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Fairy tales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fairy tales - Essay Example Children find such tales so interesting because some of the fairy tales touch on their every day experience. Parents should expose their children to some of the fairy tales when they turn five. Children will concentrate more in listening to fairy tales when relaxing, especially when they are about to retire to bed. Fairy tales are not just associated with children. They are very much important to teens. They are important to teens because they build on their emotional resilience. Parents should show their responsibility in taking care of the family by showing the teens about the reality of life. This will make them know and appreciate that problems do not come to people because they are bad, but rather problems are faced by people in order to make them stronger and to be able to survive in any environment no matter how complicated it is. There are a lot of lessons we can learn from fairy tales. Some of them range from the society’s perception of the role of a girl child to chi ld trafficking. In most societies, including China’s, boys have been traditionally valued than girls. You find boys given the best kind of education, given opportunity in places of work and at the same time given an opportunity to marry any girl he wishes, sometimes with the help of the parents. This is not only common in China but also other nations though the situation is now changing. This paper therefore aims at drawing illustrations based on the issues that affect children and some of the ways in which parents and relatives have contributed to such problems. Most of the illustrations will however be drawn from children fairy tales like Disneyland for clarifications. Girls lack freedom of choice. This is because they are always viewed as weaker sex. In as much as many people could hold similar opinion about girls, I tend to wonder the kind of criterion such people have always used to measure weaknesses of girls. Perhaps one of the reasons for holding such belief is the fa ct that boys tend to be a little bit brave as compared to girls. Boys’ brevity can be seen in the way they handle situations, friends and enemies, animals, scary movies and tales. Some girls, on the other hand, are more afraid of touching animals and certain insects; they also fear scary movies like horrors. However much people feel that girls are naturally born weaker sex and that they are always cowards, this again should not be true with all girls; certain girls are braver just like there are certain boys who are cowards. The ability to be brave or cowardice depends on certain factors, some of them being entirely dependent on genes. Generalizing that all girls are cowards or all boys should be brave is a fact that does not hold water. Besides, should it be the reason why most societies do not have respect for girl child? If it is so then it is regrettable because creation is an occurrence which is beyond human understanding. Certain tales teach about the power of confidenc e. A good example is (Cinderella) the girl who falls in love with a prince and despite her poor background, breaks all odds to marry the handsome prince. This is done against the wishes of many including the step sister. The view that girls are inferior is something that even women appreciate. They are not given a chance to choose what they feel is best for them. In Cinderella, Cinderella’s step sister falls in love with a mere baker, a love triangle that later leads to marriage. Cinderella’

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Life and Legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach

The Life and Legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach The Life and Legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach Many important figures have impacted and shaped the comprehensive history of western classical music. Even today, most laymen know of the names of the great classical composers like prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and can even identify some of the most iconic melodies such as the opening subject to Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Surprisingly, these men of great talent all stem from the foundation set by one German composer: Johann Sebastian Bach. Now, the name J.S. Bach evokes the Baroque period of music and its influence can be seen throughout the works of later periods and other composers. With such a substantial impact, J.S. Bach in actuality had a very modest and local career and after Bach’s death, his music was almost completely forgotten. It was through his legacy among musicians and protà ©gà ©s which sparked a rekindling of Bach’s music and he now receives immense admiration and veneration for his technically challenging keyboard works, his pote nt liturgical works, and his vast amount of sheer repertoire. Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 31st, 1685, into a highly musical family. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was the director of the town musicians and was skilled in the violin and harpsichord. J.S. Bach was the youngest of eight children all of whom were trained in harpsichord, violin, and basic music theory. Bach also had many uncles who were all professional musicians working as local organists, court chamber musicians, and composers. Thus, J.S. Bach was immersed in music from a young age and also was trained in music theory, composition, the harpsichord, clavichord, organ, and violin. In particular, his older brother Johann Christoph Bach, an organist at the St. Michael’s Church in Ohrdruf and pupil of Johann Pachelbel, became a prominent musical figure in J. S. Bach’s life and further engendered his passion for music. At the age of 14, Bach attended the prestigious St. Michael’s School in Luneburg, Germany where he was exposed to a wide variety of c ultural sounds such as the music of Northern and Southern Germany, Italy, and France. In 1703, J. S. Bach was appointed the position of court musician at the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III in the city of Weimar but was unhappy with his work as he was often unsatisfied with the church choirs and the amount of composing he was responsible for. Thus, Bach and his family was required to travel and move in order to seek better job opportunities. However, unlike most musicians, who would travel all across Europe performing and making a living, Bach lived relatively local moving from town to town all within the confines of Germany. Bach often had ideological differences with his employer and he would compose some of his greatest works all in different cities and churches as well require to teach students. For instance, in 1723, Bach was appointed the Cantor of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig where he served and composed till his death 27 years later. Bach was required to teach the students of the St. Thomas Church singing and keyboard. It was at this time that Bach wrote his Inventions and Sinfonias for keyboard, a collection of exercises that most pianists play even to this day in order to improve their technique, articulation, dexterity, precision, and speed. It was also as Thomaskantor that he wrote his Mass in B minor, considered to be one of the greatest choral works of all time. Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28th, 1750 and although he was celebrated as an organist and harpsichordist, very few people beyond the city of Weimar knew of Bach’s compositions. It was only the great composers and keyboardist to keep Bach’s music alive in conservatories and libraries. Thus, the even the greatest of composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frederic Chopin, and Felix Mendelssohn, all revered Bach’s work as excellent keyboard music. This is because Bach’s music was one of the most highly technical for the era, another being the music of Bach’s contemporary, George Frederic Handel. During the Baroque period, keyboard instruments were often for accompaniment to harmonize and contrast with the string instruments of the orchestra. However, substantial advances for keyboard in result of Bach’s compositions led to more solo prominence in music as well as facilitated the invention of the pianoforte, now one of the most learned m usic instruments. Moreover, Bach has left not only a large amount of music manuscripts but also his legacy as a keyboardist, and composer of liturgical and secular music. Through his travels and his encounters with different cultures and colleagues within the Baroque Era, Bach was able to capitalize on both the aesthetic culture of the time and the variety of styles across countries. Also, as Bach had shifted positions and employers many times, he was required to create new music contextually depending on purpose and location. As Bach was a religiously devoted man, he wrote a numerous amount of chorales, pastoral songs, and congregational hymns for the choir and organ or harpsichord. As Bach began teaching and instructing, Bach began to write more works for keyboard that included a variety of preludes and fugues, toccatas, fantasies, and theme and variation works. Baroque music in general is classified by its heavily ornate technicality and grandiose sounds all within a systematically controlled framework. Thus, Bach’s music is highly articulate and technical a reason why the great pianists Felix Mendelssohn and Franz Liszt both practiced with Bach works and built upon his keyboard foundation. Bach also further developed German music through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic, and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures. However, after Bach’s death, much of his music was deemed archaic and old-fashioned as new composers such as Franz Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven brought forth the new era of Classical music. Soon, most of the general public did not know of J. S. Bach’s name in the beginning of the 19th century. Many pivotal figures reincarnated Bach’s name through the years. First, Johann Nikolaus Forkel’s wrote the composer’s biography in 180 2. The pianist and composer, Felix Mendelssohn further popularized Bach’s name by arranging and performing the St. Matthew Passion. The performance proved to be successful as Bach’s name and reputation as a composer soon revived. By the 1850s, the Bach-Gesellschaft, or the Bach Society, was founded in order to further preserve Bach’s works and promote his repertoire. New works by Bach are still being found to this day. Bach’s enormous library of music is simply a testament to his diligence and creativity. With such music, Bach was able to pave a way for future musicians and composers. Through his advancement in keyboard work, Bach provided the technique for great pianists. With his teachings and instructions, many of his protà ©gà ©s moved on to become great Classical era composers. Even presently, Bach’s works are performed by the finest of performers and has become truly a household name for both musicians and laymen alike. Works Consulted â€Å"Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750). â€Å"Encyclopedia of world biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998 Grout, D. J. (1980) A history of western music. New York, NY: W. W. Norton Kerman, J. and G. Tomlinson (2012). Listen (7th edition). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s Kennedy, M. (2006) The Oxford dictionary of music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Kevorkian, T. â€Å"Bach Family.† Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the early modern world. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1980. Randel, D. M. (2003) The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Creating a Robot to Guard Property with Lego Mindstorm :: Robotics

The Protectobot Abstract My final project is to build a robot that will use non-violent techniques to keep animals out of yards. Using the Lego Mindstorm Kit I was able to complete this project. When certain animals walk by my robot, it throws gears towards the animal to scare it away. It can tell the difference between good animals and bad, and does not harm them in any way. Background For many years people have been trying to find non-violent ways to keep animals out of their yards and away from family pets. Various attempts have included motion detecting sprinklers, electric fences, fake smells, and ultrasonic sound bursts. These devices work in some cases but not in all. Motion sprinklers spray short bursts of water when they detect animals. Some animals however, like to get wet so the motion sprinklers will not necessarily work on all. Ultrasonic sound burst devices detect when an animal is near and sends out a two second ultrasonic sound burst. These bursts can be heard by animals but not by humans so they may have a hard time figuring out when the batteries run out or when it is broken. Electric fences can sometimes hurt animals, including pets that are allowed to be in our backyards. Fake smells of the animal’s enemy can also help scare the animal away. There are often unwanted animals in my family’s backyard. They eat our fruit from our trees, and tear up our grass. We have been trying to find more effective ways to keep them out for a long time. For my final project, I decided to make a robot that will detect when an animal walks by it. When it detects an animal, it will throw small objects at whatever it is that moved. I have not yet decided what it is that my robot will throw. It has to be harder than a sponge, but cannot be so hard that it will hurt something. As a warning to humans, it will make a beep noise before it throws the object. Procedures I built many small parts to put together to make my functioning robot. It is made up of the launching pad, gear/motor station, the RCX platform, and the head. I first built the launching platform. It is made up of black beams ranging in size from one to sixteen. They are put together in rows with reinforcements on the opposite sides running in the other direction. They came together to form a triangular shape with two gears at the end. I then attached gears and a motor to the platform so that the motor is able

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Industrial and Personnel Psychology Essay

1. Personal biographical characteristics of note are factors that describe an individual. Factors such as age, gender, marital status and tenure. These characteristics have an impact on the attitudes that an individual may have towards work and dependent variable such as productivity, absenteeism, and turnover and job satisfaction. The relationship between age and job performance is of great importance because it is believed that job performance decreases as age increases. Though not all employers have perceptions of older employees. From a positive perspective it is noted that older employees have more experience, judgment, ethics and commitment. In addition, with older employees, labour turnover is reduced. Because of their longer tenure within the organization they tend to enjoy increased wages, pension and many other benefits and are therefore less likely to leave. With regards to absenteeism and older employees, the evidence is however mixed. Although there are decreases in avoidable absenteeism rates compared to younger employees, there is an increase in unavoidable rates due to poor health due to age, and longer recovery periods. However from a negative point it is noted that older employees lack flexibility, there is a decrease in their productivity due to decreased speed, agility, strength and co-ordination and resistance to change in a changing environment. Consequently, organizations are reluctant to hire older employees. In addition, they tend to retrench them first when it comes to downsizing. Gender in job performance has no evidence that it affects job satisfaction. However there is a difference in work schedules because women mostly prefer part time work or work flexibility due to family responsibilities. With regards to absenteeism women usually have a higher rate of absenteeism than men as women traditionally care for the family. For example when children are sick, it is the mothers who tend to take off work in order to take care of such sick children. Married employees generally have a decrease in absenteeism, turnover and an increase in job satisfaction. This may be due to increased responsibilities. With regards to tenure, there is a positive relationship between seniority and job performance and a negative relationship between tenure and absenteeism. That is an increase in tenure and seniority tends to lead to better performance and an increase in tenure to lead to decrease in turnover. People are organization’s most valuable and expensive resource, but they are the most difficult element of an organization to manage. Individuals are almost infinitely different, they act differently in different circumstances and are, in many ways, entirely unpredictable. This means that, unlike machines, they are not interchangeable or able to be easily designed to do the jobs required of them. In terms of the organization, what we are interested in is the way in which people behave at work-that they perform effectively in pursuit of the organisation’s goals. The starting point for this is an understanding of what makes people behave in the way they do. Although psychologists do not agree on a single definition of personality, there is some consensus that it is concerned with characteristics patterns of behavior and modes of thinking that determine a person’s adjustment to the environment (Hilgard et al 1979:108). Two features of the above definition are noteworthy. In the first place, the word â€Å"characteristic† suggests a degree of performance in personality. In the second place, â€Å"environment† suggests that personality is displayed in a social and physical context. Beyond this consensus, there is a great deal disagreement over the development, structure and dynamics of personality. The correct interpretation and use of the results of personality measures and tests depends a great deal on the theory or approach on which the instruments are based. Without this knowledge, the description of personality may well be miused. Personality can therefore be referred to a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system. It looks at the whole person rather than at the sum of the individual parts. It is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his or her unique adjustments to his or her environment. An altogether different approach to personality concentrates on identifying and classifying those features that individuals may share. The different categories or types serve to emphasise the similarities within each group and the differences between the groups. These attempts to classify personality features are often referred to as the type or trait approach. There are a number of personality determinants, namely, Heredity, the Environment, or the Situation. Heredity is the process of transmitting biological traits from parent to offspring through genes, the basic units of heredity. Heredity also refers to the inherited characteristics of an individual, including traits such as height, eye color, and blood type. Heredity accounts for why offspring look like their parents: when two dogs mate, for example, they have puppies, not kittens. If the parents are both Chihuahuas, the puppies will also be Chihuahuas, not great Danes or Labrador retrievers. The puppies may be a little taller or shorter, a little lighter or a lot heavier than their parents are. Their faces may look a little different, or they may have different talents and temperaments. In all the important characteristics, however—the number of limbs, arrangement of organs, general size, fur type—they will share the traits of their parents. The principles of heredity hold true not only for a puppy but also for a virus, a roundworm, a pansy, or a human. Genetics is the study of how heredity works and, in particular, of genes. A gene is a section of a long deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule, and it carries information for the construction of a protein or part of a protein. Through the diversity of proteins they code for, genes influence or determine such traits as eye color, the ability of a bacterium to eat a certain sugar, or the number of peas in a pod. A virus has as few as a dozen genes. A simple roundworm has 5000 to 8000 genes, while a corn plant has 60,000. The construction of a human requires an estimated 50,000 genes. Personality characteristics are not completely dictated by heredity however, as otherwise they would remain the same throughout life despite the experiences we have. Environment is referred to all of the external factors affecting an organism. These factors may be other living organisms (biotic factors) or nonliving variables (abiotic factors), such as temperature, rainfall, day length, wind, and ocean currents. The interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic factors form an ecosystem. Even minute changes in any one factor in an ecosystem can influence whether or not a particular plant or animal species will be successful in its environment. Organisms and their environment constantly interact, and both are changed by this interaction. Like all other living creatures, humans have clearly changed their environment, but they have done so generally on a grander scale than have all other species. Some of these human-induced changes—such as the destruction of the world’s tropical rain forests to create farms or grazing land for cattle—have led to altered climate patterns. In turn, altered climate patterns have changed the way animals and plants are distributed in different ecosystems. Scientists study the long-term consequences of human actions on the environment, while environmentalists—professionals in various fields, as well as concerned citizens—advocate ways to lessen the impact of human activity on the natural world. Situation is one of the determinants of personality which influences the effect of heredity and environment on personality. Personality, which is generally stable, often changes in different situations.  For example, we may behave very differently at a party with our friends as opposed to how we would do at a social gathering of work colleagues and our managers. 2. Attitude refers to an opinion or general feeling about something. Attitudes are, essentially feelings towards people or things. How people feel, what they believe, what they intend to do, and whether and how they do it may all be connected, and may all be related to the process of perception. To try to reduce the confusion in this area over the use of words and concepts such as â€Å"feelings† and â€Å"beliefs†, Fishbein (19670 put forward the following hierarchical model. Beliefs What we think about people, things, relationships etc â€Å"My work provides no challenge† Attitudes Affective responses to those people, things, relationships etc. â€Å"I see work only as a means to getting money† Intentions Congnitive states â€Å"I will look for my challenge in my leisure time† Behavior or Action Observable events â€Å"I take up mountaineering† Attitudes are learned. They derive from our personal reaction to information and events, which manifest themselves as beliefs and feelings about a particular subject. We learn many of our attitudes when we are very young. They are conditioned by those around us and the conditions or situations in which we find ourselves. Some-particularly feelings-are so strong that they stay with stay with us and affect us for the rest of our lives. The range of influences is complex, but it includes the following: * The groups to which we belong-most notably, in early life, the family, but also friendship groups, work groups * Education * Life experiences- particularly the most profound personal ones such as bereavement, etc. but also those experiences which we observe e. g on Tv, or read about. We are aware, too, that our attitudes change over time as a result of the influence of the above factors. For example, it is very often the case that young people have more liberal attitudes than older people, but as they enter work and acquire family and financial commitments and responsibilities they tend to become more â€Å"conservative†. One of the key elemen ts of management in organizations is how to modify or change people’s behaviour. This is central to such features as motivation, securing effective performance, introducing change, etc. whilst as noted above, attitudes do not necessarily condition behaviour, and they are a significant determinant. In organizations, managers use attitude survey to measure and thereby predict behaviour. Managers use information gathered in attitude surveys to guide them in decisions relative to employees. Attitude surveys elicit responses from employees through questionnaires about how they feel about their jobs, work- groups, supervisors and or the organization. Attitude surveys provide managers with valuable feedback on how workers perceive working conditions, and alert them to problems or employee intentions early so that action can be taken in time. Increasingly, attitudinal surveys are being used within organizations to find out about the potential reactions of staff to particular courses of action (for example, organizational change) or to form judgments about their suitability for particular posts (in a similar way to how personality tests are used). Operational methods for attitude surveys generally seek to measure fire components for each belief. Thus, attitudes to work could be measured as follows: * Strength of feeling about the job itself. The strength with which various attitudes are held about different aspects of the job which are listed, measured on perhaps a seven point scale, from â€Å"agree totally† through neutral to â€Å"disagree totally†. * Value of job to self. Evaluating various aspects of the job, again, but in relation to its meaning to the individual. * Social factors. Attitudes and behaviour do not depend on inner perceptions alone, but also upon surrounding social pressures-the person’s perceptions of what others think he/she should do. The social factors must be investigated in order to understand all the factors determining behaviour. * Overall attitude An overall assessment of the respondent’s attitudes to the contex of the job and to work itself, for example, the value and meaning it has in his/ her life. This is a useful measure as it allows more generalized attitudes to the job to be explored. * Intended behaviour Potential reactions to different scenarios about the job or its context. Although hypothetical, this prediction makes an interesting correlation with actual behaviour. Surveys must have a very clear specification of what they are seeking to measure. Just as with personality tests, there is the ever present danger that the way in which questions are phrased, or the underlying assumptions made, will influence the outcome. Job satisfaction and its opposite, job dissatisfaction, refer to the attitudes and feelings job holders have towards their work. Morale can be viewed as a state of mind dependent on the dependent on the degree of job satisfaction experienced by an individual or group. There is general agreement that job dissatisfaction can have harmful effects on both job holders and the organization. Research has associated job dissatisfaction with all the indicators of low morale-high labour turnover, skills wastage, absenteeism, high accident rates, poor timekeeping and a lack of commitment to quality. An individual with low job satisfaction may suffer frustration and stress. Although stress may arise from many quarters, it is the inability to deal with and manage stress that afflicts the individual who suffers job dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction is determined by a number of factors namely, mentally challenging work, equitable rewards, supportive working conditions, and supportive colleagues. Research has shown that employees prefer jobs that give them opportunities to use their abilities and skills. Characteristics such as freedom, feedback and a variety of tasks make work mentally challenging and allow employees to feel pleasure and satisfaction. On other hand, jobs that are not mentally challenging create boredom, frustration and feelings of failure. Employees want rewards (e. g. pay, promotions) that they perceive as just and in line with their expectations. Satisfaction will occur if pay is seen as based on job demands, skill and community standards. It is not the actual amount of pay that counts, but rather the perception of fairness. Individuals that also perceive promotional decisions as fair will be job satisfied. Employees are concerned with working conditions that are comfortable and that enable one to do an optimal job. Environmental factors such as temperature, light, noise should not be too extreme. Factors such as proximity to home, cleanliness, technology and adequate tools, help increase job satisfaction. As well as tangible achievements, employees also work for social interaction. Therefore having friendly and supportive co-workers and superiors also lead to increased job satisfaction. On many occasions managers’ interest in job satisfaction centers on its effect on employee performance. Therefore studies have been made to identify the relationships between satisfaction and performance. Organized studies in particular have focused on the effect of satisfaction on the dependent variables such as Productivity, Absenteeism and Turnover. There is no real proof that satisfaction leads to productivity. The saying â€Å"a happy worker is a productive worker† is wishful thinking. Often productivity leads to satisfaction and not the other way around. Productivity leads to increase in rewards, recognition, which in turn increases satisfaction. Satisfaction may lead to productivity on an organization level rather than on an individual level. Dissatisfied workers are more likely to be absent. This relationship can be affected however by sick leave benefits which might encourage workers to be absent. While satisfied employees are less likely to leave work. This can however be affected by, labour market conditions, expectations about alternative job offers and length of tenure. Level of satisfaction is less important in predicting turnover for superior employees as more effort is made to keep these individuals. Satisfaction-turnover relationship is also affected by the individuals disposition towards life. If two people are dissatisfied the positive one is more likely to leave.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Satire/Irony in ‘the Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson - 2034 Words

Satire/Irony in ‘The Lottery’: The Lucky Ticket The use of Satire/Irony within literature establishes situations where the unlikelihood of the occurrence of an event will happen. Jackson’s manipulation of his story, The Lottery, provides an unexpected twist to what one may seem to be a normal subject. Northrop Frye’s The Singing School, suggests that all stories are told in either one of four ways: Comedy, Romance, Tragedy or Satire/Irony (Frye 18). The use of Irony and its conventional associations eludes the reader from interpreting a story as a Romance, but instead give the reader a reversed twist. This use of ironic convention in literary work is seen through Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery; the story of Tessie†¦show more content†¦Mr. Summers, for example is a man that organizes the annual tradition of the village’s lottery. The name â€Å"Summers† has strong conventional associations with Frye’s convention of Romance, and is a suitable name for such suitable se tting. Furthermore, his physical appearance, too, matches this convention; Jackson describes him â€Å"in his clean white shirt and blue jeans, he seemed very proper and important† (Jackson 876). Mr. Summers, the organizer in charge of the lottery, in essence, oversees death. His actions of making the slips of paper for the lottery make him the bringer of death, determining the fate of the next winning candidate of the lottery. â€Å"Summers†, a name so fitting of happiness and zenith, ironically becomes the taker of life, which fulfils an ironic literary example of one of Jackson’s characters. The concept of the innocence of children contains the conventional association of Satire/Irony. According to literature, children are perceived to be innocent until exposed to the harsh realities of the world, where their maturity develops and the loss of innocence is achieved. The children in this story, however, appear as regular children in the beginning, with the normal intentions of playtime and fun. Jackson even describes Bobby Martin, a child of the village, stuffing his pocket full of stones with other boys following his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest ones (875).Show MoreRelatedThe Possibility Of Evil, And The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1102 Words   |  5 Pagescomposes a compelling plot, with an ending that in someway either teaches the main character a lesson, or the reader themselves. Jackson acts as a master of literary devices, as she navigates the reader through intense scenes that evoke an emotional response to the experiences of the main character. In the short stories, â€Å"The Possibility of Evil† and â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, she used the same three literary devices to grasp the reader’s attention from beginning to end. In â€Å"The Possibility of Evil†Read MoreTradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay2237 Words   |  9 PagesTradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Shirley Jacksons The Lottery satirizes barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village. As the story begins, the villagers appear to be fairly civilized and carry on fairly modern lifestyles. This is assumed by the mens discussion of planting, rain, tractors, and taxes. The lottery was outdated to such a degree that some may think that the tradition is primal competition of anthropoid beasts. On the other hand, some think that carryingRead MoreEssay on The Lottery1873 Words   |  8 Pages When â€Å"The Lottery† was first published in 1948, it created an enormous controversy and great interest in its author, Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1919. When she was two years old, her family moved her to Burlingame, California, where Jackson attended high school. After high school Jackson moved away to attend college at Rochester University in upstate New York but after only a short time at Rochester and, after taking off a year from schoolRead MoreEssay about The Life and Literary Works of Shirley Jackson4264 Words   |  18 PagesShirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1919 to Leslie and Geraldine Jackson. Her surroundings were comfortable and friendly. Two years after Shirley was born, her family with her newborn brother moved from San Francisco to Burlingame, California, about thirty miles away. According to her mother, Shirley began to compose verse almost as soon as she could write it (Friedman, 18). As a child, Shirley was interested in sports and literature. In 1930, a year before she attended Burlingame High School