Gatsby

In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents all three women in a vilifying manner; Daisy is weak and careless, Jordan Is dishonest and haughty, and Myrtle Is unfaithful. Nick describes Jordan as â€Å"Incurably dishonest†. This Introduces the Ideology of distrust of women in the novel. In 1922, American women did not have the same rights as men and were often trapped in oppressive marriages and seen as the inferior sex. This inferiority is reflected through the way in which women have a secondary role in this novel.Nick's citation concerning the dishonesty in a woman depicts the way in which throughout the novel, women's flaws are almost exonerated. This citation of Fitzgerald also advocates that, because women do not have the same moral values as men-because they are Inferior-lt Is therefore not their fault. This possible proposltlon provides an explanation for Jay Gatsbys ignorance towards Daisy's vindictive nature, and Nick's swift forgiveness of Jordan's fraudulence. Daisy is presented as the most enigmatic, female character.Although Fitzgerald does uch to make her a character worthy of Gatsby's unlimited devotion, In the end she reveals herself for what she truly Is. Despite her beauty and charm, Daisy Is merely selfish, shallow, vindictiv Both idolized the riches and glamor of the age, he was uncomfortable with the unrestrained materialism and the lack of morality that went with it. Women are still represents as a trophy the type of women desired for this role is what has changed, symbol of the materialist society In the 1920's Absolutely. Women are another symbol of the materialist society In the 1920's.For Tom, Daisy Is a trophy: a rich, lovely, unassuming wife who looks the other way in regards to his adultery. The fact that Daisy has stayed with Tom, in a very comfortable life, is Fitzgerald's way of commenting on what was important to this very elite society in the 20s: wealth and appearance. Myrtle is also a good example of this. Tom uses her wh en he needs her and then breaks her nose when she angers him. The fact that neither relationship revolves around love suggests that Tom sees both of these women as objects to be used as he sees fit.

A Mystery Note

The first few notes of the alarm clock prised open Amber's eyes and she stumbled out of bed, standing on an up-ended plug as she did so. She didn't have time for the pain; she had a Spanish test first thing and with a bit of luck she'd be able to catch the early bus to school so she could fit in a bit of revision before class. The floorboards creaked under her feet as she got changed. Everything here seemed to creak, the place was a wreck and she couldn't wait 'till she was old enough and more importantly have enough money to move out but that was unlikely. Amber's life had fallen apart bit by bit since the day she was born. Apparently her mum was put into a permanent coma after a car crash on her way to the hospital. Amber supposedly was a twin but something happened to her sister and that's how she ended up here, in an orphanage that looked like it was going to fall apart the minute another no-hoper walked through it's doors. â€Å"Get up Chloe,† Amber said, Shaking her roommate vigorously in attempt to wake her up. â€Å"I'll get up, just five more minutes,† Chloe murmured sleepily but Amber had to leave in a minute and she knew Chloe would probably never get up so she grabbed the covers and chucked them to the other side of the room. Satisfied, she grabbed her bag and the watch she got two weeks ago from Chloe for her fifteenth birthday and set off for school. Amber managed to squeeze in a few minutes of revision before the test but It wasn't exactly easy getting folders out because the wind had picked up and by the time she'd got to the classroom her usually neat black hair looked like something from ‘Jeepers Creepers.' The test took the best part of two hours – too long, thought Amber. She was relieved when the bell finally run and she practically sprinted out before Seniorita Belanto remembered about the homework due today. â€Å"Amber!† She nearly had a heart attack when the powerful voice of her manly P.E. teacher, Mrs Stevenson came booming at her. â€Å"Yes, Mr†¦I mean, Mrs Stevenson?† Amber said cheekily, wondering why the sudden need for her P.E. teacher to come rushing after her like an overweight lion. â€Å"Some guy passed a note onto me to give to you,† She grunted. She threw the piece of paper but Amber missed it and she had to crawl about the floor dodging numerous people who thought walking backwards as fun as walking normally. â€Å"Gotcha!† Amber shouted a little too loudly as everyone in the corridor stared at her on her hands and knees. She opened the piece of paper and read: Thanks a bunch for your help. I owe you one, Jay Connors â€Å"What the†¦?† She said. She looked around for Mrs Stevenson but she'd already been absorbed by the crowd. There must've been a mistake, she hadn't helped someone, had she? After school she decided to walk home and on the way she asked a few people from school if they knew who Jay Connors was. â€Å"Who?† Most of them said, but she hit the bonus when she asked the new kid in her Maths class. â€Å"You didn't think to ask me first, did you?† He replied, grinning. Amber looked puzzlingly at him but then he explained. â€Å"I'm Matthew Connors, Jay's brother,† he grinned. Amber realised then that she'd been stupid; who better to ask than the only person in school with the same surname as the mysterious Jay? â€Å"If your looking for Jay he'll be indoors by now.† He pressed the traffic lights button and the green man showed a few seconds later. Amber stood were she had been for the past few minutes looking like an idiot. What now? Did he expect her to follow him? Matthew looked back, â€Å"Come on then, what you waiting for?† Apparently Jay had been in a car crash yesterday and his car was a total wreck so he couldn't go to his work today. Amber was amazed at how he managed to cram every tiny detail into a space of two minutes. By the time they got there Amber seemed to know everything about Jay. They rang the doorbell and Jay answered. â€Å"Hey Matt, Alex! Nice to see you again.† He said â€Å"Alex? I'm not†¦I'm Amber.† This conversation was getting to be one of the most confusing of her life. â€Å"What†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jay began but Matt butted in. â€Å"This is Amber, she's in my class.† Jay looked like someone had just put one of Einstein's maths problems in front of him. Just then someone was walking along the pavement and Jay and Matt both looked stunned. â€Å"Alex†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Amber turned around and couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was like she was looking in the mirror. It was her. Alex turned round and saw Amber, shock exploded on her face. Five minutes later Amber had forgot the shock because after a brief discussion with Alex, hope suddenly came into Amber sight. Was this her twin? Could this be possible? Could her mum be alive? She was, she had to be. â€Å"Alex, dinners out.† a figure emerged from a house but at the same time Amber heard a rumble and a huge shadow cast over her, all of the hope that had build up inside her was shattered as flight 755 rapidly lost altitude. In a split-second the world had turned black and she only caught one glimpse of her mother's face. That was the first and last time she ever saw it.

Options And Corporate Finance Essay

In a perfect world, the stock price will drop by the amount of the â€Å"special one- time† dividend on the ex-dividend date. If we ignore taxes as we do in this mini- case the wealth of the shareholders doesn’t change if the company pays a special one-time dividend or not because it is reflected in the stock price. As we also saw in class that a dividend policy for a company is irrelevant since investors can convert share to cash or create their own homemade dividends payments if they prefer an income stream. In essence, paying the dividend is transferring money from the company to the shareholders but net the wealth of the shareholder stay the same due to a similar drop in the share price, but the value of the company will decrease. 2. The proposal of Jessica could go both ways, it could increase the value of the company or decrease the value, for the simple reason that we don’t have any information about leverage, the amount of debt, capital structure etc. If the company is overleveraged that will result in extra costs of financial distress, which consist of direct, indirect and agency costs. An overleveraged company goes past the optimal point and will decrease in value as you can see from the red line. If this is the case then it would be a good idea to reduce the amount of debt which results in a reduction of costs related to financial distress and invest the money in new facilities to increase the overall value of the company. If the company didn’t reach it equilibrium point than it would be a bad idea to reduce the amount of debt because it will decrease the value of the company due to the tax advantages (tax shield), so it would be better to keep the amount of debt to and maybe even increase the debt to reach the maximum company value. This are two options which can increase or decrease the value of the company. Another point could be that we don’t know about future prospect of the current technology and if there is enough demand, and if they now use their full production capacity. If not the case then it would be a bad idea to upgrade and expand, but it would be better to invest in research for new technology. 3. Nolan is correct in the sense that all three indicators will increase due to share repurchase. It will increase the P/E ratio because there are less shares available and it will reduce the denominator of both ROA and ROE which will result in an increase in both ratios. However, a share repurchase will not have any effect on the value of the company for the reasons we discussed in question 1, which is that the dividend policy is irrelevant to the value of the company and it won’t have any effect on the wealth of shareholders. 4. When a company starts with a dividend policy it gives a signal to the shareholders/investors that they are committed to distribute part of their income to their shareholders. If they would start with regular dividend payments they should be sure that they are able to continue that forever, because a reduction in dividend or if they stop paying dividend at all at a later stage will send a negative signal to the market and shareholders/investors. So, they need to make sure that they have enough cash to keep the dividend policy going. To come back to the question, I would evaluate it regarding the company’s ability to pay the dividend for an infinite time period and I they will have enough cash in the future or generate enough cash in the future to pay the dividends. 5. If the company wants to expand (and it is able to do so) the trade-off is lower dividends to their shareholders than when they are a mature company who has no growth potential than they would pay dividend. The implications of the formula are that the company should make a trade-off/decision between company growth or pay the dividend to its shareholders. To please its shareholders and to maximize the company’s value, the company should deliver the required rate of return which is wanted by the shareholders or deliver a higher return to make the shareholders happy. If the company can have a higher rate of return than wanted by the shareholders it should retain earnings to invest in the growth to increase the rate of return, when this is not possible it should pay the shareholders their dividend to give them their required rate of return. But if the company retain its earnings when the rate of return is lower than wanted by the shareholders it lowers the company’s value .

Developing a marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Developing a marketing plan - Assignment Example Sony’s products are advertised through the world by sales companies and unaffiliated suppliers as well as direct trades via the Internet. Sony is also involved in advertising agency business and network services business in Japan among so many other activities. This paper seeks to establish Sony’s current industrial status in the market share and unearth the company’s secrets of success. Principally, the sole intention of this treatise is to bring into focus the Marketing Plan for Sony Corporation (Fujiwara, 2006). With many main products reputable and substantial market share, one can note that it is improbable for new competitors to overcome product identities that are conventional to maintain consumer trustworthiness. The copyrights that are possessed by Sony are a resilient obstacle since competitors find it costly to enter the same industry of production due to placement of patents and licenses and raised prices for the product. Sony Corporation, for a long time, has been, and still is, dominant in the electronic business. With its capacity to deliver durable and high-end products, Sony has built long-lasting relationships with their dealers. Their high business uniqueness and a worldwide network of business entities has enabled them establish a bargaining power of the suppliers and dealers like no other company. Because of this, dealers have found it hard to bargain down prices due to their loyalty, and high quality products produced by Sony. The introduction of the new Sony LED TV and the quality that comes in this product, is an example as to why dealers have lowered their bargaining power thus increasing level of Industry profits. The bargaining power of retailers and suppliers will depend mostly on the bargain power of end-users. This chain is what makes this phenomena a threat and may force a company to lower its prices that might lead to

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) Term Paper

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) - Term Paper Example This exchange occurs across all technologies as well as software, including the internet. As an XML-based framework, XBRL provides a method based on standards that can be used by the financial community in the preparation of financial statements in various formats. Extensible Business Reporting Language does not aim at establishing new standards in accounting. Rather, the main aim encompasses the enhancement of the already existing standards through the use of XML (digital language in business). XBRL can also be regarded as a computer programming add-on, which tags each segment that makes up the computer business information using an identification marker or code (Eccles & Krzus 67-90). Origins The origins of this specification can be traced back to calls on â€Å"a quantum leap over existing technologies† by reporting language SEC chairman, Christopher Cox, conceived by Charlie Hoffman, a rebel accountant. As a Certified Public Accountant with a passion for technology, Hoffma n read a book in 1997 about XML. He noted that other industries widely applied the use of this technology in the conduct of their business. As such, he decided to discover how this technology could be implemented for financial statements. In April, the same year, he began to develop prototypes of financial statements, as well as audit schedules with the use of XML (Eccles & Krzus 67-90).... History After the realization about the potential of using XML in financial reporting, Hoffman took the initiative to inform Wayne Harding, the AICPA High Tech Task Force Chairman. He asked Charlie to inform the task force about the potential of XML in September of 1998. The High Tech Task Force on AICPA came up with a product description, which proposed the creation of a set of financial statements through the use of XML. Karen Waller, a Certified Public Accountant and an AICPA member of staff helped in the perfection of the product description. On the 2nd October, 1998 the results of the High Tech Task Force were presented to the committee of AICPA in charge of Committee organization by Wayne Harding (Eccles & Krzus 67-90). Following the presentation, the AICPA declared its determination to fund the project, which would see the use of XML to create a set of financial statements. The prototype developed by Mark Jewett and Charlie Hoffman came to completion on December 31, 1998. Jeff rey Ricker of XML Solutions contributed significantly to the initial prototype. 50% of the development cost incurred in this initial prototype came from Knight, Vale and Gregory CPA firm. On the 5th of January 1999, this initial prototype was presented to the AICPA (Eccles & Krzus 67-90). Charlie Hoffman and Wayne Harding urged the AICPA to adopt it since XML proved essential to the profession of accounting. The AICPA requested the preparation of a business plan that could look into the base in regard to XML, particularly financial statements based on XML. This saw the code naming of the project as XFRML and the completion of the business plan took place on the 15th of June 1999. Those behind the creation of this

Why was American management criticised so much in the 1980s, so widely Essay

Why was American management criticised so much in the 1980s, so widely admired in the 1990s, and now so despised again - Essay Example Britain ruled the world for a longer period and even America was a British colony once. However, Britain failed to sustain their supremacy whereas America emerged as a superpower. America succeeded in emerging as the sole superpower in the world, after the destruction of former Soviet Union. Industrial revolution and enormous technological development helped America to maintain their top spot intact among the global economies. However, American style of management faced mixed response from international community over the last few centuries. Politics, religion, scientific development etc succeeded in making immense changes in American style of management periodically. America is a democratic country for a longer period. â€Å"Until World War 1, the influence of religion on American business was far reaching. Yet religion failed to provide organizational ideas for human relations† (Guillen, 1994, p.30). ... Business owners thought that the managers will handle everything properly and they can take a break from the business. The above assumption proved to be wrong as the managerial executives tried to exploit their increased power in inadequate manner. Mismanagement stories were started to come out in large numbers from prominent organizations in the 80’s as a result of managerial capitalism. According to Heskett (2007) â€Å"Companies taken over by private equity groups or managerial executives have been stripped of their assets †¦ and hold unsustainable debt burdens†(Heskett, 2007). Managers enjoyed or claimed the majority corporate success than the original owners or the workers. They spread the rumours that American companies are growing not because of the efficiency of their workers or the capabilities of the owners, but because of the capabilities of the efficient management force. Thus managerial executives in the 2980’s became dictators in the corporate sector as a result of the managerial capitalism. There was also a very serious banking crisis in the 1980s – what became known as the ‘savings and loan’ scandals, when many of the thousands of small banking operations around the States became insolvent. Banks became ‘hemmed in by government restrictions. Moreover, banks watched helplessly as much of their business disappeared into the capital markets (Chapter three – The USA: the world’s foremost economic, political, and military power, n. d., p.20) Another major criticism for American management in 1980’s was the banking crisis. American government started impose strong restrictions upon banking exercises. The interest rates in America increased sharply in the late 1970s as a result of inflation. Between 1976 and 1980, interest rates

Analysis of Protecting the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Protecting the Environment - Essay Example   Protecting the environment is crucial to healthy living in the society and since humanity is the principal user of nature, it is vitally important to ensure our environment is protected well enough, to conserve our natural resources, and to control various hazards that may have adverse impacts on all living things. The conservation of our natural resources and curtailing of environmental degradation is crucially important to promote a healthy lifestyle for people in any society. This research paper attempts to discuss the importance of environmental conservation, cleanliness of habitats, and protection against environmentally caused diseases, creating awareness about the environment and methods used to safeguard against environmental degradation. ... In this review, we would be discussing the following salient features to ensure a better understanding towards protecting our environment. Problems of Air Pollution – Air pollution has always been a hazard where health is concerned because it has a great impact on all living things. (NRDC, Natural Resources Defence Council) Bernstein J.A. (2004) in his journal on ‘Health Effects of Air Pollution’ sheds light on the subject, defining air pollution to be ‘the emission of particulate toxic elements into the atmosphere by natural anthropogenic sources.’ (Zell, et al., 2010.) According to the author, pollution density is characterized by the escalating amounts of emission pollutants through sources which are man-made. These pollutant emissions come from motorized traffic, factories and from the burning of fuels. The WHO gives us the top ten causes of death by air pollution in their Fact Sheet No. 310 discussing the impact of air pollution on human health a nd the environment. (WHO, Fact Sheet, The Top 10 Causes of Death.) a) Problems of Water Pollution Water pollution is a human problem and one that needs to be streamlined. In his article on water pollution, Chris Woodford highlights the fact that water pollution has become worse, ever since the Industrial Revolution and this has impacted upon the water resources on our planet. (Chris Woodford, 2013.) In his article, he discusses the various types of water pollution and its harmful effects on all living things because of the harmful substances present in it. Woodford (2013) also states that it is vital to know if a source of water is polluted or not and this can be carried out through chemical and biological  indicators. (Chris Woodford, 2013) The other topics to be discussed in water pollution would be – a) Harmful substances that contaminate water, b) Cleanliness and Hygiene of our surroundings, c) Waste disposal and d) Planting of trees.

The relationship between changing of labor force(total labor number ) Research Paper - 2

The relationship between changing of labor force(total labor number ) and Unemployment rate - Research Paper Example The drop was sharp in 2002 heightened by the global financial crisis where most firms were laid off their staff. However, the situation was later on put under control (STOICA, pp.3-7). Additionally, the study that was carried out in the same locality indicated that a decline in the population caused the number of employable persons to fall. It was that the number decreased by more than 13900 people. There were low rates of migration into the locality, low birth rates, high mortality rates and a great number of the aging population. The factors caused the total number of labor to decrease sharply (STOICA, pp.3-7). However, the trend was slightly different in other localities where there was an increase in the labor force due to a population increase. More so, most of the people chose to reside in urban settlements where employment opportunities were more available than rural areas. Additionally, the demographic indicators within the area indicated population increase was as a result of increase birth rates, low mortality rates, increased population due rural to urban migration (STOICA, pp.4-5). Shierholz, (paras.1-3)came up with a report that indicated there was a decrease in labor force participation between 2008 to 2012.The decline was about 2.5% from the previous years where the participation was 66.2%.Due to the decline, the rate of unemployment reduced significantly. A decrease in labor participation was caused by unwillingness by most of the people to seek for employment opportunities because of low wages that were being offered in the job market. However, he indicated that if industries provided lucrative job opportunities, there was a possibility for the market to be by prospect job seekers hence raising the rate of unemployment in an economy. Plumer, (2013) showed that the labor force in the US was sharply weakening. According to his publication, about 66% of Americans had managed to secure a job vacancy or were still in the

Psychiatry, self harm risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychiatry, self harm risk - Essay Example ose to slit their wrists or do something similar to ease their pain or even to feel alive by sensing the pain, or they choose to ultimate and fatal option- to commit suicide. One of so many examples of self harm people cause to themselves is of a 26 year old person, Mr. A, who has Downs syndrome and whose functioning indicated intelligence in the range of mild retardation. He lived with a supportive family and attended a vocational program. He had not history of smoking, nor did he receive any unusual medications. Similarly, he hasnt been through any unusual medical procedures or any surgeries, and his medical history was very ordinary. In the early stages of his adolescence, he approached non-disabled young women for dates and was continually rejected. In response, he made suicidal statements and gestures, one of which was to burn himself with a cigarette lighter he took from his mother without her knowledge. At the age of 26, after being rejected once again, he jumped from a second story window, but wasnt injured badly. His family reported that he had been agitated and having troubles to sleep in the months previous to the incident, and staff at the vo cational program reported agitation and unproductiveness at work. He was sent to a psychological evaluation. In his apperception test, he described feelings of sadness, tiredness, frustration and hopelessness, with thoughts of suicide. He was referred to psychiatric evaluation, and started psychotherapy sessions, in which he articulated his belief that he wouldnt be able to have a relationship with a woman of his choice due to his having Downs syndrome. He enrolled in social programs for people with mental retardation and hasnt made anymore suicide attempts since. 1 Ive seen him about four months ago, in December 24th at a vocational program to which he still goes. Hes been going to it for nearly a decade now, and reports that hes very happy with it since it gives him tools on how to handle his life and function

Financial statements ratio analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial statements ratio analysis - Essay Example The company has a relatively high turnover of more than one. A ratio of more than one means the net sales are more than the total fixed assets. This means that one dollar of fixed asset invested generates more than on dollar of sales. However, this ability decreased across the period. Current ratio highlights the capability of a company to meet its current obligations as they become due. A ratio of less than one as in the case of the company implies that the company has more obligations than the assets hence cannot meet them. In 2013 the ability increased but still does not satisfy all the obligations. Debt to total assets ratio shows the portion of the company’s financing provided by the creditors that is it measures a company’s financial leverage. From the calculation above the company has more assets than liabilities hence it is less risky since it has a ratio of close to 0.5 implying that it has liabilities of close to 50% of its total assets. Across the period the percentage increased from 56% to 63% meaning it increased its liabilities. Return on equity illustrates the company’s ability to generate profit or return from its shareholders’ investments. It therefore shows how efficient a company uses the shareholder money. From the ratio above the company is a bit efficient in using the shareholders’ money but the efficiency decreased in 2013 from 36% to 28%. With regards to the profit margin, the company’s ability to convert sales into profit is lower than that of the industry. Accounts receivable turnover shows that the number of times a company collects its receivables is lower than that of the company. Further, its fixed asset turnover is also lower than that of the industry implying that it uses its fixed assets less effectively. The company also has a lower current ratio than the industry thus it has more liabilities in relation to its assets than the

Clara Schumann Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Clara Schumann - Essay Example In fact she has made a unique world of music which was unknown to the public till that time. The contributions of Clara Schumann to the world of music remain unique, especially when we consider the fact that most of the ancient musicians were from the dominant male community and females had many restrictions in the society during her life period. â€Å"In an era when women, apart from singers, almost never performed in public or composed, Clara Schumann did both† (Clara Schumann (1819-1896)). This paper analyses the life and contributions of Clara Schumann and answer the question "Why did Clara Schumann have great success during a time when women had many restrictions in society?" As in the cases of other regions and countries, the conditions of German women in the nineteenth century were not so encouraging. German women forced to work hard for finding livelihood, especially poor women. German women forced to work in domestic services and in shops during this period and it was difficult for them to concentrate on recreational areas like music because of the over burden of looking after their family and the male dominance in the society. Historically, German women faced severe discrimination in the society mainly because of the Christian prejudice against women. They were excluded even from church participation in till the beginning of the nineteenth century.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"As late as 1700, women were not allowed to sing in churches.  In the Middle Ages, women were still subordinate to men. They could not be active in the political life of the society† (Gordeeva). However, Clara Schumann’s father was a brave person who had liberal views about social life. He never believed in traditions and customs even though he studied theology. He was a musician by profession and did everything needed to encourage his daughter Clara to learn music. However, Clara’s father was cruel at times which forced her to concentrate fully on her profession and l earn more and more topics in piano playing. Clara slowly gained popularity and started to mesmerize the audience with her immense talents on Piano. She was able to play piano from her memory which was a rare sight during that period. In 1830’s, she met several famous musicians of that time, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann. The meeting with Robert Schumann made lot of changes in her life. â€Å"By 1836, Clara had become completely infatuated with Robert Schumann and her father’s concern over the suitability of the match was apparent†Ã‚  (Clara Schumann (1819-1896)). But her father was against this relationship. Robert Schumann was comparatively an unknown composer while Clara was already a famous and accomplished performer. â€Å"On March 15, 1838, at the age of 18, she received the greatest honor Austria could bestow: She was named Royal and Imperial Chamber Virtuosa, even though she was a protestant, foreigner and a femaleâ €  (Reich, p.3). In other words, Clara’s popularity and fame was not limited to the boundaries of Germany alone. She became world famous even at the age of 18 which forced her father to try and break her love affair with Robert Schumann. Clara’s father tried to prevent Clara from meeting Schumann, but they strengthened their love affair through secret romantic letters. German laws during that period prevented a woman from marrying without her father’s consent. The battle between Clara’

Rhetorical Analysis compare Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis compare Essay This is a rhetorical essay comparing, Looking At Women, written by Scott Russell Sanders; and What Is A Homosexual?, Written by Andrew Sullivan. These two essays describe in detail how children are growing up and knowing at an early age that they are either heterosexual or homosexual. When comparing these two essays both boys are going through puberty, watching their body change and develop. Mr. Sanders essay is about boys learning when they are attracted to girls, usually its around the time they are going through puberty; while Mr. Sullivan essay is about when boys learn that they are attracted to boys. This also was when the boy went through puberty. Looking At Women is about when a boy realizes his body and mind are changing towards girls, and realizes his attraction toward girls. When you can look at a girl, and realize it is the opposite sex. Mr. Sanders talks about how should the male figure look at the female when they display their body with little to no clothing. He goes on to explain that its natural for us to look at the opposite sex. We as humans are curious in the opposite sex, so our eyes naturally wander and look. Upon reading these essays I realized we all go through puberty and that is basically when we find ourselves. Our wants and desires for either the same or the opposite sex. Having said that, what if you were not attracted to the opposite sex, but were attracted to the same sex. What Is A Homosexual is a persuasive essay about gay adolescents realizing they are attracted to the same sex at an early age. Mr. Sullivan realizes his attraction to the same sex after he went through puberty as the boy in Mr. Sanders essay noticing his attractions to girls. Both boys have to control their desires to look at either the opposite sex or the same sex. I realized that both boys are going through similar situations under different circumstances. While the  homosexual cant not be caught looking at another male while dressing in the locker room. But, the heterosexual can look at the opposite sex and want be picked on. In todays society the clothes for girls has changed sense I was a preteen and going through puberty. The preteens now wear little clothing as possible to show off their developing figure into a woman. This will attract the eyes of the young male thats also going through puberty, and doesnt want to be caught staring at the developing young female. This is also similar to the young boy that is having homosexual thoughts in the locker room. He has to control his action of staring at his same sex friend that has change over the summer from puberty. Both the boys are going through similar situations, one is with the same sex while the other is the opposite sex, finding sexual attraction and the urge to look and their desires for the other person. While Looking At Women and What Is A Homosexual seem very different, they are quite similar. The boys are going through the same body changes and realizing the attraction to either girls or guys. The boys are sorting out their desires on how to look at the other person weather its the opposite sex or the same. Interesting enough the boys learn to control their wandering eyes, and when its appropriate to look at either gender.

The Principles Of Personalisation Processes

The Principles Of Personalisation Processes Personalisation is considered as a process that involves the usage of technology to accommodate the differences between the individuals. It is becoming an increasingly popular area within health and education sectors (Department of Health, 2008). When discussed in terms of Health care, Personalisation involves thinking in relation to care and support services in a completely different way, building care provisions around the person in a way as an individual with preferences, strengths and aspirations and combining them towards the center of the process of recognizing their needs and making choices about their living (Department of Health, 2008). It demands a significant transformation of social care so that all the processes, systems, staff and services are combined to put the people first. In addition, personalisation is indicated as offering people with much more choice and control over their lives within all social care settings. However, it is much of a wider concept than simply providing personal budgets to the people who are eligible for council funding. It also involves ensuring access to the universally determined services (transport, leisure, education, housing, health) and employment opportunities regardless of their age and disability characteristics (Department of Health, 2008). In a very short span of time, the personalisation concept has occupied its central place within the field of social work and adult care discourses in United Kingdom (Department of Health, 2008). A study involving a consultation process was carried out by Department of Health (2006), it was observed that people showed much interest in accessing personalised approach and they demanded for its need and they expected it to be made available to them easily and quickly. In order to make better provisions relative to personalisation, various people who participated in this consultation process questioned their need about the availability of social care providers and their services (Department of Health, 2006). But in order to make it possible, the health care sector needs a clear vision with a direction to make personalisation a strategic shift towards the initial prevention and interventions of dreadful diseases (Department of Health, 2008). However, this seems to be a challenging agenda that cannot be possible by social work alone and it requires effective working away from the boundaries pertaining to social care like housing, benefits, leisure, health and transport. On the othe r hand, demographic variations show a significant impact upon the number of people who care and support the family members and this in turn influence the available care provisions (Department of Health, 2010). Although personalisation is the corner stone of public service modernisation, in terms of social care it can be meant that everyone who is receiving care (regardless of their need level, statutory services) should possess an equal choice and control over the way through which the support is delivered. Social care providers (involved in carrying out social work) will be potentially able to direct the use of resources, building on the technological support, family and the wider community in order to enable them in enjoying their role as citizens in their communities (Department of Health, 2008). The document released by the Department of Health in 2010 on Putting People First offers a clear insight regarding personalisation along with the potential ways of its development when investments were made within the following aspects of support (in relation to the individual carers): Universal Services: support that can be made available to everyone in the community in addition to transport, leisure, education, information and advice (Department of Health 2010). Early interventions and preventions: helping people to live independently as long as possible and designing future cost efficiency systems. Choice and control: helping people in understanding about the way of spending in relation to care and support and thus allowing them to choose in accordance to their needs. Social capital: creating supportive communities that enable in determining the value of each and every contribution made by the citizens (Department of Health 2010). Personalisation by Effective Participation Personalisation through effective participation helps us in creating a better connection between the individuals and the group in a way by allowing users a direct, informed and creative rewriting in the script through which the service used can be designed, planned and evaluated (Houston 2010). This approach involves the following steps: Expanded Choice: enables users in providing a greater choice over the various ways of mix through which the needs might be met and to combine the possible solutions around the user instead of limiting the provisions in relation to any institution in question like hospital, social service department to which the user seems to be much closer (Leadbeater, 2004; Lymbery 2010). Intimate consultation: Here professionals work in an intimate relationship with the clients to help in opening up their needs, aspirations and preferences through an extended dialogue system (Houston 2010). Enhanced voice: This is very difficult to follow through a white paper agenda and it involves the use of expanded choice in opening up the users voice. Making comparisons through the various possible alternatives can help in articulating the preferences. Provision of Partnership: Generally, it can be possible to combine the solutions which are personalised to the individual if the services work in partnership. In instance, any organization a secondary school can form a gateway for the learning services provided not only by the school but also to various other companies, colleges and distance learning programs (Houston 2010). Advocacy: In this section, the professionals act as advocates to the users and help them to move their way through the system. This process can enable the clients in attaining a continual relationship with the professionals (Houston 2010). Co-Production: Professionals who were found to be involved in shaping the service were expected to be more active and responsible in offering their help in relation to the service delivery. However, Personalisation aids in involving service users, creating more efficient, and responsible package of care services. Funding: Within this, authorities need to follow the options or the choices made by the users and in certain cases-offering direct payments to the physically disabled people to assemble and obtain their own care packages. Funds should be left with the users for purchasing any good or commodity and this should be done with the advice of the professionals (Houston 2010). Role of Personalisation When considering the role of personalisation as an organizing principle with relation to the public service reforms, certain comparative studies need to be definitely performed with a broader emphasis on contracted services. Nevertheless, other public services do exist where in which personalisation fail in making a sensible approach (Duffy 2005). This can be exemplified by: Someone who is entering in to an accident or emergency service department do not need a dialogue but instead he needs a quick and competent action (Leadbeater, 2004; Lymbery 2010). Although in a public sector, defense is another area where in which personalisation principles cannot be applied and the people play a pivotal role in fighting against terrorism. Thus it can be understood that, personalisation can be used only in certain public services which can be of face-face (like education, social services and non-emergency health care departments), those depending to establish a long term relationships (disease management) and the services involving a direct engagement between users and professionals through which the users can play a significant role in shaping the service (Leadbeater, 2004; Lymbery 2010). Personalization- A Reality in 21st century Making personalisation, a reality for the 21st century definitely requires huge cultural and transactional transformations within all the parts of the system (not only in social care but also in public sector, whole local government). Over the past ten years, direct payment option helped some people by providing an ability to design the services they need, but the potential impact was found to be very less. But in the recent years, figures indicated that about 54,000 people out of a million received help through direct payment (Department of Health 2010). Since personalisation describes the change within the whole system it needs the presence of strong leadership to communicate and convey its potential vision and values. To achieve a significant shift towards its cultural side and to construct a delivery model (Department of Health 2008), it demands all the stake holders to work in partnership with others. Nevertheless, in future social care system allows individuals in undertaking their own choices with an appropriate support at the level they needed. It should be understood that personalisation need to be delivered in a cost effective manner. In addition, it must be recognized that personalisation with its early intervention and efficiency are not contrary and need to be strongly aligned in future to obtain better results (Department of Health 2010). Personalisation in relation to the Mental Health Residential Care Homes Personalisation in relation to the mental health can be defined as understanding and meeting the needs of the individuals in various ways that can seem to work best for them (Carr, 2009). Principles of personalisation can be applied in early interventions, prevention and other self directed approaches where in which the users are involved in maintaining and managing their own social support services (Lymbery 2004). However, it accommodates mental health promotion and its maintenance with a wider choice and control and thereby contributing to the improvement in well-being and quality of life. The above mentioned principles pertaining to personalisation can be applied in Mental Health Residencies to direct payments and other internal budgets (Mc Donald, Postle, Dawson, 2008). Direct payments: are in general, cash payments that are paid to the individual during which they can design and control the tailored support in order to meet the social care needs. Funding for this direct payments arrive from the respective local authorities (Fernandez et al., 2007). Though these were available from 1996, they are now-a-days considered to be as the only option for the people who are provided with the personal budget. Statistics indicate that direct payments users were found to be increased at a steady rate ranging from 50 in 2001 to 3373 in 2008 (Care Service improvement partnership, 2008). From the year of 2007 and 2008, the percentage of people using this option in order to meet their mental needs increased by 62% which was found to be one of the largest among all the care groups (Carmichael, Brown 2002; Ridley, Jones 2002; Spandler, 2004; Spandler, Vick 2004; Cestari et al, 2006; Taylor, 2008). But, when compared with the other impairment groups, the percentage of direct payment users in mental health is relatively low as a result of poor level of mental capacity, lack of awareness and non proactive attitude of managers towards the implementation of direct payment. This has been evidently noticed in my placement setting. Research studies indicate that, when offered with sufficient support people with the mental health condition will start to use direct payment option effectively and imaginatively (Carmichael, Brown 2002; Ridley, Jones 2002; Spandler, 2004; Spandler, Vick 2004; Cestari et al, 2006; Taylor, 2008). In a National Pilot Study of direct payments in mental health (2001 to 2003), around more than half of the people used a personal assistant in obtaining social, personal and mental support and they assisted the impaired ones in carrying out their daily activities and helping them in accessing community and leisure facilities (Spander, Vick 2004; 2006). Many barriers do exist for these direct payments in all the impairment groups and out of which many of them also apply within the mental field. They include lack of awareness, risk aversion and protectionism (Pearson, 2004; Fernandez et al, 2007; Hasler, Stewart 2004; Spandler, Vick 2005), potential difficulties in undertaking decisions pertaining to social care needs and other eligibility issues for the people whose condition changes within less time (Carmichael, Brown 2002; Ridley, Jones 2002; Spandler, 2004; Spandler, Vick 2004; Cestari et al, 2006; Taylor, 2008). Personal Budgets: The cornerstone of the Governments approach in creating transformations within social care especially mental health residential home care and relative support through personalisation is the allocation of Personal Budget (PB). My placement setting is a mental health residential home accommodating people with enduring mental health problems. I think individuals should be supported and assessed in conjunction with other agencies in order to meet users own needs, and by doing so a care provider can ultimately determine whether they are eligible for providing any social care funding. If individuals were found to be eligible, care providers can explain the amount of money they expected to receive in order to meet the needs (Department of Health 2006; Duffy, 2007). Individual Budgets: On the other hand, individual budgets are quite similar to the Personal Budgets and these incorporate various other funding schemes along with social care funding (Glendinning et al., 2008). The funding schemes include: access to work, supporting people, living independently, disabled facilities and grants as well as integrated community equipment services. A National Pilot Study on Individual Budgets took place in the year of 2007- 2008, it was observed that around 14% of the people were found to be with mental health condition (Glendinning et al., 2008). The pilot study concluded that people who receive individual budgets experienced much higher levels of independence and were more likely to commission their valuable support from the main stream community services instead of specialist ones (Bamber, Flanagan 2008). This application offered a better mental health support need along with the flexibility in comparison to other conventional services or direct paymen ts (Glendining et al., 2008; Manthrope et al., 2008). Many barriers were observed with Personal and Individual budgets in relation to the mental health field. The difference between the funding in relation to health and social care can also form a major barrier to the developing individual budgets in mental health (Glendinning et al., 2008). In addition, the following points need to be implemented within Residential care Homes in offering a personalised approach: Person and relationship centered care and support at the heart of the service offered. As the care home setting is considered to be as a community, the residents or the staff actively searches the various available opportunities to develop an effective relationship (Carey 2003; Bradley 2005). The managers working in care homes need to be sure that the existing services respond to the needs and should look for the opportunities to diversify the offered services. Staff should ensure that people has a live and breathe culture which is actively involved in promoting personalised services in a way by offering maximum choice and control for the people who are living in care homes (Cestari et al., 2006). Residents need to possess the accessibility to all the information and advices as they need to make certain informed decisions including those pertaining to advocacy matters (Cestari et al., 2006).Team work and effective communication is needed with the people in care homes. Staff development programs and the quality assurance systems must be introduced as they are considered to be crucial in offering a positive outcome. Care home managers should be nicely placed in order to understand the potential needs of the local communities. Effective leadership work should be carried out in a collaborative manner with the people who are using these services along with their families and carers involved in design and delivery of services (Spandler 2004). Assessing self directed approaches along with allocation of budgets (Cestari et al., 2006). If a disabled person lacks capacity in choosing a direct payment or any other option, the local authorities must help them in undertaking a best interested solution and decisions (Ridley, Jones 2002). Conclusion The applications of principles of personalisation with the mental care residential homes share a lot of core values (Carmichael, Brown 2002; Ridley, Jones 2002; Spandler, 2004; Spandler, Vick 2004; Cestari et al, 2006; Taylor, 2008) The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) laid down in 2005 supports the practices and principles of personalisation by empowering many people in undertaking their own decisions. It also helps the mentally disabled people in taking their own decisions as much as possible (Spandler, Vick 2004). But in principle, this may not seem to be possible as the people lack mental ability and the individuals need play a very big role in decision making processes that can only directly detect them. The first research study underpinning this approach was carried out by Norah Fry Research Centre at the Bristol University in 2008-2009 (Philips, Waterson 2002). The study suggested that people experiencing mental health problems and distress need to possess a better choice and control over their care (Carey 2003; Bradley 2005). The Personalisation Agenda in United Kingdom has more to offer in the field of mental health as it challenges the way through which health condition is perceived (Payne 2000). To implement the principles, the country need to support a social model in understanding the mental health condition and must recognize the important social factors that play a key role in contributing to that condition (Beresford, Wallcraft, 1997; Brewis, 2007). Thus effective and proactive leadership from the managers in senior position along with the direct payment support agencies could help in creating awareness within the general public and thereby aid in developing expertise (Newbigging, Lowe 2005). Therefore, in the context of mental health, it can be understood that a move towards the direction of personalisation indicates a move towards a feeling of independent living philosophy (Vick, Spandler 2006). Various projects need to be developed to support that move and various practical tools must be designed to effectively meet the challenges associated to the mental health field. In particular we need to aim in developing strategies that encourage champions amongst various other service users, forums for discussions and networking in a way that progress can be made in overcoming the challenges to personalisation in mental health field. In addition issues of negligence pertaining to poverty and inequality, its weak conception regarding i ndividuals utilizing social care work services, its view on welfare dependency and its potential for promotion as an alternative of challenging the depersonalisation in relation to social work, need to be tackled effectively in order to meet its future aims and objectives.

The History Of The Business Zara Commerce Essay

The History Of The Business Zara Commerce Essay The company selected for this assignment is Zara. A very brief history of Zara will be given. Then description of the companys operations and its advantages and shortcoming will be discussed. Then suggestions for innovation in its current information technology and operations will be given along with cost and risk analysis and possible ways to reduce the risks, followed by final conclusion. History: Zara is the most successful brand of Spanish company Grupo Inditex. Its owner, Amancio Ortega, opened first retail store in 1975 in La Coruna, a small port in Spain. Zara became the worlds largest fashion retailer by 2008 end. By this time it had stores in over 70 countries, out performing its rivals like Gap of USA and Sweden based HM (Hennes Maurits) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/12/retail.spain). Zaras Innovative Operations: Daniel Piette, director of fashion, LVMH described Zara as possibly the most devastating and innovating retailer in the world http://tbmdb.blogspot.com/2009/12/business-model-example-zara-devastating.html, owing to the companys innovative and unique approach in fashion retail: Zara has a vertically integrated supply chain, controlling most of the design phase, production phase and distribution system, down to its chain of retail outlets around the world. Some part of the manufacturing process is handled by Zaras sister concerns with nearby locations. Unlike its competitors Zara does not outsource its production to Asian developing countries. Proximity of production and distribution units provides more flexibility so that the company can meet the ever-changing demands of the consumers more efficiently than its competitors. Zara has integrated the system of POS (Point Of Sales) that helps in monitoring what designs are bringing in maximum sales at the retail shops. Store managers are allowed freedom to decide which designs to display and which ones to return, depending on the sales of those designs. Store employees gather feedbacks from the customers and convey the information to headquarters via PDAs. Design teams immediately respond to these feedbacks and begin designing new clothes accordingly. The clothes are manufactured and distributed to the retail stores within a short period of 2 to 4 weeks owing to the vertical integration of its supply chain. While its rivals are busy finding what the latest trends might be and eventually delivering new designs in 4 to 9 months, Zara manages to design, manufacture and distribute new designs in just 30 days. Zara only produces small quantities of each style so that there is continuous demand of popular designs, cutting down on manufacturing costs as well. Thus Zara delivers around 12000 different styles in a year whereas its competitors can produce only 4000-5000 per year. Hence, the company-coined phrase, fast fashion http://www.3isite.com/articles/ImagesFashion_Zara_Part_I.pdf Current Technology in Information Communication Zara spends only 0.5% of its revenue on information technology compared to expenditure of 2% by its competitors. An order form is transmitted to each managers PDA asking for information such as availability of garments and patterns of garment sales. The managers divide this order form into sections that are transmitted to the PDAs of each employee to fill up, based on customers feedback and the kind of designs sold. Employees transmit back their respective completed sections to the managers PDAs. The manager is given total authority to determine which sections are to be retained in the order form. The edited order form is sent back to headquarters where the designing teams start designing according to the requirements. This strategy helps in managing the inventories efficiently and forms a fast link between demand and supply, justifying the doctrine of fast fashion. Summing up Zaras use of technology http://leoborjblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/zara-it-for-fast-fashion/: Gather customer requirements PDAs Logistics and transmission of order form POS terminals and modems. Quickly designing new style CAD (Computer Aided Design) Advantages of such an Innovative System Vertical integration of supply chain and short turn-around time lead to high turnover of product. Quick and efficient distribution helps to eliminate warehouse requirement, saving on additional storage costs. Searching the market for latest fashion trends and responding quickly to the consumer requirements with the help of hand-held PDAs. Complete autonomy and flexibility to the employees and managers who are in direct contact with the customers. POS terminals run on DOS operating system, which is cheap and easy to maintain and operate. Zaras operations are quite innovative and effective, but there is still scope for further improvements in its IT operations and inventory management. Perceived limitations of this System http://www.slideshare.net/koffman/zara-case-study-2780928 Zara has have been using DOS as its main operating system in all the processes. It is an outdated operating system. As the POS vendor supplies DOS OS to zara only, it can always stop its supply, while continue to supply other operating systems to its other customers. Store managers are the decision makers. Zara headquarter relies solely on the experience and intuition of the managers. Instead of looking after customers, managers and employees have the time-consuming task of manually entering the garment details in small PDAs. This could result in the employees failing to assist some customers in choosing and might miss out on few garment sales. Inventory is maintained manually as well. Information transmitted is one way only. Managers have no knowledge of the inventories at headquarters and the stores distribution centre. Consequently managers cannot promise a customer if a particular garment that has been sold out, can be replenished and in how many days. Promises made to customers not kept can damage Zaras reputation, so the managers need to know about the garments inventories at headquarters and the distribution centres. There is a great demand for Zaras garments even though new designs are available twice a week. Zara may consider increase in production to meet these ever growing demands. Gathering of information therefore may need to be upgraded in terms of frequency. Its competitors can change to a better OS or software package and increase their turn around time, neutralizing Zaras edge of fast fashion over them. New IT Technology for Sustainability http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=97642; http://www.slideshare.net/koffman/zara-case-study-2780928 Benefits: New technology may not help Zara in increasing the competitive edge over its competitors but will help in sustaining that edge. A new operating system will help in installing software packages that will help in efficiently maintaining inventory at the stores as well as headquarters and distribution centers. Upgrading to new OS will remove the companys dependency on its current supplier of DOS. Using more than one IT supplier will increase Zaras bargaining power. A Network can be set up between HQ, production centers and retail stores. POS system can be automated so that each sale will automatically update the POS devices. If the POS system of all stores can be interlinked all the store managers can easily know the inventory online and can make and keep their promises to customers demanding a particular garment. POS automation will help reduce overall workload of the employees and managers, as they will not have to manually enter every detail required in the order form. No more large data inputs in small PDAs. Dedicated POS software will ensure that orders will now be made on the basis of theoretical inventories and will be more accurate. Orders can be now placed continually increasing the frequency from twice a week to daily. Ideal software to be used for integration would be ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Linking all the process in the supply chain, from HQ, design centers to retail stores, will not only help the managers in accessing inventories but will also help HQ to regulate the supplies more accurately according to the orders placed. Production will become even leaner than before. ECQ (Economic Order Quantity) can help in determining optimal quantities of different garments that customers can order so that the store has sufficient stock, while cutting down inventory cost. Knowing reorder levels will streamline managing of the inventory and help in maintaining the autonomy of the managers. Managers can determine from the reorder levels whether a particular garment needs to be ordered before it will go out of stock and can transmit the same to the production centers that are now linked to the retail outlets. Of course manual checks will still be needed occasionally to check a stores real time inventory is same as the theoretical inventory in case of exceptions like garments getting stolen or gone missing. Designers at HQ will not depend entirely on the managers intuition and can observe themselves sales of new designs due to two-way system integration by ERP. Just in case a store does run out of stock on a particular garment, the manager can easily check the inventories of local nearby stores for availability and suggest the customer to go there. Inter-store connectivity will have added advantage of shipping garments to another store that has more demand of a particular garment. This will further increase the speed-to-market. Besides HQ even managers of different stores will benefit if they know through network what is selling at other stores and what is not. Cost Analysis: Zara will have to upgrade to better OS that will support ERP like Linux, Unix or Windows NT. Implementation cost of Linux is lowest of the three OS. But recurring costs like service-contract is much higher (McAfee et al) http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=97642. Annual cost of using Unix is the lowest and if functionality remains more or less same, Unix will be best suited. If other costs like plans for systems failure are not taken into consideration then implementation cost will be relatively much lower than prospective ROI (Return On Investment). Risk Analysis: Changing software and operating system in all retail shops world over is not an easy task. Due to location of Zaras retail outlets all over the world, there will be many extra tangible costs. Cost of replacing current POS system with the new one. Cost of installation of new cables in each store and maybe new infrastructure to support the cables. Cost of external IT support, hiring professional consultants. Cost of internal IT management and technical training of personnel. Time period needed to train the personnel till outside assistance is no longer required, cannot be accurately predicted. This is because levels of training and learning will be different at different locations around the world. Knowing other stores inventory may have a drawback. If two stores in the same general area have a demand of same design and employees of one store get to know that only the other store has received the garments due to shortage of supplies, it may lead to a political situation. Risk Reduction: Zara should ensure that managers of different stores, particularly in the same area or district should have good rapport and understanding with each other so that they can ask for and receive garments in the rare but probable case of shortage of supply. Both current and new systems should operate together till the personnel of each store can run the new system smoothly; this will not interrupt any service provided to customers. Zara has a huge pilot outlet that is around 1,500 square meters. Zara can use this as training facility for its personnel from all over the world. Zara can use it to test the new system as well. Zara can hire experienced software professionals and open an in-house department for software management and development. Zara can outsource the management and development to experienced software companies. However Zara will have to trade-off between highly efficient and expensive companies. Zara should form scenarios and identify the possible outcomes. This will provide a deeper understanding of its implementation strategy. Option analysis Zara can consider different options like expand options if the current scenario is favorable or defer options if not favorable. The company can also consider stage options where it can invest in predefined stages of the implementation process. This way it will have the flexibility of abandoning the new project at any stage and reverting to the old DOS system, if any major problem occurs. Implementation staging can be done by first testing the new system at Zara HQ. If successful, further testing can be done in a single district having more than one retail outlet. This process will continue by successively increasing the testing area from one district to number of districts, whole of Spain and finally Europe, if implementation at each stage is successful. Zara should develop a contingency plan and an exit plan as well in case the company cannot continue with the up-gradation, or has to abandon the new system for some reason. Efficient data backup is required in case the new system crashes due to mishandling by inexperienced staff etc. Conclusion By and large, continually increasing the frequency of information within the supply chain will help Zara to meet demand and supply requirements more efficiently and effectively. This efficiency will reflect at the stores and production and distribution centres as well, increasing the speed of delivery and further fulfilling almost every single customers individual tastes and requirements. Consequently it will provide a more firm control over operations and perhaps a more proactive working environment. Assimilating all the data at different stores and supply chain process units, into a single system will facilitate sharing of returns, ordering and sales information. This will result in more accurate stocks measurements and real-time measurements. New innovation in the companys information technology can have some other benefits as well. The ERP system will in a way connect the employees of a store to those at other stores around the world bringing forth a new feeling of integrity. Working on new and advanced applications may well lead to employee satisfaction and a feeling of pride. This can produce a highly motivated and efficient work force. Sustainability is a critical factor in any companys expansion plans, especially in a global company like Zara. Therefore Zara should continually acclimatize its business competencies of product development, promotion, communication and information technology according to its global expansion operations. However it should be noted that Zara has been operating successfully for more than three decades with a decentralized, autonomous (for stores) and informal working culture. Care should be taken in not enforcing too many standardized and regimental tasks. It can easily disrupt the creativity and working relationship of its task force. Innovation and incorporating new technology should not radically change a successful businesss operations, rather it should be used to facilitate it or grease the wheels.

Im Sorry that I was an Ass :: Love Letters Dating Email Relationships

Dear Tabitha, Hey, I am sorry that I was an ass to you for the past couple of days that I was with you. I am sorry and I hope that you will forgive me. I will write you and call you whenever I have time to enjoy talking with you, okay? I just want to explain exactly why I was acting so mad and pissy to you for the last couple of weeks, I know I probably shouldn't but I have to be true to you. I was just so cared and worried that you will not have the same love for me when I come home to you. I know that I shouldn't have acted like that and that is why I am truly and deeply sorry for making you hurt on both the inside and outside, but you must believe that my love for you will either stay the same or grow because without you I am lost. I should have told you all of this before I left but I did not want to see you cry anymore or be hurt with me watching because I can't even stand to watch that. So for all the pain that I have caused you, I am sorry. Believe me, I do love you and I never meant to hurt your feelings. I am very sorry for that but right now I can't stop thinking about how much I actually love you. I don't know if you have been thinking about it, my guess is that you probably have and you might have even cried. To tell you the truth, if I could cry about it I probably, would because I get watery eyes just thinking about how beautiful you are and how happy I am with you. I love you with all my heart Tabitha. I love you so much. It hurts me to sit here thinking about you and knowing that I will not be able to see you for 14 months. Even after talking to you twice today I came back to my room, set out our picture, and I became emotional just looking at your picture and thinking about you.

Emerson and Thoreau as Prophets of Eco-wisdom :: Biography Biographies Essays

Emerson and Thoreau as Prophets of Eco-wisdom  Ã‚  Ã‚   The major premise of transcendental eco-wisdom is that connection with nature is essential for a person's intellectual, aesthetic, and moral health and growth. One must see and experience nature intimately, whether defined as the "not-me" or as landscape, to participate in the unity of Spirit underlying its visible processes. This connectedness is the basis of the self-reliance which determines how a person lives with integrity in nature and society. Granted, the concept of self-reliance apparently devalues social concerns, including the global commitment and cooperation needed to bring about the kinds of changes that would reverse the climatic greenhouse effect, for example. Indeed, Emerson's ideas have been unfairly appropriated to justify the capitalistic exploitative excesses and insensitivity to social problems and long-term consequences that lie at the root of many of our environmental problems. However, we cannot fault Emerson and Thoreau for not imagining our current dependen ce on technology, the complexity of a largely urban economy or the ties of a global community. Yet even the notion of a self-contained Concord or Walden Pond, which might seem naive and outdated, is reflected in current ideas about eco- regionalism. By accounting for what they could not have known of our present condition, we can still find fruitful ways of understanding where humans, singly and as a species, should fit into nature. Emerson's greatest gift was lessons in seeing in and through nature and extracting symbolic meaning, yet his own intimate encounters with the nature around him were relatively rare and indirect, with few concrete traces in his writings except as occasional metaphors. He wanted his revelations from nature to be abstract and come by surprise, as did the famed mystical encounter at the beginning of his book Nature: "Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear." In such an experience, even the self is absorbed by a greater power: "I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me." The metaphor may be unfortunate, but not his faith that a single person could perceive unspeakable meanings through experiencing nature, even if only indirectly. Such possibilit ies impelled Thoreau and countless others since to mine the details and processes of nature that Emerson had generalized, looking for embedded revelations and sharing in nature's "ecstasy.

China Unbalanced

China â€Å"Unbalanced† Continual economic growth for the past 30 years has allowed China to rise as an economic power. As the Chinese manufacturing industry continued to grow many of the people moved from rural areas into urban centers. The continued economic growth has taken China from a poor country to the 2nd largest economy in the world. Using many of the principals of capitalism China has overcome obscurity and increased exports to the point of drawing a large trade surplus with Europe and the United States. The growing wealth of China has drawn much criticism form the global leaders as trade deficits rise.China has continued on policies of currency fixing and implementation of subsidies that are consistently controversial with the World Trade Organization (WTO). Continued pressure from global leaders for currency reform and trademark infringement violations have forced Chinese officials to take actions. China’s increased wealth did not immediate result in increas ed funding for social programs. Health care, public education, workers benefits, and social security are all lacking or nonexistent. The government is faced with the difficult prospect of developing social programs, revising the work system, and ensuring employment remains low.Health care for many years not an issue for the Chinese people as a program termed the â€Å"iron rice bowl† ensured the people that health care would be available and at an affordable cost. The â€Å"iron rice bowl† was no longer available to the majority of the Chinese’s and health care had become a concern to millions of people. Failed programs in the past had encourage improper diagnoses and the over subscribing of antibiotics. Restructuring became a priority and the government has contributed large sums towards improving coverage and facilities.Universal health care is expected to be a possibility in the coming years for all Chinese. The Chinese people have traditionally been a nation that saves the majority of their disposable income. The tendency to save large amounts of income has been a result of the people expecting little to no assistance from the government in retirement. Pensions and Social Security were almost completely non-existent for many workers. The government has gradually increased pensions for urban and rural workers consistently since 2005. The majority of the people still do not have pension coverage.The move towards providing increased financial security for the people is expected to have a positive result on domestic consumption. Domestic consumption is the key to growth in China as the global economy has slowed. Rising unemployment has been an increased concern for the Chinese government. Students are graduating from college and are unable to find employment. As unemployment continues to remain stubbornly high the government has taken to stimulus to assist in creating jobs. With local governments having submitted for projects in the past t he stimulus was implemented quickly.Jobs were created and the infrastructure of China was improved. A continual effort has been made to improving the Chinese infrastructure in both the costal cities as well as the inland. Government infrastructure projects have become increasingly important in the fight against unemployment. New technology in construction equipment is commonly not used in favor of using manpower over machine power. Social programs have proven to be expensive. Increased wages and the development of social programs all result in more expenses for businesses and government.China has sustained growth for the last 30 years by providing the world with cheap manufacturing labor. Cheap labor is beginning to leave China. Manufacturing chases cheap labor. China is in danger of loosing the primary reason why the country was able to rise out of poverty. Creating a new competitive edge is essential for China to continue growth and remain an economic power. The economy must evolv e. The population has gradually increased their level of education. China must encourage higher education by building universities and attracting the world’s top educators.Without an educated population and a thriving middle class China will loose everything they have worked so hard to gain. Aggressive infrastructure developments continue but not in a sustainable way. China lacks quality engineers and regulations for construction projects. Low quality designs, engineering, and project management has made the Chinese infrastructure increasingly faulty. Buildings, roads, and bridges have half the life span as those within the US. A lack of codes and regulations on materials and design has lead to increased failures.Development of schools that promote architecture, engineering, and project management must be promoted throughout the country. China is cash rich and knowledge poor. Professionals in the applied sciences must be developed and be comparably to those of the developed n ations. The Chinese economy must adapt in order to sustain growth. The years of hyper growth appear to have ended and are know privy to slower yet continued growth in the range of 7%-10%. As the economy advances from an emerging economy into a fully developed economy the Chinese people must develop regulations and laws that support the new economy.The Chinese have lacked a proper foundation in accounting standards and laws governing business practices. Accounting fraud or misuse of information is not uncommon. Without accepting International accounting standards (IAS) or generally excepted accounting standards (GAAP) China will not realize it’s full potential and the international community will question earnings results. The laws that protect investors and businesses must be modern laws. Bankruptcy laws in particular are almost nonexistent. China has a bright future but like so many economies before them must except change and not rely solely on what has worked in the past.

Personal Statement CELTA TBI Essay

I would like the opportunity to partake in the CELTA course at TBI, so I am able to increase my knowledge and experience, whilst simultaneously being able to assist students’ in their own understanding of the English language. By gaining the CELTA qualification at your institute, I will be equipped to continually encourage my students’ towards reaching their language goals by building on the foundation of knowledge they already have. My future aims and intentions are to train to be a teacher of extremely high standard, and once I have obtained my CELTA certificate and gained some more practical knowledge within schools; I am particularly interested in completing my Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). The CELTA course would be greatly beneficial in helping me gain valuable experience in preparation for my future PGCE. Having lived in Jakarta for a few years, I am able to empathize with some the hardships involved in learning a new language. It is important to build rapport with the student whilst still maintaining professionalism. As I am able to appreciate the difficulties each student may face, I feel this would contribute towards creating an enjoyable, yet fulfilling, learning environment. Allowing the students to see you (the teacher) as approachable and encouraging, whilst still upholding a professional relationship is a key aspect of encouraging students’ to pursue their language goals. I am a confident, hardworking, highly motivated team player, able to make decisions in a high pressure environment. I understand the importance of diligence and role versatility when tailoring lesson plans to suit the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student. It is of great significance that these individually tailored lessons do not impact the whole class negatively, but rather, enable interaction between those students of a similar skill level. My previous involvement completing my bachelor degree and distance learning diploma, shows that I am able to complete assignments to the highest standard I am able to achieve. For the distance learning Diploma, it was essential to organise and manage my time productively, to ensure sufficient researching, planning and writing time were allocated accordingly, enabling me to complete each of the necessary components on schedule. Throughout my time at both University and College, I was a member of the student representative committees, liaising between the student body and departmental teams. This has helped me gain confidence and familiarity when dealing with my peers and those in higher authority  positions alike. I have learnt how to be patient and diplomatic when the need arises, as well as being able to ascertain when to use my own initiative. The opportunity to undertake studying my CELTA with your institution, allows me to not only better myself, but also the students that I will be teaching. I feel it is an extremely rewarding course, and the large array of possibilities that open up on completion of the CELTA, is endless and exciting. The knowledge and practical experience I would gain from obtaining a CELTA qualification is vast and would enable me to kick start my teaching career.

Competitive Sports Beneficial Essay

Is putting a child into a competitive sport beneficial for them? Some people believe competitive sports to have a negative impact on children. It’s hard on their bodies, they tend to put sports before education, and it puts a great deal of pressure on the child to win and if not it can lower the child’s self-esteem. Yes, like everything in life, it has its negatives, but its positives outweigh its negatives by a numerous amount. Competitive sports help children not only physically but mentally and emotionally. Sports can have a great impact on a child’s life and can help them grow not only as an athlete, but as a person. Growing up playing sports you meet many new and different people, which helps you learn how to adapt and get to know new people more quickly. Playing competitive sports, you meet people with the same interests and you can develop long lasting friendships. Children learn to participate as a team not just as an individual; this will be needed throughout someone’s life through jobs, relationships, and much more. Character and integrity are associated with competitive sports. These two characteristics are not built through competitive sports, but are revealed in a competition. The hope is that you learn to do the right thing and make the right choices, which is character and integrity at its finest. â€Å"Competitive athletes are consistently involved in situations where they are challenged. This not only occurs on the competitive field of play but in the practice gym as well. When this happens, their level of perseverance and determination will be tested. The hope is that they become stronger within over time† (Mango). They also learn discipline, how to set goals and how to achieve those goals. â€Å"Kids involved in sports are less likes to take drugs or smoke because they realize the impacts that these destructive activities can have upon their performance. Girls who play sports are also less likely to become pregnant† (McEntire). Some parents believe it is too much too soon, and that there is a misplaced emphasis on the â€Å"wrong† things such as winning at all costs. Children mature at different ages and may or may not be ready to play in a healthy competition. Competitive sports typically require strategic planning and other more complex cognitive abilities however, they don’t perform as well under the pressures of competition until they are closer to twelve† (Ray). The child has to learn how to lose gracefully and often the costs of the lesson outweighs the types of lessons learned, especially when children are placed under too much stress to win. In addition, children may not be physically ready for the demands of training and hard play. Repetitive motion injuries, muscle injuries and accidents can be detrimental to children’s developing bodies. According to Linda Ray’s article, â€Å"Should Children Play Competitive Sports† the key to successful competitive play for children depends on a healthy balance of parental involvement, social and team pressure, physical conditioning and time. With these combinations and good coaches it is extremely beneficial for children to play competitive sports.

Community College vs. Universities Essay

Which is better, a community college or university? Both are a great experience. But In my opinion you would benefit more affectively from a community college. There are multiple reasons why a community is better, such as a cheaper cost. In this economy cheaper sounds much nicer than an expensive university. Also a smaller class, which means more hands on experience with your teacher. And the hours would be more flexible, adjusting to your lifestyle. I could sit for hours for and name many more reason; the examples are numerous but let’s go a little deeper into the details and see if you’ll also agree with me. For starters, in our current economy cheaper sounds very alluring and tempting. Although you can’t put a price on your education, it’s nice to know you’re getting your money’s worth. Being said; the average tuition for a university is 4,694 dollars. And the whole sum for the full four years is roughly about 35,000 dollars (A real eye opener for a soon to be college student! ) The community college is lower and tuition lesser than half reaching only about 2,076 dollars. Meaning you can take classes and earn credits toward a two year or four year degree program at a lower cost. With a university the price expectations can be difficult to reach. You never know if you get into your major and want to switch it up; in that case it would’ve just been a waste of time and money. So the difference in the prices should already be opening your thoughts on if you should be considering a community college over a university. Also, if you like more hands on opportunities with your teachers a community college would be perfect for you. Community Colleges tend toward fewer students per class, which means more student/teacher interaction. The standard number of students in a community class is around 15 to 20 students. In a smaller class, professors have the opportunity to learn more about their students and become more entwine in your work personally. And you will also have a much easier time getting to know your classmates, compared to a university where’s there’s about 40 to 50 a class. In which classes would be more lectured instead of having that one on one time. That could result in you not fully understanding the work or your teacher’s method. Also, this is good for students who like access to their instructors so they can ask questions and avoids getting lost in the course material or in the shuffle. Therefore, it shows that size matters when it comes to education, and reducing class size is an important step in promoting effective learning. Another asset to being in a community college is being able to adjust your school schedule to your lifestyle. For instant, many students don’t realize that if they plan on working while attending school, community college is hands down, the best option. For example, having a job while going to school can become very difficult. A job schedule is very unpredictable, and so are the people you work with. And whoever you work for may need you to come in early or work late, so having an early or night class may help you out. And another crucial scenario that a lot of school student have nowadays is children. Sometimes you’re put in a situation where u may have to be with your child, or have to pick them up from school. That may cause you to miss a day of class, or in worser cases days of school. A community college offers far more night classes then a university college, which means there can be more personal adjustments to you schedule. Versus a university, where it may be more backbreaking to deal with the schedule they apply to you. University students are expected to do university as if it’s a full-time job, and then some. As such, the schools will not flinch to schedule a crucial class at 8 or 9 in the morning, five days a week. In doing, it would become extremely difficult to work a 9 to 5. Concluding, community college sounds way more stable and appealing to the upcoming college student. The pricing is more affordable year round, so you still have cash for the necessary necessities. If you’re looking for more hands on experience then it’s also right for you, versus the 50 students that’ll be in your university class. Lastly it would be lighter on your schedule, especially if you are trying to keep a 9 to 5 job, or juggle kids. To wrap it all up, the university life isn’t as glamorous as it may appear. It may look appealing on TV but the price will make you reconsider.

All the World’s a Stage, the Dramaturgy

All The World’s a stage â€Å"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts† Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare wasn’t a sociologist, I think this quote profoundly sounds like Ervine Goffman’s ideas of dramaturgy and impression management. I agree with both Shakespeare and Ervine. We all have a part to play in this world and we do play it. To me Ervine Goffman’s ideas about self and dramaturgy are the most applicable social ideas in my own life.He believed we do something called impression management. I have actually noticed myself using impression management every day. I have also noticed that in sociology we really need to understand face to face interactions of individuals to understand a society as a whole. He also believed in a concept called symbolic interactionism. He believed that social interactions are what make someone who they are. I b elieve that to understand his ideas better it is imperative that you know a little about him. Goffman was born June 11, 1922(Blackwood, 2011) to a Jewish Ukrainian couple in Canada.Initially, he received his bachelors in sociology at the University of Toronto. Then he went to the University of Chicago to achieve his masters and doctorate. Chicago was the center for many micro-sociologists and symbolic interationists like Goffman. His ideas must have made him fit right in with all the other sociologists studying at University of Chicago. He also studied a year in Shetland and wrote a book called The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This is where he refers to the theory of us always being onstage. He then went to Berkley to teach about Sociology and Anthropology (which he also studied).Goffman also went onto to write about his ideas of total institution (the sociology term for somewhere completely blocked off from normal society). He wrote many books over his life time and he re mained a very important man in the sociology world. He ended his writing career going back to address more evidence that we are all performers, he ended on the same note he started on. He passed on November 19th, 1982. ((Blackwood, 2011) Micro-Sociology is the study of a small group of people to understand how society works as a whole.Ervine Goffman advocated this idea and used face-to-face interactions as a basis to understand sociology. I believe that this is a very true idea because without individuals there is no society. I also believe that how we act as individuals is what makes a society how it is. For example as individuals we actually enjoy conflict when the conflicts involves others. In high school I remember that everyone always wanted to stop in the hallway to watch people fight. On a larger scale society watches reality Television shows like â€Å"Bad girls Club† just to see these conflicts.Everything we do individually affects us as a society. Another thing that Goffman believed in was how society is what makes us who we are, this is called social interactionism. Yes we make up society but in turn society molds us to who we are as well. For example a child is born completely without morals and values. These things are taught to the child by family and ultimately society. The child is taught killing is deviant and unacceptable. It is also taught that being overweight is a concrete stigma for females of society. Therefore if the child is a girl they will constantly want to be skinny, even at a young age.My Humanities professor was talking about how his 8 year old daughter was called fat the other day in school. Now the young girl will not eat very much. This not something we are born with, these are learned values that society teaches. I have my own personal experience with social interactionism. My whole life society has shaped me to be who I am. It’s almost like a very subtle, yet powerful, form of peer pressure. For example I think that if it weren’t for the fact that society teaches that you should treat strangers with absolute respect I think I would have had a lot more conflicts with them.Society teaches us to not get as angry with strangers as we do with our own friends and family members. Another thing Goffman believed was an idea called dramaturgy. Dramaturgy is the idea that we all act around people as if we were actors on a stage. He believed that the only time we acted as our true selves was when we are backstage and no one else is around to see us. I believe this is true of everyone in society. Of course there are those who have to act because it’s their job. Politicians, lawyers, servers, parents these people have to put up a facade so that others reactions server their purpose.Not all of this acting is used for selfish purposes though. For example a parent doesn’t want their child to be scared so in a crisis they might smile and tell them everything is going to be all right, e ven if they know it’s not going to be alright. The final point I agreed with Goffman on was an idea called impression management. Impression management is similar to dramaturgy however it is how we are all the time. I use impression management every day. For example I am a server and I have to come off a certain way for my guests to like me or I won’t make any money.I have to smile even when I’m stressed and I have to use a completely different voice when addressing my guest than I would use with anyone else. I also have to pretend I like things on the menu I have not even tried. In conclusion, I agree with Goffman’s theories on dramaturgy, impression management, micro-sociology, and symbolic interactionism. I concur with the fact that society shapes you to be who you are, it has definitely made me who I am. I also think that looking at how individuals interact with each other is imperative in finding out how society works.You cannot understand the big pi cture without first looking at the small details. Impression management is a very important part of my life because it’s how I make a living. Finally dramaturgy is something we all do every day. We are actors on the stage of Society Citations 1. Blackwood, B. D. (2011, July 06). Blackwood. org. Retrieved from http://www. blackwood. org/Erving. htm 2. Travers, A. (1997). Reviewing sociology. Retrieved from http://www. reading. ac. uk/RevSoc/archive/volume10/number1/10-1e. htm

Organizational Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organizational Strategy - Assignment Example The level of input and the outcomes is also a major factor to be considered. The second stage is to think of how to change the current situation. Discover all areas that change requires implementation, and how to go about it. The final stage is to think of where one would want to reach and within what period. This creates a motivation to put more effort in implementing the change. Ones the changes are being implemented, there is a need to evaluate their efficiency and if they are competent, they should constantly be implemented (Kaufman, 2003). Celebrating the hard work is done once the desired outcomes are achieved. Change requires commitment and persistence. Organizational changes are usually painful and, especially, to those with the status quo, therefore, there is a requirement for all those involved to accept the need for change. Many are the time people involved persist the change and tend to be confused with the happenings (Plas, 1999). Organizational management is a big task and therefore, there should be sponsors and advisors who will advise according to change implementation. In today’s market, organizations need to implement changes due to the completion and the technological changes that are occurring in the