Peopod

CASE: III Peapod Online Grocery—2003 The online grocery turned out to be a lot tougher than analysts thought a few years ago. Many of the early online grocers, including Webvan, ShopLink, StreamLine, Kosmom, Homeruns, and PDQuick, went bankrupt and out of business. At one time, Webvan had 46 percent of the online grocery business, but it still wasn’t profitable enough to survive. The new business model for online grocers is to be part of an existing brick-and-mortar chain. Large grocery chains, like Safeway and Albertson’s, are experiencing sales growth in their online business but have yet to turn a profit.Jupiter Research estimates that online grocery sales will be over $5 billion by 2007, about 1 percent of all grocery sales, while it expects more than 5 percent of all retail sales to be online by then. A few years ago, optimistic analysts estimated online grocery sales would be 10 to 20 times that by 2005, but it didn’t work out that way. One of the fe w online grocers to survive in 2003 is Peapod, the first online grocer, started by brothers Andrew and Thomas Parkinson in 1990.However, even Peapod was failing until 2001 when Dutch grocery giant Royal Ahold purchased controlling interest in the company for $73 million. Peapod operates in five markets, mainly by closely affiliating itself with Ahold-owned grocery chains. Peapod by Giant is in the Washington, DC, area, while Peapod by Stop and Shop runs in Boston, New York, and Connecticut. The exception is Chicago, where Peapod operates without an affiliation with a local grocery chain. Peapod executives claim the company is growing by 25 percent annually and has 130,000 customers, and all of its markets except Connecticut are profitable.Average order size is up to $143 from $106 three years earlier. The online grocery business seemed like a sure winner in the 1990s. Dual-income families strapped for time could simply go online to do their grocery shopping. They has about the same choices of products that they would have had if they went to a brick-and-mortar grocery, about 20,000 SKUs (stockkeeping units). They could browse the â€Å"aisles† on their home computers and place orders via computer, fax or telephone. The orders were filled at ffiliated stores and delivered to their homes in a 90-minute window, saving them time and effort and simplifying their daily lives. For all this convenience, consumers were willing to pay a monthly fee and a fee per order for packaging, shipping, and delivery. Since most of the products purchased were well-known branded items, consumer faced little risk in buying their traditional foodstuffs. Even perishables like produce and meat could be counted on to be high quality, and if consumers were concerned, they could make a quick trip to a brick-and-mortar grocery for these selections.However, while all of this sounded good, most consumers didn’t change their grocery shopping habits to take advantage of the online alternative. Currently analysts do not expect the online grocery industry to take off in the near future, if ever. Miles Cook of Bain & Company estimates that only 8 to 10 percent of U. S. consumers will find ordering groceries online appealing, but only about 1 percent will ever do so. He concludes: â€Å"This is going to remain a niche offering in a few markets. It’s not going to be a national mainstream offering. Jupiter Media Metrix analyst Ken Cassar concludes that â€Å"The moral of the story is that the ability to build a better mousetrap must be measured against consumers’ willingness to buy it. † Question: 1. What behaviors are involved in online grocery shopping? How does online shopping compare with traditional shopping in terms of behavioral effort? 2. What types of consumers are likely to value online grocery shopping from Peapod? 3. Overall, what do you think about the idea of online grocery shopping? How does it compare with simply eating in res taurants and avoiding grocery shopping and cooking altogether?

Henry Viii, the Tyrant of England Essay

All throughout history, many important figures have contributed to the growth and development of the world in several aspects including the economic and political advancement of their corresponding regions. However, many of these great leaders have achieved this goal through various contrasting ideologies, as seen with the rule of Henry VIII in England during the 16th century. Henry VIII, also known as Henry Tudor, ruled between 1509 and 1547 during which he was â€Å"regarded as England’s most important monarch† (Mcenegart). While King Henry is credited to playing a vital role in the development of England, the methods by which he achieved this title can be considered questionable due to controversial actions he had taken during his rule; Henry is still criticized to this day for his dramatic reduction of the nation’s economy due to expensive warfare and expansion, and his extensive spending to ensure his place as the king (Mcenegart). I believe that King Henry is an extremely tyrannical yet effective leader in history because of his active role in the development of England and the social strife and economic conflicts he brought to the complex civilization. Biographical Information Henry Tudor existed during a crucial event in history with the secession from the Roman church, and was born in Greenwich England on June 28, 1491. As a child, Henry Tudor was a very enthusiastic student and enjoyed learning. His father, Henry VII, enrolled him to learn various languages including Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian while at the same time required him to study mathematics and music. In his leisure time, Henry Tudor enjoyed hunting numerous animals, and took part in physical competitions including wrestling and jousting in which he was regarded as being able to draw â€Å"the bow with greater strength than any man in England† (â€Å"Henry, VIII†). However, in 1502 Henry’s eldest brother died due to tuberculosis. Arthur Tudor was the rightful heir to receive the throne after his father; however Henry then became the eldest son to Henry VII and was next in succession to inheriting the throne (Mcenegart). As a result, Henry Tudor was forced by his father to marry his brother’s wife, now a widow, named Catherine of Aragon, the first of many Catherine’s he would soon marry (â€Å"Henry VIII.† Great 105). Shortly after on April 22, 1509 the ruthless yet notorious father of Henry Tudor passed away, allowing Henry Tudor, now more popularly known as Henry VIII, to receive the throne as the youngest and first uncontested Prince to ascend as the King of England (Mcenegart). Leadership Qualities Throughout the rule of the new King of England, many leadership qualities Henry possessed soon became apparent and served as a crucial example of how he was to lead the citizens of England. After the death of Henry VII, Henry Tudor claimed the throne and immediately became the next ruler, Henry VIII of England. In the early years of his rule, Henry quickly discarded his father’s trusted chief ministers, Edmond Dudley, and Richard Empson who he had executed for treason in 1510. Henry then primarily focused on foreign affairs in which he supported Spain but acquired a detested view of the French, and soon conjugated with Spain in their efforts to invade France in 1512 by distributing troops to help support the war effort; this in return lead to the victory of the Battle of the Spurs in 1513 and the acquirement of the cities Tournai and Thà ©orouanne. The War of the Holy League then concluded with the marriage between Henry’s sister Mary Tudor to Louis XII of France, comp leting the treaty between the two regions. Following this marriage, â€Å"Henry received the papally bestowed title, ‘Defender of the Faith’ as a reward for writing the Assertion of the Seven Sacraments, a criticism of Lutheran doctrine† (â€Å"Henry, VIII†). In the later years of King Henry VIII’s rule, he began to focus less on foreign affairs and gradually increased his interest in the English Reformation. In 1530 after several negotiations, Henry realized that the secession from the Roman Catholic Church would be the only way to achieve what he desired politically and socially. As a result, he created an independent church that would â€Å"declare his marriage to the guiltless Catherine null and void†, seeing that she could not produce the desired male heir that king Henry so desperately required, and one that would end his marriage without question to his authority (â€Å"Henry VIII† Great 106). Throughout his rule, King Henry found himself married to several wives including one marriage to Anne Boleyn who gave birth to Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen of England, but was still unable to give birth to the desired male heir that would take the throne following King Henry VIII’s rule. After the birth of Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn became â€Å"a shrew of a wife† and was accused of adultery and witchcraft, by Henry himself, and was executed later that year (â€Å"Henry VIII† Great 106). Following the death of Anne, Henry was soon married to Jane Seymour, who for the very first time was able to create a son that would serve as the male heir for the throne; however, Henry’s wife quickly passed away due to natural causes during childbirth. As was expected of the King, Henry accused his following three wives, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr, of adultery in which only Catherine Parr was spared (â€Å"Henry VIII, King† 442). During the complicated marriages of Henry VIII, he was also very focused on the English Reformation in which he decided to educate his son in Protestant beliefs so the future King of England would carry on his legacy. During the 1540’s however, Henry became very weak and unhealthy; as a result he wrote a will that stated if Edward was to die without any male heirs, the crown would descend to Mary and then onto Elizabeth (â€Å"Henry VIII† The Renaissance 350). Soon after the will was written, the honored yet feared King Henry passed away on January 28, 1547 (â€Å"Henry VIII, King† 443). Connection to Literature The tyrant Henry VIII is characterized as an incredibly smart individual who is manipulative in his efforts to achieve his desired goals and often caused chaos and complications where conflict may have been easily avoided. The King of England is easily comparable to Curley’s wife from the book Of Mice and Men, in the aspect that both shared very similar personalities. In this book, Curley’s wife often desired to be around other men that appreciated her and would unintentionally cause conflicts between the numerous farmhands. Early on in the book, Lennie begins to develop an interest in Curley’s wife noticing how pretty she was when they first met. Near the end of the book, Lennie and Curley’s wife are alone talking to each other while all the other men are gambling on a game of horseshoes; during this discussion, Curley’s wife mentions how soft her hair is, and as Lennie starts to feel it, she begins to become nervous and pull away. Lennie however does not let go of her hair and accidentally snaps the fragile neck of Curley’s wife. Henry VIII of England and Curley’s wife are similar in numerous ways. Both had created pandemonium among the civilians around them through poor decision making and conflicts they had created. While Curley’s wife associated herself with other farmhands causing tension between the workers; King Henry VIII had also associated himself with the wrong women in whom he decided to have killed through accusation of adultery or witchcraft. The several wives of the king were unable to produce a male heir he so desperately desired so as a result, he caused unnecessary tension by killing them in a similar way Curley’s wife was killed, through decapitation. Both Curley’s wife and Henry VIII played a vital role in the lives of others and without them, the events succeeding them would be drastically changed. Conclusion Without the existence of Henry VIII of England, the outcome of the War of the Holy League and the connection between church and state in England would still be very contrasting to this day; on the other hand, Henry’s rule was very costly towards the nation’s finances and several critical horrifying decisions he had taken while King confirmed his existence as a more tyrannical leader in history. While he did create a separate Protestant church in England and helped form valuable connections between France and Spain, several hundred men and women were accused of treason and put to death at the mercy of his word. Alongside these men and women, several of Henry’s personal friends and family members were also put to death including his father’s trusted advisors and many wives just because they were unable to give him what he wanted. Henry’s life had an astronomical impact on a very complex civilization during his time period; however many of the actions he had taken were to nourish his extensive and controlling lifestyle in which he was willing to do anything to achieve his goals (â€Å"Henry VIII† Renaissance 351).

The impact of Gorbatchev's reform Glasnost on arts and media between Research Paper

The impact of Gorbatchev's reform Glasnost on arts and media between 1980 and 1990 - Research Paper Example In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became the Secretary of the CPSU and introduced the concept pr policy of Glasnost. Translated to English, Glasnost means openness. Glasnost was an important component of Gorbachev’s perestroika by which Gorbachev attempted to raise the sagging economic fortunes of the Soviet Union and make the inefficient system of governance more efficient (Gibbs, 1999). 2. Literature Review Understanding the impact of Gorbachev’s glasnost on arts and media in the Soviet Union in its early years till 1990, is a challenge in understanding what it meant during that period and the objective of Gorbachev in introducing it. From 1985 to 1988 many interpretations were given by different sources for glasnost. While openness, public airing, and freedom of speech were the most commonly used interpretations, there were wordier interpretations. An astute interpretation put forward was that glasnost was the means by which Gorbachev intended to enlist the entire huge media of the country towards attacking the entrenched party workers and government bureaucrats that were so keen on profiting from the existing system of governance. ... as meant as â€Å"maximum openness and truthfulness in the activity of the state and public organizations †¦ But at the same time glasnost is not synonymous with universal permissiveness, the undermining of socialist values; it is invoked to strengthen socialism, the socialist code of morals(Gibbs, 1999, p.13)†. Yet, in his memoirs Gorbachev himself that the glasnost that he had introduced with limited freedom aims, but â€Å"glasnost broke out of the limits that we had initially tried to frame and became a process that was beyond anybody’s control† (Gibbs, 1999, p.14). 2.1. Influence of Glasnost on Visual Art Government censorship of art for several decades in the Soviet Union under the CPSU had led to a situation where genuine visual art had virtually become non-existent in the Soviet Union. The censorship introduce by the Soviet government was so harsh that it made sure that visual art could not become a means for registering agitation for political refor ms or as a platform for criticism of the government. Instead under pressure from the government visual art had become a visual tool and visual ally of the government. During the days of Stalin a non-conformist artist could end up in the Gulag or be put to death for non-conformist art was considered to be a part of political dissension. The only option left for non-conforming artists was to leave the country, like Ilya Kabokov and present to the rest of the world the fallacies that existed with regards to the political and social situation in the Soviet Union. Visual art prior to glasnost was in actuality a state sanctioned art that presented and idealistic picture of the state of politics and social situations under the CPSU in the Soviet Union. Thus visual art presented a very biased picture of the actuality in

Market Equilibrating Process Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Market Equilibrating Process Paper - Essay Example However, I will argue that this may be the case at present but the product is at risk in the long term for several reasons. This can be reflected in the gradual shift in the supply and demand equilibrium. Successful branding and Apple innovation have ensured the current demand for iPhone. The product has been the first to usher in the era of "touch" smartphones and this has been displayed by the array of competitors emulating the product even until now. So for a time it has enjoyed leadership and dominance due to the scarcity of such product given the limited options and demand choices for consumers. Things are changing, however, because of the increasingly competitive market and the increasingly sophisticated requirements of the consumers. The development of the Googles Android operating system has launched the success of many smartphone manufacturers that collectively led to a viable and sophisticated alternative to the iPhones IOS. The Android phone and the iPhone became substitutes: as the price of the other increases, the demand for the other increase (p.50) Recently, a research by the firm IDC placed the market share of Android to about 68 percent whereas Apple claims only 16.9 percent (AP 2012). Of course, Android is fragmented into several phone manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC. But the trend signals an interesting shift in the market, which bring together buyers and sellers (p.46). This year Samsung toppled Apple as worlds leading phone manufacturer. As more and more people are exposed to many choices, they are able to expand the variables that inform the cost-bene fit analyses that drive their purchase decisions. In this instance, price and quantity are no longer the sole drivers of the market. The so-called other â€Å"determinants of demand† assume equal importance in the pattern of market demand (p.48). Moreover, increased competition aggravates the principle of "diminishing marginal utility", which argues that "for a

Journal Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journal Review - Article Example In the secondary school setting, the major elements of stereotyping were assumed to come from teachers and peers in the school. Universities and colleges have opened their doors to people with LD’s. This is with the overall aim of ensuring that they provide the equal opportunities that are needed by people with LD’s to expand their horizons. At this stage, the intelligence of people with LD’s is highly questioned by their peers. Many people wonder whether people with LD’s can effectively adapt to the mechanisms present in the institutions of higher learning. According to them, the system is created in such a way that it would prove a herculean task for people with LD’s to adapt and perform effectively. Their overall ability to contribute to the set educational and cultural standards is observed as no mean fete. The external, self perception creates issues in the overall journey of improving and settling in for people with LD’s in the institut ions of higher learning (May & Stone, 2010). It could be observed that the characteristic of stereotyping should be an element of yester years. This is because people with LD’s have come full circle. ... cation from the Journal of Special Education Many programs have been introduced and practiced with the sole aim of ensuring that each and every child has an effective chance at a career. Career development is a crucial stage in each and every person’s life, and it should be treated with the significance that it deserves. In many areas and regions, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has taken effect (Blowe & Price, 2012). This is with the sole aim of ensuring that all children, including those with special needs, acquire training and get active career chances. The adoption of this legislation offers a prominent step in the right direction as it reduces the overall perception that careers are a privilege of the selected few. Technical education in any curriculum aims to ensure that the varied skills and competencies could be effectively adopted into the economy. This is by ensuring that they are focused on by the selected people in society who are interested in the tech nical subjects, in the curriculum. Special education relies on the creation and adoption of varied skills and competencies that would best equip students with exceptional needs. The technical subjects provide feasible alternatives and options for people with unique needs. This is not to say that all other subjects are not vital or crucial. The technical subjects offer tangible alternatives for students who may be interested in the technical aspect of education. The technical subjects should be adopted, and they should be examined like all other subjects (Blowe & Price, 2012). This is with the realization that they play a momentous task in the apprehension of talents, capacities and likes that could translate to individual sustainability. Agriculture, computer and business applications, industry

Article Analyses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Analyses - Essay Example It has been opined by scholars that such organizational â€Å"dysfunctions can be overcome when members of well-designed teams collaborate to formulate and implement a performance strategy that is uniquely suited to task and situational requirements †¦. Explicit co-ordination processes are necessary for tasks that are highly interdependent †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Woolley, et. al. 354). Any work of analysis encompasses several steps and unless there is a close proximity between all these steps it becomes tough for members to produce an effective team work. Thus, simple integration with specific strategy planning is not sufficient but it is also equally important that leader of the team should attempt to ensure the elements of mutual communication as well as assistance. Unless the leader has sufficient â€Å"spatial† and â€Å"object memory ability† (Woolley, et. al. 355), the members cannot be managed properly. More or less, members of a team are required to have these qua lities but in practical situation, it is not possible that they would be experts in exercising of both these qualities. Thus, for the purpose of maintaining balance in team performance, it is required that members would complement and supplement each other. However, such process of complementing cannot be fulfilled only with expertise of the leader (â€Å"coordinating member†); rather â€Å"interpersonal diversity† of members and their respective â€Å"personal skills and experience† are also necessary to fill up the gaps (Woolley, et. al. 356). In order to overcome these problems, in case of organizational functioning of a team associated with analytical jobs, systematic evaluation of data and searching for proper modes of evidence are very important. Unless proper coordination can be ensured among team members, there will be gap amongst assimilating these two most crucial steps of analytics. Consequently,

NO TOPIC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NO TOPIC - Essay Example There are many ways to success as demonstrated by "A Rice Sandwich" by Sandra Cisneros, where she demonstrates some of them with substantial backing in the process of writing the story. The first means of making it to the end without having to do much is blackmail, which is portrayed thoroughly with different character sin the story, which shows different types of blackmail and how they are used to the advantage of the characters using them. The first case is emotional blackmail, which appears to be the most effective means of making it to the top without investing oneself heavily in the issues that matter. This occurs through establishing an emotional connection and using it to one’s own advantage, where it is applied at the right time to exert the most pressure on the subject to give in to one’s demands. As such, the story depicts this with clarity, where the persona of the story uses tears to will the parents into submission, as there is no desire whatsoever to have lunch at school. The second use of tears as a form of blackmail is portrayed in the nuns’ cases, where tears are the only thing that come out of the persona in the story, when the nuns want the persona to engage in an activity (Cisneros). Consequently, emotional blackmail is an effective way to be successful by wooing people to avoid emotional pain or even sympathize with one’s emotional pain, where crying is now the means of blackmail against subjects in power. This also acts as a form of manipulation, where there are several incidences in the story showing how manipulation serves to achieve success. This leads to the second form of blackmail, which involves having damaging information on someone and using it to one’s advantage as is seen in the case of the nuns against the persona. The nuns ask the persona, where they live, where the persona points to dilapidated apartments, leading to shame and embarrassment, this proves the use of information to exert power against other people and to have one’s way with rebuttal or consequences. The consequences are borne by the person, on whom compromising information exists, leading to their full cooperation and even fulfillment of one’s wishes. The above two-mentioned form of blackmail are also mentioned in "The Circus" by William Saroyan, as means of getting being successful, where information is applied to manipulate individuals to achieve their potential. "The Circus" by William Saroyan portrays information as a way t success, where individuals use information as a motivating factor to work hard or harder in order to ensure that they are successful. Louis Dagget uses information as his path to success, where he takes to heart the words of his superiors in ensuring that he gets to be a lion tamer (Beckhoff 20). Consequently, information becomes as a means of success, where he now seeks to work in a circus irrespective of the position, but as part of the circus crew altogether; furth ermore, means of achieving success are through undermining one’s confidence, which is different from blackmail. Undermining confidence serves as a means of being successful by demeaning one’s sense of self-worth leading in a person giving up his or her standing or position. Undermining one’s confidence dwells on the weaknesses that one has and knows about himself or herself. As such, â€Å"A Rice Sandwich† portrays this way of achieving succ

Types of Journalism, Mass Media and Communication in History Essay

Types of Journalism, Mass Media and Communication in History - Essay Example The Vietnam War was adequately pictured and recorded by photojournalists and this prompted the international community to react promptly and put an end to these merciless killings (Vaughan and Thomas 405). In such instances, most of these repressive regimes leadership becomes hostile to such individuals and in some cases subject them to torture and psychological traumas (Deephouse and David 1096). The primary aim of Journalism, for instance during war periods is to ensure that all acts of injustices are pictured to attract actions from the government and the international community. The media fraternity as a whole has undergone numerous changes and challenges in equal measure (Deephouse and David 1099). In a tense political setting, for instance, the involvement of the media in ensuring proper checks and balances of the repressive regime to ensure that all acts against humanity are articulately recorded and appropriate actions against perpetrators reported. However, a photojournalist, like any other professionals must operate within some set rules and standards as dictated by the society (Deephouse and David 1113). Their actions should be such that any reasonable man in their situation will define as â€Å"normal† and as pro-human dignity. A photojournalist, for instance, is expected to record and report honest accounts of events as they happened without any form of manipulation. They should not give in to any form of intimidation be it physical or psychological in a bid by fraudulent to manipulate the true accounts of the recorded events. Integrity and honesty are crucial qualities a photojournalist must be in a possession of.  

Aristotle and the humanities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aristotle and the humanities - Research Paper Example The Greek philosopher Aristotle made contributions to the humanities through his ideas about art, as well as philosophy, specifically through his ideas regarding ethics and politics. When it came to art, Aristotle’s Poetics was an answer to Plato’s accusation against the artists for their alleged destruction of rational harmony, as stated in the Republic (Wolff 64). In the field of ethics, Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics provided the basis for showing how to live one’s life in the virtuous way and helped people of his times decide on which things were more important in their lives and what they could do to make them better.Lastly, it is a fact that ancient Greece during Aristotle’s time was a period of confusion – a time of war among city-states who fought for territorial expansion, a time for poverty and slavery, and a time when the nobility never shared their power with their constituents (â€Å"Explore Greece†). In order to address the current situation and the pressing need for â€Å"order, security and peace† amidst â€Å"the turmoil and disaster that had come out of Athenian democracy† (Durant 80), Aristotle wrote his Politics. Aristotle is relevant to the humanities because his works helped address the aesthetic, ethical and political dilemmas surrounding the Greek society in the 4th century BC, and helped shaped the thinking of the Greeks during his time as well as that of the world at present. Aesthetics: Poetics Aristotle’s rationale as to aesthetics is that â€Å"art takes us closer to essential form, not farther away† (Wolff 65). He means here that through the study of art and through the study of the works of man, man himself is able to learn a great deal not only about himself but also about his essence. Wolff’s statement further implies that people who observe art, according to Aristotle, may just be observing certain specific things but through which, they can â €Å"grasp the real nature of things.† (65) The Poetics also tells the reader about Aristotle’s theory of catharsis, which means that â€Å"art has a psychologically healthy effect on the spectator† (64). According to Wolff, this statement implies that art is an effective means of self-expression and one which brings not only wisdom but also release (64). However, these principles contradict those of Plato. In the Republic, Plato criticizes art as something that destroys the rational capacity of man and something that leads him away from the world of forms, which, according to Plato was the real world (64). However, Aristotle maintains that not only does art promote a healthy psychological make-up but that it also leads one to a realization of his essence. These teachings of Aristotle has remained helpful not only to the Greeks of his time but even to the world at present, thus Aristotle’s relevance to the humanities. Ethics: The Nichomachean Ethics Aristo tle’s contributions to aesthetics cannot, however, equal those he gave ethics. It is a fact that the ideas of right and wrong, of good and evil, and of morality itself can never be derived from scientific inquiry but only through the humanities, specifically through ethics. Aristotle’s glorious masterpiece on ethics, the Nichomachean Ethics, has provided people the guidelines on how to live a virtuous life since the time of 4th century BC Greece until now. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle makes it clear that â€Å"the good for man is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue [or] the best and most perfect [virtue]† (Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, I.7). This virtue, or moral virtue, that Aristotle has ascribed most of his ethical principles on is â€Å"the submission of one’s feelings and outward acts to reason (Kilcullen) since â€Å"man, in the Aristotelian system, is a rational animal† (Durant 59). The key words therefore are †Å"rational† and â€Å"reason† and it follows that one who abides by the dictates of his reason is one is who is virtuous. This simply means that if one does

Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Marketing - Essay Example Understanding the company's operating environment in this way can help the small business owner to formulate an effective strategy, position the company for success, and make the most efficient use of the limited resources of the small business. Techniques used to assess market and industry attractiveness when entering a new business Many business owners depend only on very few marketing strategy but there are very many business techniques, which must be encouraged. Some are costly while some are less costly but this will depend with the financial status of the business owner (Robertson, Para 1). One is supposed to watch his or strategy consistently to avoid losses in the process. Successful marketing strategy considers a range of products and the styles used by competitors. Any marketing strategy to be adopted should satisfy the need of the customers (Marketing strategy, Para 1). There are very important techniques that must be adopted to asses the market and attract customers when starting a new business. A good businessperson should try one or more of these techniques to lead his or business to success. The first technique is creating a marketing plan that will help in the first assessment of the market. The Marketing plan must be based upon the objectives set in the business plan. A thorough revision, analysis, and understanding of the company's business plan are the first strategies in creating a marketing plan (Dolak, Para 2). There is a technique of business networking commonly used by small business owners. Normally, one attends several business and networking functions that enable meeting as many people as possible. In the process of talking and exchanging business ideas, a businessperson should hand out his business card. However, the most important thing here is to stabilize and strengthen relationship first from the new business partners and give referrals from other members in the forum (Robertson, Para 2). The price or the selling effort strategy should also be, considered since it is the central value surrounding every business. In the process of introducing your business product, one is required to sell to the innovative customer at a premium price. The price has the probability of falling down as the business faces more competition. Here, one is supposed to adopt a penetrating strategy of increasing the price and sacrificing short-term profits when a market share is achieved (Marketing strategy, Para 5). When a businessperson fully understands the goals and objectives of his or her business then it will easier to understand the benefits and services you offer to your customers. One will also get to know how to deliver those products and services to targeted customers and explore strategic opportunities that increases the benefits and profits of the business (Dolak, Para 3). One should also try to identify the organizational, information and human resources that is needed to provide support to the business. This will invol ve learning and assessment of how the business organization can support internal processes. Members of the organization should undergo training of the business activities through information technology and incentives for the purpose of implementation. (Hutt and speh, 440) There is also the use of Newsletters a very strong marketing strategy to put your name on top

Multiple Causes Downed The Challenger Essay Example for Free

Multiple Causes Downed The Challenger Essay The United States has always been proud of its space exploration endeavors.   NASA’s programs have always led the world in technology and performance.   All was going well for the space shuttle program until January of 1986 when the Challenger exploded 73 seconds into the flight, killing all the crew.   Since then, the shuttle program has been besieged by controversy, much of it stemming over the causes of the Challenger explosion.   Basically, reports and research now indicates that the explosion was caused by a deadly combination of mechanical failure and human miscalculation and poor decision-making.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Challenger liftoff was plagued with problems long before it actually was launched.   Delays in both scheduling and weather forecasts forced back the liftoff for a week.   During the last day of delays, a small closing fixture was malfunction, so it was replaced.   Additionally, a module which detects fire was found to be malfunctioning; the crew fixed it as well before the shuttle finally lifted off into space, and then exploded. Officially, the investigative report pointed to a faulty â€Å"O-ring† seal in the solid-fuel rocket as the cause of the crash.   This faulty seal combined with the very cold weather to allow hot gas to leak into the hole.   Rocket flames were then able to penetrate the fuel tank and catch fire causing the booster rocket to break off of the shuttle and pierce the fuel tank. The liquid hydrogen and oxygen then ignited, causing the Challenger to explode. However, this mechanical failure does not deserve all of the blame.   Several human factors were uncovered in this tragedy.   For years, NASA’s programs had, like many other agencies, been forced to cut manpower and money from its programs. Fewer men and less money meant more work for those that did remain with fewer resources.   Clearly, there was too much work and not enough manpower, resources, parts, or money to meet all of the objectives. Yet, despite these conditions, some engineers did warn NASA officials about the fateful launch.   Many engineers voiced concerns about the extremely cold temperatures and the possibility that the equipment could fail.   Apparently, two NASA officials were told of these concerns well before the flight but did nothing.   It seemed that the entire attitude of NASA had suffered a bit of egoism.   The men who knew the truth were asked to remain silent to preserve NASA’s reputation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is rare that one cause can be attributed to a disaster as horrible as the Challenger explosion.   Here, investigators did find a mechanical failure, but soon learned that this failure had been detected.   Instead, the decision-makers chose to ignore the advice of engineers in an effort to preserve the already late launch date.   Sadly, the entire tragedy had to be revisited with the 2003 explosion of the shuttle Columbia.   Hopefully, the lessons learned can be applied to future decisions in the NASA shuttle program.

Thousand One Nights

Thousand One Nights Do you see The Thousand and One Nights as essentially an entertainment? Antoine Galland was the man responsible for the introduction of ‘the thousand and one nights to the western world. This bizarre combination of magic, love, hate, evil and the uncanny did not begin its literary career based on its highly valued scholarly merit but rather on its ability to delight and entertain. This enormous collection of oriental tales whose origins range from Persia to Syria begin with the story of the wife of king Shahryar who in a bid for survival tells him stories in order to survive the night. This element of a tale within a tale runs throughout the whole of the Arabian night tales which at times creates confusion for the reader who finds himself struggling to keep up. Although eighteenth century readers merely saw the tales devoid of any substantial literary value one can see that from the very beginning of this massive volume of tales, certain allegories concerning life are depicted. Scheherazades way of talking herself through danger can be analysed in two different ways. The first being that Scheherazade, is merely depicting the most common and universal human trait when dealing with danger. This could be easily seen as ‘talking ones way out of trouble. The second would be that through Scheherazade, a certain statement is being made regarding the nature of a successful marriage. Communication, it is implied, is the key to the survival of a marriage. With such allegorical implementations regarding life conveyed in only the very beginning of ‘The Thousand and One Arabian Nights it is then only wise that the tales should be read keeping in mind that entertainment may not be their only contribution to the reader. One point that I believe should be made early on regarding ‘the thousand and one nights is that since the tales were introduced during the Victorian period they would have been ‘fumigated thus effectively removing any erotic and highly graphical offensive material from the text .The term ‘Lost in translation would not be out of place in this case, as not only would have offending material been dispersed but certain elements regarding life in the east would have easily become distorted or have lost their value during the process of translation. As in effect this would have created a loss of important material perhaps of high scholarly value. It is then perhaps not surprising that it wasnt till the beginning of the twentieth century that scholars and critics begun to recognise more than just mere entertainment within the pages of the ‘The thousand and one Arabian nights Stories if narrated well enough have always found ground to delight, yet rarely are they told with out the narrator implying a certain meaning. In that sense they become didactic. Scheherazade is not the only story teller within ‘the thousand and one tales. Many characters within the tales contribute towards this didactic theme. An example would be Scheherazades own father the Wazir who in an effort to warn his daughter against the foolishness of marrying the Sultan begins to tell the tale of ‘The bull and the ass. These extravagant tales that are a resort of wanting to deliver a certain kind of message are similar to those used in fairytales. One could suppose these to be the oriental fairytales equivalent and as heavy in social history as the western fairytales. Also by allowing different characters of different backgrounds to deliver these messages there is an underlying idea that all people, regardless of who they are have a contribution to make in this life. This is an example of how these Arabian tales are able to not only represent life and the experiences that surround life itself but to do so whilst at the same time managing to bypass any cultural and linguistic boundaries. These messages become universal, addressing all important aspects of human life such as love, death good and evil and the constant search for immortality. The repeative development of these values throughout the subsequent tales within the Arabian nights only helps to strengthen and highlight the weight they command on every aspect of human life. Other than parallel life the Arabian tales are rich in material regarding the life and beliefs of the Arabic world. The oppression of women is shown in the sultans ability to wed a virgin each day and then kill her in the morning. His actions are not judged nor to create any kind of opposition whatsoever showing both the immense power that was placed in the hands of the king whereas at the same time also portraying the notion that the fates and lives of women lay in the hands of their husbands. Even so characters like Scheherazade are crucial at conveying that a woman was not completely powerless .A womans power lay in her cunning and ability to successfully manoeuvre and shape instances so that to achieve her own goal. Scheherazades ability to remain alive night after night is a prime example of this. If we were to consider tales such as ‘The bull and the ass certain other motifs become apparent. There seems to be an ongoing repetition throughout the Arabian tales concerning the theme of wit. This would point to the belief that wit and cunning were valued highly as characteristic elements, able to allow survival in the cruelty people faced everyday in their lives. Such beliefs are shown through the advice the ass gives to the bull. The ass begins by advising the bull to feign madness in order to escape the harshness of the plough. Yet once the ass realises his actions have merely jeopardised his own happiness he reverts to wit in order to save his skin. Later on the words of the cockerel are crucial in saving the merchants own life as he realises his wifes stubbornness in wanting to know his secret will only lead to his demise. Other than the importance of cunning and wisdom there is also numerous religious references leading to the conclusion that religion was carried great value in the Arabic world. As the religious references are many and at times devised of lengthy quotations this would also point towards the notion that not only did religion feature daily in the Arabic world but that most people had an extensive knowledge of it, in fact so extensive that they were able to quote extracts on the spot. The ‘A thousand and one nights are written in a simple language, this leads me to believe that the religious proverbs must have been widely known and not restricted to ‘holy or ‘religious men. Such was then the hold of religion upon the eastern Arabic world. All the above themes as well as others can be seen through another tale within ‘A thousand and One nights this being ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni. Cunning and wisdom again are emphasised with the life of the fisherman relying on his abilities to outwit the Jinni. ‘This is a Jinni; and I am a man to whom Allah hath given a passably cunning wit, so I will now cast about to compass his destruction by my contrivance and by mine intelligence; even as he took counsel only of his malice and his forwardness Within the above quote the importance of intelligence is clearly seen as is also the theme of how brute force and malice are not always effective in overcoming another. Something else that can be perceived throughout the ‘Tale of the Fisherman and the Jinni is the same notion seen through Scheherazade, that good communication skills were regarded as vital within the Arabic world. So vital, that they could have secured your life. Communication and the at of language is a characteristic that sets us above the mere existence of beasts, for the ability to structure speech goes hand in hand with the ability to think. The themes of good and evil as also that of kindness and cruelty are seen clearly within his tale. There is the underlying message through the Jinnis harshness that cruelty breeds cruelty. The injustice and cruelty that the Jinni suffered in being imprisoned in a jar for thousands of years turns him cruel. This could be parallel to the belief that it is society in itself that breeds evil rather than a person being born evil. Something also seen in King Shahryar who is seen as a noble honest king at the beginning of the tales only to turn harsh and cruel once he experiences hurt and injustice. With such elements as the themes of justice, honour ,good and evil and the ability of the ‘A thousand and one Nights to parallel life in itself we cannot suppose them to be merely delightful entertainment for they provide much more than that. They are as mentioned before the equivalent of the western fairytales as they incorporate all the elements expected in a fairytale as is simple language, morality and magic they are also proof that the need for man to teach and relate morality and certain life values was not limited to what was supposed the western ‘civilised world but was a reoccurring phenomenon that stretched across the globe. Bibliography Primary Reading Sir Richard F. Burton, Tales from 1001 Arabian nights, Ed translated by F. Burton, Jaico Publishing house

Australias Healthcare System: An Analysis

Australias Healthcare System: An Analysis Australia’s Health Care System Mollie M. Ludeman Abstract Health care systems are created to provide quality and efficient care to patients when they need treatment. The health care system in Australia is universal. Therefore, it provides free health coverage for citizens in public hospitals. It also covers a portion of the fees in private hospitals; however, the patient has to pay the remainder of the payments at private hospitals out of pocket. Australia does not only have public health insurance, but it has private health insurance as well. Citizens who are capable of affording it are encouraged to apply for private health insurance. Having private health insurance on top of the public insurance is extremely beneficial. The health care system in Australia has provided some of the best care to the citizens of its country. Australia’s Health Care System Australia has a developed health care system that is substantially beneficial to the residents of the country. It supplies universal health care to all citizens; which means that the government pays for all or most of the health care services. Some visitors are also eligible to receive the health care in Australia while visiting. According to the World Health Organization website, â€Å"the goal of universal health coverage is to ensure that all people obtain the health services they need without suffering financially when paying for them.† Financial issues are typically the main reason for why people refrain from getting medical treatment until it becomes serious and they are sent to the emergency room. In the United States, this is a problematic issue that comes into play. However, the health care system in Australia does not make the citizens refrain from getting treatment. The health care system has allowed Australian health care providers to give some of the best care in the world to its citizens. The Australian government has attempted from the very beginning to give its country the best possible care through its health care system. According to the World Health Organization website, â€Å"a good health care system delivers quality services to all people, when and where they need them.† This is something that the government in Australia has worked very hard to do for its citizens. Australia has managed to have some of the highest life expectancy rates in the world, and some of the lowest mortality and infant mortality rates. In Australia, the life expectancy for males is 78.9 years of age, and 83.6 years of age for females (Leiyu Shu, 2014). Although, Australia typically has good health overall throughout the population, there are always some groups that do not have the best health. These people are considered to be the vulnerable populations; those that live in the rural areas. The vulnerable people in Australia are not left unknown or unaware of how to receive treatm ent when it is needed. The government has made known of these populations, and have set up programs to decrease this â€Å"gap.† Decreasing this gap will increase the overall percentage of excellent health that Australia has as a whole (Armstrong, Gillespie, Leeder, Rubin Russel, 2007). After the Second World War, the number of people covered by health insurance had increased dramatically. However, there still was a large portion of the population that lacked sufficient coverage. Gough Whitlam was elected in 1972. His plan was to extend the health coverage to the entire population to eliminate the large portion of the population that lacked any health insurance coverage (Dwyer, 2004). Medibank was the name of the health system that passed in 1974 to increase the amount of people with health insurance. However, Medibank only lasted a couple of years before it was forced to shut down in 1981. On February 1, 1984, Medicare was created by Hawke Labor Government. Today, this is still the current health care system in Australia. Medicare is a universal health care system that gives free health care to the citizens in public hospitals, and in private hospitals it lowers the cost of payments. However, it is not considered to be completely free health care because the citize ns are paying a percentage of the care with their taxes. Therefore meaning that is tax funded, but ran by the government (Dwyer, 2004). The health care system, Medicare, works with both public and private sectors. The public health sectors are provided by all of the levels of government: local, state, territory, and the Australian Government. The private health sectors are provided by private hospitals, medical practices, and pharmacies. However, Medicare is the primary source of funding for health care and funding for primary health care in Australia. Medicare typically covers the majority of costs in public hospitals, and a portion of costs in private hospitals (Australian Government). The Australian government highly recommends that people also get private insurance on top of their Medicare if possible. They recommend this due to the fact that there are often long waiting lines and long waiting lists to get treatment. Regarding the long waiting lines and lists, when you have private insurance you do not have to wait as long for treatment because you are able to pick from a public or private institution to receive the treatment. Also, if you have private insurance you are able to pick your doctor. When you just have Medicare, you do not get to pick your doctor. You typically are just assigned to whatever doctor is available at the time. If you have complications, and need to go back to a hospital for treatment, often times you do not see the same doctor. Therefore, there are many benefits to having private health insurance on top of the public health insurance that is provided to all residents of the country. However, it is not always possible for every citizen to obtain private insurance on top of their public insurance. This is due to low income status of some residents (Australian Government). Medicare covers a variety of different fees in the hospitals and different practices. Therefore giving free or lower cost treatments for patients. In public hospitals, Medicare covers 100% of the treatment. Which means that a patient may go into a surgery, come out, and have not a single payment to make. This means that many Australian citizens will not go into debt or go bankrupt trying to pay their medical expenses. Having medical bills taken care of completely in public hospitals is significantly beneficial; however, there are drawbacks to public hospitals in this country. The waiting lists for some surgeries can be anywhere from one hundred to two hundred days (Healthcare in Australia, 2014). This can cause complications if a person is in serious pain. Often times the waiting lists will force some people to go to private hospitals to receive treatment or get a surgery done. Receiving treatment or getting a surgery done at a private hospital can be extremely expensive without health insurance. Medicare will cover up to 75% of the fees and services that are taken care of in a private hospital (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013). However, the patient still has to pay out of pocket the portion that the government does not take care of; this could be up to a couple thousand dollars or more. Often, people will take out private insurance, if they can afford, to cover out of pocket costs. It still needs to be taken into consideration that just because an individual has private insurance on top of their public insurance, it does not mean that they will not have any out of pocket payments for their medical expenses. Private insurance also entitles the patient to be able to choose their doctor; something that a patient with only public insurance does not have the option to do. Therefore, a patient with private insurance may have a doctor that they k now and work well with, and they can continue to go to this doctor as long as they have private insurance as well. Private insurance may also provide other services that are not available to the citizens who only have the public insurance. For example, â€Å"physiotherapy, dental, optometry, and podiatry services† (The Australian Immigration Book). Medicare also only covers the services that are necessary. For example, if a patient has a serious heart condition and needs heart surgery, this will be covered. On the other hand, if a patient wants to have plastic surgery but the surgery does not have anything to do with any acute or chronic health condition, this will not be completely covered by the government. The Australian government does an excellent job in assorting what is covered by the government completely, and what receives lower cost treatment for the individuals in the country (The Australian Healthcare system). The Australian health care system has a variety of strengths and successes. The biggest and main strength and success that is portrayed through the health system would be the availability and access of care. The citizens in the country do not have to struggle to pay for care or treatment because they are receiving it for free, or at a lower cost. This is beneficial to their overall health because they are not waiting for the symptoms to become severe before they seek help and treatment; which is a rising problem in some countries that do not provide universal health care. It does not matter if a citizen makes 100,000 dollars a year or 15,000 dollars a year, each person receives the same quality of care as the other (Hsieh, 2014). The health care system has many strengths; however, there are a few weaknesses that need to be considered. One weakness in Australia deals with disease patterns. Serious diseases that are related to age and the vulnerable populations. The country attempts to reach out to the vulnerable populations; however, the outreach is not effective enough to the people who are actually at risk with the diseases. The country needs to find ways to reach out to the community in ways that will be effective and help decrease or treat the chronic diseases (Armstrong, 2007). Another weakness that has been viewed in the system is the shortage of health care providers; whether it be doctors or nurses. Healthcare providers are less willing to work overtime hours due to the attempt to balance work and family life. However, it appears that the high percentage of shortages in health providers are in lower income areas (Armstrong, 2007). The health systems of Australia and the United States are significantly different. The Australian government spends less money on GDP than the United States. However, Australia has higher life expectancy rates than the United States. Therefore, the U.S. is spending a much larger amount of money on health care but is lagging behind in life expectancy rates even with all of the money being put forth (Leiyu Shu, 2014). A large difference between the health systems is that Australia has universal health care, and the United States does not. There are many people in the United States that fail to receive treatment when they need it because they cannot afford to see a doctor. This is a key factor in what may lower the life expectancy rates from Australia. In Australia you would expect to have higher life expectancy rates due to the fact that there is universal health care and that citizens do not have to worry about medical expenses putting them into debt (Leiyu Shu, 2014). In the United S tates that is a serious issue to be taken into consideration. Both countries systems use â€Å"Medicare†. However, they stand for different things in each country. In Australia, Medicare is the name of the universal health coverage provided to everyone. In the United States, Medicare is a program that is provided for people who are 65 or older. These people have owned a right to be in this program because they have worked through their life and received social security benefits. Also, people with disabilities are also eligible to qualify for Medicare. The United States also has a program called Medicaid that is for those who low income. A person has to have a certain income or disability to be able to qualify for Medicaid. Australia does not have programs like the United States does because of the universal health care coverage that is provided (Leiyu Shu, 2014). Although the two countries health systems are significantly different, there are a few aspects that are similar. The systems are similar in terms of wanting to provide the best quality of care for all patients. The two countries want to ensure that patients are being able to afford treatment when they are in need it of it. They also want to ensure that when they are receiving the treatment that they are the best quality care that is possible. Australia and the United States also want to ensure that patients are able to access the care when necessary. The leaders of the United States could learn some valuable aspects for the Australian health care system. One thing that the United States leaders should take in consideration is implementing a universal health care system. The universal system in Australia has been beneficial to the citizens and their health. In the United States there are much larger groups of people who are considered to be vulnerable populations and do not receive treatment when they are in need. Health insurance in the United States can be very expensive if you want good coverage. However, there are people that cannot afford to have any health insurance. Although there are programs for people with low incomes; sometimes these people are over qualified to be eligible for these programs. Which means that these people do not have health insurance at all and have to pay any medical expenses out of pocket. This is the reason why many Americans fail to receive necessary treatment until they are rushed to the emergency room when the symptoms become serious. The United States could also look into spending less on GDP and making sure that the money spent on health insurance is going to improve the overall care and health the citizens. Thus far, the United States spends a significant larger portion of money than Australia and fails to have the quality of health care that Australia has overall (Mascarehhas, 2009). Although the United States could learn valuable information for the Australian government in terms of health care; the United States could also assist the Australian government with their system. Hospitals in the United States do not have long waiting lists like the Australian hospitals. In the United States you may find out that you have an illness, and you are able to schedule the surgery and pick the date that you want without having to wait one hundred or two hundred days to receive the treatment. The United States could help share their techniques about scheduling surgeries with the leaders of the Australian health system. This way residents in Australia would not have to wait up to two hundred days to receive the treatment that they need to improve their health. The United States has a significant amount of health care providers unlike Australia. The United States could help them increase the amount of providers they have by letting them know the incentives and other key factor s that are necessary for having more efficient health care providers. The universal health care system in Australia, Medicare, is beneficial to the citizens of the country. It ensures that all citizens are capable of receiving treatment when they are in need. The treatment is free in public hospitals or it is at a lower cost in private hospitals. The universal health care has increased the life expectancy rates in Australia and has allowed the overall health of the country to be some of the best in the world. References Armstrong, B., Gillespie, J., Leeder, S., Rubin, G., Russel, L. (2007, August). Challenges in health and healthcare for Australia. Retrieved from https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2007/187/9/challenges-health-and-health-care-for-Australia/ Australian institute of Health and Welfare. (2013). Australia’s health system. Retrieved from www.aihw.gov.au/australias-health/2014/health-system/ Australian Government. What is covered by Medicare. Retrieved from www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/whatiscovered/medicare.htm Australian Government. (2014). Australia’s health. Retrieved from www.aihw.gov.au/australias-health/2014/ Dwyer, J. (2004, November). Australian health system – restructuring- what problem is being solved? Retried from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC544964/ Healthcare in Australia. (2014). Retrieved from www.nib.com/au/health-information/healthcare-in-australia Hsieh, Paul. (2014, March). What the US can learn from the Australian health care debate. Retrieved from www.forbes.com/sites/paulsieh/2014/03/31/what-the-US-can-learn-from-australia/ Mascarehhas, A. (2009, August). What the US can learn from Aussie health care. Retrieved from www.globalpost.com/dispatch/asia/090819/what-can-aussie-health-system Parliament of Australia. Health in Australia: A quick guide. (2013, November). Retrieved from www.aph.gov.au/about-parliament/parliamentary-departments/parliamentary_library/ The Australian healthcare system. Retrieved from www.heti.nsw.gov.au/international-medical-graduate/australian-healthcare-system/ The Australian immigration book. Australia’s health care system. Retrieved from www.aust-immig-book.com/au/general/health-australias-health-care-system World Health Organization. Universal health coverage. Retrieved from www.who.int/universal-health-coverage/en/

Continuing Education: Market Driven or Student Centered? :: School Education Learning Essays

Continuing Education: Market Driven or Student Centered? One enduring controversy in continuing education is whether programs should be market driven. The controversy has some connection with the pervasive image of the marginality of continuing education in higher education as well as the concept that continuing education programs must be self-sustaining. As Edelson (1991) says, "This principle of having to pay its own way is the single most distinguishing feature of American continuing education today" (p. 19), adding that adult education is the most blatantly market-driven segment of education. At the heart of the controversy is the issue of whether "market driven" is necessarily antithetical to the principles and philosophy of adult learning. This publication looks at whether this is a misconception or a reality. The Case against Market Driven According to Beder (1992), successful market-driven programs must have "sufficient numbers of voluntary adult learners who are motivated to exchange enough of their time and money to yield the clients and fee income" needed to operate programs (p. 70). This need to target areas of high demand leads to what Beder sees as the primary problems of market-driven systems: (1) they perpetuate inequality by neglecting the needs of those less able to pay; (2) they may meet individual needs efficiently but not overarching social needs; and (3) they often displace educational benefit with profit as an overriding goal. Rittenburg (1984) agrees that the demands of the marketplace are not a sufficient foundation for continuing education: "The nature of aesthetic and ideological products is such that production to meet consumer demand is not an adequate framework" (p. 22) because such products have intrinsic value. Controversy over a market orientation for adult education programs is not a new issue. Edelson (1991) reviews the history of the Ford Foundation/Fund for Adult Education's Test Cities Project (1951-61), which sought to demonstrate that noncredit liberal adult education could and should pay for itself. Over time, this obsession with economic viability led to the sacrifice of small-group discussion forums to the need for economies of scale and formats that produced higher revenues (such as large lectures). The controversy crosses many fields. In social work, Laufer and Shannon (1993) describe how program quality, which requires long-term investment in lieu of short-term profit, can suffer when programs must pay as they go. They argue that quality should be "the bottom line below the bottom line" (p.

All Quiet On The Western Front :: essays research papers

The novel All Quiet On The Western Front contains many incidents where the readers can hold characters responsible for their actions, however his novel in particular relates to the clash of values. Though fictional this novel by Erich Maria Remarque, presents vast detail through the conflicts at the Western Front. Corporal Himmelstoss a character in the novel is portrayed as a stereotypical military man, whose actions, when all's said and done, speaks for itself as the reader really does not question his iniquitous behaviour. However, apart from just the reader holding such characters morally accountable for their actions the novel concerns the rejection of traditional values, Paul’s disillusionment, and life opposed to death. Through such clashing of values, Remarque creates a confronting novel where the plot is for the most part articulated around values in conflict. The stereotypical stance of Corporal Himmelstoss, a military officer, is presented as a physically undersized man who wears a waxed moustache, which ideally supports the many defiant occasions where he disheartens the young soldiers. Throughout the novel where he is sent into the trenches we accept his role of breaking the spirits of the young soldiers. However, we understand why Paul and Albert Kropp take revenge beating him up. It is through these instances where the reader can almost understand a character through his right and wrong actions. Remarque’s inclusion of such scenes in the novel acts out the bitter anger and disillusionment of the young soldiers. The constant close companion of death besides Paul and his friends provides such clashing of values. Throughout the novel Paul never really recalls their opponents, the allies, as enemies. We also hardly see the other side other than the time where they took on the French militia; infact it would be appropriate to conclude that their real enemy in the war was the enemy Death. Every soldier in the war wasn’t innocently fighting for his country in an attempt to win, soldiers were fighting in order to survive death – it is only the fact that chance and luck kept them going. Paul and his friends could not comprehend that World War One was simply fought due to some document signed by each side’s respective leaders. These events allow readers to follow through that novel above all was concerned with values of life against death, and peace against war. Perhaps Remarque’s intended theme at the

Translating 21 Grammes from screen to stage. :: Drama

Translating 21 Grammes from screen to stage. Explain how research material was gathered and used within the process At the very beginning of the devising process the whole group watched the film of 21 grams and in our first lesson we collected any comments about form, structure and content. We then started creating possible ideas and characters, and after a few weeks we decided we could set ourselves almost mini homework’s for certain characters or storylines and come back to the next lesson with some fresh new ideas. The first bit of research I did was actually about the film 21 grams and why the film was titled this? And what it meant? I then found out that when a human dies they lose 21 grams in body weight; we then started gathering idea around this such as the 21 grams being the human soul and as you dies your soul leaves your body. I also found out that an average chocolate bar weighs 21 grams so we played with the idea of there being a chocolate bar incorporated in every scene somehow, as we thought that having a chocolate bar in every scene would be a bit to difficult. Another idea was that maybe in the very last scene all the characters that are dead would be lying on the stage with a chocolate bar resting on their chest. But as we produce more drama and more characters were developing we decided that maybe trying to incorporate these ideas wouldn’t work and didn’t really fit in with the rest of our piece. The other main way in which we needed to do research was because we were using projection and we needed to get certain images and information. So in that sense probably the main storyline that was researched was the vicar and his wife trying to have a baby and because we had decided to use projections we needed to find picture of pregnant women and babies. We also use projections for the train crash so we gathered together pictures and newspaper articles. Nearly all the research for the pictures was by way of the Internet.

Challenges in Motivating Employeess Essay

Why motivating employees is becoming increasingly challenging. The study of motivation is concerned basically, why people behave in a certain way or why people do what they do? Generally motivation can be described as the direction and persistence of action. However different items such as work environment or internal and external forces can influence the person’s choice of action. Managers face a significant challenge in finding ways to motivate their employees. Some employees can often if hard to get motivated for a job even after being employed. Maybe because there is a day job duties repletion, work condition and etc. Below I discuss some of the most significant challenges in employee’s motivation: Money is one of the major variables of satisfaction and motivation, no doubt that employees will feel less motivated if they feel their compensation is not appropriate. Paying employees less will lead to dissatisfaction and of course dissatisfied employee is an unmotivated employee. However we have to consider individual differences in the motivation. Employees have different needs and given reward do not motivate all individuals similarly. Managers should spend time necessary to understand what is important to each employee and the align goal, level of involvement and reward with individual needs. For example professionals and knowledge workers which highly trained with a college or university degree are more concerned with content of work rather than their place on the organization chart. Money and promotions typically are low on their priority list in contrast job challenge and having skill-development opportunities tend to rank high. However motivating low skilled service workers which pay levels are often little above minimum wage such as retailing and fast food is different. Many employees working in low skilled service jobs feel that they do not get the respect they deserve from their employers. Unless pay and benefits are significantly increased, high dissatisfaction is probably inevitable in these jobs. Trying to understand the needs of such employees might help motivate them better. Motivating employees in a unionized workplace environment is another challenge. For example unions have not been very receptive to pay for performance plans. They believe that differential pay to employees doing similar work can hurt corporation and lead to competition in the workplace. In other word in unionized companies providing opportunities for training and advancement and listening to employees concern all help in creating a more positive environment. On the other hand with todays globalized companies we have to consider motivation do not necessarily work equally through the world. Reward practices in different countries are variable based on cultural differences. For example countries that put a high value on uncertainly avoidance prefer pay base on objective such as seniority. Countries that put a high value on individualism place more emphasis on an individual’s responsibility for performance that leads to rewards. Countries that put a high value on human orientation offer social benefits and programs that provide working family balance, such as childcare, maternity leave and etc. Work conditions and environment is another motivation challenges. Changing the way workers are treated may boost productivity more than changing the way they are paid. An employee who feels his working conditions are unreasonable maybe unmotivated. If he feels completing a task would place him in a dangerous situation, he may not see the value doing or completing it. Other thing which could affect employee motivation is training. An employee being asked to do work which he is not qualified for or capable of doing can result in an unmotivated employee. People are generally the most motivated when their jobs give them an opportunity to learn new skills and tasks that are performed and enable them to demonstrate competence. So no doubt having an open, safe and welcoming environment is one of the most important factors. Regulation of the hours of work is another condition. If an employee is working 60 hours a week instead of the standard 40 hours, he may feel unmotivated to show up or give a full effort knowing that he will give more work and expected to stay late to finish project. Multicultural Team is another challenge in motivation. Nowadays most of the companies from big to small have multicultural team. People from diverse culture, background and beliefs. It’s clear we cannot motivate multicultural teams the same way we motivate teams with members all from same culture. Multicultural teams are differing from same culture teams in a variety of aspects. For example people from different culture have different communication style, working method and decision making practices. The expectations of team behavior vary among nationals and ethic cultures. In result managers in these companies have special challenges for motivation. Managing and motivating employees who respect different cultures can be simultaneously exciting and challenging, provide supervisors and managers understand how culture differences inspire organizational excellence, at the same time, employers encounter challenges by separating employees instead of using management and motivation techniques that focus on common traits through the workforce. In these companies as a motivating factor, money is important but only to some extent. Usually After they start getting a fairly level of compensation for their input, money stop being the greatest motivator for most people. Knowing the strength, weaknesses and performance history of each team member are very important. Some training such as multicultural awareness, team building and intercultural management workshop, motivate multicultural team members are very helpful but they must know why they are being trained. Result: All said and done working with a cross cultural team is significantly challenging as the manager must develop strategies to cope not only with differences but also motivate the team to be productive and efficient. Can a manager or supervisor â€Å"empower† an employee? Generally managers used their power as the part of their interaction with employees. In today’s workplace, there is a movement toward sharing more power with employees by putting them in teams and also by making them responsible for some of the decisions regarding their jobs. Some managers believe that to empower people is a real part of leadership as opposed to management and they give examples of way empowerment can actually set people set free to do the jobs they are capable of and also allow them to do self-managing. However managers have different concepts of empowerment, for example one group of executives believed that empowerment was about delegating decisions making within a set of clear boundaries. While another group believed that empowerment was a process of risk taking and personal growth. There is a lot of positive press on empowerment but much of the talk of empowerment, but much of the talk of empowerment, does not result in employees being empowered. Some managers have difficulties letting employees have more power. But most of the managers agree that the employees should understand how their jobs fit into the organization and that they are able to make decisions regarding job action in light of the organization purpose and mission. Empowerment can offer a number of potential benefits throughout all levels of organization. Although there is a continuing debate about the real benefits of empowerment, there appears to be a general assumption motivated staff, quality customer service and improved profits. However all the theories share a common assumption that workers are an untapped resource with knowledge and experience and an interest in becoming involved, and employers need do provide opportunities and structures for their involvement. It’s also assume that participative decision making is likely to lead to job satisfaction and better quality decision and that gains are available to employer (Increased Efficiency) and workers (Job satisfaction), in short an everyone win scenario. According to Erstad, among the many fashionable management refers to the change strategy with the objective of improving both the individuals and the organization’s ability to act. From the context of articles especially in this area empowerment is a complex process. In order to be successful it requires a clear vision, a learning environment, both for management and employees, participation and implementation tools and techniques.

Addicted to Food? Essay

Obesity and overeating are growing problems in America today. In this article by Oliver Grimm, he cited studies that speculate that in 2000 112,000 deaths were caused by obesity. There is also evidence that up to 1/3 of the US population may be considered overweight or obese. These numbers are startling and the root of this problem is under intense debate and scientific inquiry.   This search by scientist has led to many discoveries and theories behind why some people are unable to control their eating habits or their weight. One question that this article attempts to address is â€Å"Is overeating and addiction to food similar to drug addiction and what role does body chemistry play?†. Hormones are the regulators of the human body. There is much current research being aimed at these chemicals within the body and especially how they affect brain chemistry and maybe even addictive behaviors. Dopamine is one hormone that has been examined in both drug addicts and obese individual. Dopamine produces a reward sensation in the brain when we get something we want or when we are surprised. There is some research that says that drug addicts and obese individuals tend to have fewer dopamine receptors in the brain. This may cause them to have the urge to continue consuming food or drugs beyond a normal need. With fewer receptors, the brain may continue to look for ways to sate itself. Research the author cited pointed to rats that were denied dopamine soon would not eat anything. Another chemical that may prove to be important in fighting the obesity epidemic and drug addiction is leptin. This hormone has been shown to curb hunger when it is released from adipose (fat) cells where it eventually reached the hypothalamus. Lab animals deprived of this chemical soon became obese. This hormone may provide a vital link in helping severely obese people control their eating. If individuals have a faulty feedback mechanism or a lack of production of leptin, this may cause them to want to eat more. Other areas to be explored are how certain parts of the brain react to addiction, satiety and pleasure. Areas of the brain that have been researched that Mr. Grimm examines are the amygdala and the orbitofrontalis(OFC).   The amygdale seems to have some involvement in our response to food or drugs when we are hungry for them. It does not seem to be activated as much when we have taken in food or drugs. The OFC is generally thought of as an area of the brain that helps us to maintain rational behavior and use good judgment. This area may be operating differently in addicts. The author says that diet, exercise and lifestyle are the best ways to live healthy and control weight. His view; however, is that all research cited shows. â€Å"the brain processes stimuli related to eating in much the same way that it does to other addictive stimuli†(Grimm, 2007).   For us to have a better understanding of why certain people find it so hard to control their weight we may have to look more at addictive behaviors and the research that has been conducted. â€Å"For all their differences, drug addiction and obesity seem to be two sides of the same coin.† (Grimm, 2007) 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What are you being asked to believe in this article? In Mr. Grimm’s article we asked to believe that 9.1% of medical expenditures if for overweight and obese patients. We are also asked to believe that one-third of the US population may be overweight or obese according to studies. Overweight is defined a having a body mass index greater than 25. Simply put, body mass index is your weight divided by your height. We are asked to believe that obesity and being overweight are at epidemic proportions in this country. We are also being asked to believe that much of a person’s behavior when it comes to addiction and food consumption in obese individuals may be directly related to the person’s brain chemistry or factors affecting it. While the author agrees that there are many factors in a healthy lifestyle and behavior control, much of the article deals with research that says that hormones, brain function and chemical activity are huge contributors in how a person reacts to stimuli. Leptin and dopamine are seen as avenues that may lead to breakthroughs in the area of obesity. Areas of the brain such as the amygdala and the OFC are seen as possible areas that may lead to a better understanding of cravings and addictions. I believe that the main idea that the author is trying to convey is that drug addiction and food consumption are very closely related. We are asked to consider that a person who is obese may be in a similar predicament as a drug addict. The article says that drugs that help drug addicts may also help us to treat severe obesity. Again we are asked to parallel the two dilemmas and weigh their relevance to one another. It is hard for people to associate obesity with drug addiction, but Mr. Grimm would like us think otherwise and keep an open mind to the possibility of research in drug addiction that could lead to breakthroughs in obesity and weight management.

Helping the Needy Essay

Remember those precious moments of sitting around and trying to comfort; hearing the soothing, slow, and experienced voices. It is time consuming to sit and hear such stories, but a smile spills acrossed your face as you listen to their never ending stories, sometimes it is the same story that you heard yesterday or an hour ago. Each time you attempt to talk your words are abruptly cut off and the story continues. Some are filled with wisdom others too delirious to take serious. With time, listening and helping them, a bond of friendship is made. The days seem to go by fast and your friendship becomes stronger as you spend each day serving these types of people, and sharing experience with them as well. In one day it all comes to an end, they are no longer there to be assisted. Life appears to be like that in the every average day at the Avalon Care center. In a training session from Avalon Care Center Annie Wayment became a qualified Certified Nursing Assistant to help others as they make an end to the journey in their lives. Depending on the state where you are at, the training course to become such a person can take six to eight weeks. Where you are trained to up lift people. What will you do, â€Å"working closely with patients, you are responsible for basic care services such as bathing, grooming and feeding patients, assisting nurses with medical equipment, and checking patient vital signs. CNAs give patients important social and emotional support and also provide vital information on patient conditions to nurses. † For Annie the training was a long, hard jammed packed four weeks. She stated, â€Å"I almost died (Annie Wayment, personal communication, May, 22, 2013). In the course there are plenty of hands on experience and memorization. Then after passing all tests and training satisfaction you are qualified to assist people. She takes Avalon’s statement to heart â€Å"we embrace a reverence for life, and a heart for healing. † After going all through this and then actual helping people Annie continues with an energy that most people do when they are doing what they enjoy. While on a high school job shadow Annie was introduced to the field of helping and then made the decision that was her future job, helping someone. She began her work at Avalon Care Center aiding those who can on loner help themselves. Confused like most people in their first job experience she floated about for a couple of weeks but slowly understood her role. Distressed, frustrated, and irritated to not be able to do what they use to do all their lives this group accepts help from others. They tell them of their problems, and their long life experiences. They don’t only need physical assistance but also mentally. Being a good listener, with a caring heart is part of the job. Though Annie cannot see herself doing this particular work all her life she still goes about with a smile on her face enjoying every minute. Those moments of doing all you can, and then seeing a face of gratitude for what you have done gives you that extra step to do another good deed. A swelling of an inexplicable satisfaction fills you up. Working in this nursing home Annie has gained many new friends. They share all their joyous moments with her and she helps them through their moments of pain and frustration. As time goes on she becomes more than just a friend to these people with all the time she has spent with them. â€Å"When working in a nursing home, as an aide, you spend 1/3 of your day with these residents and you become part of their families (Annie Wayment, personal communication, May, 22, 2013). † Even at times when she thinks she is aiding someone she receives help in return from these this time worn people. A piece of advice here and there and a phrase that sticks in your mind. They just seem to grow on you as the time passes and an inner connection is made with them. She recalls one of the many residents of the caring center in which she helped. The elderly woman was sick for some time. She knew how the woman wanted her room to be organized and helped her daily. The woman got better and was later discharged from the care center. They kept in contact even afterwards. The job like most other jobs also has its down side. After spending quality time in helping, listening, and strengthening people and being strengthened by them, it all seems to be lost in a moment. Sometimes the question of why is asked in most of these circumstances. This woman who Annie kept in contact with became sick again and was hospitalized. She was informed that she would be returning back to the care center back under her care. Excited to see again her room was prepared and fixed up the way the patient liked it. Later on Annie was told that she would no longer be coming. In most incidents Annie has to be the one who needs to get over her grief first and fast. After the passing of those who she has helped she then needs to face the family of the person who she lost, but she is happy for having the knowledge that the church has given her about life. She understands the purpose of why we are here and gives yet another comforting hand to the families of those who have passed on. With the knowledge of the gospel she can comfort and ease the pain of the family members that do not have this knowledge. Hard at times and good at others this is what Annie Wayment does. The good seems to outweigh the bad and she continues on her way of assisting others who are in need. It is what she finds the most enjoyable thing to do.

Lamb to the Slaughter †Study of Mary Maloney Essay

I am going to explain within this essay how I think Mary Maloney’s character changes in the story Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. When the story opens Mary is a content, loving and devoted wife and is six months pregnant and happy to be so. â€Å"Now and again she would g lance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come.† The statement â€Å"without anxiety† demonstrates her contentment. The statement â€Å"please herself† to â€Å"when he would come† demonstrates the love and devotion she has as she is eagerly awaiting the return of her husband from work. It states â€Å"The drop of the head as she bent over her sewing was curiously tranquil. Her skin – for this was her six month with child – had acquired a wonderful translucent quality†. The use of the word â€Å"tranquil† and â€Å"wonderful† portray she was thriving on her pregnancy and had no anxieties. It later states â€Å"For her, this was always a blissful time of day†. The use of â€Å"blissful† shows demonstrates the full extent of her contentment. On the arrival of her husband home Mary Maloney begins to detect something is wrong with her husband and a nervous anxiousness starts to appear in her. It states â€Å"he did an unusual thing. He lifted his glass and drained it in one swallow†. This was setting the scene that this was not a normal evening and indicating â€Å"drained it† introduced negative connotations. The statements â€Å"she heard the ice cubes falling back against the bottom of the empty glass† and â€Å"she noticed the new drink was dark amber† and â€Å"she could see little oily swirls in the liquid because it was so strong† shows she was becoming fixated on the manner in which he was drinking the whisky. This fixation was used by the story teller in combination with her repeated attempts to be helpful and appease in statements such as â€Å"’I’ll get it!’ she cried, jumping up.† and â€Å"‘Darling, shall I get your slippers?’ † and also with â€Å"’But, darling, you must eat!’† to build up a picture of increasing uneasiness in her. The writing style of using of exclamation marks and italicised â€Å"must† emphasised the anxiety. On her husband’s announcement of his news Mary Maloney went into shock and denial. The statement â€Å"dazed horror† demonstrated this but also â€Å"as he went further and further way from her with each word† emphasised she had begun to detach from her current reality and to hope it was all a mistake â€Å"Maybe, if she went about her business and acted as though she hadn’t been listening, then later, when she sort of woke up again, she might find none of it had ever happened.† demonstrates this further. The statement â€Å"She couldn’t feel anything at all – except a slight nausea and a desire to vomit† demonstrates the extent of her emotional distress as it emphasised her body had been physically affected by the news. After she kills her husband she is jolted out of shock by the sounds of her husband crashing to the floor. The statement â€Å"The violence of the crash, the noise, the small table overturning, helped bring her out of shock† demonstrates this. Her mind races to at this point to calculate how to cover up the crime but not for her own benefit but to protect her unborn child. This is shown in the statements â€Å"how clear her mind became all of a sudden. She began thinking very fast.†, â€Å"It made no difference to her. In fact it would be a relief†, â€Å"what about the child† and â€Å"she ran upstairs to the bedroom†. The fast pace being used to show still an element of distress but now more panicked than shocked, clear minded and calculating how to get away with the crime. Mary Maloney then perseveres to overcome her panic and acts to maintain an air of normality so that she can carry out believably her plan to cover up her crime. The statement â€Å"That was better. Both the smile and the voice were coming out better now. She rehearsed it several times moreâ€Å". This shows the struggle to speak normally as she needed to rehears it. In the shop the statement â€Å"’Hullo Sam,’ she said brightly, smiling at the man behind the counter.† and â€Å"Perfect’, she said. He loves it.’†, shows she has decided to pretend that there is nothing wrong. This act of normality is further emphasised by her thoughts as she approaches her house on return from the shops stating â€Å"she happened to find anything unusual or tragic, or terrible, then naturally it would be a shock and she’d become frantic with grief and horror.†, and â€Å"Keep things absolutely natural and there’ll be no  need for actin g at all†. She believes by being as natural as possible she will get away with the crime. Mary Maloney then feels the pain of loosing her husband. The passage â€Å"All the old love and longing for him welled up inside her, and she ran over to him and knelt down beside him, and began to cry her heart out. It was easy. No acting was necessary.† The words â€Å"welled up† shows her being overcome by emotion and also â€Å"to cry her heart out† being very emotive of a pouring out of her emotions. After the momentary grief of seeing her husband dead on her return she goes back into acting out her plan to cover up the crime but calmer and yet more calculating. The statement â€Å"she fell right into Jack Noonan’s arms, weeping hysterically†, â€Å"’Is he dead?’she cried.† and â€Å"While she was talking, crying and talking†. Mary was building a picture of a a wife who was grieving. She then lures the policemen into drinking â€Å"’Would you mind giving me a drink’† â€Å"Why don’t you have one yourself, ‘she said. ‘You must be awfully tired’ â€Å"and â€Å"others came in and were persuaded to take a little nip†. They were â€Å"uncomfortable in her presence† and when it came to eating the meat â€Å"’Please she begged. ‘Please eat it’†, and then, †It’d be a favour to me if you’d eat it up† and â€Å"in the end they were persuaded to go into the kitchen and help themselves.† It was calculating as she was using the policeman’s discomfort at being with a grieving widow and desire to not cause her further distress to do things that they would not normally do. In this way she achieves her goal which was for them to eat the weapon, the leg of lamb. It shows her ability to manipulate the others in the situation. There is no visible remorse being demonstrated by these actions. In the end she is pleased with her efforts to cover up the crime. The statement â€Å"And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle† shows this. In the story she has turned full circle from the devoted loving wife to calculating killer pleased to have gotten off with it. The storyteller is portraying a crime of passion where someone has been wronged by their love, reacts on the spur of the moment and feels the pain of the loss but covers up the crime possibly with little guilt having been the emotionally injured  party at the outset. She has justified her actions to herself for the well being of her unborn child.