Individual Analysis

Individual Case Analysis Contents 1. 0Analysis Using Motivation Theories1 1. 1Equity Theory1 1. 2Expectancy Theory1 1. 3 Three-need Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 2. 0Criticisms of the Management Functions3 3. 0Main Problems Defined4 4. 0References5 5. 0Appendices6 5. 1Appendix 1: SWOT Analysis6 5. 2 Appendix 2: Equity Theory Table†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1. 0Analysis Using Motivation Theories 1. 1Equity Theory According to Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003) equity theory was developed by J. Stacey Adam. Campebell, Dunnette and Miller (1969) states the purpose of this theory is aim at employees’ assimilation from a job situation. Kaplan, Reckers and Reynolds (1986) notes these are outcomes, in relation to the efforts they put in, inputs, and then compare with others. In the case, Lisa compares her input-outcome ratio with Leanne, which seems imbalance and unfair. Lisa feels jealous as Steve decided to go again her suggestion to hand over half of her workload to the youngest team member, Leanne. She also sees that Leanne became more dominant. Lisa was treated unfairly by two other members putting the blames at her who forced Steve to reprimand her. The distraught Lisa’s thinking was to give other members of the team who has more experience to take over some of her work rather than Leanne. In the end Lisa lodged a compensation claim for her nervous breakdown cased by Leanne. Also stated by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003), employees’ motivation is influenced by rewards. Base on the above-mentioned, Steve should use the equity method in treatments of staff. Therefore, whenever an employee assess their own equity and perceive inequity, he or she will act to correct the situation rather than lack of motivation. Please refer to 5. 2 Appendix 2 for table showing equity theory. 2. Expectancy Theory According to Montana and Charnov (2000), expectancy theory shows that rewards could motivate employees to increase their efforts. Taylor (1964) notes this encourages better performance leading to a positive outcome. Steve applied the expectancy theory under his management. By doing this, he made an announcement that he will increase employees’ salary base on performance rating. Due to massive increase in training loads, Lisa was overworked and with projects behind schedule. Then Green (1992) states on of the believing is that employees believe if they perform well, they will get the reward. Leanne is an ambitious person that is why she offers help as she believes in good performance could get better outcome and reward. On the other hand, according to Montana and Charnov (2000), an employee can decide on which outcome they prefer. Due to immense pressure from overload and conflict with Leanne, Lisa has made a decision to take stress leave. This reduces the efforts Lisa requires to put into her work. 3. Three-need Theory McClelland (as quoted by anonymous, 2008) states an employee’s motivation and effectiveness are influenced by the following: Need for Achievement – McClelland (quoted by Pattanyak, 2006) notes motivation that influences employees to direct his or her behaviour towards attaining goals. According to the achievement explained, Lisa is not motivated to challenge of orking at a problem and do not accept any personal responsibilities for failure, rather leaving the actions and chance for Leanne to achieve the outcome. Need for Affiliation – Courtney (2002) notes McClelland had suggested that people are motivated by different things. Also, base on the statement stated by Tosi, Mero and Rizzo (2000), McClelland’s theory on affiliation has a need for friendly relationships an d have good interactions with others. These people can co-operate well in a team. Referring to the explanation of affiliation, Lisa’s jealousy and conflict with Leanne had caused friction and resignation in the team. It shows there is a lack of communication skills and co-operate for Lisa in the team. Lisa’s personal attitude problem towards Leanne also caused her relationship problems with colleague and manager. Need for Power – McClelland (quoted by Pattanyak, 2006) notes that people at a high position would want the power to control other people for their own goals. According to Ved (2005) there are: Social – controls the company’s movement, and Personal – influence others to further the desire. Leanne entered InsureCo. as a new team member under Lisa’s leadership in a team. Soon after, Leanne quickly made good relationship with the manager and quick to promote her skills, which lead her over stepped the power of Lisa. Therefore, Lisa felt she was unable to control Leanne to achieve her outcome. Lisa has also lost control of her team when couple of the team members resigned. With the lost control of power, Lisa lost the battle to be promoted. Therefore, she is not motivated. 2. 0Criticisms of the Management Functions The management of InsureCo. has several negative practices, they are: – The way Steve manages the company’s environment The way Steve supervise employees, and – How staff co-operate with each other as a team. According to Bell and Smith (2006), the use of communication and verbal skills for managers is vital in their management work. By listening to employees, companies could improve employees’ job satisfaction. According to Deci and Ryab (1985), the greatest motivation act is managers could do for his or her empl oyee is listening. In this case, Steve does not communicate effectively to his staff about his expectations and resolving problem issues within the working environment. He does not think of the concern that if he recognise the new employee, Leanne, Lisa would complain about the recognition. To prevent the complaining obstacle, Steve should listen to Lisa when she complained about Leanne in regards to her I. T. skills. Steve should act on the complaint and assess Leanne’s ability in the I. T. field. If it does prove that she has the skills, there would not be jealousy in Lisa. Schuler and Jackson (1999) mentioned that fair treatment of employee which will make them more committed in an organisation. It means, Steve should treat Lisa and Leanne equally. It is not where he should reprimand Lisa in front of her colleagues and in a way without her giving reasons. This is an embarrassment for Lisa. This also shows there is a lack of fair treatment within the management system of the company. According to Cook (1999), employees will produce more effort in their work when they are appreciated, valued and understood by the employer. Steve should set up a guide of basic principles to coach employees when there is a problem. Base on the value of Lisa to the company, Steve should not reprimand her straight away without any options for explanation and when he did reprimanded her he should explain his decision. Steve could improve the relationship between Lisa and Leanne by informing them how others feel, how much effect can cause, and suggest them how to improve themselves. Steve’s management at InsureCo. he is committed to the company’s goals, according to Salaman (2001), it sometimes refers to as mission statement. In the case, increase salary was any approach that Steve regarded as important. The aim is to fend off growing competition. The increase of salary could not always motivate his staff. The reasons are mentioned in the previous citations. 3. 0Main Problems Defined |Primary Problems |Secondary Problems | |Poor leadership – New leadership of the firm, lack of managerial |Poor motivational skills | |experience. |Staff lacks motivation | |Poor planning – No technical training system been put in. No specific job description written for employees | |No formal policies written for rewards and punishment |Increase in workloads | | |Lack of co-operation | | |Manager has poor communication skills | | |Ineffective communication of expectations | | |Employees’ value not appreciated | | |Overload work causes delays | | |Multitask been given to employees | | |Management has no understanding of employees’ needs | | |Poor relationship between staff and manager | | |Pressure in the training department | | |Lack of fair treatment for staff | 5 . Appendices 5. 1Appendix 1: SWOT Analysis [pic] 2. Appendix 2: Equity Theory Table by Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter (2003) Perceived ratio comparisonEmployee’s assessment Outcomes AOutcomes B Inputs A Inputs B (Inequity-over rewarded) ———————– Threats ? Exposed weaknesses in the company ? Strong global competitors ? Complaints from staff ? Compensation claim from staff Opportunities ? Government proposed new Financial Services Reform Bill – Make sure entire staff had been trained Weaknesses ? Poor leadership ? Poor planning ? No formal policies for rewards & punishments are written ? Poor motivational skill ? Staff lacks motivation ? No specific job description written for employees ? Increase of workload ? Lack of co-operation ? Poor communication skills ? Staff’s value not appreciated ? Overload work causes delays ? Multitask given ? Management has no understanding of employees’ needs ? Poor decision making ? Pressure in the training department ? Lack of fair treatment for employees ? Strengths ? Large finance and insurance company ? Market presence ? Large customer base ? Long profitable history ? Promotions for employees ?

Why Should Drunk Drivers Be Severely Punished

There are many rule violation occur everyday in town, especially when it comes to vehicle. Some may break the rule of driving before 17-year-old. Others may drive when they are drunk. It is not quite sure which one is more dangerous, however, this essay shall explore some reasons why drunk drivers should be severely punished. Firstly, drunk drivers are absolutely forbidden since it can cause a wreak havoc in the street. Furthermore, the condition can also claim many innocent lives. People who do not realize how dangerous it is to drive while they are drunk should be given a proper education about driving.For instance, if one has a formal education about driving before they jumped to the street, they would have a better understanding about the dangerous of driving when they are drunk than those who do not receive the education. Secondly, drunk driving can not only claim innocent lives, but also can inflict financial loss to one state. Imagine how much that must be paid to fix the brok en street or other public facilities just because of one’s carelessness. In fact, it can also spend months or maybe years to rebuild the facilities.For example, if one drunk driver accidentally hit a prestigious hotel, the quantity of loss may be unthinkable to rebuild the hotel. Finally, they should be convicted to prevent if they would do the same thing again in the near future. There are many reasons to support the statement, one is to enhance the drivers’ vigilance when they are driving in the street. As a matter of fact, one would stop to repeat their mistakes if they have been penalized. In a nutshell, it is clear that drunk drivers should be severely punished from the reasons mentioned above. In my opinion, people should not drive when they are drunk to save themselves and others.

What are the TWO most important things we need to create, and what are Essay - 1

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Freedom writers Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Freedom writers - Movie Review Example one of the reasons why the class performed badly in school and even the faculty did not want to lend school to the class on the grounds that the books might get destroyed or might get lost (Berardinelli). Despite all the challenges Erin never gave up, at the course of 1992-1995, she had some extra work just so she could buy books for the students to use. However, the book was a small problem compared to the real issue that the class has. Students were dividing themselves according to race. The African Americans were excluding themselves from the rest of the group, as well as other races. And these factions even spark chaos from time to time. Once in a convenience store, April Lee Hernà ¡ndez playing Eva in the movie was coincidentally with a Cambodian refugee Sindy played by Jaclyn Ngan. Although they did not have much problem with the co-existence of one another, their boyfriends did. Sindy’s boyfriend got shot by Eva’s and the long dispute between the factions elevated to another level. Eva was not going to testify in the court that her boyfriend, a race of her own shot someone from another racial division. Justice was being delayed. When Erin heard of it, she thought it would be bet to intervene and let the children know about the bad things regarding racial segregation. She told them about the holocaust, on how because of the racial hatred of the Germans attempted to kill all the Jews – an act which the Germans almost succeeded. Erin told them that because of the Holocaust, more or less four million people died in a very short period of time. She eventually realized that she was starting to gain the sympathy of the children through her stories to them. Then Erin encouraged the students to make diaries of their own where they will write their fears, hatred, dreams and aspirations. Miep Gies, the one who sheltered the Ann Frank was invited by the class through their fundraising activity. Gies told them everything about the Holocaust that she knows of.

Marketing communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Project Management - Essay Example Earliest Finish Time (EFT) = Earliest Start Time (EST) + Duration Latest Start Time (LST) is calculated by adding float to LST of the critical activity in the group. Latest Start Time (LFT) = Latest Start Time (EST) of critical activity + total float Latest Finish Time (LFT) is calculated by adding duration to LST of the activity. Latest Finish Time (LFT) = Latest Start Time (LST) + Duration Total Float is calculated by subtracting The Earliest Start time (EST) and duration from Latest Finish Time (LFT). Total float = LFT - EST - duration 2) Explain how you determined the project duration and the critical path In order to calculate the project duration, we first need to identify critical path. A critical path is the one that holds series of dependable activities which as whole gives the longest time to complete the project and these activities within critical path are called critical activities. In other words, it is series of activities with â€Å"Zero total Float† (Newell, 2 005). ... Time Required Immediate Predecessor Activities EST EFT LFT LST (days) A 4 - 0 4 4 0 B 5 A 4 9 12 7 C 4 A 4 8 12 8 D 8 A 4 12 12 4 E 6 A 4 10 12 6 F 2 A 4 6 12 10 G 13 B,C,D,E,F 12 25 25 12 H 8 G 25 33 33 25 I 7 H 33 40 40 33 J 6 H 33 39 40 34 K 8 I,J 40 48 48 40 L 13 K 48 61 61 48 M 9 L 61 70 70 61 N 4 M 70 74 74 70 O 5 B 9 14 86 81 P 12 N 74 86 86 74 Q 2 O,P 86 88 88 86 PROJECT DURACTION 88 DAYS    Critical Path 3) If the project starts on the Monday 7 January 2013, what is the earliest date it can be completed using a 5 working day week? Assume no holidays. If the project starts on the Monday 7 January 2013 On the basis of 88 days of total project duration, the earliest date when the project can be completed is the 8th of May, 2013. The date is calculated by counting 88 days from 7 January, 2013 excluding Saturday and Sunday. 4) If the following happened what would be the effect on the duration of the whole project? a) Activity B is delayed 1 day. Activity B is not a critical act ivity and has total float of 3 days, 1 day delay during activity B will not affect the duration of the whole project. b) Activity P is delayed 1 day. As activity P it is a critical activity, a 1 day delay during activity P will increase the duration of the whole project by 1 day, thereby making it to 89 days. c) Activity O is delayed 2 day. Activity B is not a critical activity and has a total float of 72 days, 1 day delay during activity B will not affect the duration of the whole project. 5) Limitations of network diagrams The main limitation of a Network diagram is: do not clearly show time line for a project, it is difficult to update, do not lead to easy distribution and the tools can be expensive to acquire. TASK 2 Abstract The project management main goal is delivering a project

American Imperialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

American Imperialism - Essay Example Therefore the main reason for adopting an imperialistic policy was to dominate over economic resources which have always been control by the advanced capitalist countries over the liquid and real economic resources of economically backward areas. Since the easiest way to colonize was to take over main liquid resources as foreign exchange and public and private savings, and real resources consist of agricultural, mineral, transportation, communication, manufacturing, and commercial facilities and other assets, therefore Nationalist economic policy worked. Restricted free trade was monopolized and inhibited the growth of income and economic well-being, but these barriers were lowered by the breakup of the European empires. Such an imperialist policy was rationalized as the trademark of this doctrine was based on the notion that exploitive economic relations between the advanced and backward capitalist countries would not be able survive in a world of politically independent countries (Fann & Hodges, 1971: 24). The countries that were affected by the foreign policy of America were Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau and Puerto Rico. However across the globe American imperialism in the first half of the nineteenth century presided over Ottoman, Persian and Russian empires thereby expanding its empire towards the northward, westward, and southward while establishing its authority over all parts of its territory (Iriye, 2005). As an imperial state, the nineteenth century for America brought persuasion, coercion, and outright conquest and often insured that tariffs and other taxes were turned over to foreign bondholders. Therefore in the presence of military rule, foreign lending was frequently a precarious undertaking which Latin American countries, witnessed by experiencing an uneven history of bond payments. The deployment of the U.S Imperialist policies, particularly in

The Complexities of Gendered, Sexualized and Racialised Violence and Essay

The Complexities of Gendered, Sexualized and Racialised Violence and the response of criminal law and criminal justice - Essay Example Similarly, the general establishment is that women contribute to a minor share of all crimes that are less professional in character and, less grave ensuing in their lesser representation in the criminal justice system. The position, therefore, is that gender can be of a larger statistical importance in the differentiation involving criminals and non-criminals as compared to any other trait. Gender and sexuality in criminality and criminal law justice The aspect of gender is an extremely serious issue in children upbringing, with distinction found in the way boys and girls socialize and stereotypical idea concerning gender suitable behaviors for females and males. This is position is revealed in socialization and is to blame for the criminal activities of females and males, relatively than biologically associated sex dissimilarity. While female socialization considered highlighting compliance, the deviant activities of males put up with and even overlooked and exempted. Objectives an d behaviors expectant for males considered to have a lot in agreement with criminal actions, with individual distinctiveness encouraged in the course of socialization into the masculine gender position, like aggression, considered exciting and tough, considerations necessary for participation in crime . Crime is considered as representatively masculine and maleness as providing the reason for crime. The position is that feminine violent behavior frequently judged further severely than masculine aggression since it reveals a superior deviation from the feminine social norms. Violent women, particularly, have to be consequently mentally not well, or imitating men since, it deviates from the feminine norms. The argument puts forward the belief that feminine offenders socialized wrongly into the masculine gender roles4. A number of explanations for this position have been obtained from the principal that feminine criminal activity has increased in tandem with the better liberation of women and an obvious masculinization of female behavior in general. Amplified offending considered foreseeable as hurdles that confined male privileges fell apart and socially defined sexually categorized roles became progressively more alike. Women’s amplified participation in criminal activities considered then as a purpose of them more often taking on conventionally male personality. Socializa tion, Biological and masculine clarifications of feminine offending cling to their center that criminal activities is a male action and that by meaning consequently, feminine offenders ought to be more masculine. Even though, the position may appear more naive, the concept has confirmed pleasantly clear-cut particularly for the media, the notion has shown to be a compelling justification for even current evident increases in feminine criminal involvement. It is imperative to note that the inspiration for offending is possibly diverse for offenders doing different types of offences. An example is that property offenders further probably motivated by financial achievement, brutal offenders likely driven by expressive desires. In consideration to masculinity, an individual might hypothesize that aggression and violence in essence involve a superior level of masculinity, undoubtedly portraying a greater deviation from all right

Week4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week4 - Assignment Example Proper waste disposal management and poor sanitation due to congestion is another problem that the American residents of the 19th century faced, this posed a health risk, as the dirty conditions would be a breeding ground for diseases related to sanitation such as typhoid. With the upsurge in population, some of the essential services had to be provided by the government to mitigate the negative effects of the congestion. Some of these services include waste management systems to ensure the cities where people lived were clean and habitable for living. Another service the government provided was security services since with congestion crime also increased therefore the need to protect the people from criminals, health care is also an essential service that the government provided to the population (Boyer 34). Assuming the government did not provide the above services, the people would probably have formed vigilante groups to counter the problems of insecurity within the neighbourhoods. Waste management may have been solved by hiring of private garbage collectors or throwing waste into empty spaces within the areas that people lived in. Private medical services providers would have come in cases where the government failed to provide the medical facilities although these services would have been expensive. Among the above problems, the hardest challenge to solve would have been provision of health care since it required professionally trained personnel and specialised equipments in treating different diseases. The high cost of the treatment when provided by private health professionals would have locked many people away from these facilities. Insecurity would also have been a major concern since with formation of vigilante groups to provide security to the residents, retaliatory attacks between the criminal gangs and the vigilante groups would become

Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Essay In the bouquet of flowers Romeo will send to Juliet, there will be three flowers. The first flower in this bouquet is Acacia. This flower symbolizes secret love. This depicts one of the important themes in this book. Secret love is the whole premise between Romeo and Juliet. They are always trying to keep their love for each other private. They even get married in secret only a day after they meet. This idea of secret love is present in Romeo and Juliet when Juliet says â€Å"My only love, sprung from my only hate† (1. 5.139). What Juliet meant when she said that was the only person whom she loved was the son of her familys enemy, the Montagues, whom she was brought up to hate. The second flower in this bouquet will be the Carnation. This flower represents fascination, impulsiveness, joy, and devoted love. This is significant in the book because even though Romeo and Juliet just met, they are deeply in love with each other, infatuated and may be taking things too fast. The quote from Juliets soliloquy in act 2 scene 2 â€Å"Romeo, doff thy name; and for thy name, which is no part of thee, take all myself. (2.2.47-49) means that Juliet wants Romeo to give up his name and family loyalty and in exchange, take Juliet. The third and final flower in the bouquet is the Violet. This flower is associated with affection, faithfulness, love and taking a chance on happiness. This theme is one of the most critical ones in the book because without it, Romeo and Juliet might never have taken the chance to be together. This is noted in the conversation between Romeo and Juliet when they first meet. Romeo asks, â€Å"For what purpose love† and Juliet responds, â€Å" †¦ My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.† (2.2.130, 133-135). The message Romeo wants to send to Juliet with the bouquet of Acacia, carnations and violets is that their love is secret. It is impulsive,  passionate and deep. They need to take a chance to be together to find their happiness.

Business Plan And Marketing For Aroma Boutique Marketing Essay

Business Plan And Marketing For Aroma Boutique Marketing Essay The Aroma Boutiques mission will be contributing holistic therapy treatment to health care professionals in and around the Paphos area in Cyprus. The therapeutic company will originally provide are Aromatherapy and Reflexology treatments. The Aroma Boutique will present a professional image and manner when carrying out a Complementary and Alternative treatments. Everything we do is interconnected to all the parts of our lives. The Aroma Boutique responsibility is that when treating a patient or client, we are entering a relationship with her and we want to make and keep this a positive one. (V. Pitman and K. Mackenzie, 2002). This small business includes a health care professional who provides healing process to restore health using reflexology technique and essential oils. Our higher goals are health and safety. We support the patient to be more open to their possibility of change and give them staying power and courage to see the healing process through to its conclusion. The name of the company is Aroma Boutique which has been checked and no other business is present with the same name in Cyprus. The Aroma Boutique will be awaited to generate _________ per annum of business income. The specific treatments will be priced at an average of  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­____ for an hour and a half with consultation form and aftercare advice. The business income is based on 10-20 clients a week, operating for 44 weeks of a year. The amount of money will achieve to make a profitable and independent company. The workforce will comprehend of only one person and they will operate as a sole-trader from a privately residence hotel. Business Opportunity Theodora Polydorou will open the small company with the name Aroma Boutique in Paphos, Cyprus. Theodora will begin trading in September 2013 and will propound service which supply Complementary and Alternative treatment such as Aromatherapy and Reflexology. This new and small business started by a currently qualified graduate with a BSc Complementary Therapy (Aromatherapy and Reflexology). This business will trade from a privately residence hotel with specific treatment room. Moreover, some health professionals commented that their jobs are very stressful. Many professionals experiences burn-out at some point, and some health professionals find it unbearable, prompting them to leave clinical medicine for a non-clinical career, or perhaps even leave the healthcare industry altogether (www.healthcareersabout.com ). Considerable research has been devoted to job stress among different groups of health professionals. Mean stress scores on the HPSI were significantly different for all three professions, with nurses reporting the greatest level of stress. Frequency of exposure to individual stressful job situations also differed significantly among the professional groups (Behavioral Medicine, 1988). However, many health professionals have provided numerous ideas for relieving stress and preventing burn-out. All registered practitioners must be assured of the relevance and accountability of the therapy which they are using. On the subject of Accountability the UKCC Guidelines for Professional Practice in 1996 (p.8) state: Accountability is an integral part of professional practice, as in the course of practice. The service supply by Aroma Boutique will advantage clients by relief stress level and improve the condition of the mind giving some effect to the behavior of a person. Therapists must be devoted to the Code of Conduct of their Professional Organization. Therapists should not give a medical diagnosis or promoting the sale of goods. Consequently, the personal information and details of clients will have to kept safety. All communication between the patient and the therapist is confidential. Issues of safety and risk for the therapist when working alone are of increasing importance (A. Left and H. Marquardt, 2000). A number of areas of potential vulnerability should be addressed before beginning practice, in order to minimize it not eliminate such as risks. Customers will be interested in Aroma Boutique because it promotes health and safety treatments. The treatments encourage relaxation and this must be seen as a major benefit on the road to good health and maintenance (Renee Tanne, 2003). Aroma Boutique will have Aromatherapy treatments using essential oils and Reflexology treatments. General Product Safety Regulations and register to regulating body of the IFPA (International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists) and IFR (International Federation of Reflexology) will be included. There is a new legislation around Health and Safety. This new legislation includes recent amendments to accident investigation techniques, fire and hazardous substance legislation. According to the Reflexology Association of Canada defines that reflexology is a natural healing art based on the principle that there are reflexes in the feet, hands and ears and their referral areas within zone related areas, which correspond to every part, gland and organ of the body. It encourages the digestive system, increase the circulation, reduce stress and promote good health and well-being. The vision for the future of this small business is that it will be efficacious and favorable within one year. Therefore, the clients will be delight with their treatments. The services of Aroma Boutique will offer full Aromatherapy massage with essential oils and full Reflexology treatments with natural creams. The benefit of the company is that relieving stress, depression and generally it enhance psychological and physical well-being. Customers will be happed in the Aroma Boutique as it provides enjoyable with special knowledge of health care professional. The health benefit of Aromatherapy is that provide healing of both the mind and the body. Most are used in blends with others essential oils to create a specific result, such as soothing, anxiety, stress, easing nausea or relieving headaches. For instance, Lavender essential oil benefits are relieve pain, remove nervous tension, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. 1.3 Management team and personnel The workforce will comprehend of only one person and they will operate as a sole-trader from a privately residence hotel. Aroma Boutique includes Aromatherapy and Reflexology treatments and it promotes natural creams, lotion, essential oils and candles. In the geographical area of company there are already services that promote Complementary Therapies in Paphos. The rent of the company is about  £800 per month, which is includes electricity, gas and water. The salary will be considered in around  £800 per month and  £Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­____ per year. The salary will be increase when the outgoings and profit decrease. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Operations The Aroma Boutique will be located in a private residence hotel property, in a specific treatment room. The workforce will comprehend of only one person and they will operate as a sole-trader. The benefits of this location will be that the hotel is on the beach, within walking distance from Paphos Harbour and 1 Km from the town centre of Paphos (www.hotelclub.com ). Moreover, the benefit of the business will be that the rent of the hotel includes electricity, water and gas. However, the disadvantage of the business is that the sole trader has the personal responsibility of payments, insurances, bills, clearing and planning permissions of the Aroma Boutique business. The operations of Aroma Boutique include legislation around Health and Safety Association of Cyprus, Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 and Consumer Protection Act 1973. In addition, Aroma Boutique will be registered to regulating body of the IFPA (International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists) , IFR (International Federation of Reflexology) and General and Product Safety Regulations. The Social Insurances of Cyprus applied to all workers such as employees and self-employees. The insurance are fire alarms, security alarm and Health Insurances that include Hospital and employees insurances. The Social Network will be needed in this business for keeping financial data sheets, confidential client records, website of advertising, communications with clients, searching and online bills. The information of clients will be kept in safety place for confidentiality and additional support. Basic Financial Forecasts The workforce will comprehend of only one person and they will operate as a sole trader from privately residence hotel. In terms of accounting, the sole trader will need to submit an annual self assessment form to HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs), registered as self0employed, and keep accurate and up-to-date records of all business transactions and accounts. Moreover, self employed people are liable for class to NI contributions (currently  £2.40 per week: 2010/11 Tax Year). Corporation Tax is essentially a tax on a sole trader companys profits. The sole trader doesnt usually need to register for VAT (Value Added Tax) until the self employed turnover reaches a certain limit in any 12 months. The VAT is currently  £ 70 000. Capitan Investment for Aroma Boutique business is  £5000. The sale trader can see five clients per day. In result self employed can have 70-75 clients per year and 360 treatments per year. Aroma Boutique will open for 5 days per week, particularly on Monday until on Friday. Six clients a day should be a maximum to ensure the therapists is not overworked and that the clients get a good treatment. Take a minimum of fifteen minutes break between each client (Renne Tanner, 2003). Aroma Boutique will open from 8:30pm to 7:30am with 7 repeat breaks. Sales: 5% discount for first contact. 10% discount for second contact. 50% discount for sixth to twelfth contact. If you pay first 8 treatments, you will have 20% discount with free facial cream for women or free body cream for men. If you pay first 6 treatments, you will have 10% discount. For Student/ Family members/ older people will have 10% discount with one free treatment. For Christmas, Easter and specific holidays gifts are available. The revenues of company are gained from the sales of oils, creams and candles that are supplies by the company and the payment of treatments by clients. The amount of money that is acquired from the revenues of company are  £3000. The cost of sales is  £300 for the first month associated with the above. The Fixed Costs includes rent which is  £600, salary which is  £1000, advertising which is  £200, a delivery van expense which is  £50, interest of loan which is  £200 and bills which is  £200. The Overheads includes Office Furniture which is  £3000, insurance which is  £200, equipments which is  £800, laptop and printer which are  £900 and licenses which is  £100. The equipments of Aroma Boutique are bed, couch roll placed on the trolley and couch, chair or stool, towels, sheet and other cover, pillows, clean gown for the client, uniform for the therapist and a blanket in case the client becomes cold. Moreover, bolster or rolled up towels, CD player, client consultation form and pen. Therefore, the trolley should contain the following items which are essential oils, carrier oils, bowls for clients jewelry and cotton wool, antiseptic wipes and tissues. The sole trader will buy her essential and carrier oils from Essential Oil Online Ltd (http://www.essentialoilsonline.co.uk/). Also, the sole trader will buy her bed, trolley, couch roll, chair or stool and uniform from the website of the EBAY (http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40_trksid=m570_nkw=MASSAGE+TABLE). Clean and fresh cotton sheets, towels or paper towels are used to cover the bed and must be changed regularly. Clean cotton or paper towel is also needed to place under the feet of each patient. It believed that 1000ml of carrier oils will need to be bought and10 rolls of couch roll will need to be bought every six months. The general Licences and permission of Aroma Boutique business are general business permit, a sales permit, a professional licence, a food service permit, a child care licence, a sign permit and client permit. The Social Insurance Scheme of Cyprus applies to all workers (employed and self employed). In the case of self employed person, the contribution is 16.9% on the insurance income of the person concerned. A self-employed person is liable to pay contributions for each contributions week in which he/she has worked. For example, fire alarm insurance, for security alarm (CTV), health insurance that include hospital and employees insurances. The costs of the insurances will be  £200. This company will have contact with clients due to the facts that legislation will have for their protection such as Consumer Protection Act 1973 (www.cyprusconsumers.org.cy). The Aroma Boutique are legislation around Health and Safety Association of Cyprus, including Cyprus Health Service Promotion Board and Health Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. General Product Safety Regulations and register to regulating body of the IFPA (International Federation of Professional Aromatherapist) and IFR (International Federation of Reflexology) will be acquiescing. Section 2: 2.1 Marketing Strategy The process of developing a strategic marketing plan helps insure that all tactical marketing programs support the Aroma Boutiques goals and objectives, as well as convey a consistent message to customers. The Marketing Strategy for the Aroma Boutique will be effective and supportive to cover the particular needs of customers. The Marketing Strategy includes PESTLE and SWOT analysis to be productive. A SWOT analysis should be attend after the PESTLE analysis, as the external environment impacts on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and treats that the business faces. PESTLE analyses are the Political, Economical, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors of Aroma Boutique plan. Political factors: The integration of Complementary Therapies into health care practitioners is current political factor. Australian General Practitioners (GPs) said that esoteric therapies such as spiritual healing, aromatherapy and reflexology seem to be relatively safe and ineffective. In addition, GPs said that the risks of Complementary Therapies were seem to mainly arise from incorrect, inadequate or delayed diagnosis and interactions between Complementary Medications and pharmaceuticals (Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2005). This is harmful research for Complementary Therapy. However, as we know, there is lacking evidence from these therapies. There is a need to provide funding for further research from Complementary therapies. Economical factors: The financial difficulty it would have a negative effect of the products that Aroma Boutique provided. The quality, quantity and the price of products will be regularly ascertained by the sole trader of Aroma Boutique. Consequence, it will support team like NHS (National Health Service) that will increase the clients of company. However, Cyprus doesnt support the National Health Service (NHS) because of the finance. Finance minister of Cyprus Charilaos Stavrakis said: Final decisions should already have been made and the finances should have been sorted as a result we promote the NHS (www.cyprus-mail.com). Sociological factors: The social attitude against work and lifestyle has been seems to be very stressful. People want more and more in their life as a result, people are working longer hours. People using Complementary therapy will be less stressful and tired. People respecting and interesting in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, so they respect our job. Aroma Boutique is attractive place with healthy environment that people can enjoy it. Technological factors: Develop of technology will affect the Aroma Boutique because of the wed advertising. With Facebook page, Aroma Boutique will communicate with clients and will be selling more products. Customers will be informed of special events such as Christmas, and they will be interested to enjoy it. These aids can be very effective for the company. Legal factors: Legal aspects that would be allowable in the operations of the Aroma Boutique are legislation around Health and Safety Association of Cyprus, including Cyprus Health Service Promotion Board and Health Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. Therefore, legislation about clients protection is Consumer Protection Act 1973 (www.cyprusconsumers.org.cy). General Product Safety Regulations and register to regulating body of the IFPA (International Federation of Professional Aromatherapist) and IFR (International Federation of Reflexology) will be acquiescing. Future legislation about Health and Safety will be change. This new legislation is designed to keep busy health and safety beside. The current course includes recent amendments to accident investigation techniques, fire and hazardous substance legislation (www.reedlearning.co.uk). Thus, the clients will trust and support the Aroma Boutique. Environmental factors: Aroma Boutique will have interesting environment with attractive decoration. It is on the beach, within walking distance from Paphos Harbor and 1 Km from the centre of Paphos (www.hotelclub.com). Customers will be relaxed with the beautiful view of Aroma Boutique. The EU has some of the highest environment standards in the world, developed over decades to address a wide range of issues. Total the main priorities are recycling, combating climate change, reducing health problems from pollution and using natural resources more responsibly(www.europa.eu). This legislation is promote a more efficient and accelerated process for healing environment. SWOT analysis of external and internal impacts on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that Aroma Boutique faces. Strengths: Aroma Boutique provides new natural products such as candles, lotion cream, essential oils and fragrance oil. These specific products will interest the clients with guaranteed high level of quality. Patients will be worry less about their condition after receiving treatment in Aroma Boutique. The aroma of natural essential oils stimulates the brain to trigger a reaction. Aromatherapy stimulates the immune system, strengthens resistance to disease and helps to combat infections. It can alleviate headaches and helps to deal with different emotions, such as anxiety, stress and depression. The sole practitioner has high level qualification with a BSc (Hons) Complementary Therapies and appropriate knowledge of Aromatherapy and Reflexology. The Aroma Boutique will be operated by a sole trader, as a result, there will not have to deal with any internal issues. Weaknesses: Many people would find it very stressful to be dependent on constantly finding work, rather than to be on regular salary (Hinks, 2000). These external factors will have an effect on the business because the sole trader will be stressful in her work. On the other hard, competitors has more experiences than the sole traders because they working for many years. The new business has no previous experiences of running a business. If the products works, people will buy it. By doing your homework and researching the efficacy of your product you will have the facts readily available to interested customers (Hinks, 2000). Opportunities: There is a growing area of possibilities of employment as complementary therapies grow in status and acceptance (Hinks, 2000). More clients will be visit the Aroma Boutique because it helps relieve health problems and improve the quality of life. Events health care organizer of Cyprus Victoria Costantinou said: We have many more therapists living in Paphos now. We have aromatherapists, osteopaths, and numerous health professionals in the district. The Complementary Therapy in Paphos has increase and the Aroma Boutique will have many interesting clients. Aroma Boutique shows the benefits of aromatherapy, while clients are getting paid without having to spend a penny. People will be interesting to invest in Aroma Boutique business in order to expand. The products will have the ability to become more popular because of technological developments. Facebook page and email will be connecting the business and other therapists as well as health care practitioners. Threats: Some practitioners have not helped the general image of Complementary Therapies by offering methods of treatments that are unreliable (Hinks, 2000). As a result the business will assure potential clients that the therapy has an objective credibility. Technological improvement could be regarded as a threat, like the manage chair, which could solicit Aroma Boutique clients. 2.2 Marketing Objectives Smart objective is a way of evaluate the objectives or ambition of a company including measurable, specific, achievable, time and realistic goals. Sole trader uses strong Marketing to build the business awareness. Networking and Connecting within sole trader community are important to get new clients in Aroma Boutique Company. The objective is specific, if the business will have 5 clients per week for the first months. The business is achievable as it only needs 2-3 new clients a week. Take a minimum of fifteen minutes break between each client. Six clients a day should be the maximum to ensure the therapist is not overworked and that the clients get a good treatment. (Renee Tanner, 2003) The realistic goals of marketing objectives are that Aroma Boutique will give to the clients free items when clients spend above a specified amount of treatment. Free offers help with the buying decision and increase sales of business. The objectives are achievable as the sole trader knows what makes Aroma Boutique different from competitors. During a year, sole trader will analyze her competitors strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Aroma Boutique is increasingly offering unique products to differentiable themselves from the common facials and body treatments. 2.3 Implementation Marketing Tactics: The Marketing Tactics of Aroma Boutique includes 4 Ps which are product, price, place and promotion. Product: Aroma Boutique having a great product as a result people loves oils so much that they buy them again and again and tell their friends. Aroma Boutique product are cream lotions, candle, essential oils and fragrance oils. Sole trader will ask for suggestions and honest feedback due the fact that it will decrease the quality of product. Price: Full body aromatherapy massage:  £50 Facial/Indian massage:  £20 1st treatment Urgent Care Routine Reflexology:  £30 8 treatments in Aromatherapy:  £420 6 treatments in Aromatherapy:  £370 8 treatments in Reflexology:  £300 6 treatments in Reflexology:  £240 The prices maybe will be decrease in few years. Place: The workforce will comprehend of only one person and they will operate as a sole-trader from a privately residence hotel. The name of hotel is Alexander the Great. It is located on the South-Western side of the isle of Cyprus. It is on the beach, within walking distance from Paphos Harbor and 1 Km from the town centre of Paphos (www.hotelclub.com) Promotion: They are cheap online advertising methods that customers will be attracted such as Facebook page. Moreover, Aroma Boutique will find cheap shipping and delivery services for their product such as Akis Express Ltd. Clients can see our advertising in labels in busy road in Paphos. The promotional materials will include leaflet in beauty shop or in shopping centre. Supporting friends will have our leaflet in their shops such as accessories shops, gym, hairstyling and perfume shops. Sales: 5% discount for first contact. 10% discount for second contact. 50% discount for sixth to twelfth contact. If you pay first 8 treatments, you will have 20% discount with free facial cream for women or free body cream for men. If you pay first 6 treatments, you will have 10% discount. For Student/ Family members/ older people will have 10% discount with one free treatment. For Christmas, Easter and specific holidays gifts are available. Prospecting: Keep sending message to the clients when Aroma Boutique has events and new products. Aroma Boutique will contact with clients every weekend because most people need to see and hear a message three to seven times before they will buy the product. Aroma Boutique will be celebrate particular dates of the year with special gifts and offers, for example Christmas, Easter and specific holidays. Therefore, perhaps the best place to start an aromatherapy and reflexology business is selling in festivals, trade shows and markets. Effective Marketing: Look for some low-cost ways that sole trader can enhance the perceived value of Aroma Boutiques product or service. Consequently, sales and net profit margin go up. Sole trader should not waste money in her business. For instance, sole trader calculates impact of the advertising and use only one telephone number for waste money. Benefit Power: The natural products will be made by the sole trader of the business. The natural products help people with dry, sensitive and damaged skin such as lotion and bath cream. Natural skin care products are the safest and the most effective means to maintain the good health of clients skin. Conversion: The advertising is magnetic so that is will attract peoples attention. The colours are interesting and associated with essential oil bottle logo. The colours of website design are similar to those of the advertising that will promote the marketing of Aroma Boutique. The pictures of advertising and web site associated with essential oil, natural products and massage. Timescales: The Aroma Boutique will be open in September 2013. The tasks will be controlled by Theodora Polydorou, the sole-trader and will be placed in timetable. The key tasks have been organized in order of implementation: Akis Express Ltd Design website Advert in leaflet The calculation for these breaks down as: Akis express Ltd  £50 Design website  £150 Advert in leaflet  £50 _______________ Total  £250 The timeline of these tasks will be as follows: Akis express Ltd delivers leaflet and product on 5th September Design website set up on 10th September Advert in leaflet will be prepare on 11th September

A Comparison of The Ministers Black Veil and the Birthmark Essay

A Comparison of The Ministers Black Veil and the Birthmark Both of these stories revolve around a lot of symbolism. These stories, since they really don't make a lot of sense on their own, force the reader to look deeper in an attempt to understand the ideas that Hawthorne tries to get across. The first and most evident symbol is the faces of the people. Georgiana has the birthmark if the shape of a hand, and the black veil that Hooper wore. I think that Hawthorne chooses to focus on the peoples faces because a person"s face is pretty much the center of their being. The face is where a person shows the majority of their emotions, and it holds the brain, which well, is where everything starts at. So, a person"s face is very important. Another prevalent symbol to me is the idea of sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper just suddenly one day shows up to church wearing a veil. At first the people are sort of angered by it. People soon start to flock to his congregation to view the spectacle, and go so far as to test their 'courage' by seeing who will go and talk to him. I think that the veil could represent sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper was either trying to hide his sin from the people so that they could not judge him, which is god"s job, or maybe he was trying to protecting his self from the sins of the people. In the end of The Ministers Black Veil Hooper dies, and sees his congregation all wearing black veils, which would probably hint that maybe it represented the sin in all of us. In The Birthmark Georgiana"s birthmark could represent, as some religions believe, the original sin which is bestowed on all by the 'hand' of god. But, unlike Hooper, Georgiana could not help her markings. ... ...iana, almost perfect, is still mortal, and carries the burden of original sin. This is the puritan idea that every human is sinful. The Birthmark is in the shape of a hand because it is the work of God, done by God's own hand and will. In short, Alymer tries to play God by ridding Georgiana of her original sin, and make a perfect being. But no mortal can be perfect, and no mortal can not have original sin. Thus when the experiment works, Georgiana achieves perfection and can no longer be a mortal, thus she dies. Moral of the story: You cannot improve on God's creation. Alymer is a sinner because he tries to be god by trying to improve on God's creation. He is successful in improving georgiana, but is not successful in improving God's creation, because Georgiana can no longer live as a mortal, and she then dies - thus Alymer is unsuccessful.

Tom and Huck Dont Live Here Anymore Essay -- essays research papers

What went wrong in America’s Hometown? Two murders within 6 weeks from each other committed by teenagers is a major problem presented in the heart of America. When Ron Powers heard of these crimes, one happening in his hometown, Hannibal, MO, his eyes were opened to this problem of today’s children and traveled back to find out just what went wrong. Growing up in Hannibal, considered by many to be ‘America’s Hometown’, the author never experienced greed, hate, or envy as a child. The most responsibility he had was being a traffic officer and save children from getting hit by passing cars as they crossed the street. What baffles Ron Powers is what has happened to today’s youth, what has changed in the way children are raised these days that create this loss of innocence, which is why he set out to try and find out what happened through interviews in Hannibal. I feel he successfully expresses his ideals on society through memories of his own compared to the two recent murders and everything he finds out through the interviewing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom and Huck Don’t Live Here Anymore: Childhood Murders in the Heart of America is about Ron Power’s reaction to the two murders in 6 weeks. He travels back to Hannibal to piece together what reasons were behind the reckless brutality of the children murderers. He begins with character development, explaining who these children were and the events pieced together of what they have done, along with a brief history of e...

Slain :: English Literature Essays

Slain The monster roared, its fury sparked a thousand tongues of fire from its hide. With one almighty sweep it sent Ryanna’s father flying over the top of the volcano, the wind ceased, the spell failed, and the monster drew itself to its full one hundred feet once again. â€Å"NOOOOOOOO!† Ryanna’s mother screamed in agony and despair, and with a snarl that sounded more like a wolf than a woman, she dashed forwards, a shower of electricity falling around her. With a thrust of her arm and a word, she hurled a massive bolt of thunder at the monster. It was knocked off its feet and landed with an earth shattering crash. Ryanna’s mother, however, had performed a spell that was beyond her power and endurance. She fell and landed on her back, blood flowing from her nose, ears, eyes and mouth at the same time. She remained there motionlessly until little six–year–old Ryanna toddled over. To her, it was just all a magic show that her parents put on for her, as they always did. Her mother looked at her through her bloody eyes while she smiled delightedly and clapped the tiny little hands. Her mother smiled back weakly, and with tremendous effort, she pulled out a small, silver, beautifully decorated pendant. Ryanna’s big, emerald, green eyes opened wide as she slipped it around her neck. â€Å"Guard this well, my child,† she said, and they were the last words she ever spoke. Ryanna waited patiently for her mother to speak again. When she didn’t, Ryanna bent over and gently stroke her stone cold, once beautiful face. Still there was no response, and Ryanna began to panic. She squeezed her mother’s arm as hard as her small hands could, and pulled on her hair. Ryanna began to scream. â€Å"MOTHER!† she cried in between sobs. The dead woman did not answer, but there was a loud, deep grunt. Ryanna turned to see the monster rise, now so angry that its eyes turned livid red. With a stamp of its feet, the monster split the mountainside and Ryanna had just enough time to dodge as her mother’s lifeless body disappeared into a bubbling lake of lava. The monster turned on her, red eyes flashing, and with an ear–splitting roar, it shot a huge jet of flames at the child. As the hot, burning mass came at her, something clicked inside Ryanna, it was a terrible rage, and a thirst for vengeance.

Soft Skills For Success

Author information GRK Murty, a postgraduate in Agricultural sciences with CAIIB, DM and PG Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, is currently working for The ICFAI University, as Associate Dean. Earlier, he worked at AP Agricultural University, Hyderabad for six years and later with Bank of India for 27 years. He had a stint at Bank of India Management Development Institute, Mumbai as a faculty member and Vice- Principal. He took voluntary retirement as Asst. General Manager in the year 2000.He has published around 45 papers in Science, Banking, Management and Insurance journals. He has also presented papers on Banking and Insurance at National and International seminars. He has published 100 articles in finance and HR magazines. He has to his credit two edited books: Forex Markets: Exchange Rate Dynamics; and Derivatives Markets – Vol 1. He is the Consulting Editor for the ICFAI Journal of Bank Management. The Book There is a popular belief that in todayà ¢â‚¬â„¢s fast changing and challenging business environment, ‘soft skills’ are more critical for success than hard skills.This is a misconception. The reality is that it has always been that way! Nobody in history ever succeeded in delivering a great executive and business performance consistently through hard skills alone. General and widespread awareness of the tremendous importance of soft skills in management is, of course, a more recent phenomenon. As the world has become more and more competitive in recent decades, organizations are finding that under-productivity and incompetence of their personnel are becoming less and less affordable.And when the factors determining employee effectiveness are analyzed, many organizations find glaring inadequacies in soft skills, undermining the effectiveness of their smartest, hardest working and most knowledgeable employees/executives. The managers concerned would not have been recruited in the first place for their soft skill s; at the recruitment stage, their domain knowledge alone would have been comprehensively tested and retested. Nor would they have received any particularly meaningful training subsequently in soft skills improvement, because until recently, soft skills seldom received the attention they deserved.Most organizations worked on the premise that soft skills are inherited skills and they cannot be acquired. At best, they can only be cultivated, honed or fine-tuned along the way in a managerial or executive career through observation and experience. In the actual experience of many organizations, such hopes seem to have been significantly belied, inevitably warranting resort, in recent decades, to a more professional approach for the enrichment of this critically important managerial input within the organization.The imperatives of competitiveness pushed organizations to give increased attention to the soft skills of their people, which seemed to really script the success of organizations better than mere hard skills. The problem has been extensively discussed and researched upon, resulting in the emergence of a whole lot of literature on the subject in the last couple of decades. A lot of work has been done on the assessment of soft skills and on the various measures for improvements in the levels of such skills across the cadres in many progressive organizations.Soft Skills for Success by GRK Murty, discusses the whole gamut of soft skills in a lucid, persuasive and self-explanatory fashion, between the covers of a well-written, 200-page volume. The treatment is intended for the lay reader and is quite free from jargon. Even so, the book is comprehensive without being pedantic. By drawing generously upon the views, ideas and thoughts of a wide spectrum of management experts, academics and business magnates and matching them with the traditional wisdom of the prescriptions of oriental and occidental scriptures and classics, the book invests itself with credibility and authority.The author organizes the book in four sections. The first section titled â€Å"Know Thyself† introduces the reader to a definition and description of soft skills. The second section focuses on role, role perception and the management of role-conflicts in the work situation. It has a chapter exclusively dedicated to the discussion of creativity in the workplace. The third section on â€Å"Communication and Personality Differentiation† offers cogent and well argued essays on communication skills, listening skills and negotiating skills, in separate chapters.The fourth and final section is dedicated to interpersonal skills. The six interesting chapters in this section deal with issues like assertiveness, handling of interpersonal conflicts, counseling, leadership, mentoring, etc. Criticism The author provides a systematic and uncomplicated treatment of the various topics taken up for coverage. The book is compact without being dense, and takes the reader thr ough a guided tour of the soft skills domain.It is an interesting and informative excursion. Given the importance of the subject matter of the book to the aspirants in the employment market as also to those already pursuing careers in management (adequately equipped with appropriate hard skills for jobs but looking out for reinforcement of soft skills), and given the orderly and stimulating manner in which the subject has been presented, it can fairly and safely be predicted that the book would see several reprints in the years to come.Conclusion Soft Skills are intangible, hard to define but that’s what makes us a whole human being, a social individual. Successful people are always found to be not just professional but they also have these ‘PLUS’ qualities – ‘soft skills’ – that others do not posses

How Well Does Parliament Perform Its Various Functions? Essay

How well does Parliament perform its various functions? There are several important functions that Parliament must perform. The word Parliament derived from the Latin ‘parliamentum’ and the French word ‘parler’ which originally meant a talk- which is what Parliament does most of the time. Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarchy. Parliament is the highest judicial, legislative and executive body in Britain. A parliamentary form of government acknowledges that it derives its power directly from the consent of the people. This sort of system ensures democracy and an active interaction between the people and their representatives. The three functions that I am going to focus on are Scrutiny, Representation and Law Making. Scrutiny is carried out in four main ways- Prime Ministers Questions, Select Committees, The Back Benches and The House of Lords. Prime Ministers Questions is a weekly opportunity for backbenchers to scrutinise the Prime Minister. This happens every Wednesday and is an opportunity for the leader of the opposition as well as other MPs to highlight government failings or ask the Prime Minister a question. This is a good way to scrutinise the Prime Minister as it puts them under pressure to justify their actions and normally with potentially no pre-warning of what topics will have to be defended. The element of surprise allows opposition MP’s as well as backbenchers and sometimes members of the cabinet to catch the prime minister out with an awkward question. The relative performance of each of the main party leaders is closely watched and each is under great pressure to get the better of their opponent. The main weakness of this form of scrutiny is that it is often accused of being more like ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’ as many believe the questions are â€Å"planted† and therefore the Prime Minister and Opposition can prepare their answers beforehand. Select Committees in both the House of Commons and the Lords investigate the work of government departments and produce reports of policy proposals. They have the power to call witnesses in the course of their proceedings. Their role is multi-faceted and includes many tasks such as investigating the work of the government departments to determine whether they have acted efficiently and effectively. This is a strong form as scrutiny as it reports back to the public what is happening behind the scenes in the government but the Select Committees lack resources, expertise and power to create damage if the government weren’t doing their job properly. Select Committees have been described as a â€Å"mere irritant†. The government relies on backbenchers in providing services to their constituents and relaying the opinions of their constituents. Although backbenchers do not hold power, a concerted revolt could topple the ruling party through a â€Å"no confidence† vote. An example of a successful rebellion occurred during November 2006 over the Terrorism Act 2006 when a large number of backbenchers voted against the 90-day detention provision of the anti-terror legislation in order to stall the bill. This provided to be the single largest defeat for then Prime Minister Tony Blair since his government. Recently David Cameron faced a threat of a fresh backbench Tory revolt as traditionalists lined up to oppose government plans to legalise gay marriage but many debated that this in fact could not be counted as a rebellion as backbenchers would probably be given a free vote in any vote on legalising gay marriage. This therefore is a strong form of scrutiny as it has been proven extremely powerful and has even overthrown past governments for example Margaret Thatcher and James Callaghan. One of the main issues with scrutiny and backbenchers is that they are often under the control of the Whips (MPs or Lords appointed by each party in Parliament to help organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business) and one of their main responsibilities is making sure the maximum number of their party members vote the way their party wants. Unless the backbenchers have enough people to rebel they will not succeed and therefore it is not often that a government is defeated, for example Blair’s government was only defeated in the Commons four times over their three terms in power. The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament and is independent to the Commons although it complements the work of the Commons. Members of the Lords play a vital role in scrutiny, there are two main reasons for this, the first being that they are independent to the Commons and in many ways have increased power which they often use to stand up to the Commons by blocking reforms. Lords also have a better balance of parties so no government has a majority. The Government however can override Lords by using Parliament Act; this was used when the fox hunting ban was being put through under Blair’s government as there were too many in opposition of the ban in the House of Lords. The Parliament Acts, although rarely used, provide a way of solving disagreement between the Commons and the Lords. The Parliament Act of 1949 also prevents Lords from delaying bills for more than one year. The second function that I’m concentrating on is Representation. In the Commons MPs are elected every five years to represent local constituencies. The link between the House of Commons and the local constituency is very important as it provides information to the government on how the public is responding to their policies and ideas for new laws, reforms and ideas. In recent years there has also been many attempts to make the government more diverse – for example more women and ethnic minorities. This was especially pushed by Tony Blair as it was obvious to him that the UK was far behind the US in being diverse, he started by pushing for there to be more women in government and these became known as â€Å"Blair’s babes†. The Lords are also a large part in representing the ‘national interest’ as they are less party political and many have had long careers in public service, business, arts and culture, or another area of activity. Therefore the members of the House of Lords contribute their expertise and knowledge to Parliament and its work and consequently able to take the bigger picture into account. However there are many downfalls in representation in the government. The most often referred to is how First Past the Post (FPTP) does not produce a very accurate representation in the House of Commons as it produces many ‘wasted votes’. In the Institute for Public Policy Research report, which looks at the ratio of votes to MPs under FPTP for the main parties in the 2010 general election, it was shown that it took 33,468 votes to elect a Labour MP, 35,028 votes to elect a Conservative MP and 119,780 votes to elect a Liberal Democrat MP. This therefore is an interesting piece of evidence showing the unfairness of the FPTP system as it strongly favours some parties over others. However there was a referendum in May 2011 which asked the public whether the Alternative Vote (AV) system should be used for general elections instead of FPTP and more than two thirds of those who voted said to keep the FPTP system- although many of those in opposition to FPTP says this in itself was unfair representation as the turnout was less than 65% of the population. The lack of women in MPs has also been blamed on the FPTP system; there are currently 504 male MPs and 145 female MPs nationwide. Therefore the House of Commons is unrepresentative of the UK as there are roughly 28. 6 million males in the UK and 30. 2 million females. The House of Lords is also seen as unrepresentative as it is unelected and even more out of ratio with the population of the UK as it has many old, socially elite members. Another one of Parliament’s main functions is Law Making is debating and passing statue law. The Government introduces most plans for new laws, with many included in the Queen’s Speech at the opening of each session of Parliament. However new laws can originate from an MP or a Lord. Parliament passes about 100 laws each year and every law goes through several stages and is debated continuously in much detail before being passed. Emergency issues such as the threat of terrorism all contribute to the need for the new laws. Before draft laws, known as bills are introduced to Parliament there is often consultation or discussion with Standing Committees and as these consist of MPs from every party they guarantee that every view point is reflected in discussion. The House of Lords main role when it comes to the function of Law Making is to amend bills or make suggestions of improvements. The Lords also have the power to reject bills that appear unworkable or undesirable (for example the fox hunting bill and identification cards bill). The governments’ majority always ensures that its proposals are passed as they have ‘elective dictatorship’ and can also use Parliamentary Acts to override the House of Lords. Also the House of Lords is also limited to only one year of delaying bills and therefore the government can pass new laws fairly easily after one year. Standing Committees also generally reflect the composition of the House of Commons and therefore the party in government will always have a higher majority. Government often imposes time limits on Standing Committees discussions. In my opinion Parliament performs its various functions- scrutiny, representation and legislation (law making)- well. Although there are many weaknesses to each function it would be extremely hard to remove these weaknesses without making the executive separate like they have in the United States.

McDonald’s Foods

McDonald's is the largest and best-known global foodservice retailer with more than 26,000 restaurants in 119 countries. Their outstanding brand recognition, experienced management, site development expertise, advanced operational systems and unique global infrastructure position them to capitalize on global opportunities. There are 1. 5 million people works at McDonald's in 119 countries around the world. Are they creating employment? Yes they are. They create employment, but still workers in the fast food industry are paid low wages. McDonald's do not pay overtime rates even when employees work very long hours. Pressure to keep profits high and wage costs low results in understaffing, so staff has to work harder and faster. As a consequence, accidents (particularly burns) are common. Since they are pressured to keep their profits high, McDonald†s tends to receive plenty of money or even profit, plenty enough to be the indicator of economic growth. In small countries, when a McDonald†s franchised store opens the economic growth in those countries tends to increase. McDonald's promote their food as ‘nutritious', but the reality is that it is junk food – high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre and vitamins. A diet of this type is linked with a greater risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Their food also contains many chemical additives, some of which may cause ill health, and hyperactivity in children. Many products sold at McDonald's restaurants are high in fat and cholesterol, and low in fiber and certain vitamins. For example, according to Bowes and Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used (1989) by J. A. T. Pennington, 55% of the calories in a Big Mac come from fat, along with 83 mg of cholesterol. For a cheeseburger, fat content is 45%, with 41 mg of cholesterol. French fries are 47%, while a hamburger is 39% fat and holds 29 mg of cholesterol. Many other products sold by the restaurant chain are similarly high in fat and cholesterol. For comparison, beans are only 4% fat. Rice is 1-5% fat, depending on the variety. A potato is less than 1% fat. As a result of their high content of fat and cholesterol, McDonald's products contribute to heart disease, certain forms of cancer, and other diseases. The links between high-fat diets and certain diseases are established beyond any reasonable doubt. (Dr. Neal Barnard, US Physicians Cttee. – DIET & DISEASE) Even though McDonalds has some sort of negative impacts to their customer, but McDonalds has done great things to the community. For example the Calgary Ronald McDonald House. They have helped by accommodating more than 11,000 families from all over the world. Ronald McDonald House is a â€Å"home away from home† for out-of-town families with children, who have not reached their eighteenth birthday, who are receiving treatment at a Calgary medical facility. Space permitting, mothers who require medical treatment because of high-risk pregnancies may also use RMH accommodations. As the conclusion, McDonalds may have some negative impact on the community, but on the other hand McDonalds helps the community to become a better community.

Donor card

â€Å"Sleep after toil, port after stormy seas, / Peace after war, death after life, / does greatly please. † This is a phrase by Edmund Spenser, a 16th-century poet. He asserted death to be a â€Å"pleasant† thing. But it is not the case for many of us. Death is not so easy. In fact, we are afraid of its pain. In fact, we are afraid of its loneliness. In fact, we are afraid of its irrevocability. And it is much more scary if we feel all those agonies even â€Å"after† our death. I am not going to write about horror movies however, but a true story of brain death. And through the arguments, I want you to realize the significance of the decision: whether to own a donor card. Donor card†¦ I guess most of you already know about it. Thanks to that card, you can save other people without any special skills by providing your organs. That is wonderful. When you watch a moving story of transplantation on a TV program, you may have a feeling that you, too, want to be like that â€Å"warm-hearted† donor. Especially, in case of heart transplantation, the donor must be a â€Å"brain-dead† person, who can no longer maintain life but still has a beating heart. If you are wanted and cannot live anyway, you may think you have a clear resolution. However, remember that you always have to pay something if you try to save others. So let me remind you that the â€Å"warm-hearted† donor is a â€Å"warm-blood-running† dead body. Into a soft and warm body, a knife cuts in, and organs are taken out. If that is all, it may not be a problem. But, the body moves, sheds tears, and even has a possibility of feeling pain. That is the reality. It may be only a spinal reflex, but may not be, too. And it may be only a possibility, but may not be, too. The diagnosis by doctors may be done in a right way, but any human-made criteria and human-performed examinations must not always be perfect. There is a fact that the donor is often anesthetized during the extraction, so that the body will not disturb doctors by moving around. Once we are misjudged in the court of death, we can never be allowed to appeal again. And even if the judgment is done in justice, the prosecution itself is fatal in this court. Once doctors start to examine if you are brain-dead or not, they will try it again and again literally till your death. Needless to say, during that testing, you cannot receive appropriate treatments for your recovery, which means, you are locked in the death court until your tombstone gets upon you. In old days, death was something absolute. We got it suddenly by divine will and we could easily tell if someone was dead or alive. However, today human beings refuse the will with their well-developed technologies. As a result, now they have got an extremely significant role of defining â€Å"death. If someone's brain is dead but heart is alive, is he or she totally dead or not? At what point do we regard the brain to be â€Å"dead? † More fundamentally, what is death indeed? Actually, we can never be sure of the answers. They are beyond our capacity. But we have decided to make the answers. So, today our death is human-made. Contrary to such an obscure definition of death, I have an obvious vision for death. I do not want my last moment to be in an agony of organ extraction. I do not want to admit my family's death when they are still moving. I do not want to leave my death to anyone's discretion. I want nobody to face any unexpected misery. And I am sure that I am not the only one. I know that I am a human being who should equally be saved as the recipients. To make my death like peace after war, I do deny writing my will to be a donor. But still, that is my opinion. The important thing is that you get interested in the issue. Today, you can easily get a donor card. But the action must not be easy. To be a guarantor of life, you must take the risk it deserves. And after distress and uneasiness, torment and bewilderment, if you still reach a conclusion of saving others, you should be proud of your devotion. If you reach a conclusion of saving yourself, you should be proud of your cautiousness. If you do not reach a conclusion, you should be proud of your sincerity to life. If you have never thought about this issue, you can start thinking from this moment. Do you really want to help others? Can you be responsible enough for your decision? How can you make your death after life most pleasant?

Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Marketing - Case Study Example As a result, Dunkin Donut targets a mass market when compared to Starbucks. As already discussed above that the market has been revolutionized and there is more competition and larger consumer turnout. This increase will further encourage other firms to enter the market and in the next 3-5 market is going to mature by having the maximum number of competitors and consumers. Dunkin can try to use policies such informative advertising to discourage consumers from buying other brands. This would not only ensure that customers do not desert the company at the competitor’s expense but, it will also protect the Dunkin’s dominant position in the market. Dunkin’ Donuts may have been founded 50 years ago, but the philosophy it adopted could very well match any modern company. The company aims to produce high quality products at a very affordable price. They increase the value of their brand by selling only ‘fresh products’ to the consumers. For example, Dunkin’ Donuts has policy that they will throw away any coffee left in the kettle after 18 minutes and serve only fresh coffee to the consumers. This gives a great value to its products as people know that whatever they are buying from the place is not harmful from

The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design Research Paper

The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design - Research Paper Example The essay "The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design" concerns the connection between color psychology and fashion design. That said, black and white might mean something different in different cultures, as black may symbolize mourning in certain cultures, and white may symbolize death in certain cultures. The following is an analysis of the colours white and black, with regard to fashion – why they were popularized, what they mean to society, and what they meant to two of the fashion icons who popularized black and white – Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, respectively. Miller (2004) describes his theory of the little black dress and why it is popular and what it means. According to Miller (2004), there are different suspects as to why the little black dress become popularized. Among these is capitalism, history, modernism, and consumption. Capitalism might be responsible for the little black dress simply because the trend began, through Coco Chanel, as indic ated below, and there were designers who were willing to capitalize on this trend. It is simply a case of giving the consumer what they want. The second suspect, according to Miller (2004) is history. According to this theory, outfitting oneself in colorful dress was a function of the rich in history. As men, and women, decided to look less wealthy, and less egalitarian, they chose black, because it made them non-descript. This goes along with the theory put forth by Rubinstein (2001), who states that the rich in Western society. maintained a kind of visual superiority to the middle class, as a way of asserting their superiority in a land where they had to compete for wealth, prestige, power and social rewards. Another historical analysis of the trend concerns Queen Victoria, who was in â€Å"endless mourning,† wearing black, and the black dress worn by Queen Victoria in her mourning came to symbolize mourning in general (Miller, 2004). Modernism is the third suspect on Mille r’s (2004) list. In particular, the aesthetics of modernism is focused upon minimalism. That said, there is also some thought that, in contrast to the theory that black and white dressing represents modernism, there is the thought that the colour black is traditional, and, therefore, designers such as Giorgio Armani have attempted to offer alternatives to black. The theory behind these offerings are that the modern woman is supposed to have security with herself and her roles, so she can leave the black behind and play around with colour (Benstock & Ferriss, 1994). Finally, Miller (2004) identifies consumption as being the reason for the black dress. In this, Miller (2004) states that women have a certain anxiety about choosing colourful dress. Even though they might want to dress in colour, they cannot bring themselves to do so, because of lack of confidence and anxiety. The â€Å"little black dress† was popularized by Coco Chanel in 1926. Chanel, in general, was a fa shion icon, as well as being a fashion designer, as she introduced minimalist fashions at a time when women were still wearing large hats, corsets and high boots. According to De La Haye (1988), Chanel popularized the minimalist look because she recognized that, after the first World War, that women were yearning for a different look, one that did not demand that she continue to immobilise herself in unnatural shapes, just so that she could become fashionable. This period also coincided with the demise of the couture houses (Crane, 2000). Chanel started by designing simple, yet elegant hats

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 25

Assignment Example 2. Another reason for this is that people don’t remember the bad times i.e. the depression. Many have a sense of security that has developed because of the structure laid out by the public sector through social security and unemployment benefits. In reality when and if things get that bad the state will not be able to support its people to that extent and those with little or no savings will be in a lot of trouble. 3. The form of money is also a problem. It’s no longer just coins and banknotes, money is now cards and spread through the internet. People have lost their sense of money. Credit cards seem to perpetuate the feeling that there is an unlimited supply of money that one has. Most people just keep spending more and more without realizing that eventually the money will run out. As opposed to this if they had a physical set amount in their hands they would have to be much more careful how they spent it because they would be able to see exactly what they were doing to their money. 4. Popular culture is another culprit because it promotes the materialistic attitudes that people have. Most people want to copy the lives of their favorite characters on screen. In order to make their lives like those of the character they are willing to spend a little more. The country’s media system is one of the most developed in the entire world and hence has a huge influence over the core

Answer the 5 questions of investment portfolio management Essay

Answer the 5 questions of investment portfolio management - Essay Example Present value of Dividends employs the cost of equity as the discount figure. Operating free cash flow is the cash residue after eliminating direct costs, working capital and capital expenditure needed for future growth, but before any payments to suppliers of capital. The firm’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the discount rate employed in determining operating free cash flow. Free cash flow to equity refers to operating free cash flow less payment to debt holders (Strong, 2008). The firm’s cost of equity is used as the discount rate. Present value of Cash flow allows a degree of flexibility for changes in sales and expenses, which implies varying rates of growth over time. However, present value of cashflow valuation approach has a weakness in that it is heavily dependent on growth rates of cash flows and the discount rate estimates. Relative valuation approach to security valuation offers information on how the market is presently valuing the stock. Compon ents measured using the relative valuation technique include the price earning ratio, price to sales ratio, price to book value and the price to cash flow. Unlike the present value of security valuation, relative valuation approach does not offer insights as to whether current valuations are appropriate. Thus, valuations could be too low or high at a certain point in time. As such, Relative valuation is suitable when there are comparable firms in terms of the risk, industry and size in the market. It is also appropriate when the aggregate market and the entity’s industry are not under valuation extreme. That is to mean that the collective market and the firm’s industry should not be acutely overvalued or undervalued (Strong, 2008). Both cash flow approach and relative valuation approach have several factors in common. One is that they are both affected by the investor’s required return on the stock since this return rate becomes a significant element of the disc ount rate. Secondly, the two valuation approaches are affected by the growth rate estimation employed in the valuation technique such as dividends, sales or earnings. Therefore, the two approaches may be considered as complementary. 2. The concepts of systematic and unsystematic risk, variance, covariance, standard deviation and beta as each of these relate to investment management. Unsystematic risks refer to the kind of uncertainty that is associated with the industry in which a company operates. Unsystematic risks are also referred to as specific risks or diversifiable risks for they are specific in each industry, and they are reduced through diversification. Unsystematic risks arise as a result of factors particular to an industry or the firm such product category, marketing, research and development and pricing. Systematic risks refer to the kind of uncertainty that is inherent in the whole market segment. They are also referred to as market risks or non-diversifiable risks bec ause they are inherent in the entire market and diversification do not result in their reduction. Systematic risks are such as war, inflation, change in taxation, global security perils and political instability that affect the functioning of firms in all industries. Total risk is a combination of systematic and unsystematic risks. Variance is the measure of volatility from the mean. Variance helps an investor to establish the risk involved in purchasing a certain security. A higher variance indicates greater variability and thus greater risk. A greater variance also

Pre-Course Reading and Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pre-Course Reading and Writing - Essay Example These ways are referred to as critical readings. From the new reading tactics, the reader is made to believe in reading for quality instead of quantity. Quality reading refers to a way of reading in which an individual can achieve the best and most important pieces of information from a set of text. It involves analyzing the author of a text, the publisher of a text, the topic of the text and the preview of the text. From the analysis, an individual can easily understand the quality of a text. Reading critically is the most competent feature one can have in terms on acquiring information. In the everyday life, we encounter reading sources which require critical reading in order to get the best out of them. Texts we encounter are significant to both ones professional and scholarly life. Less-Maffei (2012) argues that reading critically is the most important feature one should have in order to get by their daily lives. Ethics and technical communication Ethics is the center for the cre ation of effective communication. Ethics in any organization dictate that communication should be carried out in the most appropriate way. In any society or organization setting, ethics form the basis in which effective communication is created. In an ethical setting, communication is characterized by politeness, common language, openness and based on facts rather than assumptions. According to Less- Maffei (2012) it would be difficult to attain effective communication in both society and organizational settings without ethics. Communication requires ethics to shape the mode in which people relate to each other. To sensitize the issue on ethics in communication, organizations provide guidelines as to which staff and personnel are to communicate to fellow workmates and clients. These guidelines are based on ethical issues. For instance, there is a general assumption that using other languages in an organization setting is wrong and inappropriate. The creation of communication artifac ts has over the years based on the ethical issues in the field. Ethics have also played a vital function when it comes to the improvement of communique sources. Learning and information sources based on communication ethics maintains the clearness and appropriateness of the forms of information people acquire. Writing speaking or listening In an information profession, listening can provide the most success as compared to both writing and speaking. With listening, we are able to acquire a lot of information in which we apply to ones professional life. According to Less-Maffei (2012) listening forms the most integral part of an information profession since relating to people is usually their main goal. When creating a profession relationship listening is the key aim since there is so much to learn about customer expectations. Listening also enables one to gather information and create a research proposal on needs, wants and requirements of one’s profession. Personal expression In relating to the first essay, different individuals would have chosen different choices of discussion in terms of competency. In my case, I chose to read critically for the fact that I value reading as a source of all my information. From reading, I am able to acquire any information at the comfort of experts view. I have both scholarly and profession acquaintances that require a lot of reading. Since I have so much information to research on through reading, I use critical reading which makes the