Thursday, December 26, 2019

Report on Critical Incident Scenario

Intention of the report The teaching profession is one of the most challenging fields of human lives since it involves molding the behavior and character of different students from the diverse society. Because of the diversity of the students, tutors and lecturers encounter so many activities by students and all of these they are required to deal with them accordingly. An interesting part is that many students influenced by peer groups and the need to belong to a group always plan for various activities. However, there are those who know what they came to do in school and for them they concentrate on their studies and fail to recognize what is happening in their surrounding. Teachers and lecturer have ethical code of conduct and they will always act according to the acceptable rules and regulations when dealing with students cases. Choosing a teaching profession is thus one of the most tasking activity since one has to deal with students of diverse character and the society expects that by the time the stud ents finishes the learning process, they should have been well molded and ready to take up roles in the society professionally. Usually, the school environment is not conducive for every student since some see it as a way of wasting time, thus they will engage in strange activities as a way of making the process interesting. However, in turn what they plan to do is normally against the school rules and regulations. The teachers therefore, need to have a counseling department where both reported unreported cases of misconduct can be handled. Student counselors are professional in this field and they usually interact with the student largely so that they can establish some of the problems that students might be undergoing. They need to work closely with the teachers and sometimes some are tutors so that the can identify some misconduct and be able to address it before worsening. A snapshot of the critical incident Our second semester had just begun and I was attending lectures as usual. IT 300, being one of the common courses in college, there are so many students of over 1000 taking the course. Hardly had we settle for the beginning of the lectures when the dean of students entered the classroom. This time not with the intention of delivering one of his motivational speeches, but he carried a small piece of paper and wearing a stone-faced look, which suggested to everyone that all was not well. He proceeded right to the podium and as if to confirm that everyone was attentive, he passed a strong look across the class and before long he call out my name. In disbelief, out of over 1000 students I wondered why he I had picked on my name. This was strange and I hesitated to respond. This caused him alarmed and he repeat the same, but this time round with an ear deafening sound. The second call even paralyzed my body because I knew the consequences of undergoing through the disciplinary process. Variables that affected me and the other parties in the incident From the second call, I really confirmed that the lecturer wanted me and I had no other alternative other than to stand up and hear what he had to say. I was frighten beyond expression as everyone in the classroom now turned to look at me wondering what I had committed. The consequence of being summoned is one of the variables that affected me. I did not know what to do but he asked me to accompany him to his office. Some of my friends I am sure were feeling sorry for me while others were just mesmerized by the turn of events. Before I step out of my position, I whispered to my friend to accompany me for wherever he had on me of which she did not refused. I have never committed any crime in my entire life and here I was being summoned by the dean of students. Another variable that affected me was the fact that I thought that someone might have framed me against some fake allegations. As we jerked out of the classroom everyone was left in shocked since no one had any form of misconduc t that had happened and this must be one those cases which deals with security issues. I recollected my courage and followed him silently to his office. Neither I nor him asked a question as we proceeded to his office. The other students remained calm anticipating what I might have done to deserve this kind of treatment. Attitudes that enhanced and hindered the interactions Being a Christian and the fact that I had not committed any crime encouraged me and I admit that the chief attitude that enhanced my courage to face the dean is innocence that I knew I had. With my friend’s willingness to support me in whatever case, I felt that nothing could not be resolved between the dean and me. Having been brought up with religious beliefs I knew that nothing is impossible and incase of anything I would defend myself courageously. On the other hand, the dean is known to be a lively person but on that day, he possessed a different look and in bet no one could have dared face such a situation with the courage tat I had. This fact of stone-faced hindered our interaction as we proceed to his office, I did not know what he was thinking so I could not raise a question. While on his side what I had committed amounted to no communication between him and me. How my thinking affected the scenario After gaining courage and letting the fears off me, I reflected upon the crimes that I might have committed but none amounted to being summoned by the dean. Deep within me I new that I was innocence and they could not succeed in framing me. I thought of my hard work in school and felt that such a think should never have happened to me. Whoever was behind this must pay for it dearly. Upon reaching to his office there were other members of the disciplinary committee and they brought the allegation immediately. The allegation was that I was the main student organizing for a strike. This shocked me beyond doubts and for a second in thought the world was coming to an end cause such a think I never even cross my mind. Now being accused of it was totally something different. I defended myself strongly against all they had and at the end they were left agape because they might have been given the wrong information. Thank God I managed to convince them beyond reasonable doubts that I had noth ing to do with any students’ strike. They now went back to the initial information to establish the truth of the matter of which I was realized without any penalty. What I would do to achieve a better outcome Considering how strange the situation was, I realized the need for being open to everyone including the administration and student leaders. By coming to the open, everyone would know your character and who are your friend. Therefore, in such a situation both the students and the administration cannot doubt nor have anything to accuse you. This could have even helped them look for the real culprits instead of having vague information on the supposed planned strike. This being delicate issues that would affect both the students and the administration, saw the need for taking part time courses on students counseling and mentorship. I could be a resource to the institution and help them in providing real information on the ground rather than them relying on ear say. I resolved that if I had engaged in such related activities, I would even be better placed. I resolved that it is better to attend basic courses such as guiding and counseling that can help me help and my peers avoid such cas es of misconduct which can ruined one’s life. Volunteering to offer information could also help since students could not just be picked without enough evidence that they are involved in bad behaviors. Recommendations Based on my experience, I recommend that the school administration should always work closely with the students and learn the character of everyone from the time they join the institution to the time they will finished. They can do this better by assigning every teacher or lecturer to a given number of students, and they should be ready to work with them molding, and shaping their character according to the accepted ethics of the society. This is necessary because each teacher would be in a position to learn the type of student they are handling and if they have certain bad behavior it can be resolved easily within those groups. It is also advisable that every institution should implement laws and regulations that serve all the students. The introduction of basic counseling skills should also be taught to enable all the students be responsible and know what they came to do in school. The teaching and none teaching staff should work hand in hand to identify the entire student’s character and avoid cases of framing someone falsely. Conclusion When faced with difficult situation students, teachers and the non teaching staff should always be ready to help one another and resolve issues for the benefit of everyone. Facing issues courageously is essential especially if one is sure that he has never committed any crime and this would even help remove doubts by the investigating team. Since these are every day occurrence, we should all have approaches of dealing with the situation professionally and avoid cases of intimidation. From that day, I have learned to be open to my seniors as well as my friends so that they can also defend me in such a situation. Having the right techniques of addressing students’ issues is mandatory for every institution. However, some situations, which call for more help especially from psychiatrist and counselors. References Ezra, O. (2006). Moral dilemmas in real life: current issues in applied ethics Volume 74 of Law and philosophy library. New York: Springer publishers 45-78 Keyes, Corey (2002). The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 43 (2): 207–222. Miller, L. (2006). Practical police psychology: stress management and crisis intervention for law enforcement. USA: Charles C Thomas Publishers. Paul J. Davis, (2006). Critical incident technique: a learning intervention for organizational problem solving. Development and Learning in Organizations, 20 (2) pp.13 – 16 Richards, S., and Bergin, A. (2000). Handbook of Psychotherapy and Religious Diversity. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. Streiner, D. L. Norman, G. R. (2008) Health Measurement Scales: A Practical Guide to Their Development and Use. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Witmer, J.M.; Sweeny, T.J. (1992). A holistic model for wellness and prevention over the lifespan. Journal of Counseling and Development 71: 140–148. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. (2005). Mental health: facing the challenges, building solutions: report from the WHO European Ministerial Conference.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Pablo Picasso Essay - 784 Words

Pablo Picasso He was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright who spent most of his adult life in France .During his lifetime he created over 20,000 works. Born the son of Josà © Ruiz Blasco a professor of drawing and Maria Picasso Là ³pez in Mà ¡laga on October 25, 1881. His high aptitude for drawing manifested itself early, around the age of 10, when he became his father’s pupil.is father was an aspiring artist that redirected his focus to his son’s career when he noticed his talent. From a very young age he was able to portray a life model on paper with the highest resemblance. The lucky to be born into creative environment (the father of the brightest personality in the 20th century painting†¦show more content†¦Expressing human misery, the paintings portray blind figures, beggars, alcoholics, and prostitutes, their somewhat elongated bodies reminiscent of works by the Spanish artist El Greco. I invented Cubism, it has a Spanish origin is what Picasso would say if asked regarding its origins of the style. He was regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Picasso had different styles and techniques that influenced the art work and artist after him. From his treatment of space cubist structure, geometric shapes and multiple perspectives. To the huge influence† that Picasso had upon artistic abstract cartons artwork in his art work. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles dAvignon (1907), and Guernica (1937 At the beginning of 1907, Picasso began a painting, Les Demoiselles dAvignon (The Young Women of Avignon) that would become arguably the most important of the century. In some of the preliminary sketches there was a man with a skull, probably a medical student, maybe inspecting a prostitute for syphilis. His use of color Muted palette, influenced by Cezanne and his Blue and Rose .The painting began as a narrative brothel scene, with fiveShow MoreRelatedPablo Picasso Essay1248 Words   |  5 PagesWho was Pablo Picasso? Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is commonly considered to be one of the greatest twentieth-century radical European surrealist and cubist painters and sculptors to have lived, if not the greatest modern artist that Spain has ever produced. His prolific portfolio included experimentation in everything from printmaking to ceramics, although oil painting was for most of his career his primary medium. His extensive legacy in popular culture and fine art, particularly in abstract geometryRead More Pablo Picasso Essay674 Words   |  3 PagesPablo Picasso Some say he was superstitious, sarcastic, awful towards his children, and horrible to women. He could very well have been all those things, but one thing I know Pablo Picasso was a great artist. He is one of the fathers of cubism, he had an audience of at least tens of millions. No other painter or sculptor before him had the fame that Picasso had. In the year 1881 a son was born to Don Jose Ruiz Blasco and Maria Picasso on the southern coast of Spain in a town calledRead More pablo picasso Essay1276 Words   |  6 Pages Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso was considered the greatest artist of the 20th century because of his unique styles and techniques. Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881 to a professor of art named Jose Ruiz Blanco and his wife Maria Picasso Lopez. Because of his fathers’ occupation, Picasso’s talent was quickly noticed and appreciated. Don Jose, an art teacher, moved Picasso and his family to La Coruna and then to Barcelona where he was Picasso’s instructor at the fineRead MoreEssay about Pablo Picasso1158 Words   |  5 Pagesof personal meaning to the artist. One of the most important figures in modern art is Pablo Picasso. Not only was Pablo Picasso a genius in the field of abstract art, but he also experimented with sculpting and ceramics. Pablo Picasso has taken the world to many places with his unique style of work which is why I believe he is considered to be a genius of the 20th century. Background Pablo Picasso, born Pablo Ruiz, was destined to become an artist at a very young age. Born in Malaga, Spain on OctoberRead More Pablo Ruiz Picasso Essay634 Words   |  3 PagesPablo Ruiz Picasso Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga in 1881. Pablo was the son of a respected art teacher, and due to his father’s influence, young Pablo entered the Academy at Barcelona at age 14. This was where he painted his first great work, â€Å"Girl with Bare Feet†. After two years of schooling, Picasso transferred for even for advanced tutelage. This did not hold Picasso’s interest, so instead he spent much of his time in cafes and in brothels. Three years later, Picasso won a gold medalRead More Pablo Picasso Essay2997 Words   |  12 PagesPablo Picasso A Brief Biography Pablo Ruiz Y Picasso was the most famous artist of the 20th century. He was born on October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain. Picasso showed great talent at an early age. He loved to paint pictures of city life and was fascinated by the circus. He also enjoyed painting pictures of the day-to-day life of poor people in his neighbourhood and was also very poor himself. His father, Jose Ruiz Blasco, was a Castilian art teacher in Malaga and his mother, Maria PicassoRead MorePablo Picasso- A Biography Essay1230 Words   |  5 PagesPablo Picasso was one of the most recognized and popular artist of all time. In Pablo’s paintings and other works of art, he would paint what he was passionate about and you can see his emotions take control throughout his paintings and other works of art. Pablo Picasso works of art include not only paintings but also prints, bronze sculptures, drawings, and ceramics. Picasso was one of the inventors of cubism. † Les Demoiselles dAvignon† is on e of Picasso famous paintings; this is also one ofRead MorePablo Picasso Cubism Essay1071 Words   |  5 PagesCRITICAL ANALYSIS TASK YEAR 10 MAJOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS TASK CRITICAL TASK ANALYSIS Step 1: Description Pablo Picasso is a widely acknowledged Spanish artist in the twentieth century. He was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881.Cubism was the first style of abstract art which evolved at the beginning of the 20th century in response to a world that was changing with unprecedented speed. In 1909, Picasso used cubism influenced by Paul Cezanne created an artwork called â€Å"The Factory at Horta de Ebro†. The paintingRead More Guernica by Pablo Picasso Essay1811 Words   |  8 PagesGuernica by Pablo Picasso   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1937, Pablo Picasso painted Guernica, oil on canvas. The Republican Spanish government commissioned the mural for the 1937 World Fair in Paris. Guernica is a large mural, twenty-six feet wide and eleven feet tall, and was placed at the entrance to Spain’s pavilion. Picasso did not do any work after receiving the commission until reading of the bombing of the Basque village of Guernica, in Spain. It was that attack, perpetrated by the German Luftwaffe, that inspiredRead MoreThe Sexuality of Pablo Picasso Essay1524 Words   |  7 PagesPablo Picasso is generally considered one of the best and most influential artists of the modernist era and perhaps of all time. His personal life was anything but stable, marked by a vast sex drive that caused him to have multiple wives and mistresses, constantly searching for new women as he lost interest with his former lovers. This womanizing aspect of his personality and the tumultuous times in his life resulting fro m it had a great effect on his art. A large number of his works have a sexual

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Poststructural and Postpositivist Theories †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Poststructural and Postpositivist Theories. Answer: Poststructural and postpositivist theories hold that knowledge is not neutral. Representing the world is done in specific ways and in the process much is left out unrepresented as much as highlighted. This process is unavoidable, arbitrary as well as political. It is against this background that this paper probes and apply a Poststructural framework to present a comprehensive analysis of the latest Las Vegas mass shooting in. It is impossible to found knowledge purely on experience and systematic structures. I will reject the idea of essential quality of dominant relation in hierarchy but deconstruct knowledge systems which generate multiplicity thus singular meaning illusion. Thus understanding the mass shooting in this case, it is essential to study both shooting itself and systems of knowledge which led to the mass shooting. Thus I will levy an attack against the western philosophy hegemony; rooted in ideals of enlightenment. It will operate as the critical framework which is radical philosophy that seeks social change to explain the need for change to understand why such mass shooting took place despite the modernism in the US. Modernism presents a fragmented view of human history and subjectivity, yet present these fragmentations as something very tragic and which needs to be lamented as well as mourned as a loss (Fierke 2016). Thus works of art can be used to avail unity, coherence as well as meaning that has been lost in most modern life; thus art can do what human institutions have failed to do whereas postmodernisms celebrates this idea of fragmentation and hold that the world is meaningless and needles to pretend that art can make meaning (Fierke 2016). Thus I will employ the postmodernism to establish the unmeaning in meaning and shunt to side concepts of subject and individual embedded in modernism teleological stories. Thus the post-structural aligns with postmodernism to dismantle Western historiography metanarrative. Thus the latest Las Vegas mass shooting disapproves the enlightenment idea that US thought it undergone based on the belief in structures and systems (Campbell and Roland 2016). The failure in the systems and structures led to the mass shooting as the security and Americans believed in modernisms theorist argument which have been dismantle here as American systems failed to control guns based on belief on enlightenment (Hiltzik 2017). Bibliography Campbell, David and Roland Bleiker. 2016 'Postructuralism', in T Dunne, M Kurki and S Smith (eds.) International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Fierke, K. 2016. Constructivism, in T Dunne, M Kurki and S Smith (eds.) International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Hiltzik, M. 2017. 'Thoughts and prayers' and fistfuls of NRA money: Why America can't control guns. The LA Times. Accessed 14 October 2017.

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Ability to Refuse the Bad Habits

Reasons why People Continue to Overeat, Smoke, Take Illegal Drugs, Practice Unsafe Sex and Fail to Sleep People continue with the listed habits for several reasons. Drugs, smoking, and sex are highly addictive and, most likely, extremely challenging behaviors to avoid. Depending on the geographical location, smoking may socially be accepted and even encouraged. Additionally, it may result from an environmental behavior in which children may be raised as it is known that they are used to imitate from their parents, while growing up.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Ability to Refuse the Bad Habits specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Majority of teenagers spend time on coaches watching television and playing video games, as opposed to playing outside. This behavior aggravates intake of unhealthy fast foods and fatty snacks and leads to detrimental health. People continue engaging in using illegal drugs as the singl e way to run away from their reality, and interfere with their mind states. People fail to get adequate sleep since they have adopted the notion that one lives once. Therefore, time should not be wasted for sleep when one can spend it partying and enjoying his/her life. Mostly, people practice unsafe sex since they are usually too intoxicated to remember about safety. Others dislike the feel of condoms, and consider the feelings more significant as compared to long-term health. In other cases, people unconsciously engage in unsafe sex. Steps to Maintaining Good Health Developing as well as maintaining an unimpeachable health is hard for every person. However, it is not impossible if the person has determination. There are five basic guidelines which can help maintain good health, while fulfilling the fitness goals. The steps offer accountability and motivation so that achieving a satisfactory health becomes easier. These steps may be considered undemanding and vital for maintaining better well-being and energy. Keep the Goal of Embracing Good Health Visible The goal of achieving good health should always be kept in mind. Therefore, pictures of vegetables and fruits may be placed on the refrigerator, and pictures of healthy bodies taped on the mirror. Moreover, the desired new habits can be written on sticky notes and placed in the purse, by the clock, on the billfold, by the side of the computer screen, or any other place where they catch your attention. This is extremely motivational and helps the person keep focused. Learn the Facts which will Inspire Change Reading new articles, magazines and books, which offer the scientific data to prove the importance of new habits and health claims, impacts on the efforts made to seem worthy.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Establish Accountability Establishing accountability is the most vital step towards achievin g good health. When a person is striving to maintain health habits, a partner should help him/her remain focused on the set goals. Support of a partner makes it easier for a person to adhere to his/her aim to quit smoking, exercise more, or eat better as opposed to when an individual is working alone. Hence, various diet and exercise groups are more successful in achieving the end result as compared to individual effort. Allow for Failures Since failure may be inevitable, it should be allowed. Giving up a new habit because of pressing issues should be excused though a person should try again. In such a case, the principle goal is to develop the appropriate health habit throughout lifetime. Rewarding the Achievements The person should come up with small goals and identify how to reward him/herself after meeting the aim. However, the reward should not disrupt the goal, for instance, allowing smoking a cigarette for a smoker. On the contrary, the goal should motivate one to keep moving forward. This essay on The Ability to Refuse the Bad Habits was written and submitted by user Ashtyn Y. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Time Lags in Fiscal Policy Essays

Time Lags in Fiscal Policy Essays Time Lags in Fiscal Policy Paper Time Lags in Fiscal Policy Paper Fiscal policy is the change in taxes and spending that affect the level of GDP (O’Sullivan, p. 212, 2008). When fiscal policies are put into place, the goal is to see the economy grow to healthy levels. Other reasons for fiscal policies could include stabilizing the economy. These policies are supposed to help the economy run at its full potential. Congress and the President are supposed to be constantly working to maintain a healthy economy. There are times however, that a poorly timed move could hurt and destabilize the economy. The problem with trying to implement policies that will move the economy to its highest potential output is that there can be delays. Trying to forecast the economy is like trying to forecast the weather. When policy makers make mistakes, they create proverbial rain at our picnic. When the economy starts to slow down, government officials try to get the economy to run at its full potential again. The problem with this is that sometimes, the economy can correct itself without policies being established. There are usually delays, or lags in the policies being implemented. Just like normal, regular people, there are times that policy makers are slow to realize that there is problem that needs correcting. When they finally realize that there is an issue at hand, it may take the policy makers time to react. Two types of lags can cause problems inside lags and outside lags. Inside lags involve the time it takes to formulate a policy while outside lags involve the time it takes for the policy to actually work (O’Sullivan, p. 214, 2008). The biggest problem with the inside lag is the time it takes policymakers to recognize shifts in economic indicators. Policymakers try to rely on their forecasting skills. Sometimes their forecasting is correct, while other times, they are wrong. This can cause big discrepancies in the economy. Another issue is the time it takes for policy makers to realize that there is a problem and then fix the problem at hand. With outside lags, policies such as tax cuts take time to actually work. Outside lags are normally short, but if they are timed incorrectly, the economy could actually become destabilized. The worst problem with lags is that economists are playing the role of the weatherman in forecasting what will happen to the economy. It is hard for them to know whether an economic slowdown is just temporary or if it will be a long recession. For example, if economists predict that the economy is going to be working over its potential, and the government implements a policy to get the economy to its full potential, but not over it, and then the economy becomes weak before the policy takes place, the entire economy could become destabilized. Policy makers must understand this possibility and do their best to minimize errors. Reference OSullivan, Shefferin, Perez. (2008). Economics: Principles, Applications, and Tools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Ethical Leadership in Business Essay Sample

Ethical Leadership in Business Essay Sample Ethical Leadership in Business Essay Ethics is specific standards set within an organization to guide employees. Business decisions are made based on these standards. Hence, they affect the way companies operate and how the company interacts with its employee, customer, the community, and other shareholders. Ethical leadership plays an important role and is known to be the most important factor that promotes productivity in workplaces. Ethical leadership is associated with individual characteristics and includes honesty and trustworthiness. The importance of leadership cannot be underestimated, and the management sets the tone for every decision made within a company. Therefore, ethical leaders are considered as role models and have the ability to hold their employees accountable. Leaders are looked upon as the key decision makers; they have a huge responsibility to ensure that all stakeholders are comfortable at all times. A leader with ethical morals exercises their duty by showing good examples and treating people fairly. Ethical leaders are more like role models and take moral identity as an important element. Thus, they behave in ways that are rational and logical. Individual moral identity means having specific behavior such as caring and being compassionate. Therefore, moral identity is linked to ethical leadership, which is further related to social behavior like charity. Practicing ethical leadership is essential for those in authority because it makes a significant impact to his subordinates. Employees will behave ethically and avoid being unethical depending on the leaders’ action. Those in authority are in charge disciplining an employee who breaches any ethical code. Therefore, they lead by example. Ethical leadership emphasizes the need to acquire positive outcomes, but also obtaining these positive outcomes within specific ethical standards. In leadership, transparency plays an important role in upholding the companys image. To display ethical leadership means to set good examples for employees to enable them to follow the organization culture. It is about creating policies and code of conduct that are useful in setting straight what is expected of employees. It is important that employees feel safe within their work environment. Therefore, a conductive environment that fosters open communication is key in maintaining standard ethical practices. Whereby employees can feel free to report to the higher authority in case a senior officer behaves unethically. One way organizations promote ethical leadership is by taking seriously any complaint forwarded by the employee. Organizations also need to offer ethic training regularly to help create a better ethical environment. As part of compliance efforts, the organization needs to invite motivational speakers to help employees see the sense of practicing ethical behavior. To ensure that ethical standards are maintained. Strict punishment should be administered to those violating the ethical standard. To promote ethical standards, the old employees and new employees should be aware of the organizations code of ethics, and every employee should be aware of the organizations core values. Employees need to be guided to adopt appropriate behavior. Factors like integrity, sense of responsibility, discipline, emphasis on quality and teamwork need to be emphasized at all times. In todays world, young people are ambitious and are eager to succeed using all means. Most employees are willing to engage in any means by foregoing their ethics and moral values to achieve success. It is important that part of the organization ongoing ethical compliance employees should be aware of the values and ethics required by the company. In a nutshell, ethical leadership involves considering different factors that can affect employees and be mindful of employees. Ethical leadership is the most important element in business. Ethical leadership creates ethical workplaces thus leaders are expected to uphold certain values to maintain the integrity of the organization.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Colour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Colour - Essay Example This research investigates the complex meaning of the color red, considering the ways its meaning can vary amongst individuals, cultures, and subcultures. In examining the colour red, one of the most overarching considerations is establishing an epistemological framework between cultures. Friedman & Miyake (2004) investigated the extent language shapes human perception. This study primarily revealed that cultures with more complex vocabularies for designating colour subsequently perceived colour in different ways. In terms of red, this is significant as it is difficult to speak of a singular ‘red’ throughout world culture, but rather a series of approximating notions of ‘redness’ that are at best pragmatically linked. This notion of redness has assumed symbolic recognition in global society. One of the most prominent such instances is the notion of red as embodying revolutionary ideas, or more specifically socialism and communism. Earl (1996) examined this thematic implementation of red in a variety of 20th century social contexts. Undoubtedly influenced by the Red Star communist symbol, as well as the Russian semantic linkage between red and ‘beautiful’, red came to acquire such prominent symbolic properties that countries with communist regimes were even referred to as ‘red’ countries. This symbolism extended to specific social movements; for instance, the perceived intrusion of communism into the United Kingdom and United States was referred to as the Red Scare. While there is the distinct possibility that these political notions of redness were influenced by deeper human instinctual perceptions of red, the symbolic perception of red also varies across cultures. In this way, rather than ‘red’ purely embodying revolutionary ideology, the color also connotes passion and virility. For instance, from a comprehensive qualitative approach, red roses, hearts, or even candy harkens these essential qualities. Ball (2001, p. 43)

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Internal Memorandum Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Internal Memorandum - Article Example Summary and response: Frymovich starts by discussing the current problems faced by the young entrepreneurs and small businesses in Europe, highlights the business environment by submitting facts and figures, and then explores the reasons behind those problems (Frymovich). According to the article, it is very difficult for small firms to get credit or financing for their operations (Frymovich), and to get an open market in the EU, therefore, the majority of the small firms head towards the U.S. where the laws and policies are more favorable and the market more accepting (Frymovich). It is interesting to note that Europe has almost doubled the number of self employed workers (Frymovich), and if each of those self employed business people were to hire just one more worker, a magnitude of new jobs would be created (Frymovich). However, most of those businesses hesitate to operate in Europe, due to the dearth of venture capital and angel investment, complex government policies and prolong ed time periods for government funding (Frymovich), and the lack of acceptance of high risk in the market (Frymovich). The banks in Europe are still recovering from economic recess (Frymovich), and the firms are protected by the government (Frymovich). This means that downsizing and starting over are more difficult in the EU than it is in the U.S. (Frymovich). Whereas this protection can be viewed as a safety factor for the employees in that they cannot just be fired at whim, and so their economic stability is guaranteed, this safety factor serves as a hurdle for companies which have failed in their venture and want to start anew in some other field of business (Frymovich). For example, by cutting the credit rating of a failed operation, Germany makes it harder for the business to venture into the market again (Frymovich). Although there are some agencies working for the benefit of the small operations, they

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Mass Media and Economic Development Essay Example for Free

Mass Media and Economic Development Essay Mass media has always been one of the pillars of modern society. With its wide range and base, it is indubitably, the most effective and efficient way of mass information dissemination. Yet, instead of mass media being a primary tool for education, it is mostly being used as a medium for entertainment; to show bland, superficial products with little, or no educational value. So, attempting to connect mass media with economic development would seem as disjoint as climate change and my inability to make good analogies. Surprisingly, this is what the last speaker, from The Public Sphere talked about. The forum cites economic literacy as the main contribution that mass media can make to economic development. Defining economic literacy as the ability to identify, analyze and evaluate the consequences of individual decisions and public policy, the speaker, Mr. Omar Dumdum of NEDA, goes in to explain the ineffectiveness of economic education in secondary school; therefore, mass media should take the primary responsibility of promulgating economic literacy, to promote economic development. This can be done, according to Mr. Dumdum, through better economic news writing and reporting, making economic news understandable for the general population, and information dissemination campaigns. There will be some difficulties encountered, of course, as Economics is wrought with technical terms that cannot be easily simplified, but, if information campaigns are done in tandem with better reporting, results can be achieved. Personally, I do think it is possible and feasible. Being someone who believes in the power of mass media to reform society, I think mass media could enhance the net economic literacy of the Philippines, which would, hopefully, increase Filipino participation in crucial economic activities, resulting in inclusive economic development. But of course, mass media has internal flaws that prevent this from happening. For one, it bears the inability to make economic news/information exciting, or even understandable. If not for my privileged secondary and tertiary education, I would not know anything about our countrys economic status, as I regularly skip the Business section of the papers, because it is simply boring. Economic reporting tends to be too technical, or elitist, so much so, that for the average Filipino citizen believes that the economic opinion of his/her neighborhood barber is more valid and believable compared to the TV guy in a suit. I am not dismissing the opinion of Manong Barber as incorrect or irrelevant (he might be an economist, who knows), but this points out the preference of Filipinos to opinion-based economic information, over rigorous, empirical economic reporting. And, so I have mentioned, we Filipinos are not entirely at fault. We cannot be blamed for giving more importance to comprehensible information than jargonic gibberish. Also considering the fact that public opinion greatly influences economic policies in our country (i.e. sin tax bill), this, all the more makes the medias role in promoting economic development crucial. I do agree with Mr. Dumdums proposed approach of information campaigns being conducted simultaneously with better news reporting, because better enws reporting alone would not fulfill the expected impact of mass media in the economic literacy of our society. In conclusion, I think that the mass media, is indeed, an important element in aiding the development of a Philippines as a globally competitive economy. It is not enough, however to merely educate people about the Economics and the economic condition of our country at present. Public policies, political will, exhaustive analyses and correct decisions are also parts of the solution to the enigma that is Philippine development. And, in these, mass media can only contribute so much; mass media cannot improve the Philippine economy alone.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Effective Approaches to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Essay -- essays researc

Effective approaches to prevent teen pregnancy After reading numerous articles and abstracts in regards to the ever so intriguing topic of teen pregnancy, I’ve come to a conclusion which is a little different than I had expected. Before reading any of the literature on teen pregnancy, I was under the assumption that the sex education classes provided in school were an extremely effective weapon against unwanted teenage pregnancies. Of the literature references that I’ve used and those of which I have haven’t chosen to extrapolate on, many have reported results based on random surveys while others have conducted quantifiable research to reach their findings. In an article by Dryfoos J in the Planned Parenthood Review, Dryfoos mentions some methods that have been proven to slightly impact the teenage pregnancy issue. The article, â€Å"Preventing teen pregnancy: what works,† the author tells us of what’s necessary for any program designed to prevent teen pregnancy to be effective. He states â€Å"To avoid unintended pregnancy among young persons, two conditions must be met: they must have the capacity and a reason to want to control their fertility.† This means that a teenager must have a reason to prevent herself from becoming pregnant as well as the means to do so. There are programs currently in place which help to provide a means to an end to this problem. They include family life education and birth control services. Programs which assist in providing a reason to not get pregnant include quality of life programs and expanding opportunities programs. Based on studies performed, two trends are emerging. These studi es indicate that sex education can enhance knowledge but little evidence shows that these school based sex education programs have sexual activity or contraception use. Also, evaluations on the method of problem-solving have shown a reduced amount of risk-taking behavior as well as increase in the use of contraceptives for sexually active teenagers. Another article that I chose was the Journal of Adolescent Health by K. A. Hacker, Y. Amare, N. Strunk, and L. Horst entitled â€Å"Listening to youth: teen perspectives on pregnancy prevention.† This article gives statistical evidence of a teen’s perspective on pregnancy prevention. This article gives us a very convincing detailed analysis of their survey including percentages of students who felt a particular wa... ..., as I have discussed before – what is being taught to students is not the reality of the topic, but a non-controversial â€Å"G† rated version of the dangers of early sexual activity. I believe that neither of the two solutions will work without the other. Parents must speak to their children regardless of how awkward it may feel in addition to better and more informative education on the sexuality and its repercussions. Bibliography Dryfoos J. â€Å"Preventing teen pregnancy: what works.† Planned Parenthood Review, October,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2002, pp. 6-7. Hacker, Karen A; Amare, Yared; Strunk, Nancy; Horst, Leslie. â€Å"Listening to Youth: â€Å"Teen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perspectives on Pregnancy Prevention.† Journal of Adolescent Health, April, 2000,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  pp.279-288. Somers, Cheryl L.; Fahlman, Mariane M. â€Å"Effectiveness of the 'Baby Think It Over' Teen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pregnancy Prevention Program.† Journal of School Health, May, 2001, Vol. 71 Issue 5,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  p188, 9p. Wood, B. Daniel. â€Å"Teens, sex, and power of parents.† The Christian Science Publishing Society,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  September, 2002.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Reaction Paper for the National Museum

When I heard about you asking us to visit at least two museums and make a reaction paper out of it, I was so excited, not only because I know that you can travel back in time but of course there's nothing feels like getting in touch with your roots but by having to experience or perhaps have a glimpse of how it was like. To tell you honestly, I haven't been in a museum in a while and to put it bluntly, I've never been to the National Museum since I was in Kindergarten wherein I can't understand a thing. I didn't realize that the National Museum is divided into three buildings, Anthropology, National History and the Arts. I was excited to see the Natural History because it is the one that is newly renovated and is famous for the â€Å"Tree of Life† which is the centerpiece of the said museum; unfortunately we were not able to see it due to the lack of time but I will definitely visit that one of these days. I didn't realize that the entrance in the museum is free; I wonder why not a lot of people enter it except those kiddos who were having their field trips. There are lots to see but there's so limited time. It would have been better if there's a guide or a curator to tour us around unfortunately they're busy with the field trip of the kids. Here are some of my snapshots of the museum. I don't want to discuss anymore what I've seen inside because everybody who visited it knows about it. What I want to discuss is how the message of how rich our culture is has resonated on me so much. There were so many goose bumps moments when I was touring around the Museum especially seeing the Spoliarium in person. I caught myself staring at its magnificence for around 5 minutes. I was absolutely amazed and mesmerized by it. I was in awe of it and the experience was really indescribable. I'm not sure if I was just emotional or over reacting or if it was really the feeling it creates for every nationalistic Filipino. I felt like having to experience the atrocities of the Spanish Regime. I can still remember way back in Grade School, I was really fascinated with the Philippine History. This piece showed the world how it was like to be a Filipino way back then. A masterpiece that is comparable to Picassos' Guernica in Spain. It was really moving as it showed the violence experienced by our ancestors. Surely it was used to incense the fire burned in the hearts of the Filipinos to fight against such cruelty. I wish someone will be commissioned soon to paint the effects of the Marawi siege, I'm sure it can be a great addition to the National treasury. On the other hand, I wonder why there were no paintings depicting the Marcos dictatorship. I hope that the National Museum was designed according to time or era so it will feel like just travelling back in time, maybe they want to put it together according to pieces. I was wondering how it was like if every artifacts in all of the museums in the country just like the ones in the Rizal and Aguinaldo shrines will be placed in the National Museum, it could have been a surreal experience for me. After everything I saw I can only conclude that we might be a third world country but our heritage and culture is undeniably rich and should be seen and appreciated by all Filipinos. After everything I've seen today, I can't help but be prideful of how rich our culture is and we should celebrate it just how like our neighboring countries like Thailand and Indonesia have preserved their cultures. It surely is the key to the secrets of our past and certainly defines us as a nation full of great treasures that can rival the best museums in the world.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

George Orwell’s vision Essay

George Orwell’s books are not conventional. They use extremely vivid and alarming descriptions to support thought-provoking subjects, and their endings are far from happy. I felt a strong sense of despair at the end of both 1984 and Animal Farm, even though I found them gripping and fascinating. George Orwell, being a socialist, was strongly opposed to totalitarian rule, and his books are clearly a warning as to how political movements can backfire. The books are influenced by events of his time, the most obvious being the Russian Revolution symbolised by Animal Farm. There are hardly any lasting aspects in either 1984 or Animal Farm that are pleasant; the themes of both books are worrying. I think that one of the worst aspects of George Orwell’s vision is the systematic perversion of our feelings, emotions and instincts. In my opinion, the worst action of ‘The Party,’ the ruling political power in 1984 is the way it frowns upon love, a natural human instinct, and tries to completely suppress it. This is a cold, tyrannical act that destroys such a pure, selfless instinct. Love brings joy that – as Winston Smith, the main character in 1984, experiences – makes life worth living. Without love, Oceania’s inhabitants are reduced to a pointless, miserable, isolated existence. I think the most depressing event in the story of Winston Smith is how the Party crushed his love for Julia so completely, accentuated by the powerful unconditional nature of their love for each other before. Consequently, the Party, and its figurehead, ‘Big Brother,’ condemn sexual intercourse with fierce and active distaste, evident in the formation of ‘The Junior Anti-Sex League. ‘ Sex, the most intimate, loving act two people can share is seen as a threat to the Party’s power, and is only acceptable in absolutely necessary circumstances – to create a child – and is devoid of all sentiment. Because it is detested by the Party, making love becomes an act of political rebellion, which destroys the fact that it should be an expression of love. One of the nastiest yet most haunting descriptions in 1984 is Winston’s recollection of his visit to a prostitute in an attempt to satisfy his sexual instinct. His visit is ‘brief’ and ‘coarse’ and he admits that ‘it was really the paint that appealed to me,’ not any real desire to be intimate with the woman. In 1984, love within families is corrupted, as children spy against their parents and report them for the slightest incident. Family values – essential to nurturing a child with care – are destroyed; even when Winston’s acquaintance, Parsons, is betrayed by his own daughter, he ‘doesn’t bear her any grudge. ‘ In Orwell’s dystopia, love plays no part, except in utter submission to Big Brother, and it is the concept of existing in a life so absent of love and affection that disturbs me. If I had to exist without love, I believe I would lose my will to live. Another instinct, essential to harmonious, happy human life is that of trust. Again, the Party endeavour to totally control and pervert this instinct. Trust is the exact opposite to fear so cannot be practised when fear presides. Fear seeps into every aspect of life in 1984: fear of betrayal to the thought police; fear of what could happen to you if you committed a ‘crime’ and were caught; fear of your own thoughts wandering. Living in such a fragile community, where everyone is scared into solitude, and having children spy on people, corrupts the general principles of loyalty and human decency to such a level at which I would no longer want to associate with such people. Children, the embodiment of innocence and dependence, being routinely perverted, taken advantage of and coaxed into turning against their own providers, their parents, is a concept I find abhorrent. The manipulation of innocent and defenceless children is immoral, disgusting and disturbing. In 1984, the only trust allowed to exist between two parties is that of the individual for Big Brother. With a horrific act of total submission and resignation, people blindly accept all Big Brother tells them, completely disregarding information from their own senses, whilst subconsciously being aware that what Big Brother tells them is untrue. If I had to exist in Oceania, I would find that aspect the hardest to accept, as I feel a reassurance in knowing I can believe and trust whatever my senses tell me. With that knowledge removed, I’d be lost, confused and scared, as I would have lost my grip on reality – which keeps humans sane. As Winston thinks, ‘if the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event that it never happened- that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture or death’. In Animal Farm, another frighteningly harsh story by George Orwell, perversion of trust is also a prominent theme. Just like the citizens of 1984’s Oceania, the farm animals are too trusting for their own good. I grew sadder and more anxious each time the animals ‘believed every word’ of what their selfish leaders – the pigs – told them. To me, it is very poignant the way the animals are so unsuspicious and grateful towards the pigs, who repeatedly use them. The most trusting and devoted animal on the farm was the old carthorse, Boxer. Boxer trusted the pig leader – Napoleon – to such an extent he created the slogan ‘Napoleon is always right! ‘ In total disregard of this trust bestowed upon him, Napoleon sent the horse to the slaughterhouse. I was shocked when, at the end, the animals simply accepted the pigs’ superiority and power. What distresses me most is the despicable way in which the pigs take advantage of the innocent animals, who have blind faith in them. I am even more upset knowing Animal Farm is based on genuine events: the sheer trust the proletariat had in Stalin, after the Russian Revolution, which Stalin twisted to benefit himself. The civilization of 1984 is ‘founded upon hatred,’ an unnatural human emotion. O’Brien tells us Oceania is progressing towards a state where ‘there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement. ‘ I find this devastatingly selfish and cruel, as it terminally oppresses the sole desire of mankind: to be happy and enjoy the process of life. The most dehumanising and evil event in the lives of the citizens of Oceania is ‘Hate Week,’ It is not only the atmosphere of contagious compulsive contempt which enables ‘Hate Week’ that disturbs me; it is the way in which hate, the most hostile and dangerous feeling, can be generated on such a large scale with absolutely no reason. In the middle of ‘Hate Week,’ the enemy changes, but the proceedings continue without the blink of an eye. It scares and disgusts me that Orwell can see such a strong emotion directed at a target, regardless of why the target is hated. Winston realises that ‘the fear, the hatred and the lunatic credulity which the Party needs in its members can only be kept at the right pitch by bottling down some powerful instinct and using it as a driving force. ‘ The Party has twisted and corrupted natural instincts to benefit themselves. In my opinion, the manipulation of human emotions, instincts and feelings is the most dishonest, corrupt way of gaining power. It is chilling to imagine the uncompromising, omnipresent, omnipotent power that would be required to enable such an atrocity. I would find it so hard never to be able to feel and love, and I would see no point in existing if I could not. Without our feelings we are no more than machines. The mere contemplation of having to exist without joyful emotions fills me with despair. I would truly prefer to die than to live intoxicated with misery and depression, without hope for a better life. I share Winston’s sense of helplessness and injustice when O’Brien tells him ‘If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever. ‘

Friday, November 8, 2019

PSYCHEDELIC FILM AND THE MUSIC essays

PSYCHEDELIC FILM AND THE MUSIC essays Film has been categorized by genres since it became popular in the early 1900s. Even within these categories (comedy, romance, action) genres often overlapped one another. George Melies 1902 classic A Trip to the Moon is a timeless piece that mixes science fiction with psychedelic aspects far before its time. Since than films have come a very long way. The more developed they become, the more a genres line gets blurred. The short lived life of the psychedelic film blurs with one of Hollywoods long standing film genres, the musical. The psychedelic genre does nothing more than borrow preexisting concepts from other genres; it does find some success with a merger with the musical. What draws people to psychedelic musicals and are they more psychedelic than musical? Through looking at some of the genres more noteworthy crossovers, Tommy, Magical Mystery Tour and The Wall, an answer will be made clear. The psychedelic film, or the Hollywood LSD film came to popularity in the early 1960s and quickly vanished by the mid 1970s. Although glimpses of the genre appear throughout cinema, it was never as prevalent as it was during that decade and a half period. As described in The Velvet Light Trap by Harry M. Benshoff, the LSD film is constructed through the rapid editing of glowing, colorful, abstract, and/or mythical images; they suggest a heightened state of awareness and sensory common to the hallucinogenic experience (p. 3). These type of colorful surrealism was able to sneak into the mainstream when Hollywood experienced a slump at the box office in the mid 1960s. As the popularity of television was growing, fewer people were going to the movies. Hollywood was looking for ways to put people back into their seats and the LSD film was one of them. The inclusion of avant-garde stylistics into Hollywood feature films, as in the case of LSD films, is yet another example o...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Build a Sherlock Holmes Mind Palace

How to Build a Sherlock Holmes Mind Palace Admit it. You wish you had a mind like Sherlock Holmes. Recalling the smallest details at the most significant moment, packing a lot of information in your head, remembering places and important events – thats what you want? Well, its absolutely possible. Seriously. You can learn how to control your memory with a help of a powerful technique that is called Mind Palace. It is not only extremely effective but also very fun and not hard to use at all. This technique is amazingly useful in all kinds of situations: memorizing a presentation, learning a new language, studying for exams and many others. Learn how to build your own memory palace and youll become a more confident and successful student. Choose Your Mind Palace First of all, you have to select a place you know very well. This method will be effective only if you can mentally see this place with ease. Think about something you can visualize in detail. You also need to imagine a specific route in your palace. This will help you to recall things in a particular order, which will make the technique much more powerful. A good choice of a Mind Palace could be your own home, a former school, your campus, familiar streets in your city. Just make sure you can imagine this object well. Define Distinctive Features Now you have to pay special attention to the features in your palace. For instance, if you have chosen your home, the first distinctive thing may be the front door. Then you have to mentally walk around the house and remember the things you see. Analyze each room looking from right to left, for example. What attracts your attention? Do you see something unusual? It can be a picture on the wall or a flower in a vase. Continue to explore the house and make notes in your head. Each feature will be used later to store a particular piece of information. Engrave the Palace in Your Mind To make the method work, you have to imprint the palace on your memory. The task wont be a difficult one if you are a visual type of person. Here are some tips that will help you to remember everything better: Walk through the route physically and repeat the distinctive things you see. Write down the features on a piece of paper and walk through them mentally. Look at the things from the same perspective. When you think youve finished, repeat everything one more time. Now you have your Mind Palace! You can use it as many times as you need to memorize the things you want. Mind Palace technique is great, however, you should know that there are much more techniques on how to develop photographic memory. Use Associations Symbols make the memories more manageable and they are really effective for remembering the things. The process of making associations is very simple: you take an image and combine it with a thing you need to memorize. To do that, you have to mentally transport yourself to your Mind Palace. The first feature you see is a front door. Therefore, if you are trying to remember a ship, imagine an anchor on your door. Then continue to associate the things until there are no items left to memorize. Visit Your Palace At this stage, you are done with memorizing the items. Now you need to do a rehearsal, repeating your journey at least one time in your mind. Go from the beginning to the end and try to recollect all the details. When you get the end of your route, turn around and go in the opposite direction until you return to the starting point. And remember, the more relaxed you are, the easier it will be to remember everything. With just a lit bit of practice, the things you memorize by using your Mind Palace will stay fresh in your mind for a long time. cover image credit: Robert Vigalskiy/Hartswood Films and BBC Wales for BBC One image credit: thenerdybomb.com

Sunday, November 3, 2019

In what ways do sociological and political economic theories of news Essay

In what ways do sociological and political economic theories of news production explain the relatively easy generation of popula - Essay Example This is a reflection of the general public disillusionment with the functioning of government institutions. More importantly, it is an indication of the distrust of mainstream media sources and the information (misinformation) being generated by them. Sadly, though, such expressions of disagreement and distrust only account for a politically aware minority, whilst a large majority of the population are subject to government propganda, orchestrated and implemented by major media institutions. Indeed, the ruthlessness and brazenness with which the Bush Administration went about achieving its strategic goals can be learnt from the following quote: â€Å"The issue of whether the Pentagon was waging an orchestrated domestic propaganda campaign was first openly acknowledged in the fall of 2002. Donald Rumsfeld was asked whether the Pentagon was engaged in propagandizing through the Defense Department's Office of Strategic Influence (strategic influence is military jargon for propaganda). Military officials said they might release false news stories to the foreign press, but they had to retract that when news organizations expressed concern that the bogus stories could be picked up in the domestic press. Mocking concerns about propaganda blowback, Rumsfeld informed the media on November 18, 2002, that he would eliminate the program in name only. (Goodman & Goodman, 2004, p.253) One might wonder why such a nexus between apparently two different kinds of institutions should exist and what benefits would its leaders attain in the process. There are a few sociological and political economic theories of news production that attempt to answer this most pressing question of modern democratic societies. The rest of this essay will try to encapsulate the essence of such theories and find out if they resonate in the case of the Iraq War. One of the major contributions to the subject of government-media propaganda is made by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman. Their seminal work ti tled Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media is perhaps the most illuminating work on this subject, alongside Ben H. Bagdikian's another path-breaking work 'Media Monopoly'. In Manufacturing Consent, Chomsky and Herman layout a template for how propaganda works. This they called the Propaganda Model. In it they identify a set of five key factors that contribute to the functioning of propaganda machinery. These are: 1. Ownership of the medium 2. Medium's funding sources 3. Sourcing 4. Flak and 5. Anti-Communist Ideology. (Mcchesney, 1989, p.36) It should be remembered that during the time of the book's publication, Soviet Union was still in existence and Anti-Communist ideology comprised the dominant American foreign policy paradigm. In the context of the ongoing occupation of Iraq, one could replace it with such contrived fears as Terrorism and Islamophobia. (Edgley, 2000) What follows is a brief overview of these five factors that helped propaganda efforts in the lead-up to the Iraq war to be successful. First, mainstream media outlets in the United States (a fact that is equally applicable to most capitalist countries) is largely privately owned. Let us take the case of Television news. The facade of diversity created by hundreds of news channels breaks down with the realization that most channels are owned by a few major media houses such as CBS,

Friday, November 1, 2019

Social work (choose any two different topic to write on) Research Paper

Social work (choose any two different topic to write on) - Research Paper Example es, there is a dire need of benefit programs to assist the struggling drug addicts, but such programs should not be used to finance the illegal use of drugs. According to the article, many individuals miss on employment opportunities if they fail the drug test. The editorial supports this liberal view. Liberals emphasize that discrimination will maintain the illegal status of the distribution and sale of illegal drugs. According to liberals, such forced drug testing will hurt the right of individuals such as civil rights and welfare transfers to the poor citizens. Liberals advocate for drug abuse legalization rather than forced drug testing or decriminalization in the welfare transfers. Liberals generally assert that drug abuse problem is as a result of social, cultural or psychological causes and mainly stems from inequality in the society. According to liberals, controlling drug problem should entail rehabilitation through education, employment opportunities generation and social skills enhancement. According to liberals, the solution to drug abuse would be to legalize drugs since individuals are capable of making rational choices of their happiness and lifestyles and abstain from drugs that are relatively harmful such as cocaine. The liberals support government-funded drug abus e treatment with minimum punishments and drug testing as an unwarranted intrusion on people’s privacy and liberty (Yee, 3). On the other hand, conservatives advocate for stringent crime control models like discrimination in social welfare transfers or lengthy imprisonment terms for people convicted of drug abuse. Conservatives try to maintain the status quo by asserting the drug abusers generally fail to succeed in the overall economic or political system thus making irrational choices that puts them in to trouble with the authorities. Conservatives advance the use of threat of punishment in order to control drug abuse thus rewarding a drug user with social benefits is immoral.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Motivation for Crusades Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivation for Crusades - Essay Example The Moslems themselves kept the routes open to Christians, and the Byzantine Empire safe, until 1071, when Seljuk Turks took the lands, and persecuted Christians on the way. Lost land, religious conflict, and internal pressures were the background to Western Europe's initiation of the Crusades. R.W. Southern notes that "The worsening position of the Eastern Empire, and the genuine desire of some to save it: the even more potent though secret desire of others to profit by its disintegration; the dim realization that Islam constituted athreat to Christendomsome hoped to be saved by going; others didn't care if they were damned so long as they found new fields for profit and adventure. There was something in the Crusades to appeal to everyone." (Southern, 56) The crusades were, as Riley-Smith states "A holy war fought against those perceived to be external or internal foes of Christendom for the recovery of Christian property or in defence of the church or Christian people" (Riley-Smith, 1987, xxviii). This was certainly the overt motivation for the first Crusade, as initiated by Pope Urban II in November of 1095. This Crusade had a peculiar beginning, and Riley-Smith has made extensive note of this: "Few nobles turned up, and the theatre must have been riskyeven so, his appeal for knights to liberate Jerusalem struck a chord in western society" (Riley Smith, 1995). Urban openly declared "'Dieu le veult' - 'God wills it!'" (Bishop, 105); for many hearing the religious leader of the Western World declaring God's Will, the Crusades must have seemed to be a religious duty. In considering why this speech made such an impression, it should not be forgotten that the majority of Western Europe was, by this time, Christian in name at the very le ast. Europeans had been making the arduous pilgrimage to Jerusalem for decades, and in some ways the early Crusades might be considered another form of pilgrimage. Personal penance and justification by faith were still quite strong issues of faith, and would remain so until at least the mid-fourteenth century (Flagellants during the Black Death being one example of this). Being a Crusader, not only fighting for Christ but also traveling to the Holy Land to do so, was therefore a religious duty, atonement for sin, and a Holy Quest, similar to that being written about in Early Medieval romances. In fact, it seems as though Urban did not intend to have such a dramatic effect upon the nobles of Europe: the impression is that "The pop was taken aback by the success of his proposal. No plan had been made for the prosecution of the crusade" (Bishop, 106). The organization of the First Crusade was rather like a mopping-up exercise, after the disastrous People's Crusade in 1096. Poor people such as this marched under their own steam to free Jerusalem, and rather than the idealism of the nobility, their motivations appear to be genuine religious concern for the Holy Land. It should be clear, therefore, that the overt motivation, religion, was also an emotional force for many of the participants in the first Crusades, Kings and princes, such as Richard I of England, who were not struggling to maintain a fief, were probably

Monday, October 28, 2019

Strategics for Strategic Decision Making

Strategics for Strategic Decision Making What key lessons may be learned from any comparison of these two quite different accounts of the same strategic decision? Strategic decision Chosen alternative that affects key factors which determine the success of an organizations strategy. In comparison, a tactical decision affects the day-to-day implementation of steps required to reach the goals of a strategy.  [1]   From these two accounts there are key lessons which can be learnt as far as strategic decision is concerned. Strategy flexibility. Since strategy is not written on stones, sometimes it has to undergo some changes so as to be able to match with the real market environment at particular entry moment. Sometimes one strategy only fails unless a combination of both i.e. emergent strategy as well as deliberate strategy.  [2]   Ability to turn-on customer loyalty and tastes toward a product whose image is totally spoiled. While most motorcyclists were no doubt decent people, groups of rowdies who went around on motorcycles and called themselves by such names as Hells Angels, Satans Slaves, gave motorcycling a bad image. Some steps Hondas took were re-designing of their product to match with the market needs i.e. from larger machines to smaller lightweight motorcycles. The inevitability of proper and efficient market scanning. Its possible to enter the market with a very wrong strategy due to many reasons including failure to effectively scan the market needs. At start Hondas failed to know what US market needed and unfortunately they brought a wrong product of bigger machines while Americans needed smaller ones. Difficulties in the first entry to the market are not the end of business .Difficulties can be used as crucial mirrors for re-defining the strategy to a successful one. References: CASE STUDY 2: LAURA ASHLEY Question 1: Map Laura Ashleys stakeholders using a power/interest matrix. Stakeholders are those individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends.  [3]  (Johnson et al, pp.132) Laura Ashley power-interest matrix is as follows: LOW POWER HIGH LOW INTERST HIGH Harmless stakeholders: THE 11 CEOs, Media Group Business Analysts Laura Ashley Customers Chief executive of Pearson Laura Ashley and the husband Bernard Ann Iverson a new CEO in 1995 Richard Pennycook a new FD in 1997 Shareholders like Malayan United Industries (MUI) LOW INTEREST LOW POWER: This is a harmless stakeholder group which requires less attention. This group is represented by the retired CEOs e.g. The 11 CEOs over the last 14 years. Id really rather focus on driving the business forward, he says. LOW INTEREST HIGH POWER: This group is not always bad but needs to be watched because when not satisfied it turns out to be harmful to the business. Laura Ashleys Customers; Customers have very high power to the business because without customers there is no business at all. HIGH INTEREST LOW POWER: This group is crucial to the business because it contains stakeholders with interest with what is done by the business including core customers of the business products and/or services. This group is represented by Media groups: likes to know about the operations but has got less power. Business Analysts: likes to get information for analysis although they have less power. HIGH INTEREST HIGH POWER: Here you can find all key business stakeholders whose expectations and interests are always in the higher side. This group is represented by Chief executive of Pearson Laura Ashley and the husband Bernard Ann Iverson a new CEO in 1995 Richard Pennycook a new FD in 1997 Shareholders like Malayan United Industries (MUI) its chairman Dr Khoo Kay Peng, David Cook, Lauras Finance director CASE STUDY 3: THE BALANCED SCORE CARD QESTION 1: Why do you think organizations often find the Balanced Scorecard difficult to implement in practice? Definition: The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization.  [4]   Among various methods for measuring business performance, scorecard seems to be superior due to its advantages over other traditional financial methods. Balanced Scorecard incorporates future variables as well as multiple measures of performance compared to other methods. There are about four perspectives under this method which are financial perspective, Customer Perspective, Internal perspective and innovation Learning perspective. The following are reasons for organizations difficulties toward implementation of a balanced score card; The main problem facing organizations on implementing a balanced scorecard is the architecture and assumptions applied especially on selecting appropriate measures and number of measures to incorporate toward improving corporate performance as can be seen in the Shell crisis concerning overstatement of its oil reserves. Research from the Hackett Group shows a very small percentage of companies with mature and good mix of financial and operational metrics in their scorecards. There are processes in setting and implementing the scorecards known as translating the vision, communication and linkage, setting targets through planning and finally getting the feedback. Failing to follow this process organization faces the difficulty of failing to translate the strategic objectives to fit with measurements incorporated in the balanced scorecard which causes confusion than serving the purpose. The persuasion I would use to convince the organization to adopt balanced scorecard is to talk about its advantages over other methods which are as follows: Multiple measures of performance: incorporates a range of variables that measure performance against a multiple set of goals. Forward Looking: incorporates variables that are indicators of future performance including profitability. References: CASE STUDY 4-FIAT Question: Post at least 4 factors, ie a Strength, a Weakness, an Opportunity and a Threat, from one or both of your SWOTs (2004 or 2008). Briefly explain your analysis. SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective.  [5]   The following is the analysis using SWOT tool of a FIAT Company showing its different milestones in business within two periods of 2004 and 2008. SWOT 2004 2008 STRENGTHS Strong management team, e.g. CEO Mr. Marchione. Young and energetic personnel with strong experience. The kids are truly devoted to the cause. They are the heart of the success. Having cars with relatively lower average emissions Product innovation Fiat is the market leader in Brazilian market. WEAKNESSES Unappealing models or Odd cars which Mr. Marchione refers it as an arrogance of thinking. Limited resources. Licensing innovation to other manufacturers. A truck-making joint venture between Iveco and SAIC in China, it is weak in China, India and Russia. OPPORTUNITIES New products -Alfas immediate future i.e. the new MiTo, which is based on the Punto and has been designed to match the driving dynamics of BMWs Mini, and the 149, successor to the compact 147 hatchback. Divorce from a 5-years GM partnership and becoming an independent player. Partnership with other strong manufacturers like TATA and SAIC. THREATS Immergence of new Innovative brands in the car market by new rivals. Its five-year partnership with GM. It had not worked, for several reasons. Sharing platforms, engines and purchasing had not produced the expected economies of scale and Fiats ability to act independently. When new European Union rules on carbon-dioxide emissions come into force At the time when Marchione chipped in Fiat witnessed a clear future as can be shown through re-shuffle of very old workforce. CASE STUDY 6: THE NOVOTEL VALUE CHAIN Question 1: What are Novotels competitive advantages? competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices.  [6]   Novotel Competitive advantages: Multi skilling: Multi-skilling is to develop staff as a team able to perform tasks and work as needed in a flexible manner, this would have many advantages for hotel management, especially in smoothing the need for certain types of staff at peak bottleneck periods of the day or evening. Standardized levels of its services: A system to monitor standard procedures was introduced in 1987 which became known as the 95 Bolts. This system was intended to be a template for learning whose standards was carried out by an internal team of inspectors who visited each hotel approximately twice each year. They worked as mystery shoppers in that they made reservations, arrived, stayed and departed unnoticed. Sophisticated marketing and distribution systems: Novotel operates within both the individual and corporate business and leisure markets. Novotel usually have special promotions and advertising themes done in different locations and in different countries with tailored promotions to local holidays and lifestyles. Partnership programs: Novotel linked programs strengthening relationship marketing; especially the supplier partnership programmes, linked with purchasing and learning efficiencies delivering both scale and scope economies. Staff exchanges: There was Exchange between countries, locations and type of customer mix which contributed to multi-culture is essential to getting customers. The exchange provides means for staff motivation especially in the industry whose labor turnover is critical. References: CASE STUDY 8: THE VIRGIN GROUP QUESTION 3: Does the Virgin Group, as a corporate parent, add value to its businesses? If so how? Corporate parent: Is a business which owns and controls the operations of other businesses by either possessing outright ownership or controlling a majority of the voting stock.  [7]   Virgin was founded in 1970 as a mail-order record business and developed as a private company in music publishing and retailing. However, by 2002, the group included over 200 businesses spanning three continents and including financial services, planes, trains, cinemas and music stores. The group succeeded on adding values to its businesses regardless of decentralization of decision making. How does Virgin group add values to its businesses? Standards: The group had standards which enabled the businesses to perform toward the same goals. There were performance reviews which made employees being held accountable for their performance as well as promotions from within. For example by using stock options, bonuses and profit sharing. Support services: This involves centralised support services. For example, providing HRM, marketing, financial, etc support services and human resource management systems were in place to keep people committed. Corporate development: Branson adopted his own personal style of management within units, boosting himself on effectively adding value to customers through employee involvement and taking their ideas. Managing linkages: In the early 1970s Branson spent his good time soliciting funds for the company to become solvent. References: CASE STUDY 11: RESTRUCTURING SONY Question 1: How many times did Sony restructure itself during the period covered by the case study? Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs.  [8]   Introduction: On 7 May 1946, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita (4) co-founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation) with an initial capital of  ¥190, OOOin the city of Nagoya, Japan. By the 1960s, the company had established itself in Japan and changed its name to Sony Corporation. In its milestones Sony underwent several business restructuring aiming at improving the companys focus on high potential products and expediting the decision making process to make the company more responsive to changing market conditions. Restructuring of electronics business (1994): In this new structure, the regrouping of electronic businesses were adopted getting into eight divisional companies. These eight companies are the Consumer Audio Video Products Company, the Recording Media : Energy Company, the Broadcast Products Company, the Business Industrial Systems Company, the InfoCom Products Company, the Mobile Electronics Company, the Components Company, and the Semiconductor Company. Leadership by team of executives: Here the new framework required Sony to be led by a team of executives at the top management level. The Ten-Company Structure (1996): In January 1996, a new ten-company structure was announced, replacing the previous eight-company structure whereby the previous Consumer Audio Video (AV) company was split into three new companies the Display Company, the Home AV Company and the Personal AV Company. The Unified-Dispersed Management Model: In April 1999 another change was announced aiming at changes in its organizational structure. The new framework required the company to streamline its business operations to be able to exploit the internet technology opportunities. Restructuring Efforts in 2001: Once more in March 2001 Sony provided announcement about another round of organizational restructuring. This was about transforming itself into a Personal Broadband Network Solutions company by launching a wide range of broadband products and services for its customers across the world. References: CASE STUDY 12: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS Qustion 2 : How significant was Jong-Yong Yuns role in the change process? Change process It is an organizational process aimed at empowering employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment.  [9]   INTRODUCTION: Samsung is an Asian Electronic Company based in Suwon South Korea. The firm has experienced stiff competition from rivals such as Sony, Nokia, and Motorola on the basis of its revolutionary products. Jong-Yong Yuns role in the change process: Reorientation: This helped the firm to develop new capabilities. He recruited new capable employees such as managers and engineers, many of whom had developed considerable experience in the United States. Retrenchment: There was a layoff of a number of employees amounting 30,000, representing well over a third of its entire workforce. Reduction of number of factories. Discarding a Failing Strategy: Although the firm was making profits, Yun was concerned about the future prospects of a firm that was relying on a strategy of competing on price with products that were based .The success of this strategy was tied to the Samsungs ability to continually scout for locations that would allow it to keep its manufacturing costs down. Developing a Premium Brand: Having managed to cut down the losses, Yun planned to shift Samsung away from its strategy of competition which based mainly on the lower priced products. Consequently, he began to push the firm to develop its own products rather than to copy those that other firms had developed. Pushing for New Products: Through its new product development processes Yun struggled a lot to make it happen ensuring higher margins as compared to its rivals. Designing for the Digital Home: Yuns long term plan is to ensure Samsungs dominance in digital home technologies. He believes that his firm is in a better position to benefit from the day when all home appliances, from handheld computers to intelligent refrigerators, will be linked to each other and adapt to the personal needs of consumers. References: Case Study 10: Mantero Seta Spa: a strategy for China Question 1: Would you recommend Mantero Seta Spas entry into the Chinese market? Market growth An increase in the demand for a particular product or service over time. Market growth can be slow if consumers do not adopt a high demand or rapid if consumers find the product or service useful for the price level.  [10]   YES I would recommend Montero Seta Spas entry into the Chinese market due to the following scenarios: Market Growth: Chinese market promises for the stable growth of the fashion business as you can see In the mid 2000s, stable economic growth had brought substantial income to many groups of people, and with it a growing demand for the satisfaction of higher level needs. Also Upper-class and middle-class people became increasingly interested in their social life, and chose to spend money to better enjoy their spare time. There was a huge potential to sell luxury goods to these groups: 2 per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in China. Identifiable retail Distribution: The government of China had adopted a series of policies to propel the retail industry through a process of fundamental transformation. The move had sparked dramatic changes in Chinese retailing, with market growth reshaping purchasing habits. As a result in the mid 2000s there were many different types of retailing methods, based on different products and market strategy. Geographical Differences: The reasons for the differences were various. In northern China consumers made choices based on seasonal factors. Values and beliefs of people in north China were based on their imperial history and social traditions, with clear distinctions between different social groups and classes. The distinction was underlined in many ways, including clothing. People in the north were aware of their appearance, and wanted others to recognise their wealth and ability. In the south the climate was temperate; therefore consumers chose lighter, more comfortable and durable material for everyday wear. Marketing Communications: Communication processes in the fashion business focused on the brand image and the values embodied in the product, rather than on the product itself. Processes included photographs, shows, showrooms, models, displays, videos and sample collections. References: CASE STUDY 5: THE PROFITABILITY OF UK RETAILERS Question: Are British supermarkets more profitable than their European and US counterparts? Profitability is the ability to gain profit Profit is the positive gain from an investment or business operation after subtracting for all expenses.  [11]   Profitability = TR-TC ( TR = Total Revenue, TC = Total cost) Return on capital employed ( ROCE ) is the ratio that indicates the efficiency and profitability of company capital investments.  [12]   British supermarkets are profitable compared to US and other European countries because of the following reasons:- Cost of labor: Labor costs are lower in the UK due to lower social cost borne by employers. This reduces operation cost and makes the British firms to be more profitable. Technology: British companies have a lead in applying IT in their distributions systems with deliveries in small number of companies warehouses, the use of technology in distribution system reduce the cost of operation contributing to higher profits. Buying power: The British supermarkets have high buying power and tend to be more centralizing than some of the US and other European countries. This help them in reducing cost and also the British firm are more experienced and skillful in using their buying power to negotiate better terms or price from their supplier. Because they have dominated the market the British supermarkets impose the higher than a normal price to consumers (oligopoly power). Because the British supermarkets have high buying power and the use of oligopoly make them more profitable compared to the US and other European counterparts.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Impact on the People of Nigeria by Muslims, French and British Essay

Africans have been migrating through out the continent, including Nigeria, long before there was even written record. Because of this, there has always been an extensive amount of inter-mingling between various ethnic groups, making it difficult to actually trace back who came from where. Aside from this amalgamation, there has been a huge impact on the peoples of Nigeria by outside forces. In particular, three major groups that had a major impact were Muslim merchants from across the Sahara, British slave traders and eventual colonizers, and the French and British Christian missionaries. The combination of these three groups has had both an economic and cultural impact on Nigeria that is still present today. External penetration of Nigeria started as early as the 9th century AD when Muslim merchants from western Sudan, Maghreb, Tripolitania and Egypt started traveling across the Sahara with camel caravans in search of trade. Over the course of the next six centuries, Islam became accepted widely in the north, especially among the Hausa and Fulani, and not only as a religion. It also imposed a central government, segregated the sexes, influenced language and script, and established a hierarchical class system that was not there beforehand. Islam did not spread south because of the dense tropical forest that divides Nigeria into north and south. This also caused the two regions to â€Å"develop† at different rates because while the south was still alien to Europeans, the north was expanding culturally and economically because of its deep involvement with the trans-Sahara trade routes. The peoples of the south remained untouched by Europeans until the 1470’s when Portuguese explorers, under the inspiration and guidance of Henry the Navigator, arrived and traded spirits, cloth, guns and gunpowder for slaves. The Portuguese did not really have much of a cultural effect on the indigenous people (besides the slowly diminishing population). This is because they rarely traveled farther than the coast, if they even left the ships. Eventually the British ships were dropping anchor along Nigeria’s coast after Britain realized the extent of the profits the Portuguese were making and what they could reap from slavery. By 1712 they had established a slave monopoly along the west coast. Chiefs and African slave traders brought slaves to shipside in exchange for Eu... ...t of Nigerians resorted to migration when fighting didn’t work. It is ironic how when one country tries to take over another in a forceful manner, it is met by some form of resistance but if the country introduces itself through trade it is accepted with open arms. The Muslims did not intend to rule over anyone. They were there to make deals and trade goods. Muslim conversion was gradual and voluntary and spanned over six centuries. There is little evidence about wars between Muslims and Nigerians. Also, many Nigerians are proud to be part of the Muslim culture in the north, even if they are from the south, because of its historical tradition, distinctive architecture, useful language, Islamic faith and because it is an alternative to white European culture. The British were the ones that forcefully took people’s land and family members. They were accepted at first, but they betrayed the trust of the people and exploited them for Britain’s gain for over 400 years. Many educated Nigerians today feel that if it weren’t for the slave trade and colonialism, they would be living in a much more modern and progressive country at this time. It is no wonder that they resent the British.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Managing Customer Relations Essay

This helps them to gather customers feedback by collating the responses and discussing about them during meetings, to see if there is an alternative, or a solution to the problem. However, not all feedbacks can have a solution as there are shortages of certain resources such as manpower, turnover rate and space in shop area. Overall, Food For Thought is a successful organisation despite not having a CRM system. They are able to generate high profits every month due to loyal customers and customers who frequent that area. Company’s Background Food for Thought is a Food and Beverage Restaurant (F&B) that sells western-styled food. It started out as a cafe in North Bridge Road. After a few years of establishment, the company decided to open another outlet at a nearby location of a larger space and closed down the cafe. Currently, there are 2 outlets (Queen Street and Botanical Gardens). They sell a variety of foods including salads, pastas, pancakes, cakes and desserts. The company has 2 selling points that differentiate them from other restaurants. First, the ambience provides a good place for customers to relax and hang out with family or friends. The overall layout emits a homely touch. Using recycled items, they decorate the restaurant with 540 jars of emptied pasta sauce. Secondly, they practice societal marketing concept by giving back 10% of their yearly profit to charity organizations. Their 5 missions include ‘Give clean water, ‘Feed good food, ‘Make poverty history ‘, ‘Teach them all’ and ‘Inspire kind acts’. (Refer to appendix A) CRM Planning Process Through the interview conducted, we found out that Food for Thought have yet to implement CRM system. However, they are considering implementing it after the organization is stable. Food for Thought connects with their customers through the use of Facebook and Twitter by learning customers’ needs and wants. Their target markets are the SMU students and the people working around the area of their location. In order to increase the awareness of their organization, they place their advertisement on the SMU daily newsletter and provide promotions for the students. Food for Thought staffs focuses on creating customer’s experience in order to build relationship with the customers. The staffs recognize their loyal customers and create a personal friendship with them. Likewise for new customers, the staff will create a customer relationship as they exercise relationship marketing. CRM Implementation Process In our opinion, Food for Thought has the basic foundation for implementing CRM system as they focus on managing customer’s experience. They start out by creating a Facebook page in order to encourage feedbacks from the customers. The management then analyzes the comments before deciding appropriate measures that should be carried out. Even though Food for Thought doesn’t have a CRM system, they collect their customers’ name card and sent out emails to update them on various promotions and competitions. They initiated the use of smart-phone apps such as chope. com or hungrygowhere. com to provide customers the convenience of making a reservation online. On the other hand, they are able to track their customers’ spending and number of times of reservation made. When queried on why they have yet to implement CRM system, Mr. Pala stated that the organization will only consider implementing a proper CRM system when the organization faces the situation whereby there is a need to analyze customer’s needs and wants to an extent. Impact of CRM on Sales and Marketing Strategy Food for Thought sales strategy focuses on the need to develop solutions to meet customer’s specific needs. The management team conducts a meeting every two weeks to review on the feedbacks mentioned through email, Facebook and Twitter (as mentioned above) to analyze on the customer’s needs. They collect verbal feedback from different customers and inform them about their menu recommendations based on customer’s individual needs and preferences. While they are collecting payments from the customers, the staffs will focus on being dialogue-oriented by engaging in small talks with the customer to understand their needs better before stating the feedback of the food to the head chef. The head chef will then make alternative recipe to meet and satisfy the customer’s needs. Through the use of sales forces, Food For Thought is able to process customer information quicker to meet customers’ need. They focus on sales force automation by using key account management such as the POS system to tabulate monthly and yearly sales. The sales activities allow them to identify the most favorable and least favorable items, via this method; they will up-sell the most favorable item to the customer while considering removing the least favorable items. The use of social media has provided the staffs with information to identify and differentiate their customers. By using this method, the staff will then be able to create a different marketing strategy to interact and customize various offerings to suit the needs of individual customers. For example, premium seating (bar table) are provided to their loyal customers, this allows the customers to not only observe the chef’s method of cooking but also engage in small talks with the staffs. Food For Thought focuses in building relationship. They believe in gaining true loyal customers by creating strong relationships through exchanging information while engaging  in dialogues with the customer. Through this method, customer knowledge will increase and therefore strengthening the relationship with the customer. Most of the loyal customers are under the undivided loyalty. They come from the workplace located nearby and only dine at Food for Thought. Loyal customers are more profitable as they help to spread positive word-of-mouth about the organization. Food For Thought implements retentio n strategies to the customers. One of which would be by rewarding loyal customers – for example, SMU students are entitled to 5% discount. This develops effective acquisition strategies to encourage word-of-mouth referrals for the customers. Loyal customers are entitled to preferential treatment as the organization treat loyal customers like family and refer to them by their name. Outcome of CRM implementation With limited resources, Food For Thought has to identify their desirable customers. Without CRM system, it is difficult to analyze customer from the restaurant. Food For Thought is currently in the stage of developing comprehensive CRM; therefore they do not have a fixed answer of the success or failure in implementing CRM in this restaurant. The current CRM implementation process has help gain customer knowledge, customer satisfaction and help building up the relationship with the customers. As Food For Thought is a developing business, there are rooms for improvement in the CRM implementation. They measure the effectiveness of CRM program through customer feedback. Using the feedbacks provided, the management is able to know the satisfaction of customers regarding the service or food of the restaurant. Unlike other restaurant that focuses on being profit-orientated, Food For Thought is customer-orientated. This implies that customer’s experience is more important than the profit gained. Moreover, customer interaction provides a measurement for the effectiveness of program. This shows that restaurant should improve on their service to retain existing customers. The increase in customer touch point will lead to an increase in opportunity in gaining customer’s knowledge thereby creating a learning relationship between the organization and the customers. Conclusion and future plans of company’s CRM strategy We have concluded that Food for Thought is a successful organization, where  they focus on building customer relationship rather than being profit-oriented. When there is a relationship built with the customers, trust will be built, and because Food for Thought believes in being customer-oriented, they never fail to recognize their loyal customers, which in turn would make the customers feel recognized and good, therefore bringing returned business. Not only do th ey build and strengthen the relationship with their external customers, Food for Thought has also built and strengthened the relationship with their internal customers, namely their co-workers. Food for Thought has also place customer satisfaction as their upmost priority, which is also another factor whereby they are successful in retaining their existing customers or acquiring new customers. Food for Thought currently has no plans to implement CRM yet as it is still a small organization. However, according to Mr. Pala, he has claimed that when the time comes when the organization faces the situation whereby there is a need to analyze customer’s needs and wants to an extent, it is then they will implement CRM, for now, they want to focus more on relationship building with their customers. Lesson Learnt Food for Thought and many other organizations faces the same problem which is the lack of manpower. Such situations are unavoidable and the turnover rate is usually higher in the F&B business as most locals prefer other lines of job than F&B. One way to overcome this problem is to have some employees, mainly the supervisor, to be on standby. Another method to overcome this problem would be to implement self-service in the outlet. However, Mr. Pala has claimed that this method may hinder the process of building relationship with the customers. Being customer-oriented, they value their loyal customers by treating them as a part of their family. Through this strategy, Food for Thought is able to build customer relationship and strengthen the bond between the organization and the customers. They gain customer’s trust by providing service beyond expectation by getting close to the customers and engaging small talks with the customer, proving that they value the relationship with each individual customer. â€Å"All customers are equal, regardless of them being loyal and long-term or new,† quoted from Mr.  Pala. They practice building customer relationship through breaking the ice by engaging in small dialogues with the customers either when they order food or upon settling the bill. When queried on how each and every staff managed to practice building customer relationship, Mr. Pala replied with the answer indicating that practice comes from the inner heart. They believe that by strengthening the bonds with ever y staff and treating them like a family will naturally bring out the courage in each and every staff to build a relationship with the customers.