Globalization of trade and business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Globalization of trade and business - Essay Example It was in many ways easier to change the focus, and praise the British for leading the world in abolishing the Transatlantic Slave Trade and slavery. There had been an unprecedented campaign by the middle class across the country, which could be turned to national advantage. The Royal Navy was attributed with a new moral mission. We could now paint a picture of slavery as an historic phenomenon, and to contrast it with a modern enlightened citizenship. That would be comfortable and convenient, but false. The tensions between property rights and human rights, which have been discussed since the Ancient Greeks, continue today. Globalisation means that international law now has to rise to meet the challenge of reconciling different traditions. It is not clear that the transition has been fully completed in the UK, as in other countries. Whenever governments emphasise their support for business as a priority, this may be interpreted as possibly implying further adverse consequences for other human beings. There are still silences to be broken. This declared recognition of human rights, as a consequence of abolition and emancipation, was at the expense of property rights and economic freedom for employers. Capitalists could emphasise profit over human rights, and demanded a laissez faire approach to regulation and legislation. Can one human being own another, or must they find ways of working together as fellow citizens Working together requires some kind of mutual recognition as fellow human beings and citizens, on the basis of acceptance of parity of esteem. In turn this assumes some degree of acquaintance and familiarity, meaning that people need experience of more than their own immediate social group. Rigid systems of social class represent obstacles. There is such a thing as society. It is not just a matter of individuals and their families. We need to deal with a wider range of relationships. In addition, we need to recognise the diversity of relationships that can be considered under the same headings. At work, where there are employers and employees, it is hard to envisage a model of citizenship based on full equality. Clearly the power is not equally distributed. In a capitalist society, property rights of the owners have implications for the workers. Adam Smith pointed out the distinction between owners and managers, and complained that the latter group, who are simply one category of employees, can tend to act as if they were the owners. He lamented the consequences of joint stock companies, and the ease with which managers could act against the interests of the workers and of the public. Under indusrialisation, the owners regarded other human beings as their property. The prime task of the owners was to ensure the financial success of their businesses. This was easier if the costs of labour could be minimised. They felt able to disregard matters that did not appear in their accounts. These attitudes could also be applied to the conditions of workers, working in factories and living in industrial towns. Typically such workers did not have the right to vote. Through limited access to education, it was difficult

For rich and poor in Russia Essay Example for Free

For rich and poor in Russia Essay I leaned my back on my big black chair. The cushion, now deep and saggy, still feels comfortable. It has been ten long years of sitting on the same chair yet I can still feel its soft leather and now dilapidated covers. This high-back chair has been with me since day one. It surely has witnessed countless heated arguments with my staff, serious conversations with directors, even termination scenes with employees. Today, as I am about to make the biggest decision for the company, the chair will once more bear witness to my decision-making. So I reached for the topmost document from a pile of white papers on my desk. This was from yesterday’s presentation. It read, â€Å"Strategy for Expansion,† with bold letters that seemed to be screaming at me. Yes, after ten long years of doing business, we have finally decided to widen our horizons and look for other markets to tap into. I stretched my feet under the table, putting back the document I sighed and asked myself, â€Å"Are we ready to do this? † â€Å"Sir, everyone is waiting for you in the boardroom,† my secretary interrupted. This is just one of the vivid scenes recurring to me whenever I think about my future career. Indeed I aspire to sit on the manager’s chair of a successful company in my home country of Russia. Yet the road towards that aspiration is long and bumpy, not to mention competitive and challenging especially in today’s business world. As this is the case, I deem that I need top-notch and excellent education and rigid practical training from a prestigious educational institution. Hence, I have chosen the European School of Economics to major in International Business. Primarily, I regard that an international learning environment offered by ESE is crucial in today’s competitive business world so as to prepare and train me in building a career in business especially in this time of globalization. Since ESE is home to students of different nationalities and allows free movement between the centers in London, New York, Rome, Milan, and Florence, I am certain to experience a dynamic, interesting, and challenging academic environment necessary in today’s competitive atmosphere of business. ESE will further hone my skills and strengthen my knowledge in preparation for my entry into the global marketplace by providing practical training or real-life application of business theories and perspectives through exposure and involvement in creating strategic plans, managing international projects, and addressing various challenges in today’s global business environment. Evidence of ESE’s capacity to do this is the myriad of graduates who are the movers and shakers in the business field occupying positions in management, organizational operations, marketing, and customer care, among others. Another testament to ESE’s ability to educate me excellently are the recognitions it has received. In fact, ESE programs have been validated by the highest ranked university by British students and the only independent university in the United Kingdom, the University of Buckingham. It is also accredited by the British Accreditation Council. Furthermore, I have been drawn to ESE’s philosophy of not just assisting students in choosing a career that suits them but more so encouraging them to fulfill their goals by chasing their dreams and doing what they love. This kind of encouraging environment will definitely ease the stress and pressures attached with higher education, not to mention bring fun and active spirit amidst academic requirements. Moreover, another significant factor in choosing ESE is its revered internship program. Since the school has established relationships with successful global companies, I am guaranteed to gain the needed exposure and adequate training necessary before entering the real business world. Particularly in my chosen major where I will be exposed to three internship placements, I will have the opportunity to explore which field I may be good at, to assess my own skills for future practice, and to earn the trust and confidence of employers for future employment options. Above all, I have chosen ESE, particularly the Bachelor’s Degree in International Business because of the quality of education that I will receive should I be accepted in the said program. Included in this quality education are the analytical and critical thinking skills that I will acquire, which will aid me in future organizational decisions. Furthermore, the kind of learning I will gain in the said program will give me a deep comprehension of the global business environment and the different factors that influence investment, trade, and the economy, thereby allowing me to come up with strategic business plans in the future. In addition, an ESE education will further strengthen my communication skills crucial in local and international business transactions and dealings as well as develop my creativity and flexibility in responding to various challenges that face the business environment. Because of all these qualities, I aspire to be one of the students to be educated with an ESE education. However, this education will not just be for me but for my country as well. As a Russian native, I have seen the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Though everyone seems to be climbing up the ladder of economic progress, the rich people continue to become richer very quickly and as a result, the gap continues to expand (Arvedlund, 2005). Hence, as someone with business and economic knowledge, I dream of working in an area where I can help bridge this gap – the supermarket industry. In 2001, it was only forecasted that supermarkets will gain momentum in Russia as the demand for food caused by the increasing purchasing power of Russians skyrocketed. In the past though, supermarkets were known to be exclusively high-income shopping places while outside markets are pictures of low and middle class shopping (Kozlov, 2001). While supermarkets provide all the conveniences of shopping, the prices of goods are high; while local stores’ prices are low, the quality of products is poor. Moreover, it was reported in 2008 that foreign supermarkets are beginning to expand their markets by establishing outlets in Russia, particularly in Moscow. Majority of these supermarket giants have been household names in developed nations. Their goal is to target consumers with a growing dispensable income by combining high quality products and low prices (Bentley, 2008). However, what I am aiming for is an all original Russian supermarket merging the features of a supermarket and a local store. My long-term professional dream is to establish a chain of supermarkets characterized by high standard goods, convenient shopping, low prices, and authentically Russian ambiance, where everyone regardless of income can enjoy shopping. After some time when the company has been established and have enough profits to sustain the business and even to venture out in other endeavors, we will expand to include charity work in our goals. This social responsibility is one aspect that many Russian companies seem to neglect. Hence, this dream will somehow decrease the gap between the rich and the poor and in a way support the less-fortunate to climb up the economic ladder quickly. Moreover, it is this very dream that inspired me to pursue a career in business; majoring in International Business in ESE is the first step towards this. Indeed the primary role of businesses, whether small, medium, or large, and local or international, is to create products and services and sell these to communities to gain profit for wealth creation in society (International Organization of Employers, 2005). How to effectively and efficiently achieve this purpose is what aspiring businessmen like me wish to study and master. The principles of marketing, various business methods, economics, business law and ethical practice, management and organization, and finance – these are just few elements that businesses need to take into consideration on their way to making profit. Yet beyond money matters, businesses have ventured out to include social responsibility and accountability to community as part of their strategy. For instance, businesses have sought to advance the quality of life like McDonald’s advocating for animal welfare, education of youth, clean environment, and charitable efforts (McDonalds, 2010). Moreover, businesses have also used their resources to embed social responsibility in their goods and services as in Vodafone’s Mpesa program in Kenya that enables people to do mobile banking and the content-filtering system the company incorporated for parents and children’s protection (Demos, 2006). If these companies successfully accomplished these endeavors, then it will not be impossible for the others to follow suit. Hence, I aim to do just that in my future business. To do this, I will apply my experience in interacting with different types of culture that I gained from living in several countries. Likewise, I will use my skills in developing relationships and working in groups to expand my business, develop ethical approaches in doing business, and incorporate charitable programs that will foster a symbiotic relationship between my business and the community or society. Since there are problems ahead, the analytical knowledge that business education will equip will come in handy. Nonetheless, this analytical approach will not only be applicable within the bounds of business but outside the business world as well. For instance, the lessons learned from economics, finance, and marketing will enable me to become an intelligent consumer. Moreover, the values taught by management and organization will help me manage my time and organize my schedule. In addition, the values acquired from business law and ethics will support my personal judgment and decisions in life and at work. Needless to say, I am fit to achieve all these through an ESE education because I am a hard worker and a leader. Testament to this is my experience working in the marketing department of a shoe company. Though a greenhorn, I was immediately tasked to handle the marketing plan for the newest line of rubber shoes. Together with the team, I looked into previous plans from the department and examined the core values of the company. I then gathered them and brainstormed on what marketing strategy would be best for the new shoe line. I assigned each member a task that includes researching the marketing environment, reviewing past marketing activities, studying the company’s marketing system, and devising methods to analyze marketing plan’s effectiveness. With all our inputs, we were able to come up with a solid strategy, which the company used to introduce the new product to the market. From this work experience, I showcased my leadership and management abilities to produce good results. I was also able to display responsibility, meticulousness, organization, and ability to work well with others to ensure that the task assigned to me was smooth sailing from beginning to end. All these qualities will come in handy in the real global competitive business world. Nonetheless, my life is not all work and business. I also use my time doing fun activities such as swimming and yoga, both of which ease my mind from the pressures of school, work, and personal life. In my spare time, I read books and newspapers. I find current events, politics, history, and business the most interesting topics to read about as they give me awareness of past and present events that shape people and ultimately influence their decisions and actions. Furthermore, I also devote my time in volunteer work. In fact, I was recently in Tijuana, Mexico to help build houses for homeless families in the said area and also in the reservation in Taos, New Mexico to immerse myself in the Pueblo culture together with Pueblo school children. I have likewise participated in the Walk to Cure Diabetes in San Francisco, CA for a number of times. The said experiences deepened my understanding of different kinds of people and made me appreciate life more. They also inspired me to do more for the community and society as there are many people who need help, care, and attention. Therefore, in the future, I wish to extend my hand to the underprivileged and unnoticed sectors of society. Before doing this though, I wish to earn my master’s degree to strengthen the undergraduate education I will acquire. This way, my dream of establishing and managing a solely Russian-based company will be easier to achieve. Additionally, earning a master’s degree will make me a more effective leader and manager bringing a Western style of conducting business, which I believe is more efficient when applied in the Russian environment. The higher degree will also strengthen the knowledge and skills I gained from studying in various parts of the world and from interacting with different cultures in bringing a global and efficient approach to the company and in promoting charity and community work as an integral component in today’s business world. So I stared at my secretary for a couple of minutes and then she said, â€Å"Sir, is there something wrong? Everyone is waiting.. † I did not let her finish and instead I asked, â€Å"Do you think it is time for me to buy a new chair? † â€Å"I most certainly think so, Sir. † With that, I already know what decision to deliver in the boardroom. References Arvedlund, E. E. (2005). For rich and poor in Russia, gap widens. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2005/04/26/business/worldbusiness/26iht-ruble. html? _r=2 Bentley, E. (2008). Supermarket giants check out Russia. The Moscow News. Retrieved from http://www. mn. ru/business/20080904/55345070. html Demos, T. (2006). Beyond the bottom line: Our second annual ranking of Global 500 companies. CNN. Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391850/index. htm International Organization of Employers. (2005). The role of business within society: Position paper. Geneva: International Organization of Employers. 1-10. Kozlov, V. (2001). Supermarkets gain momentum in Moscow. The Russia Journal. Retrieved from http://www. russiajournal. com/node/5018 McDonalds. (2010). Values in action. Retrieved from http://www. mcdonalds. com/us/en/our_story/values_in_action. html

Silkwoods Working Class :: Movie Film Essays

Silkwood's Working Class [1] Before I begin, I would like to provide some information about where I'm coming from as I look at Silkwood. When I chose this film, I did so in a somewhat desperate attempt to avoid working on a film about war or a biographic film on a male historical figure. Alas, these are the types of films that tend to dominate the historic genre. I turned to Silkwood not as a film about the nuclear industry or a murder mystery, but rather a film about a woman -- not a glamorous woman, but a real woman with flaws. I wouldn't have chosen this film for the nuclear issue alone, as it is before my time and, at least at the onset of the project, I had no real understanding of what the nuclear industry was all about. [2] Though it has been talked about as an anti-nuclear film, the nuclear theme is an underlying one. (A good question to ask is why this is NOT the main issue.) The way I look at Silkwood is the way many reviewers have; the central issue of this film is the story of the working class. I feel that I can comment legitimately on this issue, as the rural Pennsylvania town where I grew up is not too far from Silkwood's Oklahoma countryside (except geographically, of course). Some of the problems the Kerr-McGee workers have are familiar to me. For example, job security, especially now as I write, is of utmost importance in my home community. Like Crescent, Oklahoma, my community in Pennsylvania has one main industry, but it is at least a safe one: tool and die. As technology increases, these jobs are becoming obsolete, and, so, anyone in this trade in my hometown is lacking job security. And this in turn threatens other local businesses that depend on tool and die workers spen ding their money. [3] But back to Silkwood. As an historical film, it immortalizes an image of the working class in Crescent, Oklahoma, as well as Karen Silkwood, their representative. It is important to think about how the film treats the working class -- is the tone condescending, honest, or quaint? And how does Karen fit in as their spokeswoman?

Recruitment and Retention

Demand for academic staff in Higher Education has been increasing2 and may be expected to continue to increase given the Government’s intention that participation in Higher Education should increase substantially amongst those aged 18 to 30 years old. At the same time, recruitment and retention problems have been growing in prominence (HEFCE, 2003) and there has been a long-standing concern that the sector faces a ‘retirement bulge’, as academics from the 1960s expansion reach retirement.Consequently, there is concern about the adequacy of the future supply of academics. Other substantial changes in Higher Education in the past 10 to 20 years are likely to have contributed to the tightness of the academic labour market3. Polytechnics were granted university status in 1992, changing their funding regime, their focus and the demands on staff. The number of students has grown substantially, a growth which has not been matched by staff increases resulting in a large i ncrease in the student:staff ratio.Changes in funding have led to much greater emphasis on research output (through the Research Assessment Exercise, the RAE), teaching quality (through the requirements of the Quality Assurance Agency, the QAA) and on academics raising research and consultancy funds. Other changes include tighter contractual terms (affecting holidays and hours worked), an increase in the use of short-term and hourly-paid contracts and the loss of tenure. Overall, these changes have tended to alter the nature of the job, reducing autonomy and increasing the workload, including that of administrative and teaching tasks.At the same time, both the salaries and status of academics are perceived to have deteriorated relative to alternative careers (Halsey, 1992; Keep et al. , 1996). Substantial change in the nature of any job is likely to increase turnover, as a mismatch develops between the nature of the job to which people were recruited and the actual job. If these cha nges tend to reduce the quality of the job, rather than just change it, and if the applicant requirements are not altered (and, probably, lowered), recruitment will also become more difficult.Both turnover and recruitment difficulties will be exacerbated by a relative decline in pay. Overview of the study Against this background, the study was designed to identify the factors which lead to individuals entering and leaving academic employment in the English Higher Education sector. Although the main focus was entry and exit from the sector, recruitment to and retention by individual institutions can shed light on this and was also investigated.For the purposes of the study academic employment was defined as jobs in higher education institutions (Universities and Colleges of Higher Education) whose main function was academic teaching or academic research, irrespective of the contractual terms of the job holder. Thus lecturing (e. g. Professors, and Lecturers) and research staff (e. g. Research Assistants, post-docs and Senior Research Fellows) are included, but academic-related staff (e. g. technicians) are not. Full-time, part-time, permanent and temporary staff within these groups are included4.Two main groups of academics were excluded from the study: those in Further Education Institutions and those on clinical rates of pay. The resources of the study precluded inclusion of these two groups5. Following discussion with the DfES, it was decided to focus on staff at English HEIs. This was done in order to prevent differences in the funding and structure of the HE sectors obscuring the analysis. Two exceptions to this rule are the analysis of the HESA data on research students and the chapter on international comparisons of pay (Chapter 4). These are discussed in more detail in sections 1. . 1 and 1. 1. 2 below (and in further detail in Appendix C and Appendix D). The study had five, inter-related, strands: †¢ a literature review to establish the nature of the recruitment and retention problems and to identify previous evidence on the factors affecting recruitment and retention; this was conducted from March to May 2003; †¢ analysis of HESA staff and student data, 2001/02, to provide a descriptive analysis of turnover in academia, to identify the basic characteristics of employment in the sector and to identify the student supply into academia6; a comparative analysis of pay, using 2001 data, both for comparable employment nationally and for academics in Higher Education internationally, in order to establish the competitiveness of academic pay; †¢ qualitative research within universities exploring human resource policies and practices and factors affecting entry and exit from the sector; the fieldwork was conducted between July 2003 and July 2004; 4 However, the coverage of hourly paid staff is severely limited, owing to limitations in the HESA data (see below) and to practical difficulties of sampling for the survey (see b elow). Inclusion of the former would have extended the study to Further Education Institutions. The latter have different terms, conditions and employment patterns from other academics in HEIs and so a larger sample would have been required to adequately cover this group. Staff on clinical rates accounted for five per cent of academic staff (HESA Individualised Staff Record 2001/2). 6 Analysis of more recent HESA data and of trends over time is contained in HEFCE (2005a) and HEFCE (2005b). 3 quantitative surveys of academic staff and of research students to identify factors which affect recruitment into academia and retention; the fieldwork was conducted between May and July 2004. The research findings are affected by the policies and practices in effect at the time. To assist the reader, the DfES has produced a list of relevant Higher Education initiatives since the survey fieldwork. These are listed in Appendix H. Below, essential aspects of the methods are described. Further deta ils of the methods appear in appendices. Appendix A describes the qualitative research.Appendix B discusses the quantitative surveys of academic staff and research students. Appendix C describes the HESA staff and student datasets. Appendix D describes the data used for the intra- and international pay comparisons. Appendix F describes the model used for the analysis of the likelihood of students entering academia. Appendix G describes the econometric analysis of job satisfaction and intentions to leave academia. 1. 1. 1 HESA staff and student data7 For staff, the HESA Individualised Staff Record for the academic year 2001/02 was used.The analysis was confined to institutions in England and to staff who were not on clinical grades. The sole exception to this is chapter 4, where the focus is expanded to the whole of the UK, to maintain consistency with the international comparisons analysis. For the study’s purposes, the Individualised Staff Record data has two important limit ations. Firstly, they exclude employees8 whose total academic employment is below that of 25 per cent of a full-time academic (i. e. those with short hours or with substantial management and administrative responsibilities are excluded)9.One of the implications is that hourly-paid staff will be substantially under-reported and is unlikely to be representative of hourly-paid staff as a whole. Secondly, the data relating to leavers suffer from a high level of nonreporting: around 60 per cent of leavers’ destinations are missing10. Therefore the findings on movement out of the sector must be treated with caution. For students, the Combined Student/Module Record for the academic year 2001/2 was used. This was combined with the First Destination Supplement (FDS), relating to those students who left in 2001/2.The analysis was not limited to students from English higher education institutions because the appropriate pool of domestic entrants into Higher Education academic post is th e whole of the UK. It is important 7 Note that the University of North London was not included in either the staff or student data supplied by HESA because the university has asked that its individual data is not released. 8 Strictly, they exclude contracts whose total academic employment is below that of 25 per cent of a full-time academic, as the record reports contracts rather than individuals.For more information see Appendix C. 9 However, there are staff in the Individualised Staff Record with their FTE recorded as less than 25%; the majority of these records relate to staff who arrived or left during the year. 10 Internal work by HEFCE that matched the 2001-2 survey with that for the following year using staff code, data of birth and sex, found that 20% of those for whom the destination was not known remained at the same institution, 5% were found at a different institution and the remainder could not be matched with a record in the second year.This latter group are made up of those who left the sector and those who remained but whose record in the second year did not match with respect to one of the three criteria. 4 to note that the destination of postgraduate research students in the FDS has a particularly low level of response (38%). Further details are given in Appendix C. 1. 1. 2 The comparative analysis of pay The comparative analysis of pay uses data from national labour force surveys (and censuses in nine countries. These were chosen to illustrate the types of countries to and from which most international movement with UK academia occurs.They include the main English–speaking countries to which UK academics move (the USA and Australia), together with other English-speaking nations (New Zealand and Canada), three European countries (Denmark, France and Sweden) and Japan. The analysis of the labour force survey data used in the international comparisons used data from the whole of the UK. This was to increase the sample size. However, we w ould not expect to find significant differences within the UK. Identifying higher education academics was done using information on occupation and industry where available.In most countries we were able to obtain a sample group that matched the UK sample. Exceptions to this were the US, where the sample also included academic staff at state colleges, who also conduct teaching undertaken in the FE sector in the UK, and Australia and New Zealand, where it is possible that our sample excludes some researchers who have no teaching responsibilities. We discuss the implications of this in Chapter 4 and Appendix D. Comparisons were made in both nominal and real terms. Earnings were converted using exchange rates to make nominal comparisons.In order to account for differences in the cost of living, purchasing power parity exchange rates developed by the OECD were used to make real earnings comparisons. Further details are given in Appendix D. 1. 1. 3 The qualitative and quantitative survey research Qualitative research was conducted in thirteen English universities and quantitative research conducted in a subset of these. A structured sample of universities was selected to ensure coverage of different types of universities (new, old and colleges of Higher Education), universities in London and elsewhere and universities with differing research ratings.Institutions with fewer than 200 academic staff and most specialist institutions11 were excluded. Small institutions were excluded because economies of scale in setting up the quantitative survey meant that their inclusion would have led to a smaller survey, as the project resources could not increase the sample through an increased number of institutions. Specialist institutions were excluded for similar reasons. (This did not reduce the subject coverage, as subjects taught in specialist institutions are also found in other HEIs. The purpose of the qualitative research was to identify factors which might affect recruitm ent and retention, including human resource practices and staff preferences. Qualitative interviews were held with senior staff with responsibility for 11 ‘Specialist institution’ is a classification developed for funding purposes and refers to institutions where 60 percent or more of funding is allocated to one or two cost centres. 5 human resourcing and, in eight of the universities, interviews were conducted with heads of two departments, and a sample of their academic staff and research students.A survey of academic staff was conducted in ten12 of these universities. The survey covered both research and lecturing staff. Full-and part-time staff were included, but hourly paid staff were excluded (see Appendix B). The questionnaire collected data on personal characteristics, employment history, views on aspects of the job and career intentions. The survey was web-based. A total of 2805 staff responded, a response rate of 32 per cent. Survey data have been re-weighted to be representative of university academic staff in English HEIs.For more information on the weighting and other issues relating to the staff survey see section B. 1 of Appendix B. A survey of research students (full-time and part-time) was conducted in nine of the universities, where research students were those undertaking a Masters degree mainly by research or a doctorate. The questionnaire collected data on personal characteristics, employment history and career intentions. The survey was web-based. A total of 1330 research students responded, a response rate of 29 per cent. Survey data have been re-weighted to be representative of research students in English HEIs.For more information on the weighting and other issues relating to the staff survey see Section B. 7. Further details are given in Appendix B. 1. 2 Nomenclature Throughout this report the following nomenclature is used: †¢ Student when referring to the student survey refers to research student. †¢ ‘Ac ademic’, ‘academic staff’ refers to those employed in higher education institutions on either the research grade or the lecturing grade. †¢ University is used to refer to all higher education institutions, whether a university or a college. New and old universities. New13 universities are those that received university status in 1992 (when polytechnics and many colleges of Higher Education converted to university status) or later; old universities are those which had university status before this date. 1. 3 Report layout The structure of the report is as follows. The next chapter sets the scene by presenting evidence on turnover and recruitment and retention problems in higher 12 The aim had been to survey staff and students in twelve universities.Unfortunately, not all the universities were able to supply the sample, either due to data protection considerations or due to difficulties providing an email contact list. 13 This nomenclature is in common use now , but, previously, ‘new university’ was used to denote universities established in the 1960s and early 1970s. Perhaps the term was also used in the nineteenth century to refer to the redbrick universities when the sector was expanded in the Victorian era. 6 education. It also presents evidence on the factors affecting recruitment and retention of academics.Chapter 3 then describes the structure of academic employment in Higher Education, including the grade structure and contractual status, and the main characteristics of academic staff. This description is used to raise some of the factors which might affect recruitment and retention. Chapter 4 continues with the theme of structure, focusing on pay, and examines relative pay to investigate whether pay differences may be a cause of recruitment and retention difficulties. Both domestic and international comparisons are made.

Illusions Brownies ZZ Packer Analysis Essay

The Brownies description of troop 909 â€Å"They were white girls, their complexions a blend of ice cream: strawberry, vanilla in the first few lines it is very clear that racial issues and segregation is a main topic. The author ZZ Packer did a great job stating since the beginning that the stories was going to be confrontational â€Å"Troop 909 was doomed from the first day of camp;† Segregation is also still happening during this time since there is no diversity in the members of the each troop, one is all African American and the other is all Caucasian girls. The girls immediately start being rude and negative with the white girls calling them â€Å"wet Chihuahuas† that they smelled bad. The brownies are not interested in even getting to know the girls. No matter what the white girls would do, the brownies would be annoyed regardless. You can tell that the girls are very unaware color/race since there fourth grade class started using â€Å"Caucasian† as a jo ke whenever the kids felt it fit in. Also stating that â€Å"Whites were like baby pigeons: real and existing, but rarely seen or thought about. During the time this story takes place segregation and racism was still very much alive blacks and whites only understood their own point of views and reacted by being closed minded on the issue. This is apparent in Brownies since the story is told from a child’s perspective and usually kids form certain opinions based on their parent’s reaction of a subject or belief. The confrontation is promised in the part when Octavia commanded that every girl in the brownie troop by no means allow absolutely any one to disrespect any other the members by calling them â€Å"niggers.† Later that day one Arnetta says she heard one of the girls from troop 909 call them a â€Å"nigger.† At first one did not seem too concerned but as the day went on the thought had simmered inside her and she wanted some form of revenge. ZZ Packer showcases the Brownies secret racial hatred for the white girls through ironic humor. She transmits hidden philosophical messages to the reader through her words. While explaining the significance of a secret meeting, she also talks about the meaning of a secret saying, â€Å"A secret meant nothing; it was like gossip: just a bit of unpl easant knowledge about someone who happened to be someone other than yourself†. This is an effectual use of dramatic irony because the definition Packer provides for â€Å"gossip† is the basis of the entire story. The Brownies creates the lie that one of the white girls used the racial slur â€Å"nigger† and this drives the rest of the story. Racism is also very  apparent in the story line at no giving point in the story do you read anything about the scouts doing an activity together or mingling. Its this way it keep the animosity building up. The white girls seemed to always be the first ones doing everything. It demonstrate in a subtle way that they are superior than the black girls to us the reader. Whites are viewed as the better race in an all African American community. Everything about the girls in troops 909 radiate beauties that result in an envy and hatred from the brownies. â€Å"Their long, shampoo-commercial hair, straight as spaghetti from the box† such phrases are triggers that add up to bringing out racism. ZZ packer demonstrates how we are all in a way deprived and unfortunate. The curve ball in the plot where the brownies encounter troop 909 and they discover that the girls are mentally challenged, put out in the open the unfairness and injustice experienced by society. The irony lies in that the brownies are now superior to the white girls because of their condition. It is interesting how from the beginning of the story we are made aware of Laurel feelings towards her father. Laurel was so captivated by Daphne’s poem â€Å"you are my father the veteran†. Laurel probably feels very proud of her father and the positive role he plays in her life. Once she started telling the girls about the story of the Mennonites. â€Å" I now understood what he meant, and why he did it, though I didn’t like it†. As laurel keeps telling the girls about her father’s action. An epiphany happened to her. Her father was doing the same things the Mennonites even though they were painting his porch he was not nice to them. It implies the insensibility people have to chosen to adopt when it comes to living peacefully with other races. Using irony and contrast, ZZ Packer tells us that it is unimaginable to find perfection in our world or an individual. no one is perfect and it is this inevitable imperfection of life that inflicts deprivation and misfortune in human lives.

Drivers Ed Essays - Morgan Jones, House, American Comedy Films

Drivers Ed Essays - Morgan Jones, House, American Comedy Films Drivers Ed Book Report The book I am reading is called Drivers Ed. It is about a girl named Remy, her friend Lark, and her other friend Morgan. The first 25 pages of the book starts off by describing Remys family, which includes her mom, dad, younger brother Mac, and younger brother Henry. Then it talks about Morgans family. It consists of his mom, dad, and little sister Starr. His dad is going to run for governor, and it pretty much says how perfect his family and life is. It also lets you know that Remy has a crush on Morgan, and Morgan has a crush on Remy. Anyway, in this class, the teacher has a lot of trouble with names. He announces three names to go drive, and Remy, Lark, and Morgan drive most of the time. He calls out Remy, Christine, and Morgan. Lark then switches with Christine. Remy is driving, and she accidentally drives over the median and leaves some of the muffler behind. Then Lark drives and runs a red light. It doesnt let you know how Morgan did, but when they get back from driving, they get an idea that they should all steal road signs for their room. In the next 25 pages, Remy, Lark, and Morgan plan to go out to steal their signs. Lark is sick though, so she doesnt go. None of them have their licenses, so Nicky Buddy drives. He is one year older than all of them, and he lives by Morgan so he is friends with him. Remy decides that she want a Morgan Road sign, they get a Thickly Settled sign for Lark, and Morgan takes a Stop sign. Also, Remy and Morgan kiss when they are in the car. When Remy comes home, Mac starts to question her and she has to hide the Morgan Road sign in the bushes to make sure that Mac doesnt tell their mom what she did. In the next 25 pages, Morgan begins to think about the fact that he is going out with Remy now. He is worried about what is going to happen in school the next day. In concert choir, he doesnt even look at her, or talk to her. He just focuses on points on the wall, or on the floor. Then at home, Remys mom finds out that she is going out with Morgan, and she gives her approval of him. Then its the next day in Drivers Ed, and Remy, Lark, and Morgan decide that they better not go drive 3 days in a row, so they stay behind. Morgan, once again, doesnt even look at Remy the whole class. He just sits in the library next to his friend, Taft. Remy becomes sad, and wonders why Morgan is ignoring her. Remy then had a basketball game, and Morgan goes to watch. That night, Morgan is watching the news and he sees a thing on about how a stop sign was taken off of Cherry Road and some mother was hit by a truck and died. Morgan then realizes that it was the sign that they took. Morgans dad then says Whoever took that sign should be shot. The next section of the book starts out in Remys house, around 11:30. Then Lark calls and tells Remy what was on the news about the stop sign. That night, Remy cant sleep because she is picturing the accident in her head. It was Friday, so she didnt have to worry about school, but all she could think about was the sign. What if her class found out? Saturday passed, and still, she couldnt think of anything but the sign. Then Morgans family decides to start going to church, and this makes Remy think that Morgan told. But then she realizes they only went because his dad is running for governor. After church, everyone went to the basement to have cake and coffee, but Morgan couldnt eat because every time he put cake in his mouth, he thought of the lady never eating again. Then Mac walks over to Morgan and starts telling him about how Remy likes him so much, and how their mom has prequalified him for marriage. He pretty much embarrasses

Free Essays on Enobarbus’ Description Of Cleopatra In Her Barge

that he uses help us to imagine the idyllic setting she had. ‘The poop was beaten gold’, ‘the oars were silver’ and ‘cloth of gold – of tissue’ all make us believe that the barge was very grand and fit for a queen. Cleopatra is also made out to be like a goddess in lines 209-211 ‘In her pavilion – cloth of gold, of tissue – O’erpicturing that Venus where we see the fancy outwork of nature’. Venus was the goddess of love and this simile is well placed when talking about Cleopatra, as she is known for being a temptress. This line continues on to tell us that the boys on either side of her where like ‘smiling cupids’ and a couple of lines down at 216 her gentlewomen are ‘like the Nereides’ (sea nymphs). One of her attendants also seems to be dressed as a mermaid and appears to be at the helm of the barge. This all ties in with the effect of Cleopatra being goddess-like and now her servants ar... Free Essays on Enobarbus’ Description Of Cleopatra In Her Barge Free Essays on Enobarbus’ Description Of Cleopatra In Her Barge In this scene Enobarbus tells the story of how Antony met Cleopatra. The way Enobarbus describes her contrasts sharply with the earlier conversation with the Triumvirs. The Roman’s seem harsh and strict in their political discussion whilst the imagery of Cleopatra in her seductive world makes us understand why Antony is attracted to her. Earlier on in Act 2, Anthony agreed to marry Octavia, Caesar’s sister to seal his alliance with Caesar. This is a sharp contrast also as Octavia is the opposite of Cleopatra, humble and unexciting. It is mentioned again towards the end of the scene, Octavia is described as ‘modest’, something that Cleopatra can never be, although Antony seems to like this in her and after having a taste of her, it does not seem as though he will ever be able to be satisfied with Octavia. Enobarbus describes Cleopatra as a very captivating woman who lives her life almost as if in a fantasy in a romantic and poetic world. He describes the surroundings in which she sat on her barge and the words that he uses help us to imagine the idyllic setting she had. ‘The poop was beaten gold’, ‘the oars were silver’ and ‘cloth of gold – of tissue’ all make us believe that the barge was very grand and fit for a queen. Cleopatra is also made out to be like a goddess in lines 209-211 ‘In her pavilion – cloth of gold, of tissue – O’erpicturing that Venus where we see the fancy outwork of nature’. Venus was the goddess of love and this simile is well placed when talking about Cleopatra, as she is known for being a temptress. This line continues on to tell us that the boys on either side of her where like ‘smiling cupids’ and a couple of lines down at 216 her gentlewomen are ‘like the Ne reides’ (sea nymphs). One of her attendants also seems to be dressed as a mermaid and appears to be at the helm of the barge. This all ties in with the effect of Cleopatra being goddess-like and now her servants ar...

Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty

Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty, love, and sexuality. She is sometimes known as the Cyprian because there was a cult center of Aphrodite on Cyprus [See Map Jc-d]. Aphrodite is the mother of the god of love, Eros (more familiar as Cupid). She is the wife of the ugliest of the gods, Hephaestus. Unlike the powerful virginal goddesses, Athena and Artemis, or the faithful goddess of marriage, Hera, she has love affairs with gods and mortals. Aphrodites birth story makes her relation to the other gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus ambiguous. Family of Origin Hesiod says Aphrodite arose from the foam that gathered around the genitals of Uranus. They just happened to be floating in the sea after his son Cronus castrated his father. The poet known as Homer calls Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She is also described as the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys (both Titans). If Aphrodite is the cast-offspring of Uranus, she is of the same generation as Zeus parents. If she is the daughter of the Titans, she is Zeus cousin. Roman Equivalent Aphrodite was called Venus by the Romans as in the famous Venus de Milo statue. Attributes And Associations Mirror, of course she is the goddess of beauty. Also, the apple, which has lots of associations with love or beauty (as in Sleeping Beauty) and especially the golden apple. Aphrodite is associated with a magic girdle (belt), the dove, myrrh and myrtle, the dolphin, and more. In the famous Botticelli painting, Aphrodite is seen rising from a clam shell. Sources Ancient sources for Aphrodite include Apollodorus, Apuleius, Aristophanes, Cicero, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Euripides, Hesiod, Homer, Hyginus, Nonnius, Ovid, Pausanias, Pindar, Plato, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Sophocles, Statius, Strabo and Vergil (Virgil). Trojan War and Aeneids Aphrodite / Venus The story of the Trojan War begins with the story of the apple of discord, which naturally was made of gold: Each of 3 goddesses: Hera - marriage goddess and wife of ZeusAthena - Zeus daughter, wisdom goddess, and one of the powerful virginal goddesses mentioned above, andAphrodite thought she deserved the golden apple, by virtue of being kallista the most beautiful. Since the goddesses couldnt decide among themselves and Zeus wasnt willing to suffer the wrath of the females in his family, the goddesses appealed to Paris, son of King Priam of Troy. They asked him to judge which of them was the most beautiful. Paris judged the goddess of beauty to be the loveliest. In return for his verdict, Aphrodite promised Paris the fairest woman. Unfortunately, this fairest mortal was Helen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus. Paris took the prize that had been awarded him by Aphrodite, despite her prior commitments, and so started the most famous war in history, that between the Greeks and Trojans. Vergil or Virgils Aeneid tells a Trojan War sequel story about a surviving Trojan prince, Aeneas, transporting his household gods from the burning city of Troy to Italy, where he founds the race of the Romans. In the Aeneid, the Roman version of Aphrodite, Venus, is Aeneas mother. In the Iliad, she protected her son, even at the cost of suffering a wound inflicted by Diomedes.

Criminal Identification Procedures in the Twenty-First Century Essay

Criminal Identification Procedures in the Twenty-First Century - Essay Example However, because these advances are still so new it is not always possible to understand their full implication. Do they have unintended consequences? Are they really as useful as they appear? And perhaps more importantly will we become so reliant on this technology that we throw away good old sleuthing techniques and human controls and simply let technology take over? These are all incredibly important questions that we must think carefully about. This essay will examine some of these questions by looking at the pros and cons of specific technological advances. In the criminal justice system there are two opposing modes of looking of how to deal with criminals. The first is the due process model. The gist of this model is that an individual can never be deprived of basic human rights no matter how horrible a crime he or she has committed. Even to put someone in prison is to take away the criminal’s inalienable right to liberty and there must be many appeals and a thoroughly scrutinized process to ensure that everything is done by the book. At its heart the due process model would rather see nine guilty people on the street than one innocent person in prison. The end result of this mode requires many hours of painstaking work by humans checking and rechecking evidence and the court case moving very slowly through the system. The second mode of looking at criminal justice is the Criminal Control Mode. This system puts a high value on locking up guilty people. It focuses on protecting citizens from criminals as quickly as possible. Und er this system more money is spent on policing and deterring and prosecuting criminals as quickly as possible so that the police and prosecutors can move on quickly to the next batch. If an innocent person is caught in the net, that is a tragedy, but what is important is that many bad guys got caught too.

External and Internal Environments Research Paper

External and Internal Environments - Research Paper Example However, the sales of the Nokia products take place in around 150 countries. The company is the second best producer of mobile phones and makes annual revenue of approximately thirty eight billion pounds. The company’s market share is around 22.5 percent (Luo, 2000). One of the general environments that affect Nokia Company is international. This factor illustrates those events that are taking place in other foreign countries. The dimension of international type of environment influences many other factors of the external environment of a company. These factors include the coming up of new customers, competitors, the reliable suppliers, social shapes, trends of the economy and technology. Nokia Company has an obligation to compete with other companies globally. Samsung Company is one of the competitors that have outweighed Nokia Corporation from being the best vendor as from the year 1998 to the year 2012. The coming up of smart phones which are made by other vendors, has redu ced the market share of Nokia Corporation. To solve this problem, the company made a strategy to collaborate with Microsoft Company so that the mobile phones (smart phones) produced will have an operating system incorporated by Microsoft’s phone type of windows (Mimoun, 2009). ... In case the company does not lower its prices, then it has to increase the features of its products. Comprehensively, when similar products from different companies have varying costs in that one company sells at a lower price, and the other one sells at a higher price, the one with the lower price will be the consumers preference and choice. Therefore, Nokia Company must do something worth either by decreasing the prices of its products or improve the quality of the mobile phones (Steinbock, 2010). This will help the corporation increase its share in the market. Another general factor of environment that affects Nokia is technology. Technology is one of the most developing things in the world. Several companies are coming up with new, innovated technology in the industry. Coming up of newer phones with a high level of technology, affects the industry greatly. Nokia Corporation has to ensure that it involves many innovations and advancing of technology, by embracing any change to ens ure that the products are in the same level with the technological growth. Many companies have come up with better-advanced technology level. These companies include Samsung and other producers of smart phones. Therefore, if Nokia will not be more creative and strategically improve the technology of its products, it will loose to its competitors (Daft & Marcic, 2010). In every business, there are major internal factors that affect it either positively or negatively. These factors are those that are within the organization itself. Capital is one of the factors that affect Nokia. For the corporation to do innovation and advance technology, it requires large amounts of capital. Fixing new soft wares and features in the mobile

Which non-war law enacted by the US Congress was most important Essay

Which non-war law enacted by the US Congress was most important - Essay Example Congress enacted for the initial purpose of discouraging acts of insurrection which supported the Confederacy. President Abraham Lincoln was reluctant at first to approve the act in 1861, considering impracticalities in view of the former triumphs and spirit of the secessionists to sustain the old slaveholding tradition. It gradually served him, nevertheless, a foresight that confiscation of properties by the federal government could make ends meet in resolving to abolish and keep black slavery from use for rebellion upon employment to labor by the federal authority. Alongside the militia act, in the findings of J. McPherson, the author explicates â€Å"one section of the confiscation act authorized the president to employ contrabands for the suppression of the rebellion ‘in such manner as he may judge best’† (McPherson 378). Though such did not necessitate for the president to recruit black soldiers, somewhere, the substance of the act brought Lincoln to ponder o n what could be more sensibly and productively achieved. When blacks were charged with military duties – he pondered as though he was inclined to prefer registration of the colored men for labor in that manner so that they may divert services, originally possessed by their previous masters, to the government honoured by the Union. In a way, hence, the permission of the law of confiscation enabled slaves to be identified as contrabands, nullifying ownerships by slave bearers in the seceded states. To analyze, the act seemed flexible and its implication at this stage leads to manifestation of liberty that it could well be a strategic move to make southern rebels account for new perspectives in treating the essence of revolution. Apparently, confiscation acts became altogether a driving force for Lincoln in his pursuit of enlisting black soldiers that, in one of his conversations with a military governor, he expressed â€Å"The colored population is the great available and yet unavailed of, force for restoring the Union† (379). His motivation, as such, stirred further interests in his administration to support him as he managed to realize probable competencies of the black laborers in a number of aspects as â€Å"troops to garrison forts, protect supply dumps and wagon trains, and perform rear-area duties† (380). Hence, designating the colored men for these functions could be perceived as an indirect approach of possibly easing racial discrimination as blacks blended with the whites in order for the whites to be relieved of exhaustive menial tasks since able-bodied negroes may come to their aid to save energy and other crucial resources necessary for the Union to cope with the demands of the civil war. This was especially an advantage for, at the time, a militia draft was ordered by the government to address the scarcity of the volunteering northern whites. By 1862, several Republicans particularly the radicals among them sought to enlist bla cks, or the confiscated contrabands, to be armed for a dual cause of helping the Union by turning them against the confederate south as well as stimulating their hope of being delivered from the unwanted bondage to oppression and social injustice through combative efforts. When the law took effect, the system governed by confiscation acts, however, exhibited unequal wages – a feature of an unpleasant outcome yet despite which, colored regiments proceeded to operate â€Å"as labor battalions to dig trenches, load and unload supplies, and perform heavy fatigue duty for white troops†

Legal Ascts of the Nursing - Homework # 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Ascts of the Nursing - Homework # 3 - Essay Example Patient safety entails knowing and reducing factors that may cause medical errors, communication of any relevant patient information to other medical health care providers, and disclosure of patient information (Byers & Susan 84). In the case in question, health care provider’s responsibility of maintaining patient safety is on the limelight. This is because the patients and health care society view health care providers as quality and safety leaders. Among the different roles that a physician should execute, he or she should take part actively in practice-specific activities that result to patient safety (Byers & Susan 88). Though the doctors restrained Mr. Garcia to prevent self harm, they failed to provide a direct one-to-one observation to Mr. Garcia, who later escaped from the hospital. Therefore, Mr. Garcia’s escape from the hospital can be linked to the physicians’ failure to observe him closely. In addition, communication of relevant patient information to other health care practitioners is a principle eminent in the case. It is the responsibility of health care practitioners to inform other health care providers about a patient. In the case in question, the physicians would have informed other health care providers within the hospital (Byers & Susan, 94). This would have, to some degree, averted Mr. Garcia’s escape. In this case, the hospital and the staff members are the defendants. In law, a defendant refers to the individual or an entity against whom an action is brought in a court of law. The organization can be held liable for the death of Mr. Garcia due to the actions of the employees. The employees act as agents of the organizations and their actions amount to actions of the organization. However, the police can also be held liable to some extend for the death of Mr. Garcia. In this case, the physicians who are employees of the organization did not exercise full responsibility in ensuring Mr. Garcia’s

Analyzing the Ways the Media Represent the American Economy Essay

Analyzing the Ways the Media Represent the American Economy - Essay Example This is even worsened by the declaration that "central bankers grappled with the growing uncertainty about which direction the economy is headed" (3). The second article expresses the gloomy projection of the International Monetary Fund when it cuts its forecast for economic growth in the United States this year to 2.2 percent (IMF Cuts 1). It can be recalled that during 2006, the nation's economy grew by 3.3 percent (3). The slowdown is attributed to the expected weak performance of the nation's housing market. It is projected that this deceleration will cause the United States to lag behind other economic giants including Britain, Canada, and Japan. This will be the first time that US will not lead the Group of Seven nations in terms of economic growth (6). Generally, the media portrays the American economy in a downslide. The nation's struggle in keeping its inflation stable and sustain economic growth appears to be in vain. It should be noted that the media uses a rather pessimistic tone in describing the US economy. Downbeat news article titles like "Greenspan: Recession 'possible' by end of year" and "The American Economy is Destroying Itself" loudly communicates the media's pessimism coupled with some sensationalism.

Methods for accident investigation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Methods for accident investigation - Essay Example Causal factors can be broken down into three types. The first of these is direct cause, which describes the immediate aspect that caused the event. The second is a contributing cause, which acts with other events to increase how likely the accident was to occur. The final type of cause is a root factor, which would prevent the accident from reoccurring if it is corrected. These aspects can be determined through the use of different analytical approaches. The deductive approach makes use of a reasoning approach, which moves from a general perspective to a specific one, based on the postulation of the failure of a specific system or process. The second approach is inductive, which postulates that a particular event of fault has initiated the process. This is an overview approach. Finally, the morphological approach makes use of the way that the system that is being studied is structured. This considers what aspects have the most significant effects on safety. A five-step model was developed by SINTEF for investigating accidents. The first step is identifying the sequence of events the occurred prior to the accident, the second is determining failures and deviations that influenced the events. The third step involves working out the problems with the systems of management. The fourth step involves the identification of weaknesses in top management. Finally, the fifth step involves finding the weaknesses in the public safety framework. When investigating an accident, one of the main objectives is reporting and the provision of recommendations, which have the potential to prevent similar accidence from occurring in the future. The TRIPOD concept examines the organizational failures that are crucial to accident prevention, based on the arguments that substandard aspects occur as the result of mechanisms within organization. These often occur due to decisions in the organization, and the underlying mechanisms are

Analyzing the Ways the Media Represent the American Economy Essay

Analyzing the Ways the Media Represent the American Economy - Essay Example This is even worsened by the declaration that "central bankers grappled with the growing uncertainty about which direction the economy is headed" (3). The second article expresses the gloomy projection of the International Monetary Fund when it cuts its forecast for economic growth in the United States this year to 2.2 percent (IMF Cuts 1). It can be recalled that during 2006, the nation's economy grew by 3.3 percent (3). The slowdown is attributed to the expected weak performance of the nation's housing market. It is projected that this deceleration will cause the United States to lag behind other economic giants including Britain, Canada, and Japan. This will be the first time that US will not lead the Group of Seven nations in terms of economic growth (6). Generally, the media portrays the American economy in a downslide. The nation's struggle in keeping its inflation stable and sustain economic growth appears to be in vain. It should be noted that the media uses a rather pessimistic tone in describing the US economy. Downbeat news article titles like "Greenspan: Recession 'possible' by end of year" and "The American Economy is Destroying Itself" loudly communicates the media's pessimism coupled with some sensationalism.

Strategic 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic 2 - Essay Example Automobile manufacturers’ sales proved the most lucrative for the global automobiles industry in 2008, generating total revenues of $1,698.5 billion, equivalent to 95.19% of the industry's overall value. In comparison, sales of motorcycles generated revenues of $85.8 billion in 2008, equating to 4.81% of the industry's aggregate revenues. The performance of the industry is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 4.5% for the five-year period 2008-2013, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of $2,220 billion by the end of 2013. 1) Threat of New Entrants: A tremendous increase in raw material costs in recent years has resulted in pressure on both market players and suppliers. The diverse markets in which suppliers operate have reduced their reliance on the automobile industry. Barriers such as stern government regulations, high fixed costs and exit barriers hinder new entrants to the market. Competition in the industry has increased as a result of econom ic downturn. 2) Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers such as steel and aluminum manufacturers are often large companies who supply to a wide variety of industries, reducing their dependence on the automobile manufacture market.

The business activities of Wal-Mart and Tfl Essay Example for Free

The business activities of Wal-Mart and Tfl Essay For this assignment, I will be describing how political, legal and social factors are impacting upon the business activities of Wal-Mart and Tfl. For businesses, this is important because they need to know how these change such as political decisions made by the government or changes to the law or changes that take place in society over time is going to affect their business. Political Factors Political factors is an external environment in which a business functions. This is a type of external constraint for a business and are related to actions of governments. This factors can affect how the business operates. Political factors include politicians, who make important decisions. These can be done at national level at the UK parliament. This is because the UK is a representative democracy, who has a member of parliament that are elected. There are political parties who with the most Members of Parliament run the country. This party is led by the Prime Minister who appoints the Cabinet of Ministers in charge of key areas of the government. Political stability is the durability and integrity of a current government regime. This is determined based on the amount of violence and terrorism expressed in the nation and by citizens associated with the state. A stable society is one that is satisfied with the ruling party and system of operations and is not interested in revolutionary or despotic ideas. For businesses, they hate instability. Businesses operates according to forecasts and scenarios about the future so instability is not what they want. Political stability is important for Wal-Mart because the society is satisfied so that this provides a platform for Wal-Mart to sell their goods. However if the is political instability in the UK, it affects the decision making process and their profits. This is because the confidence in the economy will go down and customers will be less likely to spend. For Tfl, political stability is important because as the organisation budget is paid by the government, if there is instability the money flow will get disrupted. Also when political instability happens there is usually conflict and as Tfl provides a transport service, there could be damage. However in the UK there is a stable political system, so this is the environment for the business to grow  and expand. Another political factors which affect a business is the fiscal policy of t he business. Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to monitor and influence a nations economy. It is the sister strategy to monetary policy through which a central bank influences a nations money supply. These two policies are used in various combinations to direct a countrys economic goals. Fiscal policy works by increasing or decreasing tax levels and public spending to maintain the health of the economy. Fiscal policy affects Wal-Mart because by changing the amount of disposable income people have to spend. This can affect the consumer demand. This happens by higher taxes. If taxes are higher than customers will have less money to spend and this will affect the profits of Wal-Mart as less people have money to spend. For Tfl, the fiscal policy will affect the business because as Tfl is a publicly funded, if there is a cut in taxes this will lead to less money for the government. To balance the books, the government will have to cut spending. This directly affects Tfl because their budget will be cut. Another political factor which affects a business is the membership of inte rnational trading organisations. For the UK, they are part of the EU or European Union. The European Union, or EU, is known formally as the European Economic and Monetary Union. It establishes a common market among its 28 member countries. This means that all border controls between members have been eliminated, allowing the free flow of goods and people. The EU common market also means that any product legally manufactured in one member state can be sold in any other member, without tariffs or duties. Taxes have been standardized. Practitioners of most services can operate in all member countries. The cost of airfares, the internet and phone calls have fallen dramatically. By being the EU it affects Wal-Mart because as Wal-Mart is an international company it is easier to operate in the EU because the regulations are same and taxes are similar. Also the EU sets regional policies, so if a country in the EU is struggling and need help the EU will help. This affects Wal-Mart because their investment will be safer because the EU will not let the country collapse. For Tfl, being in the EU helps because as Tfl provides a transport service it needs to import the go ods to improve the infrastructure of the London and being in the EU it is easier and with less paperwork to get the goods. Another political factor which  affects a business is the enhancing of the skills of the working population. This means the education of the youngster of the UK, the training of the working population and research. The government can affect this by the spending it does on the education system and apprenticeships. This affects Wal-Mart because as the UK economy recovery there is an increase in the demand of skilled workers. Wal-Mart needs skill workers for the finance, Management and etc. so with the skilled workers the business can expand. For Tfl, it needs skilled worker because as Tfl provides a transport service it needs engineers how there is a shortage as 88% of employers report not being able to find qualified engineers. Also as Tfl is a publicly funded organisation is has a set budget for employees so the business is at a disadvantage because it cannot pay the same as private businesses. So this is why the enhancing of skilled workers is important for businesses. Finally, another political factor which affects businesses is the government support for different types of organisations. For private businesses, the government gives tax credit to businesses for employing more people or expanding their business. This affects Wal-Mart because this provides a goal because if the grow they will get awarded. Also if Wal-Mart expand they will get bigger profits and with the tax credit, it is easier to grow. For publicly owned companies, the government supports them by paying for part of their budget and the public businesses don’t pay taxes. This affects Tfl because the company doesn’t have to worry about taxes cutting into their profits and as the government pay for their budget, there is less worry about paying for everything. So these are five political factors which affect Wal-Mart and Tfl. Legal Factors Legal factors are things and laws that the government or higher authorities pass that would have an effect on how business are run. Businesses must operate within the framework of the law. However if the business fails to follow the law then it can lead to fines and even imprisonment of directors. Therefore, businesses give high priority to make sure they comply with the law. There are three main types of laws business follow: Company law – Tow businesses are set up and run Contract law – The contract that businesses make with employees, consumers,  suppliers and so on Competition law How businesses deal with employees, consumers, suppliers, and so on, and how businesses are allowed to compete with each other. Company law Company law is providing a framework for businesses. Company law is the field of law concerning companies and other business organizations. This includes corporations, partnerships and other associations which usually carry on some form of economic or charitable activity. One example of a company law is the Companies Act 2006. This is an Act which was passed by the Parliament of the UK. The act provides a rule book for the companies in the UK. This act is an improvement on the Companies Act 1985 because it now it is: To enhance shareholder engagement and a long term investment culture; To ensure better regulation and a Think Small First approach; To make it easier to set up and run a company; and To provide flexibility for the future The key parts of the act is: The Act codifies certain existing†¯common law†¯principles, such as those relating to†¯directors duties. It implements the†¯European Unions†¯Takeover†¯and Transparency Obligations†¯Directives. It introduces various new provisions for†¯private†¯and†¯public companies. It applies a single company law regime across the United Kingdom, replacing the two separate (if identical) systems for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It otherwise amends or restates almost all of the Companies Act 1985 to varying degrees.[2] This affects Wal-Mart because as Wal-Mart has a board of directors, this act states that there must be one person as a director and there cannot be one sole director and the minimum age of the director must be 16 years old. This affects Wal-Mart because it needs to employ more individuals to help run the business and this will affect the profits of the business. For Tfl, this act affects the business because as a part states that accounts must be submitted within 9 months of the year end and this is a change from within 10 months. This affects Tfl because now it needs to spend money reorganising the structure of the business so that it can submit  the account on time. Furthermore, a failure to do some will lead to a fine. Contract law Contract law is the protection of consumers and employees. This is a body of law that governs verbal or written agreements relating to exchanges of goods and services, money, and properties. Businesses form contract with many different individual, groups and bodies outside the business. This include: Lenders Employees Consumers Suppliers of stock Suppliers of equipment Sellers of land and building For contract law there is two main types. These are contracts with consumers, and contract with employees. However I will be doing contracts with employees. The legislation I will discuss is employment law. Employment law is the legal relationship between the worker and employer. A key component of employment law is the creation of a contract. A contract of employment should include details such as names of employer and employee, job title and job description, date employment starts, the place of work, the address of the employer, amount of pay and how it will be paid, hours of work, holiday pay entitlement and notice period required. The contract is legally binding and if the employer or employee breaks the law they can get sued. This affects Wal-Mart because a part of employment law is the minimum wage, which is currently at  £6.50 per hour for workers aged 21+. This is the lowest Wal-Mart can go in payment, this affect the choice of Wal-Mart because they cannot decide how much they want to pay but it is forced upon them. For Tfl, the employment law affect them because of parts such as the EU directive call the Working Time Directive. This set out that there should be a minimum rest period of 11 consecutive hours in every 24-hours period. So Tfl have to give their employees this, even if they are falling behind in work, they have to employ a new set of worker to catch up. Competition law Competition law is a set of rules that promotes or seeks to maintain market  competition by restricting anti-competitive practices by businesses. Also these are laws governing how businesses can compete with each other. For example law against restricting business practices to reduce competition such as two or one businesses agreeing to a set price. Also laws against monopolies and mergers to stop businesses from dominating a particular market. This affects Wal-Mart because this company is one of the largest in the world, so they can investigated by the UK’s Competition Commission because they don’t want Wal-Mart to be dominate. This affects Wal-Mart because it restrict them to the amount they could grow. For Tfl, the competition law affects them because as Tfl is in the tertiary sector of the economy, it offers contracts to supply them. This law states that Tfl must review all the bids to make it fair. This adds to the time and costs because it will take a longer period of time to process the bids and accept one. Social factors Social factors relate to changes in the behaviour, taste and lifestyle of communities on the local, national and international scale. Over time many changes take place in society which are relevant for business organisations, such as in: Demographic issues Households and families Education Attitudes to work Changes in structure of the society One social factor is the demographic issues. For the UK, they are experiencing population growth. Currently, the UK population is 64.1 million and it grow by 400,000 last year. This is 0.63% increase from the previous year. For businesses this can be a good thing because there will be an increase in demand. Also population growth also means economic growth. For Tfl, population grow has pros and cons. this is because with population grow will mean there is an increase on the amount of people who use the services. So Tfl will have to spend more money to reduce the strain on the service. This affects the profits of the business. However because of the increase in the population there is going to be an increase in revenue because it costs money to use the service. For Wal-Mart, population growth  is a good thing because more individuals will use their products. This will increase their profits. Another social factor is the changes in structure in the society. Social structure is the di stinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society interact and live together. Social structure is often treated together with the concept of social change, which deals with the forces that change the social structure and the organization of society. For businesses, one way the social structure changes is the ageing of the society. Currently, the UK population is ageing. For Tfl, this affects them because as the population ages, there will be less engineers and such to run the services or build it. For Wal-Mart this affects them because there will be less workers to run the business so Wal-Mart will have to spend more on employees to get the best. Another social factor is education. The average level of education in a society affects the interests and sophistication of consumers. For example, in a community in which a high percentage of potential customers have some form of post-secondary education, small-business owners might use more details and explanations while advertising and promoting products. For Tfl, this affect them because most of Tfls jobs are high skilled, so an educated society is important and required to expand. However they can get around it by getting employees around the world. For Wal-Mart it is not as important because they need less educated employees because most of their employees are cashiers and shop assistants. However they need mangers. The UK does have an educated society so the business need not worried. Another social factor for businesses is attitudes to work. This is the way society thinks, feels or behaves to work. For businesses, this is important because businesses need employees who are motivated so that they care about. For the UK, the attitude of work is good because this society is a individualistic. This means individuals care about themselves and how they are going to a success. For Tfl, this is important because they want employees to work hard but also care about the people who is going to use the service. This is going to improve the customer experience because if they don’t care than the service will not be the best it could be. For Wal-Mart, the attitudes of work is important because the more they care the better the busin ess is. This will affect the profits of the business because customers will like the business because employee will show passion.   Another social factor of the business is the attitudes to male and female roles in business. Gender roles are societys concepts of how men and women are expected to act, and are shaped by cultural norms. For the UK, male role and females are one of the most equal in the world. However in some jobs males get more money than females for doing the same job. This affects Tfl because if there is inequality than female will not become engineers and such, which leads to less engineers and Tfl will need to pay more for engineers. So this affects their profits. For Wal-Mart, the gender role affects them because there will be less workers because females will be discouraged to work. Also if females work this will boost the economy and more people will spend on their business.

Judaism :: essays research papers fc

Judaism Judaism is intrinsically open to history. It looks forward to a future event - the messianic redemption - that will dwarf the importance of Exodus. This paper will discuss the important holidays of the Jewish year and a look into the Holocaust from a Jewish standpoint. I talked to a friend of mine, Josh Cohen. Josh practices Conservative Judaism. I also retrieved some information from a book The Jewish Way; Living the Holidays. Rabbi Irving Greenburg wrote it. I will first explain the holidays I discussed with Josh, and then discuss Josh growing up in the Jewish culture. "They particularly exemplify the focus on developing human capacity in the Sabbath and days of awe. The primary, Holy days that nurture personal life along the way. The Sabbat, on a weekly basis, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippers, annually, are the key periods of individual family renewal. These holidays accomplish their goals primarily by lifting the individual out of a routine that controls, too often, deadens daily life." The Sabbat is their weekly ceremony, held Friday evenings, to celebrate the end of a work week. Rosh Hashanah - Yom Kipper is the core that of being on trial for ones life. During that trial one moves from life through death to renewed life. Also discussed in this paper is Hanukkah, the festival of lights. Hanukkah stands for the temple that burned to the ground. The Jewish people only had an oil lamp to provide light for six nights and seven days. Therefore that is why they celebrate Hanukkah for six nights and seven days. Passover is also discussed. It is a time where Jewish families are to be fasting, no bread or meat. This last one week. Similar to the Christian Easter celebration. When a Jewish boy turns, age thirteen into an adult Jew they know it as a Bar Mitzvah. In order for this to happen a young teenage boy must attend Hebrew school. They usually take place a couple times a week. There are three types of Judaism worship Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Orthodox would be the most religious, Conservatism being middle of the road, and Reform being the least practiced. Josh grew up into the Orthodox beliefs because of his grandparents. Josh's grandparents, his father's mother and father, were Orthodox. His mother's, mother and father were Conservative. Eventually his mother and father switched over to the Conservative beliefs. The Orthodox beliefs would show the in the center and the women on the outside. They viewed women as caretakers. There are three temples in the city of Toledo.

Is the Body Ownable :: Philosophy Papers

Is the Body Ownable The way Jennifer Church approaches the issue of body ownership in â€Å"Ownership and the Body†, it sounds as though that we own our bodies is a given fact, and the controversy is over what follows from this and why it is important to have a discussion of this fact. I, however, intend to argue that it is a bad move to allow for the idea of self-ownership (or any sort of ownership of subjects), that it is more likely to perpetuate problems than to solve them to think in this way, and that the belief in the possibility of body/self-ownership is rooted primarily in linguistic ambiguities (â€Å"property† vs. â€Å"properties†, different senses of â€Å"mine†, etc.). Mine We will begin with the seemingly innocuous assertion, â€Å"my body is mine†. 1[1]This is a truism only if â€Å"mine† is not construed as â€Å"being that which I own†. I do not own my mother, my boss, or my sneeze. In some cases, â€Å"mine† only means that something pertains to me, not that it necessarily belongs to me in the sense in which a product of my labour might. Surely a slave who says, â€Å"my master,† is not trying to reverse the relationship (a relationship which is, by my account, illegitimate to begin with). Now, Church does want to allow, in a sense, for me to be able to own my mother. She certainly would allow my mother, initially, to own me.2[2] One can make a claim, by her account, to some degree of ownership of another person based on the extent to which that person has become part of one’s self.3[3] Her example for this is the right that one’s close friends and relatives have to make decisions for one who is incapacitated. I do not see how the concern of close ones can be taken as a form of ownership. While we hope that it is our closest friends and family who will look out for us when we are unable to look out for ourselves, in no way are they granted the rights that one would have over property.4[4] I take ownership to include unrestricted private use of an object. Of course my definition excludes the possibility of owning a Is the Body Ownable :: Philosophy Papers Is the Body Ownable The way Jennifer Church approaches the issue of body ownership in â€Å"Ownership and the Body†, it sounds as though that we own our bodies is a given fact, and the controversy is over what follows from this and why it is important to have a discussion of this fact. I, however, intend to argue that it is a bad move to allow for the idea of self-ownership (or any sort of ownership of subjects), that it is more likely to perpetuate problems than to solve them to think in this way, and that the belief in the possibility of body/self-ownership is rooted primarily in linguistic ambiguities (â€Å"property† vs. â€Å"properties†, different senses of â€Å"mine†, etc.). Mine We will begin with the seemingly innocuous assertion, â€Å"my body is mine†. 1[1]This is a truism only if â€Å"mine† is not construed as â€Å"being that which I own†. I do not own my mother, my boss, or my sneeze. In some cases, â€Å"mine† only means that something pertains to me, not that it necessarily belongs to me in the sense in which a product of my labour might. Surely a slave who says, â€Å"my master,† is not trying to reverse the relationship (a relationship which is, by my account, illegitimate to begin with). Now, Church does want to allow, in a sense, for me to be able to own my mother. She certainly would allow my mother, initially, to own me.2[2] One can make a claim, by her account, to some degree of ownership of another person based on the extent to which that person has become part of one’s self.3[3] Her example for this is the right that one’s close friends and relatives have to make decisions for one who is incapacitated. I do not see how the concern of close ones can be taken as a form of ownership. While we hope that it is our closest friends and family who will look out for us when we are unable to look out for ourselves, in no way are they granted the rights that one would have over property.4[4] I take ownership to include unrestricted private use of an object. Of course my definition excludes the possibility of owning a

Online Shopping Essay

Online shopping (sometimes known as e-tail from â€Å"electronic retail† or e-shopping) is a form of electronic commercewhich allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. HISTORY English entrepreneur Michael Aldrich invented online shopping in 1979. His system connected a modified domestic TV to a real-time transaction processing computer via a domestic telephone line. his enabled ‘closed’ corporate information systems to be opened to ‘outside’ correspondents not just for transaction processing but also for e-messaging and information retrieval and dissemination, later known as e-business In March 1980 he went on to launch Redifon’s Office Revolution, which allowed consumers, customers, agents, distributors, suppliers and service companies to be connected on-line to the corporate systems and allow business transactions to be completed electronically in real-time. [3] During the 1980s[4] he designed, manufactured, sold, installed, maintained and supported many online shopping systems, using videotex technology The first secure retail transaction over the Web was either by NetMarket or Internet Shopping Network in 1994.[7]Immediately after, Amazon.com launched its online shopping site in 1995 and eBay was also introduced in 1995.[6] Alibaba’s sites Taobao and Tmall were launched in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Reasons for online shopping 1) Convenience: Where else can you do shopping, even at midnight, wearing your jammies? You don’t have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant helps you with your purchases. You can do your shopping in minutes even if you are busy, apart from saving time and avoiding crowds. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24 x 7 and also reward us with ‘no pollution’ shopping. 2) Better Prices: I get cheap deals and better prices from online stores because products come to you directly from the manufacturer or seller without middlemen involved. Many online shops offer discount coupons and rebates. 3) Variety: One can get several brands and products from different sellers at one place. You can get in on the latest international trends without spending money on travel; you can shop from  retailers in other parts of the country or even the world without being limited by geographic area†¦ These stores offer a far greater selection of colors and sizes tha n you will find locally. If you find that the product you need is out of stock online, you can take your business to another online store where the product is available. 4) Fewer Expenses: Many times when we opt for conventional shopping we tend to spend a lot more than the required shopping expenses, on things like eating out, traveling, impulsive shopping etc. 5) Comparison of Prices: Online shops make comparison and research of products and prices possible. Online stores also give you the ability to share information and reviews with other shoppers who have firsthand experience with a product or retailer. 6) Crowds: If you are like me, you would like to avoid the crowds when you do the shopping. Crowds force us to do a hurried shopping most of the time. Crowds also create a problem when it comes to finding a parking place nearby where you want to shop and going back to your vehicle later loaded with shopping bags. 7) Compulsive Shopping: Many times when we go out shopping we end up buying things which we do not require because of the shopkeepers’ upselling skills — or we’ll compromise on our choices because of the lack of choices in those shops. 8) Discreet Purchases: Some things are better done in privacy. Online Shops enable me to purchase undergarments and lingerie or adult toys without the embarrassment that there are several people watching me and my choices. Product selection Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine. Once a particular product has been found on the website of the seller, most online retailers use shopping cart software to allow the consumer to accumulate multiple items and to adjust quantities, like filling a physical shopping cart or basket in a conventional store. A â€Å"checkout† process follows (continuing the physical-store analogy) in which payment and delivery information is collected, if necessary. Some stores allow consumers to sign up for a permanent online account so that some or all of this information only needs to be entered once. The consumer often receives an  e-mail confirmation once the transaction is complete. Payment Billing to mobile phones and landlines[13][14] Cash on delivery (C.O.D.) Cheque/ Check Debit card Direct debit in some countries Electronic money of various types Gift cards Postal money order Wire transfer/delivery on payment Invoice, especially popular in some markets/countries, such as Switzerland Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies Product delivery Once a payment has been accepted, the goods or services can be delivered in the following ways. For physical items: Shipping: The product is shipped to a customer-designated address. Retail package delivery is typically done by the public postal system or a retail courier such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, or TNT. Drop shipping: The order is passed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor, who then ships the item directly to the consumer, bypassing the retailer’s physical location to save time, money, and space. In-store pick-up: The customer selects a local store using a locator software and picks up the delivered product at the selected location. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks business model. For digital items or tickets: Downloading/Digital distribution:[15] The method often used for digital media products such as software, music, movies, or images. Printing out, provision of a code for, or e-mailing of such items as admission tickets and scrip (e.g., gift certificates and coupons). The tickets, codes, or coupons may be redeemed at the appropriate physical or online premises and their content reviewed to verify their eligibility (e.g., assurances  that the right of admission or use is redeemed at the correct time and place, for the correct dollar amount, and for the correct number of uses). Will call, COBO (in Care Of Box Office), or â€Å"at the door† pickup: The patron picks up pre-purchased tickets for an event, such as a play, sporting event, or concert, either just before the event or in advance. With the onset of the Internet and e-commerce sites, which allow customers to buy tickets online, the popularity of this service has increased. Types of Buying Behaviour. There are four types of buying behaviour. 1. Complex buying behaviour is where the individual purchases a high value brand and seeks a lot of information before the purchase is made. 2. Habitual buying behaviour is where the individual buys a product out of habit e.g. a daily newspaper, sugar or salt. 3. Variety seeking buying behaviour is where the individual likes to shop around and experiment with different products. So an individual may shop around for different breakfast cereals because he/she wants variety in the mornings! 4. Dissonance reducing buying behaviour is when buyers are highly involved with the purchase of the product, because the purchase is expensive or infrequent. There is little difference between existing brands an example would be buying a diamond ring, as people believe there is little difference between diamond brand manufacturers.

Critique of the Hawthorne Experiments

Written by Fritz J. Roethlisberger (1898 – 1974), The Hawthorne Experiments, explores the experiments, results and conclusions of studies performed at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company. The Hawthorne Effect is the theory that resulted from the studies. Roethlisberger, a key member of the team, joined the team in 1927 and actively participated in the research until 1936, first as Elton Mayo’s assistant and later as his collaborator (Roethlisberger, 2007). Roethlisberger earned a BA in engineering from Columbia University, a BS in engineering administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a MA in philosophy from Harvard University (Roethlisberger, 2007). When Roethlisberger became Elton Mayo’s assistant and a member of the Harvard Business School Department of Industrial Research, his studies towards a PhD in philosophy were halted (Roethlisberger, 2007). Roethlisberger held multiple positions while at Harvard University including: Instructor of Industrial Research (1927-1930), Assistant Professor of Industrial Research (1930-1938), Associate Professor of Industrial Research (1938-1946); and Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Human Relations (1950-1974) (Roethlisberger, 2007). Roethlisberger also served as a consultant to the Training within Industry Program of the U. S. Governments Office of Production Management from 1941 to 1942 (Roethlisberger, 2007). Roethlisberger is also responsible for multiple other essays and books including, â€Å"Man-in-Organization: Essays of F. J. Roethlisberger† (1968), â€Å"Counseling in an Organization; A Sequel to the Hawthorne Researches (1966)†, and â€Å"Management and Morale† (1941) (Biography – Fritz, 2010). Critique The article uses the experiments performed at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company as illustration to prove Roethlisberger’s theory . He wrote: It is my simple thesis that a human problem requires a human solution. First, we have to learn to recognize a human problem when we see one; and second, upon recognizing it, we have to learn to deal with it as such and not as if it were something else. Too often at the verbal level we talk glibly about the importance of the human factor; and too seldom at the concrete level of behavior do we recognize a human problem for what it is and deal with it as such (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 30). Roethlisberger also said, â€Å"A human problem to be brought to a human solution requires human data and human tools (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 30). Again the results from these experiments reiterated Roethlisberger’s theory of treating human problems with human solutions. There were multiple experiments performed at the Hawthorne plant. â€Å"In the illumination experiments†¦we have a classic example of trying to deal with a human situation in nonhuman terms (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 31). The illumination studies were performed from 1924 until 1927 and were to study the effect of lighting changes on employee productivity (Kirchner, 1992). Within this experiment, various degrees of illumination were experimented on a ‘test’ group and most of the experiments performed on the group showed an increase of productivity. According to Roethlisberger, â€Å"in still another experiment, the workers were allowed to believe that the illumination was being increased, although, in fact, no change in intensity was made† (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 31). Again the researchers saw an increase in productivity. Some of the researchers were beginning to develop their basic ideas and assumptions with regard to human motivation (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 31). In the next set of experiments, also known as the Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments, Western Electric Company drew support from Harvard researchers. The experiments (with five young women from the Relay Assembly room of the plant) involved manipulated a number of factors including, pay incentives, length of workday and work week, and the use of rest period (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p 32). While researchers kept tons of data regarding this experiment, including the temperature and humidity of the room and the amount of slept each women had the night prior, the physical changes had little change on the productivity (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, pp. 32 – 34). The experiments at the Hawthorne Plant continued with interviewing the actual employees. These interviews began in 1928 and were the â€Å"first real attempt to get human data and to forge human tools to get them† (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 35). In the beginning of the interviewing process, the interviewers found it difficult to not input their feelings, advice, etc into the interviews (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 35). Over time and with practice: They discovered that sooner or later a person tends to talk about what is uppermost in his mind to a sympathetic and skillful listener. And they become more proficient in interpreting what a person is say or trying to say (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p 35). It was the data from these experiments that supported the research of the Harvard team and lead them to conclude that productivity increase when management/supervisors began to pay attention to their employees. In the final set of experiments at the Hawthorne Plant, also described as the Bank Wiring Observation Group (1931-1932), researchers observed a group of employees that represented three occupational groups – wiremen, soldermen, and inspectors (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 8). All of the work done in this room was piece work and what the researchers discovered while observing was† To be an accepted member of the group a man had to act in accordance with these [the] social standards. One man in this group exceeded the group standard of what constituted a fair day’s work. Social pressure was put on him to conform, but without avail, since he enjoyed doing things the other disliked. The best-liked person in the group was the one who kept his output exactly where the group agreed it should be (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 8) It was these observations that lead the researchers to the conclusion: informal groups operate in the work environment. According to Roethlisberger, â€Å"most of us want the satisfaction that comes from being accepted and recognized as people of worth by friends and works associated. Money is only a small part of this social recognition (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001, p. 39)† Despite the modern criticism the Hawthorne res earch receives, the studies changed the landscape permanently. These experiments help disprove, Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theory of scientific management. According to his theory, management should scientifically design the job, scientifically select and train the right worker, reward for performance (Dessler & Phillips, 2008, p. 12). The study at the Hawthorne plant shows that management can not be a separate identity in the workplace but needs to be actively involved and available to employees. While the findings of the Hawthorne Experiments disproved Taylor’s theory they do support Abraham Maslow’s theories. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, he points out there is more to motivation and an enjoyable workplace, then a paycheck. According to his theory, an employee has numerous needs including: physiological needs (food, water, etc), safety and security needs, social needs, self esteem, and self actualization (Dessler and Phillips, 2008, p. 12). In these experiments, the employees included in the group received more attention and were included into ‘special’ social groups. Today’s Workplace Fritz J. Roethlisberger’s conclusions from the Hawthorne Experiments are still relevant in today’s workplace. Employees need to feel as though they are a member of a group and their thoughts and opinions matter to the company they work for. While some researchers criticize the Hawthorne Experiments, the experiments, flawed or not, point to a key point – the employees in the Hawthorne experiment were pleased and thrived when receiving attention from the resea rchers. As Roethlisberger, pointed out one can not solve human problems or concerns without a human solution and he is correct. Social needs, self esteem needs, and self actualization needs, as defined by Maslow, are all human needs and can not be completed or satisfied with changed lighting, rest periods, increased pay, etc – they need human interaction and human solutions. These needs are even more important in our society and many companies do recognize these. Many companies now offer mentoring programs, employee groups (including health committee, activity committees, etc), rewards, and acknowledgement programs. When employees are made to feel special their physical and intellectual performance improves and thus a company will experience success.