Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Relationship between United Arab Emarits and expo exhibition Term Paper
Relationship between United Arab Emarits and expo exhibition - Term Paper Example This effort that it uses has so far been manifested at the World Expo in recent decades. She has taken up the Mega events in defining and passing information on their nations brand in that way of capturing both the international at large and marketing its foreign public’s interest. Diplomacy While there seems to be a slight difference between product branding and nation branding, the principle in logistic can be embraced to Country’s image. Expo branding are majorly evident in the design of national pavilions in strategies concerning national image. In this concept, the use of brand knowledge to explore visitors’ answers at the UAE Expo refers to sensations, feelings and behavioral responses. This is according to Hayden (2012); in addition, specifically to the United Arab Emirates Expo, analysts helped broaden the current discussion in the UAE’s rise and its soft power implications from a singular point of view. Given the nature of the seven states in term s of political system and the manner in which most countries in the world take into account democracy, the expo in the UAE gives the country a platform to show the degree as to which it has moved in terms of financial power. In addition, the Arab uprising that affected most countries in the Arab world lead to international focus on United Arab Emirates as a country. This focus can be brushed aside if the country focuses and display its own image in such an international event. This can be achieved in very many ways but most importantly by the number of visitors coming for such an event offering eyesight to the countries culture and political positioning. Such an important event may provide a not expected opportunity for this rich State to carry a united all-inclusive diplomacy at the event of a well-attended and organized Expo (Wang, 2008). The world has specifically put UAE in the forefront in helping the least developed countries and assisting them in the handling of human rights and immigration labor. This Expo in addition would provide the country with that important and rare chance to categorically put forward the idea of World diplomacy in living with the times .Later on eventually putting a comprehensive diplomacy which in turn aid in creating a new era of Diplomacy to United Arab Emirates. According to Merkel (2014) World Expo is now a consideration as an avenue to improve public diplomacy and to get to other countries and world organizations, it also proves the hosts country powers both economically and politically, This Expo exhibition might end up helping in improving cooperation and consolidating existing channels of cooperation. What to put in a Pavilion The design and contents of any pavilion mimics the surrounding and the culture. A Pavilion therefore should have information on the people of UAE plus their origin and history as well. It should be accompanied by videos showing their culture on the earlier times of Bedouin and others majoring on o il discovery. The other striking feature of the Pavilion is the focus on personalities involved in both sports and business like Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan who owns English big spending premier league club Manchester City, and these are key and subject to a strong brand. United Arab Emira
Monday, October 28, 2019
Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Essay Example for Free
Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Essay Critical Thinking in Homeland Security Introduction            Homeland Security is an essential part of the security organs that are very crucial in ensuring the protection of the country’s sovereignty. Just as other nations in the world, United States faces significant threats from the external and internal factors. The US established Homeland Security Department in 2003, in an effort to address the external threats and aggression like the September 11 terrorist attacks (Pruitt, 2003, â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Therefore, the main objective of the department is to prevent terrorist attacks in the US. Additionally, the department has to minimize the exposure of the nation to terrorism and minimizing the injuries that results from the attacks, if attacks occur.            To achieve its mandate the department applies several skills. These skills are aimed at determining the likelihood of a threat and establishing the credibility of the threat as per the information provided. Among the skills used is the critical thinking. By definition, critical thinking refers to the ability by the department personnel to make clear, rational judgments (Paul Elder, 2009). This means that the decisions regarding security should be arrived through a well thought out processes (Pruitt, 2003). Critical thinking under homeland security focuses on crucial elements of thought and asking the relevant questions. This means that the department has to evaluate every piece of evidence at their disposal in order to develop appropriate security solutions to the country. The discussion put forward below will aim at establishing what critical thinking method model is appropriate for the decision-making within the structures of homeland s ecurity (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). The reason behind this inquiry is highly dependent on the fact that there are different critical thinking models. These models are very useful in the since they help to find the best and effective solution in homeland parameter. However, different models offer different results. Discussion            The September 11 attack brought about unprecedented need for good, efficient and effective security apparatus. With the introduction of the Homeland Security Department, the country was placed at a position to deal with the terrorism threats. The terrorism activities are currently very dynamic and in return there is a need for the solutions that might meet these challenges (Pruitt, 2003). As a consequence, the homeland security personnel is require to meet the ever rising need for increased demand of the security services as well as meeting the high placed accountability standards. To achieve these requirements they have to learn to become highly skilled in their level of thinking, as well as reasoning abilities.            The fundamental reason for the need to improve skills is that the employees have to analyze all the massive information, understand it, identify the problems and offer solution (Paul Elder, 2009). However, the processing of this massive information comes against the race of time. Homeland security department has to make timely decision that would help to preempt any threats that may arise or control the already existing threats (Pruitt, 2003). Additionally, the strategies employed by the terrorist are changing day in day out, and as well these changes must be encompassed in the decision which the department is undertaking. For instance, before the September 11 attack, the defense apparatus restricted themselves to biological and chemical threats. Moreover, the use of airplane as a tool to carry out terrorism strikes was covered by defense agencies like the Pentagon (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). On the other hand, the threat o f airplane strike was not addressed as the security agencies believed this would result to giving the terrorist an additional tool to their disposal.            The example about the use of airplane as a tool of terrorism indicates an ineffective manner of using the available information to mitigate the terrorist attacks. In this regard, critical thinking is very essential in manner in which the homeland security handles the information they acquire to handle security issues or threats (Paul Elder, 2009). This is mainly, because critical thinking offers the prediction and diagnosis analysis for security issues. Prediction depends chiefly on the ability of the security organs to be able to think ahead. Thinking ahead, as part of critical thinking, dictates that the security organs are able to establish the likely causes of terrorism and probable outcomes (Kiltz, 2009). Diagnosis means the analysis of previous threats which in turn helps to extrapolate the likely future events. In this regard, security organs are able to identify their past failures and in turn making amendments. Additionally, the organs are able to replicate past successes to the future. Best Critical Thinking Model            While understanding the importance of the critical thinking skills, there are several critical thinking models at the disposal of security organs to address any homeland security issues. It is very crucial to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that critical thinking is basic requirement for security decisions facing the country (Paul Elder, 2009). Therefore, to identify the best critical thinking model it would be prudent to learn the two factors that will play a very major role in determining the best model. Critical thinking in the context of homeland security is fundamentally dependent on the most important factor for good decision-making and the nature of the homeland security context (Browne Keeley, 2007). 1. Decision making            Critical thinking is fundamentally aimed at arriving at appropriate decision. Every decision made or arrived at should be able to offer solution in the context of homeland security. In this light, the decision of the security apparatus should be able to effectively prevent the threats that arise as well as minimize the damages is events occur (Kiltz, 2009). Thus, critical thinking plays a pivotal role in decision-making process. On the same note, the best decision-making model is exceedingly reliant on the right questions.            The right question are said to be the main factor that enable effective decisions to be made in all the fields of the society, security being inclusive (Kiltz, 2009). Questions are a good guiding factor while looking for the appropriate results. One, right questions create a structure that our thinking relies upon, that is to say, right questions are essential in finding the suitable materials or information that are essential to the decision or solutions. Secondly, right questions play a vital role of determining the course of our thinking. In this regard, the right questions are crucial element of individual thinking (Kiltz, 2009). This indicates that the right questions part of the homeland security parameters, in that they would help the decision makers in this context will arrive the best solutions possible to the various security challenges. 2. The nature of homeland security            The processes and the activities surrounding decision making in the parameters or the context of the homeland security are substantially complex. The complexity comes in two levels: one, there amount of data or information being processed is extremely large and second, there are a lot of dynamics and variables in homeland security decisions (Paul Elder, 2009). Therefore, the decision-making process has a higher requirement of exhaustive scrutiny of all the probable accompanying implications of any decision made. In addition, the scrutiny extends other available options prior or before the enforcing any decision passed. A good example relates to diversion tactics that are highly employed by terrorist (Davis, 2012). This is where a threat is identified in a particular location while in reality the actual threat is in another place. Without appropriate critical thinking capabilities, the security apparatus are expected to put enough emphasis on areas which are reported to have the threat while leaving the other places vulnerable.            Understanding the nature of homeland security is pegged on homeland security operations and the past failure. Past failures help to understand what part of the process failed and how efficiently and effectively did homeland rise from their falls. For instance from the example above, if the severity of a homeland security event was increased by the misjudgment stated above, in future homeland security would put all efforts at protecting all places equally while still putting emphasis on any information gathered (Paul Elder, 2009). That fact encompasses a crucial part of the critical thinking in such a security decision-making process.            In effect, the most effective critical thinking model should be all-inclusive. Inclusivity means that all the available alternatives should be taken into account while simultaneously evaluating the possible outcomes associated with each likely action. The module applied is similar to a game theory model (Davis, 2012). In such a model, the homeland security is supposed to establish every strategy available to them as well as those available to the opponents, the terrorists. This would help to preempt most, if not all, of the threats posed by various terrorists groups. Therefore, every strategy has probable action, which in turn will deliver results. It would be the aim of homeland to select the most applicable strategy and take an action that would offer the best-expected outcome (Paul Elder, 2009).            For example, through information and intelligence gathering, the security organs in the United States had all the necessary, adequate and relevant information to indicate that an attack was eminent. This information was prior to the September 11 attack, which detailed the Al Qaeda plans to attack the US. This shows that the security organs had the available strategies of the opponents. However, the organs failed to select the best strategy and their actions failed to meet the required results (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005).            The time constraints also play a critical part in undertaking any security decision. The reason behind this is that despite the large volumes of information that need to processed, the uncertainty of when a homeland security event is likely to occur needs timely decision-making. Using the September 11 example, it can be observed that the security organs failed to meet the timely decision requirement (Kiltz, 2009). Although all the information processed indicated the likelihood of a terrorism incident in United States, no timely action was taken to preempt the threats due to the argument that the decision process was at its preliminary stage.            Additionally, homeland security should be in a position to predict the opponents’ likely cause of action and also putting a lot of effort towards preventing the threats preempting the homeland actions. This is attached to diversion tactics, where the threats mature to events in places other than those indicated in the threats information. This was the strategy that was employed by the Al Qaeda to beat homeland security at their game in September 11 (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Prior to the attack, the information gathered indicated that the threats were highly in United States departments and agencies that were beyond borders. The fact that overseas parts of homeland security were threatened, the homeland skewed its efforts towards the external offices and agencies. Consequently, the Al Qaeda anticipated the moves of homeland security and they counteracted by attacking the internal departments (â€Å"The 9/11 Commissi on,†2005). Critical thinking should help to homeland security to fill all the available loopholes that may expose their operations and the country was vast. 3. Right Questions Model            As stated earlier there are several models at the disposal of the homeland security, but among them asking the right questions takes the reign. There are several factors that have heavily tilted the odds towards the right questions model of critical thinking (Browne Keeley, 2007). First, the model plays a pivotal role in addressing the various loopholes found under the nature of homeland security. For instance the failures that were capitalized by the Al Qaeda in the September 11 attack (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). The right questions model aims at querying all the information available. The inquisitive nature of the model allows the various security issues to be determined as well as determining the necessary conclusions. The conclusions are highly dependent on the reasoning, assumptions, and clarity of words.            There are numerous benefits that accompany this essential model of right questions. To begin with the model is highly useful in offering a well detailed analysis of the decision made as well as the cause of actions undertaken. When comparing this model with the other models such as the elements of thought thinking model, right questions model outranks them all in enabling homeland to meet its objectives or targets (Browne Keeley, 2007). Furthermore, it is established that the model has other models easily inbuilt. Mainly, homeland security establishes the positive elements of the other models and encompasses them in the right questions model. As a consequence, the models offer comprehensive and well-contained solutions out of all the available alternatives.            In addition, the said model is highly interactive as it offers an all rounded analysis of the various situations. The analysis is crucial in timely and effective decision-making as well as in actualization of the actions set. Additionally, the model allows homeland to identify the instances of fallacies in reasoning (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Well thought out decision should not be guided by a belief, myth of misconceptions. This allows homeland security process of verification and validation of evidence to be thorough and unbiased. If some essential information is missed, the model would results to different alternatives. Right questions model bases its success on availability of possible alternatives. Therefore, the model puts a lot emphasis on the available information which helps decision makers to arrive at the best possible alternative. On the other hand, the other models have some constraints in their operations (Bro wne Keeley, 2007). For instance, the Element of Thought thinking model success is highly dependent on the emphasis given to some four aspects of decision-making. Using the Model            Several failures have been seen under the dome of homeland security. These failures are highly attributed as the indirect contributors of past events like the September 11 attacks. The right questions model can easily address these past challenges (Browne Keeley, 2007). Moreover, the model is the key to providing support to the homeland security decision-making process as well as creating and enhancing the credibility of the actions undertaken by homeland security.            The right questions model is dependent on an extensive spectral analysis. This analysis is the foundation of critical thinking. As a consequence, the right questions model helps to evaluate all the possible alternatives and their accompanying actions; which aim at getting the best possible solution. The model has been extensively used under the homeland security context to eradicate and lessen threats like the September 11 attacks. For example, prior to September 11 attacks the United States intelligence had gathered that there were several threats directed towards the United States institutions outside the country (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). Lack of a wider spectral analysis, the homeland security failed in its job (Browne Keeley, 2007). In dependence to the information, the homeland security strengthened the security agencies beyond borders and failed to do so with the domestic agencies. As a consequence, the Al Qaeda use d this loophole to carry out the attacks in the US soil (The 9/11 Commission, 2005). Under right questions model, an in-depth analysis would have taken place prompting homeland security to reinforce all the security agencies across the board. Such analysis would have enabled homeland security to alleviate the September 11 attacks. The alleviation would have been achieved through the fact that the homeland security would have easily identify and eliminated all the security exposures that faced the United states at large without overemphasis on the overseas institutions (Browne Keeley, 2007). The fallacies of logic resulted to this misguided conclusions. While combating the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, there was a belief that the US turf was safe from the Al Qaeda actions. This resulted to homeland security ignoring the domestic security need for dealing with terrorism.            Additionally, there were not efforts to fill the information gaps that were there before the attacks. There poor statistics since there limited activities that were undertaken by security agencies in the United States (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). The model selected put emphasis on identifying the missing information which in turns increases the chances of obtaining the best strategy and the appropriate cause of action to be employed. For instance, the evidence provided that an attack was imminent, but there were no prompt actions that were undertaken to mitigate these threats. Also, despite the availability of evidence that indicated that there were terrorist threats facing the US, no security actions were undertaken in time (Browne Keeley, 2007). The claims behind the lack of actions were that the decision process was still at preliminary stages, indicating the rigidity of the security operations. The selected model offers flexible and dynamic solutions to challenges. Through the right questions model, appropriate decisions would have been arrive at early enough to mitigate the threats. Conclusion            Critical thinking is crucial for the undertakings of the homeland security department. This is because there are significant complexities of the decisions and accompanying actions. The critical thinking models are several but one outranks the others; the right questions model is very essential in establishing the right decisions and cause of actions. The model employs a wider spectral analysis strategy with an aim of achieving efficient, effective and timely solutions. Looking at the applicability of the model against the events of September 11 attacks the model would achieve better-desired results (â€Å"The 9/11 Commission,†2005). References Browne, M., Keeley, S. (2007). Asking the right questions. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Davis, V. (2012). Use Critical Thinking to Overcome Personal Biases. IN Homeland Security. Retrieved 22 January 2015, from http://inhomelandsecurity.com/use-critical-thinking-to-overcome-personal-biases/ Kiltz, L. (2009). Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Courses. Journal Of Homeland Security And Emergency Management, 6(1), 1-20. Retrieved from http://www.innovative-analytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DevelopingCriticalThinking.pdf Paul, R., Elder, L. (2009). The miniature guide to critical thinking. Dillon Beach, Calif.: Foundation for Critical Thinking. Pruitt, K. (2003). Modeling Homeland Security: A Value Focused Thinking Approach (1st ed., pp. 1-236). Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio: Department of the Air Force, Air University. Retrieved from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/afit/pruitt_vft_hls.pdf The 9/11 Commission,. (2005). The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (1st ed., pp. 1-400). Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT.pdf Source document
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Athletes, and Sports - Benefits of Supplements in Athletic Training Ess
Athletic Benefits of Supplements The Development of drugs and supplements used by mankind has evolved from what it once was in its early stages of existence. As with all man-made things, it is said that anything made by man can be improved (Moore, p35). With this concept, almost anything in nature can apply. In this case, the development of anabolic supplements and the human body. In the later years, the usage of supplements in sporting events have helped athletes achieve new goals which could not have been accomplished through training alone. With the Human body, there is only so much room for improvement until a limit has been achieved in the progress of a persons developments. With these limits in the development in the human body, certain frustrations can result from witnessing no benefits in physical training. Even for those individuals who are ill and plague with a disease, the usage of supplements can aid that individual back to health. The same reasoning can be applied to a bodybuilder who has reache d his maximum and can no longer attain new goals. But certain questions arise when the usage of supplements are in to play, "Do they (supplements) actually working?","Are supplements hazardous to the health?","Are the supplements just a waste of money and don't benefit anything?". All of those questions are what the developers of chemist, doctors, and training consultant take into consideration before actually creating a new product or recommending someone to use supplements. The question that I would like to answer for myself, "Are supplements actually beneficial in attaining new gains and do they genuinely produce results?" The answer ... ...d talk to someone who knows and a doctor to see if any of them could prove to be lethal to you. Otherwise, those interested in quick results, see what products work best for you. Works Cited Mero, A. "Leucine supplementation and intensive training" Sports Medicine (1999) McBride JM "Effect of resistance exercise on free radical production" Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (1998) Bryant, Cedric Ph.D. "Mind And Muscle Power, INC." General Media Communications (2000) "International Journal of Sports Medicine" Human Kinetics (1999) Crag, W.J. "Guardian of our health/ Journal of the American Dietetic Association" (1999) Long, Renee. Interview with worker at GNC (General Nutrition Center) (2000) Peña, Jimmy MS. "Mind & Muscle Fitness" Weider Publications, INC. (2000) Kwembe, Terfa "Supplement and Weight Diary" (2000) Athletes, and Sports - Benefits of Supplements in Athletic Training Ess Athletic Benefits of Supplements The Development of drugs and supplements used by mankind has evolved from what it once was in its early stages of existence. As with all man-made things, it is said that anything made by man can be improved (Moore, p35). With this concept, almost anything in nature can apply. In this case, the development of anabolic supplements and the human body. In the later years, the usage of supplements in sporting events have helped athletes achieve new goals which could not have been accomplished through training alone. With the Human body, there is only so much room for improvement until a limit has been achieved in the progress of a persons developments. With these limits in the development in the human body, certain frustrations can result from witnessing no benefits in physical training. Even for those individuals who are ill and plague with a disease, the usage of supplements can aid that individual back to health. The same reasoning can be applied to a bodybuilder who has reache d his maximum and can no longer attain new goals. But certain questions arise when the usage of supplements are in to play, "Do they (supplements) actually working?","Are supplements hazardous to the health?","Are the supplements just a waste of money and don't benefit anything?". All of those questions are what the developers of chemist, doctors, and training consultant take into consideration before actually creating a new product or recommending someone to use supplements. The question that I would like to answer for myself, "Are supplements actually beneficial in attaining new gains and do they genuinely produce results?" The answer ... ...d talk to someone who knows and a doctor to see if any of them could prove to be lethal to you. Otherwise, those interested in quick results, see what products work best for you. Works Cited Mero, A. "Leucine supplementation and intensive training" Sports Medicine (1999) McBride JM "Effect of resistance exercise on free radical production" Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (1998) Bryant, Cedric Ph.D. "Mind And Muscle Power, INC." General Media Communications (2000) "International Journal of Sports Medicine" Human Kinetics (1999) Crag, W.J. "Guardian of our health/ Journal of the American Dietetic Association" (1999) Long, Renee. Interview with worker at GNC (General Nutrition Center) (2000) Peña, Jimmy MS. "Mind & Muscle Fitness" Weider Publications, INC. (2000) Kwembe, Terfa "Supplement and Weight Diary" (2000)
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Semantics: The Power of Language
Language is a phenomenon which allows human beings to interact in a meaningful way with one another. Language began as a rudimentary system of hieroglyphics and has evolved into a highly complex system of the spoken and written word. As language in both spoken and written form has developed, so has man’s understanding of it. This understanding of both words and sentences has evolved along with the language itself and with the people who use it to create meaning.Word formation has occurred throughout time through several processes. Words were developed initially through other languages, through etymology and then progressed into the formation of new words altogether, which can occur through a variety of means. Next, words are arranged into sentences which carry both literal and implied meanings which can be based upon sounds and even the previous knowledge of those conversing. In many ways, word economy has resulted by adopting new words from existing wo rds or from portions of existing words in an effort to simplify language.The process of economized words, which are words formed from existing words which then become commonly understood words in the language, is a major way in which the words of the language are formed. Coinage is a process of inventing completely new words from a source which seems to embody its meaning. One way in which this occurs is to create the word kleenex from the brand name of Kleenex (instead of tissue) and xerox as a verb after the Xerox brand of copy machines. Furthermore, eponyms can be created from individuals’ names such as to hoover from Hoover who invented the vacuum cleaner and the concept of the sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich (Yule, 2006).Another process of economizing words is called blending. Blending occurs when the beginning of one word is combined with the ending of another word. This new word then enters the language as an original word. For example, a blended word for the product of gasoline made with alcohol is gasohol. The meal which is a combination of breakfast and lunch has become represented with the word brunch. Of course, this process can occur with the beginnings of two words as well. The word modem is a blend of modulator and demodulator, and the new concept of Spanglish is the blending of English and Spanish (Yule, 2006), made even more popular by a recent motion picture of the same name.By blending words together, the meaning from the original words is already intact. Thus, the meaning of the resulting word does not have to be suddenly relearned. The meaning already exists because the words already exist. In this way, the economy of the English language is maintained without the need for learning new definitions and uses.A third process of word economy is referred to as clipping. With this process, a longer word is reduced to a shortened form of itself. This shortened from, like blending, carries the same meaning as its original. The only difference is the shortened form of the word. For example, the word facsimile, with its proliferation of used, has become shortened in modern language to the word fax. Likewise, the word condo represents its initial longer form of condominium.Words that are reduced to a single syllable and then joined with an –ie or –y are a type of this process known as hypocorism. Words like movie for moving picture, bookie for bookmaker and hankie for handkerchief are examples of this type of word economy (Yule, 2006). This type of word economy is popular in England, where the word television has even been shortened to the popular, telly.As the process of word economy develops, some words are backformed. Backforming is a type of word economy because it uses the same root of a word to convert it into a different part of speech. One basic word root becomes the basis for two or even three words. This process tak es a form of a word and reduces it to another form.For example a noun can be reduced to a verb. From the word television, a noun, comes the verb televise. The verb babysit was derived from babysitter. Basically, in English, words that end in –er comprise the noun forms while the same word minus the –er make up the verbs. An example is worker to work or player to play (Yule, 2006). This particular backformation becomes a pattern in language, thus repeating itself over and over with new words without any additional units of meaning.This change itself is known as the process of conversion. This process changing verb phrases into nouns and vice versa. For example, if a secretary is ordered to print out a form, the resultant form is known as a printout. If a company wants to take over another, they initiate a takeover.This can happen in the other direction as well a dirty room can be converted into the verb to dirty, as in â€Å"the boy dirt ied the room.† It can even occur from adjectives as well. A person who is in a ballpark often, such as a player, may become a ballpark figure. Thus a noun becomes an adjective (Yule, 2006). Again, it is easier to learn, understand and use a language if the meanings can be used in multiple situations.Anther popular method of creating words is through the use of acronyms. These are word forms that result from the initial letters of a set of words. A CD is the acronym for a compact disk. A PIN is a personal identification number. These words are constantly added as the result of different jargon such as that of business, international relations and education (Yule, 2006). For example, NASA, INTEL, and RAM are specific to particular industries and would not exist if it were not for those industries.Finally, some words are created by combining two or more of the above techniques. For example, English borrowed the word delicatessen from the German language and then clipped it to the Americanized deli. The words snow and ball were compounded into the noun snowball and then converted to the verb – to snowball. Adding the suffix –ish to the acronym formed from White Anglo Saxon Protestant results as WASPish (Yule, 2006). All of these words now become an integral part of the language which people widely understand and use as part of their daily language.Beyond the mere creation, usage and understanding of words is the combination of words into sentences. Many argue that words themselves would not be meaningful without the construct of a sentence to give it basic background. Individuals generally communicate through sentences which are basically formed with a subject, verb, and a complete thought, as students are taught throughout school. Thus, forming words into syntactical patterns and creating a context in which they are used is vital to understanding both written and spoken communication today.However, many linguists also argue that conversation can be understood in its reduced form based upon certain inherent techniques. This enables individuals to understand conversation that is not composed of perfectly constructed sentences. In this way, a person can understand a word as a sentence because they already understand the context of the meaning in which the word was spoken (Palmer, 1981). Thus, sentences, too can be economized just as words can.Fragments of sentences that are closely linked in meaning can be combined in such a way that some parts of the sentence is omitted. This is known as an elliptical formation. One way that this happens is through analyzing both the surface structure and the deep structure of meaning. The surface structure is a literal meaning of the sentence, while the deep structure is the figurative, implied, abstract meaning of the communication itself which may depend on former knowledge by the partners (Palmer, 1981) . Both structures are necessary to understand communication, but the deep structure may help the individual differentiate between various meanings in context.The two types of language features that are inherent in this process are prosodic and paralinguistic features. Prosodic features deal with actual sounds of the language such as tone, stress, volume, rhythm etc. Paralinguistic features include the visuals of language, such as the speaker’s facial expressions, gestures, etc (Palmer, 1981). Thus, both the way the communication sounds and the visual cues of the speaker can contribute to a fuller understanding.Tone and stress is used by speakers to indicate which part of the sentence is to be given the most emphasis. This emphasis indicates the most important information of the system. Speech acts can serve a variety of functions even while the same sentence is being uttered. These purposes can be warnings, threats, promises, pleas, etc. and can change the meaning of any sentence. Sentences can be insinuations which carry some inherent truthfulness in them. The sentence/question â€Å"Do you still beat your wife?†insinuates that the subject has at one time been a wife-beater, which suggests an accusation which the speaker intends for the listeners to realize (Palmer, 1981).Other meanings are based on the relationships between the individuals. Some conversation is meaningless and carries no specific information. Other sentence meanings can be derived simply from its grammatical structure. Finally, sentence meaning can be based on how the sentence is said. Ultimately, the sentence that is truth-conditional is not concerned with grammar but with the meaning of the proposition of the sentence. Is it based in truth or not? For example, if someone is cited directly, that is considered more truthful than if he is cited indirectly, even though both may not be formally proven within the context of the p articular sentence (Palmer, 1981). Ultimately, the ambiguities of language and the situations in which it exists, create the problems of interpretation which depend upon so much more than the mere words.The spoken language is far more complex than the written language. Palmer (1981) gives four ways in which this is true. First, human beings spoke long before they wrote. Second, a child learns spoken language far earlier than he learns how to write. Third, human beings speak for more during their daily lives than they write. Finally, writing can be converted to speech without much loss; however, this process cannot happen the other way around (Palmer, 1981).The tone and stress of words was mentioned earlier as a way to decipher emphasis in spoken communication. Combined with pitch, or the rise and fall of words, people can gain even more meaning from the exchange. If a particular word of syllable is accented, the listened gains a particular set of mean ings which may be different if another word or syllable is accented. This information unit (this tone group of pitch, accent, etc) counts more to the listener in terms of understanding the meaning than does the simple grammatical components of the sentence (Palmer, 1981).Rises in pitch are concerned with certain types of meanings, like indecision or questions, while falls in pitch are more concerned with statements. Likewise, certain emotions can be expressed through intonation as well. These meanings may vary from language to language (Palmer, 1981).The topic and comment of an utterance represents these differences. The topic is basically the main informational unit of the sentence while the comment is the opinion or emotion attached to it. These two units may, generally, be distinguishable from one another (Palmer, 1981).Word order is one way in which these distinctions are made. The word at the beginning of the sentence generally indicates the topic of the sentence. Manipulation of word order can indicate the topic and its emphasis (comment). The example give in Palmer (1981) is â€Å"The man over there I do not like very much.† Similarly, new information in a sentence is usually given more toward the end of the sentence and is accompanied by a rise in pitch (Palmer, 1981).Thus the ordering of the words and the rise and fall of their pitch can give indication to the meaning.Other utterances are less a function of giving new information and more a function of naming an action. These actions can be explicit, which literally name the act, and implicit, which do not. Certain presuppositions are contained within implicit actions. These actions may not be obviously named, but they are known because the listener is familiar with the context of the utterance.  This presupposition can be contained in other remarks as well, such as â€Å"John drank another beer,†which implies he has had at least on e drink. The author asserts that it is difficult to make a distinction between what is explicitly stated and what is presupposed (Palmer, 1981).Finally, implications may be even more far removed from the explicit meaning of the words. For example, if a person makes a statement â€Å"It’s hot in here,†he may be actually implying that he would like someone to turn on the air conditioner. The conversation is reduced in that the individual does not have to fill in the intermediate information for the listener (Palmer, 1981). A question of â€Å"Did you take out the garbage?†may be followed by â€Å"It isn’t Thursday†would have no meaning to anyone who didn’t know that the garbage man comes on Thursday. However, a married couple would have the perfect understanding of this exchange because of their shared context.Spoken English and written English are composed of words, which have been produced from a variety of sources and through a variety of processes. In addition, these words are arranged in such a way as to give them the power of meaning in context. While written conversation is more in tune with grammatical constructions, spoken language also carries the nuances of tone, stress, pitch, volume and even implicit meanings. Thus, meaning can be derived from words, sentences, sound and visual cues and even an implicit understanding of context.Word economy has created more words from current words while preserving the meanings. This reduces the need for new words to be invented and aids in the process of understanding. In addition, the same concept can be applied to sentences. The original grammatical meaning of the sentence can be expressed by sound and visual cues from the speaker in many different ways. As a result, the meanings may be multiple while the actual words that make up the sentence remain the same. Clearly, the evolution of both written and spoken language is a dynamic force that will continue for all time.ReferencesPalmer, Frank R. Semantics. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981.Yule, George. The Study of Language. 3rd ed. Cambridge : Cambridge UP, 2006.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Mountain Man Brewing Company (MMBC)
1. What is Mountain Man Brewing Company’s positioning relative to its competitors? Mountain Man Brewing Company (MMBC) is a 2nd tier domestic beer manufacturer based out of West Virginia. MMBC is positioned as a leader among local brewers in the East Central region, being one of the four regional breweries still operational in West Virginia. MMBC brews only one type of beer – the Mountain Man Lager, a dark bitter tasting beer. Target market for the product is middle aged men from the blue collared working class. Branding includes an image of coal miners on the bottle suggesting a strong taste and reinforcing target market segments to a niche.The beer sells mainly in off-premise locations. There is no variant of Mountain Man Lager available. Although MMBC is a local brewer it really competes against national brands such as Anheuser Busch and Coors. Priced at the same level as national brands, MMBC’s product is a legacy brew and enjoys high brand awareness in the r egions it sells the beer. The brand also enjoys high brand loyalty in its target market segment against national brands. MMBC has been able to achieve this brand equity without significant spending on traditional advertising but rather pursuing on grass-roots advertising.The company however is losing market share and revenues in line with the lager market. Since MMBC does not manufacture a light variant of its lager product the company has not been able to maintain its profits over the past few years. All its competitors are invested in the light beer segment given this scenario. MMBC has also seen shifting market segments due to an aging initial target market segment. The company is also at the risk of losing distributor loyalty thanks to increasing pressure on distributor margins.Summing it up, MMBC is losing market share due to changes in market dynamics while still seeing significant brand loyalty and awareness in its home turf. 2. What factors have contributed to making MMBC a strong brand? Factors contributing to MMBC’s strong brand image are as follows a. Brand awareness and loyalty Mountain Man lager has a high level of awareness among consumers in its target segments. Being positioned as a strong, bitter tasting beer it resonates with the values of hard working blue collar workers. The brand has seen high consumer loyalty over several years. b. Pin point target marketMMBC has been able to target the Mountain Man Lager brand towards specific market segments and been successful at it. Targeted towards middle aged, low to medium income working men, the brand has been able to deliver value to its consumers. c. Grass-roots marketing MMBC has been able to achieve the brand awareness without spending less than 3% of its revenues on advertising. The sales team has been able to create grass root level awareness by positioning the beer as an off-premises brand and by word of mouth advertising as opposed to traditional advertising. This has enabled MMBC t o reap greater brand commitment from its consumers. . What factors have contributed to the decline of MMBC? Although successful, MMBC has seen a decline in sales in the recent years. The main factors contributing to this decline in sales are a. Shifting market segment Mountain Man Lager’s market segment has started to age and new market segments are beginning to form, especially a younger market segment. This has allowed other brands to target the new younger population with â€Å"light†variants of beers which MMBC has not. Mountain Man Lager does not resonate with the younger population’s tastes as it is a strong, dark beer. . Emerging product segmentation The lager segment has been on the decline for a few years, mostly losing to the â€Å"light beer†segment. Given the rapid growth of the light segment of beer the lager market has been steadily losing market share. The light beer segment has grown 4% annually at the cost of the lager market’s s hare. MMBC has not been able to capitalize on this trend as it does not currently offer a light beer. c. Ineffective advertising Given the younger market segment’s preference to consume beer on-premises, MMBC has been unable to promote its products effectively.National beer brands have been able to splurge on advertising and use lifestyle based advertising apart from on-premises advertising to attract new customers. Given MMBC’s small advertising budget it is an uphill task to promote their brand to newer consumer segments. 4. Assuming the company introduces Mountain Man light. Conduct a 1 year and 2 year analysis for the Mountain Man Light brand? Calculation of Break Even Volumes Required – First Year Breakeven|  | Year 1| Current Revenues of MM Beer| 50,440,000. 00| Projected Revenues of MM Beer Next Year| 49,431,200. 00|Projected Contribution from MM Beer| 15,323,672. 00| Projected Loss of Sales from Introduction of MM Light| 2,471,560. 00| Projected Loss of Contribution from Launch of MM Light| 766,183. 60| # Barrels of MM Light Needed to recover Loss of Contribution | 30,188. 48| Cost of Advertising MM Light| 750,000. 00| Incremental SG&A cost| 900,000. 00| # Barrels of MM Light Needed to recover new Advertising Costs + SG&A| 65,011. 82|  |  | # Barrels of MM Light Needed to Break-Even in First Year| 95,200. 30|  |  | Compared to forecast sales in the first year of | 48,735. 19|  |  |Calculation of Year 2 Volumes (Needed to Calculate the 2-year Breakeven|  |  | Year 2| |  | Projected Revenues of MM Beer Next Year| 48,442,576. 00| Projected Contribution from MM Beer| 15,017,198. 56| Projected Loss of Sales from Introduction of MM Light| 2,422,128. 80| Projected Loss of Contribution from Launch of MM Light| 750,859. 93| # Barrels of MM Light Needed to recover Loss of Contribution | 29,584. 71| Cost of Advertising MM Light| 0. 00| Incremental SG&A cost| 900,000. 00| # Barrels of MM Light Needed to recover ne w Advertising Costs + SG&A| 35,460. 99|  |  | Forecast Sales in Year 2| 101,369. 19|  | Calculation of Break Even Volumes Required – Two Year Breakeven|  |  | Two Years of Lost Contribution | 1,517,043. 53| Initial Advertising Costs (One Time only)| 750,000. 00| Two Years of Incremental SG&A| 1,800,000. 00| Contribution per Barrel of MM Light| 25. 38| # Barrels of MM Light Needed to Break-Even in Two Years| 160,246. 00|  |  | Compared to forecast sales over the first two years of | 150,104. 38|  |  | | | 5. Should MMBC introduce Mountain Man Light? Options Grid| | Option 1| Option 2| Description of Option| Launch Mountain Man Light| Do not launch Mountain Man Light| Benefits of Option| a.Tap into a growing market b. Introduce brand to new market segments c. Retain current distribution network| a. Maintain brand image of Mountain Man Lager b. Risk losing market share further c. Lose out on shelf space in distributor network| Strategic Fit| a. Better long term strategic fit b. Ability to turn things around for the brand c. Will help brand position itself among younger consumer segments d. May induce lower brand alienation in the short term| a. No changes to current fit b. Slowing revenues from product segment c.High brand loyalty| Financial Attractive ness| a. Break even in just over 2 years b. High contribution margins (51%) over the long term compared to main brand c. Exposure to new product segments will ensure continues revenues| a. Falling market share (falling by 2% per annum) b. Long term losses imminent c. Long term advertising budget has to be increased drastically| Noteworthy Risks| a. Revenues fall at 2% per annum for the Mountain Man Lager brand b. No significant changes in market dynamics b. Cannibalization is at 5% c. Growth in market share is at 0. 25% for light brand a. Fall in market share not higher than 4% per annum b. Investment in advertising not increased beyond current levels| Final summary MMBC has to int roduce Mountain Man Light to capture market share in the light segment. Without doing that the company runs the risk of losing market share almost in a guaranteed manner over a period of time if not in an accelerated fashion. MMBC has to capture market share by using traditional advertising although it will lose money over 2 years. However since the contribution margins are larger for the Light brand the losses can be made up from year 3.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Apple Business Model Essays
Apple Business Model Essays Apple Business Model Paper Apple Business Model Paper According to this say, it is not difficult to find its success story was attributed to its unprecedented innovative business model, which was 2 leader of corresponding industry due to the innovation of business model. Status shows 1 1 out of 27 new entering Fortune 500 companies from the year 1998 to 2007 considered their success was owing to the innovation of business models. The percentage approach 50% which is a huge evidence to prove the significance of business model, especially for Apple, whom I want to deliver an analysis followed, and gave a suggestion on its future development. Apples Business Model Elements of successful business model A successful business model is a system that creates and delivers values to customer, consisting of four crucial elements: customer value, profit pattern, key resource and critical process. Customer value refers to the irreplaceable value only you can provide to the clients, not the other competitors. Profit pattern means that how you will develop a benefit-earning system from the procedure of creating customer values. Key resource is fundamental for the company to integrate all they have internally and externally to establish a more beneficial environment where breeds customer value. Critical process can ensure customer value via standard operation and matching culture. It is can be seen that customer value is the core of the whole business model and profit pattern represent companys value, while key resource and critical process describe how to achieve the formers. Apples innovation on its business model It is Apple run such a brand new system from customer value, profit pattern, key source and critical process that made it change the fading traditional PC industry and lead it, as well as the Mobile product industry. Customer Value Innovation We can drop from the article that from pod tunes, phone App Store, pad product launched, Apple has set up a rule for the traditional music, mobile and publishing industry, into which inserted a significant transformation by mastering the key part of hardware, software, and additional service. This made Apple be the King of the new consumer electronics world. As above discussed, a successful business model is Judged mostly whether it offers consumers a new value that they have never seen. As for Apple, this kind of customer value means that they provide the advanced technology beyond the monitors, especially when Steve Jobs came back. Apple started to redefine the customers need, break out feudalistic thinking, combining the advanced techniques, reasonable cost and outstanding marketing. Profit Pattern Innovation The second step for running a successful business model is defining profit patter. It can be seen from the article that there are three main ways for Apple to earn profit. Three ways First one is selling price for the hardware product (pod, mimic, phone, pad) for one time. Second one is selling price for the accessories of corresponding products, like transmitter, adapter, mouse, earphone, etc. Last but the least, selling software and music via Apples store and Tunes and the gaining commission fee by running the platform is a consistent source for earning profit. B) Driving reasons The article has made a clear analysis on these three profit ways which can be positively impact each other by its own sales. On one hand, due to the excellent industrial design in appearance, and over hundred thousands music as well as applications on line, no matter pod, phone or pad, these three mobile devices are profitable far beyond the similar products. On the other hand, thanks to the amazing reward components and high sales number, those applications are more valuable and accelerate more and more new software developing and embrace more and better content into Apples supply chain. C) The most profitable part and examples According to the article, what irritated Microsoft, Intel and other industry leader, Apple is no longer the idol for minority, but also for the community. Apple is controlling the most profitable part which is RD, channels and sales, whats more importantly, Apples hardware, SO, and platform like tunes, APP Store is only suitable to Apple ecosystem, ND not open to outside manufacturers. Take tunes for instance, from year 2005 to 2009, revenue from downloading music was dominating a high place, even in 2009 when appeared the worst sale of pod, the music downloading revenue still rose by 21%, increasing the market share of musical service from 16. 4% up to 33. 3%, total revenue was 4. 036 billion USED. It was the worst status. Take another eye on APP Store. Status up to June 2010 shown, more than 4 billions times free download happened in APP Store. The percentage of charging download is 19% with an average price 1. 49 USED, in which Apple can share 29 cent per each unload. Since 2008, APP Store has created revenue for the third party of APP developer (over 1 billion SAID), as well as Apple itself with 4. 28 commission fees. Challenges Analysis This section analyzes challenges faced and arguments on the key decisions that need how they are related to the business model and each other. Apples challenges The rapid development of science and technology and the change of peoples value result in an increasingly competitive global economy. How to find and maintain competitive advantage, and how to create value for customers while achieving growth n enterprise value, has become the most important issue faced by Apple, especially after Steve Jobs passing away. At my point of view, now Apple is facing some challenges from its fierce competitors, the disappointment from consumers high expectation, and weaker brand recognition. I will conduct an analysis with Porters Five Force model and Innovation Matrix. 3. 2. Porters Five Force Model analysis Michael Porters model of Five Forces can be used to better understand the industry context in which the firm operates. Porters Five Forces model is a strategy tool that is seed to analyze attractiveness of an industry structure. Fig 1 . Michael Porters Model of Five Forces 3. 2. 1 . Threat of new entrants What profitable markets Phone and Pad brought that yield high returns has attracted new firms. This resulted in many new entrants like Samsung who created Galaxy series for its Android phone and Android tablet, Google, Microsoft, and traditional PC manufacturers like SASS, HP and ACRE, which eventually will decrease profitability for all firms in the industry. The entry barrier for this consumers electronics is high before, for example, technology, patents, rights, etc. However, with the technology communication, the entry barriers is lower and lower, especially many small electronic companies in Mainland China have fight into this battle. Apple now is followed by numerous of competitors. Threat of substitute products or services From the article we knew that Steve Jobs was quite angry that the existence of Android, and he swore he would put every penny to sue Android whom he thought a baby from a thief. Thats the substitute product, which is outside of the realm of the common product boundaries increases the propensity of customers to switch to alternatives. The substitute product of Phone appeared so early that it is not surprised for us to think about the replacement for Pad, Pod, Mac. Googles SO Android is no wondering the biggest competitors towards Apple, which is open source that can be operated in any other Brands product only if they adopt Android system. This strongly enlarges the substitute products range for the customers. Buyer switching costs is so low for this, and even they can gain more advantages, like cheaper products, and not bad user experience. 3. 2. 3. Bargaining power of customers (buyers) The bargaining power of customers is also described as the market of outputs: the ability of customers to put the firm under pressure, which also affects the customers sensitivity to price changes. Very luckily the bargaining power of customer is not so strong for Apple that Apple can always set a high standard for its pricing strategy. It seems the good days have gone. With the fierce competition from the varieties of manufacturers, the selling price for smart phone and tablet is going down sharply. Take a similar 4-core CPU smart phone for instance, Phone 4 is sold around RMI 200 when it firstly came out, while Samsung Galaxy SO is sold a little bit lower, around RMI 4800, and the other phone brands sold three quarter price of that, like LOG, Leno, even you can see Just around RMI 2000 by China local brand MI. In this price battle, some customers not stable Apples fans will have a try, and doubt that whether Apples product is over-priced. This is significantly affected what we mention in the first part, customer value, what really matters to Apple, not in a good way. 3. 2. 4. Bargaining power of suppliers We all know Apple is good at supply chain management which is made it so successful to control the cost of production. Suppliers in Apples supply chain are given little negotiation right but Just to accept in the past. In this five force model, the bargaining power of suppliers is also described as the market of inputs. Suppliers of raw materials, components, labor, and services (such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the company, when there are few substitutes. Suppliers may refuse to work with the company, or, for example, charge excessively high prices for unique resources. At present, this is still rare for Apples vendors unless they are bleeding to give up Apples big order. However, according to some interviews to their vendors, many of them are complaining Apples over strict contract terms, and limit benefit space for them. Therefore, although Apple is still controlling very small angle in the cooperation with the suppliers, it should be cautious of supplier competition ability to forward vertically integrate and cut out the buyer. Intensity of competitive rivalry The intensity of competitive rivalry is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry. Apple should spare an eye on competition between online and offline impasses, and focus on its sustainable competitive advantage through innovation, and stick to the powerful competitive strategy. Apples Fishbone Diagram I drew a Fishbone Diagram for my recommendation to achieve Web 2. 0 strategy for Apple, see below graph. Fig 3. Apples Fishbone Diagram I will put some highlights on below analysis. Monitoring for Apple with Web 2. 0 strategy Apples renewable profit pattern has been discussed in the business model section at the very beginning. I want to recommend two ways for improving. N-sided platform Apple has already connected two groups: buyers and sellers. Buyers are the main source of revenue; while it charges commission fee from record company while customers download music from Tunes. I suggest Apple can involve more groups into this platform, involving more partners or users but not direct consumers, to be cited as an n-sided market. I assume this is can be started from software service. Multiple revenue stream Multiple income streams are an idea in unstable economies that manage the risk. Adding additional revenue streams can keep Apple from totally panicking if one area slows down. Having multiple revenue streams means more to manage. But it also serves as the foundation of a healthy business. Platform Innovation Production Apple drove Foxhounds benefit up due to it put most of the production line into it. Foxing is famous for double decreasing the suppliers quotation so that it can earn the space of cost. For example, a company quoted $1 to Apple, so Apple will place $1 as unit price to Foxing plus the manufacturing fees, but Foxing will force a company decrease its price like $0. 09, so that it can earn $0. 1 per PCs. I think this will damage the suppliers good, Apple can create a more controlled way to monitor the stories action, or share more order to other qualified manufacturers, like BODY, etc. Creative and Media Like Pod and Tunes, Apple can create an ecosystem for Pad and Phone, not only APS Store, but an entertainment ecosystem. From SASS Transformer. Unlike dock, Apple can develop more and more funny accessories for consumers to enlarge the function of their devices.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Anti-Oxidants essays
Anti-Oxidants essays I. I have read books and seen movies where people talk of finding a fountain of youth or a potion that could have the abilities to make you live and look young forever. A. As I pick up my moms wrinkle cream from the refrigerator and grab a bowl of blueberries, I pray that I have found my own potion to keep my youth flowing. B. When I look back into my childhood, I remember the repetition of those famous words you hear any mother say: Eat your fruits and vegetables. C. Those are definitely words of wisdom because now what is contained in fruits and vegetables have been seen 3. Aid in the retarding aging of the mind and the body. II. So today I will talk about what anti-oxidants are, specifically where they can be found, and what they can possibly do for us. (Transition: Lets start out with knowing what an anti-oxidant is.) I. Anti-oxidants: as defined on www.encyclopedia.com, are natural substances that prevent or delay oxidative damage that occurs to living animal cells. A. Fight free radicals that are produced when an animals cells converts oxygen into energy. B. Other causes of free radicals are: 4. Other factors in the environment such as automobile emissions, etc. II. Two theories of what an antioxidant/oxidant imbalance can affect. 1. Free radicals cause damage to our cells and antioxidants set up a defense system and try to prevent any damage from being done. 2. But antioxidants cannot keep up with the damage that is being made. Therefore the damage builds up. 3. This build-up causes our bodys cells, tissues and organs to break down causing us to grow old. B. Oxidative stress is the process where free radicals do help the body to get rid of harmful toxins when produced in normal amounts but when produced in extreme amounts they b ...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation
3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation 3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation 3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation By Mark Nichol When an introductory or attributive phrase ending in a verb precedes one or more complete sentences enclosed in quotation marks to express something written or said, a comma separates the phrase from the quotation- for example, â€Å"The conventional wisdom is, ‘Trust, but verify,’†or â€Å"I replied, ‘Go for it.’†But if the quotation is incomplete or is complete but is incorporated into the syntactical flow of the sentence, generally, no punctuation should intervene, as explained in the discussions and shown in the revisions following each example below. 1. The reporter who wrote both articles said that, â€Å"the company never asked for a correction.†When a sentence ends in a partial quotation and is syntactically structured so that the quotation is grammatically integrated into the sentence, no intervening punctuation (and no initial capitalization) is necessary: â€Å"The reporter who wrote both articles said that ‘the company never asked for a correction.’†(Alternatively, the sentence can be revised to consist of an attributive phrase followed by a quotation consisting of one or more complete sentences: The reporter who wrote both articles said, â€Å"The company never asked for a correction.†) An exception to the no-punctuation rule is if the punctuation is grammatically required- for example, because of an intervening parenthesis, as in â€Å"The reporter who wrote both articles said that, as far as he knows, ‘the company never asked for a correction.’†(In this case, the implied quotation, though the person of course did not literally say as far as he knows, starts with that phrase.) 2. The magazine famously dubbed the 2003 flick, â€Å"The Citizen Kane of bad movies.†The phrase preceding the quotation is not attributive, and as in the previous example, the entire sentence constitutes a grammatically complete statement, so the comma is intrusive: â€Å"The magazine famously dubbed the 2003 flick â€Å"the Citizen Kane of bad movies.†(Again, note that because the quotation is a partial sentence, the first word should not be capitalized.) 3. Such cases leave us shaking our heads and asking the rhetorical question, â€Å"What were they thinking?†This sentence suffers from the same obstructive punctuation, with the additional fault of implying, by setting â€Å"rhetorical question†off from the question with a comma, that the sentence is restrictive- that the question is not a rhetorical question but the rhetorical question: â€Å"Such cases leave us shaking our heads and asking the rhetorical question ‘What were they thinking?’†(Alternatively, simply omit the extraneous phrase and write, â€Å"Such cases leave us shaking our heads and asking, ‘What were they thinking?’†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should KnowDoes "Mr" Take a Period?45 Idioms with "Roll"
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Einstein's Ideas on Science and Religion Term Paper
Einstein's Ideas on Science and Religion - Term Paper Example The story begins thus, "I tell myself I am not looking for God. I am looking for an elision that is nevertheless a contour." (175) He travels to the desert, a solely deserted place devote of significant life to find the only sole God that all people and religions have believed in, to this the author says, "I have come to the Holy Land because the God of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims-a common God revealed Himself in the desert." (176) this is indeed a logical reasoning that the author believes that there is some religion truth in this place. Quite contrastingly, this land that is supposed to be holy is marred by blood and no human life. Einstein critically presents his arguments and points out the limitations of the human intellectual ability as individuals entangled in ‘religion fear’ (1) to secure favor in solving the human miseries. In Einstein’s Personal god, religion beliefs and science are presented as antagonists, but he further suggests that serious sci entific workers are also the most profoundly the most religious people. The most outstanding feature of Einstein’s characteristics is his language about religion and science. The desire to experience the cosmos as a single whole sprouts from human’s perspective of the world as some kind of prison to him. This thought already brings forth the idea of cosmic religion which emanates from mans fear of uncertainty. To limit dogma and lots of theology, Einstein does not rule out the prospects of a future cosmic religion. He foresees a religion that goes beyond personal God. This religion majorly based on sense of emanating from the encounter of all spiritual and natural things that when combined form an ideal and meaningful unity. From his perspective, science brings to life religion and those who accept it internalize it. Einstein argues that humans are usually driven by some sort of internal needs as they seek religious interpretation. The main force for human would be in most instances for a ‘feeling and longing’. (1) It is the fear of these that tend to provoke human emotions throughout religious life. This religion concept where one fears sickness, death or hunger is what Einstein describes as a ‘religion fear’ by constantly using the word ‘religion fear’ the author implies that human beings do not go to church to seek spiritual guidance but rather they attend church from the fears that emanate deep within. The author generally groups these religion fears into hunger, pain or comfort. Moreover, Einstein describes a second type of religion belief that emanates from social impulses. He attempts to justify that ‘the desire for guidance, love, and support prompts men to form social conception of God.’ (3) God who the human race believes to provide, protect and even offer rewards and punishments; this ‘personal god’ as the author describes is able to even provide ‘life and offer com fort during difficult times of sadness and ‘unsatisfied longing’ and ‘he who is also able to preserve the soul of the dead.’ (3) A common religious orientation with the above types of religion is what Einstein describes as ‘anthropomorphic character of their conception of God’ (4) exhibited by low level individuals. It is therefore based on these two low level of human understanding and belief about religion that Einstein expunges a new religion dimension which he also admits is ‘rarely found in pure form’ (4) this is what he calls ‘Cosmic religion’ (4) which is characterized by human desires and personal quest to ‘reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of thought.’ By using the word â€Å"Anthropomorphic cha
Friday, October 18, 2019
DB 7 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
DB 7 - Research Paper Example The cash inflow is good news to creditors whose interest is in availability of cash from which the organization can fulfill its debts. The cash inflow from operating activities, especially net profit, is also good news to the company’s stockholders who are interested in the interest that they can earn from their shares because such rates depend of profitability (Porter and Norton, 2012). The management, as the organization’s custodian, also delights in the positive cash flow as an indicator of their effectiveness and efficiency. The positive cash flow does not identify negative effects on the stakeholders (Harrison, Horngren, 2008; Porter and Norton, 2010). RadioShack’s main use of cash and implication on stakeholders The company’s main cash application is in financing activities through purchase of treasury stocks. This means that the corporation repurchased its stock and this has significant impacts on the management and stockholders. It offers benefits to stockholders because of the interest earned in selling their shares to the company. It however has the disadvantage of lost stake and shareholders’ reduced decision-making authority as the entity gains more decision-making authority. The purchase however increases the management’s autonomy and other benefits to the organization such as ensuring a favorable market value for its stock, expanding its returns on investment, and protecting the organization from potential takeover. The management also gains the power to purchase other companies (Needles and Powers, 2012). Question 2: Most significant differences between net cash provided by operations and net income The most significant differences between net cash from cash flow statement and net income from the income statement are identified in adjustments for reconciling net income to the net cash. The most significant difference is with respect to accounts payable, accrued expenses, income taxes payable and other pay ables, whose total value amount to $ 85 million. Another significant difference is realized through depreciation and amortization that account for a $ 84.2 million variation. Inventories and accounts and notes receivables are the other significant differences between the two cash values. Inventories accounted for a cash outflow of $ 60.4 million while accounts and notes receivables accounted for a reduction in net cash flow by $ 39.9 million (Stittle and Wearing, 2008). Question 3: Comparison of RadioShack’s sales and purchase of fixed assets in 2010 relative to previous years The net addition of fixed assets in the year 2010 is less that the net additions in the previous years. This means that the difference between purchase and sales during the accounting period was less than the difference in preceding periods. While there was a net increase in value of property, plant, and equipment by $ 80.1 million, the year ended 2009 realized a higher value increment of $ 80.8 million . The year ended 2008 realized higher net increment of $ 85.6 million, 5.5 million more than net fixed asset purchase for the year ended 2010. It is however important to note that the changes are not representative of pure purchase of sales of the fixed assets but a sum interaction of the two (Stittle and Wear
Human relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words
Human relations - Essay Example When one enjoys healthy relationships with others, it affects one’s disposition, attitude and performance. Personal relationships have much power over an individual that when there are strained relationships outside of work, it usually affects how one performs at work. When a worker is emotionally weak and tend to dwell on the effects of a strained personal relationship outside work, he may not be able to concentrate well on his tasks, leading to lowered quality of performance and less productivity. On the other hand, if he enjoys fulfilling relationships both outside and at work, then, he becomes more stable in his performance, allowing him to focus well on his tasks and becomes driven to succeed. The same goes for conflicts with co-workers affecting one’s personal health and even the way he may release the job stress towards his family and friends. Being able to manage oneself and control impulses and emotional meltdown during challenging situations is a mark of a str ong person. If this is not mastered, then one will not be able to cope with the demands of the workplace where multiple conflicts and challenges abound. Chapter 2: Self-esteem and Self-Confidence Dubrin describes self-esteem as a sense of feeling worthwhile and the pride that comes from a sense of self-worth. When one has a healthy self-esteem, he feels good about himself and maintains a positive outlook on life. He develops favourable work attitudes and performs his task at a high level. This is because he believes that he is capable of being a competent worker that is why he is able to challenge himself more and more to validate his beliefs that he possesses the necessary skills for the job. However, if one suffers poor self-esteem, it gravely affects his disposition and work performance. There is a prevalent feeling of low self-worth that feeds on negativity. The individual cannot grasp the concept that he is an able human being and that he has unlimited potentials if only he bel ieves in himself and that he has innate gifts that can be developed. Enhancing self-esteem involves looking into one’s strengths and being proud of them. It is a good exercise to always find something positive about oneself when evaluating performance no matter how small it may be. For instance, when reflecting on a written work that may be filled with spelling mistakes, one can also point out that there were no grammatical errors. Somehow, this saves one from dwelling in the negative. Avoiding situations that threaten one’s self-esteem such as not participating in dance contests when one is admittedly awkward in dance movements is a wise move to preserve one’s self-esteem. Lastly, being with positive people who are able to boost the self-esteem of others is another thing that can be done to enhance one’s self-esteem. Having a healthy self-esteem leads to self-confidence, which is an important quality needed in both personal and professional growth. Self- confident people are more likely to be more effective in leadership and sales positions, as they set higher goals for themselves and strive to achieve those goals. Usually, such confidence comes from having several abilities that these individuals develop further and the positive feedback they receive from people even from the time when they were younger. One’s self-confidence is likely to be strengthened if he persists in doing better in the tasks assigned to him and he feels the
Thursday, October 17, 2019
ISM Code, Costa Concordia capsize Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
ISM Code, Costa Concordia capsize - Essay Example The ISM code principles are as follows: All these ISM code principles can be implemented if only proper training facility to the officials. These training facilities are been given with the help of HRM principles which increases the human resource by proper training and implementation. The development of human recourses management has facilitated in increasing number of skilled officials. The officials in shipping industry like captain, major, emergency unit etc are appointed from the HRM having full knowledge of HRM principles. The safety management in shipping industry under IMO (International Maritime Organization) has implemented ISM facilities to the industry. The ISM code under the IMO has several guidelines like operation of the ships with the framework for proper development. Pollution prevention strategies are a good practice of the industry under the principles of ISM code. The ISM code is made compulsory since 1998. This code enables Safety Management System (SMS) to establish by every company of shipping industry. These SMS are defines by the person like managers or bareboat character who is assumed to be the person who regulates the ship operations regularly. This facility of SMS in ISM code is useful in the emergency times of accidents like the case of drowning of ship in Costa Concordia in Italy in July 2012. Due to the deficiency in the emergency signal, the accident took place, as per the evidences (IMO, 2014). The ISM code has been set up in the industry to ensure the safety and pollution prevention of environment. Thus for the betterment of the shipping industry and the development of safety in the industry, it needs proper managerial efficiencies in work-force which is given by the implementation of HRM strategies. Human Resource Management is a strategic management of the workforce for dealing and upgrading organisations in various industrial fields. The main principles of
Psychological theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Psychological theories - Essay Example The probability of an individual being born with certain personality features is very thin in the context of self theories. This implies that the diverse individual experiences that people in a society opens up a probability of having several personality types. Every individual has a specific and unique chance of building a different personality, based on their own experiences and interpretation of the experiences. This paper will analyze the applicability of the Person centered theory to African American women given that they are faced with several problems including racial and gender segregation. A classical self theory is as outlined in Carl Rogers’ theory; person centered theory, variously referred to as person centered theory. In his theory, Carl defines a person as the product of experiences and perceptions. If life is full of experiences, then it can comfortably be predicted to be learning and a growing encounter (integration of experiences into one’s life using perceptions). It is therefore easy to predict that the nature of experiences in different people’s lives could result in markedly similar or characteristic growth. In his theory, Carl makes assumptions to the effect that human beings can be trustworthy and have potential to resolve their problems when they understand themselves without interventions, which makes therapeutic intervention a highly influential part of molding clients. In order for the intervention therapy to take course and effect, there must be a positive attitude from the client’s part, as well as a good relationship between the therapist and the client. Proficiency in theory and counseling techniques was not important according to Carl, as it is for the therapist to understand the potential possessed by clients in their recovery. Apparently, it is the most powerful tool that a therapist can use, as opposed to the views of Bohart and Tallman (1999), (as cited in Corey, 2009,
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
ISM Code, Costa Concordia capsize Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
ISM Code, Costa Concordia capsize - Essay Example The ISM code principles are as follows: All these ISM code principles can be implemented if only proper training facility to the officials. These training facilities are been given with the help of HRM principles which increases the human resource by proper training and implementation. The development of human recourses management has facilitated in increasing number of skilled officials. The officials in shipping industry like captain, major, emergency unit etc are appointed from the HRM having full knowledge of HRM principles. The safety management in shipping industry under IMO (International Maritime Organization) has implemented ISM facilities to the industry. The ISM code under the IMO has several guidelines like operation of the ships with the framework for proper development. Pollution prevention strategies are a good practice of the industry under the principles of ISM code. The ISM code is made compulsory since 1998. This code enables Safety Management System (SMS) to establish by every company of shipping industry. These SMS are defines by the person like managers or bareboat character who is assumed to be the person who regulates the ship operations regularly. This facility of SMS in ISM code is useful in the emergency times of accidents like the case of drowning of ship in Costa Concordia in Italy in July 2012. Due to the deficiency in the emergency signal, the accident took place, as per the evidences (IMO, 2014). The ISM code has been set up in the industry to ensure the safety and pollution prevention of environment. Thus for the betterment of the shipping industry and the development of safety in the industry, it needs proper managerial efficiencies in work-force which is given by the implementation of HRM strategies. Human Resource Management is a strategic management of the workforce for dealing and upgrading organisations in various industrial fields. The main principles of
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Electrical computer Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Electrical computer Engineering - Essay Example article and give my opinion on possible impact of software technology in smuggling of message in the society today. Moreover, I will research for two other articles that relates to the same technology and provide supplementary information that the article highlights for the same technology. Mazurczyk et al. introduces the article using one of the crimes committed by Russian spies in the United States using computer’s software. However, United States people assumed the Russians to be ordinary US residents but turned out to be spies of Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. Mazurczyk indicated that the spies’ mission was to gather information about the United States policies and programs (2013). Thus, for many years, the spies prevented discovery by hiding secret communication on apparently acquitted pictures posted on public websites. Thus, the spies encoded and decoded the information gathered using personalized software. However, the United States Department of Justice detected the spies’ schemes, helping the United States build a case against Russian spies. Thus, in June 2010, the federal government in United States arrested ten suspected spies who owned up to the act of smuggling information. Therefore, steganography is the technique that openly conceals data by use of invisible ink, shrunken text, and tactically placed tattoos. The method used by Russian spies, termed as picture steganography, was old-fashioned method that was easy to detected and used as evidence. However, the modern method of steganography used of networks, which hides information communicated in seemingly internet traffic. Since network steganography uses short delivery channels like Voice over Internet Protocol, the communications in the program is hard to detect. Mazurczyk indicated that most hackers, journalist, and even government use network steganography to communicate secret information. Although, network steganography is hard to detect, Network Security Group at Warsaw University of Technology focuses to help security experts in devising designs for better guard of steganography. Therefore, as communication technology advances in the world, other steganography experts must develop advanced steganography techniques to curb against information smuggling. Mazurczyk posits that most sophisticated methods today target internet services such as search tools, social network, and file transfer systems (2013). Therefore, quick advancement in technology in today’s society perpetrated increasing smuggling of messages especially through networks. Therefore, smuggling of messages is something that happens daily over computer technological devices especially the internet. Remarkably, network steganography allows information communicated read only by the sender and intended message recipient. Smuggling of messages through internet is on the rise in the society. Terrorists, criminals, hackers, and child pornographers could use steganography to sm uggle information. Thus, this poses a threat to the society. Smuggling of messages through steganography, leads to attacks of a country’s internal security without notice. Generally, steganography has become a threat to a county’s internal security. For instance, the Russian spies who were on a mission in dispatching United States policies and program used to hide information
Monday, October 14, 2019
The Value of Hrm to Business Organisations Essay Example for Free
The Value of Hrm to Business Organisations Essay The value of HRM to business organisations Section 1: Literature Review The approach to the employment of people experienced a major shift from traditional personnel management towards human resource management (HRM) in 1980s, when the deflation and recession crashed into the infrastructure of employment. After that shift, the employees were more likely assumed as valuable assets and a key source of competitive advantage (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002), and the effective management of ‘resourceful humans’ tended to be seen as a crucial approach to improve organizational performance through ‘the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques’ (Storey, 2007, p. 7). As an integral and prominent part of HRM, the pay and reward management also has undergone many considerable changes over the past two decades driven by the shift of organizational management as mentioned above. More recently, the notion that equilibrium pay level results from Adam Smith’s â€Å"invisible hand†– market forces – can hardly explain the pay and reward system of HRM, which involves far-researching aims (Gilman, 2009). Lawler’s ‘new pay’ began to attach much importance to the understanding of the organization’s goals, values and culture and the challenges of a global economy when formulating pay strategy (Armstrong, 2002). And its model suggested that the reward strategy should consist of three key elements: the organization’s core value, structural issues and process, whose consistency would be the key factor of effectiveness of the reward system (Lawler, 1995). More frequently, the reward system is now linked to business strategy through motiving people to behave in expected ways. As Gomez-Mejia (1993, cited in Kessler, 2007) stated that the new approach to pay is more about achieving business objectives, rather than the issues of internal equity and external equity. However, the reward system as a strategic tool in practice is quite doubtful. Many studies showed the indeterminate results from such system like PRP in terms of performance (Gilman, 2009). And Lewis (2006) also pointed out the limitations of assumptions in Lawler’s model. What’s more, the pay design is fraught with difficulties in changing people’s behavior for organizational goals. For example, the business objectives may contradict on each other in pay policy (Marchington and Wilkinson, 1998). Additionally, it was argued that the business strategy should not be primacy over internal and external equity. As Kessler (2007) suggested that the employees are more likely to feel good and act in ways to progress business objectives if they are paid fairly. And he also pointed out that business strategy and equity may be well related, rather than being alternatives. In the light of these statements, various types of payment scheme are developed such as Payment by Results, Performance Related Pay, Total Reward and Skills-based Pay. And each of them involves a range of principles like internal and external equity, working time, outcome, skills and competencies, effectiveness, experience. The combinations of different principles vary from organizational objectives, cultures and features. Thus there is unlikely to be an all-fit system for every organization. This paper will then focus on the Performance Related Pay (PRP) and the organizations with PRP system. Performance-related Pay (PRP) appears in organizations during 1980s as a result of motivating people to improve their work performance and developing a culture which performance plays a determinant role. First-generation system implemented in the 1980s did not acquire desirable results. Some organizations are carrying out second-generation system to avoid previous mistakes. Others are trying the pay relevant to competence or contribution (Armstrong, 2002). Nowadays, PRP is introduced continuously in two-thirds of organizations (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002). ‘Performance-related Pay (PRP) provides individuals with financial rewards in the form of increases to basic pay or cash bonuses which are linked to an assessment of performance, usually in relation to agreed objectives’ (Armstrong, 2002, p. 286). According to Armstrong (2002), Performance-related Pay provides the following potential advantages: Firstly, it incents individuals and thereby enhances personal and organizational performance. Secondly, it can be used as a lever for change. Thirdly, it conveys an idea that performance plays a significant role in general or specific fields. Also, it connects incentive programmes with the fulfillment of certain results which contribute to realize organizational goals. Additionally, it is beneficial for organization to recruit and retain people with monetary incentives. Finally, it satisfies a fundamental human need to acquire rewards for fulfillment. However, there are some problems about PRP. If employees agree about the principle and practice of PRP, then they will do better jobs and organization will acquire beneficial outcomes. Inversely, if they do not agree about either the principle or practice of PRP, they will not be motivated effectively for better work performance and organization will get bad outcomes (Lewis, 1998, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002). According to a research made by Marsden and Richardson (1994, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002), PRP may cause jealousy among employees. Unfairness exists in distribution of performance payments which is the major reason for the non-efficiency of motivation. The amount of money is also a significant element for successful introducing PRP. If it is not large enough, then it is hard to trigger a change in work performance. As Lawler (1990, cited in Marchington and Wilkinson, 2002, p. 501) suggested that variable pay less than 10 per cent of base salary would be not attractive in PRP scheme. An organization introduces and develops a PRP programme generally involving these main stages: setting objectives for rewarding employees according to their performance; analyzing the circumstances of organization, including its culture and the type of employees; determining who should be participated in line managers, team leaders, employees and trade unions; considering methods of performance appraisal; carrying out the plan and assessing its effects. PRP should be schemed and conducted with great care and organizations have to be flexible to adjust the plan timely for constantly changing environment and the feedback from staff (Armstrong, 2002). The following part will describe two organizations conducting PRP scheme. Section 2: Case Study Description In this section, two pieces of empirical researches are introduced for the further analysis in next section. The first case of Finbank is regarded as an unsuccessful case of PRP system. And the second case of NHS has been chosen for two reasons: Firstly, though NHS is not exactly a business organization, the PRP of NHS was set by commercial-oriented objectives (Bach, 1994, cited in Dowling and Richardson). Therefore NHS still bears mush resemblance of business organizations in respect of PRP. Secondly, few empirical researches showed the positive result of PRP in the four journals. Thus the case of PRP in NHS is introduced here for its commercial-oriented objectives and relatively successful results. 2.1 The case of Finbank’s reward strategy for managers (Summarized from Lewis, P. (2000) Exploring Lawler’s new pay theory through the case of Finbank’s reward strategy for managers. Personnel Review, 29(1), pp. 10-32.) The article explains consequences and effectiveness of introducing PRP in Finbank, by using Lawler’s model, where Lawler argues that three principal elements of reward system – core vale, process and structure – need to be consistent for the effectiveness of the system. The interviews of managers and personnel staff were conducted to explore their views on the reasons why the bank adopted PRP, and the extent to which it was successful. Finbank introduced the new reward system with the business objectives of ‘driving up income and driving down costs’, where the incremental system never worked and any increase in salary depended on performance. This shift was expected to create a â€Å"performance culture†, while the process of implementation was more likely to result in a reduction of trust between Finbank and its managers. Consequently, PRP in Finbank was regarded as the main measure of cost control, not incentive mechanism for better performance. The research showed that the low level of communication was the one of main features in Finbank’s PRP and reduced the effectiveness of the whole system. A lack of participation and involvement in objectives setting and performance appraisal resulted in low acceptance of the new system, and low levels of openness in performance feedback and reward criteria also declined the credibility of PRP process. In conclusion, a fundamental inconsistency between the process and the values in Lawler’s model was argued for the deficiencies of PRP system. While, more limitations of a simple top-down process assumption, an assumption of causal link between reward strategy and employees’ behavior, deterministic assumption in Lawler’s model were tested by the Finbank case. 2.2 The case of PRP system for managers in the NHS (Summarized from Dowling, B. and Richardson, R. (1997) Evaluating performance-related pay for managers in the National Health Service. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3), pp. 348-366.) This paper assesses the use of PRP (performance-related pay) for NHS (National Health Service) managers and explains the limited success drawbacks in the scheme’s design and administration. In addition, some refinements and implications of the scheme are also concluded. In the first section, the author gives a brief introduction of NHS scheme. The three key elements of the scheme include the setting of objectives, the appraisal of the degree that these objectives being achieved and the increased payment linked to the assessment. As for the evaluation criterion of the scheme, the author took various factors into consideration, such as its impact on manager’s motivation. However, evaluating a single policy innovation can be rather difficult as long as the circumstances maintain uncertain. To make subjective judgments of the extent the scheme succeeds, some explanatory theoretical framework based on scheme’s three key elements is also launched, including structured interviews and questionnaires for gathering data from managers. According to the respondents, the scheme exerts limited positive effects on managers’ motivation and colleagues’ co-operation, and no evident corresponding negative consequences are indicated. The difference in the results may be explained in the following two reasons: the better implement and the mature design. The author tries to figure out why the scheme motivates only a certain group of people by examining the raw data and using formal multivariate analysis on further study of the scheme’s three elements. Considering both the qualitative and quantitative material involved, the initial examination of the raw data suggests that the three elements of the scheme have different degrees of success. Respondents were most satisfied with many of the objective-setting process elements which may result from improved motivation levels; however, respondents expressed more insistent reservations on the of the performance-judging process elements; in terms of the rewarding element, even few respondents believed the scheme’s financial provisions themselves act as an incentive. So this could be another problem of implementation which hinders the success that the scheme supposed to have. Section 3: Analysis and Conclusions 3.1 Analysis of the case of Finbank As mentioned in the section 2, the research of Finbank’s reward strategy followed the analytical structure of Lawer’s model, where the effectiveness of the reward strategy depended on the consistencies between three crucial elements: the organization’s core values, process of implementation and the structure of pay. In this section, the element of process will be focused and used as analytical framework. 3.1.1 Setting objectives In the major background of recession and deflation of the 1980s, it seems reasonable to set the business objectives as ‘driving up income and driving down costs’ in the condition where PRP was introduced to Finbank with the closure of branches and the consequent loss of jobs. According to author’s research, most managers interviewed regarded cost reduction as a major motive for the introduction of PRP, which led to reduction of trust between the Finbank and its managers. This negative effect of PRP results from the fact that the business objectives may be contradictive on each other in pay policy (Marchington and Wilkinson, 1998). For ‘driving up income’, the bank want to create the managers behaviors and attitudes meeting with customers’ needs. Whereas for ‘driving down cost’, salary cost the major cost in the financial industry would be cut producing negative attitudes. For sure, the motivational effects of PRP were seriously restricted by the objective of cost reduction. 3.1.2 Measuring performance As Beer and Walton (1984) suggested, the acceptance could be improved by the involvement and participation in decision making and administration of reward system, but such participation was rare for the time-consuming. The research also showed the low acceptance and credibility of performance appraisal with the lack of such participation in Finbank. And the author argued that the criteria of appraisal encouraged managers to focus on â€Å"hard†financial and short-term targets rather than â€Å"soft†and long-term ones like developmental relationships with staff and customers, which managers thought were more important. It sounds reasonable, but more cautious consideration should be taken in this issue. For the â€Å"soft†performance cannot be reliably tested and easier for managers to argue. And such is human nature, that the â€Å"hard†criteria of PRP can hardly meet pleasantness of â€Å"risk-averse†employees, who were used to enjoy the securi ty and predictability of the automatic annual increase in the incremental system. 3.1.3 Performance feedback and translating performance into reward The research showed that there was little feedback on performance received by managers. Furthermore, there were no clear criteria about how to translate a certain performance into reward. These two processes have key functions in changing employees’ behaviors, where Finbank seemed to be a failure. Furthermore, a lack of openness in performance feedback process and reward criteria led to the low trust and credibility in the whole PRP process, which seriously had negative impact on the effectiveness of the system. Personally, the lack of money available to drive the PRP and the cost-control objective appeared to be the main reasons for these results. 3.1.4 Major value of PRP in Finbank PRP was a powerful symbol of â€Å"performance culture†at Finbank, which emphasized individual performance rather than the length of the service. This major shift of culture would definitely change employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Though it seems that the change was not positive and the motivational effects of PRP was a failure in this case, the PRP was still an integral and crucial part of business strategy of Finbank, which drove Finbank from poor commercial performance in 1980s to a recovery in profits in 1900s. On the credit side, PRP of Finbank indeed achieved one of the most importance objectives driving down the cost, which practically is the obvious and vital value of PRP in Finbank, though it is theoretically not the major function of PRP. 3.2 Analysis of the case of NHS The analysis from the research suggests the PRP scheme in NHS is comparatively successful. Although Marsden and Richardson (1994, cited by Dowling and Richardson, 1997) state PRP not only has positive influence, it also has many serious drawbacks; Thompson(1993, cited by Dowling and Richardson, 1997) argues PRP may demotivate employees rather than incenting them; Cannell and Wood(1992, cited by Dowling and Richardson, 1997) question the role of monetary incentives in motivation, because they believe people who work for Health Service are not for money; according to the questionnaire, 29 per cent managers motivated by the scheme and the majority of them thought they work harder than before. From this point, in my opinion, the PRP in NHS is working, but with limited effectiveness. The PRP scheme in NHS has three elements: setting objectives, judging performance and the according rewards. Goal setting plays an essential role in PRP scheme. The best objectives are challenging but reasonable with agreed deadlines, otherwise, it may challenge managers instead of motivating them. Besides, making objectives clearly and acquiring feedback and support from immediate superior also exert an impact on the effectiveness of objectiveness. While the process of goal-setting in NHS is relatively success, because the majority of mangers thought objectives fit above characteristics and enhance their motivation and work behavior. For judging performance, to a certain extent, it reduces the effectiveness of PRP in NHS. As mentioned in the material, 67 per cent managers thought it is subjective to evaluate work performance to determine the awards. It is hard to keep fairness in judgment which is from the ideas of assessors. To conduct PRP scheme, it is necessary to remain objectives in performance appraisal with agreed criteria. As mentioned in section 1, the amount of money is also an important element for successful introducing PRP. If it is not large enough, then it is hard to trigger a change in work performance. NHS managers appear to do not pay attention to this point. From the research, it can be found the monetary incentives were thought to be sardonic which was too little to act as a motivator. Probably, the limited cash environment may be a reason for it. The feeling of not reflecting personal fulfillments and subjective judgments make the rewards highly critical. After analyzing main elements of the scheme, some aspects of it should be improved by policy makers. Firstly, people challenged by their objectives may be motivated to work harder. Therefore, objectives set should make people feel reasonable. This demands managers acquire appropriate feedback and support from their immediate superiors timely. Additionally, the process of performance appraisal should be operated with fairness. Otherwise, it may destroy the sense of challenge and cut down PRP’s effectiveness of motivation. Secondly, the scheme’s financial aspects are the other important part. The scheme should make the clarity to managers of the relation between effort and rewards, which is beneficial for strengthening the reliability and predictability of PRP scheme. Thereby, it heightens the motivational and behavioral effects of PRP scheme. (2922)
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