Monday, December 30, 2019

Dark Legacy The Origin of the First Crusade

The Byzantine Empire was in trouble. For decades the Turks, fierce nomadic warriors recently converted to Islam, had been conquering outer areas of the empire and subjecting these lands to their own rule. Recently, theyd captured the holy city of Jerusalem, and, before they understood how Christian pilgrims to the city could help their economy, they mistreated Christians and Arabs alike. Furthermore, they established their capital a mere 100 miles from Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium. If Byzantine civilization was to survive, the Turks had to be stopped. Emperor Alexius Comnenus knew he did not have the means to stop these invaders on his own. Because Byzantium had been a center of Christian freedom and learning, he felt confident in asking the Pope for assistance. In 1095 AD he sent a letter to Pope Urban II, asking him to send armed forces to Eastern Rome to help drive out the Turks. The forces Alexius more than likely had in mind were mercenaries, paid professional soldiers whose skill and experience would would rival that of the emperors armies. Alexius did not realize that Urban had an altogether different agenda. The Papacy in Europe had acquired considerable power over the preceding decades. Churches and priests that had been under the authority of various secular lords had been brought together under the influence of Pope Gregory VII. Now the Church was a controlling force in Europe in religious matters and even some secular ones, and it was Pope Urban II who succeeded Gregory (after the brief pontificate of Victor III) and continued his work. Although it is impossible to say exactly what Urban had in mind when he received the emperors letter, his subsequent actions were most revealing. At the Council of Clermont in November of 1095, Urban made a speech that literally changed the course of history. In it, he stated that the Turks had not only invaded Christian lands but had visited unspeakable atrocities on Christians (of which, according to Robert the Monks account, he spoke in great detail). This was a great exaggeration, but it was just the beginning. Urban went on to admonish those assembled for heinous sins against their brother Christians. He spoke of how Christian knights battled other Christian knights, wounding, maiming and killing each other and thus imperiling their immortal souls. If they were to continue to call themselves knights, they should stop killing each other and rush to the Holy Land. You should shudder, brethren, you should shudder at raising a violent hand against Christians; it is less wicked to brandish your sword against Saracens.(from Robert the Monks account of Urbans speech) Urban promised complete remission of sins for anyone killed in the Holy Land or even anyone who died on the way to the Holy Land in this righteous crusade. One might argue that those who have studied the teachings of Jesus Christ would be shocked at the suggestion of killing anyone in Christs name. But it is important to remember that the only people who were generally able to study scripture were priests and members of cloistered religious orders. Few knights and fewer peasants could read at all, and those who could rarely if ever had access to a copy of the gospel. A mans priest was his connection to God; the Pope was sure to know Gods wishes better than anyone. Who were they to argue with such an important man of religion? Furthermore, the theory of a Just War had been under serious consideration ever since Christianity had become the favored religion of the Roman Empire. St. Augustine of Hippo, the most influential Christian thinker of Late Antiquity, had discussed the matter in his City of God (Book XIX). Pacifisim, a guiding principle of Christianity, was very well and good in the personal life of the individual; but when it came to sovereign nations and defense of the weak, someone had to take up the sword. In addition, Urban had been correct when hed decried the violence going on in Europe at that time. Knights killed each other nearly every day, usually in practice tournaments but occasionally in deadly battle. The knight, it could prudently be said, lived to fight. And now the Pope himself offered all knights a chance to pursue the sport they loved most in the name of Christ. Urbans speech set in action a deadly chain of events that would continue for several hundred years, the repercussions of which are still felt today. Not only was the First Crusade followed by seven other formally numbered crusades (or six, depending on what source you consult) and many other forays, but the entire relationship between Europe and the eastern lands was irreparably altered. Crusaders did not limit their violence to Turks, nor did they readily distinguish among any groups not obviously Christian. Constantinople itself, at that time still a Christian city, was attacked by members of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, thanks to ambitious Venetian merchants. Was Urban attempting to establish a Christian empire in the east? If so, it is doubtful he could have envisioned the extremes to which the Crusaders would go or the historical impact his ambitions eventually had. He never even saw the final results of the First Crusade; by the time news of the capture of Jerusalem reached the west, Pope Urban II was dead. Guides Note: This feature was originally posted in October of 1997, and was updated in November of 2006 and in August of 2011.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

AHIMA and APPCA - 1029 Words

AHIMA AND AAPC In this paper I’m going to talking about what AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) and APPC(American Academy of Professional Coders) code of ethics are and the relevance that these two have to the coding profession. Then I’m going to explain how AHIMA and APPC code of ethics are incorporated into the Medical Insurance Specialist (MIS) field, and why continuing your education is important in this field. Hopefully after reading this paper you will have learned the difference between AHIMA and APPC codes of ethics. American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) was founded in 1988 to provided education and professional certification to physician-based medical coders and to elevate the standards of†¦show more content†¦To be certified with AHIMA, the coders will have to take a test of 60 multiple choice questions, six inpatient coding scenarios and seven outpatient coding scenarios, and to maintain this certification the coder is required t o provide proof of earning 20 CEU’s (Continuing Education Units) for the past two years. (Ross, K. Oct.30, 2013) American Health Information Management Association has eleven different codes of ethics that they like to have their members and credentialed nonmembers to follow. Some of those ethics are: †¢ Apply accurate, complete, and consistent coding practices for the production of high-quality of healthcare data. †¢ Report all healthcare data elements required for external reporting purposes completely and accurately, in accordance with regulatory, and documentation standards. †¢ Assign a report all the coders and dates that are clearly and consistently support by the health record. †¢ Query the provider for clarification and additional documentation prior to code assignment when there is conflicting information †¢ Refuse to change reported codes or the narrative of codes so that the meanings are misrepresented. †¢ Refuse to participate in or support coding or documentation practices intended to inappropriately increase payment, qualify for insurance policy coverage, or skew data by means that do not comply with federal and state rules. †¢ Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration in situations supporting proper coding

Friday, December 13, 2019

Alleviate Silo Effects â€Build a Healthy Enterprise. Free Essays

Build a Healthy Enterprise. It can be said that effectiveness is Jeopardized when Interdepartmental conflict has happened In many enterprises. This phenomena extends to misunderstanding of each other, nonappearance of department work and Inconsiderate of the whole enterprise. We will write a custom essay sample on Alleviate Silo Effects —Build a Healthy Enterprise. or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a result of those effective less actions, business lose time, money and quality. Also, it can be said that manager can not quickly responds when those conflict happen. The business hierarchy does well in control process, but block information collection. The poor cross-functional communication across departments or business unit, is a reality for many organizations. As the organization rise and become more complex and developed, the â€Å"Silo Virus†(Schuster Bloch 2006) leads to departmental isolation, and unsustainable result the failure of business. This essay will therefore discuss the poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units, give some of the main reasons for cause It, and developed effective remedies for along enterprises. Also, possible strategies In which to alleviate silo effect In the future will be outlined and explored. The definition of poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units is a managerial problem which lead the business out comes far from their established goals. A managerial problem due to the failure cooperation among different departments. The group of people mix together share aims, perceptions and preference to organize a enterprise, actually, it is very hard to make everyone in the enterprise get their large profit as they want, but through manage of organization, people could achieve their largest value. With this platform, individual will play a big collective strength. However, Howard G. And Noel W. (2004) state that communication problems In the organization are not unlike the progressive development of a headache. If the Initial bodily cues are Ignored or not monitored, the full throb will hit. However, It could be state that poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units can cause a big failure of enterprise’s business. Department egoism, careless of others, fuzzy thinking and tunnel vision like a virus jeopardize the whole body, and make the work effective jess. This is visually describe by the idea from Schuster Bloch (2006) who argues that: The infected departments resemble huge grain silos in a lonely landscape. They also function like foreign bodies – impersonal and often oversized. Nothing penetrates to the outside world. There is no window into what goes on inside. The silos are filled from above, which also fits the picture. When the enterprise’s top people are Infected, the silo virus spreads throughout the organism. This metaphor give the key message of Its appearance. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, rather complement and perceive must first be realized. There are two aspect cause the poor cross-functional communication across management of the whole enterprise. The main reason for cause the internal less communication is fear of feedback. People try to keep silence because they could not see any profit to themselves when they give positive suggestions. Jackson(2003) state that people avoid the truth and instead continue to try to guess what their bosses think. The business hierarchy block the information communication, because most people think it is not their susceptibilities to make the company perform well and advance their careers. Jackson also give his state of People avoid feedback because they hate being criticized, plain and simple. However, it can be state the employee afraid to provide information because they have some dissatisfied of company and brooding of their current situation. At another side, the managers unsuitable management lead those embarrass situations come out, due to they are afraid the criticized voice of their work and fail to acknowledge the implications of current situation. The problems focus on the feedback of information communication. There are many reasons to cause lack of management of the whole parties. The stress, denomination and in efficiency will not distinct as they are in one department. Manager will negligent or ignore of a lot of information which could determinate the potential problems in the future. And for different department managers, they have different goals which could conflict and need sacrificing some parties’ own goals to achieve the corporate goals. The problems focus on the leadership performance. So what should be done by manager to encourage employees information feedback and inspire their own act to perform leadership? Jackson(2003) state that four manageable steps to encourage individual feedback: self-assessment, external feedback, absorbing the feedback, and taking action toward change. This may be an idealist’s viewpoint, however its key message has some significant merit and certainly to address this problem through self-motivation, and taken others’ advise. For the enterprise, Everyone seem like living in a big happy family, but manager must keen to elect department information and find every potential problems solution. It’s seem possible for the senior managers to do that work. But the problem is how can we find a process which provide an outcome that could fit every parries in the organization without sacrificing their equity? Schuster, P. Bloch, B. State their solution for this process as the pursuing consistent and co-ordinate goals, a sufficient flow of information through management and among colleagues, clear work processes and definition of responsibility, and inter-departmental meetings. All for the enterprise to o is build a opening platform that could encourage employees speaking out their contribute for the whole organization. In this platform we could find the information do manager need to lead concerted effort on the enterprise, and replace of the number of wasting time meetings, time consuming workshop and pointless E-mails. In conclusion therefore, the issue of the poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units is one which needs much information feedback by of the main reasons for silo effect in the organization and the countermeasure when it occurs. Although the reasons for silo effect of an organization can be described as natural happen, they are generally cause by both micro side(individual performance) and macro side(department management) of organization. Therefore, in terms of trying to alleviate silo effect, it is recommended to build a internal platform which could opening and freeing to make contribution to the organization. This Just one possible strategies to alleviate the poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units. Len the future it will be continually thought and explored. How to cite Alleviate Silo Effects —Build a Healthy Enterprise., Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Understanding Global Migration

Questions: 1. What breaches of the Migration Act and Migration Agents Code of Conduct would Ahmet Xerxes have committed in his handling of Razs case? 2. What does the 8503 visa condition mean? 3. Can Raz and Esther make another application for a visa in Australia? 4 Are they subject to section 48 of the Migration Act? 5. Prepare a submission to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection seeking a waiver of the 8503 condition so that Raz and Esther can make a valid application for the Contributory Aged Parent visa without having to leave Australia? Answers: 1. The Migration Act[1] provides that the migration agents in Australia are required to be registered with the office of MARA for the purpose of providing migration assistance. Therefore the law provides that the migration agents should meet the competence standards and they should also follow the Code of Conduct and at the same time, they should keep their knowledge regarding the migration law and procedure up to date.[2] The Code of Conduct provides the professional and ethical standards that have to be followed by the migration agents in Australia. Legal force has been provided to the Code by Migration Agent Regulations[3]. In the present case, the migration agent of Raz and Esther, Ahmet Xerxes had made a promise that on the basis of the situation, they will certainly succeed in the application. Similarly the migration agent has charged a fee of $20,000. But after one month of making the application, they were informed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection that their application was not valid because apart from other things, condition 8503 has been attached to their visas. When they asked Ahmet to refund their fee of $20,000, he refused to return the amount would and he also made a thread that he has some powerful friends who can create problems for their daughter Yasmin and her family. This amounts to a breach of the Code of Conduct by Ahmet. The reason is that the Code requires that under all circumstances, it is necessary that a registered migration agent should act according to the law and to protect the legitimate interests of the clients. It is also required that the agent should deal fairly, competently and diligently.[4] Therefore if a client has asked the registered migration agent regarding his or her opinion about the chances of having a successful outcome for the application made by the client, the agent should not mention unjustified or unsubstantiated prospects of success of the application when giving advice to the clients regarding the application made under the Migration Act. The Code of Conduct also provides that the registered migration agency should not coerce or intimidate any person for their personal benefit. As a result, the Code provides that the registered migration agent should not be involved in an instance of physical threats, undue pressure, threats to the family members staying in Australia are overseas, untruthful claims regarding departmental sanctions or demand relation of ethnic or cultural anxieties.[5] Regarding the fee that can be charged by the registered migration agents, no statutory scale has been provided by the law. But in this regard it needs to be noted that the fee charged by the registered migration agent should be reasonable under the circumstances of the case.[6] On these grounds, it is clear that in the present case, there has been a breach of the above-mentioned provisions of the Migration Act as well as the Code of Conduct prescribed for the registered migration agents in Australia. 2. The meaning of condition 8503 can be explained by the effect of this provision on certain visas. Hence if the authorities have imposed condition 8503 on the visa granted to a person, it means that such person cannot apply for another visa (except the protection visa or for a temporary visa of a particular type) to extend the stay by such person is in Australia. When such person has departed from Australia, condition 8503 does not prevent such a person from making an application for other visas. Condition 8503 can be imposed on several visitors and temporary residence visas. But in case of the below mentioned visas, condition 8503 is a mandatory. These are (1) visitor visa (subclass 600) for these streams; sponsored family stream, tourist stream for the applicants who have sponsorship imposed and approved destination status scheme operating from China; (2) training and research visa (subclass 402) and (3) work and holiday visa (subclass 462). 3. In this regard, the law provides that if the last visa that was held by the person since coming to Australia has expired, such a person will not be able to apply for another visa in Australia (although there are certain exceptions) unless the person has requested and the authorities had granted a waiver of condition 8503 that has been imposed on the visa of such a person. Hence in the present case, Raz and Esther cannot make another application for a visa in Australia unless condition 8.03 that has been imposed on the visa, has been waived by the authorities. 4. The bar imposed by section 48 is applicable only when the applicant has been refused or cancelled the visa since the last entry of the applicant to Australia and at present, the applicant does not have a substantial visa and the applicant is still in Australia. It needs to be mentioned that section for it is not applicable in case of the offshore applicants. However in the present case, as the above-mentioned requirements are satisfied, section 48 will be applicable to Raz and Esther. 5. Dear Sir/Madam, RE: VISA CONDITION 8503 NO FURTHER STAY, WAIVER REQUEST APPLICANT: Raz El Ghoul and Esther DATE OF BIRTH: VISA DETAILS: PASSPORT DETAILS: DATE OF ARRIVAL: We advise that be acting on behalf of the applicants, Raz El Ghoul and Esther who want to make this application for the waiver of condition 8503 that has been imposed on them visitor subclass 600 visa. Background: The applicant, Raz El Ghoul is a citizen of Iran and a 65 years of age. He, along with his wife Esther, aged 60 years had obtained a visitor visa (Class FA, subclass 600) in Tourist Stream for the purpose of visiting their daughter, YAsmil who lives in Australia and who had recently given birth to a baby. The visas of the applicants were valid for a stay of six months and conditions 8101, 8201 and 8503 has been imposed on them. During this time, Ali, the husband of Yasmin who had been working as a long-haul truck driver, met with an accident on the Hume Freeway. The semi-trailer of Ali was carrying high octane aviation fuel and after the accident, it is adapted into flames and Ali and his co-driver lost their lives in the accident. Yasmin was already struggling with her baby who was born with congenital heart defect and after the accident, she became more distraught and depends on her parents for continual support not only to cope with the tragic loss of her husband but a lso for managing the daily life which includes raising her baby in these adverse conditions. Application: We submit that as per Regulation 2.05(4), in view of the reasons mentioned below, compelling and compassionate circumstances have developed after the grant of the visa to the applicants. Moreover the applicants have no control over the circumstances and it has caused a major change in the applicants' circumstances. Subsection 41(2A) of the Migration Act provides that the circumstances under which the condition may be waived should be of the kind that have been mentioned in 41(2)(a). These require that (a) compelling and compassionate circumstances should have developed after the grant of visa with the condition (i) and the person had no control on the circumstances and (ii) it may have caused a major change in the circumstances of the applicant; (b) if the Minister had previously declined the waiver of the condition, the Minister should be satisfied that the circumstances are significantly different from the circumstances that were considered earlier; and (c) the request made to the Minister for the waiver of the condition should be in writing. If condition 8503 has been imposed on a visa, the person to whom the visa was granted, is prohibited from applying for another visa, apart from a temporary visa or a protection visa, for extending the stay of the person while such person remains in Australia. On the other hand, after the person has left Australia, such a person is not prevented from making an application on another visa as a result of condition 8503. Hence, in view of condition 8503, the Department of immigration can grant more visas where additional security may be needed that the applicant for the visa will leave Australia after the expiry of the period of stay granted by the visa. In this regard, condition 8503 has mainly been successful in escalating the number of returns of these persons. In the same way, as a result of this condition, there has been a decline in the number of persons who may make efforts for remaining in Australia after the period of stay granted by the visa has expired. In this case, Raz El Ghoul and Esther want to stay in Australia because their daughter, Yasmin had given birth to a child and soon she lost her husband in an accident. The child has a congenital heart defect. Under these circumstances, at present, Yasmin is not only emotionally dependent on her parents but she also relies on them for her daily routine and taking care of a child. The request for waving condition 8503 imposed on a visa cannot be decided by the authorities on the spot because it needs careful consideration. As required by the law, the application for the waiver of condition 8503 has been made in writing. Although, there is no official form that needs to be used for making an application for waving the condition 8503. Request: As a result of the actual circumstances of the applicants, Raz El Ghoul and his wife Esther, the problems faced by their daughter Yasmin in raising her child, it is requested that condition 8503 that has been imposed on the visitor visa granted to the applicants should be waived so that the applicants may remain in Australia for the kind that is necessary to take care of their daughter and her child. Bibliography Briskman, Linda, Deborah Zion, and BebeLoff. "Challenge and collusion: health professionals and immigration detention in Australia."The International Journal of Human Rights14.7 (2010): 1092 Castles, Stephen. "Understanding global migration: A social transformation perspectiveJournal of ethnic andmigration studies36.10 (2010): 1565-1586 Crock, Mary, and Kate Bones, "Australian exceptionalism: Temporary protection and the rights of refugees."Melb. J. Int'l L.16 (2015): 522 Legislation Migration Act, 1958 Migration Regulations, 1994 Migration Act, 1958 Briskman, Linda, Deborah Zion, and BebeLoff. "Challenge and collusion: health professionals and immigration detention in Australia."The International Journal of Human Rights14.7 (2010): 1092 Migration regulations, 1994 Crock, Mary, and Kate Bones, "Australian exceptionalism: Temporary protection and the rights of refugees."Melb. J. Int'l L.16 (2015): 522 Castles, Stephen. "Understanding global migration: A social transformation perspectiveJournal of ethnic and migration studies36.10 (2010): 1565-1586 Kritz, Mary M.International migration, John Wiley Sons, Ltd, 2011

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Nietzsche, Morality, and the French Revolution free essay sample

This paper is a reconstruction of Nietzsches moral theory in On the Genealogy of Morals and its application to the moral-political philosophies of the Old Regime and the French Revolution. This paper is an examination of Nietzsches On the Genealogy of Morals and its relation to the historical context in which it was written. A parallel is drawn between Nietzsches view of the historical evolution of morality and the development of the moral-political philosophies of the Ancient (Old) Regime and the French Revolution. The Ancient Regime is associated with Nietzsches idea of good, bad morality, while the French Revolution is connected with good, evil morality. Some other issues discussed are the idea of the slave revolt and the morality of Napoleon. Every civilized society is concerned with its moral fabric: the ethical and behavioral norms that all citizens are expected to obey. Morality, on its surface, appears to be a philosophical issue. We will write a custom essay sample on Nietzsche, Morality, and the French Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Some people speak of a universal morality, beyond time and devolving upon all people equally. In this way, they explain the prevalence of certain moral laws, for instance, the prohibition against murder, in almost every society. Others view morality as a subjective concept, yet still one with philosophical origins. They maintain that many societies possess laws against murder because each group of people has made an independent philosophical evaluation, and determined that the value of life is something they as cohabitants of the same state all uphold. For Friedrich Nietzsche, both of these approaches are fundamentally flawed.

Monday, November 25, 2019

The Pope essays

The Pope essays Pope John Paul II (1920- ) is said to be the most recognized person in the world. He is the most traveled Pope in the 2,000 year history of the Church and speaks eight languages. Born Karol Joseph Wojtyla (pronounced Voy-tee-wah) in Wadowice, Poland on May 18, 1920 to an administrative officer in the Polish army and a former schoolteacher. In 1978, at the age of 58 the College of Cardinals elected him to lead the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first non-italian chosen as Pope in 456 years and the youngest in this century. At age 61 he suffered serious wounds during an assassination attempt. 1954 - Appointed professor of ethics at Catholic University of Lublin 1964 - Appointment as resident Archbishop of Krakow 1978 - Chosen by the College of Cardinals to lead the Roman Catholic Church. Karol Joseph Wojtyla (pronounced Voy-tee-wah) was born in Wadowice, Poland on May 18, 1920, to an administrative officer in the Polish army and a former schoolteacher. As a young man, Karol was athletic. He enjoyed playing soccer as a goalie and took daredevil swims in a flooded Swaka River. He also was an excellent student and he served as president of his school sodality. Karol developed a love of theater and for a time it was his ambition to study literature and become a professional actor. During the Nazi occupation Karol clandestinely pursued both his studies and his acting while working as a stonecutter to support himself and to hold the work permit he needed to avoid deportation or imprisonment. Karol Wojtyla was active in the UNIA, a Christian democratic underground organization. B'nai B'rith and other authorities have testified that he helped Jews find refuge from the Nazis. While convalescing from an accident, Karol considered a religious vocation and by 1942 he was studying for the priesthood. Karol Wojtyla was ordained a priest on November ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Favorite holiday's destination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Favorite holiday's destination - Essay Example In addition, the red-robed Maasai community inhabits the park, and together, they live in harmony with the animals while protecting them from poachers. The period between the months of July to October is an ideal time to visit the Maasai Mara because people get to see the migration of the wilder beasts from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Mara in Kenya. In the year 2006, the American National Newspaper regarded the migration as one of the new wonders of the world, as depicted in the photograph above. During this time, the big cats and the crocodiles are seen hunting the animals stuck in the river during the migration. At night, the Mara becomes ablaze with bonfires as the Maasai warriors entertain the guests with traditional songs and roasted meat, as is their custom. The Mara is a beautiful place to visit and one leaves there with an unforgettable experience to behold and cherish forever. I cannot wait to go back to the Maasai

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

UCC and Common Law Case Scenarios - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UCC and Common Law Case Scenarios - - Essay Example Due to floods, Cereal Inc warehouse is flooded and cereals destroyed that result in the inability to supply as stated in the contract. However, soggy flakes is not damaged and supplies 10 bags to grocery Inc. Besides, before the delivery was made, Grocery Inc had requested to be supplied with a variety of cereals at its different stores. Due to the inconvenience Grocery Inc wants to turn down the supply and terminate the contract. Even though it is within their rights to be supplied with the cereals they had specified at different stores, a complication will arise if they cancel the supply and the contract. The supplier will protect themselves by using the gap-filling rule. In the contract, it is not specified what type of cereals to be supplied or where to be supplied. The gap can be used in the defense that Cereal Inc had the right to choose what to supply and where to deliver it. The gap-filling rule gives a party of the contract the possibility of concluding some aspects of the contract that are not specific. In this case, it was not articulate on the type of cereals to be supplied or the store they were to be delivered. Cereal Inc can use this as its defense as the cause of the damages was not deliberate and the fact that inability to make the supplies was not the intention at the time of signing the contract. The amicable way of dealing with this case is for both parties to have a consensus. Grocery Inc should not be in a hurry to terminate the contract and cancel the supplies. They should give Cereal Inc time to recover from the loss. Alternatively, the contract can be amended such that it is specific on the type of supplies and the destination. Tom had promised to sell his model trains to Harry once he retired. Harry prepared by building a house to store them and borrowed money to pay for them. However, when the time came Tom did not honor his promise. Tom was sued by Harry for breach of

Monday, November 18, 2019

Proof reading in UK style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Proof reading in UK style - Essay Example At my organisation, we normally have a large meeting once a month (everyone) and a small meeting once a week (in each department). Normally, the company ´s boss or the company’s manager is the person who speaks the most in the large meetings. They want to review what is going on in the company: if there are any problems, seek solutions to the problems, make sure every department head is in the right direction, including the budget. These meetings are quite formal. Every staff member has to wear the company’s uniform and cannot be late. There is an agenda to follow, and the information has to be written to announce in the small meetings and an email has to be sent to every staff member. In the small meetings, the manager informs the staff members the topics covered, regarding their duties and makes sure that every staff member understands their duties and is on the right track. This meeting is not a formal meeting. Figure 1 shows a diagram of the number of layers in the organisational culture. An organisation’s written statement may try to express its beliefs and values that the personnel within the organisation may not actually follow. There are items that are not related to behaviour that can clearly be seen and are symbolic, such as: a dress code, rituals, policies, and procedures [KTP Handbook]. The executives are required by law to fulfil certain duties and act in an ethical manner. Legislation is enacted by a legislative body. In the United Kingdom (UK) legislation is passed by Parliament and in some occasions by the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Relevant European Union legislation is also enacted through the UK legislation [KTP Handbook]. Regulations are drawn up to support legislation and in certain industries specific bodies, such as, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is given powers to regulate that sector [KTP Handbook]. Executives also have to

Friday, November 15, 2019

Strategic management: TESCO

Strategic management: TESCO TESCO was founded in 19th century by John Edward Cohen. It is the leading super market in the UK and an international retailer. Its main competitors are Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons etc. TESCO has 2,482 stores and employs 287,669 people in UK. It firmly focused on grocery retailer and further manages petrol forecourt business. It also operates a website for selling Real estate to the people. (TESCO, 2010) The retail outlets of TESCO run in six formats: TESCO Extra [larger and stocks almost all Tescos product ranges]. TESCO Express [neighbourhood convenience stores and stocking high margin food products]. TESCO Metro [located in city centres and on the high streets of towns]. TESCO Home plus [ stores having varieties of non-food items] One stop [the word TESCO is not included in its name and included some of the smallest stores] (TESCO, 2010) TESCO was just a grocery stall, which undergoes several changes and now it is one of the best supermarket dealing not only with food and drink but also diversified into areas like home, clothing, telecommunication, financial services, electronics, car, internet services and many more. (TESCO, 2010) What is change? It is the process of getting from where you are to the outcomes you wants (Wikipedia.org, 2010). Every company need strategic change in order to compete in this world of technology. Similarly, TESCO has undergone several strategic changes, this report will going to discuss one of its change that is Self-checkout machines. It was first introduced in East Dereham, Norfolk in 2003; this AUTOMATED CHECKOUT MACHINE (ACM) is created by Production Solutions (PSI). .According to PSI, TESCO is testing ACM 700, which has original conveyer based lane design. It is easy to use and customer friendly because of its full colour touch screen. TESCO becomes the second chain to operate this system which allows the customers to scan and pay for their shopping without any interference of the staff (Decisions news media, 2010) According to Richard Dodd, Response by both customers and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are telling us that the ACM self checkout is simple to use and they are using it for both large and small orders. Our staff is telling us its exciting, fun and they welcome the increased opportunity to interact with customers.(Richard Rodd, 2010) TESCO claims that their system of self check out can handles large and small orders at any day time whereas marks and spencers system was for small orders only. (TESCO, 2010) After its success in East Dereham, TESCO has introduced it to other stores also. Now 6,000 self service tills are working in its 1,200 stores. This is a great improvement since the self check out was first implemented. A spokeswoman said Many customers actually prefer using our self-service checkouts as its sometimes the quickest way to pay, particularly if you only have a few items.(independent.co.uk, 2010) THE NEED FOR THIS CHANGE: Why TESCO need this change of introducing self check machines? There are various reasons for this which is as follows: For business development To increase the sales To reduce the congestion on checkouts To compete with its competitors To accelerate the checkout processes To cut the labour cost with point of sales To save the time of customers To utilize the latest technology (scribd.com, 2010) THE FACTORS DRIVING NEED FOR THE CHANGE: There are certain external and internal factors which drives this strategic change in TESCO, which are discussed below: CUSTOMERS VALUE: It is making shopping experience interesting for the customers and retaining existing customers and attracting the new one. GROWING CUSTOMER BASE: The customers were getting irritated by standing in long queues so to ease overcrowding on checkouts especially when they are buying few items. TECHNOLOGY: Technology is playing an important role in the success of the organisation. TESCO enhancing its technology and improving its operational efficacy with the implementation of self check out machines. COMPETITORS: The use of self-checkout system is distinguishing TESCO from the other retailers and its attaining competitive advantage against its competitors PROFITS: The self checkout system gives profit to TESCO by cutting the labour cost for instance instead of hiring five cashiers only one cashier will be enough for five self checkouts. (scribd.com, 2010) THE RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS OF NOT RESPONDING THE CHANGE: EMPLOYEES: People fear and resist change for a variety of reasons. For example, the self check out machines is not much appreciated by the employers because of fear of losing their jobs. They should be motivated to learn and encouraged to improve their approach to customers. FINANCIES: Company needs funding for its strategic change like involving stakeholders. The stake holders have financial expectations that will influence an organisations business strategies. It all depends on what kinds of funding are required. TESCO want to introduce these machines in all its stores, for this it needs money and financial support. TECHNOLOGY: Introducing self checkout machines is a technological change. The management need to focus on technical skills which are required to operate these machines and making them easier to use for the customers. The success or failure of strategy of an organisation depends upon the ways that technology is developed, organised and funded. (scrbd.com, 2010) 1.4 MODELS OF INDIVIDUAL CHANGE, TEAM CHANGE, AND ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE: ADKAR MODEL [ a model for individual change] (changemanagement.com) This model is developed by Jeff Hiat, CEO of Prosci Change management in 2003.Accordig to him; this model has five actions which are working as building blocks for the individual change. These are as follows: Awareness for the of change: With the help of this step an individual (employee) will fully understand why the change is necessary. It is the first key aspect of successful change. Desire to participate and support the change: This step is building desire in an individual to support and be part of the change and this can only happen after full knowledge of the need for change is established. Knowledge on how to change: This step explains two types of knowledge that the individual need to know. Firstly, knowledge on how to change and secondly, knowledge on how to perform once the change is implemented. Ability to implements required skills and behaviours: The froth step is about the actual performance of the individual which needs to be supported. It can be achieved through training, coaching and practice. Rein enforcement to sustain the change: The final step is about making sure that changes stay in place and it can be attained through positive feedback, measuring performance, incentives and taking corrective actions. (changemangement.com) LEWINS FORCEFIELD MODEL [An organisational change model] (consulpivotal.com) This model is developed by Kurt Lewin in 1951.It suggest that there are two kinds of forces one is the driving force and the other is the resisting force which keep the systems of an organisation in an equilibrium state. Lewin also suggested a three-stage theory of change, these stages are as follows: Unfreeze-creation of motivation to change: This stage is about moving the entire business towards inspiration for change.it gives the understanding of why change is necessary and it is the time to get ready for the change. Change or transition: After the first stage now the people are moving towards a new being. It is difficult part for them as they are unsure or even fearful. Support like coaching and training is really important here. Freezing or refreezing: It is about reinforcing the change and ensuring that it is accepted and continues into the future. Without this stage, the people can go back and star doing the work that they used to do in the past. (umfortu.net, 2010) TUCKMAN FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMANCE MODEL [Team model change] (hubpages.com,2010) Dr Bruce Tuck man published his Forming Storming Norming performance model in 1965.its four stages are as follows: Forming stage 1: In this stage, team is built and the task is assigned to the team members. The team gets to one another and learns about the opportunities and challenges. They agree on goals and begin to face the tasks. Storming stage 2: In this phase, relationship between team members will be made or broken this phase can be very damaging for the team. Norming stage 3: In this stage, every member of the team takes responsibility and has the desire to work for the success of the teams goals. Performing stage 4: The high performing team reach this phase. They are now competent and can make most of their decisions without supervision. (businessballs.com, 2010) RELEVANCE OF THE MODELS TO THE CHANGE IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE: In current economic climate, change is widespread among all the organisations. It has become an everyday part of an organisational dynamics. Change is not something which can be done overnight. Organisation can use various models of change to apply change successfully in an organisation. According to Collerette, in todays business environment, the only thing that appears to remain constant is change (Collerette, 2002). Companies constantly face pressures to change in changing economic conditions. It is necessary for the organisations to anticipate the change and prepare for it through planning. Adkar Model: The high failure rate of all business change initiatives is because an organisation emphasis more on the process rather than people. Adkar model plays a vital role in handling this kind of situations. For example, in self checkout system, employees need to be motivated and to make them aware of how important this change is for the business for TESCO. This model helps the company to involve employees in the change, as the result of it they get interested in it. Bruce tuck mans model: In the current economic situation change can be successful in an organisation with mutual understanding of team members. Team leader needs to have interpersonal skills which help the members to achieve their goals. People are very sensitive about their work so they need to be given security to work in a team. Kurt Lewins model: This model moves the entire business towards motivation for change. TESCO should reinforce the change (self check out system) ensuring that the desired change is accepted and maintained in the future. It is necessary because if the change is not freeze people can start doing the work in the same they use to do it in the past. 1.5 STRATEGIC INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES: These intervention techniques teaches how to set goals, ways to overcome obstacles in your life, how to reform their thought patterns to turn negative thoughts into positive patterns and to educate effective communication skills which are essential to business of all types. There are various strategic intervention methods such as: Role playing: This part of training is very essential for TESCO which enables individual to handle the given situations. It prepares them to perform without involvement of managers. (strategicintervention.com, 2010) Survey feedback: It is important for TESCO to collect information from personal interviews and survey questionnaires and share it with its employeers.This effective feedback should be understandable and encouraging receivers. (strategicintervention.com, 2010) Team development: This can help TESCO to set goals and to examine the way a group is working. This helps to give a view to the relationship among the people working together. It also assists to change the culture of the organization (strategicintervention.com, 201o) MBO approach: MBO (management by objectives) techniques of performance evaluation are results-oriented. Its important for TESCO to measure the performance of its employees and solve interpersonal problems peacefully. (management4you.blogspot.com, 2009) Proactive and reactive: Managers cannot directly change employees attitudes. Therefore they need to motivate them in directly by improving work conditions and becoming more operative leaders. For example, Managers had to organize workshops to motivate cashiers who have the fear of losing their jobs. (Foodanddrink.com, 2010) 1.6 SYSTEMS INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE PLANNING OF CHANGE: STAKEHOLDER: Any group or individual who can affect or {be} affected by the achievements of organisational objectives.(Business Strategy, 2002, p.2) The stakeholders are divided into two kinds of categories: External Stakeholders Customers Shareholders Suppliers Trade bodies Governments Competitors Local community Internal Stakeholders Employees Directors Employees representatives for example Union Trades (Business strategy, p.27) When any company undergoes change, a lot of people for top to bottom are involved in it. Therefore in order to implement the change successfully you need to involve them otherwise it will be a failure. For the self check out system TESCO can adopt stakeholder analysis and engagement (systems to involve stakeholders). 1.8 DEVELOP A CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WITH STAKE HOLDERS: Without involving external and internal stakeholders, TESCO cannot introduce this change of self checkout system. There are two major approaches to stakeholder management. One is stakeholder analysis and the other is stakeholder planning. The steps of stakeholder analysis are explained as follows: Identify your stakeholders: Tesco needs to first identify who their stakeholders are, for their strategic change. In this change of self check out system, both external and internal stakeholders are involved such as employers, customers, the press, managers, shareholders, financers, suppliers etc. Prioritize your stakeholders: Then we have to classify them by their power over work and by their interest in work. High power and high interested people for self checkouts are customers, employers, senior managers etc. these are the people we should get fully engaged with and make the greatest efforts to satisfy them. High power and low interest people, the company should satisfied them but not so much that they become bored. Less power and high interest people, TESCO keep them informed as they can be helpful in the change. Less power and less interest people, company should monitor them. Understanding your key stakeholders: TESCO needs to understand what financial interest they have related to the change. How you can motivate them and what information they want from you? If they are not likely to be positive what will win them around to support your project? In order to answer these questions TESCO should talk to them directly. By engaging the right people in the right way in your project, you can make a big difference to its success and to your career.(mindtools.com, 2010) Now they need to engage stakeholders in their strategic change. The most effective way to involve stakeholders is communication strategy. The company should talk to them in a very friendly and co-operative manner. Customer satisfaction should be given the first priority by making self check out systems easy and usable for them. For this they can do a survey feedback and can get their support. Senior managers need to be given training for these machines so that they can mentor their employees. Staff should be given a clear vision of why these machines are important for the companys strategy. It is normal to experience resistance whenever there is change. It is good because it can make the company to check their assumptions. The company should understand what their employees are feeling and thinking. Due to this self checkout machines employers are feeling very in secure about their jobs. Therefore TESCO can arrange various workshops for them to guide how these machines are used and to provide them job security. The company can talk to the financiers that how successful they are running and show them the profits you are getting from them. Thats how they can more involve in change and can help TESCO to introduce these machines in all of their stores. They can do advertisements of these machines by involving press. Developing good relation with the stakeholders will help TESCO to implement the change more successfully. (Wikiadapt, 2010) PLAN TO IMPLEMENT A MODEL FOR CHANGE: Tesco needs to involve external and internal stakeholders in the planning of change. The learning theory of Peter Senge can be used to for self check out machines in TESCO. He explains its theory in five points which are as follows SYSTEMS THINKING: TESCO needs to think about its systems as a whole. They dont have to blame others if the things are not right instead they should see how they operate and why things are going wrong. They should seek the system for it. PERSONAL MASTERY: It is something which is related to the intrinsic motivation and the people who are deeply committed to their work. In order to accept change they should have motivation from their inside which makes resist to the change. BUILDING SHARED VISION: TESCO should give its stakeholders a clear vision of a future they seek to create through this change. It can be done by providing a good understanding about the change.it will help to combine the vision of a company with the vision of stakeholders. TEAM LEARNING: TESCO should provide stakeholders an opportunity to learn in a team. Each member of team task must undertake to link with other team members so that everyone is fully informed. They can perform skilful discussions to achieve their tasks. MENTAL MODELS: TESCO should provide a safe environment in which employees feel comfortable. They should help employees develop their skills of reflection and inquiry. (Peter M. Senge, 1990) 1.10 DEVELOP APPROPRITE MEASURES TO MONITOR PROGRESS: Self check out system is a big change for TESCO. Although it is working successfully in stores but TESCO needs to put effort to solve the problems employers and customers are facing. They need to know why they are facing problems and what they can do for it. They need to motivate and guide the customers so that they can deal with the problems of customers. Tesco needs to think about the machines outlook also as it seems to be very complicated for some customers. It may be happening because the method of how to use it is not introduced to them effectively. They should hire some technical employers to deal with these machines. They need a very co-operative management which can train the employers who can later help their customers they need a cultural change as it is something new for the customers to use and replacing the old methods of shopping. They need to do some survey feedbacks and then they go further of how to overcome these problems related to the change. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Although this system of self check out system is running successfully in all stores of TESCO but still there are some problems which company needs to focus on. Customers often get frustrated because they have to go through the self check out menu mostly who dont have the knowledge of information technology. Most of the customers are not using it because they are afraid of using it. Another problem is of mis scanning which then creating problem and the customers have to ring the bell for help. In order to overcome these problems TESCO needs to put some extra employers to assist people if they face any problem using it in order to save their time and energy. They can provide information making it very simple and easy of how to use these machines through internet and newspapers it will help those customers who are afraid of using it. There is a need of making them more user friendly and reducing their faults. BIBILIOGRAPHY: Tesco(2010), change management Tesco at http://www.scribd.com/doc/38560002/Change-Management-tesco [accessed: 22 November 2010] Decision news media(2010), Tesco begins self check out trials at http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/Retail/Tesco-begins-self-checkout-trial [accessed: 24 November 2010] Lewis Smith(2010) at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/selfservice-or-merely-selfserving-the-revolution-at-the-tills-2059363.html [accessed: 24 November 2010] Adkar(2003), Adkar model at http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-adkar-overview.htm [accessed: 26 November 2010] Lewins(1951), Lewins change management model at http://www.consultpivotal.com/lewinHYPERLINK http://www.consultpivotal.com/lewins.htmHYPERLINK http://www.consultpivotal.com/lewins.htms.htm [accessed 24 November 2010] Lewins(1951), Lewins force field model at http://www.unfortu.net/~rafe/links/change.htm [accessed: 25 November 2010] Tuck man (1965), Team reforming model, at http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm (accessed: 25 November 2010] Krabenhoft Alan(2005), A model of strategy and organisational development interventions at http://www.allbusiness.com/management-companies-enterprises/1187765-1.html [accessed: 27 November 2010) Abhishek Kumar Sadhu(2009), Interventions for change at http://management4you.blogspot.com/2009/11/interventions-for-change.html [accessed: 27 November 2010] David J. Campbell (2002); Business Strategy, Oxford, Elsevier science and technology, 2nd Edition. Mind tools (2010), Map Influence at http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_83.htm [accessed: 30 November, 2010] Wikiadapt(2010), Stakeholder Analysis and a t Engagement http://wikiadapt.org/index.php?title=Stakeholder_analysis_and_engagement Accessed: 1November 2010] Peter M. Senge(1990), The Fifth Discipline at http://baudson.cute-ice.de/serendipity/index.php?/archives/35-The-Fifth-Discipline-Peter-M.-Senge,-1990.html [accessed:1 November, 2010]

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Benjamin H. Latrobe :: essays research papers fc

Benjamin H. Latrobe was born in 1764 in Fulneck, England. He was raised in England. As a young man Latrobe was taught at the Morvian school in Fulneck. This was where Latrobe received a base for his further education. After Morvian, he transferred to Nieski school in Germany. There he received an impressive education. Which was composed of a broad curriculum. He was taught in all the liberal arts and also classical and modern languages. Latrobe started his career training under England's most renowned engineer of the day John Smeaton. Under Smeatons teachings Latrobe gained a strong grasp of technical and theoretical English civil engineering and meticulous draughtsmanship (Carter 1981, 1-2). Latrobe's interests in engineering soon led him to develop an interest in architecture. Latrobe decided to pursue his interest in architecture. He decided to work with S.R. Cockrell and become his apprentice. While Latrobe worked along with Cockrell he gained further experience and rapid advance ment in architecture. Latrobe did many side jobs designing public works where he also gained experience and individuality. During Latrobe's partnership with Cockrell he also met other renowned architects of the time. Two of which were Gorge Dance and John Soane. Both of these architects were very influential to Latrobes own work. In fact, all three architects were very influential. They all helped mold and create Latrobe's architectural style. During this advancing time period in architecture there were mainly three distinct styles of architecture. The first style was Old school. This style was strict Palladianism which was inspired by Palladio himself. The second school was Roman in origin and had a lot of functional space and had a lot of decorative detail. Latrobe found both these styles to be over rich and also to elaborate in detail. Latrobe found the Third school to be the most attractive. This style was sometimes called the "Plain Style," which was characterized by simplicity, geometric power and rationalism. With all these great teachers and mentors. Latrobe was able to develop his own style which would start a new form of architecture and create the Greek revival (Carter 1981, 12). 	Latrobe decided to move to the United States. With him be brought his architectural gift and curiosity. He was very interested in the US and he studied its history, its legends, the dress and manners of its people, and of course its architecture. Geological formations, waterfalls, the courses of rivers, and the nature of the soil and terrain were all carefully observed.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Compare how the two television programmes Essay

This is an attempt on her part to appear up-to-date, with â€Å"Hollywood speak†, but is also a way for her to patronise Saffy and is symbolic of their relationship. â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme† is centered around a heterosexual woman and a homosexual man, with the contrast between them being the key element of the show, The humour here is much more direct than that of â€Å"Absolutely Fabulous†, with great emphasis on sexual innuendos and crude elements. â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme† transgresses boundaries, with the two protagonists (Linda and Tom) subverting traditional gender roles. They resemble a married couple, but in reverse – Linda is masculine, while Tom is effeminate. Tom is middle-class and cultured, and sees Linda as beneath him – in the ‘Millennium Special’, he describes her as ‘frighteningly working class. ‘ He is also houseproud, as shown by his Christmas punch and his dismay when Linda broke the decorations (‘Whatever happened to Timothy tree? ‘) He gives the impression of intelligence and often loses patience with Linda, also finding her crude humour too much on occasion: ‘You know, sometimes you make me physically sick. ‘ In contrast, Linda is very masculine and uncultured, loud and direct, yet also childlike and nai ve. She is plainly of low intelligence and enjoys insulting Tom – ‘I ain’t homophobic, I just can’t stand ’em. ‘ She frequently calls him ‘homo’, but in reality this is probably a term of endearment. Although she pretends to despise him, Linda and Tom are dependant on each other, as shown by the scene where Linda is about to go out and Tom clings to her. Linda’s naiveti Regarding her father is a point of humour as in her eyes he can still do no wrong. Her words ‘Daddy wouldn’t lie to me! ‘ bring to mind a small child. Tom frequently uses abbreviations such as ‘ridic’ and ‘phenom’, which adds to his camp image, and strengthens the audience’s perception of him as a stereotypical gay man. Linda’s character, as well as contrasting with Tom, also has elements of contrast within herself: her surname (LaHughes), suggests a far more upmarket woman than she is, and the way in which she dresses is at odds with her naiveti. â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme† has strong elements of sexual frustration in both characters , although Tom desires a long-term relationship and domesticity, and Linda simply wants a man. Both the house in â€Å"Absolutely Fabulous† and the flat from â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme† are not domesticated, but for different reasons – Patsy and Eddie are always out at work or parties, but Tom and Linda are always at home simply because they have nowhere else to go: â€Å"Phone a bloody friend? What if you haven’t got any friends? † intertextuality is present in both comedies – from the obvious in â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme† (Linda and Tom’s discussion of â€Å"Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire† and her referral to the Royle Family as ‘northern ponces’), to the more subtle use of Western music in â€Å"Absolutely Fabulous. † Both programmes involve dysfunctional parent-child relationships, although there is a difference in that Linda’s relationship with her father is off-screen, and Saffy and Edina’s is very much on-screen. Both also have ‘children’ in – Eddie is a wild teenager and Linda is a spoilt younger child. Masculine women are present in both, in the form of Patsy and Linda, although both are masculine in different ways and take on different roles. The use of flashbacks in two episodes (â€Å"Small Opening† and â€Å"Millennium Special†) sum up the attitudes of the two programmes – â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs shows how the protagonists want life to be, and the show is based upon them wanting better lives. The flashback in â€Å"Absolutely Fabulous† shows how life sued to be, and the characters here are living in the past. A key difference is that Eddie and Patsy truly believe they are in control of their lives and are happy, whereas Linda and Tom are perfectly aware of the fact that they are going nowhere. While â€Å"Absolutely Fabulous† is a satire, there is also a fantasy element about Patsy and Eddie’s uninhibited, hedonistic lifestyles. Both shows’ characters are representative types of society, and there is an absence of men in both – the main theme of both shows. However, in â€Å"Absoultely Fabulous† this is shown to be a positive thing and Patsy and Ednia show no need for them, however â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme† is about its protagonists’ loneliness, and is centered around their quest for men (hence the title. ) â€Å"Gimme Gimme Gimme†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs comic representation of gender is based upon stereotypes, role reversal and class contrast, whereas â€Å"Absoultely Fabulous† plays on the common idea of how a mother should be, the traditional values they have and women’s independence. Both shows use subversion of roles to great effect in their comic representation of gender.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Childhood Obesity Essay

Childhood Obesity Essay Childhood Obesity Essay Reflective Essay on Childhood Obesity PSYC 100 Tasha Mac University of Maryland Childhood obesity is a major concern for parents, teachers, and the medical community with differing philosophies and theories on causes and prevention. Inactivity, genetics, technology and parenting attitudes and beliefs are factors which contribute to childhood obesity. Peer pressure and social circles also create an epidemic of children overweight or obese. Intervention by parents, physicians and the educational system with support and nutrition with physical activity instruction can help create a culture of informed children. Childhood obesity is a major concern for parents, teachers and health care providers. Children will gain weight as they grow and develop. The problem presents when a child has extra pounds not needed for normal growth and development. Extra weight leads to obesity and particularly for a young child or adolescent can create serious medical conditions continuing into adulthood. Researching and determining particular and specific causes for childhood obesity can help in educating and motivating children and parents towards behavior changes to correct and prevent childhood obesity. Criteria for determining obesity in children rely on body mass index (BMI) in relation to overall weight, age, height and body structure. A BMI in children ages 6 to 19 years of age between the 85th and 94th percentiles is considered in the normal range, while anything over the 95th percentile is considered obese (Hampl and Summar, 2009). While there are many factors believed to be directly related to childhood obesity, the parents’ perception of weight and healthy lifestyles directly impact children. Not all unhealthy conscious parents will produce unhealthy children; the effect still remains on a child’s upbringing. Beyond a child’s upbringing, there are genetic factors which play a role in childhood obesity. Excess weight is typically caused by overeating and exercising too little. However, there are some hormonal and genetic causes contributing to childhood obesity. Cushing’s syndrome is one example of a medically predisposed reason for weight problems in children. This condition occurs when the body experiences high levels of the hormone cortisol for an extended period of time. Along with increased weight it can cause high blood pressure, bone loss and diabetes (Mayo Clinic, 2008). Physical activity and social interaction are also factors in childhood obesity. Luisa Franzini, et.al. (2009) through a research study found that neighborhood social factors as well as the physical environment affect childhood obesity and the importance of health policies and interventions to reduce the likelihood of childhood obesity. With the documented evidence of health related problems associated with obesity, it is important to enlist parents, educators and health care providers to address the problem of overweight children and the dynamics of how diet, activity and social interaction affect an individual. Sarah Barlow, et.al. (2002) conducted a study on the rise in childhood obesity and recognizes the vital component clinicians’ plays in the role of identifying the problem and assess the risk factors for that individual.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Seven Samurai essays

Seven Samurai essays In 1954 Akira Kurosawa released his film, Seven Samurai to the public. Almost half a decade later I have the privilege to also view this great film. This was the first Japanese film that I have ever given the time of day to actual view in its entirety. From the beginning to the end I was totally involved with the characters. And awesome characters they were with each and everyone of them showing their own personality and opinion throughout the plot. The story is placed in 16th Century Japan. There is a village of farmers who are going to be under yet another attack by a large group of Bandits. Convinced not to go through it all again the villagers send a couple of farmers into town in search of four Samurai that would fight for their lives. The topper is the fact that the farmers can only pay with three meals of rice to the brave warriors. After winning over the heart of one wise and very smart Samurai, they easily recruit five more great Samurai and one wannabe. They all travel back to the village where they have to act right away to setup for the defense. They setup walls, dig waterways, and train the local farmers to fight for their ground. Just when they start to get restless of waiting the Bandits arrive and are taken down little by little. After three days and nights of fighting it all comes to an end with the Farmers victorious. Only three Samurais survive in the end and a great lesson is learned. Thats the ba sic flow of the movie. There is many side stories on the side such as a goofy Samurai, funny old farmers, a love story that must be hidden, and much more. Now in the technical aspect of the film. In my opinion the film was pretty much flawless. The editing was done wonderfully with fades, soft cut, quick cuts, and wipes to give effect. One scene in the movie where I believe the editing was awesome was in the beginning of the movie when the farmers have arrived into town to find Samur ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Death Penalty - Essay Example There are many other countries that also adhere to the death penalty, though their practices of administering the death penalty differ from the United States, as well as what constitutes a death-worthy crime. Approximately twenty-five nations throughout the world believe in and practice the death penalty. Those that do not uphold any form of the death penalty find the actions to inhumane and lacking in ethic. Most of these nations, as well as the states in the United States that do not practice the death penalty, prefer to imprison their more hardened criminals for a lengthy amount of time with sentences that usually exceed life. I believe that the death penalty is not serving the purpose that it should. People are still committing violent crimes despite its existence. Furthermore, with the amount of exonerated deaths due to inconsistencies in the criminal justice system, the death penalty is proving to be more harmful than beneficial. Not only is the death penalty condoning the acti ons of those on death row, but it is bringing about the deaths of innocent people, which is yet another flaw in the death penalty.

Friday, November 1, 2019

The role of advertising and branding within the laptop industry and Dissertation

The role of advertising and branding within the laptop industry and its effects on consumer purchase decision in Leeds(united ki - Dissertation Example Therefore, the combined role of advertising and branding appears to be more visible in case of most of the products. Liu (2007) has found a positive relation between branding and consumer purchasing decisions for laptops. Significant level of brand awareness for a specific brand will improve the purchasing behaviour for that laptop brand because it influences the consumer decision making process especially on the information search stage of customer (Liu, 2007). The effectiveness of branding in laptop industry is evident from the leading sales of branded laptops. Development of Dell in Malaysia had positive influence of brand image of Dell in Malaysia as its enhanced brand recognition therefore; companies like Acer and HP also have a chance to compete with Dell by increasing their brand recognition (Ghajarzadeh, 2010). Laptop manufacturers usually use informative advertising to make the consumer aware of the product specifications thereby, influencing the purchasing decision of consu mers. PC companies adopt advertising media to influence high-income households and top companies are involved in higher than average advertising and generate higher than average revenues (Goeree, 2004).

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Psychology Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology Intelligence - Essay Example His theory suggests that man's intelligence is made up of 7 core intelligences (Myers, 2004). It is only upon consideration of all of these intelligences that one can be judged as intelligent or not. Basically, intelligence covers a wide array of human capabilities, skills, and talents. In Susan's case, her intelligence test scores were only average even though she possessed exceptional talents in ballet dancing possibly due to the inability of the intelligence test used to measure creativity as part of an individual's intelligence. Furthermore, Susan's case brings forth the issue of the reliability and validity of intelligence testing. Susan's case demonstrates a scenario wherein an inappropriate test was used. Her low test scores may also imply that the intelligence test administered to her came up with a standardized score without giving consideration to her scores in each of the components of the test which is used to determine specific facets of her intelligence. Most of the time, the validity of intelligence tests is questioned primarily because a particular type of test may not properly measure the specific area of an individual's intelligence that is being assessed. Furthermore, a single score is often inadequate in explaining the multidimensional aspects of intelligence. In cases such as these, the reliability and validity of the intelligence test is questioned.

Monday, October 28, 2019

World War II Essay Example for Free

World War II Essay Together, Canada and the United States, on behalf of the Allies, made military contributions in the Second World War, albeit with varying results. Canada had declared war on the Axis Powers only a week after Great Britain and France had made their declarations. The war continued on, and Axis victory was being averted by sheer Allied bravery, even though Britain was near to collapse and France and the rest of Europe had long fallen. Allied victory seemed impossible, until the United States entered the war in December 1941. It was a turnaround and a triumph of American material and logistics superiority. Canadian contributions were not as decisive, yet helped provide stability and note-worthy support to America’s swift and decisive military actions, which helped to bring the war to a predictable end. The Canadian effort was more intrinsic, in nature, and was not very impactful; however Canada’s support to Great Britain proved to be crucial for the latter after the loss of their ally, France and before the Soviet alliance. The participation of Canada, in the Second World War was the largest combined national effort in their short independent history. Canada entered the war willingly, since it realised that Nazi success in Europe could definitely threaten the existence of Western civilization. During the â€Å"Phony War†, from 1940 to 1941, the Royal Canadian Navy helped protect convoys of troops and supplies to Britain. Canada was also the biggest British training ground, with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan based there. Its military was active in the war from early on – mainly in the Italian Invasion, Northern Europe and North Atlantic. Full-fledged Canadian involvement in war came with the Battle of Dieppe, which was, in reality, a failure for the Allies, but it gave them a first-view of German defences on the French coast, later to be very useful for future operations on D-Day. Canada was also involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily, in 1943 and the D-Day landings, at Juno Beach, in June 1944, both of which proved to be successes. Canada made some minor contributions in the Pacific Theatre including the Battle of Hong Kong, in order to help Britain to defend their royal colony from Japan, which, however, was a failure. Canadian involvement in the Second World War was largely self-gratifying, in a way, as it began to develop a huge war industry of aircraft, military vehicles and cargo carriers’ production, most of which went to Britain, which kept its factories working, which spurred them to keep alive their interest in elping to win the war. The major contribution by the Canadians was the usage of the Corvettes that acted as escorts for supply ships on the way to Britain. Without these supplies, D-Day would never have happened. These military skirmishes and actions kept the war alive, but did not initiate any significant results on their own; however they were a pivotal support force. America’s late entry into the war was made up with its efficient and strategic fighting in battles, which ended the Second World War. Most of American military contributions in Europe were in collaboration with troops from other Allied nations, such as the Italian Campaign, D-Day landings (under American General D. Eisenhower) and the Battle of the Bulge. Starting from the West, Allied forces moved further eastwards, with the United States leading from the front, while Soviet forces attacked westwards, trapping Berlin. Hitler committed suicide, Nazi Germany was in disarray, and the war in Europe was won. It was a victory for American troops, and an overall Allied victory; with this, it seemed to be the â€Å"beginning of the end† for the Third Reich’s rule. On the other hand, the Pacific Theatre was won practically single-handedly by the United States. The entry of the United States into the war was literally forced by Japanese actions, in attacking the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, resulting in the loss of a good portion of the US Navy. Ostensibly, US interests were physically attacked, for the first time in the war, by Japan, and this provoked the United States to enter the war, even though America, straight out of Depression, did not want to get involved in the war directly, but stay on the periphery. The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway followed, and prevented Japanese attack on Oceania. It was at Guadalcanal that America first took the offensive, resulting in a victory. The long-drawn Battle of Okinawa was the final push towards one of the greatest events of World War Two – the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to subsequent Japanese surrender, and the end of the Second World War. Most American battles were over a shorter span of time, but their strategies were effectual and precise and their military prowess helped to end the war. The American military contributions essentially led to an Allied victory and helped to finish a lingering and indecisive war conclusively. The United States and Canada witnessed no actual war on home soil, but together with Britain, USSR and other Allies, they played a decisive role in securing a victory against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Before the entered the war, both Canada and the United States possessed small militaries, but war mobilization and export of war materials transformed both these countries into mighty military powers by the end of the war, in their own respects. Canadian relations with the US became notably closer during the war. Both USA and Canada were reticent to enter the war, but once they did, their contributions were profound. The contributions of both the nations, albeit in slightly different aspects, helped to sustain and accelerate, and eventually end what became known as the most devastating war of all time.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Personal Narrative- Wearing Christian T-Shirts :: Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Wearing Christian T-Shirts A life defining moment of mine was when I started wearing Christian t-shirts instead of everyday t-shirts. The old t-shirts just seem so bland to me now, and I did not really care for them as much as the others. I also preferred the messages that were on the Christian t-shirts. Most of the time the messages would make fun of something, like laundry detergent Tide, or commonly use phrases, such as armed and dangerous. After a short period of time, I started to shop only at Sunshine for my t-shirts. It was one of the only Christian Book stores that had a decent selection of t-shirts in Brazoria County that was closes enough to go to. The best part is that Sunshine’s selection would be different every time. They also had ordering book at Sunshine, so if there was a shirt that they did not have it was probably in a catalog somewhere. Wearing the Christian t-shirts help me keep my focus on how I should act as a Christian. The t-shirts also help me strive to be a better Christian than what I am. Wearing Christian t-shirts have done sever thing in my relationship with God. There are several occasions were the t-shirts have affected the way I act. Many times while I was at high school some people would always pick on. Having the t-shirts on helped remind me that I was a Christian and that I should not act that way that the other people were. I also believe have the Christian t-shirts leaded to some persecution event though it was never said that way. However, I am here now so it could not have be that bad. I also strive to become a better Christian because of my t-shirts. One reason for this is if you need help who are you going to ask a friend you know is a Christian or a friend who is a Christian who wear a Christian T-shirt everyday.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Theme of Death in Haydn Middletons The Lie of the Land :: Middleton Lie of the Land Essays

The Theme of Death in Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land is a complex book filled with many themes. One of them, which I focused on, is the theme of death. Death seems to be shown as a means to an end. In the beginning, David sees death as an inevitable, horrible event that he must face up to all too soon. "I'm going to die" (p. 16) David states to Rachel during his first visit to the Samaritan Center. "I know I've got to die, Rachel but I'm a coward" (p. 18). David's death won't be one of the ordinary. David is one of the chosen. He is one of the sons of the sky. He is tormented by the woman's voice, the one who chose him, who is always overshadowing him. The woman, possibly the angel of death, has an elaborate plan laid out for David. It began when he was first conceived and will continue on until the day that he dies and beyound. "In her vindictiveness she would call these new sons of the sky westward. And, at the gateway to Albion, she would make them perform, in that brightest light that sits forever upon the darkness, the dance of death..." (p. 85). The island of Albion seems to be referred to as hell. David speaks of being in contact with "...the keeper of the gateway to hell" (p. 18). The island is believed to be a "...rendezvous for the souls of the dead" (p. 79). When the time comes the woman will call to the sons of the sky and take David to the island of the dead. David didn't fully understand his fate until it was explained to him by his stepfather, Emrys. Later in life, when David is married and a son of his own, the power of the woman took over his mind and body. She willed him to committ one of the worst crimes possible. He took the life of another human being. And in the process he lost his own life as well. Not literally, but he lost his family and his soul. He had nothing. "I am the son of the sky, he thought. And after so many years, he knew what that meant. He knew that he would dance before his time. And he knew, too, glancing down at his child, that there would be more than one end" (p. The Theme of Death in Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land :: Middleton Lie of the Land Essays The Theme of Death in Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land is a complex book filled with many themes. One of them, which I focused on, is the theme of death. Death seems to be shown as a means to an end. In the beginning, David sees death as an inevitable, horrible event that he must face up to all too soon. "I'm going to die" (p. 16) David states to Rachel during his first visit to the Samaritan Center. "I know I've got to die, Rachel but I'm a coward" (p. 18). David's death won't be one of the ordinary. David is one of the chosen. He is one of the sons of the sky. He is tormented by the woman's voice, the one who chose him, who is always overshadowing him. The woman, possibly the angel of death, has an elaborate plan laid out for David. It began when he was first conceived and will continue on until the day that he dies and beyound. "In her vindictiveness she would call these new sons of the sky westward. And, at the gateway to Albion, she would make them perform, in that brightest light that sits forever upon the darkness, the dance of death..." (p. 85). The island of Albion seems to be referred to as hell. David speaks of being in contact with "...the keeper of the gateway to hell" (p. 18). The island is believed to be a "...rendezvous for the souls of the dead" (p. 79). When the time comes the woman will call to the sons of the sky and take David to the island of the dead. David didn't fully understand his fate until it was explained to him by his stepfather, Emrys. Later in life, when David is married and a son of his own, the power of the woman took over his mind and body. She willed him to committ one of the worst crimes possible. He took the life of another human being. And in the process he lost his own life as well. Not literally, but he lost his family and his soul. He had nothing. "I am the son of the sky, he thought. And after so many years, he knew what that meant. He knew that he would dance before his time. And he knew, too, glancing down at his child, that there would be more than one end" (p.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Operations Review on Supply Chain Management, Logistics, and Inventory

Operations Review on Waste Reduction, Cost Reduction and Process This memo will discuss the efficient ways that Supply Chain Management, Inventory, and Logistics have been successfully implemented in the Intermountain Healthcare Supply Chain Center. Peggy Lee, Card Program Manager at IHC led the tour in the Supply Chain Center. The goal of IHC distribution center is reduce waste, cost and centralized the high volume supplies in one location and distribute across all their facilities. This gives Intermountain better control of their inventories and negotiation advantages.Using these methods has had a great impact in waste reduction, quality and cost savings. Supply Chain infrastructure is an important process at Intermountain Healthcare (IHC). They have learned that building strong relationships with their suppliers is critical and can help eliminate costs as well as allow them to share their savings. How IHC has achieved this, is by supplier involvement. IHC provides a mockup room sp ecifically designed for their suppliers to show off new products and equipment allowing doctors and clinicians to test the equipment at a no cost to the supplier.Suppliers then receive immediate feedback on their products and the hospital can test products before purchase. This is a valuable approach for IHC to see results, make improvements, and negotiate effective distribution for both the supplier and the hospitals. This is gain for both parties, and in particular to Intermountain since supplies are one of the highest expenses they incur. The distribution facility was built with the purpose to manage inventories more efficiently.This facility only holds 6,000 items out of 81,000 products that can be ordered. Only those items that are housed in this facility are the high volume items, with a fill rate of 98% and accuracy of 99%. IHC has a great control on their inventories by assuring that cost of obsolescence, deterioration, and loss are managed properly. The warehouse is equippe d with big fans that move the air around the facility reducing temperature fluctuations allows less than a 4Â ° deference from top to bottom in the warehouse.This prolongs the longevity of the products they house by reducing deterioration. Also, all the shelves are set up on a slope allowing older inventory to shift to the front. This is also known as the FIFO method, which ensures the older products are not aging on the shelves. Another method they use is barcoding. Barcoding is not a new invention, but IHC has taken advantage of this technology in the way they fill their internal orders by implementing some of their own inventory system, VoicePic.VoicePic is a voice activated inventory process where barcodes are placed on the container that will carry the order from one place to another around their facility. As the container moves along the conveyor belt, the person with that order hears the amount of items to be picked up in the current position and repeats the number via his v oice. Another quality check used for their inventory system is that once the level is placed in the container the system knows the weight that is to be at the end of the order. This provides a quality control measure.If the weight is correct then process continues. If the weight is off, the order gets rejected. This lets the operator know that there is an item that does not belong. By combining these two systems in their inventory, IHC has increased their accuracy in their orders by 60%. Logistics is another important part of IHC’s business processes they are trying to refine. The facility was strategically placed in a centralized location to allow moving supplies to all of their facilities since 80% are within a 50-mile radius.They also use their own fleet to distribute their merchandise among the hospitals and clinics, with the exception of the southern part of the state of Utah. The reason for this is they rather use a vendor for this location since the vendor is able to r eturn with a full trailer. This would not be the case for IHC. Another important point in the way their logistics is setup is how they receive and pick up shipments. These activities have a time set when they can be performed.They have divided morning to receive delivery from 4am to 12pm; all deliveries are done on a schedule, as well as pickups, pick up activities begin at 12pm. This is to increase efficiency of the location and the use of resources, thus reducing the chance of error and process flows. In addition, order placement is another key process. All IHC facilities must have their entire orders placed by 11:00 am every day to ensure order fulfillment. One other advantage at the supply chain facility is that it is built to allow shipments to be cross-docking.So, instead of products being housed they are immediately moved to another truck to deliver to the final destination. Logistics processes in this facility are designed to make resources more efficient and allow them to e liminate costs. IHC has increased their success by implementing new strategies on supply chain management, logistics and inventory. They have been able to cut costs and increase efficiencies in inventory on internal orders. Along with inventory, IHC has an added savings by testing for effectiveness of new products when negotiating with suppliers in the mock up room.By having this kind of interaction with supplies, ensures that the products will meet their needs and will contribute to their efficiency. They have also modified their logistics by reducing the number of trips needed to facilities by consolidating all the orders, to transport all necessary supplies in one trip. These are some of the many operational activities implemented in this facility. IHC has identified areas for improvement and made the necessary changes. With all the new improvements within their supply chain center, the facility will pay itself off in 8 years.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Process Performance and Quality at Starwood HotelsResorts

Process Performance and Quality at Starwood HotelsResorts Quality management Dimensions of Customer Satisfaction Starwood Hotels and Resorts employed the Six Sigma model to measure its performance and offer quality services to its clients. It had all the necessary inputs to ensure customers got what they wanted.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Process Performance and Quality at Starwood HotelsResorts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, it was unable to define or classify them and this means that customers were sometimes unable to get what they wanted yet the company had the potential of providing all the customer requirements. Therefore, the first stage involved defining or identifying the problem that customers were experiencing. This company managed to do this by introducing phones that contained the information about the services that clients wanted (Goldratt and Cox 2010). Guests were required to dial the numbers stored on the phones and hotel attendants woul d be on their doorsteps to serve them. The numbers were coded to represent various services. Secondly, the introduction of call logs enabled the company to track the efficiency of employees that handled specific tasks. The third stage involved the use of Pareto charts to analyze what employees could do within 15 minutes after receiving calls from clients. The fourth stage involved the introduction of improvement strategies that ensured clients got quality services from the company. This included improving how telephone operators handled requests from customers. In addition, it involved procedures that were used to determine the person to call when a client requests the services of this hotel (Krajewski, Ritzman and Malhotra 2012). Moreover, this organization faced serious challenges like engineering workloads, but it ensured that qualified people were assigned different roles in the control room to check technical issues that may affect communication between clients and employees.Ad vertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lastly, it was necessary to establish effective ways of controlling and measuring the performance of the telephone system. This ensured that this service produced the expected results within the specified time. The services were monitored for 12-18 months and the managers were supposed to be given monthly reports to ensure the Sheraton Service Promise program improved the quality of services offered by this company. Costs of Process Performance and Quality The costs included service delivery, time, quality and products. There was the need for the new program to facilitate coordination among these aspects to help the company to achieve its targets. This was important in helping the company to offer its services properly and eliminate the chances of being unable to supply products that were available due to poor communication syste ms (Krajewski et al., 2012). Secondly, the company saved time because clients were introduced to mobile phones and how to use them to request for room services. The use of phones ensured that clients got what they wanted because these gadgets offered a list of the services and products offered by the company. Customers did not waste time deciding where to get what they wanted. They were very happy that they could get the services of this company without struggling to ask or wait for long before being assisted. The Six Sigma Model The Six Sigma model is an efficient tool of measuring performance in an organization. However, it has various disadvantages that make it unsuitable in the hospitality industry. First, this model requires a company to define key factors that are necessary for problem resolution (Krajewski et al., 2012). This creates ambiguity and does not place the company in a good position to know its problems. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a hotel to know its challe nges because this process does not limit a manager’s scope of defining the speed and efficiency of employees and services offered (Sherwood and Barnsteiner 2012).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Process Performance and Quality at Starwood HotelsResorts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Secondly, the measures used to determine the efficiency of workers and services are abstract. There is no guarantee that short call durations mean that employees offer efficient services. The use of Pareto charts is an effective way of measuring performance; however, it falls short of defining the meaning of a reasonable time employees are supposed to use to serve their clients. Lastly, the time taken to measure the performance of a service is very long and this creates room for other inefficiencies that affect productivity (Krajewski et al., 2012). This model requires employees to submit responses to their managers or head s of departments, but the duration required to do this is too long. There is the need for hotel changes to produce immediate results because this is a delicate industry. In addition, this will limit the chances of creating room for customers to be fed up with inefficiencies because it enables employees to make immediate changes to their products or services. Case Study Implementing the Six Sigma Model in Starwood It is not easy to implement the Six Sigma program to improve and track the performance of employees and services offered in the hotel industry. This program required Sheraton hotel to employ the Top-Down Commitment model that required all employees to work together to improve the performance of this company. The hotel developed the Black Belts team to ensure it supervises the roles played by managers and subordinates to improve its efficiency. The measurement systems used to track progress involved giving clients research questionnaires (Guest Satisfaction Survey) to expres s their views regarding the services offered by the hotel. In addition, the Sheraton Service Promise program was established to help guests to report any problem regarding the quality of services offered by the hotel. The management had set high goals to compel employees to work hard to promote the image of this company. This was not an effective way of improving performance because it sets unrealistic goals for workers (Sherwood and Barnsteiner 2012). Education was an effective way of promoting performance because it enabled workers to acquire new knowledge and skills on how to do their jobs.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lastly, customers may be stubborn and thus affect the attitudes of employees. This hotel managed to establish ways of knowing how customers and employees treat each other. It is necessary to explain that this was an indispensable aspect that helped the management to know how to train its employees (Goldratt and Cox 2010). The New Sheraton Service Promise Process Prevention of poor process performance is a key aspect in all organizations. The new Sheraton Service Promise process enabled employees to predict the possibility of service failure and inform the management. Early preparation enables organizations to prepare to solve problems before they escalate to unmanageable levels (Krajewski et al., 2012). In addition, employee and service assessment were successful because the new process forced workers to be transparent and accountable. Internal failure was managed by developing a team that was responsible for periodic assessment and evaluation of the new program (Goldratt and Cox 20 10). This process ensured appropriate measures were taken to solve problems in good time. Lastly, the possibilities of external failures to affect this company were minimized. The questionnaires used to evaluate the response of guests regarding the quality of services offered; therefore, they helped it to train workers and improve its services (Sherwood and Barnsteiner 2012). Alternative Strategies Most organizations and individuals do not know the existence of the Six Sigma model of measuring performance. Moreover, most of them do not pay attention to theories and this makes them reluctant to use performance models. In addition, they are usually not ready and comfortable to use information from their clients to measure the performance of their employees (Krajewski et al., 2012). Lastly, they need quality assessment procedures that produce immediate results; therefore, this discourages them from using the Six Sigma model. Starwood Hotels and Resorts can use performance appraisal, ma rket penetration and the value of its shares in the stock market to measure the quality of its services. References Goldratt, E. M. and Cox, J. (2010). The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement. New York: Wiley. Krajewski, L. J., Ritzman, L. P. and Malhotra, M. K. (2012). Operations Management:  Processes and Supply Chains. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Sherwood, G. and Barnsteiner. (2012). Quality and Safety in Nursing: A Competency  Approach to Improving Outcomes. New York: McGraw-Hill.