Responsibilities of the Modern Media

Responsibilities of the Modern Media Free Online Research Papers Freedom of the media carries with it certain responsibilities of honesty, fairness, accuracy and accountability. In this essay I will discuss issues relating to media responsibility today. The media are responsible for the majority of the observations and experiences from which we build up our personal understanding of the world and how it works. Much of our view of reality is based on media messages that have been pre-constructed and have attitudes, interpretations and conclusions already built in. The media, to a great extent, give us our sense of reality. Without mass media, openness and accountability are impossible in contemporary democracies. Freedom of the media carries with it certain responsibilities of honesty, fairness, accuracy and accountability. The power of the media to create and destroy human values comes with great responsibility. Such power ought not to be in the hands of a few. In this essay I will attempt to define the meaning of responsibility, and will discuss the power and various responsibilities of the media. I will then proceed to address hate speech and it’s consequences and then examine the various problems regarding media ownership when in the hands of a few. I will conclude with a discussion regarding our role as socially responsible citizens to take a stand for what we expect from the media. The media are a centre of power in the political system, having great influence on politics and on forming social change. Television can greatly influence the election of a national leader on the basis of image. The power is the power to decide who will communicate what to whom. Today even those who loathe the media must use the media. The Taliban, to take an extreme example, banned television, photographs and computers but now use what they called ‘tools of the devil’ to refocus world attention on the war in Afghanistan. The media’s main impact is psychological and intellectual. Media and entertainment companies shape public opinion and help frame the terms of public debate. The media is what we read, listen to and watch. In parallel, through its close relationship with advertisers, the media also exerts a powerful influence on the decisions we make, the products we buy, and the sort of questions we ask when we make our everyday choices. (sustainability.com/publications/engaging/good-news-and-bad.asp) The long view of history proves medias power by showing that the medium itself, in the long run, is more powerful than the messages it carries, because the medium determines what can be communicated and how we think about that communication. (Gibbons ;2000,10) Responsibility. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word responsible (adj) as having an obligation to do something, as part of ones job or role:or having control over or care for someone, liable to be called to account (to a person or for a thing). To be accountable, answerable, to blame, blameworthy, at fault, guilty, culpable. While responsibility (n) is defined as the state or fact of being responsible, the ability to act independently and make decisions,the state of being answerable for ones performance according to the terms of reference of the Code of Professional Conduct. Socially, peoples responsibilities are those things for which they are accountable; failure to discharge a responsibility renders one liable to some censure or penalty as part of a job, or profession, or social role . According to Paul Ricoeur responsibility is tied to ethical identity, both at the individual and at the community level. Ethical identity, for its part, is born of tradition, critical and normative thought, and the capacity to exercise sensitive judgement in the manner of Aristotles Phronesis . It is because such an identity can be attested to by ethical subjects and communities that responsibility can be imputed to them and should be accepted and honoured by them. (Ricoeur,2000,p27) Social Responsibility Maintaining that the press plays an important role in the development and stability of modern society, advocates of Social Responsibility press theory believe it imperative that a commitment of social responsibility be imposed on mass media ( Merrill, 1974). In their eyes, the press has a moral obligation to consider the overall needs of society when making journalistic decisions that will produce the greatest good or the greatest number. Moreover, this utilitarian goal can be accomplished only through a concerted effort to further various ethical ideals agreed upon by all concerned with this improvement of society. To allow unchanneled and uncontrolled distribution of ideas and information supported by the libertarian press notion was considered neither responsible nor beneficial to society and could not be considered ethical. (Lloyd ;1991:6) Professional journalists do have a code of ethics. Journalists make judgments about whats safe and appropriate to report which often involves difficult choices. Let us consider the journalists share of responsibility for the consequences of their reporting? German sociologist Max Weber distinguishes between an ethics of conviction and an ethics of responsibility. According to the latter, journalists must take into account the foreseeable consequences of their reporting, the impact on society. The ethics of conviction on the other hand posits that journalists have an absolute duty to tell the truth, regardless of the consequences. War journalism tends to regard this mission to reveal the truth as a sufficient condition for ethical reporting, although according to Weber both ethics are complementary rather than opposites. (erc.org.au/issues/text/rw03.htm) The underlying assumption of social responsibility is that moral and ethical commandments dictate journalistic excellence (even if authoritarian control is needed to uphold such laws) instead of the individual reasoned choices of reporters and editors. (Lloyd; 1991;6) Trust. For a multi media company, trust is a keyword. It is essential to have mutual trust with readers, viewers and listeners, as well as employees, owners and society at large. One does not gain trust without taking responsibility. For Media companies it is of vital importance to be identified as being ethical and responsible. The publics right to know of events of public importance and interest is the overriding mission of the mass media. The purpose of distributing news and enlightened opinion is to serve the general welfare. Journalists who use their professional status as representatives of the public for selfish or other unworthy motives violate a high trust. Freedom of the press is to be guarded as an inalienable right of people in a free society. It carries with it the freedom and the responsibility to discuss, question, and challenge actions and utterances of our government and of our public and private institutions. Journalists uphold the right to speak unpopular opinions and the privilege to agree with the majority. Their social responsibilities to the public are paramount. That is the nature of their profession. (Knowlton;1995;5) Hate speech. No issue is more problematic for those concerned with media freedom and responsibility than the issue of hate speech. The term is generally used to refer to advocacy of national, racial, religious or other hatred. The issue, in essence, is how far it is proper or acceptable to limit the right to freedom of expression, when the views being expressed support the limitation or infringement of the rights of others. These issues become even more acute in a country with a history of communal or -5- ethnic violence, where the media are known to have played a role in fanning hostilities. In 1946, the judges at Nuremberg found Julius Streicher, the Nazi publisher of Der Sturmer, guilty of inciting of the population to abuse, maltreat and slay their fellow citizens, to stir up passion, hate, violence and destruction among the people themselves aims at breaking the moral backbone even of those the invader chooses to spare. The judges sentenced him to death because his incitement to murder and extermination at the time when Jews in the East were being killed under the most horrible conditions clearly constitutes persecution on political and racial grounds and (therefore) a Crime against Humanity. Forty- seven years later, in Dec. 2003, in a landmark verdict, the war crimes tribunal for Rwanda convicted three media figures of genocide for inciting people to take part in the wave of killing that swept across Rwanda in 1994. The defendants were found guilty for their use of a popular radio station and a newspaper to inflame hatred against the country’s Tutsi minority and to direct and encourage the campaign of slaughter. The lesson in the conviction of the three is that social responsibility is at the root of journalistic practice. In an interview with The New York Times, Stephen Rapp, the senior prosecutor on the case, said A key question will be what kind of speech is protected and where the limits lie. It is important to draw that line. We hope the judgment will give the world some guidance. He also noted that in terms of international legal standards there has been no decision since Nuremberg. â€Å"Those who control the media are accountable for its consequences ,† the Arusha, Tanzania, based international court said before handing down the convictions. (crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-rwanda.html) In my opinion the media should not cooperate with hate-mongers by providing them an uncontrolled platform for disseminating their ideas. This is not to say that the media should fail to report about the conduct of hate mongers. Instead, the media coverage of hate speech should be cautious and sensitive to the interests of the group under attack, and above all be ‘responsible.’ Owners Without a doubt information is power, and the big owners of the main medium to get information to the people, the mainstream media, are very powerful people. Therefore we may well ask how can there be credible democratic discourse in any country when the major public information channels, television and newspapers, are owned or controlled by a handful of individuals accountable only to themselves? Interestingly, for Karl Marx, the mass media was simply an instrument of bourgeois control over the proletariat, a part of the overall superstructure of society, along with religion, the family and education. Whether one agrees with Marxs political dimension or not, what is clear is that Marxism presents to us an extremely useful model in which to study the mass media today. Though Marx was writing at a time when the main organs of mass media wouldve essentially meant newspapers and books, Marxist analysis can be applied to todays media: the mass media, a privatized means of production, is there to replicate capitalist ideology and to promote a false consciousness amongst the working class. (marxists.org/glossary/index.htm) Television and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and internet sites are, largely, owned and controlled by profit-making businesses. Since it is the bourgeoisie who control the media, it is only natural that it is their ideas get promoted through both things like advertising and the actual media products themselves movies, soap opera, tabloid newspapers, consumer magazines and so on. The case for imposing limits on media ownership is based solely on democratic, social and journalistic concerns. The media have a social responsibility that makes them unlike other commercial activities. As such, freedom of the press is not just the proprietary right of owners to do as they see fit. It is a right of the Australian people. (presscampaign.org/proposals.htm) The current level of ownership concentration here in Australia continues to be one of the highest in the world. Rupert Murdoch, the worlds most powerful media mogul, already decides whats fit to print in Adelaide, Brisbane and many regional cities, where he owns the only newspaper. In Melbourne and Sydney he dominates the newspaper market and he owns the only national daily, The Australian . Kerry Packer is Australias richest, most powerful businessman, and owns the dominant Nine TV network as well as a large stable of news, womens and other magazines. Companies run by the two media moguls and their sons, James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch, are also equal shareholders in the pay-TV group Foxtel (wsws.org/articles/1999/mar1999/aba-m18.shtml) The film Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism , a recently released documentary about the Fox News channel in the US, exposes the methods and props used by the Fox Network to mold the news. It also displays the influence these methods have had on the major media groups. Fox News claims to be Fair and balanced but in reality is anything but. For the first time ever, this documentary reveals the secrets of former Fox News producers, reporters, bookers and writers who expose what its like to work for Fox News. These former Fox employees talk about how they were forced to push a right-wing point of view or risk their jobs. Some have even chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect their current livelihoods. As one employee said, Theres no sense of integrity as far as having a line that cant be crossed. The film demonstrataes the impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person. (disinfo.com/site/) An Australian media without a strong, independent ABC and an independently-owned Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review would no longer be a free media. It would be controlled by powerful political and business players, and they will decide what’s fit to read, what stories to publish, and what opinions to disseminate. (xmedia.org.au/index.php?option=contenttask=viewid=28Itemid=) The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, through programs such as Media Watch, Frontline and the Media Report, has contributed much. The effect has been to raise public awareness of the processes of journalism. (unimelb.edu.au/speeches/pchadwick99nov17.html) In addition Four Corners has carved a long and proud tradition of investigative journalism, exposing corruption in high places and peering into neglected corners of society.(abc.net.au/4corners/4c40/essays/ricketson.htm) To conclude, the largest transmitter of information today is the mass media. Here a mere fraction of a percent of the western world population decides what the rest of the world is to know and not to know. Technological advances continue to increase the power of the media to effect cultural change, manipulate public opinion and influence government policy. I dont want to censor the media I just want them to understand their power to influence minds and use it responsibly. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. The core problem is that most journalists are employees, not autonomous professionals like, say, a barrister. The main issue for truth in reporting is advertisers or media owners putting pressure on editors and journalists to publish or hold stories. Unfortunately journalists don’t always control the end product of their work as published or broadcast. Regrettably the majority of the key decision-makers in media organisations (such as the owners), the people who really wield power and from whom responsibility should be extracted, are not subject to any ethical codes or enforcement system (alliance.org.au/work/aja/ethics/ethics1.html) Private media ownership; the mass media conglomerate,a concentration of media ownership in too few hands is a danger to society. This can constitute a threat to democracy itself, where major political parties are almost held to ransom by media proprietors, who can wield enormous power through their ability to manipulate the opinion of the electorate, should they choose to do so. It is my view that such power and responsibility should never be left in the hands of a few. The public need a wide range of contrasting perspectives from the media, not simply the opinions of a handful of conglomerates and their owners. Working journalists in the monopolized television and newspaper media must know that, where there is conflict between the principles of public interest journalism and the direction set by ownership, there is a channel of appeal where professional standards reign. For this reason there need to be rules which media owners respect and accept. We need rules to prevent one company from having too much control over the media content. We must have reliable systems developed which ensure a diversity of media ownership, so that competition within the media stimulates a wide range of perspectives on public policy issues and acts as a check on the political power of the media magnates .(transparency.org/sourcebook/14.html) Finally, I believe it is our responsibility as concerned citizens to make sure we are not merely passive viewers, readers or listeners, after all we are also voters and consumers. Together we can wield a huge influence on the media by playing an active part in improving the output of all our media services by making our views known where it counts. Each of us has a responsibility to reject any obvious biases and take a stand for what we expect from the media by demanding equal representation of issues and political candidates. Nowadays we have the Internet to assist democracy by giving a voice to every citizen in every library, every office and every home. Complaints processes exist for anyone wanting to complain about something they have watched, heard or read in a variety of media. This includes complaints in relation to television or radio content; advertising; online content; film, videos and literature; and the print media. It is important for our society that the media and their owners are accountable. It is up to every one of us to closely follow the critical issues of the day, monitor the performance of the media and, through grassroots activism, use our powers of purchase and persuasion to expose media bias and fraud; bring pressure to bear for media reform; and when faced with cases of continued bias, inaccuracy or unfairness, make our objections heard and direct others toward more reliable and responsible new sources. References Gibbons J R Eldon Hieberet 2000 Exploring Mass Media for a Changing World Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mahwah, NJ. p10 Knowlton S. R Parsons P.R. 1995 The Journalists Moral Compass: Basic Principles. Praeger Publishers Westport, CT. p5 Lloyd Scott, 1991 A Criticism of Social Responsibility Theory: an Ethical Perspective Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Vol. 6. Ricoeur Paul 2000 The Just, The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London; p25 Electronic References Edmund Rice Centre Accessed October 2004. Available at: [erc.org.au/issues/text/rw03.htm] Crimes of War Project Dworkin Andrew December 2003 Accessed October 2004. Available at: [crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-rwanda.html] Encyclopedia of Marxism Accessed October 2004, Available at: [marxists.org/glossary/index.htm] The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom Media Reform Accessed October 2004 Available at: [presscampaign.org/proposals.htm] World Socialist Website Head Mike 18th March, 1999. Accessed October 2004. Available at: [wsws.org/articles/1999/mar1999/aba-m18.shtml] Disinformation Accessed October 2004. Available at: [wsws.org/articles/1999/mar1999/aba-m18.shtml] -12- XMedia .org.au The Cross-Media Ownership Campaign Accessed October 2004. Available at: [xmedia.org.au/index.php?option=contenttask=viewid=28Itemid=] University of Melbourne Chadwick Paul Nov. 1999 Accessed October 2004. Available at: [unimelb.edu.au/speeches/pchadwick99nov17.html] ABC Australia Four Corners Ricketson Matthew 20th August, 2001 The importance of investigative journalism of journalism. Accessed October 2004. Available at: [abc.net.au/4corners/4c40/essays/ricketson.htm] Ethics Review Committee Final Report November 1996 Accessed October 2004. Available at: [alliance.org.au/work/aja/ethics/ethics1.html] Transparency International White Theodore An Independent and Free Media Accessed October, 2004. Available at: [transparency.org/sourcebook/14.html] Research Papers on Responsibilities of the Modern MediaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Bringing Democracy to AfricaQuebec and CanadaCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionPETSTEL analysis of India

Synthesis Reaction Description Plus Examples

Synthesis Reaction Description Plus Examples While there are many types of chemical reactions, they all fall into at least one of four broad categories: synthesis reactions, decomposition reactions, single displacement reactions, and double displacement reactions. A synthesis reaction or direct combination reaction is a type of chemical reaction in which two or more simple substances combine to form a more complex product. The reactants may be elements or compounds, while the product is always a compound. General Form of Synthesis Reactions The general form of a synthesis reaction is: A B → AB Examples of Synthesis Reactions Here are some examples of synthesis reactions: Water:2 H2(g) O2(g) → 2 H2O(g)Carbon dioxide:2 CO(g) O2(g) → 2CO2(g)Ammonia:3 H2(g) N2(g) → 2 NH3(g)Aluminum oxide:4 Al(s) 3 O2(g) → 2 Al2O3(s)Iron sulfide:8 Fe S8 → 8 FeSPotassium chloride:2 K(s) Cl2(g) → 2 KCl(s) Recognizing Synthesis Reactions The hallmark of a synthesis reaction is that a more complex product is formed from the reactants. One easy-to-recognize type of synthesis reaction occurs when two or more elements combine to form a compound. The other type of synthesis reaction happens when an element and a compound combine to form a new compound. Basically, to identify this reaction, look for a product that contains all the reactant atoms. Be sure to count the number of atoms in both the reactants and the products. Sometimes when a chemical equation is written, extra information is given that might make it hard to recognize what is going on in a reaction. Counting numbers and types of atoms makes it easier to identify reaction types.

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Macroeconomics - Essay Example â€Å"Although technology, tastes, and public policy each have important independent influences on the pattern and pace of economic integration in its various dimensions, they clearly interact in important ways. Improvements in the technology of transportation and communication do not occur spontaneously in an economic vacuum. The desire of people to take advantage of what they see as the benefits of closer economic integration—that is, the taste for the benefits of integration—is a key reason why it is profitable to make the innovations and investments that bring improvements in the technology of transportation and communication† (Mussa, n.p.).   Balance of payments is a balance through international operations, expressed in value of all complex economic relations of a country in the form of the ratio of receipts and payments. Balance of Payments is a statistical report that provides data on the foreign trade of a country with other countries over time. Simply speaking, this document reflects economic transaction of a country with the rest of the world. From the accounting point of view, the balance of payments is always in balance. However, deficit or surplus may occur in its separate sections, when receipts exceed payments, or when payments exceed revenues. The principle of double-entry accounting is used in a balance of payments, every transaction has two sides - debit and credit. Under this accounting system total of the debit should always be equal to the total amount of the loan. Generally, any balance of payments consists of two accounts – current account and capital account. A current account reflects operations with real assets, while capital account – with financial assets. According to the majority of experts, current account plays more significant role in the overall balance. For instance, negative current account of the USA has played a tremendous role in negative dynamics of the country’s balance of pay ments. It can be seen on the following graph. The other important theoretical item in international economics is exchange rate. Simply speaking, exchange rate is a price of a motional currency in some particular amount of a foreign currency. There are nominal and real exchange rates. Nominal exchange rate - is the relative price of currencies of two countries, or the currency of one country, expressed in the currency of another country. In turn, the real exchange rate describes the ratio in which products of one country can be sold in exchange for goods of another country. The following law is related to the problem of exchange rates. â€Å"The law of one price is the theory that the price of a given security, commodity or asset will have the same price when exchange rates are taken into consideration. The law of one price is another way of stating the concept of purchasing power parity† (Financial Theory, n.p.). Chapter 9 A curve of production opportunities is dependence tha t graphically illustrates the possibility of simultaneous production of two products based on limited resources spent on producing these products. A simple production possibilities curve is presented on the following picture. The curve is constructed in a coordinate system, each of which reflects the output of one of the products. It restricts the production capabilities so that any point on the curve shows the maximum possible resource constraints on the combination of production of two products. Aggregate supply is the total amount

Accounting, Decisions and Accountability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting, Decisions and Accountability - Essay Example This certainly provided some help to dwindling liquidity and working capital finance of the company. The company is not even in a position to maintain a better interest coverage. Gross profitability showed some recovery signs in 2007 but the initiative was taken away by overheads and other non-operative expenditure resulting into very marginal net margin recoveries before taxes and interests (EBIT). Though net margin evaluation has been based on EBIT, it is necessary to point out that even such small recovery was taken away by interest, taxes and extraordinary items, and finally the year 2007 turned into a huge loss year. The detailed analysis here in this writes up shows that company is facing more difficulties than the available opportunities. Chia Liang Chu inherited 200,000 shares in Sing Chip Ltd. from her grand mother. The inheritance put her in dilemma of keeping or selling the shares. Accordingly a financial analysis was required of the financial statements of Sing Chip Ltd., before any recommendation could be put forward to Chia Liang Chu. Three years financial statements have been analyzed in this write up using financial ratios as method of analysis. The analysis have been made to evaluate, profitability, liquidity, and financial stability (solvency) of the company, considering its performances over a period of three years, in order to arrive at logical conclusion, so that a proper recommendation is made to Chia Liang Chu. Profitability of an entity is viewed from two different angles. One is profitability in relation to turnover or sales, and other is profitability in relation to investment. From the point of view of sales, profit is considered by calculating Gross profit ratio and Net profit ratio. In relation to investments, profitability is considered as per rate of return on equity or the ROE, and profitability as per return on assets or ROA. Gross Profit ratio is defined as

Psychological Contract in the Contemporary Organisation Essay Example for Free

Psychological Contract in the Contemporary Organisation Essay Every human being is an unique individual. This is an undeniable fact, thus organisations have to explore the various antecedences of the psychological contracts between employees and the organisation. Employees have different perceptions and thinking over the concept of psychological contracts. Generation Y is slowly filling up the positions in contemporary organisations. Therefore, what are the influencers revolve around this power craving group of people? Research has concluded that employees and employers have different perceptions on job support and resources (Attridge 2009, 392; Kahn 1990, 708) and even job satisfaction (McShane and Travaglione 2007, 180). Employee disengagement has been occurring more and more often nowadays (Bates 2004, 44). Employee engagement is closely linked with the result of the organisation (Medlin and Green 2009, 948; Harter, Schmidt and Killham 2003, 27), where employee disengagement may cause unsatisfactory employee achievement; leading to undesirable organisational advancement and financial development. Because of these, organisations should examine the psychological contracts between them and the employees, especially that of the Generation Y. Psychological Contracts Ppsychological contract is defined as ones beliefs about shared responsibilities and commitments in the framework of the relationship between employees and the organization (Robert, Kristie and Kathryn 2010, 220). Cyril (2004, 1) mentioned that psychological contracts are the employees’ mindset about what they look forward to from the organization and what they feel they should commit to the organization. The psychological contracts emphasize more on the relationship between an employee and employer as a whole rather than traditional compensation issues (Robert, Kristie and Kathryn 2010, 220). The concepts of the psychological contract are commitments particularly based on perceived obligations by the others (Robert, Kristie and Kathryn 2010, 220). Whether well expressed or not, the perceived obligations create commitment and responsibility that must be executed for the contract to be affirmed (Robert, Kristie and Kathryn 2010, 220). For instance, the organization making use of a relational psychological contract is responsible to account for the individual fairly, provide hazard free working conditions, allow employees justifiable personal time, and provide adequate materials to accomplish their job. On the contrary, the employee is responsible to accomplish given tasks, display a positive attitude, boost the reputation of the company, and abide corporate policy (Robert, Kristie and Kathryn 2010, 220). Given so, these obligations do not only encompass on the quantity of work is to be carried out for a certain amount of pay, but also draw in the whole pattern of rights, privileges, and obligations between employee and organisation (Mario Pepur, Sandra Pepur, and Dr. Ljiljana Viducic 2010, 231). For instance, after serving the company for a number of years, the employee may expect the company not to fire him and similarly, the company may expect that the worker not to tarnish company’s reputation or leak out confidential secrets to rival companies(Mario Pepur, Sandra Pepur, and Dr.  Ljiljana Viducic 2010, 231). Expectations as such are not transcribed into contractual agreement between employees and organisation, yet they work as power determinants of behaviour (Mario Pepur, Sandra Pepur, and Dr. Ljiljana Viducic 2010, 231). Literature Review No doubt, the theory on psychological was established in the 1960 by Argyris (Cyril 2004, 1), it is still highly applicable in today’s context. Rothbard’s (2001, 656) empirical study shows that there is a relationship between psychological contracts and employee engagement. Rothbard (2001, 656) mentioned that attention is the psychological presence and the time spent by the employee contemplating about his responsibilities at work, while absorption is concerned with the affection of employee to put emphasis on the responsibilities on duties. It is believed that the psychological contract is generally an appropriate and impactful construct that can aid explain, and inform effective management of, contemporary academic work performance and workplace relations (Grant, Branka and David 2010, 6). The psychological contract can help both employee and employer to gain awareness on contemporary employment relationships; indeed, it has been debated that perceived obligations within the psychological contract are usually more vital to work related attitudes and behaviour than are the official and explicit elements of contractual acknowledgement (Grant, Branka and David 2010, 6-7). Employees trust that the employer has the obligations to facilitate them the following: career advancement, incremental salary, alary based on the current working efficiency, upgrading, safe long-term employment, opportunities to build their career as well as support in case personal problems occur (Mario, Sandra and Dr. Ljiljana 2010, 233). On the other hand, the employees believe that they have the following obligations towards their employer: working overtime, staying loyal, taking initiative to take up new responsibilities at work, providing a beforehand notice when taking another position, be ready for transfer, rejecting support to rivalry, protecting confidential company information, spending a minimum of two years doing the routine (Mario, Sandra and Dr.  Ljiljana 2010, 233). Many studies indicated that personal and psychological factors have significant influence on employees, including biological factors and the work attitudes of employees (Hung-Wen 2010, 92). Hung-Wen (2010, 92) mentioned that Yu suggested work attitude is the level of organizational identification, the levels of involvements in current jobs and overall job satisfaction. Therefore, this research explains job satisfaction and work involvement as its two variables (Hung-Wen 2010, 92). Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is an assessment of the work and job context by employees (McShane and Travaglione 2007, 116; Spector 1997, 2). Little and Little (2006, 115) deemed job satisfaction as an enjoyable experience or positive emotional condition . They agreed with the research done by Kreitner Kinicki in 2004 that job satisfaction is associated with job involvement, organizational behaviours and commitment (Little and Little 2006, 115). In an adverse effect, it is also associated with turnover and stress. Similarly, experimental studies on 7,939 business units in 36 organizations find out that job satisfaction concludes employee engagement, and are forecasting organisation progression (Harter, Schmidt and Hayes 2002, 268). The extended studies by Harter, Schmidt and Hayes (2002, 268) states that it is crucial to constantly stress on the degree of employee engagement and contented and happy employees would be very much motivated in the organisation (McShane and Travaglione 2007, 180). Poornima (2009, 35) has given a hypothesis that statistically, there is a strong relationship between age and difference between expectation and fulfillment levels of employees with regard to monetary and non-monetary compensation practices followed by the organizations (Poornima 2009, 35). The result shown that those aged between 25to28 are not responding positively to monetary motivation. Research shown 85% of the young people want progressive management to inspire them and 52% of them think that the managers are not helping in their development (Robin 2007, 34). Kim (2007, 154) agrees with (Henry 2006, 11) that Generation Y is motivated by the chances to grow and develop, thus they welcome comments and feedback. Therefore, Generation Y would expect organisation to enrol them with training and development program, as well as providing them with feedback for improvement. Failing to do so, goal is not achieved, thus motivation of Generation Y decrease. With that, these create job dissatisfaction in Generation Y. Taking consideration of Poomima and Kim’s studies, Generation Y is a group of people who are more intrinsically driven rather than monetarily motivated. Work Involvement In today’s context, organisation should anticipate expectations of their employees through their psychological contracts if they want to gain their loyalty (Mario, Sandra and Dr. Ljiljana 2010, 236). Mario, Sandra and Dr. Ljiljana (2010, 236) agrees to Rousseau that the main difference between new and old psychological contracts lies in the lack of job security. She proves this by quoting an employee of a telecommunication company who says that: It used to be that working for the company meant being part of a family (Mario, Sandra and Dr. Ljiljana 2010, 236). As organisation moves towards the modern era, the younger generations are beginning to fill up most of the positions. Tulgan (2009, 3) shared that Generation Y is so far the hardest generation to manage. While organisation expects employee to stay loyal to the company, Generation Y, a group with high expectation and believe in their capability tends to switch jobs to satisfy their hunger for fast career advancement (Tulgan 2009, 3). Another contributing factor to the frequent job switch is the Generation Y’s expectation; they are constantly looking out for jobs that provide training (Sue and David 2008, 368). Sara and Ans (2010, 256) have come up with two hypothesizes. â€Å"The level of careerism will be emphatically related with psychological contract expectations in account of job description, employment development, training, and monetary rewards. The level of careerism will be cynically related with psychological contract expectations in account of social environment, work-life balance, and employment assurance† (Sara and Ans 2010, 256). The first hypothesis does make sense as the three factors mentioned act as a motivator to increase the level of careerism. However, the second hypothesis is countered by the research of Sue and David (2008, 368) which points out that â€Å"although Generation Y has a desire for defined goals and managerial reinforcement in what is to be done, they also crave for autonomy and flexibility in decision making process. Furthermore, despite being autonomous, they are viewed as being emotionally needy and consequently, continuously looking for acknowledgement and commendation. In terms of work, they are power thirst. However, they do look upon work life balance and if given a choice will choose family and friends rather than work†. Evaluation Given the unique characteristics of Generation Y, it is difficult for the organization to determine their psychological contract with the organization, thus making it a challenge for the organization to come up with strategies to motivate and retain these â€Å"potential job switchers†. Demanding for power in workplace, yet craving for work life balances; organizations have to come up with plan to satisfy these employees before they can be aligned and work towards the same goal. Event such as Bring Your Child to Work promotes work life balance yet not disrupting the normal working procedure. Organizations can consider such event to strike a balance for the employees. Employee disengagement is one of the crucial explanations for organization turnover. With this getting more and more common in the organization (Pech and Slade 2006, 22), management should seek to understand the reasons behind the dissatisfaction and explore the psychological contract between them and the employees to reduce the possible unhappiness, thus creating a conducive work environment. Conclusion The concept of psychological contracts is characterised by dynamic features. They are continuously adjusted to new trends in the working environment. A triumphant resolution to the productive handling of employee engagement kicks off with recognition of the uniqueness of each employee. Accessing the factors influencing their needs and perception after presuming that employees are engaged is an fallacious way and is not very much encouraged. Psychological contracts can encompass various areas such as work involvement and job satisfaction. However, psychological contracts involve many other factors. For instance, human resource practices such as employees’ relation and welfare, training and development, and compensation and benefits (Saks 2006, 613). Therefore, effective understanding of psychological contracts would require organisations to contemplate the perception of individual employees towards the influencing variables. Franking speaking, how many organisations are prepared to go for the extra mile for the employees? Even though the organizations may acknowledge the significance of psychological contracts, it is intricate to get to a mutual understanding for both the organisation and employee. Organisations may only see the link between the understandings of psychological contracts in both aspects with beneficiary outcomes as a theoretical model, thus are not convinced that their employees can make it happen. Every employee is unique. They have different needs and perceptions in terms of psychological contracts with the organisation, which may also change over time. This would also mean that the organizations have to take into consideration of the incalculable factors catering to the different employees. Is this cost and time efficient? Management would rather spend the time on the operations and focus on the visible and instant results. Nevertheless, there are organizations that are still prepared to spend their effort working on psychological aspect in employees. Personally, I feel that understanding of psychological contract is essential to organization success. However, it is very much reliant on the distribution of time, effort and loyalty of the organizations to form a successful understanding and alignment of the psychological contracts between themselves and their employees.

Remembering Vietnam :: Vietnam War Essays

Remembering Vietnam "Facing It," by Yusef Komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all Americans are familiar with. The ever so controversial Vietnam Conflict, also known as the Vietnam War. This poem was very well written, and I respect all that was said in the context of the poem. "Facing It," discusses his visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and his emotions that he experienced while he was at the memorial. I can not imagine what the feelings would be like to see one of my friend's name etched in this wall, although Tomas Van Putten can. I had a personal phone interview with him on October 30th, 2002. Tom Van Putten served nine years in the U.S. Army, two of which were spent in Vietnam. In a phone interview with Tom, I asked him if he had ever visited the monument. In fact, he did and he discussed with me how hard it was to see a dozen names of men he knew that were put on that wall. "It's really an awesome monument; it is hard remembering what it was like coming home. I was definitely changed for life " (Van Putten). Most of the content Mr. Van Putten and I spoke about, alluded back to "Facing It." Komunyakaa really shows me that he is emotional about the monument by his visions that he sees when he is at the wall. "My black face fades / hiding inside the black granite" (1-2). Here I believe he is realizing he should be on that wall. I feel as if he may be remembering a point in time in Vietnam that he was involved in an incident that should have cost him his life. Also, these are all names. His fading face makes me think that he realizes that there were no separate races in that war. When I told Mr. Van Putten about this part of the poem, he said "Yea, you are right. We all looked the same. We were all Americans." "I said I wouldn't, dammit: no tears" (3-4). How could you not cry at this scene. Hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Americans that Komunkyaa had interacted with at one point in time, or another, were just names etched on a wall. I asked Mr. Van Putten what the overall environment was like once he arrived in Vietnam. Mr. Van Putten described the environment of Vietnam as a "pretty country, really nice. Remembering Vietnam :: Vietnam War Essays Remembering Vietnam "Facing It," by Yusef Komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all Americans are familiar with. The ever so controversial Vietnam Conflict, also known as the Vietnam War. This poem was very well written, and I respect all that was said in the context of the poem. "Facing It," discusses his visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and his emotions that he experienced while he was at the memorial. I can not imagine what the feelings would be like to see one of my friend's name etched in this wall, although Tomas Van Putten can. I had a personal phone interview with him on October 30th, 2002. Tom Van Putten served nine years in the U.S. Army, two of which were spent in Vietnam. In a phone interview with Tom, I asked him if he had ever visited the monument. In fact, he did and he discussed with me how hard it was to see a dozen names of men he knew that were put on that wall. "It's really an awesome monument; it is hard remembering what it was like coming home. I was definitely changed for life " (Van Putten). Most of the content Mr. Van Putten and I spoke about, alluded back to "Facing It." Komunyakaa really shows me that he is emotional about the monument by his visions that he sees when he is at the wall. "My black face fades / hiding inside the black granite" (1-2). Here I believe he is realizing he should be on that wall. I feel as if he may be remembering a point in time in Vietnam that he was involved in an incident that should have cost him his life. Also, these are all names. His fading face makes me think that he realizes that there were no separate races in that war. When I told Mr. Van Putten about this part of the poem, he said "Yea, you are right. We all looked the same. We were all Americans." "I said I wouldn't, dammit: no tears" (3-4). How could you not cry at this scene. Hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Americans that Komunkyaa had interacted with at one point in time, or another, were just names etched on a wall. I asked Mr. Van Putten what the overall environment was like once he arrived in Vietnam. Mr. Van Putten described the environment of Vietnam as a "pretty country, really nice.

How Does Steinbeck Present Disadvantaged Characters

Explore some of the ways in which Steinbeck presents disadvantaged characters in the novel In 1937, the American author John Steinbeck published ‘Of mice and Men'. Set in the Salinas Valley of California, it conveys the story of the struggles of the American people during ‘The Great Depression'. The Great Depression was a massive devastation throughout the whole of America where people suffered and the economy was at a huge crisis. The Unemployment rose from 3% to 26% and many people had died, showing how hard the citizens coped to survive in-between this difficult period.The Americans were in a depriving financial state full of high inflation after an economic fall known as the ‘The Wall Street Crash' The nation only helped themselves by believing in their own dreams, which meant mostly to have their own lands, be rich and live a good-life- â€Å"The American Dream†. This ideology gave the public hopes of life and something to work towards. John Steinbeck do es not only explore how people struggled for their American dream, but also describes how difficult this melancholy period in history was for the â€Å"lesser† group of individuals at the time: the disadvantaged characters.Lennie, a big simple-minded character, is a highly disadvantaged individual due to poor mental health. As Lennie is one of the predominant characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’, he is perhaps the least dynamic. He experiences no change in developing or growing in mental or practical abilities; the plain figure remains as illustrated at the start of the opening pages in the novel. Although his character is displayed in this way, despite being under privileged he is based as a central protagonists in the story. Steinbeck conveys a general initiative to his readers that, Lennie’s actions make great affection.Being basic makes his choices morally incorrect- this shows his difficulties. Steinbeck uses the character of Lennie to symbolise the mental ly underprivileged people of this period. â€Å"Let's have different colour rabbits, George. †Pg 16 â€Å"Just ain’t bright†24 Steinbeck shows his readers the stage of which Lennie's mind is developed; still like a child's, even though he is a fully-grown man. From the start of the novella, the reader must know that Steinbeck creates an illustration of Lennie as sadly being doomed, and must be sympathetic towards him.This is a construction built to present to the reader at the current time of the 1920's a huge disadvantage to the mentally handicapped society. The simple-minded character of Lennie also leads him to lack in responsibility and trust. He is shown to have no knowledge of any financial or general life problems, therefore Steinbeck creates a main part for George to play in, and this is where he has to take the weight on his shoulders for Lennie. †if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' h ide in the brush†, †Leggo his hand, Lennie†, 64 You tol' me to George,†64 The author is trying to portray an image to his readers that Lennie cannot think for his self and has to be controlled; this is another big under privilege towards the mentally handicapped people. Lennie also speaks without grammatical sense and this shows he is uneducated and not taught to talk proper English, â€Å"they was so little† pg 11 â€Å"Don't tell nobody† PG61 Lastly the biggest let down for the simple minded figure is not being able to adapt a level of understanding to the normal person , Lennie cannot tell the strength he applies or has when used.This makes him very innocent when attacking someone without knowing, He also loves to pet animals and furry material but while this process, as he is a strong figure, he kills the being. †'Don't you go yellin', he said, and shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had brok en her neck. †90 The author uses the word ‘and' repetitively showing how dramatic the moment is. Steinbeck depicts towards his audience that Lennie was only trying to quite Curley’s wife but accidentally fails as he cannot handle his abnormal great strength.This use of dramatics and panic shows where Lennie is innocent. From my view I think Lennie is also based upon the theme of an animal, there are areas where Steinbeck refers to Lennie as animal like â€Å"He’s as strong as a bull† â€Å"the way a bear drags his pours† In addition, Steinbeck uses the comparison of Candy's dog and Lennie to depict the value and status of less mentally capable individuals. Just how candy's dog is eradicated once he becomes ‘useless', the same image is created for Lennie as his fate is controlled and chosen by the ‘normal' ranch hands.Similarly, The death of Lennie, is constructed as an illustration towards the readers that his own friend kills him because it is a ‘necessity'. The author is portraying to his readers that even George, Lennie's tightest companion, shoots him out of sympathy so his friend does not go through the wrath of Curley's torturing death. This conveys to us that the people of the 1930's thought it was right to choose a death of a mentally handicapped because it was ‘obligatory',Of mice and men, shows a greater emphasised picture, where a very close friendship is ended.The dramatics used by Steinbeck when showing us George kills his best colleague Lennie, tells the reader how life was a great hardship for the discrimination against the mentally handicapped, especially when it was very unlikely to see two friends travelling together. The book demonstrates this concept by putting the ‘rights' of a dog identical to the ‘rights' of a mentally incapable person. Today, this sought of situation is taken seriously, where the rights for any being is equally judged. Steinbeck presents another character which I think is one of the most hindered upon-Crooks.Crooks is highly discriminated, especially at this time, because he is black. He is a black man that lives in America at the time of segregation from the colour of his skin. This was tragic and sad for the black community as they were marginal. Living as a black man being employed was one of the most hardest job, this caused a lot of unemployment for the ‘coloured' public . The only upper hand crooks had was a job in the ranch, it still was very risky, the boss beat him for no reason, but this was all he could do for a living. S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go to the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. †72. Steinbeck often demonstrates towards his audience that Crooks is a victim of isolation and loneliness, this illustrates the high level of prejudice and separation against the black ethnic minority of the 1930s. Crooks use of the word ‘S'pose' twice in short time to s how the emphasis of his feelings. The appearance and physical disability of Crooks also makes him impoverished, he has a crooked back and thus is called by the name ‘Crooks ‘. Now and then he poured a few drops of the liniment into his pink-palmed hand and reached up under his shirt to rub again.He flexed his muscles against his back and shivered. †67. Steinbeck provides his readers with a description for the appearance of Crooks. This description shows us where ‘Crooks' is named by the ranch hands. When Steinbeck uses this method, he produces nicknames to portray to his readers how the men do not take any interest in knowing a full name; this shows the loneliness. The black community was often assaulted by the white public, this was a great hardship in the 1930's. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny. †80 â€Å"Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego- nothing to arouse either like or dislike. †80. The black minority was too downgraded and this quote is evident. When any black man spoke for his self, he was threatened and could not fight on. Steinbeck expresses to his readers how life was for the black people when abused. As he is black, Crooks is segregated from the other workers, this causes a great amount of desolation, he is trapped in solitude day and night and resorts to reading books.In the novel, when Lennie enters Crooks room, at first his reaction is to be alone and unwanted but then his lack of unsociability wins over him and allows Lennie to set in. During his conversation, Crooks reveals his sorrow of being alone, segregated and divined from others. â€Å"I seen it over an’ over a guy talkin’ to another guy and it don’t make no difference if he don’t hear or understand. † He is referring to Lennie but actually talking of himself. Steinbeck creates an image to his reader, how the life of someone already disliked, depriv es as he is lonely and separated.In the 1930's, Steinbeck shows his readers where the black people's status stood and where they were disadvantaged. The use of the word ‘n**ger' was normal for people to remark, this just portrays how downgraded the black community were. I think as Crooks was in the bracket of an ethnic minority, he was extremely unlucky and discriminated, the author shows us another disadvantaged character based at the time of the novella. From the perspective of Curley's wife, I think that John Steinbeck uses analogy to represent the place for woman and how they were the underdogs towards the men.Living in the male world, Curleys wife is mostly shown as a bad sign as she is an uncommon person in the ranch. She undergoes a difficult and antagonistic period through her life. â€Å"You wasn't no good. You ain't no good now, you lousy tart†94 â€Å"Well, ain't she a looloo? †51 â€Å"I ain't seen that much of her, PG 51 When whit describes her as t his it shows what they think of her, also the emphasis of George speaking when saying, â€Å"I ain't seen that much of her,† shows the care and intensity that he does not give when he replies. In the beginning of the novel, Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife through Candy’s description.The critical comments leave the reader to have a negative opinion; as she seems to be a woman in a male world. ‘I’ve seen her give slim the eye†¦ an’ I’ve seen her give Carlson the eye. ’ (pg 29)    By classifying Curley’s wife as a ’flirt’, she is effectively prohibited from the men. There are certain areas where Curleys wife's image is described evil and unhappy, Steinbeck tries to portray towards his readers that when she is there the mood is struck negatively and falls immediately at her presence, â€Å"Both men glanced up, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl was standing there looking in.She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. â€Å"I'm lookin' for Curley,†she said. Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality. †PG 32 From this extract of the book, there are different ways in which the author describes Curley's wife as a cynical approach at this moment of the story. Steinbeck shows us that as soon as she comes in the sunlight is cut off- blocking the admirable scene.Even with the clothing, Curley's wife wears a lot of the colour red conveying the evil colour and the emphasis of her voice when she speaks,† Her voice had a nasal, brittle quality. † Steinbeck describes the disadvantages women had when she is first illustrated. Throughout the book, Curley's wife's character is fairly mysterious and complicated. She is continuously referred to as her husband's belonging or possession, this shows us where she is unidentified, through this misidentification we can figure out her status as a woman; she did not need to be known.Steinbeck’s use of identification against Curley’s wife is her most disadvantage. When someone has no identification, it describes to the reader where his or her reputation is, the name Curley’s wife portrays an image that her name is a tool, owned by her husband and is not much importance. Through the book she is foreshadowed in many areas, where her sly flirty actions lead to hazardous trouble, despite this matter, when reading between the lines, the reader is made to show some part of sympathy to express towards her.The author also uses other ways to describe the loneliness and emotions in the book, words like ‘solitaire' (meaning ‘ a card game played by one person), shows us how he referred to the people working at the ranch as desolate and unsocial, he also uses nick names, except for George and Lennie, such as â€Å"Slim† or â€Å"Curley†, this is another sign, of the low and sad mood. In the novel, there are a few areas where the writer presents short snappy sentences to show the effects, â€Å"The silence came into the room. And the silence lasted†. 9 Additionally, Steinbeck chooses the use of circulation in situations, just like a life cycle, In each chapter the setting in the beginning is the setting at the end, this conveys a message that the situation always ends at point one, , for example Lennie and George have a dream in the beginning which is just a plain dream that has no hope, it develops as the book stages itself at chapter 3 ,in the middle, there is sudden hope and it looks like an easy grab, but it circulates and drops back down, where Lennie kills Curley's wife, this illustrates the method of death and that there is no hope left.John Steinbeck the author reveals to his audience how, in a gene ral view, people were highly disadvantaged especially at the time of discrimination towards them. He mentions three obvious characters , Lennie, Crooks and Curley's wife. These individuals all have main deficiencies and all have different types of disadvantages. Steinbeck uses a mentally handicapped individual, a black physically disabled man and a women in a male's world, this shows us an occurring pattern from the author, trying to describe the sadness and discrimination to people at the time of ‘The Great Depression'The novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’ depicts to the readers how the daily struggles for the working class were, being greatly underprivileged and the reality of failing plans for a living, resembling ‘The American Dream’. John Steinbeck shows his audience individuals who constantly face one problem after another. Moreover, he describes people of America who struggled a torrid time through â€Å"Survival of the fittest†, especially the di scriminated.

Nancy’s coffee case study Essay

As the busy president of the $7 million Nancy‟s Coffee Cafà © chain, Beth WoodLeidt wasn‟t able to visit each of their thirty suburban coffee shops as much as she would have liked. Whenever she did journey out like she was doing today, it was with a passion for building brand and enhancing profitability. Beth approached one of her more challenging locations—in a mall in central New York— and surveyed the space with a practiced eye. †¦that front table needs a wipe†¦ the display shelves are dusty†¦the OneCard holder is hidden behind the tip jar†¦isn’t it too early in the day to be out of plain bagels?†¦ She greeted the staff that she knew warmly, introduced herself to new faces, and ordered a cappuccino from a slightly nervous young hire at the counter. As the teenager set about to whip up the best coffee drink of her brief career, Beth took the manager aside to offer a quick rundown on areas for improvement. Beth was just finishing up with her quality assessment when her cell phone buzzed with a call from a former corporate colleague that she had often confided in about the challenges of running a retail business. Beth took a sip of her frothy brew, winked her approval to the relieved girl who had brewed it, and headed out into the mall to chat. When her friend noted that Beth sounded tired, the forty-year-old CEO closed her eyes and nodded into the phone: Gosh, I am tired! Remember about a year ago I started saying that I wanted to figure out where this business was going? Well, I’m still asking the same questions like, how can we attract the capital we would need to grow faster; what is the best exit strategy to shoot for; and what is the best way to enhance the value of what we are building? Sure, we’ll add another two more stores this year, but that’s just not doing it for me. It’s early winter, 2003—and that means I’ve now been running this thing now for over ten years. And, as you know, the story hasn’t really changed; we’re still too small to be acquired, not valuable enough to be worth selling outright, and yet the business is large enough to need someone thinking about it almost all the time; yes, that would be me. We’ve hit a bit of a long plateau here; it’s passed time to make some critical decisions. From Nuts to Beans In 1973, Nancy Wood—then a 36-year-old mother of three—founded a mall-kiosk business to sell dried fruit and nuts. When demand for that fare appeared to be softening, she began the search for a more viable product line. After connecting with master coffee roaster Irwin White at a fancy-food trade show in 1978, she decided to turn her lifelong passion for great coffee into a new business. Nancy‟s eldest daughter, Beth, recalled that the concept was a bit ahead of its time: My mother took her kiosks and slowly began to convert them over to coffee bars she had named the Coffee Collection. She started introducing Kenyan and Columbian coffees, but people responded ‘no way; there is Folgers, and there’s Maxwell House, and Dunkin’ Donuts.’ It was a very strange thing to many people who were being asked to pay a whole dollar for a single cup of coffee—or told they could grind their own fresh-roasted beans at home. They looked at my Mom like she was nuts. In those days it was very much about educating the consumer. By the late 1980s, Nancy‟s son Carter and her daughter Roxanne had joined the venture full-time. While Beth had been contributing to the effort by periodically reviewing the aggregate financials for her mother, she had never taken much interest in the enterprise. So it was, with her mother‟s blessing and encouragement, that Beth earned her BS at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and soon began a rewarding management career in consumer product marketing. Newly married, Beth happily immersed herself in the busy corporate world of high-profile projects and after-hours brainstorming sessions—first with Pepsico, and later, with Johnson & Johnson: I loved the work. I had a good salary, a 401K, stock options, bonus check, company car, great suits; I am loving life. Then suddenly, everything changed! Into the Family Business In 1993, Beth took a leave of absence from J&J to return home and help sort through the heartache and turmoil that followed her mother‟s death from cancer at the age of 56. Sandy Wood had inherited his wife‟s business, but made it clear that if his kids were not interested in keeping the small chain going, then he would either try to sell the sites or liquidate the assets. Operating on the assumption that she would be returning to her corporate job once they had closed the doors on her mother‟s enterprise, Beth carefully examined the financials and visited each of the seven locations to estimate what they might be worth. In the course of that investigation, Beth realized that her mother had developed a solid business model within a largely untapped niche—suburban shopping malls—and she was drawn to the possibilities. Her husband Bill recalled that when Beth asked him to join her in the venture, it didn‟t take much convincing: I was running a division of Bell Atlantic in Pennsylvania at the time. Beth and I had worked together much earlier in our lives; I had really enjoyed that. I have always figured that if two married people were meant to work together, it was Beth and I. We get along very well, and we both know our own place in the sandbox. One of the issues that we discussed was that one of our egos would have to get checked at the door. I was a leader where I was working before, but I understood that this was Beth’s family’s business, and that she was now going to be the face of The Coffee Collection, now named Nancy’s Coffee. With equal amounts of sadness, trepidation and excitement, Beth informed J&J that she would not be returning. Her father was pleased, and said that he would divest his interest in the business by annually gifting equal shares to his three children. As the new CEO of Nancy‟s Coffee, Beth set a course for growth. The Specialty Coffee Industry The Green Dragon, a Boston coffeehouse founded in 1697, became the clandestine headquarters of the American Revolution. It was there, in 1773, that the Boston Tea Party was planned as a protest against the tea taxes being levied by King George on his colonies. By the time the British and the colonists had settled accounts, coffee had become the hot beverage of choice in America. Throughout the 19th century in the U.S., neighborhood coffeehouses proliferated, and home-roasting coffee became a common practice. The industrial revolution, however, fostered a demand for quicker, cheaper, and easier caffeine solutions. With the advent of vacuum packaging and modern transportation, it became possible for a roaster on one side of the country to sell to a retailer on the other side. As with many other food products, quality was compromised to accommodate mass production and efficient distribution. By the 1940s, the coffeehouses had disappeared, and Americans had been sold on the idea that fresh coffee went „woosh‟ when the can was opened. In 1950, William Rosenberg founded Dunkin‟ Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts. While his donut shop took pride in serving what they called the â€Å"World‟s Best Coffee†, it would be twenty more years before U.S. consumers could purchase a truly high-end cup. In the early 1970s, a small cadre of coffee aficionados began to offer a unique brew made from hand-picked beans; fresh-roasted in small batches. Peets, founded on the West Coast by legendary coffee idealist Alfred Peet, quickly set the standard for superb coffee. In Seattle, Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Ziv Siegl, named their coffee shop business Starbucks, after the coffee-loving first mate in Moby Dick. On the East Coast, George Howell was building his chain of Coffee Connection shops in the Boston area. New Yorker Irwin White began making a name for himself supplying fresh-roasted grounds to some of the finest restaurants in Manhattan. San Franciscan coffee broker Erna Knutsen coined the term Specialty Coffee, and in 1985, helped to found the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America). SCAA membership grew steadily as these coffee pioneers—Nancy Wood included— developed dynamic, profitable business models by proactively educating American consumers about fine coffee. By the time Beth took the helm of her mother‟s business in 1993—the same year that Starbucks had gone public—upscale consumers had developed a real taste for an excellent brew. Growth without Sharks Beth and her management team undertook an aggressive search for retail space. To facilitate that process, they worked almost exclusively with the regional mall management companies that had been doing business with their mother for years. Beth explained that this path was chosen in part as a way of dodging a direct confrontation with the powerhouse sweeping in from the west: Starbucks had clearly stated that as they came east they were going to do cities like Philadelphia, Boston, DC and Manhattan in a big way. We really didn’t know how to play in that kind of shark tank, so we figured that we’d let Starbucks have that, and play the suburban card. And at the time, that was low-hanging fruit. Clearly stated or not, one of Beth‟s first meetings after coming on board concerned a regional mall lease that Starbucks had been considering for awhile. During that meeting Beth suddenly realized how happy she was to be free of the inefficient, multi-layered bureaucracies that characterized much of corporate America: There were two leases on the table; a Starbucks lease, and one for Nancy’s Coffee. The woman said that the Starbucks lawyers had had the lease for six months—but she was willing to wait. I said, ‘Look, do you want Starbucks, or do you want a leased space?’ When she said, ‘A leased space’, I said, ‘Give me the pen.’ That lease is up next year, and I still haven’t gotten around to reading it. Beth noted that Starbucks wasn‟t the only coffee vendor shying away from space in enclosed malls: Establishing your brand in mall locations is not, quite frankly, a strategy for the faint of heart. Managing a mall shop is a difficult business, and it costs a lot of money. That worked for us in a way, since newcomers would get scared off by the idea of paying something like $100,000 a year in rent, when they could be paying $2,000 a month for a Main Street space in ‘Anytown, USA’. The team had learned through their mother‟s experience, however, that these pricey mall locations offered an advantage that few suburban in-town settings could match; a captive base. Mall Sales Throughout the 1990s, Nancy‟s Coffee and its suburban-model competitors like Peets and Caribou had the luxury of being able to choose locations where no other specialty coffee shops were operating. Beth explained that this monopolistic positioning was especially advantageous in a setting with high overhead and two distinct customer groups: Our bread-and-butter customer is the mall employee—the three to five hundred people who come to the mall every day to work. If you can get them to try, you can get them to repeat. Then, obviously, we have our transient customers; the shoppers. We have squarely positioned ourselves to cater to stroller moms; mothers with time on their hands, and kids to entertain. They come to the mall for something to do; they may not always buy, but they always have to eat. So we have lots of cookies, apple juice, and bagels on hand for the little ones, which helps us get the mom for her cappuccino. In a move to foster a loyal base of customers, in January 2002, Nancy‟s contracted with Paytronix—a nascent venture that had developed a swipe-card with both payment and loyalty program capabilities. Beth noted that the One Card system (See Exhibit 1) went well beyond the paper cards used by a variety of food-retailers to encourage repeat business: This is like an electronic punch card that also functions as a debit card— either by putting in a cash balance or by pre-paying for product. For example, we have this one guy—an eyeglass store manager at a mall in New Hampshire—who shells out $150 on the first of each month to buy the 85 cappuccinos he knows he’s going to drink over the next thirty days. We get his money up front, and he gets our $3 drink for less than $2. If you can get mall employees to buy a One Card membership for a dollar a year, they’re going to come to you every day, since for every nine drinks they get one free—they can even get a jumbo mocha in exchange for nine basic coffees. That’s a drink that we sell for four dollars; free to them, and my cost is about seventy-five cents. The One Card is really a nice competitive advantage. We just had a Starbucks open in Buffalo, one floor below us. Our staff was nervous, but I didn’t understand why. I told them that with the One Card, you already have all of your mall employees in your pocket. It worked; that Starbucks kiosk is struggling. By late 2003, Nancy‟s Coffee shops could be found in over thirty locations from Boston, west to Niagara Falls, and from Nashua, New Hampshire, south to New Jersey (See Exhibit 2). Three of the stores had been acquired from the owner of a four-chain enterprise who had come to the stark realization that running coffee shops was not going to be the road to riches that he had once imagined it would be. Beth recalled that they were able to make significant improvements in the stores that they took under management: When we acquired Cafà © Coffee, their gross margins were running in the low thirties. They had been managing the business from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and no one was going out to visit the stores. From a financial standpoint, we hammered down on the employee hours and on the food costs. That helped to drive their gross margins closer to 50 percent. Operationally, we kept some of their people, but not all. We put some of our own people in who had much different operational standards than the Cafà © Coffee people. At one store, we saw an increase in customer count, and in six months that store went from being in the red to being in the black. Just as Starbucks and Dunkin‟ Donuts never said „never‟ with regard to Mall locations, Beth followed through on an opportunity to develop a street-front location. She was excited about the challenge and the possibilities: There are so many locations that are still looking for high-end coffee bars. The question is; are we as a high-end coffee bar looking for that location? We just opened a store on the street in Manchester, Vermont. My rent there is $1,800 a month. I think it will work, but it will take some time to attract a customer base. If we can find some more good towns like that, I suspect that we will probably do more like that versus more Mall expansions.

Essays on different types of questions

Essays on different types of questions Essay Questions Types of Questions There are four main types of questions that require different approaches. Description You need to provide information on the issue, but not to comment on it. However, students who study at university are unlikely to be asked just to describe the topic. One has to support the facts with evidence or concrete examples. This kind of essays is characterized by the use of such words as describe, define, explain, state, list, present, summarize, outline, delineate, trace. Discussion In this kind of an essay a student should provide the main points on the issue and explore them. This kind of essay writing requires students to support any comment by approachable evidence. Such words as comment, explore, review, consider, analyze, debate, illustrate, interpret, account for and etc. are common for this paper. Evaluation If you are assigned to write an evaluative essay, you need to choose data to develop your thoughts or arguments thoroughly. Please note that you have to cover both sides of the argument. As a rule, students should come to a conclusion and back their opinion by discussing the evidence or reasoning. Many students are convinced that this one is the most difficult among all types of essays. This type of essays is characterized by such words as justify, evaluate, interpret, criticize, critically evaluate, and comment on. Comparison In this essay type, students are often asked to represent differences or/and similarities between various opinions, facts or evidence. Such papers may require description, discussion or evaluation, depending on what you were assigned to do. In comparative essays, you can find such words as contrast, debate, compare, distinguish, and differentiate. Note: in some cases, an essay may require you to complete several tasks – for instance, you may be asked to list the basic organizational theories of marketing and comment on their relevance.Write a Good Essay on Different Types of Questions To write a good paper, ensure you have a full understanding of the question. To help you think about how you are going to complete the task, identify the topic you have to write about. When you are analyzing various essay types and the question that you are assigned, you can start planning your essay. During this process, you should think about: the main subject and fields you have to focus upon; the information you might need; any terms that might require a definition; complex theories that might require extra attention. This will help you in writing an outline draft. Now, you have to do some research work and find relevant material. When the research is completed and the draft is ready, you can begin your writing. Different types of essays have the same structure and consist of three parts: an introduction, main body and a conclusion. Start with an overall overview statement that can contain a definition of the basic terms, a citation from the major source or some important facts. Also, you might list the key points of the paper that are to be discussed in it. In the main body, you have to develop the main arguments and discuss various opinions. Your words should be supported by evidence so ensure the correct references to your sources. You have to write some paragraphs where your thoughts flow logically and where you give the irrefragable answer to the question. In the conclusion, you should highlight key points of your paper. It has to be a rundown of everything you have said above; you need to show a full understanding of the question. When your essay is completed, make a thorough proofread and check it for grammar and spelling mistakes.

South African Trevor Noah Gets Daily Show

South African Trevor Noah Gets 'Daily Show' Comedy Central announced that Trevor Noah would take over as host of The Daily Show after Jon Stewart leaves the show in late 2015 or early 2016. Noah, 31, is a South African comedian, actor and writer who had become a recurring guest on Stewart’s show since appearing for the first time in December 2014. Though he’s a bonafide star in South Africa, Noah is little-known in the United States and was a something of a surprising choice to host what has become an iconic and important American TV program. Within 48 hours of the network’s announcement, Noah was already in trouble for tweets he had posted over the years that some claimed were offensive to women, Jews and minorities. Noah’s mother is half Jewish, a black South African, and his father is white and of Swiss-German descent. To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian, he tweeted in response to the criticism. A South African citizen of Noah’s talent will have little trouble landing a work visa from U.S. immigration officials - perhaps a P visa that’s often used for performers, entertainers or professional athletes. Most major league baseball players, for example, come to the United States to on an O-1 or P-1 visa. The O visa is for immigrants who demonstrate â€Å"extraordinary ability† in some field, for example, science, the arts or professional sports. The O visa generally is for all-star caliber athletes. Once he gets set up at Comedy Central, it should be a relatively easy matter for Noah to get a green card and attain legal permanent residency. U.S. immigration officials are ready to give status to foreign nationals with extraordinary talents that will contribute to the U.S. economy, as well as culture and the arts. Prominent South Africans who have come here and ultimately earned their U.S. citizenship include recording star Dave Matthews, Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron and inventor/entrepreneur Elon Musk. Other well-known South Africans who live much of their years in the United States include golfer Gary Player, tennis players Cliff Drysdale and Johan Kriek, economist Robert Z. Lawrence, actress Embeth Davidtz and musicians Trevor Rabin and Jonathan Butler. South Africans began migrating to the United States in the late 19th century and today, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 82,000 U.S. residents trace their origins to the country at the southern tip of the continent. During the 1980s and 1990s, thousands of South Africans fled to the United States for political reasons, escaping the civil strife in their homeland over apartheid and racial division. Many white South Africans, most notably Afrikaners, emigrated out of fears of what would happen when the inevitable transfer of power to the black population occurred under Nelson Mandela. Most South Africans living in the U.S. today are whites of European heritage. According to U.S. immigration officials, non-immigrant visas are  processed  in  Visa Sections at  three United States  Consulates in South Africa located in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.  U.S. Consulate Johannesburg processes applications for Immigrant Visas to the U.S.  The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria does not provide any visa services. Applicants for visas in the Pretoria area should apply at the U.S. Consulate Johannesburg.

Does history teach us lessons Give examples Essay

Does history teach us lessons Give examples - Essay Example We are often told, that history teaches us lessons, and that terrorism is the notion, towards which these historical lessons and knowledge are to be applied. Simultaneously, there is a widely-spread opinion, that looking back at our past we see that there were the possibilities to prevent famous dictators from coming to the power and causing irreversible effects. The past cannot be changed, but it can and should be learned; however, what we face at present is false interpretation of the historical events and the desire of the historians to represent certain historical events in the light which is better for their personal needs and strivings. In fact, any historian plays the role of the intermediary between the past and the present - his main aim is to make the public familiar with the events of the past based on the evidence he has at his disposal; what we see now is that many historians have gone too far, trying to become the people, who have the right to interpret this past, often distorting it. I would agree, that history gives us lessons to learn, but due to the general lack of understanding of the historical events, we often have to rely on what famous historians say; their opinions often appear to be contradictory and misleading. As far as we don't really tend to go deep into history for finding our own proofs for this or that historical assumption, we mostly believe in what we hear about the lessons from history, and how they should be used. 'Because history is a world of detailed, specific events, the idea of 'general laws' of history is self-contradictory. Of course, historical actors should be understood as obeying the general laws independently derived by other disciplines, such as the law of gravity or the law of diminishing marginal returns. But history itself can generate no such laws, since they would involve abstracting away all of the details of events, in other words, abstracting away the very subject matter of history.' (Durant & Durant 1997, p. 49) What I wanted to say by this quotation is that history in general cannot be reduced to some generalizations, as it is often done. If there are any real lessons we have to learn from the past, these lessons should be tied to specific events, and not to some general assertions. We can't say that wars are the most important lessons to learn not to make new wars happen - each war is different in its essence, and each should be considered separately, in order to learn the lessons and to apply them to the requirements of the modern time. There is often a confusion between the historical past and the practical past - historical past is merely a statement of the events which took place in the past, while practical past refers to the question of 'what do these past events mean to me right now' (Fink 2001, p. 236) This is about what we talk here, and about what we have to make a reasonable conclusion. I would agree that the skills of the professional historian would give him enough knowledge to judge the events of the past, but I can