Land of the Aryans: The Persian Culture Essay

Iran is formerly known as Persia until 1935. It is a country in Central Eurasia located in the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf. Iran is the cognate of the name Aryan, which means â€Å"Land of the Aryans†. Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. The Culture of Iran is a mix of ancient pre-Islamic culture and Islamic culture. Iranian culture probably originated in Central Asia and is strongly suggested as the predecessor of Iranian culture ca. 2000 BC. Iranian culture has long been a predominant culture of the Middle East and Central Asia, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals during much of the 2nd millennium, and the language of religion and the populace before that. Persian Philosophy to Major Religions The Iranian plateau has contributed ideas and techniques for sixty known centuries which have helped to continue and civilize mankind. Writing, numbers, the arts of agriculture and of working metals, the sciences of astronomy and mathematics, and the beginnings of religious and philosophical thinking — these all come from the Near East, and the fountain head of much of Near Eastern culture was on the Iranian plateau (Nasr & Razavi, 1999, p. 3). The three Wise Men from the East whom at the birth of Jesus brought gold, frankincense and myrrh were probably Zoroastrian priests from Persia. Their gifts symbolized essential beliefs which wee contributed by Zoroastrianism to Christianity, such as: the concepts of the Evil One as a positive force; the notion of the angels, of the Last judgment, or paradise, of the resurrection of the dead; and of the ultimate victory of good over evil (Pope, Ackerman & Schroeder, 1945, p. 2). There are also two other influential religions that came out of Persia. One is Mithraism, which unsuccessfully competed with Christianity for the first three centuries of our era. And the other is Manichaeism of which St. Augustine was a devotee before he converted to Christianity (Pope, Ackerman & Schroeder, 1945, p. 2). Moreover, according to Pope, Ackerman & Schroeder (1945): Buddhism was also partially influenced by Persian philosophy when Buddha passed through the Far East on its mission of enlightenment. (p. 2) No important religion would now be what it is were the Persian contributions to be taken from it (Nasr & Razavi, 1999, p. ). Persian Pottery Early ancient painted pottery, which had begun in Western Asia by 4000 B. C. , was man’s first â€Å"manuscript†; for the blueprints, useful though they be as ornament, were much more than that to those who made and used the vessels. Persian potteries were the expressions and evidences of fears and hopes, symbols for evoking supernatural forces to aid in the constantly anxious struggle of living (Pope, Ackerman & Schroeder, 1945, p. 7). All of the images in Persian pots symbolize the harmonious relationships of man to nature and the divine aid of a god watching over and guiding them. Metal Arts Western civilizations considered pottery, ceramics or paintings as major work of art. But for Persian and Middle Eastern civilizations, it is the metal works that is considered as the prime of the art works. Bronze is considered as a most important medium on metal arts, even comparable to silver and gold in terms of its value, because it is far more durable than the said metals. The artistic talents of the smiths were preserved and learned for thousand of years for the Persian, and adds to the artistic value of the metal arts (Ghirshman, 1962, p. 12). Simplicity and strength were the artistic ideals. Tradition dictated symbolic shapes like the bull’s head ewer and other animals to present the vitality of these animals such as lions and birds, believing that it will be passed on the metal arts (Ghirshman, 1962, p. 14) All sorts of handsome objects were fashioned by the Seljuq metal workers. A mirror back illustrates the famous and much loved story of Bahram Gur and his sweetheart Azada, whom in a rage he was fated to slay. Pictorially it is unimpressive; as a work of decoration and judged by the modeling of its animals it is superb (Pope, Ackerman & Schroeder, 1945, p. 64). The active figures in the center evenly and ingeniously fill the space between the cusped arches of the framing zone which, with the intervening spaces, almost forms a reciprocal. Within this are falcons, foxes, and peacocks that repay careful examination. Carpets According to Pope (1931), it is by her carpets that the art of Persia has been most widely known (p120). Their fame has been abroad in the world these many centuries. The most priced Persian carpets are those made for the kings and princes of the Persian society. They are usually made from fabrics and other raw materials especially and exclusively for the royalty’s use (Pope, 1931, p. 121). They also commission the best painters and architects in town to make a unique and personalized design. The brilliant and sophisticated Persian color sense finds its perfect embodiment in the carpets. Their size permits of a far greater variety of colors than is appropriate in the smaller, lighter textiles or than is possible in a painted page. There is practically no limit to the range of colors the Persian dyers could command, and yet with all this wealth available, the rug designers chose a relatively limited number; twelve to fourteen tones is the average for the great sixteenth century carpets (Pope, 1931, p. 23). The Death of the Persian Culture The decline of the Persian art started in the rise of Europe. Because of various social problems such as societal depression, poverty, Afghan invasion and governmental incompetence are fatal to the preservation and development of the Persian culture. Yet, even if the Persian culture is considered stagnant nowadays, but the Iranian movies and contemporary music and literature, the influence and appreciation of humankind on Persian culture can no longer be disregarded.

Personality Profile Essay

In modern business, it is important to have a mindset of sustainability and environmentally friendly business practices. Two fundamental characteristics of an effective and sustainable leadership model are having the foresight of what the company is trying to attain and identifying the worth in the process and supplying the leadership to reach the companies goals. Leadership begins with trusting in the process, and adhering to the steps themselves. The single best way to achieve this is to lead by example. In this paper the author will explain how Marie Ziegler of John Deere help set the company on the path it follows today. Marie Ziegler has set the standard for John Deere and the employees of the company. As the vice president and treasurer for the John Deere Corporation it is within her responsibilities to ensure that the product that they are producing meets and exceeds the standards of the industry. All of John Deere’s products meet the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) off-highway equipment emission regulations as of 2011. The regulations set out to reduce the particulate matter in the atmosphere by 90% in addition to reducing oxides of nitrogen emissions by as much as 50% (John Deere, 2012). In one position or another Marie Ziegler has preformed various duties within John Deere since 1978. During this time Marie has grown to know the company and industry well and has helped the company to grow, remain profitable and become an industry leader. The decision to make sure that John Deere’s products met the EPA standards was just another stepping stone towards the goal of being an industry leader. The virtues of a good leader within an effective and sustainable business include vision, values, strategy and systems. Marie began with the vision to achieve a product that met the standard set forth by the EPA guidelines and pushed forward with that goal (Weitzman, H . 2010). Values, values include the practices and beliefs that the company uses to achieve success. These include people, people being the employees of John Deere who treat each other with respect which in turn promotes teamwork and the ability for the company to succeed and grow. Marie recognized that the  customers are the reason a company exists. As a good leader she understood that without customers, there is no need for the products that John Deere provides. The product and the service that any company provides is a direct reflection of the dedication of a company, its values and its employees. The conduct of a business from the president and CEO all the way down to the staff on the sales floor reflects a company’s values. Strategy is what a leader uses to develop a set of actions to follow that supports long term visions, values and objectives (Desjardins, 2007). Strategy is the crucial aspect for the integrated management system. There are key elements to developing the strategy that surrounds all the health, safety, and environmental considerations required to fulfill the strategic plan. Included within this are the planning process, setting targets and objectives, establishing and environmental policy that backs the vision of the company, contemplating which industry code of practices will be instituted, and defining the framework for communication. When these aspects are combined, they create an environmental policy that states a company’s base principals and projected intentions for environmental performance. Marie exhibits a take control type personality which is a strong leadership style. As an effective business leader she knows what needs to be done, she develops a plan and sets it in motion. When the EPA established new emissions standards Marie knew how to strategize a plan to implement the changes to John Deere’s production process in a timely manner. This meant that she had to clearly communicate the needed changes to her team of employees to enact the strategy that she developed. Communication is the key aspect to ensuring a plan is enacted properly, effectively and efficiently. One of Marie’s actions as a leader in sustainability was instilling a culture of sustainability amongst her employees by implementing sustainable practices and adhering to those policies herself in order to lead by example. In addition to leading by example she uses clear communication skills to communicate her needs to her employees to ensure her decisions as a leader are disseminated down the chain and that policies are understood by all employees and team members. Marie displays strong leadership skills and knows John Deere inside and out, she believes in the product they produce and this is an important aspect to being an effective leader in sustainability. With the leadership of Marie Ziegler John Deere can set  forth a standard that allows the company to be a leader in green sustainability. The author of this paper tries to uses general management strategies that promote sustainability within the work environment but finds that it can be difficult for an individual to do so considering the following. As an employee of EC3 International, the author’s duties are usually prescribed by test plans which leave little room to enact sustainable management methods of his own. However, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of the Army (DoA) have been enacting environmental standards and practices that promote sustainability and are more environmentally friendly for many years now. The army has most recently switched its primary small caliber ammunition to more environmentally friendly ammunition in order to reduce the negative environmental effects on weapons ranges. Many years ago the DoA along with the Proving Grounds implemented a new policy of no longer indiscriminately firing depleted uranium (DU) tank rounds out on to ranges. The DoA mandated that all DU test rounds must be fired into a catch box that can be cleaned out and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. In summary as a leader in sustainability within a company it is crucial to lead by example. No manager or business leader can expect his or her employees to conduct themselves in a professional and responsible manner unless they practice what they preach. When a leader takes a shortcut employees take note and will feel that it is not a problem to do so because their leadership does it. Marie Ziegler is an excellent example of how to conduct oneself who wishes to become a leader in sustainability. References DESJARDINS, J. R. (2007). Business, Ethics, and the Environment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Lomborg, B. (2008). Cool It. New York, NY: Vintage Books. John Deere, Products, (2012). Retrieved August 10, 2012 from http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/corporate/our_company/citizenship/environmental_stewardship/products/products.page Weitzman, H. (2010, Nov 25). Deere counts cost of emission controls. Financial Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/811393069?accountid=458

Natchez Indian Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Natchez Indian Culture - Research Paper Example The many traditional rituals of the Natchez people are considered â€Å"primitive and brutal† and like many other Indian tribes, the Natchez people were sun worshippers, who held on strongly to the belief that their chiefs were descended from the sun. The Natchez lived in about 6-9 villages spoke their native Natchez language, a language that has been long lost. The inhabited area of the Natchez was sought after to be colonized by the English, Spanish and the French. Research pleaded that a total of four wars broke out between the Natchez and the French between 1716 and 1729. The first three appropriately termed, first, second and third Natchez war whilst the fourth one was called the Natchez Rebellion of 1729. The Natchez Rebellion was caused by French Commander Sieur de Chepart’s order to the villagers from the White Apple Natchez Village to vacate the land so he may use it as a tobacco plantation. Presently, surviving Natchez families and communities can be found dis persed in Oklahoma and the Appalachian mountains. Natchez Indian Culture The Natchez Indians were amongst the last of the Native American populous to make a home on Mississippi’s southwestern borders (Barnett, 2007). ... This â€Å"Sun† lives across from the temple, in a big adobe constructed house atop a platform mound, which the Natchez people are famous for constructing. Living close to him, is the single most important person in his life; his Principle Advisor-his mother. She is referred to as a white woman in the Natchez culture, she dwells close to the â€Å"The Great Sun† with her other children. This â€Å"family†, is considered the highest class in the Natchez Society. Nonetheless, despite being an indigenous tribe, the Natchez Indians share distinct similarities to the southeastern Indian tribes, such as being separated into two moieties as they call it. Moitie is the French word which means â€Å"half†. Moieties provide marriage partners for each other as well as other support services. Like today’s societal classing, one moiety of the Natchez tribe is considered superior or of a more established ranking than the other moiety. The Natchez were known for t heir mass cultivation of agriculture which was their main livelihood, but they also excelled at architecture and pottery, which seem to be the basics behind their mound building. â€Å"Mounds† are erected from dirt which acts as a base for their temples and other dwellings. To augment such skillfulness, they also wove textile fabrics from the inner barks of mulberry which they used for clothing. Authors Orin Lewis and Laura Redish (1998) described the dress code of the men as breechcloths and leggings. The breechcloth is a piece of cloth made of deer skin, cloth or fur which is worn between the legs that is tucked over a belt. It doesn’t cover the legs so the men wore leggings made from buckskin or soft leather, whilst the women wore wrap skirts made from

High School Student's Perception of Accounting Essay

High School Student's Perception of Accounting - Essay Example Most students prefer accounting as a major before graduating from high school or soon after entering college. In the Giladi survey, students are inquired to rate the importance of the following factors in their decision to major in accounting: The survey results show the most important factors are earnings prospective and prospects for a job. The least significant factors are suggestions of counselors and family/friends. High schoolers choose accounting as a major for the reason that students believe it will lead to a professional chance with noteworthy earnings potential. Accounting majors want to work for companies that offer viable remuneration and development opportunities. Pritchard (2004, pp154-155) conduct a student survey determining the role that perception of the accounting profession plays in the high schoolers' choice to major in accounting. The pessimistic perceptions that most pressurize business students to not major in accounting are: Recruiters in the accounting profession should boost their efforts to get more high school students interested in accounting careers. They should launch mentoring and ad campaigns in an effort to offset the dot.com world's lucrative lure in the minds of high school students. ... They should launch mentoring and ad campaigns in an effort to offset the dot.com world's lucrative lure in the minds of high school students. They also have to encounter the clichd perception of accountants as nerdy number crunches. The accounting professionals should get back in the schools and let students know what the profession is all about. Accounting, the industry should inform high schoolers, is all about decision-making and advising clients and developing personal and professional relationships with top companies. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants began a program more than a year ago to mail educational materials about the profession to more than 4,100 high schools in USA. The tutorial plans expressions for students to incorporate accounting techniques into a variety of subjects, from chemistry to history. In one of the most admired lesson plans, students study to read and examine real companies' annual reports and find out if they are good investments. Another provides students with a hypothetical accounting problem and asks them to solve it. That problem-solving aspect is key to selling the profession to students of high schools. Today the whole emphasis is on making decisions. The role of the accountant has changed, as one has to understand business first and accounting second and know how to leverage information to make decisions. But unfortunately it is not the way high schoolers are trained. Accounting firms should also use business-education programs to get more face time with high schoolers. They should stick with prospects of accounting profession throughout their entree into college, as relationship

Human resources manangement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human resources manangement - Essay Example The advantage of using internal applicants in filling vacant positions is in regard to the motivation factor. Employees feel motivated when they are rewarded for good performance by being promoted to higher positions. Any organization that cannot be able to engage in employee advancement and promotion opportunities is likely to experience job dissatisfaction among the employees (Courtney, 1997: 126). Internal recruitment also provides the managers with the opportunity to use HR data that is available and maintained in the organization. An analysis of the employee performance is important in the recruitment process. This ensures that the organization is able to guess the competency of the employee (Schermerhorn, 2009: 78). Promotions within organizations lead to vacant positions that should be filled by other employees. The chain effect on promotion means that every time an employee is promoted, two or more positions will need to be filed. Internal promotions help to motivate employees since every promotion positively affects several employees within the organization (Schermerhorn, 2009: 78). Promotion of employees in the organization ensures that entry level vacancies are filled by external job applicants. The benefit of this approach is that no company is able to experiment unknown individuals in high risk employment positions. Further, employees have the chance to prove their ability in lower-level position first (Schermerhorn, 2009: 78). Bidding and job posting are the most common used methods of recruiting employees internally. Bidding occurs when qualified employees have been notified of the vacancy. They are then notified to bid for the vacancy if they want to be considered for the post. In bidding, the employee with the most seniority gets the job (Walsh, 2012: 52). Job posting involves the use of traditional bulletin boards, computer email based systems and telephone voicemail based systems. Computer email based systems and telephone voicemail

Journalistic fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Journalistic fiction - Essay Example Truman Capote was a famous American writer of the 1960s, he is considered to be a representative of the classical American literature of the second half of the 20th century. He was one of the most significant and bright representatives of the Gothic style in the literature of that years, along with such well-known writers as Harper Lee, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers and Tennessee Williams. The main lines of in his work are considered to be - fiction and documentary. Which he that put together to create the complicated journalistic fiction out of these two already known styles. Summing up the author’s biography we can say that Truman Capote was a famous writer and a journalist who is also known as the ‘inventor’ of the ‘New Journalism’ – a new style of writing which combines the best features of journalism and literature which makes this phenomenon so special. Sometimes it could be called the Narrative journalism. Discussing the issue of th e unconventional frontier genres we should emphasize the actualization of the documentation, in particular, the journalistic articles which gains popularity at the end of the 20th century. Is such a novel a fixing of the bare facts or their interpretation, is this a factographic or belles-lettres work? There are correspondingly different views concerning who is the author of this novel - either he is an objective spectator and those who record the accurate data or he is an involuntary literary man who claims that the text is a kind of literature and the document is only the evidence. Here the novel which is based on the facts and the author who wrote appear to be in between these two descriptions. On the one hand, such novel is accused of its inaccuracy, so the novel cannot be treated as a document. On the other hand, they say that the journalistic fiction cannot aspire to the role of the high literature and mainly is focused on the

The basis of scientific research in pharmacy or biomedical sciences Essay

The basis of scientific research in pharmacy or biomedical sciences - Essay Example Specifically, the field of biomedical research is one of the sectors that have caused highest number of controversies and ethical issues due to its direct relation with human race and its environment. In the result, theorists and experts (Mepham, pp. 23-39, 2006) have come up with different approaches and methods to resolve issues in decision-making process related to ethical conflicts. In this regard, Ethical matrix (Mepham, pp. 23-39, 2006) is one of the analytical tools of applied ethics that enable individuals, organizations, etc to analyze and scrutinize any issue, in order to come up with a consensus based on ethical understandings. Analysis of ethical matrix has indicated that it has been very beneficial in the establishment of a basic structure needed especially in the field of biosciences and biomedical research. In particular, Ethical matrix resolves the issue by focusing on two components/categories: a set of principles and a list of agents/stakeholders. With the first cat egory of principles, Ethical matrix reemphasizes the significance of principles of morality that allows the decision-maker to come to a decision in an ethical manner. On the other hand, the other category gives value and importance to stakeholders and their opinions (Deane, pp. 51-57, 2009) regarding different biomedical or scientific procedures and processes that play a critical role in coming up with the most efficient ethical decision with the consensus of all the stakeholders. In order to understand the ethical matrix usable for human volunteers in biomedical research, it is essential to comprehend the first category in detail. In particular, ethical matrix has identified three principles that revolve around the notion of respect for â€Å"wellbeing, autonomy, and fairness† (Deane, pp. 62-68, 2009), which then integrate with second category of the matrix: interests of the stakeholders. Analysis has pointed out that few ethical theories have played crucial role in creation of the ethical matrix: â€Å"utilitarianism (wellbeing), deontology (autonomy), and utilitarianism-deontology (fairness)† (Deane, pp. 51-57, 2009). From this aspect of ethical matrix, one can observe pluralism of its theoretical framework that indicates the wide-ranging applicability of the ethical matrix that is one of the major reasons of significance of ethical matrix in biomedical sciences and scientific research. Now, the discussion will include an example of utilization of ethical matrix in one of the biomedical issues that will be efficient in its understanding in a broad manner. The issue is regarding an innovative research in the field of biomedical research that has indicated the possibility of implantation of a chip in all the citizens that will enable the healthcare organizations to record health history of individuals in their individual electronic chips in their bodies. This will eliminate need of all the paperwork, as healthcare provider will only be scanning chips to know about individual’s health and will then be uploading updated information after the treatment for future purposes. This innovative technology

Why is Corporal Punishment Still Use in Africa What are the Essay

Why is Corporal Punishment Still Use in Africa What are the Alternatives - Essay Example It further revealed that more than 98 percent of the children surveyed reported experiencing corporal punishment. More than a third of these children said they experienced it at least once a week; 20 percent said they had been burnt as a form of punishment; and more than 60 percent of the children said they experienced corporal punishment at school regularly. One out of every seven children said they experienced it every day (D. Naker and D. Sekitoleko 2009). The discussion in this paper provides a criticism of corporal punishment of children within families and schools in the region of Africa. The paper intends to establish that corporal punishment to children is a significant violation of their human rights but it has been embedded in social, cultural and religious aspect of life in Africa. The paper will further explore the reasons why it is common in Africa despite the fact that it extremely damages children’s development, make them sensitive and can harm them in many ways. The paper intends to provide the potential consequences of corporal punishment on children, and suggests how corporal/physical punishment might be eliminated in Africa. In the end the paper will provide the comprehensive detail about the possible alternatives of corporal punishment along with the critical analysis of these alternatives. The critical analysis will provide the discussion that how the alternatives can be more successful as a form of punishment with less damaging effects on children’s body and mind. Why is Corporal Punishment Still Used in Africa? What  are the Alternatives? I. Introduction â€Å"Physical punishment of people, especially by hitting or beating them† Oxford dictionary â€Å"Physical punishment as distinguished from pecuniary punishment or a fine; any kind of punishment inflicted on the body.†

Understanding the Principles and Practises of Assessment Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Principles and Practises of Assessment Essay Assessment is the process of measuring the achievement of learners. It is an obvious way of checking that learning has taken place and is a good way of measuring the learner’s knowledge and practical skills that they have learnt. It is important for the assessor to initially establish whether the learner has any specific learning needs so that they can prepare to support the learner in whichever way they feel necessary. Learning and development are closely connected. The learner needs guidance in order to understand what it is they are required to learn, also to check that they are on track and also ways in which they can improve. This is generally where formative assessment comes into play. Formative assessment is used whilst learners are developing their skills and can also be useful throughout their course. It gives the assessor the opportunity to provide the learner with constructive feedback which they can use to improve their future performances. It also allows the learner to build on their strengths and learn from mistakes by listening to the assessor’s feedback, preparing them for summative assessment. Summative assessment is used when the students are up to a standard where they can carry out an assessment without any support or guidance. This should be up to industry standards and completed to commercial timing. By this stage there should be very few, if any areas for improvement and the learner must have a very strong underpinning knowledge of the subject. (AC 1.2) Define the key concepts and principles of assessment It is vital that assessment has to be fair, consistent and valid to ensure all learners have an equal chance of receiving a fair assessment. An assessor should not be swayed to give a learner an easier assessment because they favour them or on grounds of gender, race, sexual orientation or religious beliefs; the assessment process should be the same for every learner and purely judged on their knowledge, skill and competence within their subject area. There may be occasions where the assessment process has to be adapted to suit learners’ individual needs; however this still should eventually lead to the same outcome. In order for an assessment to be fair the assessor should clearly identify to the learner what outcomes are being assessed so that there is no area for confusion between the learner and assessor. Assessors should take guidance from the awarding body that they work alongside for the assessment criteria, for example in my area of work; I have to abide by the criteri a that is set out by VTCT. To ensure that the evidence is sufficient the learner should successfully cover all of the criteria set out by the awarding body and by the industry in which they are working. The most reliable way to ensure that an assessment is valid and reliable is for the assessor to observe a student first hand. This is the clearest way for the assessor to be sure that the student possesses the knowledge that is shown in their work and that it has not been copied from another source. This evidence should also be current, so therefore the assessor would need to have witnessed this within a reasonable timeframe as things change so frequently. It is important for assessors to ensure that they are up to date with current trends and changes within their industry and all assessors are required to keep up to date with continual professional development. It is also vital that all assessors are assessing to the same standard, this is usually monitored and updated during team standardisation meetings whic h should be carried out regularly. (AC 1.3) Explain the responsibilities of the assessor An assessor should firstly fully understand the standards and requirements they are working to. This means that all assessors should be fully qualified to the required standard within their industry and should regularly attend team standardisation meetings to ensure they are assessing to the same standards as other assessors.

The Accumulation of Capital Essay Example for Free

The Accumulation of Capital Essay Joan Robinson (1903-83) is one of the leading economists of the 20th century and the only woman among the great economists. Her writings on economic development show a strong sense of the historical context of social change and a concern with economic organization and institutions rather than resource allocation. The existence of al living beings has the character of certain economic relationships. For example, in her work The Accumulation of Capital (1956) Robinson shows how from the economy’s point of view a human being can practice the behavior of an ordinary robin, and proceeding from this comparison she notes that economic life of humans is incomparably more complicated and needs very profound analysis. According to Robinson a group of people who specialize and co-operate are more likely to produce far greater results than the sum of their independent efforts. Basing on this simple fact, she continues, human economies develop into very intricate complexes of specialized activities. The method of distribu ¬tion of the product of interlocking activities then becomes important. After the distribution of the products the notion PROPERTY comes to light. There are a great number of societies on the planet, which live in accord with different types of economies. For example, there is slave economy, capitalist economy, socialist economy, etc. The methods of distribu ¬tion of the product of interlocking activities in each of these economies are cardinally different. Robinson claims that no actual economy conforms to a pure type. For example when she speaks about the economies, which are predominantly capitalist, she states that they contain many elements of production for home consumption, many elements of artisan production and many elements of socialism. This book deals predominantly with capitalist economy. It explicates certain capitalist rules, under which anyone who has suffi ¬cient purchasing power, or finance, and knows how to set about it, can become an employer of labor or entrepreneur. Then on the explanation of what entrepreneur is and how entrepreneurship developed is provided. For example, she compares the historical and modern notion of entrepreneur – in the early days of capitalism the typical entrepreneur was an individual who had invested his own finance in a business which he managed himself and bequeathed to his heirs as a going concern. The entrepreneur in modern conditions is a very amorphous conception; in brief, it is decision-taking entity, embodying the policy of a firm. The capitalist rules of the economy encourage large-scale produc ¬tion and the use of elaborate techniques. This raises output per man much above what an artisan can achieve. Thus, one of the tasks of entrepreneur is, in fact, to organize his employees in such a way to reach the highest possible output. In the following chapters Robinson presents the traditional categories in which the sources of income are usually divided like wages, rent, interest and profits. She also provides very clear and complete explanation of each of these categories. According to Broadly, economic wealth is the command over goods and services that are desired, or consuming power for short. The significance of production lies in the consumption, which it makes possible. The motive of each individual is to get command over money, and a flow of goods and services suitable to meet human wants emerges as a by ¬product of their efforts to do so. Thus the purchasing power of individuals and groups is the major influence on their consuming power. The purchasing power in real terms of a sum of money consists in a list of all the possible goods and services that it might buy. Purchasing power must be examined, so to say, in two layers the command of an individual or group over money, and the command given by a unit of money over goods and services. She states her position that the marginal productivity theory is not appropriate to explain the distribution of the national income between capital and labor, because, as she explains it is impossible to measure capital independently of labor. When assessing purchasing power we cannot do without such notion as money. Generally, money and its function is one of the central notions of economy. The economy is monetary, because there is specialization and exchange between different groups. Robinson underlies the importance of presenting the price level in terms of money, but she does not leave aside the importance of labor invested in the product. As she observes, many contracts besides the wage bargain are made in terms of money, and changes in the purchasing power of money bring about opposite changes in the real benefit and the real cost of the payments concerned so long as the contract holds. But in the long run all contracts are revised, so that a change in the real value of money becomes just a change in words. Over the long run the important price level is the price level in terms of labor time, for this expresses the distribution of the total product of the economy between work and property. Robinson concludes her book with the chapter which deals with the importance of equilibrium in economic relations. She presents different models of economic cooperation and comes to conclusion that an economy, which existed in a state of tranquility, lucidity and harmony, would be devoted to the production and con ¬sumption of wealth in a rational manner. She emphasizes the necessity to describe these conditions to see how remote they are from the states in which actual economies dwell. Traditionally she resorts to the showing the real example on capitalist model, which could never have come into existence in such conditions, for the divorce between work and property, which makes large-scale enterprise possible, entails conflict; and the rules of the game have been developed precisely to make accumulation and technical progress possible in conditions of uncertainty and imperfect knowledge. Yet too much disturbance, deception and conflict would break an economy to pieces. The persistence of capitalism till to day is evidence that certain principles of coherence are imbedded in its confusion, concludes Robinson in her work. The models of economic concepts in Joan Robinsons The Accumulation of Capital are very easy to understand and provide insight into the fundamental elements of an extremely complex process of economies. By concentrating on the purely economic strands in the process of development we can provide a practical guide to understanding history, and indicate to people how best they might set about their task. The Accumulation of Capital deals with money, credit, finance, interest rates, and banks. Joan Robinson exhibits her clear comprehension of the complexities of the financial world. Moreover, she appears to be able to provide a novelty of comprehensive view of the relations between the financial system and the macroeconomy. This book is a perfect source of valuable information on money, credit and finance. Reference: Robinson, Joan (1956), The Accumulation of Capital, Macmillan, London.

Purchase decision of apartments in metropolitan India

Purchase decision of apartments in metropolitan India Factors affecting the purchase decision of apartments in metropolitan India Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the motivation behind Indian buyers when looking to purchase an apartment. The factors driving demand preferences for apartments are not well established and are difficult to measure, and often builders may not have an insight into what buyers are looking for. Design/methodology/approach The research in this paper is based on telephonic interviews and internet based survey with recent purchasers, who bought a home in the past 1 year and prospective purchasers looking to buy an apartment in the coming one year. They belonged to number of locations across all metropolitan cities of India Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. The data were analysed using factor analysis to identify the criteria in an apartment that buyers value the most. This research was done across all ages and irrespective of their intention of why they bought or if this was their first purchase. Further, Cluster analyses was used to determine clusters and one way Anova was used to determine the factors that hold different value to different clusters of people. Discriminant Analysis was used to determine any difference in behaviour of first time purchasers with others. Findings The findings in this paper revealed that issues signifying â€Å"affluence† accounted for approximately 27 percent of the choice of housing by Indian buyers to purchase apartments in metropolitan India. Also, Cluster Analysis revealed that demographically different set of buyers differ significantly in their attitude towards â€Å"Financial† factors. Discriminant analysis revealed that first time buyers give significantly more importance to â€Å"Financial† factors like â€Å"House price†, â€Å"Income† where they give much lesser importance to â€Å"Builder reputation† and â€Å"Status of neighbourhood†. Research limitations/implications The research in this paper is aimed specifically at Indians living in metropolitan cities only which may be very different from the rest of India. The majority of the respondents belong to Delhi, which may also bias the results. The majority of the data has been collected from an online survey which may reduce the validity of the findings. Practical implications If due consideration is given to the factors that buyers are most concerned about, builders of new apartment housing would be better equipped to meet this demand and maximise their profits. Builders will also be able to target buyers better by knowing the difference in preference of first time buyers to others. Originality/value This paper provides an invaluable insight into Indians concept of a suitable apartment in metropolitans. While important decision factors were determined for the entire population, further analysis was done to determine difference in issues felt important to first time buyers. Also, the most important factors were determined for different demographic clusters. Thus in this way, the transaction of purchasing an apartment was analyzed from several points of view. Keywords Consumer behaviour, Purchase, Apartment, India Paper type Research paper INTRODUCTION The Real Estate sector is important to the Indian economy. In terms of employment generation, it is second only to the agricultural sector. The housing sector contributes nearly 5% to Indias GDP. It is expected to rise to 6 per cent in the next five years. Property markets in India are recovering faster than those in the US and the UK. The sector is expected to attract around US$ 12.11 billion of investments in the next five years. Residential space comprises almost 80% of the real estate developed in the country. There is a shortage of 22.4 million dwelling units according to the Tenth Five Year Plan. 80 to 90 million housing units will have to be constructed over the next 10 to 15 years to rectify this, with the majority of them for the middle- and lower-income groups. It is for this reason that residential properties in India, particularly in Mumbai and Delhi, are viewed as very good investments as per a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit education and research institute. In the 2009-10 budget, a tax holiday on profits was granted to developers of affordable housing (units of 1,000-1,500 sq ft). This exemption was instituted for projects that started from 2007-08 onwards with a deadline of completion of March 1, 2012. US$ 207 million was also allocated to grant a 1% interest subsidy on home loans up to US$ 20,691 with the caveat that the cost of the home should not be more than US$ 41,382. This was expected to further help the housing sector. An apartment is a residential unit that forms a division of a building. It can be either owned or rented. Some people own their apartments together where each owns a part of the corporation which owns the flat. In condominiums, dwellers own the individual apartments and share the public environment. Living in apartments is gaining popularity in India. 217 townships across India are in the building plans for the Sahara Group. Their allure lies in the convenience that they offer in terms of safety and security and maintenance of utilities like electricity and water. A central maintenance system obviates the need for hiring outside help for minor problems like leaking taps or electric short circuits. Stand-alone homes also require incurring additional costs like buying/leasing land, licensing, duties, etc. Apartments enable maximization of space utilization and reduce demand on public resources. People are also able to avail of additional amenities like gymnasiums, swimming pools, etc. at affordable prices. There is a gap in the literature, however, with regard to the value drivers that dictate purchase decisions of residential property in the country. Similar studies exist for other countries but were found wanting in the Indian context, especially when it comes to apartments. Through this paper, we aim to do the very same, i.e. establish which factors dictate purchase decision and to what extent. We will also correlate these preferences with the demographic profiles and characteristics of our respondents and hence arrive at a greater and much deeper understanding of these issues. We see immense utility for our paper, especially for builders and property dealers who can use our findings in structuring their own business activities. RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Even though consumer behaviour is generally assumed to be an important part of real estate valuation, buyer preferences are generally not considered during the valuation process. It is basically reduced to the confirmation of a bid price which may or may not be met by the buyer. Efforts are being made to address this fault and many papers have been written on the analysis of motivations of residential property purchasers, attempting to explain them using models such as bounded rationality and hedonic pricing. Hedonic Pricing, or Hedonic Demand Theory as it is also known, decomposes the item of interest into constituents and evaluates the importance of each of them and their contribution to the overall valuation. These factors can be both internal characteristics of the good or service and external factors. In the case of real estate valuation, internal characteristics include layout, structure, etc of the property while status of neighbourhood, proximity to schools, etc are the exter nal factors. Factor Analysis enables us to do just that. It is a statistical method that reduces the number of variables by grouping two or more of them into unknown or hidden variables known as factors. Further analysis is then conducted by looking at the variation among these factors and evaluating their relative performance. These factors are taken to be linear combinations of the original variables plus error terms (Richard L. Gorsuch, 1983). â€Å"Factor analysis seeks to do precisely what humans have been engaged in doing throughout history that is to make order of the apparent chaos of the environment† (Child, 1990). It has great use in evaluating consumer behaviour. Charles Spearman is credited with its invention. He used it in the formulation of the ‘g Theory as part of his research on human intelligence (Williams, Zimmerman, Zumbo Ross, 2003). Over the years it has found uses in fields as diverse as psychometrics, marketing, physical sciences and economics. It can be used to segment consumers on the basis of what benefits they want from the product/service (Minhas Jacobs, 1996). It has evolved as a technique over the years, with many researchers working on fine-tuning and improving the analytical process. Bai Ng (2002) developed an econometric theory for factor models of large dimensions. It focused on the determination of the number of factors that should be included in the model. The basic premise of the authors was that a large number of variables can be modeled by a small number of reference variables. Marketing strategies based on customer preferences and behaviour often make use of this technique during the market research phase (Ali, Kapoor Moorthy, 2010) and while devising and changing the marketing mix (Ivy, 2008). Factor Analysis has also been used in ground water management to relate spatial distribution of various chemical parameters to different sources (Love, Hallbauer, Amos Hranova, 2004). The facility of segmentation that factor analysis offers has been extended to the real estate sector and all studies thereof. Regression analyses are subject to aggregation biases and segmented market models yield better results. This segmentation is done using factor analysis Watkins, 1999). Property researchers have also dedicated a lot of attention to researching the preferences of property buyers and identifying the drivers of property value. A study in Melbourne, Australia (Reid Mills, 2004) analyzed the purchase decisions of first time buyers and tried to determine the most influential attributes that affect the purchase decision using factor analysis. The research findings of the paper indicated that financial issues explain about 30% of the variance in the purchase decisions of first time house-owners. This related to timing, the choice of housing, and the decision to buy new housing. Apart from that the choice of housing is dependent on Site Specific factors (Location) and the decision to buy new housing is dependent on Lifecycle factors, such as family formation, marital status or the size of the existing house. Another study determined that brand, beauty and utility play a defining role in property value (Roulac, 2007). The findings of the paper explain why certain properties command premium prices, relative to other properties. It came to the conclusion that for value determination of high priced properties the overall perception of the brand is the most important factor followed by utility and beauty. Brand names are also very important especially in metropolitan markets as they add to the appeal, distinctiveness of the property. Another way to attract buyers attention is through the mix of neighborhood amenities offered (Benefield, 2009). Neighborhood amenities like tennis courts, clubhouses, golf courses, swimming pool, play park and boating facilities significantly impact property values. Xu (2008) used a hedonic pricing model to study the hous ing market of Shenzhen, China. He operated under the assumption that buyers consider property specifics and location attributes separately when they buy a home. The findings suggest that the marginal prices of attributes are not constant. Instead, they vary with the household profile and location. Cluster analysis involves the grouping of similar objects into distinct, mutually exclusive subsets known as clusters. The objective is to group either the data units or the variables into clusters such that the elements within a cluster have a high degree of natural association among themselves while the clusters remain relatively distinct from one another. Mulvey and Crowder (1979) presented and tested an effective optimization algorithm for clustering homogenous data. Punj and Stewart (1983) reviewed the applications of cluster analysis to marketing problems. They presented alternative methods of cluster analysis to evaluate their performance characteristics. They also discussed the issues and problems related to use and validation of cluster analysis methods. Ketchen and Shook (1996) chronicled the application of cluster analysis in strategic management research. They analyzed 45 published strategy studies and offered suggestions for improving the application of cluster analysis in future inquiries. They believed that cluster analysis is a useful tool but the technique must be applied prudently in order to ensure the validity of the insights it provides. Since Marketing researchers were introduced to discriminant analysis half a century ago, it has become a widely used analytical tool since they are frequently concerned with the nature and strength of the relationship between group memberships. It is especially useful in profiling characteristics of groups that are the most dominant in terms of discrimination. Morrison (1969) explained how discriminant analysis should be conducted using canned applications and how the effect of independent variables should be determined. However, care must be taken when applying discriminant analysis. The potential for bias in discriminant analysis has long been realized in marketing literature. Frank, Massy and Morrison (1965) showed that sample estimates of predictive power in n-way discriminant analysis are likely to be subject to an upward bias. This bias happens because the discriminant analysis technique tends to fit the sample data in ways that are systematically better than would be expected by chance. Crask and Perreault (1977) looked at the validation problems in small-sample discriminant analysis. Various research papers have studied the features that are evaluated while purchasing a home, how these features factor in terms of pricing the residences and how the home owners rate the various scales on importance. Such studies, however, were found lacking in the Indian context. This paper aims to understand the value drivers of apartments in Indian metros using factor analysis. The initial variables that we have considered are as follows Ø House Price This refers to the price/rent that is being charged for the apartment. The real estate market is often segmented using this variable. Ø Availability of Gymnasium, Swimming Pool and other sports facilities Many apartment complexes and housing societies offer recreational facilities to the residents to service their lifestyle needs. Ø Traffic This variable refers to the density of vehicular movement in the location in which the apartment is located. Ø Size of Individual Rooms The size of the rooms within the apartment is also an important factor. Some buyers prefer big, airy rooms while others might want smaller rooms. Ø Proximity to City This refers to the location of the apartment relative to the city boundaries, i.e. whether it is within the city proper or on the outskirts. Ø Ability to obtain Loans This variable stands for the ease with which the buyers can get loans, either through the builder or on their own. Ø Parking Space The availability of parking space is considered important by some consumers. Ø Exterior Look of the Apartment This refers to the faà §ade of the apartment, i.e. whether its attractiveness is a strong enough motivation. Ø Household Income The total income of the household often dictates the purchase decision of families. Ø Perceived Safety of Locality This is a big concern for some customers, especially single women and old people and may significantly influence the purchase decision. Ø Branded Building Components Some consumers may value an apartment more if it has branded fittings, furnishings, etc. Ø View from the apartment This can be an important variable for some customers. Ø Preference for Ground Floor This variable refers to the customers preference for the ground floor relative to other floors. Ø Water Supply This variable means to measure how important it is for the consumers that there is continuous, guaranteed and good quality water supply. Ø Structure This refers to the layout of the apartment whether it is a 2BHK or 3BHK, etc. Ø Status of Neighbourhood For some consumers, the reputation and social standing of the locality that they live is very important. Ø Proximity to Shops and Parks This seeks to measure whether proximity to these places is an important criterion for buyers or not. Ø Interior Design This refers to interior features of the apartment like flooring, lighting, balcony, etc. Ø Availability of Domestic Help This can be important consideration, especially for working couples. Ø Proximity to Schools and Offices This seeks to ask how important such proximity is to the buyer. Ø Builder Reputation Many buyers are heavily influenced by the brand name and reputation of the builder. Ø Monthly Living Costs Certain average monthly expenditure is incurred as living expenses. We seek to gauge the relative value of this variable. Ø Proximity to Public Transport, Major Roads, etc This refers to the accessibility of the apartment with regard to public transport and roads. Ø Power Backup Full power backup in case of power outages is frequently advertised by builders. Whether this actually influences buying behavior needs to be examined. Ø Proximity to friends/relatives homes This can be a big variable that dictates consumers in their decision-making process. Methods Sample The questionnaire was sent to people residing in Indian metropolitan cities. Out of the 172 responses received, 13 were rejected since the respondents had not purchased a property in a metropolitan city. Another 13 were rejected because either the respondents had not purchased the apartment in the last one year or were undecided as to when to purchase the property. Finally out of all the respondents 146 (84.9%) were identified. Measures The 25 variables were measured by a Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 (Very Low Importance) to 5 (Very High Importance). Analysis This study uses four tests to analyze the factors involved in purchase of an apartment. The first test conducted is the factor analysis which is used to club the variables in order to determine the purchase criteria of apartments. Thus, in this analysis the broad set of variables will be constricted to determine the smaller set of factors that can explain what home owners look for when purchasing an apartment. After this, a cluster analysis was conducted to determine the various clusters (groups) that exist within the demographic population. On the above said factor analysis and cluster analysis, a one way ANOVA was conducted in order to determine the order of preferences of each factors amongst such clusters. Finally, a discriminant analysis was conducted to identify factors that best differentiate the first time purchasers with others. Results The first test conducted was the factor analysis. Under this test, we followed the Principal Component Analysis method on the 25 variables to combine the correlated variables into factors. The KMO value calculated is 0.799 is above the suggested value of 0.5 which indicates that it is good idea to proceed with Factor Analysis. On the basis of the computations as represented in the Rotated Component Matrix (Table 1), the following factors were received: Affluence, Financial, location, lifestyle, Site-Specific. The variables were classified into a factor if their loading for the respective factor was greater than 0.4. Also, two other unnamed factors were received which remained so due to the fact that no factor can be formed between two variables. We have followed the Kaiser criterion (1960) of retaining only those factors that are greater than one. The initial research on 25 variables was reduced as the variables on domestic help, floor and proximity to friends/relatives was removed a fter the factor analysis was done. Domestic help was removed because it loaded on three factors (Financial, Location and Lifestyle) equally. Preference of Ground Floor was removed from the analysis as it showed a positive loading and negative loading on each of two factors which means that while some considered ground floor to be in consideration other considered the penthouse to be better. Proximity to friends/relatives was removed as it was the only variable in factor 6 (unnamed) and thus no factor can be made by one variable. The results of the Factor Analysis are as under: Rotated Component Matrix Variable Name Affluence Financial Location Lifestyle Site-Specific Unnamed Unnamed Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6 Factor 7 Traffic 0.768 Gym/Pool/Sports Facility 0.755 View from Apartment 0.721 Builder Reputation 0.644 Parking Space 0.568 Status 0.513 Monthly Cost of Living 0.764 Household Income 0.735 Availability of Loan 0.691 Availability of Domestic Help 0.498 0.414 0.435 Proximity to Schools/Office 0.778 Proximity to Transport 0.607 Proximity to City 0.575 0.424 -0.401 Proximity to Shops/Parks 0.546 Interior Design 0.768 Branded Components 0.712 Power Backup 0.594 Structure 0.741 Size 0.580 0.598 Safety 0.549 Preference of Ground Floor -0.415 0.423 Proximity to Friends/Relatives 0.845 Water Supply 0.410 0.652 House Price 0.405 0.508 Exterior Look 0.426 0.405 -0.464 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. Rotation converged in 21 iterations. Table 1 Factor Loadings- Purchase of an Apartment Table 2 Factor Analysis Factor No. Factor Name Eigen Values Total Variance (%) Cumulative Variance (%) 1 Affluence 6.826 27.306 27.306 2 Financial 2.9 11.600 38.906 3 Location 1.835 7.342 46.248 4 Lifestyle 1.504 6.016 52.264 5 Site-Specific 1.447 5.788 58.052 6 1.129 4.516 62.568 7 1.059 4.236 66.804 The second test that was conducted was the Cluster analysis and has done to segment the respondents on demographic variables of Age, Gender, City and Number of members in the family. Squared Euclidean distance and average linkage hierarchical clustering method was used. At fusion coefficient value of 1.0, two distinct clusters were evident. On conducting a One way ANOVA to compare means with the demographic variables we observe that the two clusters are differ on the mean age with a significance of 0%. The first cluster consists of a younger population with an average age of 37 approximately and the s

The Feminist Movement and Linda Tripp :: Essays Papers

The Feminist Movement and Linda Tripp Several weeks back in class we discussed women’s roles in politics today. Linda Tripp has become a political figure whether she likes to think of herself in that manner or not. When you work for the pentagon or in any governmental venue whatsoever you are marked by the lines of politics for the rest of your life. My studies have shown that Tripp has tired to downplay her political role. That was a difficult task when she was posing as the friend of the President’s mistress at the same time as she was recording their personal telephone conversations for Prosecutor Ken Starr’s use. Linda Tripp therefore plays an important role in the political environment of today’s society. Tripp plays a dual role as a woman and a political figure. She is a person of great name recognition and thus she is a representative of women in our society. I think this is where the problems with Linda Tripp begin. Tripp has changed the political and societal construction of women’s’ role's, as we know them today. Her attempts to identify with other women have only perpetuated the difficulties that women have had with in the political system. As a young woman in our society, I find it difficult to ignore the impact that Tripp has had on women in our society. I am becoming ever more involved in the political realm and find it very challenging. The class in which we discussed women’s roles in politics in the nineties represented how important and relevant gender issues continue to be within social and political movements. From that class, I remember hearing several persuasive arguments and examples from the women in the class in regards to how difficult it can be to be involved in political issues today. The pressures of being a woman are sometimes subtle and often not felt instantaneously. The need to work harder and do better in order to prove ourselves competent to our fellow male counterparts is sometimes not realized by women until we have reached a personal limit. In reaching that limit we can look around and sometimes I feel we may have lost a lot in trying to achieve some of the same things that men in our so ciety are raised to do. I think Linda Tripp has reached that limit and has lost personal values. Her fame has not been of positive persuasion to the

Leadership in Milton’s Paradise Lost, Cavendish’s Blazing World, and Ot

Leadership in Milton’s Paradise Lost, Cavendish’s Blazing World, and Shakespeare’s Othello and Hamlet Critical thinkers are the strongest people in the world—not only are they able to form their own opinions, but these individuals are also versatile enough to listen to their counsel for the best advice. They have learned when to be flexible and when to be stubborn—and they’ve realized who’s a snake in the grass and who deserves paramount respect. To live happily ever after, or even just to survive, a person must learn from the best. Leaders are no exception to the rule. Whether they come from a royal family, are spontaneously appointed, or are the only ones around and therefore lead by default, leaders must detect and discern the truth, using all of the empirical experience and intuitive senses that mankind has had bestowed upon them. In addition to all their duties, a good leader must be a critical thinker. Simply put, a leader’s ability to listen to another opinion speaks volumes about their character. In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Margaret Cavendish’s Blazing World, and William Shakespeare’s tragedies of Othello and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, there are a tremendous variety of leaders and counselors who all have different circumstances, yet all may be analyzed through twos common themes: The measures of innocence verses experience and passion verses reason in leadership positions. Some of the leaders that will be in focus don’t always play the part. Some aren’t always so innocent. But if we look at how characters with leadership roles treat their counsel—whether those advisors are family, friends, lovers or superiors—we will not simply learn more about the literature we study, but we may apply what we learn to o... ...25. Knight, G. Wilson. â€Å"The Embassy of Death: An Essay on Hamlet.† The Wheel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1930. Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Portable Machiavelli. Eds. Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa. New York: The Viking Press, 1979. McAlpine, Alistair. The New Machiavelli: The Art of Politics in Business. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1998. Milton, John. Paradise Lost. 1674. Ed. Scott Elledge. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Tragedies of Shakespeare. Players Illustrated Edition. Chicago: Spencer Press, Inc., 1955. Wood, Tanya Caroline. â€Å"The Fall and Rise of Absolutism: Margaret Cavendish’s Manipulation of Masque Conventions in ‘The Claspe: Fantasmes Masque’ and The Blazing World.† In-between: Essays and Studies in Literary Criticism. 2000.

Ancol Ltd. Study Essay

Ancol Ltd. hired Paul Simard as the manager of their Jonquiere, Quebec plant. Simard observed that relations were strained between management and employees and, through information from a seminar he had attended, ordered the removal of time clocks. This action brought an onset of negative consequences that ultimately led to a further diminishing of relations between the employees and management, accounting issues due to lack of accountability, and problems between the union and Ancol Ltd; All of these issues decreased productivity in the factory. The problem stems from issues of competency and communication. Essentially, there should have been an open solution from the beginning. Simard did not have the insight to understand the situation he was placed in. The new manager should have tried to understand why relations between employees and management were strained in the first place. He then could move to understand the needs of the management and workers to develop a solution that would benefit the whole factory. Rather than instantly implementing the removal of time clocks that he had learnt from the seminar, Simard should have carefully analyzed the situation and what consequences this policy could have on the factory. Simard could have researched and inquired about such methods and perhaps learnt the consequences from the instance at the B.C. factory. Problem Statement: The central issue at the Jonquiere Ancol Ltd. plant was that Paul Simard, and his management team, lacked the insight and communication to discern a more holistic and open solution to the problem of strained relations between the management and employees. This led to an uneducated and rash decision to order the removal of time clocks from the factory that led to negative consequences. Employees began leaving early, showing for work late, and taking extended lunch breaks that created distrust and frustration among management and other employees. The management was ordered to observe the employees and reprimand those who abused their privileges and was not competent enough to handle the task, which led to a great burden for the  supervisors, and this made it extremely difficult to foster trust between the management and employees. Consequently, the payroll department could not deduct pay for the amount of times employees were late due to a lack of accountability and therefore a lette r of reprimand was placed in each employee’s file, which created even more work for the supervisors. Finally, due to the letters of reprimand, grievances were filed with the employees’ unions that fostered greater distrust and essentially productivity, energy, and integrity significantly declined in the factory. Alternatives: The main issue revolved around the lack of communication and competency of the management at the beginning. Simard, and his staff, lacked the insight to effectively find a solution that would provide a holistic approach in solving the already apparent strained relations between the supervisors and employees. At the onset of his work term, Simard should have sought to understand why there was a rift between the employees and management. If Ancol Ltd. were still in good terms with the previous manager, Simard could have communicated with him to obtain a better understanding. In understanding the underlying issue, Simard would be able to effectively tackle the problem without uncertainty and then, Simard should have effectively communicated with his management team and his employees to find a solution that would benefit both parties and foster productivity, integrity, and trust back into the factory. The constraint to finding a holistic approach is that it takes time and the right solut ion may not come into fruition. Furthermore, while a solution is being made, it can be assumed that the relations are worsening. Furthermore, Simard should have seen that some of the issue arose from the fact that the supervisors lacked the interpersonal skills to communicate with the employees, which became apparent when the time clocks were removed. This was an obvious issue that Simard should have seen; having a management team that did not think the decision to remove the time clocks was rash or unwise should have been a signal. Therefore, perhaps Simard could have trained the existing management, or replaced them with more competent staff to create a more insightful staff and a healthier work environment for the employees. The constraint to this alternative is that training or hiring new management is time consuming and costly, and trust would have to be fostered between the new hires. This policy would have positive consequences and would create more trust between the employees and workers. It is obvious that the removal of the time clocks led to more harm than good. Simard should have carefully analyzed the situation prior to making the decision that led to such folly. If he had done this, many of the issues would not have occurred and the factory could have taken a step forward. Furthermore, he should have carefully analyzed the method that he learned from the seminar and how it would affect the employees and the factory’s productivity. Not all ideas that come from seminars pertain to every situat ion and any system change should be analyzed to predict the outcome in every functional area, such as the payroll department. If he had communicated with his senior management team and employees about the time clocks and its possible consequences, perhaps he would have found a better approach. Furthermore, if Simard had discussed the time clocks with other managers prior to implementing his policy, he would have learnt the consequences through the instance at the B.C. factory. Clearly, the issue and solution heavily depends on communication around the factory. It is difficult to see any negative consequences of this alternative, as the removal of time clocks was a disastrous solution. A constraint to this alternative is that it can be assumed that Simard does not have a management team that can communicate well, and hiring and training is costly and time consuming. With regards to the issues that occurred after the removal of the time clocks, there were many alternatives that Simard could have implemented that would have decreased the damage done. Simard could have been more strict on how many times an employee could be late, leave early, or take an extended lunch break. Furthermore, Simard could have rewarded those who stay longer and later to incentivize those who consid er abusing their privileges. These solutions have obvious pitfalls as the former only creates an adversarial environment and the latter relies on bribery rather than integrity and trust. Conclusion To conclude, since the issues stem from a lack of insight and communication, the solutions should also pertain to areas of insight and communication. Essentially, Ancol Ltd. could have hired a more competent manager for their Jonquiere plant. A competent manager would have created a more holistic and beneficial solution. Simard had not identified the root of the strained relations between the senior management and the employees. If he had communicated with the employees and management and previous manager in order to understand the issue at hand a much better solution could have been implemented. Also, a competent manager would have found that their management is lacking in crucial interpersonal skills that may have contributed to the issue. Simard should have conversed with the employees to learn about the existing management and terminate the supervisors who are not fit to lead. Although less costly, training the existing staff may not be the best option due to the fact that that the strained relations may be in part due to personality traits. Simard should have attempted to understand the implications of removing the time clock s in the factory. There were many alternatives that Simard could have attempted such as talking with his senior management team and employees, or communication with other managers at plants in order to understand the consequences of removing the time clocks. He would have found that it would have profound consequences in many functional areas of the factory and would derive a different solution. In regards to the order for the removal of time clocks, aside from reintroducing the time clocks earlier, it would be difficult for Simard to find solutions to the problem but rather Paul would be attempting â€Å"Band-Aid† solutions to the problems. Simard could have hired new supervisors or implemented a incentive based system but ultimately, this would have been avoided through more careful analysis and planning and therefore these should be rejected. Implementation At the beginning of Simard’s term, he should have immediately sought to identify the underlying issue regarding the strained relations between the employees and the senior management. First and foremost, if possible, Simard should have communicated with the previous manager. Next, Simard should have conducted depth discussions with his senior management and employees, together and separate. This will create an open and truthful dialogue between both parties and essentially, Simard would build a crucial  relationship with all staff. This process will take approximately a month or two. Throughout this time, Simard should have conducted research into the consequences of the removal of all time clocks and would refrain from doing so. In the process of discovering these issues, Simard would have noticed that his supervisor’s lack crucial skills that are necessary for their positions and terminate/hire new management staff accordingly. Simard would then ensure that the new management has the appropriate skills to effectively communicate with the employees and him to create a more accountable working environment. This process would take another month. With his revamped management staff, Simard would then address the underlying problems found through involvement with both the supervisors and employees. In this process, a new relationship would be built between both parties and workplace productivity and happiness would increase. This process would be ongoing until the solution was found and implemented.

Unit SHC 51: Use and develop systems that promote communication

24. 10. 2012 Unit SHC 51 Use and develop systems that promote communication Criteria: 1. 1,1. 2,1. 3 – Review the groups and individuals whose communication needs you must address in your work role. Explain how you support effective communication within your work role. Analyse the barriers and challenges to communication within your work role. Communication can be defined as information transfer. This can be exchange of thoughts,messages,feelings. The way we transfer information is by speech,signals or writing ,to express oneself in such a way that one is really and clearly understood.We all use a variety of communication techniques to both understand and be understood. Without communication nothing would get done,no information would be passed on. Communication take place to inform ,to support,educate,give and receive instruction,keep records,liaise and coordinate. All these communications can assist any or all of the service users and key people in the health and social care and children and young people’s settings . In this sectors communication is used to talk about needs,concerns,attitudes and feelings as well as to impart information.Communication is vital for those who desire and for those already working in the childcare sector. In this sector practitioners need to build relationships with children,their parents and other relevant authorities. As a practitioner I communicate with parents ,colleagues,children and other professionals ,such as health visitors,social workers,medical stuff,sales reps,visitors to the setting,other managers. Therefor I make sure that everybody is provided with the necessary information they need. My communication has to be clear and concise – both verbal and written.Without these skills I cannot engage productively with individuals ,in my case these are children,colleges,parents and family members,outside agencies. Without communication the world would be a lonely place and communication is particularly im portant in my work role as it can affect the relationships I build. Team communication is important as it is essential to keep everyone in the group knowledgable about what is going on within our work setting. To enable my team to do this successfully ,my colleges have to ensure their relationships grow and blossom,as they relay mainly on effective communication.The first time I meet a new parent or child it is important that I am friendly and welcoming. This is the start of the relationship and it is good to begin with firm foundations and that they get a positive feeling about me. The day-to-day conversations, of asking â€Å"How are you? † or just asking about someone’s weekend slowly build up rapport with a parent or child and gradually the relationship moves on from that first friendly â€Å"hello† as I get to learn more about them and they learn more about me.To gain and share information I find out information from the parents and children to help me do m y job effectively and ensure that the needs of the children are met. I gain a good knowledge of the children and in return I share information with them. It is also beneficial for me to build relationships with other professionals so that I may gain and share information with them to help us run our setting effectively. To gain reassurance and acknowledgement whilst working with young children I give them reassurance physically with positive comments and acknowledge them by showing that I am interested in what they are doing.Reassurance and acknowledgment is also important to me ; by children being content in my setting and their parents acknowledging that they are happy with care their children are receiving. Communication takes vital and huge part of my work role as a manager and for me being a successful and meaningful communicator is essential . Our survival and success as humans has been dependent on our ability to communicate. People communicate for different reasons: to teach ,to learn,to relate.Along with these I use communication to maintain and promote good working relationships,to encourage the children to communicate effectively,to ensure that everybody knows where they stand,to get my colleagues their point across and ensure safety in the work environment,to help people understand how I feel and act accordingly,to work together and prevent errors,express my wants and needs,to help build and maintain trust,to negotiate and liaise with others.To support and develop my communication skills as a manager I make sure that I keep myself up-to-dated with all the relevant informations and news and pass them on to the relevant authorities. To keep my communication effective I use one way method : fax,e-mail,memo,voice mail,letter; two way method: -in person,phone calls; collaborative method: -team meetings,consulting,decision making,group problem solving. In my work role as a manager, one of the ways I ensure the correct methods of communication are being as sessed and used effectively for the service users within my setting, is to review care plans.I do this during supervisions with the key workers, I check that the needs and wishes of the children are being met, and recorded appropriately. I also ensure that the way information is recorded is done so in such a format that can be understood by all that need to read it( large print and avoid using jargon. ) I also maintain contact with family members, care managers via email and the telephone to ensure that all necessary information is passed on. This can be formal or informal.Part of my role is to help the staff to develop care plans, a large part of that is aimed at ensuring the staff understand the importance of identifying the best method of communication based, on each individual needs, if someone is non verbal use of signs or pictures or has sight problems using large print etc. I make sure that the key workers know the importance of acting as an advocate to ensure the rights of t he individual are met, and to giving support and guidance on how best to achieve this.One of the ways that I inform my stuff and the parents of up-and-coming events is to use a notice board, which is located in a visible part of the setting and is written using appropriate wording and text. To support effective communication in my work role is also important to build respect in business,inspire confidence,develop a distinct personality and reveal my ability to others. It is vital in establishing effective relationships in my work setting by allowing practitioners to expect support from colleagues/management and to provide them with the necessary support in times of stress and difficulty.Effective communication is one of the most important sources of my work. When practitioners communicate effectively with children this benefits massively on their learning and development,and they become to trust and respect them as practitioners. Family and friends know me well and will usually unde rstand me, even if I communicate poorly or very informally. Communicating with people at work is different because it is important that colleagues communicate respect for each other. Colleagues who do not show respect for each other may fail to show respect to the people who use the setting.I often have to greet colleagues by asking if they are well and spend time on ‘warm-up talk’ in order to show that I value them. I need to demonstrate that I am a good listener and can remember details of conversations with my colleagues. Colleagues have to develop trust in each other. It is important to demonstrate that I respect the confidentiality of conversation with colleagues. My work setting has its own social expectations about the correct way to communicate thoughts and feelings,which is in difference with the social expectations when communicating with my friends and family.Although communication between colleagues may often be informal it is important that they use skilled communication in order to develop respect and trust. As there has been,and will continue to be,an increase in the demand for good communication skills,as everyday life is becoming more complex and most jobs now need good communication skills,as it is crucial for progress in our changing world. In my work role ,as in all health and social care settings, there are barriers that affect my communication. These barriers are sometimes extremely difficult to overcome or very easy.The reasons that can block my communication can vary- difference in culture and values;personal feelings and difficulties in my own life;feeling unsafe or unwell,tired;not listening effectively,environment factors. Environmental factors that influence communication: It is very hard to hear what someone is saying if there is a lot of background noise. It is also very difficult to make sense of other people’s facial expressions if I can’t see their faces properly due to poor lighting. Rooms with awkwa rd seating positions might mean that a group of people cannot see each other comfortably.People sometimes feel uncomfortable if they are trying to communicate with a person who is too close or at a distance. A room that is too hot, stuffy or cold may inhibit communication if it makes people feel tired or stressed. The environment also plays an important role in the effectiveness of communication aids. For instance, hearing aids will amplify background noise as well as the voice of the speaker. A noisy environment may therefore be difficult and unpleasant for someone who is using a hearing aid. Good lighting will be critical for someone who supports their understanding of speech with lip reading.Time limits can also interfere with communication. Barriers associated with personality, self-esteem, anxiety and depression: Sometimes people can create their own barriers because they feel stressed by the emotional needs of the people they work with. Listening to others can involve hearing about frightening and depressing situations. People sometimes stop listening in order to avoid painful emotions. Tiredness, lack of time or a desire to avoid emotional stress can create a barrier to providing caring communication.Building an understanding of another person and establishing a ‘caring presence’ can be very difficult when their personality or self-esteem needs create a barrier. Many people who are depressed or anxious experience negative thoughts that ‘just come to them’. Attempting to understand these thoughts and feelings can feel like trying to find a way through a brick wall. It may feel as if there is an emotional barrier preventing the person from experiencing any positive emotions. Sensory impairment and disability: A sensory impairment means that a person’s senses do not work effectively.Impairments create the first kind of communication barrier, where information is not fully received. Disability is not the same as impairment. Some people experiencing barriers because of their difference may have a communication disability. In my work role I come across with people who suffer with a variety of disabilities or learning difficulties. If I meet a person who has visual disability then I would have to support him/her in order for communication and interpersonal interaction to be effective. It would be important for me to have appropriate resources such as glasses,magnifiers and high quality surroundings such as lighting.Along with these I need to use a clear tone and voice and speak louder so the person can understand what is being said,as him/her wouldn’t be able ti lip read. Hearing disability is another communication barrier. If I am communicating with someone who is partly or fully deaf ,then I have to take into consideration the environment in which the communication takes place. Physical disabilities,such as speech impediment, could cause difficulty in communication. In this case ,the use of sighs and symbols,used in different ways (facial expressions and hand gestures) can help my practice.Barriers associated with assumptions: Building an understanding of other people’s needs takes time and effort. Jumping to conclusions and making assumptions can save mental effort and time, but assumptions may cause me to misinterpret what another person is trying to communicate. For example, I might believe that I don’t need to listen to a person because I already know what his/her needs are. Assumptions can create a barrier because people stop listening and checking their understanding of other people’s communication. Some people make assumptions that people who have a disability are damaged ‘normal’ people.When disabled people are seen in this way, they might be pitied or ignored. Difference in culture and values: Many cultures have different beliefs about suitable communication between people,for example they may consider certain body language and han d gestures appropriate ,but others may find it offensive. An example of this is the â€Å"thumbs up† hand gesture ,which is commonly used to show that something is good or OK,but it is an insult if you were to show somewhere in Iran, Afganistan,Nigeria and parts of Italy and Greece. Also,a language in part part of the country could be different from somewhere else in this country (dialects).Accents and dialects can be confusing to understand the same for accents, in Britain there are many of these such as â€Å"Geordie† and â€Å"Cockney Rhyming Slang†. In my work role I must understand and respect people’s cultural backgrounds,thinking before I speak or make a certain action ,whether it is appropriate. Effective communication in my work role is also to make sure that the people know that what is said is kept confidential,and that I will not judge them based on what is said. I must be sensitive to the people’s needs and feelings,by not discriminati ng,judging or showing negative body language towards them.

Precision Worldwide, Inc

Introduction When a competitor develops and introduces a superior product that is less costly to manufacture and even many times usable and durable, the key to people at Precision Worldwide must decide whether to match the competitor's product, when to do so, how to price or what sustainable competitive advantage it needs to adopt during the next strategic period, given that it holds a large inventory of its now inferior product. This issue concerns the steel and plastic rings which the company, Precision Worldwide, Inc. PWI) is opting to produce as a matter of competing intensively with a French company, Henri Poulenc, which was at the same time posing a big threat to the viability of the steel rings PWI is producing. . PWI is confronted not only with a substitute product which is both cheap and durable. Compared to PWI’s steel rings, the plastic rings being produced by Henri Poulenc is both cheaper and lasts longer. PWI is also facing the risk of earning the ire of its custo mers if it manufactures but selectively introduces the cheaper plastic rings in areas where it is faced with the ‘plastic’ competition. As a result, PWI is now confronted with a dilemma of differences in strategic measures to undertake given the differing opinions of its key people. Questions Posted for this Note: 1. You have to analyze the existing data, the conflicting views of the sales manager and the Development engineer. And make a decision as to whether PWI should begin the manufacture of a plastic ring. Answer: From the standpoint of the qualitative aspect of competition, PWI is encouraged to start manufacturing of the plastic ring if it is to avert a more serious consequence of being eased out of the market due to a cheaper, more durable plastic ring. Regardless of the fact that PWI still has an inventory of the special steel material and the completed steel rings, yet PWI should approach the problem with a resolve in terms of the qualitative factor of competition. The cost of the existing inventory will have to be matched with the opportunity cost of being eased out of the competition – that is, pitting the income from the substitute with the potential loss of the opportunity income due to a prompt entry into the plastics market. For PWI, the signs of change are showing: the presence of a cheaper and better substitute which should not be ignored totally. Hence, this needs to be seriously considered as a threat. The presence of alternatives as exemplified by Henri Poulenc should encourage PWI to explore this option. 2. In addition, a plan needs to be designed as to the pricing policy to follow for both the steel and the plastic rings. Answer: A plan for the pricing policy is similarly considered urgent to explore the opportunities of lower cost or such cost being at par with the competition, both for the steel and plastic rings. Any form of pricing policy will have to be dependent on the cost of production and operations of PWI. Opportunities for cost reductions through outsourcing, reengineering and redundancy layoffs should be seriously considered. Among the avenues that can be explored include outsourcing of the manufacturing of the steel and plastic rings, either with Henri Poulenc or with other equally cost-effective firms. A number of plastic or steel rings manufacturer may offer a cheaper cost structure for PWI. An additional strategy to a pricing policy for the steel and plastic ring is to reengineer the manufacturing operations for the rings to explore ways of reducing production cost to lower the selling price for the part. Part of this operations restructuring measure include: evaluation of the sources of raw materials as means of looking for cheaper suppliers. (Kaplan & Norton, 2004) Comparatively, indeed, the costs of raw materials for both plastic and steel rings are too big to be ignored. PWI has to take the initiative to explore the use of alternatives like plastic which has been found feasible by Henri Poulenc. On the other hand, the labor and overhead cost may be studied in detail to explore automated production to manage the cost-price relationship. Cost variance analysis is needed to determine areas for improvements and opportunities. Pricing policies will then come after target costing measures are explored. (Garrison & Noreen, 2003) 3. Finally, some considerations should be given to the effect of the decision upon the firm’s image in the marketplace. Answer: There are a number of considerations that may likely impact the image-building processes of PWI are to be seriously considered when making decisions. Thus the effect of decisions involving the following issues is considered: (1) the issues involving the cost structure which continue to hamper the pricing policies and market potentials of PWI’s products. It appears that PWI has not really looked into the possibility of actively pursuing efforts to compete in the market through cost-effective production processes, lower prices to recognize the availability of better-equality substitutes such as the plastic rings; (2) the possible discovery of distributing the planned cheaper plastic rings in areas where competition is tight. This issue might prove to be an indefensible issue if customers discover such unfair selective distribution scheme; (3) the disposal of the remaining inventory of special steel and the finished steel rings might not be acceptable to the market unless prices are made more attractive and useful to the buyer. However, disposal made at a cheaper price and the prompt introduction of the plastic rings at a competitive price might mitigate the possible losses of the steel materials and steel rings. This can bring a positive impact in favor of the PWI for its initiative at providing its customers with marked down prices of steel rings. And, (4) the production of plastic rings at a cheaper cost will enable the company to bring a message of dynamism to the market despite the prospect of competition. (Hill, 2008) 4. How long is it prudent to sell a short-lived highly profitable replacement part without jeopardizing the company’s image and market share? Answer: The introduction of the plastic rings into the market should be followed by a market survey to determine the acceptability of the market to the innovation. An analysis of the consumer behavior is important in planning the appropriate action to be taken on the period required to sell the plastic rings. The survey should be able to tell the effects of the innovation for PWI to assess how long the product can be introduced into the market without affecting the image and market share of the company. 5. What price relationship is likely to prevail between the steel rings and the plastic rings once the latter become widespread? Answer: The price relationship expected to prevail between the steel rings and the plastic rings might at a ratio of 5:1 which means that five plastic rings is equivalent to one steel ring. This relationship however, can significantly change as the cost structure is reevaluated and inputs analyzed to arrive at a more competitive cost structure enough to sustain the production of both the steel and the plastic rings. . How should the 15,100 finished steel rings that will still be on hand in September be treated for analytical purposes? Answer: The inventory of finished steel rings will be used up in due time by September based on estimates of periodic and regular consumption. The remaining inventory can be classified at scrap and marked down accordingly to encourage sales and turnover. 7. Will the price rings hold at $1,350 once plastic rings are introduced? Answer: The price will no longer hold at $1,350 for the steel rings. The price of the traditional steel rings will drop accordingly due to the presence of substitutes and the demand to become more competitive. 8. Will the price of steel rings fall to one-fourth of the plastic rings’ price? Answer: It is probable that the price of the steel rings will fall to one-fourth or even beyond as components of the cost become stable, but there are still variables to consider that may affect the pricing: that is, the issue of reengineering the production which may lead to lower costs. 9. What effects will the decision in respect to plastic rings and steel rings have on the sale of other PWI products?particularly of the industrial machines? Answer: Since the pricing policy of PWI will affect the options to be made by the company, the effect of decisions on the plastic and steel rings may rationalize the prices of the machines as the cost burden is shifted from the steel to the plastic area. (Garrison & Noreen 2003) 10. Can the plastic rings be sold in France without affecting PWI’s other markets? Answer: At the short run, there will be no effect. However, in the long run, when customers are able to gain access to the French market through the globalization phenomenon, customers will start to shift sourcing of rings from the traditional sources to France where are able to make good use of their financial resources. 11. What action should Hans Thorborg take? Why? Answer: Thorborg should explore existing and future capabilities to arrive at the various options. Here, the bottom line is the capability to produce the plastic rings at a competitive price while disposing the inventory of steel materials and the steel rings. Thorborg needs to start retooling the production lines for the plastic rings. The threat from Henri Poulenc is real and may soon take some market share from PWI. The cost structure is a very fluid support for decisions as these can significantly change with a decision to outsource, reengineer or rationalize the labor and overhead component. Whatever options Thorborg choose to act on, needs the support of his key people in the company especially Henk and Eisenbach. (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2003)