Benefit and compensation system of Google Essay

Google Inc. is an American international organization that provides internet related products and services. Cloud computing, advertising technologies, and their search engine are among the most popular services that they offer. Google recently ranked 46th on the 2014 Fortune 500 companies and 1st on Fortune 500’s best places to work for. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin who met at Stanford University and is based out of Mountain View, California. Google began in a garage sixteen years ago and now has over 48,000 employees and is one of the world’s technology leaders. CNN Money has it ranked as number 1 on list of most popular employers by business and engineering majors. â€Å"College students worldwide dream of starting their careers at Google† (cnn.com). A large part of the reason that Google ranks so highly among lists of popular employers is due to their competitive compensation strategy. Google is known not only for their innovative technology breakthroughs but also their innovative compensation policies. Google Human Resources performed a survey to determine what type of pay is preferred by its employees such as base pay or bonuses. â€Å"We’ve heard from your feedback on Googlegeist and other surveys that salary is more important to you than any other component of pay (i.e., bonus and equity). To address that, we’re moving a portion of your bonus into your base salary, so now it’s income you can count on, every time you get your paycheck† (ibtimes.com). Managing Human Resources and compensation strategies effectively is vital to organizations within the modern and fast paced business world. Google had created a strategic compensation that gives them a competitive advantage among their competitors by attracting, retaining, and motivating highly talented employees. Google’s compensation system has all the benefits you would expect from a Fortune 500 organization such as health insurance programs and retirement plans. Google sets itself apart from the competition by offering services and discretionary benefits that are not standard. These services include perks such as employees are allowed to bring their pets to work and  transportation services that pick up and drop off employees at home. Google believes in a fun informal environment because it leads to more engaged, happy, and productive personnel and they have implemented many practices that reflect this ideology. Liane Hornsey, the Google VP of operations, believes that the work life balance is important to their employees and implements policies to ensure that workers keep a healthy balance. â€Å"Liane explains that the company is outcome focused, not detail focused. In other words, they don’t monitor what time employees arrive or keep track of sick days† (centerforworklife.com) Google offers flexible work hours, part time work options, and telecommuting for certain jobs to allow employees freedom to have a social and home life. Google has set a strategy to provide a workplace that people want to work at and have gave substantial effort to achieve this goal. Their HR and compensation practices produce impressive results of the organization’s approach which increases employee productivity. Core compensation is very important and has a large impact on employee’s attitude and performance. Google focuses on rewarding exceptional performance as well as training in weak areas for underperformers. Performance management is performed quarterly and Google puts extensive focus on this area because they are performance driven. Performance appraisals are important because Google uses pay-for-performance bonuses as a large part of their compensation strategy. Much like most other organizations there is an increase in total compensation in accordance to the levels of responsibilities and leadership. Individual incentives, group incentives, and profit sharing programs are used at Google which gives employees a financial reward when their profit goal is achieved. Payscale.com reports that Google Inc. typically pays their employees 11% above the market pay line. This is 3% higher than their direct competition in the market. Paid time off is one type of discretionary benefit that Google offers benefits above the standard in the market. They offer unlimited sick leave due to the fact that they are focused on performance and production and rely on performance reviews to determine an employee’s contributions. Google also provides employees with 27 days of paid time off after one year of  employment. They also recognize the importance of child birth and offer 18 weeks of maternity leave for an employee that has a child. Google also offers paternity leave to fathers which allow male employees to use up to 7 weeks of leave to spend with their newborn. During this time off employees receive their full annual base pay while they are at home with their child. Google offers employees health insurance programs that cover employee dependents as well. â€Å"Its health care plan is unusually generous and even pays for gender-reassignment surgery including facial feminization for transgender women† (forbes.com). Google also has a physician on site at headquarters in Mountain View, CA. This allows for employees to simply walk across the campus to see a doctor if they are not feeling well. This eliminates employees having to miss work and make a special trip to a physician when they are not feeling well. Some physical therapy services and chiropractic services are offered as well for the convenience of the employee. Google also offers employer sponsored retirement programs such as 401K and IRA. Google matches employee donations to their defined contribution plans at a rate of up to 50%. This is well above the average as many organizations only match up to 6% of contributions. Google’s HR department sends emails to employees to encourage them to set aggressive savings goals. â€Å"If you implore an employee to contribute $8,000 to his retirement rather than, say, $2,000, he’ll tend to save more, even if he can’t afford $8,000† (rd.com). This allows employees to feel secure in their future retirement income as Google helps to ensure that they will have a satisfactory retirement benefit plan. Protection programs are another form of discretionary benefit that Google offers in innovative and unprecedented ways. In addition to standard life insurance that employees are able to receive, they also receive additional life insurance benefits from directly from Google. If an employee passes away Google has created a policy that the deceased employee’s spouse will receive half of their salary for the next ten years. If the deceased employee had a child then Google will compensate that child in the amount of $1000 per month until the age of 19 or the age of 23 if they are a full time college student. The type of benefit that Google is most known for are services. This type of discretionary benefit helps companies create a competitive advantage in the market by giving perks to employees which helps attract and retain quality employees. They offer transportation services in the bay area with Wi-Fi enable trollies that pick up employees to take to work and drop them off at their residence after work is completed. Another service they offer are nap pods for the ability to relax and take brief naps at work so they are reenergized for work. Google also provides tuition reimbursement services that encourage employees to continue their education at the expense of their employer. This will continue to improve employee production and continue to increase the value of the worker which benefits the employer and employee. There is also an on-site fitness center that is complete with weights, personal trainers, and yoga instructors so that employees have the time to exercise and relieve stress while at work. The fitness center is also equipped with a full size lap pool and rock climbing wall for alternative exercise methods. There are also free recreational game rooms where employees can play games such as pool, foosball, Ping-Pong and arcade games. This promotes a social atmosphere and strengthens the team concept while relieving stress and improving morale as well. Google has Segways that are available for employees to use at any time which allows them to travel around the campus atmosphere quicker and in a more entertaining way. They also have beach volleyball games and roller hockey in the parking lot twice a week. Hair salons with beauticians and barbers are readily available any time an employee would like a haircut at work. One of the most popular services that Google offers is a free cafeteria for all employees. Workers are able to enjoy quality gourmet food for lunch at their convenience and it does not cost them anything. Google is also offers free oil changes, car washes, legal consultation among many more services that are available to any employee. These services are a unique compensation strategy that proves core compensation is not always the most important benefit to an occupation. Google has a unique vision and has implemented unique compensation strategies that have been met with overwhelming success of attracting and retaining the highest quality employees available in the market. Most employers can learn  from the strategy used by Google by making the work environment as fun and friendly as possible because that is an environment that produces highly motivated employees that will want to perform to the best of their abilities. The bottom line is directly affected by employee turnover and employee production and a compensation strategy such as Google Inc.’s has proven to affect those areas in a positive way. Works Cited â€Å"Average Salary for Google, Inc. Employees.† _Google, Inc. Company Salary Data, Average Employee Salaries_. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. â€Å"America’s Top Companies For Compensation And Benefits.† _Forbes_. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. Emerson, Ramona. â€Å"Google’s Best Benefits: The Top 7 Perks Google Offers Employees.† _The Huffington Post_. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google.† _Fortune_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google’s HR Practices Explained.† _Google’s HR Practices Explained_. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google – Overview, Company Culture And History.† _About_. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Google’s 10% Salary Increase, $1000 Cash Bonus Part of Company’s ‘competitive Compensation Plan'† _International Business Times_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. â€Å"How Google Became the Best Place to Work.† _Readers Digest_. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 214. â€Å"How Google Motivates Their Employees with Rewards and Perks.† _HubPages_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. â€Å"Work Life Balance Elephant Theory, Logic Based Discussion on Work Life.† _Center For Work Life_. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Mr. William Bryant And His Romantic Antics Essay

Romanticism is a style of writing based in the late 19th century. It is characterized by nature, individual expression, emotion and imagination. Many writers in his time were part of the Romantic Movement and William Cullen Bryant was one of them. His poems are full of Romantic ideals such as the benevolence of Nature and the emphasis on emotion. Bryant is clearly a Romantic poet and his poems â€Å"Thanatopsis† and â€Å"To a Waterfowl† are clearly illustrations of this. Nature is a big part of both â€Å"Thanatopsis† and â€Å"To a Waterfowl†. In â€Å"Thanatopsis†, Nature actually has a speaking part. The personified Nature teaches the reader to not fear death, but accept it as a part of life. Nature in this poem is very comforting. She is described in detail and is portrayed as calm and compassionate in her way of speaking. In â€Å"To a Waterfowl†, nature is also important and in this poem, it is more concrete than the Nature in â€Å"Thanatopsis†. Bryant is talking about a lone waterfowl that is flying through the air. The waterfowl is part of nature and he questions it as if it would answer. In Romantic poetry, it would answer, as in Thanatopsis, where nature actually speaks to the reader. This also shows the freedom and the mystical aspect in his writing. Idealism is also a big romantic characteristic in these poems. In Thanatopsis, realism would consider death a dark and horrible thing. However, the idealistic Bryant portrayed it as a part of life and that dying would bring you back to the divine Nature. In â€Å"To a Waterfowl†, the bird is solitary because he is a freethinking spirit and is flying free from other’s conventional ideas. This appeals to the radical and the idealistic Romantic in him. This poetry by William Cullen Bryant is clearly of the Romantic style. He uses nature in his poetry in an aesthetic way, stating it as a kind being. Idealism is used in a romantic manner, glorifying death and showing the freedom of life in its natural form. His poetry is full of content and emotion with forgiveness and love. Bryant’s â€Å"Thanatopsis† and â€Å"To a Waterfowl† are two excellent examples of Romantic poetry because they use  Romantic ideas of freedom, idealism, and benevolence of nature.

Oedipus the Everything but King

No Name World Literature 1 Character Analysis â€Å"Oedipus the King†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Hunter, Plowman, and Sailor-Helmsman Throughout the play â€Å"Oedipus Rex†, the main character Oedipus has a number of different character traits throughout the play. His out-look on the stories situation evolves as he begins to learn the truth about who he really is. Oedipus takes on the characteristics of a hunter as well as becoming the hunted; he is a sower yet also the seed, and a sailor-helmsman of the city. Each of these images has their own significance.Oedipus first starts out as the hunter once he marries the queen of Thebes. Once betrothed, Oedipus is told that, Laius, the late king of Thebes was murdered by a robber. Oedipus says that he will exile or execute Laius’ killer once he is found. The irony to his statement is that he will have to catch and exile himself because in actuality he is the man who killed Laius. Oedipus then goes from being the hunter to the hunted, not knowing the man he is looking for is actually him himself.He proceeds to tell his men to â€Å"Hunt him down with all your strength† but in essence he’s telling his men to hunt him which makes him the hunted. Oedipus asks Tiresias to speak on behalf of what he knows and when he does not this upsets him. Oedipus begins to mock Tiresias about the fact that he cannot â€Å"see† and in return Tiresias says the same thing to Oedipus. Tiresias is blind but he is the one who sees Oedipus’ future clearly and Oedipus is not and can’t see what his future holds at all.In mocking Tiresias, Oedipus reaps the consequences of his actions because he later takes his own sight. Oedipus is also considered a sower because he married and had children; however he is his mother’s seed and ironically he married and reproduced with his mother. By definition plowman prepare the fields with seeds and expect plants to be produced. Oedipus and widowed Queen Jocasta marr y, are intimate and reproduce children.The imagery is the same for Jocasta and her first husband King Laius as that for her second husband, Oedipus: like father, like son as it turns out. The Sailor-helmsman is in essence is the person who guides a ship. Oedipus being king of Thebes is supposed to steer the people out of harm’s way. Oedipus thought that he was doing the right thing by leaving the place he thought was home when he was told he would kill his father and marry his mother; only the thing was the parents he knew of in Corinth were not his actual parents.After Oedipus leaves Corinth, because of all that he has done he has brought a plague amongst his city, the city of Thebes. â€Å"The citizens are passengers of the ship watching as their captain and his vessel fall to pieces†. All of these images were ironically tied into showing the positives and negatives that contributed to Oedipus’ demise. However, this was not all Oedipus’ fault because so mewhere down the family line Oedipus’ family was cursed and he had nothing to do with it, he was just the one who would complete the curse which leads to his undoing.

Employee relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

Employee relations - Essay Example It also helps in identifying and assessing the various levels of employment and help define the nature and scope of relationship between the employees and employers; the social and moral values upheld by the societies; and provide guidance with regard to approaching and addressing employee disputes and grievances within and across industries. The fact that laws and regulations governing employment are implemented as a reaction to the existing social and moral values as well as the existing social, cultural, political, economic, and technological circumstances existing within a given community, state or nation. The study of employee relations hence helps in understanding and exploring the concept in a comprehensive manner and provides an insight into the factors that shape our views towards employment, employee relations, and work in general. This essay aims to explore the concept of employee relations with regard to local, national and international contexts; and the factors that influence the existing norms and in the process provide a meaningful discussion regarding the historical origins, definitions, and theoretical perspectives aided by relevant case studies to help support and substantiate the claims made. The concept of employee relations was introduced as a replacement to the term industrial relations (CIPD, 2013). Industrial relations refer to the relationship between employers and employees within an industry. Employee relations on the other hand cover a broader spectrum of this relationship and include the relationship between employers and trade unions, other representatives of the employees, as well as officials (Armstrong, 2010). Rose (2008) defines employment relations as: "The study of the regulation of the employment relationship between employer and employee, both collectively and individually, and the determination of both substantive and procedural issues at industrial, organisational and workplace

Pneumonia disease Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Pneumonia disease - Case Study Example As pneumonia takes place within the lungs, the bacteria, viruses, and fungi attack the lungs and make it difficult to breathe. Other symptoms, such as coughing, fever, and a sore throat make the disease seem like a normal flu or cold, so it is important that the patient is diagnosed properly and immediately to avoid long-lasting difficulties. Since the lungs, incredibly vital organs, are effected, the sooner treatment begins the better chance the patient has at overcoming the disease. Medications are used to fight the virus depending on the type of bacteria that causes pneumonia. Proper treatment also ensures that the disease is not passed on to others. When pneumonia is not treated properly, it can lead to death. Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of child deaths in the United States and in Europe, claiming the lives of approximately thirty-six children per every one thousand under the age of five (Hale & Isaacs, 2006). In developing countries, where medication and treatment is hard to come by, sees over two million child deaths each year due to pneumonia. A 43-year-old woman is taken to the emergency room with complaints of a dry cough and difficulties with breathing when she is doing activities that are remotely strenuous. Three months previously, this woman brought her concerns to her primary doctor, as well as complaints of weight loss and night sweats. Chest radiographs were undergone to reveal that the woman had bilateral lower lobe infiltrates (Hadid & Aiman, 2007). The woman was then diagnosed with a form of pneumonia known as community-acquired pneumonia. Though she received medication, her symptoms did not improve; indeed, they only worsened over time. Further chest radiographs revealed that her condition was not improving, regardless of her six weeks usage of oral antibiotics. The most common symptom of any form of pneumonia is a cough that produces green or yellow sputum. Since the infection takes place within the lungs, these organs are the

Compare and contrast US health system Assignment

Compare and contrast US health system - Assignment Example The Canadian system offers universal access to health care for all its citizens while the American System offers health care to only 75% health insurance to its citizens (ONeill & ONeill, 2008). As opposed to Canada, United States has no single health care system across the nation. Health insurance is offered by private organizations and the government. The United States health care system has varied production techniques as opposed to the Canadian system. The government, NGOs and for-profit companies play a key function in the health care markets. The hospital industry in United States is dominated by the not-for-profit organizations as opposed to Canada, which is entirely dominated by government owned (ONeill & ONeill, 2008). Notably, NGOs control almost 75% of hospital beds. Additionally, for-profit organizations control the 70% of nursing homes in United States (ONeill & ONeill, 2008). Unlike in Canada, the reimbursement process in United States is multifaceted with numerous third parties comprising of the federal and state governments, party payers and for-profit health insurance organizations. The most common reimbursement is fee-for-service and the prepaid health insurance (ONeill & ONeill,

Religious Liberty in Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious Liberty in Public Schools - Essay Example It goes a long way in eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion in public places. This is what informed the decision in Van Orden v Perry (2005), where the Supreme Court held that the Ten Commandment on the government monument at the Texas State Capitol violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  The issue of religious expression in public places, especially in schools, is an area that has attracted a series of serious debates. Many of these matters always find their way in court. In the case of Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the state of Pennsylvania required that ten verses should be read from the Holy Bible each morning in public schools each school day. The majority of Supreme Court judges found this to contravene the First Amendment.  Just as in the above-mentioned case, it would be wrong to display the student’s depiction of Jesus Christ in class as this would be going against the First Amendment as that would amount to leaning t owards Christianity as opposed to the required neutrality in the public schools towards religion (Ackerman, 2001).  Putting all these factors into consideration, it would therefore go against some student’s rights, as this is a captive audience, and can be easily swayed into believing something that is against their religious creed. It is therefore important not to display that kind of work in class to protect the constitutional rights of the other students and avoid violating the First Amendment, which could have in itself dire consequences.

Multi National Corporations (MNCs) must Carefully Weigh their Options Research Paper

Multi National Corporations (MNCs) must Carefully Weigh their Options in Deciding on an International Expansion Strategy - Research Paper Example For this reason, it is also referred as international group. The prime objective of a multinational enterprise is to expand the actions of the business outside the national boundaries in order to enhance its brand equity as well as its corporate image in global perspective. It also helps in augmentation of efficiency along with profitability of the organization. Hence, in order to fulfill these factors, the multinational organizations always aim to undergo international expansion strategies. Besides, in order to undertake internal expansion strategies, the multinational organizations must also consider certain financial factors as well, such as foreign exchange rate, conflicting interest rates from one country to the other, foreign tax rates, complex accounting methods for the foreign operators and foreign government interventions. Various Financial Factors In this era of globalization, the key motive of any organization is to expand its business operations in order to reduce the ris ks of the company and to augment its market potentials. In order to accomplish these objectives, foreign exchange rate offers significant influence over the organizational operations. Foreign exchange rate is referred to the rate at which the value of the currency of a specific country is transformed into another (Moles, Parrino, & Kidwell, 2011). It is also known as exchange rate or currency exchange rate. The value of the exchange rate is mainly depended on the local demand of the foreign currencies along with the local delivery of the products to other countries. Thus, it helps in easing the operations of trade among diverse countries. Hence, it can be affirmed that foreign exchange rate facilitates a multinational corporations to engage in international trade thereby reducing its business risks. This is because it offers a detailed view about the currency quotation along with market demand of a particular international country (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, n.d.). Besides, f oreign exchange rate might affect the business operations in case of inflation by lowering its profit margins. Similarly, differing or conflicting interest rates of diverse countries should also be considered by the multinational companies while deciding for international expansion. The interest rates can be referred to the amount charged or paid by a borrower for the utilization of the money. It may vary from one country to the other due to varied reasons namely inflation, political changes, deferred consumption rates and risks of investments among others. Due to inflationary prospects, the demand of the products may reduce thereby lowering the profit margin of the international organizations (Hill & Jain, 2009). Political alterations also result in changes in the interest rates of the countries thereby hampering the trade conditions, which is extremely beneficial for any MNC. Alteration in the interest rate lowers the rate of consumption of products, which increases the risks of i nvestments (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, n.d.). Thus, due to these above described factors, the interest rate differs widely from one country to the other and also offers significant impact on the business transactions of the MNCs as well. Hence, it should be considered by an MNC while deciding for international expansion. Apart from the above stated factors, the other important factor, which also influences the international exp

Strategic Management Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management Assignment - Essay Example out sponsorship of the world’s most popular league creates a positive emotional link between our brand and football fans everywhere† (www.premierleague.com accessed December 2009). Moreover, Barclays’ sponsorship of the Premier League has enabled Barclays to capitalise on the branding strategy and business growth of clubs within the Premier league such as Manchester United, whose ability to transcend from football into mainstream culture as a testament to its branding strategy success (Johnson et al, 2008). As such, Barclays PLC president Robert E. Diamond Junior asserts that Barclays’ sponsorship of the Premier league provides the perfect strategic fit for the Barclays brand. The focus of this paper is to undertake a strategy management evaluation of the Barclays Premier League with a contextual focus on Manchester United The last decade has seen has radical transformation of the UK football industry, with economic indicators pointing to football has a viable business model (Johnson et al, 2008, p.20). It is submitted that a key element of this is effective strategy management, which is imperative to the continued success of the Premier League as the leisure industry continues to grow as an important sector exponentially in the global marketplace (Joyce & Woods, 2001, p.488). This is further supported by the argument of Joyce and Woods that â€Å"football is big business and the leisure industry is fast becoming an important sector worldwide† (2001, p.488). Therefore, it is submitted that a market environment analysis of the English Premier League and the multiple income streams created by leading clubs such as Manchester United within the league is imperative to the consideration of Barclays long term growth and development goals going forward. For example, in Exall’s â€Å"Who Killed English Football?: An Analysis of the State of English Football† (2007), Exall suggests that the Premier league business model radicalised English football by

Top of Form Essay Example for Free

Top of Form Essay The U.S. has gone through many transitions in its short history. The pre-Depression were born before 1930. People born in this era as young children saw their family go through very difficult hardships. They are mostly conservative and are typically not concerned about materialistic things but instead concerned about health, aging, financial, and personal security. People born in the Depression era were small children who were instilled into them the importance of rationing, saving, morals, and ethics. People in this generation value family togetherness, but are slow to embrace change. People born in the baby boom era, typically born 1946-1964, were all about self-expression and optimism. Today, many of the baby boomers are workaholics working well into their 50s and 60s. Many people of this generation are more tuned in to technology. The golf channel would cater to a lot of people from this generation due to the fact nearly all of them are retired at this point. Golf is one of those sports that you dont necessarily need to be in tip top shape to partake in. Product managers of the golf channel would cater to people of this generation by showing golf as a leisurely activity that can be done on a Sunday afternoon. The approach the golf channel marketing to the Depression group be similar to the pre-Depression. Golf would be depicted golf as a nice leisurely activity that is not strenuous on your body and is a sport perfect for soon to be or already retired people. Baby boomers would look at Golf as a place where business transactions are discussed. Golf has greatly transformed over the past few decades and many more people of the baby boomers generation are beginning to play it. As I a sales representative of Verizon Wireless, I deal with the difficulty of trying to cater my sales pitch to individuals from all three of the generations. For a product like an ipod, the earlier the generation, the more difficult it is for them to buy into the concept or product. For an individual from the pre-Depression era it would be important to focus on strictly the functionality of the device and not the device itself. Somebody from this generation is not going to be sold on the bandwagon approach. However, you can cater to the fact that an ipod can assist them in their everyday lives and make many tasks a lot easier. For example, as memory loss kicks in, having a phone that can set reminders or even has the capability of being able to beep when its misplaced would be very appealing to somebody to somebody a little older. Since people of this era are very family based, a project manager could also position the ability to send and receive pictures of their grandchildren and being able to see them via Skype. A project manager could also An individual from the baby boomer era would be the easiest to sell a device like the ipod to. People of this era would be much more more receptive to new technology and they would be more likely to be persuaded by the bandwagon approach.

Identifying The Vision Statement Qantas Tourism Essay

Identifying The Vision Statement Qantas Tourism Essay To overcome these issues, Qantas must modify aircraft sizes and engines to become more fuel efficient and reduce CO2 emissions over coming years. During the next two years, Qantas should plan to reduce industrial conflict by reorganizing the communication system and its organizational structure, making it more flexible and adaptive, thus empowering employees with project management responsibilities. Grievance procedures must be improved with a formal process to resolve work conflicts. Qantas must maintain and increase its corporate customer market share in order to remain profitable and successful. Qantas has undertaken significant changes over the last decade to cope with internal and external factors such as the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 which effectively reduced the demand for international travel. Qantas initially reduced its international travel flying capacity by 11%.    The factors that had caused Qantas to change were that Qantas had to become: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A more competitive, efficient and profitable business with less competition in the domestic markets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Qantas had to pay taxes and levies paid by other business in Australia   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Qantas had to make an increased profit and pay a dividend to its shareholders which increased over the years of management. The main factors, which caused Qantas to change was that, the business was under government ownership until 1995, with a classical/scientific management structure Over the next 5 years Qantas aims to hedge fuel prices and use more efficient aircraft to limit further fuel costs improve employee/employer relationships by reducing the number of employment relations disputes and retain corporate market share by enhancing facilities and lounges to appeal to corporate travellers.   Ã‚   IDENTIFYING THE VISION STATEMENT The Qantas story began in March 1919, when former Australian Flying Corps officers W Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness heard of a  £10,000 ($20,000) prize offered by the Federal Government for the first Australians to fly from England to Australia within 30 days.   McGinness travelled to Yanko in western New South Wales to see Sir Samuel McCaughey to ask if he would fund their entry in the race. In Palestine the two young lieutenants had flown a Bristol fighter presented to No.1 Squadron by the millionaire industrialist. Sir Samuel agreed to finance their venture, but died before a suitable aircraft was found. The Qantas story is inextricably linked with the development of civil aviation in Australia. It begins with fragile biplanes carrying one or two passengers in open cockpits and progresses to the new Airbus A380s flying some 450 people half way around the world in a day. A few determined individuals overcame formidable obstacles to establish the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (QANTAS). Supported by committed staff and loyal customers, the airline persevered through war and peace to serve the nation and build an enterprise. Today, Qantas is widely regarded as the worlds leading long distance airline and one of the strongest brands in Australia. Qantas continues to provide outstanding service to its customers and is at the forefront of the international civil aviation industry. The future holds many challenges for Qantas maintaining safe operations and world class product standards while building a viable and competitive position long term for the airline.As Qantas doesnt have any formal mission statement it pays more importance only on its vision. The Qantas Groups long term vision is to operate the worlds best premium airline, Qantas, and the worlds best low fares carrier, Jetstar. To achieve this vision, the Group is focused on five key elements: Safety is first priority A firm commitment to worlds best safety practices and reporting Right aircraft, right routes Fleet renewal delivering one of the worlds most effective fleets flying on an optimal route network Customer service excellence Consistent customer service excellence as the basis of the business Operational efficiency Achieving simplicity and further productivity across the business Two strong complementary brands Qantas and Jetstar as the best premium and low fares brands respectively The Kangaroo Symbol The original Kangaroo symbol appearing on Qantas aircraft was adapted from the Australian one penny coin. The winged kangaroo symbol was created by Sydney designer Gert Sellheim, and first appeared in January 1947The Flying Kangaroo was later placed in a circle in 1974. In June 1984 Qantas unveiled an updated logo conceived by Tony Lunn of the Lunn Design Group, Sydney. The Flying Kangaroo lost its wings once again and was refined to a more slender, stylised presentation. PEST ANALYSIS The PEST analysis stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors that are needed to be analyzed from the industrys external environment. It is important to cover this to further understand the condition of the airline industry in Australia. Political factors The liberal policy environment has also favoured new entrants. While the domestic airline industry is largely deregulated, Australias airline industry remains quite regulated at the commonwealth level. Australias international aviation policy has been multiple designation The industry deregulation in 1990s has given way to a more restrained form competition between Qantas and Virgin. One of the political issues that concern the airline industry is the effects deregulation. Deregulation was based on the contestable market theory (  1982) which suggested that governments should seek to promote contests for markets, even those where large firm size and limited competitors existed. Regulation was believed to encourage competition based on service quality rather than price, limit operational flexibility, and create no incentives for improving efficiency and productivity. However, it has been argued that deregulation has shifted competition from service to price (1998). On the other hand, among the airline companies around the world, one significant political issue taking place is the emergence of global alliances. Economic factors The past events like volcano eruption and SARS has affected flight security in the eyes of the customer. Every environmental issue including the impact of increase of fuel , which either affects basic costs of flights or affects the likeability of customers to book a flight. Some industry participants have argued that financially distressed carriers have cut prices in an effort to raise short-term cash, depressing market prices below efficient levels and threatening the financial security of healthy carriers. Another economic concern is the fact that the airline economy of the US is in a huge upset after the September 11 attack. Some of the companies declared bankruptcy while others are still struggling to survive (2003). . There is substantial evidence that entry, particularly by low-cost, low-fare airlines, has a substantial effect in constraining fare levels in markets served by the new carriers. Social factors The labour market is tight ,especially in skilled fields requiring more motivation and knowledge The demand for personnel in distant countries will increase the need for foreign-language training. Consumers are more demanding Today, consumers are more demanding especially in terms of service quality. Fortunately, the airline industry can be considered as the pioneer of customer relationship management as they are the first sector to introduce the frequent-flyers program to increase the loyalty of customers (2002). Airline industry also needs very skilled people as their workforce. Technological factors The growth of the information industries is creating a knowledge-dependent global society and information will be the primary commodity of more and more such industries New and larger airplane designs with remote access technology would enable airline companies to achieve better economies of scale. Technological factors include head to head competition in the technological innovations in the industry. Larger planes or aircrafts with remote access technology could provide significant cost savings by allowing the engineers, who were responsible for maintaining the aircraft, to access essential information on the companys systems from wherever they were in the world, using remote web access. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE The Airline is one of the major industries in the world today and is majorly affected by Michael Porters Five Forces model. The following write up conducts an analysis on how the model affects the airline industry today. Threat of New Entrants.   One of the forces that Porter describes is Entry into the industry. In the world today, the airline industry is so saturated that there is hardly space for a newcomer even to squeeze its way in. The biggest for this is the cost of entry. The airline industry is one of the most expensive industries, due to the cost of buying and leasing aircrafts, safety and security measures, customer service and manpower. Another major barrier to entry is the brand name of existing airlines and it is really difficult to lure customers out of their existing brands. On the other hand, a newcomer could enter this saturated market easier with a completely new concept and technology. Bargaining Power of Suppliers.   The airline supply business is mainly dominated by Boeing and Airbus. For this reason, there isnt a lot of cutthroat competition among suppliers. Also, the likelihood of a supplier integrating vertically isnt very likely. In other words, we probably wont see suppliers starting to offer flight service on top of building airlines. 3 Bargaining Power of Buyers.   The bargaining power of buyers in the airline industry is quite low. Obviously, there are high costs involved with switching airplanes, but also take a look at the ability to compete on service.  Is the seat in one airline more comfortable than another? Probably not unless we are analyzing a luxury liner like the Concord Jet.   4 Availability of Substitutes.   What is the likelihood that someone will drive or take a train to  his or her  destination? For regional airlines, the threat might be a little higher than international carriers. When determining this we consider time, money, personal preference and convenience in the air travel industry. Competitive Rivalry.   Highly competitive industries generally earn low returns because the cost of competition is high. This can spell disaster when times get tough in the economy.  In case of the Airline industry, this is the most important force today, especially since the market is completely saturated. There are more service providers than needed in both local as well as international markets. The various airlines are competing for the same customer, which also results in strengthening the buyer power, another of Porters forces. Moreover, a lot of airlines such as Qantas Airways and Emirates have a brand name which they have to defend so they compete in doing so. The airlines are continually competing against each other in terms of prices, technology, in-flight entertainment, customer services and many more areas. SWOT ANALYSIS QANTAS STRENGTH How the Qantas Group responds Improving Margins As economic showing a significant progress, Qantas margins are also improving. Diversified Business Qantas range of subsidiary business operates in different sector but all of them supporting airlines industrys activity, such as catering, baggage handling and engineer. This also helped them to control supplier and aircraft maintenance cost. Oneworld Alliance Oneworld Alliance is a management company founded by Qantas, American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Purpose of this centralized management company is to helping each other with nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ core business activity such as marketing, engineering/maintenance, and online ticketing to reduce cost thus give the company allowance to cut ticket price. Members of the alliance are also possible to transfer passenger for connecting flight. Efficient Use of Resources Qantas have a home ground advantage as Australia national airlines. Its subsidiary company also provide great resources for Qantas core business. QUANTAS WEAKNESS How the Qantas Group responds Reliability Concerns Qantas has been involved to some incident with some of their aircrafts in 2008/09. Although nothing ended in major accident, its affected companys safety image. Problems with the staff A staff problem action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action taken by workers without the authorization of their trade union officials. It has been hit with worst strike in the company history in 2009, caused a major delay that also affected other flights. QANTAS OPPORTUNITY How the Qantas Group responds Maintaining the highest standards of safety Commitment to safety as first priority, underpinned by industry-leading policies, systems and training Adapting business strategy to manage changing economic conditions Two flying brands strategy to adjust capacity, pricing and market segmentation as the market moves up or down Remaining competitive in a challenging and volatile industry context Fleet renewal to reduce longterm costs and grow revenues Strong alliance relationships and strategic investments to spread risk and opportunity across markets and provide network depth Qantas: innovations to drive higher satisfaction and improved customer advocacy; focus on the end-to-end customer experience; improvements in product consistency across the fleet including aircraft reconfiguration; brand renewal; pursuit of efficiencies to lower the cost base; Customer Charter established Jetstar: effective capacity management; strong promotional campaigns; ground-breaking strategic alliance relationships (eg AirAsia); Pursuing growth opportunities in emerging markets Qantas alliance relationships with carriers in emerging markets Jetstar pan-Asian strategy including Jetstar Pacific (Vietnam) and Jetstar Asia(Singapore) New technologies Breakthrough product and service innovations such as Next Generation Check-in Commitment to technologically advanced aircraft (eg Airbus A380, Boeing 787) Operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and managing carbon risk Fuel efficiency program, investment in advanced technologies and fuel efficient aircraft, air traffic management leadership, sustainable aviation fuel development -Carbon offset schemes, partnerships with environmental organisations and engagement with employees QANTAS THREATS How the Qantas Group responds Responding to unexpected shocks and crises Purpose-built Crisis Management Centre with detailed crisis management plans Scenario planning supplemented by simulated crisis training exercises Managing currency and fuel price fluctuations Award-winning Treasury function Hedging, including options, to enable participation when oil prices are low and protection when oil prices are high Shrinking Aviation Industry Aviation industry got hit real hard as a result of global financial crisis. IATA traffic data showed a 4.6% drop in international passenger traffic and 13.5% drop in international cargo and stated that the worldwide aviation industry shrinking by all measures. Intense Competition The competition in this industry is super fierce.. Qantas are currently head to head with every major airlines in the world. CORE COMPETENCIES AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Strong brand: Qantas is a globally recognized brand that enjoys excellent brand equity and outstanding customer loyalty (with over 4.6 million members of its frequent flyer program); Qantas connects Australia to most major destinations in the world in every continent. Moreover, Qantas has a well regarded management team which has helped the company to gain the brand value. World class in flight entertainment: Qantas is one of the oldest airlines in the world that has an excellent and well updated in flight entertainment system . As a result, Qantas is universally known for its comfort and timeless travelling experience. Qantas Airlines offers a wide range of in flight features and amenities  for each of the different traveling classes. Qantas prides itself on offering each passenger a pleasant and comfortable flight, with top notch costumer service. Comprehensive experience and expertise: Qantas has long experience and abundant expertise in   1) both domestic and international flights; 2) both a full service airline(Qantas) and low cost carrier(Jetstar); 3) all levels of passengers (premium segment, economic segment, and budget segment) Differentiating Factor Jetstars quick rise to be one of the worlds most successful low-cost carriers places the Qantas Group well in terms of product offering and differentiation. Its strong fleet order book of A380s and B787 Dream liners gives it a significant competitive advantage over other airlines. Qantas ability to re deploy Jetstar planes on lower yielding routes will be a good competitive advantage while demand is weak. FINANCIAL RATIOS ANALYSIS Current Ratio The Current Ratio is one of the measures of financial strength.It reflects whether that company has enough assets to pay its liabilities. In 2008 the Current Ratio was 0.73 In 2009 the Current Ratio was 0.88 It shows that Qanats Current Assets has increased, which is a positive result and mark of success. Return on asset ratio The Return on Asset Ratio measures how efficiently profits are being generated from the assets employed in the business when compared with the ratios of firms in a similar business. In 2008 it was 0.071 In 2009 it was 0.009 It shows that return on the assets has decreased by almost 80%. The reason behind this is again recession. Gross margin ratio In 2008 it was 0.3 In 2009 it was 0.2 It shows that Gross profit has decreased a bit in 2009 due to economic downturn, but it is still better as compared to other airlines STRATEGY RECOMMENDATIONS Introduce all business class flights The major source of profit for Qantas is from the business class. Keeping this in mind Qantas should introduce few new aircrafts which includes only business class passengers. Economy class seats shouldnt be there in such flights. This will help the company to generate more revenue and will also give a different and high class experience to business class passengers. Allow to use luxury lounge for economy class Qantas should allow its economy class passengers to use the luxury lounge at the airports on payment basis. Customer should be allowed to use luxury lounge if they are willing to do so, for which they only need to pay little extra. This will help the company to generate money without making any investment. And not only this, it will also benefit the passengers of economy class they comfort is the 1st priority of every human in this modern world. so nobody would mind to pay a little amount for this comfort and relaxing experience. Introduce segways at big airports Qantas can introduce segways at the huge airports like Frankfurt International,   London (Heathrow). This will help the passengers to commute easily at the airport with more comfort and less tiredness. Provide organic food and herbal food Qantas can provide organic and herbal food to its passengers. Everybody is too concerned about their health, keeping this in mind organic food would be a good option for them. POTENTIAL FALLOUTS It is because of the bilateral agreements in the aviation industry, the competition has been reached to its final stage and now it is become very tough for Qantas Airline to maintain high standards and survive in the competition. The airline is facing challenges not only in international, but in the domestic market where it was a market leader earleier. Companies like, Virgin Blue and Tiger Airways are picking up fast and taking the market share of Qantas. REFERENCES Bea, F.X. Haas, J. (2001). Strategisches Management. Tuebingen: Vahlen. Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1996). Competing for the Future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Kotler, P. Keller, K. (2006). Marketing Management. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/company/global/en http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/airline.asp http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/01/qantas-airline-known-and-considered-to-be-the-leading-long-distance-airline-in-the-world.html Competitve Analysis Presentation from lovebaby193

Different Brains, Different Realities? Essay -- Biology Essays Researc

Different Brains, Different Realities? Most of us go through our days not questioning why separate aisles in toy stores are designated to boy-toys such as puzzles and blocks and girl-toys such as dolls and tea sets. We do not always consciously notice that men dominate certain professional fields while women do others. And why are there a higher percentage of gay men (or more "feminized" men) in the dramatic, passionate world of the performing arts? Are these sex trends all enculturation? If we do not stop to explore the origins and implications of our observations, we make the mistake of glossing over them with the non-informative, "fact-of-life" explanation that neglects the why of the issue. Perhaps one such "why" involves biological premises. The steroid hormones secreted by the gonads (mainly androgens in males and estrogens and progestins in females), for instance, are not restricted to the lower half of the body and are known to have divergent effects on the brains of the separate sexes. Although the male and female brain may appear identical structurally (except for the male's being about 10% larger) (1), morphological differences abound. The brain is organized by the presence or absence of androgens neonatally, long before it gets a chance to interact with its culture. In rodents, for instance, testosterone masculinizes the brain to prevent ovulatory capacity and establish male-typical behavior. This phenomenon is accomplished by aromatization, or the paradoxical conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the brain. Female rodents are protected from this estrogen-based masculinization by a protein in the blood called AFP. A small amount of estrogen does actually seep into the brain, however, and this might be resp... ... of stupidity or "weirdness." It is useful to recognize that we may, in essence, be experiencing different realities! As we learn to stop underestimating the power of a hormone, we can also learn more about ourselves, the opposite sex, and our interactions. And, just as we must sometimes "agree to disagree," perhaps we must also be willing to "understand to not understand." References 1)This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. Contribute Thoughts | Search Serendip for Other Papers | Serendip Home Page http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/cgi-bin/comments Different Brains, Different Realities? Essay -- Biology Essays Researc Different Brains, Different Realities? Most of us go through our days not questioning why separate aisles in toy stores are designated to boy-toys such as puzzles and blocks and girl-toys such as dolls and tea sets. We do not always consciously notice that men dominate certain professional fields while women do others. And why are there a higher percentage of gay men (or more "feminized" men) in the dramatic, passionate world of the performing arts? Are these sex trends all enculturation? If we do not stop to explore the origins and implications of our observations, we make the mistake of glossing over them with the non-informative, "fact-of-life" explanation that neglects the why of the issue. Perhaps one such "why" involves biological premises. The steroid hormones secreted by the gonads (mainly androgens in males and estrogens and progestins in females), for instance, are not restricted to the lower half of the body and are known to have divergent effects on the brains of the separate sexes. Although the male and female brain may appear identical structurally (except for the male's being about 10% larger) (1), morphological differences abound. The brain is organized by the presence or absence of androgens neonatally, long before it gets a chance to interact with its culture. In rodents, for instance, testosterone masculinizes the brain to prevent ovulatory capacity and establish male-typical behavior. This phenomenon is accomplished by aromatization, or the paradoxical conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the brain. Female rodents are protected from this estrogen-based masculinization by a protein in the blood called AFP. A small amount of estrogen does actually seep into the brain, however, and this might be resp... ... of stupidity or "weirdness." It is useful to recognize that we may, in essence, be experiencing different realities! As we learn to stop underestimating the power of a hormone, we can also learn more about ourselves, the opposite sex, and our interactions. And, just as we must sometimes "agree to disagree," perhaps we must also be willing to "understand to not understand." References 1)This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. Contribute Thoughts | Search Serendip for Other Papers | Serendip Home Page http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/cgi-bin/comments

Processed Food Should or Should not Be Banned from School Meals? Essay

Processed food should be banned from school meals due to increasing health issues in children, increasing academic deficiency and increasing production cost to produce processed foods. There are people who would oppose to this idea due to population growth and an increasing food demand. However, this escalating demand of food is forcing the food industry and other government agencies to resolve the current hunger and lack of resources issues, by hiring processing factories and private companies to manufacture processed foods. The greater part of school age children consume processed foods on a daily basis. The purpose of this study is to examine what are processed foods? What are the associated problems? Also, to determine if processed foods affect students’ health and their academic performance. In addition, what is the position of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and food industry in the distribution of processed foods in schools? Also, to determine the outcome of this study, the behavior and health of students along with the governing agencies were analyzed to establish, if processed foods should be banned from schools or just monitored carefully. Discussion of key terms What are processed foods? It is food â€Å"composed of synthetic chemical additives, such as colorings, preservatives, sugar substitutes and trans-fats† (Fitzgerald, 2006, p.72). Fitzgerald reported that by the â€Å"1970s most meats and dairy products that were factory farmed were laced with growth hormones, antibiotics and a range of pesticides† (p.72). Furthermore, food that is frozen, packaged and canned is considered processed food. A brief explanation of the chemical additives in processed food. 1. Pre... ...with over twenty-five years' experience in the book publishing industry. He is an expert in general-interest non-fiction publishing, specializing in topics from business and personal finance to politics, current affairs, history, autobiography, self-help, and personal development. Before founding his company, Weber served as managing director of the Times Business imprint at Random House (1994-1997). This book is a life changing book. It was inspirational, informative and gave you insight about the things we do not know about the food we eat. The documentary was graphic and detailed, informing you of the process from the farm or the fields, to the manufactures, to the labeling and packaging companies. It informed me, about the school lunches, how some of the meals at school are made, to the politics behind it. This book is also a collectible.

The Great Patient Race :: essays research papers

When Gordon Gould was a graduate student at Columbia University in 1957, he sketched out the concept of a concentrated beam of light amplified in a gas-filled chamber and coined the term "laser" to describe it. But Gould waited to seek a patent on his discovery, believing incorrectly that a working prototype was necessary. Eventually, two other researchers were awarded the basic patents instead. After a decades-long legal tussle, Gould finally reveled in victory when a federal court ruled that the patent application it had approved did not anticipate the common uses of lasers. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office then granted Gould lucrative rights to the invention, in part because as a graduate student he had his original research notebooks date-stamped and notarized. The legal standard that was applied awards patents to the person who invented a concept first, and it has long been a unique feature of the U.S. patent system. This year, however, Congress is about to consider a controversial proposal from Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, that would grant a patent to the first person to submit the paperwork --a standard that's common outside the United States. The legislation suddenly has become a flash point about everything that's right with the U.S. patent system--and everything that's wrong with it. Technology companies fighting expensive patent cases are hoping the bill will reduce litigation, while open-source advocates say it will do nothing to hinder the rising tide of software patents being issued. Many people feel that the measure will make only modest improvements, if any, to the quality of patents being awarded. Smith's bill, called the Patent Reform Act of 2005, also has drawn the ire of independent inventors, who have said it will unfairly hurt anyone without a battalion of patent lawyers who can race to the Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va. The rule probably would have kept Gould from being awarded the laser patents he eventually got. "We really feel that there's a litigation lottery. People roll the die and hope that their number comes up big." --David Kaefer director of intellectual-property licensing, Microsoft Smith declined, through a representative, to comment on the bill before a hearing set for Thursday. The issue has taken on additional urgency because of Smith's ambitious plan to navigate his bill quickly through the House by year's end. Next week's hearing will take place shortly after politicians have returned from their summer break. Meanwhile, a similar measure is being readied in the Senate by Utah Republican Orrin Hatch. The Great Patient Race :: essays research papers When Gordon Gould was a graduate student at Columbia University in 1957, he sketched out the concept of a concentrated beam of light amplified in a gas-filled chamber and coined the term "laser" to describe it. But Gould waited to seek a patent on his discovery, believing incorrectly that a working prototype was necessary. Eventually, two other researchers were awarded the basic patents instead. After a decades-long legal tussle, Gould finally reveled in victory when a federal court ruled that the patent application it had approved did not anticipate the common uses of lasers. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office then granted Gould lucrative rights to the invention, in part because as a graduate student he had his original research notebooks date-stamped and notarized. The legal standard that was applied awards patents to the person who invented a concept first, and it has long been a unique feature of the U.S. patent system. This year, however, Congress is about to consider a controversial proposal from Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, that would grant a patent to the first person to submit the paperwork --a standard that's common outside the United States. The legislation suddenly has become a flash point about everything that's right with the U.S. patent system--and everything that's wrong with it. Technology companies fighting expensive patent cases are hoping the bill will reduce litigation, while open-source advocates say it will do nothing to hinder the rising tide of software patents being issued. Many people feel that the measure will make only modest improvements, if any, to the quality of patents being awarded. Smith's bill, called the Patent Reform Act of 2005, also has drawn the ire of independent inventors, who have said it will unfairly hurt anyone without a battalion of patent lawyers who can race to the Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va. The rule probably would have kept Gould from being awarded the laser patents he eventually got. "We really feel that there's a litigation lottery. People roll the die and hope that their number comes up big." --David Kaefer director of intellectual-property licensing, Microsoft Smith declined, through a representative, to comment on the bill before a hearing set for Thursday. The issue has taken on additional urgency because of Smith's ambitious plan to navigate his bill quickly through the House by year's end. Next week's hearing will take place shortly after politicians have returned from their summer break. Meanwhile, a similar measure is being readied in the Senate by Utah Republican Orrin Hatch.

Carl Rogers Neal Miller and Kurt Lewin

In history, there were many successful psychologists who have made large contributions to the world of psychology. Many of which who are alive, and dead. Three of the most important psychologists are Carl Rogers, Neal Miller, and Kurt Lewin; all in which made a contribution to psychology somehow or another. Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology. Rogers was widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his pioneering research with the Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Association in 1956. His theory, as of 1951, was based on nineteen propositions; here are a few to give an idea of the basis of them all: All individuals exist in a continually changing world of experience of which they are the center. A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self, and emotion accompanies and in general facilitates, such goal directed behavior, the kind of emotion being related to the perceived significance of the behavior for the maintenance and enhancement of the organism. All these have to do with the emotions and personality of a person, and how the brain works at perceiving the emotions as well. With the regard to development, Rogers described principles rather than stages. The main issue is the development of a self concept and the progress from an undifferentiated self to being fully differentiated, for instance, self concept. It means gestalt which is available to awareness though not necessarily in awareness. It is a fluid and changing gestalt, a process, but at any given moment it is a specific entity. Rogers took the aspects of how a person perceives their emotions by doing multiple studies, and tests to diagnos their emotional status.

Gender Inequality In India Essay

Imagine yourself in the shoes of a person who has been oppressed their entire life. Imagine all the laws that were made to protect you have not been effective one bit. Imagine yourself as a minority in the second largest community in the world. Yes, I am talking about the women in India. Why do some women live like slaves when the men thrive as the superior race in India Customs, traditions, rustic beliefs are some of the answers that advocate male superiority in the country. Some of the facts that you read a1bout women on the internet are outrageous. According to a survey done in 2011 every 42 minutes, an incident of sexual harassment takes place. Every 43 minutes, a woman is kidnapped. Every 93 minutes, a woman is killed. Every 102 minutes, a dowry death. Surprised yet? These are only a few from the thousands of facts. Women are discriminated on a daily basis in the society, workplace and even at home while men on the other hand live like the emperors of the society. India portrays the image of society with men holding the whips, and taking control. It is as common to find women oppressed in the cities, as much as they can be oppressed in the remote villages. Majority of the women in India live in the fear of raising their voices, for they have been robbed of their rights and have been imprisoned to a world where they are voiceless. Even though today’s women are far more modern and independent, they are still haunted by the views and believes of the older generation where women are meant to be ideal housewives who take care of the family, feed them, maintain them and nothing more, while men are free to decide their future and choose what they want to be. A woman has equal rights as a man, she can choose the life she wants and the way she wants to live it. She shouldn’t be burdened with the views of the society or tradition. It is tough to believe that when 82 per cent of the men are educated only 65 per cent of women in India were lucky enough to have had the liberty to attend school. This shows  the ignorance and negligence of the parents who fail to ensure the education of their girl child. It is not surprising that India has the lowest workforce participation rate from women. You might think the few women who make their own living lead a better life, well think again. Only 4 out of every 10 women take part in a corporate office. The work participation rate of men in India is almost double as that of women. Women continue to be concentrated in jobs with low pay and authority levels placing limits on their overall access to income, status and power while men continue to dominate the top positions of the firm ensuring higher payment and better job security. The numbers of women that hold managerial positions in India are exceptionally low. Multinational companies prefer men to be the face of their organization to be more appealing to the public. On top of all the work load and discrimination, women go through a lot of mental as well as sexual harassments at work. There are constantly challenged by the nature of their work and the environment they are placed to work in. Unlike men the work of a woman does not end outside the doors of the office, she gets back home to take on the next set of mundane tasks. From the very beginning a girl is taught to do the household works while her brothers are treated like kings. Boys of the family have the rights to be out as long as they want and when a girl misses her curfew by a few minutes all hell breaks loose. It is almost like she has no voice of her own, everyone else makes a decision for her. Let it be a child or a full grown women, she never escapes the discrimination. In the modern world where men and women are working members of the family, the wife is still expected to come home at the end of the day and take care of the rest of the family and attend to their needs. She is expected to provide and nurture others with nothing in return while the only duty of the man is to earn for the family. Statistics shows that an average woman in India spends almost 10 years of her life in the kitchen while an average man at most would have spent 4 years. In India physical abuse of Indian women is high ranging from 22-60 percent and the suicide attempts due to violence and torture is shocking. 74.8 percent of women who reported violence have attempted to commit suicide. What is more surprising is that these statistics are from within  the four walls of their â€Å"safe home†. Despite the efforts of many women and political group to end discrimination against women, it still goes on. Every now and then a strike or a rally is conducted to educate the youth the importance of women in the society but the enthusiasm and the energy of these programs dies away the next day. Women will not have their rights and freedom in the society until there is a change in the mindset of men. This is the twenty first century, along with the development in science and literature we need to develop a society where women are no longer discriminated, a society where women and men hold equal positions at work and at home. We need work towards a future in which every girl gets to define who and what she wants to be. The question, though, how far away is that future?

Julius Caesar Essay

Conflicting perspectives, What are they? Conflicting perspectives are a clash of ideologies and belief systems. When studying conflicting perspectives we are able to generate diverse and provocative insights, like the idea that is appealing to an audiences logic and reason is less effective in persuading them as opposed to appealing to their emotions which is more effective. This can be seen through the texts Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the article ‘Arguments Against Abortion’ by Kerby Anderson and the essay ‘Abortion and the Alternatives’ by Voula Papas. In the text Julius caesar conflicting perspectives can be seen in act 3 scene one where both Brutus and Antony give speeches about caesars death. In Brutus’s speech he uses a number of rhetorical features and logic to convince the Plebeians that the killing of Caesar was carried out for the â€Å"goodness of rome†. we can see this through the â€Å"Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead and live all free men? †. The use of truism in this quote makes the audience unable to offer a contradicting point of view thus they are forced into complying with Brutus’s thoughts. Brutus’s speech is delivered in prose, a somewhat unpolished and unsophisticated manner of speaking. The use of prose in this instance appeals to the audience as they are able to directly relate to this manner of speaking, being of a somewhat lower class, thus allowing Brutus to connect with them on a higher level. He also arouses patriotism and plays on the rights to civil freedom of the audience to offer further persuasiveness to his speech. He does this by inferring logical and restrained reasoning for Caesar’s death which appeals to the audience’s intelligence and commonsense. The high modality of the rhetorical question â€Å"Who is here so vile that will not love his country? † is extremely powerful in agitating the existing devotion the audience has towards Rome. Similarly in the essay Arguments against Abortion the author, uses rhetorical devices and the use of logic (logos) to convince the audience that abortion is wrong. The essay has been arranged in four subsections biblical, medical, legal and philosophical arguments against abortion. Exemplification techniques through the use of facts and statistics is used to emphasize the point that author is trying to make. The author uses many logos techniques very effectively, often to make a point about the fetus being alive and being able to feel ain even at very early stages of life, so should not be destroyed. An example of this is seen in the line â€Å"If heartbeat was used to define life, then nearly all abortions would be outlawed† the deductive reasoning used makes conclusions about the fact that life exist even as a fetus and thus abortion is actually death of the fetus. By contrast Antony from Julius caesar heavily relies upon the power of language and its ability to exploit the human flaw that is emotion, and by doing so manipulate ones perception through a emotionally (pathos) driven argument. Antony has a greater understanding of the people and knows that they are passionate people who will be swayed by such talk. Also Antony unlike Brutus uses iambic pentameter this shows that he has a higher authority which would make the audience listen more carefully. After each argument Antony produces in Caesar’s defense, he uses irony through the lines â€Å"But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man†. This line is repeated a number of times creating an anaphora. As well as slowly dismantling Brutus’ reputation through the irony, Antony indirectly implies and focuses the blame upon him and plays to the emotions of his audience indulging them to question their newly acquired perspective. It is Antonys use of emotional language that allows him to persuade his audience more than Brutus. Like wise the article Abortion and the Alternatives by Kerby Anderson relies on the use of emotive language to convince the readers that abortion can sometimes be the only resort for a female. The persuasive technique of pathos is used to effectively convey to the reader why the choice should be with the women, reference to rape cases and quilt feeling by women after abortion are examples of this. This appeals to the human nature of the reader and weakens them emotionally making it easier for them to be swayed. Also the use of props In this case a graphic image of a woman, bloodied towel in fist, crouched, naked and dead of a botched abortion. The vivid imagery allows the audience to see in reality what it is like and makes them more inclined to believe and agree to what the author is suggesting. The rhetorical question â€Å"Before legal abortion†¦.. do you want to go back to this? † as a caption of the image conveys a powerful message that there is an alternative which is safe, legal and accessible and that is abortion. We can see through all the three texts that conflicting perspectives generate provocative insights that are appealing to the audiences emotions is a more effective way of persuading them than appealing to their logic.

They Cage the Animals

They Cage the Animals at Night is a heart-dropping autobiography novel. This book is written by Jennings Michael Burch, who is the main character. His father is an often drunk alcoholic and has left a family of six boys to his wife. Jennings is twelve years old, and is always trying to pull the family together and keep his mom from crying. The mothers main goal is to have a close family and has the obstacles of alcohol to do so. She becomes sick almost all the time because of her addiction. One day,randomly his mother became seriously sick and had bad stress related problems. Jennings was forced to go into a shelter home having nowhere to go. He was taken to the â€Å"Home of Angels† where he was treated very crucial. The last words his mother had told him were, â€Å"I'll be right back. † There the children were directed and demanded harshly. Soon a couple took him in their custody. They were even worse than the shelter, he was given small space to live in and a table to sit at all day. He was rarely fed, when he was fed, he was given some sort of gluey, grayish grub that tasted horrible. Eventually the husband reported that Jennings was getting treated too badly and was taken back. After a while his mom had picked him up. Christmas had come and they ate a turkey that was donated to them. No gifts were under the small tree they had gotten for free. He had started school again but had missed most of it since he was always in and out. Kids always called him by cruel names but managed to do good until summer vacation. He was then sent back to a shelter home called, â€Å"Saint Teresa’s. † He was treated badly, constantly getting into meanless fights, and begging to feel extremly lonely. He also got numerous bruises and cuts their. He eventually decided to run away. He did so and got caught and reported to the police. Eventually his mother came back to this shelter and picked him up. This time he lived in a more wealthier neighborhood and went to a new school. Jennings took a bus to school everyday and became very good friends with the bus driver, his name was Sal. He also was an orphan so he understood Jennings very well. Again his mother’s health problems came and to prevent Jennings from falling behind he got adopted by a wealthy family. He had a pleasant time and had lots of fun. He liked it, when he got comfterable his mother came to get him once again.

Artificial Insemination Restrictions Based on Financial Stability Essay

Artificial Insemination Restrictions Based on Financial Stability - Essay Example They make decisions according to their moral standards. However, those who want to conceive children using artificial insemination should have stable financial background showing that they can support the child. Artificial insemination is the injection of sperm in a female’s uterus with the purpose of impregnating her. This usually occurs if the husband or partner is not able to make her pregnant or if the female has fertility problems. Most of the laws only provide that children can only be conceived through the biological method. This indicates that there are no legal restrictions for artificial insemination. Parenthood has not been altered in the constitution, and this indicates that problems associated with artificial insemination cannot be dealt with legally. This occurs in some countries such as Israel (Green 1). However, artificial conception has been legalized in most of western countries and other developing countries. The procedure of insemination is mostly legalized for married couples to ensure that children will be brought up in the right environment. If used by other groups of people such as unmarried individuals and lesbians, many legal considerations such as the financial status should be considered. They should be capable of bringing up the baby without any problem. According to the Hosmer model, individuals are supposed to act in the correct manner for them to be trusted. Acting in the right way is morality and morality always creates trust and indicated a commitment of the individual. The study of the morality of an individual who wants to conceive artificially is relevant, especially for those who are not married. It shows the level in which an individual can commit himself or herself to the task. Trust is always linked to commitment and commitment linked to effort. However, sometimes moral behavior is usually ruined by personal desires. An individual would do anything to create certainty that they acquire what they desire. This inclu des changing their behavior on that certain occasion. Some behaviors cannot be changed, as they are inbuilt like facial expressions. The individual who wants to conceive artificially should be fit and morally correct. Legislations on child protection should be developed so that they provide for changes in technology especially in reproduction (Shaw and Corvino 380). The couple ought to be capable of supporting the kid and grant him his rights according to the law. Insemination should have obligations and should, therefore, not be an option for anyone. This will ensure that the child is raised up in the right environment. Lack of this is what leads to children mistreatment, and children who are denied their rights. Artificial insemination needs to be controlled among the populace. Childcare needs a lot of attention and the mother does not have time to work but take care of the child. They will only work when the child matures enough. This requires the mother to have financial resourc es at the time they are not working. It is, therefore, significant to restrict the procedure to married couples whereby one couple will be working while the other will be caring for the child. Those who are engaging in this practice should be financially stable so that they can support their children. In some cases, one delivers multiple children, which can be tough for the mother especially if she had prepared for only one child. Every parent has a duty to provide for their children with food,

Reducing Risk in Patient Falls through Scheduled Rounds Research Paper

Reducing Risk in Patient Falls through Scheduled Rounds - Research Paper Example 1. What three database(s) in the CCN library best address your research question (CINAHL, Cochrane, Medline, ERIC, (others; i.e. what subject heading would you use to perform your search)? The best databases that address the current research questions are Medline and CINAHL. The best subject option to use in undertaking the search would be â€Å"reducing risk in patient falls through scheduled rounds†. 2. How can you focus or expand the search if initial search results are not satisfactory? The search will be focused or expanded to include variables such as patients in acute care and rapid response of nurses to call lights. 3. Describe ways you might refine your general search to reduce the number of results from your search. Can you use the EBSCO subject headings? What about the advanced search option using Boolean limiters such as AND. Once you have a reasonable number of relevant search results (10-30) what final limiters will, you set to reduce the search results further ( i.e., English language limiter, age limiters, publication year limiters, peer-reviewedjournallimiter, and/or human subject limiter)? Two most outstanding search reduction models that shall be employed are the publication year limiter and peer reviewed journal limiter. This is because as far as the issue of risk involved in patient falls are concerned, new researches are conducted by the day that tend to disprove existing facts. For this reason, it is always important to deal with the most current researches. Moreover, peer reviewed journals are more justifiable and valid in the face of undertaking academic research of this nature. Literature Review Portion of the Worksheet Your Name: Date: Your Instructor’s Name: Purpose: To find evidence to support an intervention that will change the outcomes. Directions: Type your search question below. Find AT LEAST SIX (6) studies to support the need for change and the potential intervention you have selected to solve the problem. Using the table below, insert and describe your six chosen research articles. Search Question: Reducing risk in patient falls through scheduled rounds APA Reference for Article Give the APA-formatted reference for the article. Check your APA manual (Chapter 7) for correct reference format. Built in APA formats and library citations may not be in the correct format. Peer Reviewed Identify whether it is peer reviewed or not Brief Description of Research Address the question regarding how does the information in the article apply to the project problem or proposed intervention. Summarize in your own words. Type of Research Indicate if the article describes qualitative research, quantitative research, a systematic review, a meta-analysis, or expert opinion. Discuss why this type of research is significant to the project. Study Outcomes/ Recommendations Describe if the study sample is large and global enough so that conclusions can be generalized to other populations. Can you take the study re commendations and use them as a guide? Is there a research tool you can use? 1 Bursell A. L, Ketelsen L. and

Comparing two university websites in terms of e-HRM Research Paper

Comparing two university websites in terms of e-HRM - Research Paper Example This is a research project proposal that will use the different views and theories on electronic Human Resource Management and human resource at large. They will be used to compare the employed systems in two universities. The two universities for comparison are Zayed and Texas. The project will review current empirical work on electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM) and explain some consequences for future research work. With reference to definitions and previous framework, the project will analyze the incorporated theories, the empirical methodologies, the chosen analytical levels, the discussed topics and findings. The project will show a previous entity of work from different studies, majorly non-theoretical work, employing a variety of empirical methodologies, and having reference from many analytical levels and will diversify the core topics of e-HRM. The project will discuss some previous theoretical, methodological, and topical consequences in order to enhance future research on electronic Human Resource Management (Strohmeier, 19-37). With appropriate reference upon various literatures, an e-HRM research model is developed and, with the model’s guide, the two universities to be compared that are already practicing e-HRM for a significant period. The project will take 14 weeks. The first 9 weeks will be for the preparation of the proposal and collection of all the relevant resources for the project. From the 10th week, there will be an oral presentation and a written paper on the same. Human resource (HR) can guarantee an upper hand in organizational competition because of its valuation, rareness, imperfectly imitable with no substitutes. Organizations in competition can copy competitive advantage gained through better technology, strategies and services, but it is a challenge to copy competitive advantage gained through improved management of the labor force (Balgobind, 2012). The project will try to prove that the goals of e-HRM are to

Does football promote freindship or enmity Essay

Does football promote freindship or enmity - Essay Example Apparently, most soccer fans prefer watching matches in social places such as clubs, restaurants or at home as long as they are in the company of people who have interest in soccer. Consequently, a bond is created between these people, who may be strangers, since they will have a common topic for discussion throughout the 90 minutes. In this context, it is true to say that football facilitates and enhances the creation of friendships between strangers however short lived they might be (Foer 39). Similarly, football promotes friendship in terms of suppressing racial mentalities that promote discrimination. The world cup for example sets an international stage for teams from different countries, some of which have been in conflict with each other for a long time due to political or ideological differences. Whenever these teams are playing, the people watching get to forget their differences, especially due to the fact that there are high standards set for officiating matches such that every participant feels comfortable with the results. This is made better by the display of sportsmanship by footballers whereby they shake hands even after one of them has committed a foul against the other. By doing so, they portray a high level of emotional intelligence which becomes a good example for those who are watching.

Marketing Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marketing Communications - Essay Example IMC campaigns became the business necessity to keep their customers loyal and committed to their products in global competitive environment. This paper deals with the brief case studies of three different organizations from the same industry, on use of IMC campaigns, their selected target markets, campaign ideas, tools, themes and comparison of the three companies. The whole essay clarifies the concept of integrated marketing communication tools and objectives of their use. With a clear concept and implementation success of Integrated Marketing Communication tools, certain recommendations are made for the better future use of integrated marketing campaigns. The whole paper also addressed the challenges of Integrated Marketing Communication approaches. Integrated marketing communication With the advent of globalization in business world, businesses need to survive by following a head to head competition, customer loyalty and retention. There came the concept of using all marketing too ls together to get maximum benefit and an edge over competitors. This marketing technique is known as integrated marketing communication. This is a management concept that puts all the marketing communications under one head. Integrated marketing communication works as a unified force to accomplish all the marketing management goals of organization. This concept creates a link among all the forms of marketing through synergistic effect it provides. Many marketplace trends gave emergence to integrated marketing communication. Customers attitude is changing with increase in number of advertisement messages, media fragmentation, audience fragmentation, mergers of marketing agencies, global marketing, follower products, competition of ad agencies; decrease in costs of database management and maintenance of customer relationship. (Thorson, Moore, 1996) Integrated marketing communication process is not a very old concept but getting popularity in the upcoming trends of business needs of m aintaining competitive edge. In today’s environment integrated marketing communication is leading old techniques of communicating with consumers and customers. In near future, IMC campaigns and tools will become the success factors of businesses and their business need. Different IMC approaches There are five different and common and frequently used tools of IMC; Advertising, Sales promotions, Public relations, direct marketing and Personal selling (Kym Gordon Moore, 2009) Sometimes organizations focus on some of them and integrate with each other to get better results in consistency with the organization’s campaign objectives and organization’s resources. Theses all tools are commonly used for marketing purposes. But under integrated marketing communication, these tools are used as a unified force with bigger impact. Selected IMC approaches case studies Integrated marketing communication is a simple but vast concept of management and communication. Three IMC ca mpaigns are selected for a detailed analysis of efficiency in use, similarities in objectives, difference in approaches, ideas,

INCREMENTAL SHEET FORMING ( Mechanical Engineering ) Essay - 1

INCREMENTAL SHEET FORMING ( Mechanical Engineering ) - Essay Example The manufacturing process is desirable for mass production because of the shared value of dies and punches with production of a large number. The performance of film forming distinct rolls to achieve a particular image was done in the past. This process is known as sheet metal rolling, but the process is possible for production of natural shapes. Therefore, the search for new sheet metal forming solutions has been started. The developments took the route of searching for new shapes of rolls, which in turn paved a way for new forming scopes. (Mecanica 2009) However, in a severe world industrialization competition, there is the need to obtain the demand for increasingly complex shapes. For the demands of complex requirements, metal plate stretching attempts have been made by outstanding prototypes, to reach the final shape. In order to contour the high volume demands, the use of presses for short lead times and production costs began. The main benefits of this method is the need for the formation of a significant essential tool for the plate formation. This increases cost of the tool, as a result of high production costs. The presses system establishment is suitable for mass production. Nevertheless, in the current global fierce competition, there is a need for more and more products that are complicated by the demand. For the achievement of the final requirements, attempts for sheet metal extension on exceptional prototype have been made to achieve the optimum shape. The formation of stretch metals on presses was adopted to handle mass production demands with more batch measurements at lower costs of manufacturing. However, the system was disadvantaged in that every product needed a specific tool, for the sheet metal development. This increases the device costs which results in higher production costs. Therefore, presses forming can be appropriate

IR Spectroscopy determination of xylene using an internal standard Essay

IR Spectroscopy determination of xylene using an internal standard - Essay Example This will be used to show the various concentrations of the m-xylene and p-xylene in the unknown sample. Infrared spectroscopy is the spectroscopy that uses the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is a region of lower wavelength than visible light, exciting molecules to higher vibrational states in order to detect energy of the vibrational modes in your sample. The infra-red radiation is passed through a sample by an infra-red spectrometer which uses a detector to represent the transmission in graphical representations. Infra-red spectroscopy can be used to study virtually every sample in any state of matter and the IR spectrometer utilizes FTIR spectroscopy which has improved the infrared spectra quality within a short time of analysis. This technique has been in existence since 1940’s where the instruments relied on prisms as the elements to disperse the radiations but further development has occurred which include the diffraction gratings and finally the most significant the use of interferometers and Fourier-transformation mathematical process. Infrared sp ectroscopy can be used a number of ways, one of which is based on absorption spectroscopy. Isomers of organic molecules display a unique vibrational frequency; thus by analyzing a specific region of the spectrum, overlaying pure and different concentrations of a sample molecule as well as any background spectra it is possible to determine the concentration of an unknown sample From the results the concentration of p-xylene and m-xylene in the two samples was determine using the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer using the internal standards. It was observed it is possible to calculate the exact concentration of both p-xylene and m-xylene in the samples if the exact concentration of the stock solution used is known. This determines their

Secure and Architecture and Models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Secure and Architecture and Models - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of secure as a term used to describe a situation that is free from harm and is not exposed to any danger. In computer world secure is simply the state of the computer and other computer related devices are free from interruption risks, internal or external unauthorized entry and access and infections. Architecture is the process of defining a set of structured solutions and decisions that meet all the operational and technical requirements in an organization while optimizing common quality elements and attributes. The important part of the architecture is the structural nature. Models are clearly anything that is used as a structure to represent another thing. Models are used to represent a blueprint of an intended project or idea. Models provide an overview and a simpler way of expressing complex process or ideas. Different Components usually perform different functions in a system. A good example is the computer system components. The co mputer system component comprises of the input devices, output devices, backing stores, and the central unit. All the components have different features and perform different functions. Because of this reason, all have different security prevention measures. The system components should be compatible with each other in order to work together as a system, this means that the developers have to generate ways to get the components compatible are a middleware of networks to link the components to each other to allow communication.