Thursday, October 31, 2019

Recyclable Drinking Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Recyclable Drinking Water - Essay Example The city chosen for this purpose is Bangkok considering the current flood scenario that has affected the lives of locals and tourists. The shortage of drinking water has jeopardised the physical and mental state along with the health of people. Bangkok is the capital and largest city of Thailand known as a tourist destination across the globe. The influx of tourists from different parts of the world has strengthened the economy of the country boasting on impeccable infrastructure and hospitality that is good enough to allure people across the globe. Bangkok has 50 districts and each district is managed by the district chief appointed by the governor. There is also an elected government body; Bangkok Metropolitan Council that managed municipal ordinances and city’s budget pertaining to infrastructure and other activities. The government of Bangkok of is known as Bangkok Metropolitan Administration that manages the city and its resources in an effective and efficient manner. The re are a number of national and international retailers present in Bangkok with the likes of Tesco, Family Mart and Big C dominating the market. The economic activities are majorly restricted to agriculture and tourism. In Bangkok, Metropolitan Waterworks Authority offers tap water that is used for the purpose of drinking and other activities. Many households have water purifying machines that further purifies water through different mechanisms and processes. At the same time, a number of packaged drinking water bottles are available that can be bought to ensure good quality of drinking water. However, there is no organisation developing or promoting recycled water for the drinking purpose. This marketing plan would ensure successful introduction of the product in the markets of Bangkok... The paper tells about integrated marketing communication as one of the highly preferred marketing tools within the competitive business environment. It can be defined as the coordination and amalgamation of marketing communication tools and functions into a program or function that helps in impacting customers along with enhancing the feasibility and acceptance of the product. However, the common perception states that recycle water is not safe for drinking and can be used in irrigation, industrial usage and flushing toilets. Bangkok has been severely affected by floods creating shortages for safe drinking water. It needs to be mentioned that common people in the city are facing serious water crisis with tap water pouring contaminated and dirty water. On the other hand, packaged drinking bottles are quite limited in the market and the city does not have a marketer offering recycled drinking water. It can be assumed that development of recycled drinking water would help in offering a useful product to the masses using an integrated marketing communication approach. This would also help in assessing the present use of recycled water and its importance and acceptance in the business and social environment. Thus, the marketing plan has a great scope that requires effective planning and implementation. The city of Bangkok has been developing wastewater treatment system from a long period of time and efforts have yielded good benefits in last few years. There are a number of sewerage zones that have helped in improving the overall water shortages in the short as well as in the long run.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Global Warming Essay Example for Free

Global Warming Essay In this entire article I will be discussing global warming, especially its effects on glaciers and on environment. Before discussing the effects of global warming it is important to understand what actually global warming is? It is defined as an average increase in earth’s temperature due to which the frequency of disasters like droughts floods and earthquake increases which accounts for the accumulation of green house gases in the atmosphere. There are various reasons for global warming and one of the most alarming causes is green house gases which include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous and water vapor. In recent years the proportion of these gases has increased massively due to industrialization and modernization. Now a question arises that how industrialization led to this massive increase? And the answer is excessive use of road vehicles which emit loads of carbon dioxide besides this we have cut all the plants by roadside which could take in carbon dioxide. Another reason is intense deforestation, which has further increased the ration of carbon dioxide in air. Also burning of fossils for the purpose of generation of electricity is one of its causes. What are Glaciers? Glaciers are formed by snow which overlap over the period of time forming a thick ice mass. These ice masses with the rise in temperature begins to melt and again forms a fresh layer of snow and this how the glacier gets bigger over time. They have been the largest source of fresh water and reservoirs after oceans. Glaciers are there in each continent of the world. Effects of global warming on Glaciers: In recent years the worrying factor is rapid melting of glacier due to increased temperature as compare to snow which replaces it, however if this continues the glacier will vanish soon. This is one of the serious effects of global warming thus resulting in a change in the mountain environment and which in turn is likely to bring about an intense change in the climatic condition of earth which will further bring change in habitats. Melting of glaciers will considerably increase the water level of seas and oceans because of which small countries are expected to sink and the water will overwhelm on the coastal areas. Like glaciers of national parks are shrinking inch by inch, day by day with the passage of time like all other glaciers around the world due to warm temperature. The change are not sever or harmful on day to day basis but will result in huge and devastating disasters over decades. Besides, glaciers add beauty to the environment and warm temperatures are melting these glaciers and eroding the natural beauty. More than half of the well known glaciers of national park have shrunk while many of the small glaciers of park have disappeared. Antarctica has and will suffer a lot from melting glaciers. Increased temperature in Antarctica region have warmed to 4. 5 degrees Fahrenheit in last few years which is considered as the highest and most rapid increase around the world. Another astonishing fact is the collapse of ice- shelves in Antarctica which had been stable for 20,000 years. Melting of glaciers worldwide has become a hot issue these days and its prevention cost is extensively high and is estimated at 3% of world GDP. Another argument by a Chinese glaciologist zhang wenjing is, glaciers are able to absorb heat during the global warming process and can reverse the effects of global warming. He further added that 20 square million kilometers of world’s glaciers and huge oceans will not let this phenomenon to increase rapidly. However another report claims that Himalaya glaciers are retreating by 10 to 15 meters on yearly basis due to rise in temperature and can have adverse effects on the social, economical and ecological system of its inhabitant as they are the main source of water. Effect on Environment: Effect on climate: Scientists believe that by 2050 the temperature of the globe will heat up within 2 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists have developed models to forecast the change in temperature simpler models are able to forecast variation within a region whereas typical models are expected to measure changes across hundreds of thousands of square miles and it has predicted that all the European countries are anticipated to follow a similar climatic projection despite of the fact that each country has unique rainfall, seasonal and snowfall patterns. Furthermore the summers in mid-latitude will become drier. These effects may disrupt the civilization and biosphere. As the temperature increases the oceans will evaporate more yielding more clouds and rainfall. According to an author jonathan wiener of â€Å"The Next One Hundred† every year 500,000 of water rise and fall between sky and ocean and it is believed that about 25,000cubic kilometers will increase as a cause of global warming. The excessive amount of rain is expected to fall in areas where it is not required, subtropical areas are probable to experience heavy rainfall and floods whereas temperate zones will face droughts. On contrary for countries like Canada warmer climate indicate extended growing seasons with comparatively more rainfall which will ensure improved crop production in many areas. However in Western Europe and California snow packs are estimated to melt soon bringing in more rainfall and river water especially in spring season leaving behind a drier weather for crops when required essentially. Birds and Animals: Global warming is likely to affect the length of season, winters will become too short. This will imbalance the entire system and will greatly affect bird and animals as in winter birds get hide and definitely it will further disturb their feeding schedule and time particularly in young birds and the accessibility of food for them. Some animals consider climatic changes as a signal for migration or preparing themselves for other season but global warming will give rise to confusion in animals because of this chance of losing their migratory routes increases. Farmers: The farmer plant seeds according to the season and nature of the crop keeping in mind the desired amount of rain necessary for its production as mentioned earlier that global warming enhances the probability of cyclones, droughts, thunderstorm and other natural disasters which heavily affect the yield production. Moreover, by climatic changes the seasons get affected and so the rainfall because of which it is hard to predict the sowing and harvesting timings of the crop. This will lead to the scarcity of food and will have hazardous effects on living lives and will create panic in the society. Species: Due to global warming species are getting extinct like golden toad and harlequin have vanished and there is a great threat to number of other species to disappear as a result of global warming seeing that for many species cold weather is more conducive, hence global warming is creating trouble for their survival. a number of variation has been observed in animals as they respond significantly to warmer climate. Their behavior pattern shows that they have began to shift their population toward north and higher altitudes. A study was conducted in California on small butterfly and approximately 150 areas were catered, study showed that the number of butterfly decreased in southern region as compared to northern regions which proves that butterfly prefer cooler zones. Increase in Diseases: As of global warming numerous diseases have emerged, they are the product of amplified temperature because bacteria can live better in an elevated temperature and also multiplies easily in favorable conditions like mosquito production have increased which in turn add to malaria disease due to this global warming. Now we can well imagine how dangerous this global warming could be? We are gathered around so many diseases which are nothing but simply an effect of global warming and we are unaware of the fact that our live is also endangered. If it continues to happen the life expectancy will decrease and death rate is estimated to double up to 300,000 deaths per year within 25 years particularly in high altitude regions. Effect on Vegetation: Global warming will also affect the availability of vegetation on the earth surface like tundra vegetation is soon expected to alter to temperate, cold and evergreen forest and woody type of forest will increase as a reason of increased precipitation. Hence there will be a drastic change in the variety of vegetation available in an area and this is expected to bring a change in inhabitant of that area. Effect on marine life: Marine life is very much sensitive to the changes, changes in climate; sea level and length of the seasons stamp an adverse affect on these innocent lives. A survey was conducted to check the responsiveness of marine live to the changes in water level and it was found that many of the marine species tend to disappear or die due to increase in water surface, few of the specie for whom warm water is favorable their population can strike gigantic levels. Most threaten changes are predictable to reflect in coral reefs and they are probable to die off. This melting of polar ice will end up harming many animals. Acidified water: Oceans all around the world absorb carbon dioxide produced by all living organism, burning of fossils and through all other human activities that gather on the bed for the formation of limestone or chalk. It is said that oceans have observed 50% of all carbon dioxide evolved from human activities ever since 1800. Carbon dioxide when combined with water forms a weak acid called carbonic acid and green house gases have said to lower the PH ( acidity) of water by 0. 1to8.2 units on a 14 points scale and it is expected to decline further by 0. 5 by 2100. Increased acidification will have an injurious affects on corals and other marine lives especially ones with calcium carbonate shells, and also in the reproduction of fishes and their food planktons. References. Glaciers Melting and Species Extinction. mht Global warming Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. mht http://www. rpi. edu/~ngok/Global%20Warming/effects. html http://www. sierraclub. org/energy/articles/glacier. asp http://www. effectofglobalwarming. com/ http://www. bloggernews. net/1749

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Edo Period Of Japan

The Edo Period Of Japan The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period-taken from the name of the ruling Tokugawa family-was a long period of peace and order that lasted for about 250 years. This was a remarkable feat considering the fact that this period was preceded by devastating ordeals. The sengoku jidai (the age of country at war) was the Warring States Period of Japan during which numerous rival daimyos with their individual armies fought each other to gain greater jurisdiction of control over Japan, which was divided into about 260 countries. The term, Warring State Period was borrowed, among many other things, from the Chinese. But though the name was appropriate in describing the chaotic feudal warfare, it was more of a war (power struggle) among warlords. Regardless of the kind of war fought, the war took a toll on the cities and the Japanese people. The cost for the individual daimyo was tremendous, and a century of conflict would so weaken the bulk of Japanese warlords, that the three great figures of Japanese unification, beginning with Oda Nobunaga, would find it easier to militarily assert a single, unified military government.(Washington State University. n.d.) A rigid political and social structure was one of the determining factors for the long-lasting peace under the Edo period. Under the leadership of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the government transitioned from being a decentralized feudal government to a military government in the form of the bakufu. This centralized feudalism also maintained a controlled environment among the daimyos whose rivalry greatly contributed to the Chaos of the recently concluded Warring States Period. The key policies of the Tokugawa System were manipulating daimyo, managing the imperial court, controlling foreign relations, and sacralizing the Tokugawa legacy. (N.A. 1990) According to Tokugawa Japan: The Social and Economic Antecedents of Modern Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu made an extra effort to control the daimyos and minimize them in number. The adoption of the buke sho-hatto (laws pertaining to the military houses) restricted the daimyos tremendously-from the way they had to repair their castles to requiring their wive s and children to stay in Edo. A similar set of laws was placed on court nobles and it was called kinchu narabi ni kuge sho-hatto. Military authorities were in charge of keeping the court nobles in line and assured obedience through the punishment of exile in case of non-compliance. This control over the imperial court consequently assigned the emperor with a more scholarly (rather than military) and representative role. With regards to foreign policy, Ieyasus ban on Christianity was said to have sparked the seclusion of Japan (sakoku) from the rest of the world. Speculations indicate that this policy was implemented to create a monopoly on foreign trade and information from abroad because in exchange for exclusive trade with Japan, the Dutch and Chinese gave annual reports about the outside world The negativity toward Christianity began with Ieyasus fear of the increasing numbers of Christians revolting against him. This effort to eliminate Christianity left a path of death and des truction; these Christians worshipped Christ and placed him above the shogun, which apparently threatened and angered Ieyasu, who wanted the people to worship him instead. This led to a general fear of contamination from Western (or non-Japanese) cultures and ideologies and the eventual closing of Japans doors to the world. Though it had its own share of drawbacks, this cultural isolation, coupled with steady economic development from unparalleled agricultural productivity, led to the peace and eventual development of Japan as a unified country and served as a foundation for a rich distinct Japanese culture. The society was organized by means of a hierarchy in which movement in class was very difficult if not totally impossible. This rigidity was said to primarily be a strategy employed by shoguns to ensure their stay in power and the continuous benefits that came with it. Samurais comprised the highest class in society, followed by the peasants, then the artisans, then finally, merchants. This structure was strongly influenced by Confucian beliefs, much like many other aspects of Japanese culture, which borrowed heavily from that of the Chinese. The warrior class was headed by the Shogun, beneath him were the local feudal lords (daimyo) who were responsible for certain pieces of land. Each daimyo had a number of samurais who served as guards, advisers, and members of the private army. Some samurais carried on without the support and assistance of a master. These masterless samurai (ronin) became teachers, wanderers, or warriors for hire. Peasants provided the primary nourishment of the Japanese people and that earned them considerably high ranking. Differentiating artisans and merchants was a very tricky matter though; more often than not, their occupations overlapped. But despite this confusion, sword makers held a privileged position in society for their vital contribution to the samurais. The reason behind the subordination of merchants springs from the Confucian emphasis on not enriching ones self in the expense of others-which is why the merchants practice of making a living out of others hard work (craftsmen) was looked down upon. Entertainers, priests, and certain other people were not part of the class system. This detachment had its share of advantages and disadvantages. Freedom was the main benefit since the system was very limiting and strict. On the other hand, excluded from the protection of the system. Outcastes (eta) included people whose livelihoods were associated with death-leather tanners, animal carcass disposers etc-and people who were banished by their villages. The former were shunned by the rest of the Japanese community because strong Buddhist influences gave high respect to all living things. The latter were alienated for obvious reasons and will be described in greater detail later. In conclusion, it is evident that the government had a very militaristic way of structuring things. The power of the military as a means of intimidation and instilling fear among the people is a testament to this. Given the militaristic nature of the Edo period, criminal punishment was something ultimately utilized to discourage the people from committing any crimes or offenses, great or small. Their government structure gave power to the village-level administration with regards to dealing with majority of the crimes committed by individuals belonging to their corresponding areas of responsibility-leaving only especially serious crimes to be dealt with by the higher bakufu. Serious crimes included everything from theft to gambling and manslaughter. Aside from the crime committed, ones class or position in society was also a determining factor with regards to how he was sanctioned. Though regardless of class, the mode of punishment in the Edo period was harsh more often than not. Criminal Justice during the Edo Period Capital punishment was something only the bakufu could impose on the gravest of offenders; death penalties were in the form of beheading. On a local level, kyuri or banishment was the most serious punishment the village governments could impose. The legal system in their time affirmed the fact that a single persons wrongdoings could lead to the torment of his entire village. This substantiates the significance of banishment in a sense that the offenders village mates-who are presumably directly uninvolved in the criminal act-are absolved from any vicarious liability they may have incurred. Through the consent of the offenders parents, the village officials and a bakufu representative, the offenders name was literally erased from the population rosters. The banished (mushuku) were often marked with tattoos; non-samurais were commonly subject to Tokoro-barai, which meant that he was to be banished to a certain place and samurais were usually assigned to the post of Kofu in the mountain s west of Edo. Murahachibu (Ostracism) literally translates to eight parts out of ten. This pertained to the disqualification of an offender from receiving any assistance from his community in eight of the ten traditional facets of community life. These eight parts include: births, coming of age ceremonies, weddings, sicknesses, memorial services, travel, floods, and building and repairs. The only two facets in which they were allowed assistance were help in case of a fire and in preparation for funeral. This loss of residence or homelessness would degrade the banished and his family to an outcaste (hinin) status in a process known as hinin teka. Unfortunately, this descent in status was not confined to the person or generation that first occasioned the original ostracism, but extended in perpetuity. Unofficial ostracism, on the other hand, occurred when the individual was removed from the village through a votation (irefuda) without sufficient evidence (or any evidence at all for t hat matter). In such cases, the individual is merely asked to leave the village, while still remaining in the population roster. Irefuda was the votation of the village people to identify a particular offender, which they believe is responsible for whatever recurring crime they may be experiencing. Honesty and participation was key in this activity to the extent that villagers would make oaths before the gods and drink holy water to keep their words pure and those who dont vote are punished along with the guilty and his supporters. Another rather odd part of the Tokugawa law was the idea of rakushogisho, which means, dropped oaths before gods. Here, an anonymous paper with an accusation is dropped in front of the shrine and whoever picks this paper up first is obliged to implement it because this is seen as a sign from the gods themselves. For a crime such as theft, men could be punished with banishment and additional physical mutilation (cutting off ones nose and or ears) would arise depending on the severity of the theft. Women were forced to walk through the village naked, which was a punishment they deemed as even worse than physical mutilation. Mandatory community service(labor camps, gold mining, slavery), ostracism, distinct clothing, and the payment of festival expenses were other possible sanctions as well. One must note that the concealment of theft was a crime as severe as the theft itself-which means that the victim is treated the same way as the offender and is equally punished. Flagellation was another means of penalty for theft (and fighting). It was usually reserved for commoners of both sexes and knights and priests were exempted from it. This practice of stripping the offender to his underwear and striking his back and buttocks for, at most, 100 times, was eventually replaced by ear/nose cutting in th e early Edo period. Punishment for murder was dependent on the manner in which it was executed, ones involvement in the aforementioned crime, and the status of the person murdered. Accomplices to murder, execution of contractual murder, and the murder of inferiors were punishable by banishment. Premeditated, self-enriching, delivering the initial blow (even if it is not the fatal blow) and the masterminding of murder on the other hand were punishable by the death penalty. Through the bakufus discretion, additional additions such as gibbeting (hanging), crucifixion (for murder of a parent/husband), confiscation of property, or ones corpse being the sword practice dummy for a local samurai could be incorporated into ones sentence. Other variations of the death penalty include boiling, burning for those guilty of arson, decapitation, sawing, and cutting the accused in half. This was usually preceded by the parading of the accused around town, and then concluded with the public display of the severed head or body part/s. Torture was an accepted means of obtaining a confession, although a confession was a requisite for the death penalty and the central focus of a trial, it was not something that could be done on a whim (required approval of several levels of authority) and therefore, was hardly ever performed. Even in punishment, ones class is still taken into consideration; special distinction is especially given to samurais. The beheading of a samurai was called zanzai, whereas it is called shizai when done to a commoner. Seppuku, suicide by disembowelment, is also a special option reserved only for the warrior class. It is considered as a better alternative because if one performs seppuku, he dies with his honor intact. The Legal and Judicial System Japans modern legal and judicial systems trace their roots back to 1232 when the Kamakura shogunate (1185-1333) created uniform guidelines the Goseibai Shikimoku (Formulary of Adjudications) for its samurai, or warrior vassals. Drawn from the laws and procedures of such other older institutions as the imperial and provincial governments, private estates and religious orders, the bukeho (warrior house law) was not a legal code in the modern sense but, rather, a compilation of the most common and important court disputes settled by the shogunate. The Goseibai Shikimoku provided the foundation of Japans legal system for the next 400 years. The legal system of Japan evolved when it was unified by the Tokugawa shogunate . Iyesu Tokugawa strengthened the centralization of militaristic and economic power on the shogunates hands, but also replaced the laws issued by regional warlords with standard codes. Two important laws were made during this time, the 13-article Buke Shohatto(Laws for Military Houses) and the Kinchu Narabi ni Kuge Shohatto (Laws Governing the Imperial Court and Nobility). The final contribution of the Tokugawa or Edo period was the 742 Kujikata Osadamegaki (Official Provisions). For the first time a set of rules was made for the commoners and lesser samurais and not for those in the elite class. This had two parts. One was the administrative procedures and civil rules composed of 81 articles. The second, which composed the bulk is on criminal laws and penalties which is made up of 103 articles. This was the first time that the commoners who were under the shogun had to answer to a codified set of laws. Japanese Values behind the System The Japanese valued social responsibility and obligation very much. This can be translated as giri. Giri implies that people should behave according to what society dictates of you. The Japanese see this as very important that is why anyone who deviates from the law or from the expectations of society is punished for it. There is also a strong sense of community seen in the valuing of human relations and empathy because even those that are not the criminals are subject to be punished if they do not report the offender. More people will get hurt as crimes increase especially in the villages where there is voting on who the culprit is. If you want it to stop, then community as a whole must stop because everyone is affected. Confessing immediately is best rather than getting tortured to admit the fault or whose fault it is. Ninjo which is they psychological factor refers to a persons feelings and reactions which may or may not be in line with the giri. If one experiences conflict with t hese interests, one may suppress his feelings, close his eyes from all of these or worst case scenario, commit suicide. Samurais are known to do the last because of the common practice of seppuku. If a samurai does not reach the expectations society has for him he feels the need to kill himself for losing his honor. Here we see another important Japanese value, honor. The Japanese highly value this that some of the punishments just mainly strip away ones honor and dignity. Women parading naked, being proclaimed a criminal and many more are just some of the ways that the old penal system has stripped away the honor of many individuals. Loyalty and obedience not only to ones master, but society as a whole is also very important. Those who disobey may be executed or be tortured just for not following the law. Harmony and order is so important for them that they would do anything to maintain this. Even today these values are still practised in society. Honor for the Japanese is just as important before as it is today. One example would be how students study so hard to get into a good university that failing leads to a lot of suicides in Japan. By not passing one has not only disgraced his name, but more importantly, disgraced his family. This is why they would prefer death, similar to how the samurais would think. Japanese highly value social obligation that your responsibility to the community is far greater than to a transcendent god. From the past, Japan has relied on social rather than supernatural sanctions and they have always emphasized the benefits of having a harmonious society. They are also very disciplined people today and there is more often than not, fear of authority. The hierarchies present before are still present now. There are still people who have a higher status than you such as your parents. Loyalty and obedience has always been emphasized before and just like now any disloyal act against your parents is frowned up by society. Here the strong influence of Confucianism is seen and by following ones roles, order can finally be obtained. Although punishment today may not be as harsh before, the Japanese have kept these in their minds and have worked very hard to keep the order in their society which has made them one of the strongest and most influential countries today. From past to present: The Yakuza The militaristic nature of Edo period in Japan gave importance towards the use of physical might as well as more strict control over the people. The context during that time forced people to resort to more dire measures for survival and people were under pressure on a daily basis. Some people conformed to the harsh settings but others sought escape and lived defiantly, away from society. This strict way of living entailed the first beginnings of the formation of various groups that eventually led to a more famously known group in Japan: yakuza. Currently, yakuza are more popularly known as an organized crime syndicate in Japan, similar to the Mafia. They are known to be an extremely large and influential group in Japanese politics as well as business; having direct or hidden control over several businesses and political figures. The yakuza are infamous for their ruthlessness and for being forceful in their dealings with people, Japanese or foreign. The pop culture depiction of yakuza members varies from tattooed hoodlums and thugs to the high class suit-and-tie figure. They are infamous for their activities that range from political activities and assassinations to protection rackets and shady business dealings including drugs, weaponry, gambling, smuggling, etc. These income generating activities are generally called shinogi. Admirably, the yakuza are also famous for having a strong sense of honor and loyalty amongst themselves. They strictly follow a structure similar to that of a family, even referring to their superiors as oyabun or father and the followers as kobun or child. This structure allows the yakuza to have a systematic way of carrying out their work and helps in creating loyalty to the family. The early origins of the Yakuza during the Edo-period can be traced back to the emergence of two groups. First we have the kabukimono (crazy ones) which include people that are peculiarly dressed, have odd hairstyles and have volatile, violent behavior. Kabukimono groups usually consist of unemployed samurais or ronins that have resorted to violence, banditry and other vigilante acts instead of enlisting in other jobs. Another name for the members of this group is the hatamato-yakko, which means servants of the shogun, referring more to their previous affiliation with the shogun than their more recent deviant nature. Their constant harassment of local towns forced the townsfolk to find protection of their own, as the daimyos were less concerned over the common town and townsfolk. This led to the rise of the other group so called machi-yakko, also came to be known as servants of the town or local town heroes. These machi-yakko comprised of local people who have banded together to repe l the assaults of the invading bandits. The members of the machi-yakko were usually weaker than the kabukimono, seeing as they were usually untrained individuals. A remarkable aspect of both groups that is still associated with yakuza is the developed sense of family trust and loyalty among the members. The more common notion of most people would be to identify yakuza gangsters to have come from the line of the kabukimono or hatamato-yakko. However, from the yakuzas point of view, their claim is that they are descendants from the machi-yakko faction. We can note that the yakuza seem to have taken characteristics from both of these groups. However, it is unclear and erroneous to directly link the modern yakuza to any of the two groups. A second, but not entirely exclusive explanation as to the formation of the yakuza is that the yakuza derive from the two classes of tekiya (peddlers) and bakuto (gamblers). Basically, the tekiya is a group comprised of small-time peddlers that banded together. Although in the Edo period, they were considered to be of low social standing, their organized mass activities eventually gained them influence on commercial dealings and administrative duties. Tekiyas business activities were considered legal at the time and were eventually allowed by the Edo government for their oyabun (leaders) to have surnames and to carry swords, which was previously only available for samurais and nobles. Bakuto, or gamblers, were considered lower than tekiya, primarily because gambling was frowned upon and considered illegal. Gambling houses were present in more or less deserted areas in town, or on the outskirts and were looked down upon. Bakuto also dealt in loan sharking businesses and held their own security force. The bakutos way of doing business is what is more commonly associated for the negative image of the yakuza today. In fact, the term yakuza is said to have originated from a card game. Ya-ku-sa or the most useless hand in the game, caught on as a term to refer to the bakuto, seen as derogatory to society. It is also from bakuto that the infamous yakuza tattoos originated from, as the members of this group usually had on their bodies. To the yakuza, tattoos were a symbol for toughness and most yakuza had majority of their bodies tattooed. It is from the history of the tekiya as well as the bakuto groups that we can see how the structure of the yakuza began to form. Knowing the backgrounds of the tekiya, bakuto and kabukimono, we can see how the yakuza are also known to allow misfits and rejects of society into their organization. It is also from the four previously mentioned groups that we see the early stages of the kinds of transactions and dealings that the yakuza do. Basically, we can see how and why the yakuza are said to have origins from all of these different groups. The yakuza evolved into a larger, more organized and structured group after the Meiji Restoration period, which ushered in a more formal political format as well as military might. The yakuza also made motions to modernize their organization but they still held on to their former activities: businesses and gambling rings. They expanded recruitment and began to take interest in and dealt in politics. The yakuza were also vital during the American occupation years in Japan. During the occupation years, Japan was in a sunken economic state and the black market emerged as a more viable option for the people to survive. The yakuza, especially the tekiya group, took advantage of the black market. They proved to be an extreme difficulty for the Americans in controlling Japan. Eventually, another cluster of yakuza, called the gurentai emerged, who also dealt in the black market. The gurentai group is what is more closely associated to the organized and violent side of the yakuza (similar to the Italian Mob in America), portraying the more stereotypical gangster image. After the war, the yakuza continued its black market transactions and started to use more direct violence, which resulted in the group entitled boryokudan (violence gang). Post-war Japan started improving economically and dependency on the black market declined. As such, the yakuza continued to adapt and were able to prosper. The yakuza began to grow in number, but the yakuza also began to fragment into regional sub-organizations. Much of the post-war regaining of strength for the yakuza are attributed to Yoshio Kodama, an extremely wise and powerful man who worked his way through industry and politics to empower the different yakuza groups. The many opportunities in the market also bred competition amongst the yakuza subgroups. The existence of different yakuza gangs led to gang wars and has troubled both the yakuza structure as a whole and the law enforcement. There was a spike in the number rate of boryokudan arrests, which consisted of a lot of physical violence against other groups. These subgroups are usually headed by a single family. An example is one of the most famous and powerful yakuza clans to have existed: the Yamaguchi-gumi. This particu lar group is said to have been able to dominate a good majority of its territories. One particular head of this clan was Kazuo Taoka, known to be one of the most, if not the most effective leader of this clan. During his period as the kumicho (family boss), he was able to empower the Yamaguchi-gumi clan into one of the most powerful clans in his time. In the latter part of the 20th century, Japanese government has worked towards the stoppage of the violent and criminal acts performed by the yakuza. More specifically, they have even passed a law against the boryokudan; this law is called the Botaiho (passed in May 1991). Despite this, the yakuza are still at large in many other aspects and are usually conducting their work within the law. Their influence on business and politics is still significant but clandestine to most. Again, the modern day yakuza has evolved and has been able to adapt to the current context of the world today, and not just in Japan. In the end, the yakuza has always had an influential role on the lives and culture of the Japanese, even if their actions were never stated explicitly in the history books. Their early existence began during the Edo period and throughout Japanese history, they have evolved into what they are today: a formidable force in everyday Japanese life.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Employee view of a Fat Person :: essays research papers

Overweight Americans face discrimination every day. This type of discrimination is a violation of The Civil Rights Act of 1964(Title VII, 42 U.S.C.  § 2000 et seq.) which â€Å"established basic federal law on employment discrimination† (http://www.obesity.org/discrimination/employment.shtml). Three major factors contribute to being overweight. These factors are hereditary, medication and ethnicity. An obese person may be entitled to claim disability payments from the Social Security Administration. Discrimination against an employee for being overweight would be wrong when the Social Security Administration recognizes obesity as a disability. Adults who qualify for disability claim it for muscle or skeletal complications. Severe obesity inflicts the body with pain and affects normal daily activities. When severely obese people find performance in their occupation of choice is compromised and qualifies for disability. Individuals use disability programs for assistance when they cannot commit to normal employment. â€Å"The American Obesity Association defends the rights of disabled persons with obesity, because obesity: is a disease, is the second leading cause of premature death, can cause many health conditions such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, is a source of stigmatization and discrimination, can lead to a poor quality of life and impaired mobility, can cause physical and emotional pain that can be disabling† (http://www.obesity.org/subs/disability). Companies should not discriminate against anyone with this type of disability since the Social Security Administration considers obesity a disability. If an obese person can do her job without any inabilities, there should be no reason for an overweight employee to be dismissed. Obesity is a factor of a heredity condition. Obesity is defined â€Å"as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal according to standard age, height, and weight tables, or by a complex formula known as the body mass index† (http://www.encyclopedia.com/printable.asp?url=/ssi/o1/obesity.html). This condition runs in families but does not mean an individual is predisposed to it. Some contributing factors to obesity are sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits. The environmental factor that contributes to overweight problems includes little or no physical activity. Most adults working long hours do not have time for physical activities. Companies should promote physical activities within the organization to help employees become more active. Psychological factors influence eating habits. Employees who become depressed will overeat. Negative emotions including boredom, sadness, or anger may influence employees eating habits. Employers should offer mental health programs to assist employees when dealing with emotional situations. Certain medications are known to increase weight.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Training and Developing Employees

Training and Developing Employees Multiple Choice: 1. Once employees have been recruited and selected, the next step would be: a. discipline and counseling. b. orientation and training. c. hiring and firing. d. socialization. 3. The ongoing process of instilling in all employees the prevailing attitudes, standards, values, and patterns of behavior that are expected by the organization and its departments is: a. values projection. b. orientation. c. socialization. d. diversity training. 5. There is the real possibility that courts will find that an employee's handbook contents represent a/an: a. alsified document. b. contract with the employee. c. incomplete document. d. vague document. 7. Training of a long-term nature that has the development of current or future management employees as its aim is usually referred to as: a. management evaluation. b. management development. c. management games. d. management case studies. 8. In order for firms to stay competitive when training and de velopment objectives change, they have to adapt by performing the following changes, except: a. improving product quality. b. boosting productivity. c. hanging technology. d. increasing employee turnover. 15. The first step in a training program is to conduct: a. training evaluation. b. training needs analysis. c. on-the-job training. d. job instruction training. 17. A technique for appraising the performance of current employees to determine whether training could reduce performance problems like excess scrap or low output is: a. task analysis. b. performance analysis. c. training analysis. d. motivation analysis. 22. The bottom line that should result from determining training needs is: a. xcellent job performance. b. performance analysis. c. task analysis. d. measurable training objectives. 25. A structured process by which individuals become skilled workers through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training is referred to as: a. job instruction training. b. a pprenticeship training. c. vestibule training. d. computerized training. 32. A training technique in which trainees learn on the actual or simulated equipment they will use on the job, but in which the trainees are actually trained off the job, is: a. n-the-job training. b. off-the-job training. c. simulated training. d. actual training. 37. With a workforce that is becoming increasingly assorted, many more firms find they must implement: a. teamwork training programs. b. diversity training programs. c. value training programs. d. experimentation training programs. 39. The following are aims of the management development process, except: a. assessing the company's needs. b. appraising the manager's performance. c. developing the managers themselves. d. enhancing the industry's performance. 1. A management training technique that involves moving a trainee from department to department in order to broaden his/her experience and identify strong and weak points is called: a. global rota tion. b. action learning. c. job enrichment. d. job rotation. 43. In this management training technique, the trainee works directly with the person that he/she is to replace. What is this technique called? a. Replacement approach b. Coaching/understudy approach c. Succession planning d. Direct replacement approach 46.An off-the-job management development technique that involves presenting a trainee with a written description of an organizational problem is called a(n): a. action learning program. b. case study method. c. management game. d. coaching/understudy approach. 47. The following are features in the case study method, except: a. faculty providing the correct answer so students understand the case. b. the use of actual organizational problems. c. participants stating their views and inquiring into others' views. d. a minimal involvement by the faculty member. 3. A prospective division manager with a gap in experience with financial controls might sign up for a two-course sequ ence in: a. production control. b. managerial accounting. c. operational processes. d. managerial control. 55. A training program in which trainees are first shown good management techniques (in a film), are then asked to play roles in a simulated situation and are given feedback and praise by their supervisor is called: a. behavior modeling. b. role-playing. c. good example training. d. case study method. 58.Some employers have in-house development centers for managers and employees that would include the following, except: a. classroom learning. b. in-basket exercises. c. job analysis programs. d. role-playing. 61. An organizational development method that involves surveying employees' attitudes and providing feedback to departmental managers so that problems can be solved by the managers and employees is called: a. questionnaire analysis. b. diary logs. c. survey feedback. d. sensitivity training. Essay: 1New employee orientation has been shown to have measurable and positive eff ects on employee retention and satisfaction.In spite of this, many organizations do not have a formalized orientation process, and each employee gets a different orientation to the organization. Explain why you believe organizations do this. Outline how you would, as a new HR manager, convince management to implement new employee orientations. 2. The book listed a number of management development techniques. Which one do you believe is the most effective? Defend this choice and contrast it with at least three other techniques. Answers 1. b 3. c 5. b 7. b 8. d 15. b 17. b 22. d 25. b 32. c 37. b 39. d 41. d 43. b 46. b 47. a 53. b 58. c 61. c

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Work and the City Essay Example

Work and the City Essay Example Work and the City Essay Work and the City Essay In the â€Å"Allegory of California† and â€Å"Construction†, both artworks both graphically symbolized the condition of workers in the industrialized period but situated in two different locations, a rural place in a powerful first world country and a city at a developing nation. Mexican painter Diego Rivera’s mural represented the California landscape in which illustrated a workplace that connected the agricultural side with the advancements of technology. Rivera made a â€Å"positive view of the hybridization of the mechanical and the organic, of culture and nature† (Sackman 3). Meanwhile, Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado’s photograph depicted a seemingly captured moment of a construction worker gazing at the beauty of the city at the expense of his own safety by merely hanging on unstable bars of steels without any safety precautions. According to Salgado, â€Å"photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression† (cited in Ritchin, â€Å"The Lyric Documentarian†). Rivera showed the condition of workers during the 1930s while Salgado displayed the status of workers in the 1990s. The â€Å"Allegory of California† manifested the several types of work that were prevalent during that time. It showed farmers farming their crops, miners mining for gold, engineers creating new technologies and scientists conducting studies. The only endangerment that was demonstrated was the effects of technological advancements to nature and human workforce. The rise of the machines can destroy the beauty and richness of the beauty of nature and it can also replace the capabilities of human in terms of providing essential products and services. On the other hand, the â€Å"Construction† by Salgado showed a more evident form of danger for a worker. Thy physical aspect of the work environment illustrated the work hazard of the place because of the absence of precautionary safety elements such as safety harness, protective clothing, warning signs and other s. More so, the hanging position of the worker indicated the possibility or the imminent threat of falling hundreds of feet to the ground. This construction site at Rasuna complex of apartment and office buildings in the commercial and financial district of Kuningan in Indonesia showed the neglect of most employers over the safety of their workers. The mural of â€Å"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Allegory of California† was created by Rivera to remind the upper class that the resources that they have consumed and enjoyed were products of hard arduous labor of farmers and workers.   Rivera’s representation of the workforce emphasized their importance in the development of a society. However, through the combination of the â€Å"the labor of workers, the power of technology and, ultimately, the fertility of the earth,† the condition of social inequality is upheld and the commoditization of resources is actuated (Sackman 10). The images represented a stratified society wherein workers are at the bottom or middle level of the pyramid who do all the laborious works in order to provide for other members of the society. Meanwhile, the photograph of Salgado symbolized an unsung hero who performs his duties at the expense of risking his own life for monetary rewards. This scenario showed how countries like Indonesia, a developing country, have disregarded the condition of their labor force in order to minimize the cost of their project. Salgado in most of his photographs had demonstrated a very creative and subtle form of social conscience (Wald 4). Salgado makes sure that every image that he takes; he captures the essence of that image â€Å"including culture and the internal resources that allow for self-determination,† in which promotes compassion and awareness for the viewers† (cited in Ritchin, â€Å"The Lyric Documentarian†). Moreover, a mural compared to a photograph, I think that a photograph is more powerful and persuasive than a mural or a painting because in photographs reality is captured without any enhancements or alterations. Paintings and murals are artist’s outputs based on his understanding and perspective about the subject matter. A subject can either exaggerate or downplay depending on the artist’s mood or thinking. But photographs, particularly Salgado’s works, are â€Å"confined to the moment by the mechanics of the camera, which are drawn less to celebrating and taming an instant’s arbitrariness, their   material manifestations, but more to articulating their eternity, their ephemeral profundity, and to locating a mythic, entwining presence (cited in Ritchin, â€Å"The Lyric Documentarian†).

Monday, October 21, 2019

Childrens Television Drama Essays

Childrens Television Drama Essays Childrens Television Drama Essay Childrens Television Drama Essay Q1 What meanings are conveyed to the audience through the visual signs used in your programs? The programs I am analysing are Byker Grove and Shoebox Zoo. They are both aimed at younger children, this is there targeted audicence this is evident in Byker Groves opening sequence, as it has many vibrant colours such as yellow and red which connates the light heartedness and the innocence of the show, it is also very fast paced and energetic. However in the opening sequence of Shoebox Zoo it is different, the colours that are used are mainly dark reds connating the danger and the more seriousness of the drama. The sequence also implies that they are on some kind of quest. There is also a white light glow around one of the characters, which usually connotes that they are good and of some importance. The camera work that is used in the opening sequence of Shoebox Zoo has many slow motions and is shot mid shot, this connates the emotion of the characters the soft focus also amplifies this fact of emotion. At the end of this sequence is there is an old, medieval font, it is very magi cal and fits the quest storyline and the genre well. In the Byker Grove opening sequence the font that is used is a graphiti type of font which connates the childish side of the show. The first sequence of Byker Grove is set in the Grove, which is in essence is there youth club. The lighting in this first scene has a very naturalistic lighting to it, the decorations in the youth club are vivid and vibrant with bright reds and yellows again conveying the happiness of the show. The fist sequence in Shoebox Zoo Marnie and her Father are driving in the car and it is a dull day, with greys and dark colours being used, which again amplifies the seriousness of the show. In another scene they are all sat round a camp fire at night, the camera cuts to the sky, which shows the moving grey clouds which shows the danger of the scene, and it comes across as scary. In Byker Grove there is a scene where there is a child arguing with another, the camera shots are quite close to the two, then one of the childs throws a drink at the other, and the camera sharply zooms into the stain and then a close-up shot of the childs face, who is not pleased, this sort of camera work is a very basic way to show the anger of the child, this basic way is used extensivly as it is simple and easy for the children to get the idea of the scene. This fast paced switching between characters is used again in Byker Grove, in this scene we have to children and they have just eaten a meal, but cannot pay for it, so what we have is them arguing between themselves as to who pays for it, the camera goes backwards and forwards to each characters in a fast moving, fast paced way, and this shows the panic of the two very well. On Shoebox Zoo there is a scene where they are camping in a tent at night, the lighting is very dark and there is wind and rain outside connatating the disturbing atmosphere of the scene. Shoebox Zoo unlike Byker Grove uses a lot of animation, both for its characters and its intro. The animated characters add a kind of mystical, dreamlike side to the story, as the characters are very magical and unreal and fit this certain genre very well.It is also very sterotypical of a child with the dreamlike attributes of a child having these animated charecters is very beneficial to the story. And containing these character s is a very good way of enhancing the excitement of the journey which they are on. Q2 What important representations are there in your texts? Give reasons for your answers In Shoe Box Zoo one of the main characters is Professor Toledo. He is the evil villain within the story and is represented as a dark and dangerous shape shifter.The sterotype of an evil villain in a childrens drama is a old usually wearing black and often strange in appearance man. Toledo is not the stereotypical villain, looking at what he wears, a white cloak and gown, it comes apparent that these clothes do not conform to the usually bad guy image. There is a reason for this as he was once good, hence the white cloak but is now fallen evil. The white cloak also connotes a kind of magical and wizard like person which fits in perfectly with the story.It is however clear that he is the villian, this is clear in the way he speaks and the anger he puts across on screen towards the other charecters.The generic element of the good VS evil is clearly evident in this drama, with Toledo being the villian with his menacing ways and the hero being a young inecent girl that the children can ea sily relate too. Toledos body language suggest he is a powerful character with upright composure and his commanding presents, he also uses his hands a lot to express his feelings, and he often looks down towards an other character McTaggart, his servent. The way Toledo speaks and his use of language is very menacing, representing the evilness he brings to the story, he uses various words and speaks them quick and hard which also represents his power as a villain. In one scene Toledo is giving orders to McTaggart however he refuses to carry out the orders and McTaggart then walks away, suddenly Toledo appears from no-where and McTaggart then sees his power and accepts his order, we the audience are suppose to feel afraid and the power of Toledo as McTaggart feels. In Byker grove there is a character called Bradley, he is a lively teenager with a slightly annoying personality. If we take a look at what he wears its clear that he is represented as an individual in contrast to his peers and deffiantly a leader with the other charecters being the follwers of him.He wears a smart Tee shirt under a Blazer and casual trousers. In comparison to the other teenagers in the show who wear baggy jeans and Tee Shirts. The conations of his Blazer are that he is quite business like and more mature than the rest of the teenagers. His body language can be overwhelming, one instance of this is when there are two adult youth club workers ideologically of higher importance than him are sat down and he stands up and seems to overshadow them, and comes across as a figure of authority. The way Bradley speaks and his certain tone of voice suggest it is possible that he is a homosexual, which later comes apparent in the episode. The way the camera pans to Bradley and t he frequency implies that he is of greater importance than the other characters. When watching Byker Grove it is obvious that he is one of the main characters in this series and he is represented to that of a father figure, if the teenagers have problems they consult Bradley.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

What Do Frank and Rita Learn from Each Other Essay Example

What Do Frank and Rita Learn from Each Other Essay Example What Do Frank and Rita Learn from Each Other Paper What Do Frank and Rita Learn from Each Other Paper Essay Topic: Literature I think education is a part of life that everybody goes through. Its how the world gains knowledge and everybody deserves to have a proper education, which involves going to a school and learning different subjects in a classroom with a teacher. My view of education does seem to differ to Russells definition. His definition of education seems to be a way to differentiate the social classes of the world. A chance for the posh people to show how superior they are to the lower class. He is implying that anyone that is poor cannot have had an education. This does seem to be true according to the play but maybe Russell was not picturing reality when he wrote Educating Rita. His definition of education is not apparent in the reality that I live in so I cannot identify with him. To me, education is and always will be the gaining of knowledge, being taught and finding out about life. Our first impressions of Frank are rather negative, it is clear that he has a drinking problem and is obviously dissatisfied with his life. We learn from him that he is divorced and his present relationship is not an idealistic one. He is quite disrespectful and longs to have more free time to sit in the pub and drink. Examples of these are things like, Strange hours for this Open University thing. They expect us to teach when the pubs are open. (1. i) Jubilantly he moves to the Dickens section and pulls out a pile of books to reveal a bottle of whisky (1. i) These examples show how he relies on his drinking and would rather be at the pub than anything else. Our first impressions of Rita differ quite significantly to those of Frank; her use of language is coarse and does not have the ability to express literary concepts on anything but a basic level. Things that dont really matter like wearing the right types of clothing and the right type of wine preoccupy her. Thats a nice picture Its very erotic Theres no suppose about it. Look at those tits. (1. i) Ritas language here shows how direct and naive she is. Most people would not come straight out and say something like that but she does not see the vulgarity of the way she speaks. At first Frank does not want to teach Rita, he tries to stop her from coming to him for tutoring. Go back to what you do like and stop wasting my time. You go out and buy yourself a new dress and Ill go to the pub. (1. ii) This proves how Frank sees Rita as a waste of time and does not want to teach her. Rita has exactly the opposite reaction to Frank, when he tries get rid of her she becomes adamant about the fact the he is her tutor. This is because she likes him and what he does; she feels she can learn a great deal from him because of the social class he is in. She also does genuinely like him for his personality, which makes here even more determined to stay. Wait a minute, listen to me. Listen: Im on this course, you are my teacher an youre gonna bleedin well teach me Youre my tutor. I dont want another tutor. (1. ii) She is not going to leave him because she definitely wants him as a tutor. The first major learning point for Frank is accepting Rita and finding out that there is more to life then literature and poetry and his mind is opened by Rita and becomes less of a literary snob. He also later on tried to dissuade Rita from becoming so literate in what she has learned because Frank sees it as a turn for the worst for her. Rita also begins to learn things from Frank; the first major learning point she took was that to be able to get the education she wants she needs to change her colloquial dialect to a more formal language. This helps her become able to stress her point within an essay, by impressing an examiner rather than using a vulgar language. F: No, Erm assonance. Well, its a form of rhyme. Whats a whats an example erm -? Do you know Yeats? R: The wine lodge? F: Yeats the poet. (1. i) R: It was crap. F: What? R: I thought it was crap! F: Crap? And who are you citing in support of your thesis, F. R. Leavis? R: No. Me! F: What have I just said? Me is subjective. (1. ii) Along the way Frank and Rita learn a lot more from each other. The next point Frank learns is that education can quash a person. He realises or thinks that if Rita is successful in learning everything (which is what she wanted in the beginning) then it will spoil what is so special about Rita. For instance the way she just comes out with things, says what is exactly on her mind, she will start to say less about what she thinks, try and make it into a more posh point of view. Frank may even be scared that Rita will become a literary snob like he was in the beginning. F: (appealingly) Rita, stop it! R: But Frank, I have to persevere in order that I shall. F: Rita! Just be yourself. R: I am being myself. (2. ii) Rita is also learning along with Frank. But she learns that to cope with having an education and being exposed to all these literate, upper class people she needs to change the way she talks, in accent and the vocabulary she uses. Although this may not actually be correct, she does learn it and perseveres with changing the way she dresses. She feels she no longer fits in with the people around her and quits her job, because the conversation lacks somewhat in education. She feels she needs to change the people that are around her and then try to fit in with the new people she has become acquainted to. R: Thats why I couldnt stand being in a hairdressers any longer; boring irrelevant detail all the time, on and on Well, Im sorry but Ive had enough of that. I dont wanna talk about irrelevant rubbish anymore. F: And what do you talk about in your bistro? R: Everything We talk about whats important, Frank, and we leave out the boring details for those who want them (2. iv) Frank has learned a lot from Rita throughout this play, and I think the most important point he has learned is, it doesnt matter who you are or where you live, everybody deserves an education, and it can change you for the worst. It doesnt make you a better person or more superior to anyone else, you are just the same apart from having a larger vocabulary. In the end, everyone comes down to the same thing, has the same needs and longs for the same things! F: Oh Ive done a fine job on you havent I This this clever, pyrotechnical pile of self-conscious allusion is worthless, talentless, shit and could be recognized as such by anyone with a shred of common sense Oh, I dont expect you to believe me, Rita; you recognize the hallmark of literature now, dont you? I think that the most important point that Rita learned in this play is that you have a choice in life. You dont have to be stuck in somewhere you dont want to be. You can change your life to how you want it to be. Although it might not be what you expect, it ends up how you wanted it to be and that is your own choice. R: It might be worthless in the end. But I had a choice. I chose, me. Because of what youd given me. I had a choice. (2. vii) I do think that Frank and Rita benefit from having a relationship with each other. They both open their eyes to how they each live, and learn to accept things that has contradicted points that they thought were true their whole life. Frank manages to stop drinking, nearly and Rita is where she wants to be in life. They helped each other get to that stage and although Frank still relies on Rita to be there she does not actually need him anymore. A final benefit that Frank receives is quite comical; a haircut. This is great because it finishes off the play with a light note. I think that Russell is trying to show that in his play Frank and Rita learn exactly the same thing, people are all the same, and most of the things you know will end up being useless and empty. They both learn this in a different way. Rita becomes educated, and learns that it is not up to what it is made out to be and Frank learns this by meeting Rita, the lower class girl. If you base your life around literature completely you will end up being a very dull person with an empty life.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Strategic Marketing - Essay Example Strategies can be applied to any functional areas such as finance, marketing, production, human resource (Proctor, 2000). Organizations always try to gain competitive advantages by adopting various strategies for their functional areas. Marketing, when done with the objective of gaining strategic competitive advantages, is called strategic marketing. Generally marketing strategies are adopted for product, price, promotion, distribution, merchandise, market research in order to gain competitive advantages in the long run. All these concepts of strategic marketing are developed keeping in mind the aim of the business. Moreover each and every concept thus developed is directly or indirectly involved with the people because people and business inextricably linked. Leo Burnett, well known for his memorable quotations is one of the most renowned personalities in the world of advertising. He took advertising to a different height by creating icons such as Tony the Tiger and Jolly Green Giant. One of those quotes made by Leo Burnett is â€Å"What helps people, helps business’’. This report attempts to analyze the significance of this famous statement in the context of strategic marketing. Earlier business organizations were known only as profit making units. People then were not treated as the principle contributing factor in the process of making profit. They were treated as a means for achieving business objectives. This concept of business has changed significantly over the years. Today’s business leaders have realized that in order to achieve the desired objective, organizations must give enough importance to the people who are associated with the business. It is the people who make business and it is the people who run business. Nowadays while making any strategic decision, the primary focus is kept on the people who are associated with that decision. Organizations, before taking any decision try to have a clear

Friday, October 18, 2019

My Personality Traits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Personality Traits - Essay Example According to Roberts and Mroczek (2008), â€Å"personality traits are defined as the relatively enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish individuals from one another† (p. 31). One strongly believes that it is crucial to spend some time reflecting and assessing one’s personality traits for purposes of noting one’s strengths, and determining one’s weaknesses. However, an assessment should not end only in the aspect of determination. One affirms that after accurate identification of the traits that are considered weak some positive action must be taken to address the noted weaknesses and to eventually transform them into core competencies and advantages. In this regard, after a personal reflection of one’s personality, I deduced that there were evident strengths in exemplifying virtues of honesty, integrity and conformity to rules, policies, as well as adherence to ethical, moral and legal standards. In whatever setting o r situation, I always observe regulations and am very assertive in complying with the explicitly defined rules. This is most applicable in the school setting, in communities, work settings, and in other public or private organizations that one gets the opportunity to be involved with or interact with. For me, giving my word is tantamount to a firm acknowledgement of a promise. I would never make a promise I know I would not be able to keep. I also believe in the ethics of reciprocity or the Golden Rule, as it is more commonly known. This is the reason why I would not like to do injustice to others, as I expect to be respected and be accorded with equality, justice, as well as conformity to good moral conduct and behavior. This, I believe, is crucial to avoid injuries, hurt, pain, and discrimination of any kind. I am very conscientious and I believe that by doing good I would have rendered appropriate service to others, and more importantly, to my creator. Likewise, I have determined that I exhibited above average people skills, meaning, I am compassionate, easy to get along with, gregarious and socially responsible. These traits would be most useful in teambuilding and in working with groups. Although I believe that as an individual, I could excel using the knowledge, skills and abilities gained through education and experience, I still acknowledge that working cohesively with others is beneficial in different scenarios and settings. On the other hand, despite the acknowledgement of these strengths in my personality, I still admit that there are weaknesses which need to be addressed. As emphasized by Roberts & Mroczek (2008), â€Å"personality traits continue to change, even in old age† (p. 32). Thus, one could still work on changing those traits that need to be tranformed for the better. For one, I believe that there is still room for improving ability to discern priorities in life. Since I am a people’s person, there are some instances when I a m in the company of colleagues and friends and I just could not say no to them when they invite me to social events or gatherings. In the process of accommodating them, there were times that I failed to attend to more urgent matters – such as academic projects or the need to spend quality time with one’s family. In addition, another weakness noted was one’

Police Officers Injuries related to work and what ii the solution Essay

Police Officers Injuries related to work and what ii the solution - Essay Example This is mainly evidence with patrol police officers who receive injuries or meet their deaths when they are outside their patrol vehicles. Arguably, few professionals experience the injury threats that police officers face during their careers. Health workplace is the key to any effective and successful law enforcement department. The department of police should understand that healthy police officers who work under safety and healthy workplaces are able to better perform their duties and serve the community effectively. The department executives must ensure that police agencies support the police officers’ safety and healthy. For, instance, the department of police should incorporate adequate measures to protect the employees from the adverse threats, which they face during their operations (Gundersen and Robert 62). Police executives should ask several questions to ensure the police officers’ wellbeing is fully protected (Ball 47). For example, what are the basic health and safety measures should the police department ensures to its employees? During large-scale epidemics, such as fighting against a terrorist group, which are the appropriate safety and health measures to ensure the police officers are healt hy and are able to undertake their duties? What benefits should the police officers derive from the health and safety program? This essay aims at explaining the types of injuries, police officers face during the line of duty and the appropriate safety and health programs that police department should implement (Gundersen and Robert 65). The paper also purports to provide some considerations for strengthening the current safety and health programs. This document begins with explaining the various types of injuries, police officers face related to their duties (Ball 49). It further proposes several health and safety programs that police departments should implement and explaining their benefits and stressing that it is only through the

Graphic aid Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Graphic aid - Assignment Example On the other hand, Apple’s share price has seen a more dramatic increase in terms of absolute amounts, rising sharply from the low of about US 400 dollars to peak highs of US 700 dollars (Yahoo! Finance, 2012; Google Finance, 2012). On the other hand, focusing on the most recent performance of the stocks, it is clear that while Samsung’s share price has plateaud somewhat with the share price stabilizing around 1.3 million Korean wons, the share of Apple from the most recent poll has seen a kind of dramatic drop. In the plot, one can see that from the high of US 700 dollars, the most recent share prices are below US 600 dollars. The prognosis for Apple moving forward is a bit shaky, and the recent drop in the stock price may be an indication that the investing public is not so enamored with the prospects of the company in 2013 and onwards, given the more recent missteps made by the company relating to core technologies for its smart phone, as well as missteps relating to the way it has priced its new tablet offerings as well. In contrast, Samsung’s price reflects some stability (Lappin, 2012; Yahoo! Finance, 2012; Google Finance, 2012). The images tell a story, from the point of view of Apple, about how Samsung smart phone designs have evolved over time, and with the iPhone introduction as the mark point for comparing how Samsung designs changed with that milestone. This graphic has been used by Apple’s lawyers before the court to make their case with regard to their claim that Samsung basically copied the smart phone designs of Apple and iPhone. Prior to the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the graphic shows that Samsung phone designs were largely rounded at the bottom, many with keypads, and had small screens. There were also navigation buttons at the center, and in all the phones reflected older design paradigms for

Thursday, October 17, 2019

North American Civilization Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

North American Civilization Paper - Essay Example No attempts were made to immigrate to Antarctica so the migration essentially stopped there. The enormity of the landscape allowed two distinct sources of food delivery to evolve: maintenance of hunter-gatherer societies in nomadic formations and agricultural societies tying themselves to distinct geographical enclaves. The book contends the population to be 5-10 million but other sources place the number between 2-7 million. Agriculture increased the complexity of the societies that developed in the various areas of continent. Men tended to wield more power and influence in the hunter societies while the women of the tribes started to come into their own in the agricultural societies. The increased complexity of the societal fabric tended to bring more power to the women of the tribes. The relative scarcity of arable land or diminished animal populations for consumption tended to dictate the type of civilizations that would arise around the provision of foodstuffs. They tended to va ry in shape and complexity. While the Pueblos tended to an increasingly sophisticated agricultural society, the Iroquois all the way on the other side of the continent erected an equally sophisticated culture of their own. The availability of edible wildlife tended to dictate the societal formations that emerged. Davidson et al asserts that nearly 70 Pueblo villages flourished by 1540, a little more than a generation before the Gutierrez map was published. The variations in living and cultural differences between the tribes were as large as the continent was wide. A vast panoply of climates, topography and variations in water systems made a huge tapestry of different lifestyles and tribal constructs apparent. The division and sheer variety of tribal affiliations, lifestyles and resistance to unity made the aboriginal tribes in North America especially vulnerable to the depredations that would be visited on them in the coming decades and centuries. Internecine and centuries old triba l feuds and warfare made it almost impossible to prevent the European tidal wave that was coming. The authors make short shrift of the massive internecine conflict that had embroiled the continent for centuries between different tribes. â€Å"On the Western Plains, pre?Columbian warfare—before the introduction of horses and guns—pitted tribes against one another for control of territory and its resources, as well as for captives and honor. Indian forces marched on foot to attack rival tribes who sometimes resided in palisaded villages.† In the eastern woodlands, â€Å"mourning wars† would take place where tribes would fight each other. It is sad to say that the tribal rivalries were a serious impediment to offering a united front against the European invasion on its way. Soon enough, as the eighteenth century emerged more than two hundred years after Gutierrez’ map made its debut, a European march westward marking the ultimate destruction of the ab original tribes of America began to gain steam and the North American Indian tribes’

Art History Comparcomparisons Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Art History Comparcomparisons - Assignment Example To achieve this inspiring effect, each building makes heavy use of stairs to gain entry and tall columns representing the measurements of the Golden Rule to express both their impressive size and their perfection of form. Despite the fact that the Altar of Zeus was built with the Parthenon in mind, builders opted to use Ionic columns that were considered more modern than the Doric style used in the earlier building. In addition to the actual construction, both structures use life-sized or taller statues to celebrate the greatness of the civilization that constructed it while also telling the story of the gods as a means of honoring the power and wisdom of the ruler of the day. The Parthenon’s friezes depicted scenes of battles between the gods and mythological races such as the giants and the centaurs, as well as the defeat of the Amazons and what is believed to be the citizens of Troy, images that are repeated by obvious Parthenon inspiration in the Altar of Zeus. However, the Altar of Zeus concentrates on depicting scenes from battles between the gods and the giants, rather than illustrating scenes with the other races. The buildings might have been used in different ways as well. While the use of the Parthenon is in some debate, definitely used as a treasury and possibly also as a temple, the Altar to Zeus was built specifically to be a temple. Comparing these two images, there are several immediately obvious similarities, most prominent being the large domes of each, the vertical columns and the predominantly square base structure. There remain some significant differences as well. Even though the dome of the Church of Hagia Sophia seems to be larger, thanks to the emphasis it receives by the vertically reinforcing influence of the tall windows along its sides, the dome of the Pantheon is actually somewhat larger, having been considered the largest dome in architecture.  Ã‚  

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Graphic aid Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Graphic aid - Assignment Example On the other hand, Apple’s share price has seen a more dramatic increase in terms of absolute amounts, rising sharply from the low of about US 400 dollars to peak highs of US 700 dollars (Yahoo! Finance, 2012; Google Finance, 2012). On the other hand, focusing on the most recent performance of the stocks, it is clear that while Samsung’s share price has plateaud somewhat with the share price stabilizing around 1.3 million Korean wons, the share of Apple from the most recent poll has seen a kind of dramatic drop. In the plot, one can see that from the high of US 700 dollars, the most recent share prices are below US 600 dollars. The prognosis for Apple moving forward is a bit shaky, and the recent drop in the stock price may be an indication that the investing public is not so enamored with the prospects of the company in 2013 and onwards, given the more recent missteps made by the company relating to core technologies for its smart phone, as well as missteps relating to the way it has priced its new tablet offerings as well. In contrast, Samsung’s price reflects some stability (Lappin, 2012; Yahoo! Finance, 2012; Google Finance, 2012). The images tell a story, from the point of view of Apple, about how Samsung smart phone designs have evolved over time, and with the iPhone introduction as the mark point for comparing how Samsung designs changed with that milestone. This graphic has been used by Apple’s lawyers before the court to make their case with regard to their claim that Samsung basically copied the smart phone designs of Apple and iPhone. Prior to the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the graphic shows that Samsung phone designs were largely rounded at the bottom, many with keypads, and had small screens. There were also navigation buttons at the center, and in all the phones reflected older design paradigms for

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Art History Comparcomparisons Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Art History Comparcomparisons - Assignment Example To achieve this inspiring effect, each building makes heavy use of stairs to gain entry and tall columns representing the measurements of the Golden Rule to express both their impressive size and their perfection of form. Despite the fact that the Altar of Zeus was built with the Parthenon in mind, builders opted to use Ionic columns that were considered more modern than the Doric style used in the earlier building. In addition to the actual construction, both structures use life-sized or taller statues to celebrate the greatness of the civilization that constructed it while also telling the story of the gods as a means of honoring the power and wisdom of the ruler of the day. The Parthenon’s friezes depicted scenes of battles between the gods and mythological races such as the giants and the centaurs, as well as the defeat of the Amazons and what is believed to be the citizens of Troy, images that are repeated by obvious Parthenon inspiration in the Altar of Zeus. However, the Altar of Zeus concentrates on depicting scenes from battles between the gods and the giants, rather than illustrating scenes with the other races. The buildings might have been used in different ways as well. While the use of the Parthenon is in some debate, definitely used as a treasury and possibly also as a temple, the Altar to Zeus was built specifically to be a temple. Comparing these two images, there are several immediately obvious similarities, most prominent being the large domes of each, the vertical columns and the predominantly square base structure. There remain some significant differences as well. Even though the dome of the Church of Hagia Sophia seems to be larger, thanks to the emphasis it receives by the vertically reinforcing influence of the tall windows along its sides, the dome of the Pantheon is actually somewhat larger, having been considered the largest dome in architecture.  Ã‚  

Debate the proposition that employers are more concerned with controlling employee behaviour than they are with eliciting employee commitment. Essay Example for Free

Debate the proposition that employers are more concerned with controlling employee behaviour than they are with eliciting employee commitment. Essay It can be said that employers have become increasingly concentrated towards controlling employee’s behaviour than endeavouring to attain employee commitment in organisations. Control can be defined as â€Å"To exercise authoritative or dominating influence over† . However this can become controversial when applied to working with people therefore as a countermeasure commitment has been introduced to even the balance. This can be defined as â€Å"a combination of commitment to the organisation and its values and a willingness to help out colleagues (organisational citizenship). It goes beyond job satisfaction and is not simply motivation. Engagement is something the employee has to offer: it cannot be ‘required’ as part of the employment contract. Commitment is therefore intrinsic to the individual employee and difficult to measure what exactly makes each one motivated therefore control should be utilised to a greater extent. This shift to controlling employees rather than endeavouring to ensure that they are committed has led to a majority of staff feeling undervalued and therefore unable to achieve their potential in the workplace. A study has shown that controlling employees has led to a drop in productivity due to the fact that a 26% or three quarters of staff members, feel that they are being manipulated rather than being utilised to their potential . Therefore, this illustrates that companies are now shifting towards compliance from their employees to follow Manager’s directives in lieu of commitment that is attained through the use of de-centralised management e.g. Matrix structures. However if companies therefore wish to therefore use centralised management the possibility for employee commitment is therefore limited. Matrix structures do have the effect of improving commitment as they include no hierarchy and equal standing by those in them however they must be monitored to ensure that they are still effective and not misused  for their less stringent management style and that some structures favoured over others . McGregor’s (1960) XY theory is a method to illustrate the management style of an organisation to determine whether it favours control or commitment from its workforce. Employee behaviour which is heavily controlled follows the pattern of Theory X, as opposed to the Theory Y which is intended to generate employee commitment. Theory X favours that managers exercise control and directed to achieve the organisational objectives with little flexibility for employees to use their initiative, whereas Theory Y believes that commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievements . Theory X managers have somewhat receded however employees are still being controlled under the assumption that businesses are using commitment methods for example flexible working practises and appraisals which will be discussed later. Commitment is intrinsic which requires more resources, however control is external and can be done more effectively than commitment. See appendix one for a model of McGregor’s theory. To control employee behaviour a number of measures have been utilised in the office environment that have enabled them to be observed by managers and recorded in order to monitor them while they are on the premises. By installing these devices it motivates the employee to work as they are constantly being monitored and therefore provides a sense of motivation for them to work as signs of slacking/unauthorised absence are recorded and used as evidence to support that fact . CCTV has evolved in recent years for businesses. Before, it was used as a common security device for the building, now, it has become a performance tool for mangers in which as a further measure to control their staff. This is done by highlighting those employees who are slacking to ensuring that proper procedure is being adhered to while on the premises. . This constant monitoring can have the effect of de-moralising employees as their every move in the workplace is being scrutinised. Job commitment however relegates CCTV to its previous function of security as management entrust employees to do their jobs, but now that CCTV has been turned in towards employees it is evident that control measures are being used instead of trying to create commitment. Yet CCTV is but one way of retaining control of staff in the workplace. For  instance, in McDonalds through the use of CCTV cameras, productivity has increased through unobtrusive CCTV coverage of workers and customers . An additional method which a business can use technology to monitor employees is the practice of electronic â€Å"clocking in† systems. These devices have been implemented in large businesses that employ a multitude of staff in which individual movement of employees can be difficult to trace. A business which has done this exactly this is Poundworld in which employees are electronically scanned into at the start of a shift and have the consequence of deduced salary if this process has been neglected . As a method of control, these devices can monitor exactly when an employee has begun their shift or when they have returned from their breaks etc. to ensure that they begin work at the proper time. This also ensures proper records can be maintained should any discrepancy arise regarding timekeeping. However this monitoring of movement may hamper employee commitment as they are constantly being recorded while on the premises for timekeeping plus they can feel dis-trusted by management as they are being constantly monitored for when they started their shift. Employers have minutely contributed to employee commitment with the use of Job Design which has been utilised to effect in certain companies such as Microsoft who use elements like job share to encourage employees in their roles Job Design is when the duties and the role of an employees’ position have been analysed and decided by management before they are employed or amending parts of an employees’ position while they are employed. Job Design permits an input from employees into their role of the organisation as they collaborate with management in which their position is defined. A further example of stimulating commitment with job design is when employees and employers discuss characteristics of the position that would suit the employee’s capabilities which in turn increases their motivation as the employers are permitting staff an input into designing their responsibilities in the job. However, employers have the opportunity to use job design to influence control of over their staff with the use techniques such as job expansion and job rotation with allow them to amend or add additional workload to their job which may not be to the employees benefit.  Furthermore, an employer has the ability to change the job design of staff to suit their requirements over employees depending on the situation without any input from employees. By way of strategically/tactically controlling their staff, management are employing the use of Management by Objectives for all members of staff to analyse if targets or goals are being met. This can be defined as â€Å"A methods of management whereby managers and employees define goals for each department, project, and person and use them to monitor subsequent performance† . Controlling behaviour is being used here as management are attaining the utmost effectiveness from a particular member of staff or individual department as their desired goals are measured against their actual goals and analyse if they have been accomplished. However commitment is being given to the staff/department as the decisions to how they achieve their stated goals has been de-centralised for them to decide. As technology has increased to such an extent, a business can take advantage of employing staff that do not have to work in the office environment through the use of flexible working contracts and providing them with equipment to work off-site. These contracts enable a business to offer their employees who are unable to travel or who have other commitment so actively continue working but in the confines of their own home or on the go by the use of a laptop or mobile phones. As employees are away from the office, a main disadvantage is that their working pattern cannot be monitored to ensure that they are actually fulfilling their tasks. As controlling behaviour has become more prevalent to management, software has be embedded to the technology issued to these homeworkers e.g. tracker and keystroke logs to monitor the use of laptops and phones during the day. For example, Freedom Direct, a holiday company offers such flexible contracts and issues those involved with hardware embedded with this surveillance software to safeguard against slacking while away from the eyes of management . However some companies now prefer to control their employees from one central organisation. For example Yahoo managing director has decided to ban employees from using home working to â€Å"build on corporate culture† however this has damaged commitment as many employees have been demoralised by this  decision that may affect their future in the company. . Furthermore, to bolster the claim of controlling employees, this ban on flexible practises was instigated after an investigation of employee logs showed it fell below the standard expected for their employees and therefore cut this form of employment from the organisation. . This therefore illustrates that electronic devices provided by organisation are monitored to ensure that duties are conducted. Employee commitment is therefore given an opportunity by senior management by permitting a group of employees to work away from the office on these contracts who might not have the opportunity to do so. This increases motivation and job satisfaction to the company as they would not lose any valuable staff plus have the ability to monitor these employees away from the office with the tracker software to monitor their actions during the working day. Control is again utilised as these employees are monitored no less than their counterparts in the office and are monitored with the identical software. Control has been favoured in organisations as those with the authority to make decisions in their department must to be held to account for those decisions should they prove to be incorrect. Accountability can be defined as â€Å"the fact that those people with authority and responsibility are subject to reporting and justifying task outcomes to those above them in the chain of command† . By having a clear and define line of authority from the managing director to the clerk, it is possible to identify who should be held to account and therefore justify their decisions should they prove them to be incorrect or disastrous. This can be de-moralising as these targets are not negotiable and therefore must be achieve which adds an element of stress. Managers often therefore are hesitant to issue instructions in which they know are difficult to achieve, yet this can bolster commitment within the company as employees, if informed, that these tasks are of some difficulty may strive to attain them to receive the department recognition for doing so. This therefore increases motivation as well as assists in team-building for the department as they are united in a common goal . Employee behaviour can be controlled by the use of annual appraisals of departments. This is the discussion in which an employee and manager decide  on the objectives and the action necessary to achieve them for the coming year. Appraisals are a two way discussion in which the employee states what they wish to achieve for the year and the manager offers guidance to do so, however this is again a method for which control even though employees perceive it as being a method for commitment. The employee may see appraisals as a method in which they are in control of what they want to achieve and not what the business wants them to do. This is an opportunity for managers to input targets or goals which the employee agrees on without knowing the magnitude of the task, however they must achieve as it has been stated on the appraisal document and could lead to a poor appraisal the subsequent year. Managers can use these to implement control over employees in which to dispel rewards to the employee thus motivates them to achieve their objectives. The threat of disciplinary action for repeated failure to attain objectives set out at appraisals is a sure way to coerce commitment in the workplace as employees will strive to achieve those objectives set at appraisals. Employers have the ability to produce commitment while still using control methods by the use of a health work/life balance. This can be defined as â€Å"concept that supports the efforts of employees to split their time and energy between work and the other important aspects of their lives† . While managers are allowing an employee to split their time between a professional and a private life they can still use methods such as monitoring social media to ensure that no derogatory remarks have been made against the organisation known as reputation management. It has been reported that 80% of a company’s workforce use social media sites in one way or another therefore the scope for badmouthing a company has increased. To combat this possibility 60% of selected businesses have proposed to implement software that would detect this . It is imperative that a business conform to the laws which dictate when an employee’s professional life ends and when a personal one begins as not to intrude. Having a healthy balance between personal and professional life enhances commitment to the organisation due to employees recognising that their business does not own them permanently and are permitted a life outside the office however are unobtrusively monitored to an extent. In order for senior management to exercise control over employees while they are in the workplace, management have re-employed the use of a well-defined and structured hierarchy in organisations in which they can delegate the operational control of the business to managers or first level employees who have a greater understand of how operations of the department are conducted. Middle management positions such as Assistant Managers for departments have returned to businesses due to the fact that the employees on this level support change to departments which may not be popular as well as focusing on the different strategies which have been set by the company . By re-introducing levels of management that may have been de-layered previously, companies are therefore increasing their Vertical differentiation to establish a clear line of authority in departments. This may be advantageous for commitment in departments that have a copious amount of staff as problems can be easily rectified, yet they can be seen as another level of management in which the business has established to ensure their corporate strategies are met irrespective to employee requirements. In order to control employees’ behaviour, businesses have invested in training and development programs to educate their workforce with various methods such as induction training through to university courses. Induction training is a period in which a new employee to the business is given training preceding their start in the business. This provides an opportunity for the member of staff to become aware of the procedures, policies and workplace culture that a business has. In order to train potential or existing staff some businesses have adopted a system of internal in-house training schemes that have been adapted especially to fit different purposes. Businesses such as McDonalds which have established educational institutes for potential staff to undertake for promotion or re-training or other reasons which would see those who graduate attain a recognised qualification . However due to their size and expense they are restricted to large highly profitable businesses. A purpose of these schools is to instruct that person on what is expected of them while in employment and how to undertake different duties, however these methods can be categorised as a method of control as these courses are pre-designed so that employees  should conform only to those that are taught as they expect them to be correct. Commitment can be fostered from this as employees may be more motivated and satisfied in their position as they have been trained to a degree so that they are competent in their role in the business and provide a sense of a good working environment to potential employees, plus as this is a recognised qualification this can be presented as part of an application as a symbol that they have enrolled and passed a course specifically designed to train members of staff. The drawback of control becomes the advantages of using commitment and should influence a business to implement commitment measures For example; Pfeffers’ model of high performance factors is heavily influenced as commitment measures that managers should consider to bolster the motivation of their workforce. However these are disguised as a further method of control as to attain these factors the workforce must demonstrate they are a viable working entity. The factors that constitute this model are Team working and de-centralised management, High pay and incentive, Employee Security, Extensive training and development, Narrow status differentials and Careful recruitment and selection. Cultural control is a method that managers can use to â€Å"define specific patterns of behaviour within a professional environment†. This behaviour has already been stipulated by the management of how they wish the workforce to conform and therefore expect these patterns to re-enforce organisational culture. A method in which an employee can become accustomed to the social norms of a workplace culture is through induction training. Therefore the accompanying member of staff would acquaint the new employee of the social norms that have been adopted by staff which they will conform to. This method of control is an example of how management quickly adapt staff to the methods of the workforce that have already been repeated for other staff. A company that would be perceived as having a poor corporate culture would be BP. In the wake of the oil spill in 2007 in which an inquiry was found to ascertain that intense cost cutting and efficiency measures demoralised the workforce therefore affected practises which precipitated the disaster through negligence of corporate culture. A final method in which businesses can control their workforce is through the monitoring of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The organisation will monitor their employees’ posts on these sites to ascertain they are behaving in an according manner or post any derogatory statements regarding the business or its staff. This is a method of control as staff are being monitored while they are on the premises as well as off therefore this encroaches into their personal life affecting the work/life balance. It has been reported that 60% of businesses by 2015 will have some monitor in place in order to track their workforce on social media sites in order to protect the business’s reputation or the brand they are selling . An example of a business that has used this is Proskauer Rose in which staff have it written into their contract of employment that they will be monitored on social media sites. Therefore to conclude, it would appear that mangers controlling employee behaviour has become more prevalent that endeavouring to attain employee commitment in organisations. This could be the case as controlling employees has become cheaper that resorting to measures to attain employee commitment as well as ensuring their effectiveness in the workplace as well as out of it . However there should be an even balance between control and commitment from managers to create a suitable working environment for employees as they would not prefer to working in a hostile business which treats them as a tool rather than one which treats them as a valuable resource. Using control methods such as technology and monitoring ensures that staff are adhering to policy set out in their contract. References Always Watching . (2010). Benefits of CCTV for your Business. Retrieved Feburary 19, 2013, from Always Watching.com: http://www.always-watching.com/benefits-of-cctv-for-your-business.html Anviz, Newsdesk. (2011, August). Anviz’s VF30 fingerprint time clock on Channel 4†²s ‘Undercover Boss’. Retrieved March 4, 2013, from Security Newsdesk: http://www.securitynewsdesk.com/2011/08/10/anvizs-vf30-fingerprint-time-clock-on-channel-4s-undercover-boss/ Bednarz, T. (2013, January 15). Empowered Organisations Develop Employee Commitment. Retrieved Feburary 18, 2013, from Leaders to Leader: http://blog.majoriumbusinesspress.com/2013/01/15/empowered-organizations-develop-employee-commitment/ Broome, I. (2009, July 20). How CCTV can help improve your productivity. Retrieved Feburary 10, 2013, from IanBroome.com: http://iainbroome.com/how-cctv-can-help-improve-your-productivity Business Dictionary. (2013). What is Job Design. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from Business Dictionary: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/job-design.html Chertkow, M. (2012, August 24). CCTV is not just about security anymore its performance management and productivity tool, too . Retrieved Feburary 19, 2013, from IT web Techforum: http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=57970 CIPD. (2012, July). Employee Engagement. Retrieved March 7, 2013, from CIPD: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/employee-engagement.aspx#link_0 CIPD. (2012, April). Job Design. Retrieved Feburary 21, 2013, from CIPD: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/job-design.aspx Clark, D. (2010, October 3). Theory X and Theory Y. Retrieved Feburary 25, 2013, from Officebroker.com: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/xy.html Cross, S. (2013). Examples of Cultural Controls in Organizational Structure. Retrieved March 7, 2013, from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-cultural-controls-organizational-structure-13425.html Daft, R. (2008). The New Era of Management. Mason: Thomson South-Western. Daft, R Kendrick, M Vershinina N . (2010). Management. Hampshire: South Western Cengage Learning #. Dunn, C. (2012, November 29). More Employers Creating Social Media Polices for the Workplace. Retrieved March 19 , 2013, from Corporate Counsel: http://www.law.com/corporatecounsel/PubArticleCC.jsp? id=1202579655072More_Employers_Creating_Social_Media_Policies_for_the_Workplaceslreturn=20130219093207 Farquhar, C. (1998). Middle Managers are Back: How Companies Have Come to Value Their Middle Managers. Farquhar, C. (1998). Middle Managers are Back. How Companies Have Come to Value Their Middle Managers. Free Dictionary. (2013). Control. Retrieved Feburary 19, 2013, from The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/control Heathfield, S. (2013). Work-life Balance. Retrieved Feburary 26, 2013, from About.com : http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryw/g/balance.htm Herscher, P. (2010, May 10). From BP and Wall Street: Corporate Culture Impacts Performance . 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Retrieved Feburary 19 , 2013, from Reference for Business, Encyclopedia of Business 2nd Edition: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Log-Mar/Management-Levels.html Twentyman, J. (2007). Keeping tabs (Staff monitoring). Verheul, I. (2003). Commitment or control? Appendix list 1. 1. Working on feedback: Read the feedback on your assignment carefully, then re-read the piece of work to see the areas that the feedback refers to. You might use a highlighter pen to cross-reference the feedback to your work, or to draw attention to corrections and suggestions. What has your tutor written (key points) What do you understand this to mean? 1. Good introduction, underpinned by theory 2. Critical and analytical throughout 3. Good reference base 4. Contextualised into subject 5. Good analysis 6. Must use references properly 7. Used references and examples to illustrate that points made are utilised in business. 8. Good research base 1. A well designed introduction that has been bolstered with the use of business theory to support the argument. 2. By being argumentative on both sides (control and commitment) it shows that there has been research done and concluded that one was more viable than the other. 3. A diverse range of sources has been used to collate examples e.g. journals books internet