Business Law Today

1-Contract law provide rules to determine which contract terms will be enforced and which promises must be kept. True or False 2-A is an assertion that something either will or will not happen in the future. A: 3-A contract needs two requirement and Agreement is required to form a contract, regardless of whether it is formed in the traditional A: 4- which is generally defined as: The value given in return for a promise, A: -Common law governs all contracts except when it has been modified or replaced by statutory law, such as the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC),1 or by administrative agency regulations. A: 6-Which contracts generally are governed by the common law of contracts. A Services B Real estate C Employment D Insurance E All of the above A: 7-Contracts for the sale and lease of goods, however, are governed by the ? to the extent that the UCC has modified general contract law. A: ucc The Definition and Function of a Contract -A is an agreement that can be enforced in court. It i s formed by two or more parties who agree to perform or to refrain from performing some act now or in the future. A: 9-Contract law assures the parties to private agreements that the promises they make will be enforceable A: 10- A person who makes a promise A: 11- A person to whom a promise is made ( usually a buyer ) A: 12-In determining whether a contract has been formed, the element of is of prime importance.A: 13-Stating the clear intent of the (contract) or Objectiveness a contract that can be understood by others and not the issuing party. (subjective) is considered intent. A: 14-In contract law, intent is determined by what is referred to as the of not by the personal or subjective intent, or belief, of a party. A: 15- Objective facts that must be included in a contract. (1) What the party said when entering into the contract, (2) How the party acted or appeared, and The circumstances surrounding the transaction.All of the above A: Objective Theory of Contracts A theory under which the intent to form a contract will be judged by outward, objective facts (what the party said when entering into the contract, how the party acted or appeared, and the circumstances surrounding the transaction) as interpreted by a reasonable person, rather than by the party’s own secret, subjective intentions. 16- Ability to enter freely into contractual arrangements. , A freedom protected by the U. S. Constitution in Article I, Section 10 A:NOTE: Because freedom of contract is a fundamental public policy of the United States, courts rarely interfere with contracts that have been voluntarily made. Exemption For example, illegal bargains, agreements that unreasonably restrain trade, and certain unfair contracts made between one party with a great amount of bargaining power and another with little power generally are not enforced. Requirements for a valid contract 17- An agreement to form a contract includes an One party must offer to enter into a legal agreement and the other party must accept the terms of the offerA: 18- Any promises made by the parties must be supported by legal sufficient and bargained for consideration ( something of value must be received) A: something of value must be exchange by both parties I. e (money for beer) 19- Both partties entering into a contract must have the contractual capacity to do so the law must recognize them as being competent qualified parties A: 20- The contract must be to accomplish a goal that is legal and not against the law A: 21- A person who makes an offer ( seller) or ( buyer)A: 22- is the party to whom the offer is made A: 23-One person agrees to buy another person’s automobile for a specified price this is an example of: A: Example Javier offers to buy Ann’s digital camera for $200. Javier tells Ann that he will give her the cash for the camera on the following Friday, when he gets paid. Ann accepts Javier’s offer and promises to give him the camera when he pays her on Frida y. Javier and Ann have formed a bilateral contract. A promise for a promise No delivery of goods (money or merchandise has taken place) 4- . , a contract that is a â€Å"promise for an act. † In other words, the contract is formed not at the moment when promises are exchanged but rather when the contract is performed. A: EXAMPLE 8. 2 Reese says to Celia, â€Å"If you drive my car from New York to Los Angeles, I’ll give you $1,000. †Only on Celia’s completion of the act? bringing the car to Los Angeles? does she fullyaccept Reese’s offer to pay $1,000. If she chooses not to accept the offer to drive the car to Los Angeles, there are no legal consequences. 5-Contest and prizes are considered unilateral contract a (promise for an act) A : The contest offeror can change the initial offer of the prize winnings. But they must have a clause that states that they reserve the right to change the terms of the contest. ( discrambler) if the contestant sues he or she will most likely loose because she agreed to all the terms when signing up. A unilateral contract is usually not revocable unless stated. If I agree to buy someones boat upon arrival at my dock, and I call that person and said I want to cancel.If the person is halfway or really close to my dock it is considered (performance has been substantially undertaken,) the offeror cannot revoke the offer. I can not undue the contract and I am legally binded to go thru with the offer. 26-Formal contracts includes: Negotiable instruments, which include A Checks, B Drafts, C Promissory notes D Certificates of deposit E All of the above A: 27- A contract that by law requires a specific form, such as being executed under seal, for its validity. A: 8- : Contracts that are simple but might be in writing. A: 29- A contract in which the terms of the agreement are stated in words, oral or written. A: In an express contract, the terms of the agreement are fully and explicitly stated in words, or al or written. A signed lease for an apartment or a house is an express written contract. 30- A contract formed in whole or in part from the conduct of the parties (as opposed to an express contract). A:For an implied-in-fact contract to arise, certain requirements must be met. Normally, if the following conditions exist, a court will hold that an implied contract was formed: The plaintiff furnished some service or property. The plaintiff expected to be paid for that service or property, and the defendant knew or should have known that payment was expected (by using the objective-theory-of- contracts test discussed on page 201). The defendant had a chance to reject the services or property and did not. EXAMPLE 8. 4 You need an accountant to fill out your tax return, so you find a local ccounting firm and drop by to talk to an accountant and learn what fees will be charged. The next day, you return and give the receptionist all the necessary information and docu- ments, such as W-2 forms. Then you walk out the door without saying anything expressly to the accountant. In this situation, you have entered into an implied-in-fact contract 31- A contract that has been completely performed by both parties. A: 32- A contract that has not as yet been fully performed. A: 3- A valid contract has the four elements necessary for contract formation: A An agreement (offer and acceptance), B Supported by legally sufficient consideration, C Made by parties who have the legal capacity to enter into the contract D For a legal purpose E All of the above 34 A contract is the result when the elements necessary for a contract f formation ( agreement, consideration, legal purpose and contractual capacity are met A: 35-Voidable Contract A contract that may be legally avoided (canceled, or annulled) at he option of one or both of the parties. A: 36- A valid contract rendered unenforceable by some statute or law. A: As a general rule, for example, contracts made by minors are voidable at the option of the minor Additionally, contracts entered into under fraudulent conditions are voidable at the option of the defrauded party. Contracts entered into under legally defined duress or undue influ- ence are also voidable 37 A contract having no legal force or binding effect.A: 38- A fictional contract imposed on the parties by a court in the interests of fairness and justice; usually imposed to avoid the unjust enrichment of one party at the expense of another. A: Usually, quasi contracts are imposed to avoid the unjust enrichment of one party at the expense of another. The doctrine of unjust enrichment s based on the theory that individuals should not be allowed to profit or enrich themselves inequitably at the expense of others. 39- A meeting of two or more inds in regard to the terms of a contract; usually broken down into two events? an offer by one party to form a contract and an acceptance of the offer by the person to whom the offer is made. A: 40- An offer and a n acceptance. One party offers a certain bargain to another party, who then accepts that bargain. A: 41- A promise or commitment to perform or refrain from performing some specified act in the future. Three elements are necessary for an offer to be effective: 1 There must be a serious, objective intention by the offeror. . The terms of the offer must be reasonably certain, or definite, so that the parties 3 The offer must be communicated to the offeree EXAMPLE 8. 14 Marcus Business Machines contacts your corporation and offers to sell â€Å"from one to ten MacCool copying machines for $1,600 each; state number desired in acceptance. † Your corporation agrees to buy two copiers. Because the quantity is specified in the acceptance, the terms are definite, and the contract is enforceable. EXAMPLE 8. 15 Tolson advertises a reward for the return of her lost cat.Dirk, not knowing of the reward, finds the cat and returns it to Tolson. Ordinarily, Dirk cannot recover the reward becau se an essential element of a reward contract is that the one who claims the reward must have known it was offered. A few states would allow recovery of the reward, but not on contract principles? Dirk would be allowed to recover on the basis that it would be unfair to deny him the reward just because he did not know about it. 42- the seller may reserve the right to confirm or reject the sale even after â€Å"the hammer has fallen. In this situ- ation, the seller is obligated to notify those attending the auction that sales of goods made during the auction are not final until confirmed by the seller A: 43- , the goods cannot be withdrawn by the seller and must be sold to the highest bidder. A: 44- Agreement to agree agreements to agree may be enforceable agree- ments (contracts) if it is clear that the parties intend to be bound by the agreements. preliminary agreement constitutes a binding contract if the parties have agreed on all essential terms and no disputed issues remain to b e resolved. 10

Gentleman Of Rio En Medio Essay

Having a Family Don Anselmo is the protagonist of the short story â€Å"Gentleman of Rà ­o en Medio† written by Juan A. A. Sedillo. He is an old man descendent of Mexican Americans who born and lived up in Rà ­o en Medio, New Mexico. He is a respectable, humble and generous man who cares a lot of the people around him. The most important value that represents Don Anselmo is demonstrate through the development of the story is the importance of having a family. For Don Anselmo the family is a very important value. Its importance is present from the beginning to the end of the story. Don Anselmo has a particular form to introduce himself in the meeting he has with Senator Catron. Before considering a new offer proposed by the Americans, the ones who want to buy Don Anselmo’s house and property and the principal purpose of the meeting, the old man starts a conversation about his family. During this conversation, he emphasizes how proud he is for having a very big family in which he is like the â€Å"patriarca†. When Senator finally had the opportunity to make the new offer, Don Anselmo does not accept it immediately. It is possible to infer that the old gentleman does not respond because he was thinking in his family and community. He feels that he cannot accept this offer because he does not deserve more money for sell something that he consider a gift from nature to his family. At the end of the meeting Don Anselmo decided to reject the new offer in order to respect the value of nature and the love that he and his family feel for it. (By Nicole Ferrer) Other reason to say that the highest value of Don Anselmo is the family is that almost every person in Rio en Medio are they descendants. In several parts of the story â€Å"Gentleman of Rio en Medio† the author emphasizes using the characters the importance that the family has to Don Alselmo. Also he says in the story that the children of Rio en Medio are his sobrinos and  nietos, part of his family. Like the oldest man of the village, the people there belong to him. For this reason, he demonstrates the responsibility that has with his family that is the people in Rio en Medio. This show us why he don’t accept more money for the sale of his land or the reason to says that the trees aren’t of he, they belong to the children in Rio en Medio. Once more time we realize that the value best describe Don Alselmo is having a family because he has a responsibility with his descendants and a respect to them. (by Edrick Negron) The last reason to say that the most important value that guides Don Anselmo’s behavior in â€Å"Gentleman form Rio en Medio is having a family because every time a child was born in Rio en Medio, Don Anselmo planted a tree for that child (par.11). It was like a birth gift, so that tree belong to the child. When the Americans complain about the children trespassing the fence to play at the orchard after Don Anselmo sold it to them, they wanted him to stop the children for doing it. Since the children were part of Don Anselmo’s family they thought he had the power to stop it. When they confront Don Anselmo he said that he couldn’t do a thing about it because the trees belonged to the child and not to him (par. 12). When Don Anselmo didn’t sold the trees because he couldn’t; the Americans bought the trees from every single children. (By Bryanda Diaz) Don Anselmo’s biggest value is having a family. Three reasons why he is a family man are presented in the story. Been a family man includes being caring and Don Anselmo demonstrates this in the story when he say he gave every child in the city a tree as a birthgift. Also it says he is proud of his big family; every child in Rio en Medio is his niece or grandchild. Having a family includes being honest, caring, loving and have wisdom, and Don Anselmo have all of this.

Cheetah Corp

Background of the Company In the beginning, it set in motion from a family business, and then forms a partnership between Madam Hor Ah Kuan and her son, trading sport apparel way back in 1977. In 1979, Cheetah products came into existence and it start emphasize on designing and brand building for its Cheetah sports apparel, and simultaneously outsourced its manufacturing activities to external manufacturers since then. With the expansion of its portfolio of brand names, such as Cheetah Ladies, Cheetah Junior, C. Union, the business is growing in a good condition and stable. Cheetah Holdings Berhad (CHB) was instituted in year 1979. It was listed on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on 19th January 2005, and it able to make itself to move into First Board of Bursa Malaysia in year 2007. In between these years, CHB has acquired 75% stake in Above Fashion Sdn Bhd and the famous junior brand LadyBird from Woolworth Plc. This makes CHB shown a pretty and nice revenue figure in its annual report of year 2006. One of the greatest accomplishments achieved by CHB is, the apparel maker Cheetah Corporation with sales of US$25 million is one of the nine companies listed on Forbes Asia 2007 list is widely recognized in its consistency of profitability and growth in the last three years, and this has been reported in New Straits Times on 21st September 2007. The main aim of CHB is to grow its bottom line together with its mission and vision of increasing profitability. Besides, it also put emphasize on satisfying stakeholders and enhancing skills of their people to upgrade their research and development. CTB has three small business units. It included Cheetah Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd which is in charge of the company’s core apparel business, Cheetah Reality Sdn Bhd which is in charge of property investment, and Cheetah Marketing Sdn Bhd. Cheetah Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd has entered into an Exclusive Licensee Contract since 21st Jan 2007. It involved with Focus Point Vision Care Group Sdn Bhd, a company incorporated in Malaysia. This is purposed for the exclusive license right to design, develop, produce and sell optical eyewear that carries the brand name of ‘CHEETAH’.

Describe in Detail any Garden or Landscape Design Surrounding a House Essay

Describe in Detail any Garden or Landscape Design Surrounding a House from the Period Covered by the Coursee period covered by t - Essay Example It must be stated that if one desires to ignore other gardens that were also in existence during the period, one should not ignore the Vaux-le-Vicomte. The Vaux-le-Vicomte alone is enough to explain the principles of gardening of the splendid and graceful age in which it was constructed. The chateau qualifies it as the most significant work built on the European continent in the mid seventeenth century. The house also stands as one of the grandest building in France that was built after Chateau de Maisons. For such a grand structure, one would expect to encounter a similarly grand landscape and garden. As far as this is concerned, Vaux-le-Vicomte does not disappoint in any way. Vaux-le-Vicomte is a nice building that has pavilions surrounding it. The structure also has a fortification in the form of a large moat around it. Many of the chateaux to the north of France are surrounded by a moat, which is rectangular in colour on three sides. This is also the case with Vaux-le-Vicomte, on ly that in the case of Vaux-le-Vicomte, the axial arrival avenue continued across a bridge, leading to a public space. In line with the norm during the period when the structure was constructed, the layout is symmetrical and firmly incorporated, with a somewhat projecting central block and ending marquee, and two returned wings that project forward. 2 The gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte are so grand that it covers about three kilometres. As far as the gardening tenets of that period were concerned, the landscaping of Vaux-le-Vicomte is a great advancement. One of the most amazing, yet pleasing, features of the structure, that is, the buildings and the gardening, is that there is a successful blend of architecture with the environment; this may not have been a feature that was coming during the seventeenth century. In the garden, there is an enormous area which is divided into a succession of terraces. These terraces form diverse assemblage of pattern based on shrubberies, lake and founta ins, Turkish carpets and so on.2 Vaux-le-Vicomte On entering into the Vaux-le-Vicomte, one is greeted by a wide green space. The green space extends to a length to about 5000 feet. This is evidence to show that green occupies a significant position in the mind of those that designed the gardens.3 The unique way in which the garden is designed is such that the viewer would make the embrace or better still literarily the garden along to anywhere they would like to go. This is the case because of the outstanding use of optical illusion and perspective. On gaining entry into the property, one would observe grotto which would be very close to a lake. However, on gaining entry into the property, the same grotto which appeared to be close initially would be far. In fact, the planning that was done is such that the grotto is more than six hundred feet away from the canal which is on the other side. As a result of the largeness of the property, there are electric cars to aid transportation. Vaux-le-Vicomte Another part of the garden that is affected by this motif is the pool. When standing at the back of the chateau, the reflecting pool is more tapered at the closest point than when standing at the uttermost point; standing at the uttermost part makes them appear nearer to the point of view. What one then observes is that when the landscape is viewed from a particular angle, the distortion which was intentionally premeditated into the scenery essentials produces a forced

Rolls royce anual report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rolls royce anual report - Coursework Example The external auditor of the company has given an opinion according to which the group financial statements of the company present a true and fair view for the financial year ending December 31, 2012. The auditor reports states that the group financial statements are adequately prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) and Companies Act 2006. It is also mentioned in the audit report that the financial statements of the company have been prepared in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) as adopted by European Union. The audit report forms an integral part of the financial statements of a company, especially a public listed company. The primary purpose of the audit report is to bring into the knowledge of the users of the financial statements whether these financial statements are prepared in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. [Readyratios.com (2011)] Users of the financial statement usually do not have the time to thoroughly analyze the authenticity of the financial statements. They take reliance of from the audit report that whether the financial statements are giving a true and fair view or not. ... 69% 3% Current ratio 1.33 1.2 1.70 Inventory turnover period 109 days 112 days 50 days Payables’ turnover period 247 days 262 days 20 days Gearing ratio 1.967 2.634 4% P/E ratio 7.1 16.43 9.0 x Answer to Question No. 4 2012 2011 Variation % variation Change in million ? Sales 12,161 11,124 1,037 9.32% Rise Operating Profit 1,373 1,186 187 15.77% Rise Share Price (pence) 874 755 118 15.66% Rise Answer to Question No. 5 During the current financial year, the return on equity (ROE) has considerably increased during the current financial year. The return on equity is calculated by dividing the net profit attributable to shareholders by the shareholders equity. [Investopedia, 2012] The ratio is quite essential from the investor’s point of view as it represents how well a company is earning on its shareholder equity, which mainly comprises of issued capital and retained earnings. The ROE of the company has increased during the financial year 2011 which is due to the fact that the net profit of Rolls Royce has increase by a staggering 170% as it increased from 848 million to 2,295 million. The main reason behind this increase in the net profit is one unusual item of 669 million which is due to the disposal of a segment of the business during the current financial year. It would also be worth mentioning that the sales and operating profit of the company has increased by 9.32% and 15.77% during the current financial year. These escalations in figures have further accentuated the return on equity during the current year. The ratio is better than the industry average which is a sign for positive financial outlook. The gross profit has increased marginally during the current financial year. The reason behind the marginal increase in the gross profit margin is the fact that

Pope Jon Paul II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pope Jon Paul II - Essay Example The Pope helped in demolishing the communist regimes. The state had a monopoly over most property which was collectively owned. This monopoly extended to intellectual property as well. Marxism was the only philosophy that one could profess. The church was the first to break free and give the citizens an alternative to the state run concepts. Poland was a case in point. If one wanted to know what was actually transpiring there, one could pick up an underground newspaper. To view paintings by artistes who were not officially commissioned by the government, one had to go to the basement of a church. Even plays would be performed there. While the priests of the church did not involve in any of the above-mentioned activities, they offered the church premises for such activities. The priests of the church were following the example set by Pope John Paul II in his youth during the Nazi days. In the words of the Pope, "Fidelity to roots is always creative, ready to descend into the depths, open to new challenges." (qtd in Applebaum). His emphasis on roots made him refer directly to faith which he proclaimed to people at large. According to him, faith was to be openly and publicly expressed. He used various cultural references in those very countries where the governments restricted culture. John Pauls particular way of expressing his faith -- publicly, openly, and with many cultural and historical references -- was explosive in countries whose regimes tried to control both culture and history along with everything else. As reported in the Washington Post by Applebaum, when the Pope visited Poland in 1979, he told them not to be afraid. Unlike what the regime thought, there was a sea of humanity waiting to greet the Pope. Hence this model could be demonstrated in other communist countries like East Germany and East Germany (‘How the Pope Defeated

Warehousing and Inventory Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Warehousing and Inventory Management - Essay Example Traditional warehousing and inventory management processes need to be replaced with modern automated electronic systems to remain competitive. The process of warehouse and inventory management involves recording and tracking of materials on a quantity and value basis (Tompkins, J.A. and Smith, J.D., 1998). Warehousing and inventory management includes all the process for planning, entry, and documentation of goods movements. Warehouse Management Processes cover warehouse-internal movements and storage of materials. Planning a new warehouse requires some basic decisions. Before starting planning you need to increase available space to its optimum level by using some basic common sense such as getting rid of any junk equipment or goods that is not required to be stored, using JIT deliveries and shorter runs to reduce inventories and use of racks (Tompkins, J.A. and Smith, J.D., 1998, David E. Mulcahy, 1993). All successful warehouse layouts must accomplish the following objectives, regardless of material being stored: Warehouse space planning should be done keeping in mind the nature of inventory. For example you have to design deep rows if your warehouse is intended to store large quantities of few SKUs and you need to plan shallow rows with many faces if you are going to store small quantities of many SKUs. Planning aisle width depends on your decisions such as the type of trucks you will be using and priority among time and space. Aisle width should be according to width of lift trucks used, it should allow free movements of truck. Planning Rows: Planning rows also depends upon the size of lift trucks used. Space between rows should allow a free movement while saving space. Planning Docks: You should take extra care for planning docks as these are busiest part of warehouse operation. Number and placing of the docks depends upon the estimation of how many lift trailers will be handled and of what sizes. Following figure (source: Askin and Standridge) shows a basic ideal lay out: Systematic Layout Planning It is a manual design methodology developed by Muther (Richard Muther, 2004). Following diagram shows various steps of a systematic layout planning: The basic steps of this method are: Data collection (type of goods, Quantity of each product to be produced, Routing for each product, and the Schedule of delivery) and Flow Analysis to identify in and out of goods. It considers quantity of material flow, as well as overall flow lines that could be better in the implementation of departments. Quantitative analysis: analysis of quantifiable factors such as flow costs. Quantitative analysis is done using relationship diagrams. Relationship Diagram: these diagrams are used to quantify relation between source and various destination of delivery. It combines quantitative and qualitative analysis. Relationship diagrams are used for efficient layout planning (Maida Napolitano, 2003). Relationship diagram is the quantitative matrix containing the level of interaction

Work integrated project Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Work integrated project - Lab Report Example Evaluation of Limitations and Alternative Proposal 13 References 15 Bibliography 17 Overview Swan Sweet  is the manufacturing and wholesale segment of Lebanese Sweet and is located at Maddington, West Australia.  Swan Sweet was founded by Hassan Youssef in the 1920’s and was then known as ‘Hassan Youssef Sweet Lebanon’. The company has positioned itself as the key supplier of confectionery items for the business market. Swan Sweet  offers sweets and other  catering solutions to fulfill all the business needs of their customers. They are well known for their supplies of freshly baked Baklava, a variety of Mediterranean pastry.  They also offer wholesale solutions to their customers for promotional  proceedings and corporate events  by providing bulk products enabling the clients to develop and build their businesses (Swan Sweet 2011). The report addresses the issues pertaining to a change intervention process of Swan Sweet. The report analyzes the int ernal and the external drivers which led to the change intervention in Swan Sweet explaining it’s rational and purpose. The study considers the change perspectives that might have driven the owners of Swan Sweet. The study also describes the change strategy adopted by the management of Swan Sweet and demonstrates the approaches employed for the development as well as implementation of the change strategy. An assessment has also been made of the options available to and restraints the company Swan Sweet faced when selecting the resulting strategy. The report also confers about the strategic planning tools employed as well as how they were customized or discarded to match the organisational requirements of Swan Sweet. The report evaluates the confines of the change intervention process, and finally proposes alternative change perspectives and strategies for the change intervention in Swan Sweet. 1. Rationale of Change Intervention Swan Sweet has evolved over the years since its foundation in the 1920’s and has under gone various modifications in their functioning process. Swan Sweet’s incessant up gradation in terms of quality is aligned to their objectives of customer satisfaction. Swan Sweet has implemented a distinctive blend of technology and service to offer sufficient products options. The  product service of Swan Sweet is designed in a mode that it enables the customers to specify  their exact requirements. Swan Sweets ensures that each and every product delivery made by them is unique and precisely as per the requirements of the client.  Customer service and customer satisfaction is the top priority of Swan Sweets. The company guarantees to deliver every product order on accurate time,  as per the agreed budget and of the best possible quality. Swan Sweet’s goal is to provide customer delight by means of the utmost levels of service and quality achievable (Swan Sweet 2011); this had served as the internal driver or the principle which had motivated Swan Sweet to employ incessant change in order to upgrade the level of the services provided by them. The management of Swan Sweet believes in contemporary marketing technologies and has also developed online shop for marketing their products. The management of Swan Sweet was certain that there was a demand for an online platform which would provide best quality sweet and other confectionary products for the business segment (Swan Sweet 2011). The success of their online delivery service has proven the existence of such a requirement amongst the public. In the initial years of the formation of Swan Sweet, the growth of Muslim populace in

Transformational leadership, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transformational leadership, - Essay Example Organisations operate in a dynamic environment and they ought to keep pace with the changes that may take place hence this style can improve the organisation’s fortunes. The most important traits of transformational leaders is that they are value driven and they belief in people which helps them to share the same vision for the organisation. Introduction Organisations are operating in environments that are characterised by radical change, immense volatility and international dynamics during the contemporary period (Schultz, 2005). Therefore, organisations have to cope with increasing competition and the changing demands of the customers and it can be noted that leadership is the key factor in determining whether the organisations are better positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that evolve from these changes in the environment. Thus, the way in which the organisations respond to new challenges is strongly tied to the values, attitudes, styles and responses of their lea ders hence it is imperative that the leaders should adopt leadership practices that are compatible with the situation obtaining on the ground during the current period. Also of concern is the fact that leadership is not only limited to chief executive officers since anyone can be in a position to lead in one way or the other. As such, this paper seeks to focus on what leadership is, discuss various contemporary leadership perspectives and theories. Special attention will be paid to transformational leadership through a review of literature that explores what various academic authors suggest are the key traits that make such a leader. Examples will be used as to why this is an important leadership style and how it can change the organisation’s fortune. What is leadership? According to Schultz (2005, p. 186), â€Å"leadership is generally defined as the social process of influencing people to work voluntarily, enthusiastically and persistently towards a purposeful group or org anisational goal.† From this definition, it can be noted that leadership is not restricted to a formal position given that anyone can be in a position to exert influence on the other people within the organisation. Robbins (2003) concurs with this suggestion when he said that leadership is the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of organisational goals. In order for the organisations to be effective, there is need for the leaders to take a leading role in influencing the members to put optimum performance in their operations for the betterment of the organisation as a whole. The behaviour of the employees has to be channelled and directed towards the achievement of the organisation’s objectives and this calls for leadership. Various perspectives have been developed over the years and a number of theories have developed within these perspectives. Only the most popular and recent theories will be discussed in the following section and these incl ude the following: trait theories, behavioural theories as well as contingency/situational theories of leadership. Focus of the discussion will then switch to transformational leadership which represents a new paradigm in leadership. The trait theories This approach to leadership is the foundation of leadership theory and thinking. The trait approach to leadership focuses on specific individual attributes of leaders such as physical

High School Essay Example for Free

High School Essay â€Å"Since you started high school, how have you changed? Write to answer this question.†Ã‚  My high school years have been the most transformative years of my entire life. Although many aspects of who I am have essentially remained unchanged, some alterations in the way I behave around others and basic mentality ultimately left me with a completely new persona. Before I was in high school, I was a very sensitive person, always worried about how people perceived me and concerned with how that perception would affect me in the long run. Because of this, I conformed who I was to fit the liking of those around me, and never â€Å"let myself go,† to simply allow myself to do whatever I wanted with no obstruction or restraint. I finally realized in high school that simply being myself was far more rewarding than forcing myself to conform to the whims of those who don’t really matter. Furthermore, I realized that those who accepted me for who I was were the ones who really cared. Disliking people solely on the basis of who they are is unfair, and since I finally allowed myself to live my life without worrying about how others’ saw me, I was able to see those people who were this way. In addition, I had always been someone driven by emotion, always reacting severely to anything and thereby antagonizing those closest to me. In high school, I learned that being this way would never allow for healthy relationships, so I set myself upon fixing this issue in order to mend those relationships which I so valued. I detached myself from the outside world, placing that anger that came from my reactions into more productive things, such as writing and reading. I channeled my anger into more useful things that would have no adverse effects and because of this, was able to change my usually emotional mindset to a much more logical one – one that considered repercussions and remained cautious even in times when my  patience was most tested. Clearly, I’ve changed significantly in my general outlook on many things, even though the foundations of who I am have stayed the same. I’m eternally grateful that I was able to make some of these changes, as I’d be someone completely different today if I hadn’t, someone that I’m not sure I would like being. I’m satisfied with who I am now.

Educations Impact on Social Class

Educations Impact on Social Class In the past centuries, education has been a field that often being related to various disciplines. This is probably because of its importance towards society thus making it an important area that a nation needs to addressed on occasionally. Having an education is important regardless of the types of education whether the education is formal, informal or non-formal. One of the functions of education mentioned by King (2004), education must incorporate human life concerning central as well as focusing morals. However, the result of education towards society varies. Therefore, various parties argue on the fairness of education system which should be more egalitarianism towards society. In this essay, I will describe and discuss views by various parties regarding this issue in order to decide for myself on my belief of the education roles towards a better egalitarian society. Education has been an issue which requires a lot of attention from many disciplines such as sociology, psychology and so on. Most of the disciplines are in argument of what is the best knowledge to be put under education. Furthermore, the role of education towards producing a better and more egalitarianism society has often being questioned due to many factors. As a result, many parties are very concern of the many aspects of education such as the school curriculum, the syllabus of the subjects and the teachers training. Firstly, an important view about this matter is that school works as an important educational institution with the aim of promoting egalitarianism. School must serve three functions which are assisting one to assimilate into the society, producing a just competition and lessen inequality and thirdly, developing various individuals potentials (Dewey, 1916 as cited in Strathdee, 2003). The second function of school as stated by Dewey is seen as a good account of how education can help promotes social equality in society. Based on this view, the schools system which consists of a standard curriculum formed by various agencies is a way of offering equal opportunities to societies. Besides, standard examinations work as a standardised way of evaluating students performance in school. For instance, the New Zealands National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) are national qualifications for senior secondary school students. In a way, the national standards constituted by the aut horised party such as the Ministry of Education helps promote egalitarianism. Other point of view regarding this matter comes from a very famous sociologist, Durkheim who has a similar view with Strathdee. Durkheim, 1905 (as cited in Filloux, 2001) brings the notion of the underlying purpose of education through schools in order to build societies according to specific needs. An article written in 1905 on secondary education stated: Any school system is made up of two kinds of components. On the one hand, there are a whole series of fixed stable arrangements and established methods, in a word, institutions; but, at the same time, within the machine thus constituted, there are underlying ideas at work, urging it to change. Seen from the outside, secondary education appears to us as a series of establishments whose physical and moral organization is fixed; but, seen from another angle, that same organization harbours aspirations seeking fulfilment. Underlying this fixed, consolidated existence there is a life on the move which, though less visible, is by no means insignificant (Là ©volution et le rà ´le de lenseignement secondaire en France, in: Education et sociologie, 1905, p. 122). Furthermore, Durkheim sees school as the best place to seek for the importance of social relations involving the members of the society through knowledge acquiring. Durkheim (2001) also mentioned about teacher training that should contain psychological culture as well as gaining guides from the sociologists work in order for teachers to have a clearer picture of their role in the educational process. Teacher training is a part of educational system to standardise the teachers qualifications before going to school to teach. Therefore, teacher training is regarded as a form of equality towards developing a better educational system that society can get benefits from. Another view about this matter discussed the role of social capital in terms of benefiting the societies. According to Sandefur, Meier and Hernandez (1999), the quality of social capital and forms of social capital is an important aspect to be addressed on. This is right since they can affect the outcome of students performance in education thus affecting their future undertakings in the job market. Therefore, the quality of the relationship between teachers and their students is an important aspect to focus on. Not only the teacher can play this role but other school personnel can be parts of the social capital in the educational environment. The implementation of rules in order to discipline the students is one way to make sure every student is treated equally in the school settings. This is according to Durkheim (as cited in Filloux, 2001): Moral discipline is not only useful for moral life as such; its action extends beyond that. It plays a significant role in the shaping of character and of the personality in general. Indeed, what is most essential in character is the aptitude to exercise self-control, the faculty of restraint, or, as they say, inhibition that enables us to contain our passions and desires and to call them to order. () Discipline is useful, therefore, not only in the interest of society and as an indispensable means without which there would be no regular co-operation, but in the interest of the individual himself. Especially in democratic societies like ours children must be taught this healthy moderation. This is because the conventional barriers which forcibly curbed desires and ambitions in societies organized differently have partly fallen away and so only moral discipline is left to exercise this regulatory function (Là ©ducation morale, pp. 9-42) On the other hand, opposing view of the fairness of education towards society is raised by other academician. Curriculum does not only work to standardise the content of schools educational system but it sure has its hidden purposes. According to Vallance, 1991, p.40 (as cited in Carpenter, 2001), hidden curriculum is: †¦those practices and outcomes of schooling which, while not explicit in curriculum guides or school policy, nevertheless seem to be a regular and effective part of the school experience. (Vallance, 1991, p.40) Hence, schools hidden curriculum is perhaps considered as a form of unjust towards society. In some way, school educates students to face selected and specific positions in the workforce that might have no difference from their parents job. For instance, different expectation that a teacher has towards the students in the classroom might affect the students performance especially for those in a lower streamed class. So, students are preparing themselves for a work that will suit their qualification as well as preparing themselves for social positions alike their parents. Based on three initial views in this essay, the arguments seem to be more on supporting the education role in promoting social equality in society. Most of the views are showing the equal opportunities that educational settings have offered to societies in order for them to gain success regardless of the background of the learners. In my opinion, the educational system is giving its best to serve society by its occasional development so that the system can fit into different sorts of societies. Since equal chance has been offered, what is left is the effort that the society can demonstrate in order to grab the opportunities so that individual skills can be developed. To be successful and to gain a better social status in the society, one must grab all the opportunities that have been offered especially by the government who has been providing vast chances for the people to be learned society. Therefore, societies need to help themselves in order to achieve success and improve their w ay of living.

James H. Cones The Spirituals and the Blues Essay -- Book Report Con

James H. Cone's The Spirituals and the Blues The book, The Spirituals and the Blues, by James H. Cone, illustrates how the slave spirituals and the blues reflected the struggle for black survival under the harsh reality of slavery and segregation. The spirituals are historical songs which speak out about the rupture of black lives in a religious sense, telling us about people in a land of bondage, and what they did to stay united and somehow fight back. The blues are somewhat different from in the spirituals in that they depict the secular aspect of black life during times of oppression and the capacity to survive. James H. Cone’s portrayal of how the spirituals and the blues aided blacks through times of hardship and adversity has very few flaws and informs the reader greatly about the importance of music in the lives of African-Americans. The author aims to both examine the spirituals and blues as cultural expressions of black people and to reflect on both the theological and sociological implications of these son gs. James H. Cone was born on August 5, 1938 in Fordyce, Arkansas. He attended three small colleges, including a theological seminary, before receiving his Masters and Ph.D. from the prestigious Northwestern University. Cone is married and has two children. He has held membership to many prominent boards and organizations including the National Committee of Black Churchman (member of board of directors), American Academy of Religion, Congress of African Peoples, and Black Methodists for Church Renewal. His career includes being a professor of religion and theology at Philander Smith College, Adrian College, and Union Theological Seminary, where he now teaches. James H. Cone is now an American clergyman and author. Cone achieved his greatest acclaim in 1969 with the ground-breaking book, Black Theology and Black Power. This book attracted a great deal of attention due to its defense of the black power movement from a Christian point of view. He has since written many theological works including Risks of Faith, where he provides vital insights into American realities and the possibilities for American theology. Cone has been the Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminar in New York City since 1977. Cone’s The Spirituals and the Blues is split into two distinctive section... ...t and also talks about how blues could be classified as "a secular spiritual". His points can still be easily understood by the reader, but I feel that he nontheless contradicts himself while making these statements. Overall, I thought the book was very enlightening when it came to the point of revealing the central theme and foundation of these two distinct but also similar types of songs. The spirituals were built on a steadfast belief in God, while the blues ignored God and accepted the joys and sorrows of life. Although they were somewhat different, both partake of the same black experience in the United States. The spirituals and the blues both aided blacks through times of severe hardship and suffering. It was interesting to me to find out how even through oppression, blacks who were considered "believers" and those who were considered "non-believers" remained faithful to the fact that one day, they would beat their oppressors and situation. I liked the book most when it came to the point of identifying that the spirituals and the blues are not songs of despair or defeated people, but represent one of the greatest triumphs of a peoples in the history of the world.

Oedipus Rex †a Christ Figure Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex – a Christ Figure  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Sophocles’ famous tragedy, Oedipus Rex, perhaps â€Å"the most important and influential drama ever written† (â€Å"Sophocles† 717), presents in the person of   Oedipus the model of a good ruler, a humanely intelligent and vigorously active leader, a man who earlier saved his adopted city Thebes from disaster. Is Oedipus an alter Christus besides?    The numerous parallels between the figure of the king Oedipus and the figure of Christ in the Scriptures prompts the reader to ask the above question.    For example, in the opening lines of the drama, Oedipus greets the crowd of suppliants (including old men, boys and children) waiting at his palace doors with the words: â€Å"My children, latest born to Cadmus old, /Why sit ye here as suppliants, in your hands /Branches of olive filleted with wool†? Later, the king’s second address to the crowd begins: â€Å"Ah! my poor children, known, ah, known too well,/The quest that brings you hither and your need.† Other addresses to the people on the part of the king refer to them as â€Å"children.† There are many parallels to this in the Bible when Jesus addressed the people. In the gospel of Matthew alone, the word children is used 20 times, for example 3:9: â€Å". . .and do not presume to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.† Jesus also said in Matthew 18:3: "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.† In the same book (23:37) Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her b... ...says â€Å"I thank my God through Jesus Christ,† thus associating the two very closely.    Thus it is seen that there are many parallels between Sophocles’ drama, Oedipus Rex, in its treatment of the king, and the Bible with its treatment of Jesus, even though the latter was written some 400 years later than the former.    WORKS CITED       Oedipus the King. Tranlsted by Stephen Berg and Diskin Clay. In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    â€Å"Sophocles† In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi   

Seeing Through the Grey Mist of Cal Poly :: Descriptive Essays

Seeing Through the Grey Mist of Cal Poly On an early Monday morning my sleepy classmates and I met at the gate to Poly Canyon. The thick marine layer circled around our group as our professor led us into the dense grey fog. A crisp breeze stung my bare cheeks sending a chill down my body. We walked past the Cerro Vista apartments, the last buildings of Cal Poly that I would see for two hours. A feeling of excitement ran through me as we began our walk down the service road and into the canyon, a place just down the street from my dorm that I had never known existed. As we trekked deeper in to the thick mist, a hidden part of Cal Poly began to reveal itself. Walls of serpentine rock rose on either side of the road and the creek below began to fill with water. Four does and a buck looked down on us from the steep slopes above. Eucalyptus trees sent a sweet fragrance through the air, and chirping birds provided soft background music for the hike. Worries of school began to fade away. The trail got rough as we started climbing up Poly Mountain. My eyes were glued to the ground. Rocks were constantly sliding under foot waiting for an opportunity to take my feet out from under me. My breath was getting shorter and my legs began to burn from the first real exercise they had gotten since leaving home. I did not know if I was going to make it up the hill. When we finally stopped for our first break, I collapsed onto the nearest rock and took some time to observe the land around me. I realized I had not looked up once throughout the first quarter of the hike. When we sat down to write I had nothing to describe or to meditate on. The thick fog had erased the trail behind us and everything surrounding it. I was filled with regret. As we continued, I made certain to look around more often. Golden grasses, patches of yucca, grand rock formations, and a solitary tree dotted the landscape. We took our second break in a community of yucca. When I sat down, one stabbed me in my thigh. Its green leaves sat motionless as though nothing had happened.

Evaluating Employee Retention Essay

High employee turnover rate has been considered as one of the highest drivers for direct and opportunity cost to rise for companies. In the Coca Cola Retailing Research, Blake (2000) estimates that about US$5. 8 billion annually are lost in the supermarket sector alone due to employee turnover. More importantly, this figure significantly reduces the profitability of firms to as much as 40%. Hence, the mantra that human resources or people are still the most important factor of production considering the improvements in technology is still a prevalent notion among scholars and businessmen alike (Buckingham and Vosburgh, 2001). With this in mind, human resources management is driven to attract and retain employees that have proved valuable in the company over periods of time. Essentially, employee retention and the reduction of employee turnover rate had been studied in the literature and in company case studies. However, despite the numerous studies provided to us, there are still debates that need to be resolved on the most potent factors that would make employees stay. This paper presents a case study of Coca Cola Company particularly its program on employee retention, the issues and challenges that it faces in terms of employee turnover, its impact on the company both financially and operationally, and the improvements that can be made in order to enhance the employee retention program and reduce turnover rates. Employee Retention: Factors and Drivers Employee retention on a macro-scale had generally been impacted by the external economy in general and the trends in the business sector (Frank and Taylor, 2004). On a micro-scale however, employee retention are affected by programs/policies of the company, wages and benefits in relation to its competitors, skills, training and promotion, employee motivation and satisfaction as well as other factors that are internal to the company. For instance, while the US economy had been considered at a low level in recent years, employee turnover had been maximal in the periods 2002-2003 because of the downsizing that had been prevalent in US companies. Add to this factor, employee discontent according to the survey of the Conference Board (2003) had been highest since 1995 and that employees are only waiting for a market recovery to look for other jobs (Kaihla, 2003). Hence, aside from these factors that needs to be considered by companies, employee turnover affects the cost of the US economy by at least US$5 trillion annually (Journal of Business Strategy, 2003) and reduces stock prices and earnings to about 38% (Sibson, 2000). Consequently, aside from the financial impact of employee turnover, employee retention has been directly correlated by Dresang (2002) to increase productivity as well as customer loyalty. Employee retention had been attributed to several factors; let us first analyze the factors identified in the literature to contribute employee retention and reduction of turnover. In Coca Cola, the top retention drivers between hourly employees and management employees were identified as follows. For the hourly employees, providing directions, availability of equipment and supplies and immediate supervision were identified as drivers for retention while for managers, it would be organizational direction, training and advancement (Frank, 2000). These factors validate earlier studies that front-line leaders play a critical role in the retention of employees (SHRM Retention Survey, 2000). This is because poor management would drive employees away because of their perceived lack of importance accorded to them by the company. Consequently, this result implies that managers being critical factors in employee retention would need to be improved in terms of training and professional development programs by the company (Gantz Wiley Research, 2004). Hence, Frank (2000) asserted that organizational and management practices as drivers for retention have specific and identifiable goals. First, for employees working by the hour, tactical practices in accomplishing their jobs effectively are considered to be important. This is because these employees derive their satisfaction and motivation from the feedback that they receive from their immediate supervisors. Hence, their execution of their specific tasks is important in order to make them feel important in the company. However, management retention had been attributed to the strategic direction of the company as well as their professional training and advancement. This implies that managers are more likely to stay in a company with a training program that would encourage professional growth as well as a program with concrete promotion guidelines. Coca Cola Employee Retention Program Coca Cola, the leading manufacturer of carbonated drinks had been considered as one of the top employers not only in terms of providing hundreds of jobs worldwide but also in strategically managing its employees turn over rate. The advocacy of Coca Cola rests on the productivity and skills of its employees in providing quality products and assuring quality control of its merchandise. In return, Coca Cola incorporates in its core policies the Workplace Rights Policies which includes a holistic view of its workers ensuring that its policies serves up to the promotion of a holistic employee growth (The Coca Cola Company, 2008). Unlike PepsiCo, Coca Cola allows unions and provides for a collective bargaining in order to protect the rights of its employees. This has led to the unorganization of the employees of PepsiCo compared to that of Coca Cola- while there is a high level of collective bargaining in Coca Cola, PepsiCo has not provided its employees the venue to air its grievances. However, compared to PepsiCo’s Taste to Success employment brand statement and its numerous programs for employee retention such as â€Å"Culture of Shared Principles†, â€Å"Ability to Make an Impact†, â€Å"Quality People† and â€Å"Passion for Growth†, Coca Cola’s campaign for employee retention is still in the process of evolving. For one, the 2000 research employed by Coca Cola to determine the cost and the opportunities for employee retention, the company had redeveloped its corporate strategy to specifically address its management and rank and file retention issues by changing its strategy. For instance, Coca Cola has the â€Å"talent magnets† program in celebration of managers who are able to attract outstanding talents in their team. This is done by Coca Cola in order to provide advancement not only for managers but for rank and file employees as well. Consequently, Coca Cola in its mission statement includes four components indicating the responsibility of managers to develop the rank and file employees. For example, in Coca Cola’s Competency/Success Model, it targets the self and others, rank and file employees would provide the necessary feedback on their manager regarding their development success and compensation based on their skills. Based on these criteria, the managers are then judged by upper management (Olian, et al, 1998). Hence, the focus of Coca Cola is on teams and not on individuals alone. This is similar to the practices in PepsiCo but to a lesser extent. For instance, PepsiCo still values individual achievement and skills in its promotion and advancement. In terms of compensation and pay, both PepsiCo and Coca Cola had been criticized by foreign countries by providing below level compensation for employees. In the United States, typically, the wage of same level employees is the same for both. Consequently, the benefits for regular and part time employees are comparable with one another. Moreover, both companies provide training and development programs, diversity and multi-cultural work environment as well as programs for advancement. However, the primary difference is that Coca Cola had been considered to fundamentally more sound strategically than that of PepsiCo. For instance, while PepsiCo offers different variety of products in the beverage and snack sector and have declared bankruptcy in the past, Coca Cola’s sound management fundamentals have prevented it from investing in risky ventures. While both PepsiCo and Coca Cola had been fraught with workers issues particularly in low salaries and wages as well as the issues of better rights for workers, Coca Cola had fared well better in retaining its employees because it is more stable than PepsiCo (which had closed 4 plants in New Jersey) and because of the presence and tolerance of unions. To a large extent, unions in Coca Cola had perennially protected the rights of its workers and hence, led to lower employee turnover in Coca Cola. Valid and Effective Employee Retention Program Employee retention programs while it should consider external aspects of its operations such as the economic performance of the country, the wages and salary in that specific country as well as competition, internal factors within the human resource sector would also needed to be re-examined particularly in determining the means to retain employees. It should be noted that skillful employees and managers are considered to be precious and scarce commodities in today’s employment world. This is the reason why companies such as Coca Cola reserves rewards for its top performers in selling and marketing its products. For instance, those who have shown superior performance than others are given career advancements readily, trainings and professional development growths are available and they have better bargaining power. Hence, these workers can demand for better work conditions particularly in balancing their work-family life. This however, does not only apply for managers but also for rank and file employees. While priorities would differ for the two classes, the need to be valued by the organization is important. This is manifested in terms of pay and wages, benefits, promotions, advancement, work condition as well as the need to know their role in the organizational mission. Hence, employee retention programs should focus on the internal and external factors of employees: pay, benefits and promotion as well as the working relations of the employees on their immediate superiors and co-workers as well as in providing a better consideration for themselves as a person and not just a worker. For instance, feedback from the manager are important considerations from rank and file employees (Frank, 2000) implying that it is no longer the salary and compensation that matters for retention but also on the relationship of subordinates to superiors. Hence, programs on employee retention should focus on managers’ ability to improve their subordinates and drive their team to achieve. This would imply that advancements would also focus on the ability of the managers to train and improve the position and compensation of their employees. Finally, the ability of companies such as Coca Cola to provide a better balance in the life of the employees by providing opportunities for better working conditions such as work-life balance can improve the loyalty of the employees as well as enhance their productivity (Younger, Smallwood and Ulrich, 2007). Method in Determining Effective Employee Retention Program The Coca Cola Study had proposed thirteen (13) scales for management and organizational practices that can serve as a benchmark in evaluating the employee retention program: 1) organizational direction; 2) immediate supervision; 3) providing directions; 4) providing feedback; 5) equipment and supplies; 6) working conditions; 7) work organization; 8) pay administration; 9) pay and benefits; 10) advancement; 11) impact; 12) training; and 13) capacity (Frank, 2000). These scales serve as a benchmark in evaluating current employee retention programs in Coca Cola. Accordingly, these factors would be critically assessed in the next section using the Coca Cola study in order to determine the areas where Coca Cola had improved since the study was completed in 2000 and the areas that would need improvement. It should be noted that this scale system is specific to supermarket products and may not reflect with other companies. Discussion and Recommendations for Effective Employee Retention Program in Coca Cola Traditional conception on employee retention had been that: increase the pay and employees will stay. However, in current business environment where skilled workers are offered with numerous job offers, the scope of employee retention had also broadened. First, employees now consider the organizational direction of the company. As shown in the survey of Coca Cola, organizational direction is important for managers in order to determine their goals in line with that of the company. A company with good fundamental organizational goals is more likely to retain managers who align themselves within the organizational direction. However, this is not only the case for managers as implied in the second factor which is immediate supervision. Managers and supervisors are tasked with the need to improve on the quality of its supervisory capacity in order to retain rank and file employees. In Coca Cola, managers who are in charge of a team are judged not on their individual performance but on how the team had performed. Hence, effective supervision and management are critical in determining the success of employees both in the managerial as well as the rank and file level. The principle is no longer that managers will rise alone but rather, rank and file employees will rise alongside their manager. This is also the core policy of Coca Cola’s self and others program wherein one is not only responsible for his or her self but for the team as well. Third, providing directions is no longer the monopoly of supervisors and managers. Typically, the vertical or line hierarchy within business firms had been replaced by horizontal and a more interactive workplace. Rank and file employees now have the freedom for better independence as well as in providing input to the management. In Coca Cola, this is no longer prohibited but is encouraged in order to gain fresh and better insights to improve on performance. The principle behind this is that those who do the work are better equipped with the knowledge on how to improve it. Along this line is the recognition that rank and file employees can provide direction to the organization as well which is the fourth factor in the item- providing feedback. The feedback system in Coca Cola does not rest solely on the discretion of the managers but also on the records of the employee. However, the feedback given by the immediate supervisors are important in determining the capacity and skills as well as the importance accorded to an employee. At Coca Cola, since teams are driven to produce, supervisors and managers can provide immediate feedback. Positive feedback gives the sense of accomplishment for employees as well as the feeling that they are valued members of the organization. This in essence, increases employee motivation and satisfaction. The fifth and sixth factors include availability of equipments and supplies as well as working conditions of the employees. It should be noted that in order to accomplish a task, materials necessary would have to be available. For rank and file employees, the management that ensures that these materials are available is tantamount to the perception that the work they accomplish is important in the organization. This leads us to the sixth factor which is working condition. The work environment has been considered as one of the more important determinant of employee motivation and hence, employee retention and turnover. Those employees whose work is not recognized are more likely to be unmotivated. Coca Cola for its part has better working conditions than PepsiCo. However, working conditions outside of the United States would need to be improved because of their poor managerial and plant support. In the United States, these issues are less pressing. Thus, it is the responsibility of the top management to ensure that despite the need of workers in third world countries of work, its improvement would cut the rate of employee turnover and increase the possibility of retention. Seventh, one good way to improve employee retention is for the Coca Cola management to use a slogan that will serve as the company’s goal similar to that of PepsiCo. Many corporations use the slogan, â€Å"People are our most important asset. † Similarly, many companies contend that their values support teamwork, integrity, respect, and dignity. While this may sound good, it takes hard, consistent work in policies, statements and actions for employees to believe it. Eight, the classic pay philosophy is to provide wages that will attract and retain qualified employees. Being aware of the wage rates in an organization’s external market place is critical to Coca Cola’s success for retaining employees. The case of the Coca Cola’s wage scale is low; the company has already lost employees to other sectors that pay a higher rate. Hence, there is a need for improvements in the compensation by improving on performance pays. For instance, lump sum merit awards on the other hand provide financial recognition for an individual’s job performance in lieu of merit-based salary increases. This is an effective way to provide financial recognition, especially to those individuals whose base salary is already relatively high.

The Discovery of Electronics

The first practical application of electricity was the telegraph, invented by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1837. The need for electrical engineers was not felt until some 40 years later, upon the invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell and of the incandescent lamp (1878) by Thomas A. Edison. These devices and Edison's first central generating plant in New York City (1882) created a large demand for men trained to work with electricity. The discovery of the â€Å"Edison effect,† a flow of current through the vacuum of one of his lamps, was the first observation of current in space. Hendrick Antoon Lorentz of The Netherlands predicted the electron theory of electrical charge in 1895, and in 1897 J. J. Thomson of England showed that the Edison effect current was indeed caused by negatively charged particles (electrons). This led to the work of Guglielmo Marconi of Italy, Lee De Forest of the United States, and many others, which laid the foundations of radio engineering. In 1930 the term electronics was introduced to embrace radio and the industrial applications of electron tubes. Since 1947, when the transistor was invented by John Bardeen, William H. Brattain, and William B. Shockley, electronics engineering has been dominated by the applications of such solid-state electronic devices as the transistor, the semiconductor diode, and the integrated circuit. the branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of electricity in all its forms, including those of the field of electronics. Electronics engineering is that branch of electrical engineering concerned with the uses of the electromagnetic spectrum and with the application of such electronic devices as integrated circuits, transistors, and vacuum tubes. In engineering practice, the distinction between electrical engineering and electronics is based on the comparative strength of the electric currents used. In this sense, electrical engineering is the branch dealing with â€Å"heavy current†-that is, electric light and power systems and apparatuses-whereas electronics engineering deals with such â€Å"light current† applications as wire and radio communication, the stored-program electronic computer, radar, and automatic control systems. The distinction between the fields has become less sharp with technical progress. For example, in the high-voltage transmission of electric power, large arrays of electronic devices are used to convert transmission-line current at power levels in the tens of megawatts. Moreover, in the regulation and control of interconnected power systems, electronic computers are used to compute requirements much more rapidly and accurately than is possible by manual methods Electrical phenomena attracted the attention of European thinkers as early as the 17th century. Beginning as a mathematically oriented science, the field has remained primarily in that form; mathematical predication often precedes laboratory demonstration. The most noteworthy pioneers include Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert and Georg Simon Ohm of Germany, Hans Christian Orsted of Denmark, Andre-Marie Ampere of France, Alessandro Volta of Italy, Joseph Henry of the United States, and Michael Faraday of England. Electrical engineering may be said to have emerged as a discipline in 1864 when the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell summarized the basic laws of electricity in mathematical form and predicted that radiation of electromagnetic energy would occur in a form that later became known as radio waves. In 1887 the German physicist Heinrich Hertz experimentally demonstrated the existence of radio waves. The first practical application of electricity was the telegraph, invented by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1837. The need for electrical engineers was not felt until some 40 years later, upon the invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell and of the incandescent lamp (1878) by Thomas A. Edison. These devices and Edison's first central generating plant in New York City (1882) created a large demand for men trained to work with electricity. The discovery of the â€Å"Edison effect,† a flow of current through the vacuum of one of his lamps, was the first observation of current in space. Hendrick Antoon Lorentz of The Netherlands predicted the electron theory of electrical charge in 1895, and in 1897 J. J. Thomson of England showed that the Edison effect current was indeed caused by negatively charged particles (electrons). This led to the work of Guglielmo Marconi of Italy, Lee De Forest of the United States, and many others, which laid the foundations of radio engineering. In 1930 the term electronics was introduced to embrace radio and the industrial applications of electron tubes. Since 1947, when the transistor was invented by John Bardeen, William H. Brattain, and William B. Shockley, electronics engineering has been dominated by the applications of such solid-state electronic devices as the transistor, the semiconductor diode, and the integrated circuit. The functions performed by electrical and electronics engineers include (1) basic research in physics, other sciences, and applied mathematics in order to extend knowledge applicable to the field of electronics, (2) applied research based on the findings of basic research and directed at discovering new applications and principles of operation, (3) development of new materials, devices, assemblies, and systems suitable for existing or proposed product lines, (4) design of devices, equipment, and systems for manufacture, (5) field-testing of equipment and systems, (6) establishment of quality control standards to be observed in manufacture, (7) supervision of manufacture and production testing, (8) postproduction assessment of performance, maintenance, and repair, and (9) engineering management, or the direction of research, development, engineering, manufacture, and marketing and sales.

Domestic Polices of Johnson and Eisenhower Essay

The decades of 1950s and early 60s were periods of unprecedented affluence, prosperity and economic growth for USA, at scales that is difficult to match by any other country in human history. Years of persistent industrial growth, technological advances, and a full-time developed economy during the Second World War set the platform for USA to experience continued improvements in its industrial outputs, living standards, individual income, business and commercial profits, and infrastructural and capital growth. With its GDP and GNP repeatedly touching new record heights, USA had undisputedly become world’s richest behemoth. However, amidst this spectacular mantle of prosperity, there remained large patches of poverty, racial discriminations, unemployment and inequality that did not conform to high level of affluence generally attained through out the nation. To bridge this yawning gap, President Johnson launched the concept of ‘Great Society’ with aim to bring equality and justice in US and distribute fruits of growth and prosperity to every citizen. Policies and Programs of ‘Great Society’ The landslide victory of Lyndon Johnson in 1964 general election gave him suitable platform introduce a series of legislations concerning education, healthcare, environmental protection, consumer rights, regional and urban development, civil rights, employment opportunities, social welfare and income supplement programs, as part of his vision towards the great society. As Johnson himself belonged to middle class family, his ideas were well shaped and oriented towards the exact framework that he wished to create. Pursuant to this vision he proceeded to introduce a number of legislations that included, Food Stamp legislation, Civil Rights Acts, Economic Opportunity Act, Mass Transport Program, Public Work and Employment Act, and Medical Health Car, Social Support, and Education Programs. The notable programs under Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ were 1. Income Assistance: Under the Income Assistance program, financial coverage and assistance were provided to people to enable them to support themselves and become self-dependent. People were counseled, advices and encouraged to strive to meet their own requirements, under government aegis. 2. Education and training: Johnson was of firm view that education and training had crucial role in uplift deprived people to general levels of prosperity and affluence, providing tools and paths to break the vicious cycle of poverty and seclusion. Therefore, he put special emphasis on providing equal educational opportunities to economically deprived children. In the ‘Great Society’ Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, special provisions were included to provide financial help, services and required assistance to schooling agencies and boards covering areas with economically disadvantaged families. Further, provisions were instituted that provided direct financial help and support to individual disadvantaged students. A number of training programs were launched in semi urban and rural areas to provide work exposure, work related training and vocational training to people, to enable them to earn and break free of poverty. 3. Healthcare and Medicare Programs: Recognizing the requirement of healthcare for all, an integral part of ‘Great Society’ vision was to provide medical care for elder and poor people, who are unable to look after themselves. The Social Security Act of 1965 and 66 ensured health care and medical treatment for people belonging to all age groups. 4. Housing: A rapidly emerging urban America required houses to support the millions that came to cities to full fill their dreams. Concurrent were the problems of providing secure shelter to thousands homeless poor, left stranded on streets in inclement conditions. Therefore through Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 one the one hand government targeted construction of 26 million additional rehabilitation units and on other provided for easy flow of real estate credit, liberalized loan market, expanded public housing fund, and low installments to enable people in low and middle income groups to own houses. 5. Environment: One of significant achievements of Great Society vision was launching policies to make environment as free of pollutants and chemicals as possible, and thus imitating the drive towards environmental awareness. Armed with a number of acts and legislations such as Clear Air, Water Quality and Clean Water Restoration Acts and Amendments, Wilderness Act of 1964, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965, Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act of 1965 etc, Johnson tried to create a social culture that is aware of its responsibilities in protecting environment. Differences with Eisenhower People, and especially poor oriented polices launched by Johnson stood in contrast with the generally industrial and business focused programs adopted by Eisenhower in his regime from 1953-61. During the Presidency of Eisenhower, social welfare programs had taken backstage before large-scale industrial, infrastructural, and military programs. Although the entire nation as an entity move ahead, serious gaps had remained in its fabrics that Johnson tried to cover with his welfare programs under ‘Great Society’

Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis Paper

Through the Doors of High School Bullying – something that happens every day in high schools, but yet people do not always acknowledge what goes on. According to the article Bully Facts & Statistics, 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school. Bullying exceedingly affects a person. Whether it comes to a stop or not, the person harassed will never have the same mentality. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a plane crashes on a deserted island and all that remains is a group of boys. No adults – young boys all alone.Throughout the novel the children have leadership roles and rules in order for their continued existence. The experience a person has while on the island is how they reach their goal – survival. Lord of the Flies is a classic because it is seen as a metaphor for high school in this contemporary era because of the struggle for power that is showed through the setting, the characters, and the symbols. Goldi ng uses the scar on the island as a part of the setting to relate to high school. No matter if the boys abscond from the island, the mark will still exist similar to a student’s reputation in high school.The scar in the novel is the scene where the plane crash emerges. This is the characteristics of the scar after the crash: â€Å"The undergrowth of the side of the scar was shaken and a multitude of raindrops fell pattering† (7). A scar literally means leaving a mark on something. The popular crowd in high school ensures an easier time of leaving a positive impact on the school, because they have additional power over the other students. This is an example of students struggling for power. Besides the popular crowd, everyone else has a hard time of gaining their power and making an impact on the school.A person will never forget about their experience in high school just like the boys will never overlook the effects of the plane crash that happened in Lord of the Flies on the island. From the novel Lord of the Flies, Piggy’s characteristics remain not all that different from high school students. Early on in the novel, when Piggy and Ralph first meet, Piggy states, ‘†I don’t care what they call me,† he said confidentially, ‘â€Å"so long as they don’t call me what they used to call me at school†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (11). Piggy’s declaration refers to how he accustomed to be treated back home.Piggy’s heavyset body and nerdy glasses causes constant harassment directed towards him. Contrary, high school students remain not all that different. Whether in high school or Lord of the Flies, name calling can really get to a person. The students that get picked on constantly are the ones that struggle the most at gaining power. The students that pick on others are the ones that contain the most power. On the island, a social stance takes place. Ralph and Jack are the leaders while the litluns follow th em. Piggy remains the outcast. In schools the bullies, usually the jocks, tend to pick on the nerds.Although Piggy was known as the outcast, he had brains. â€Å"But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains. Ralph was a specialist in thought now, and could recognize thought in another (78). † Piggy was smarter than most of the others; that was part of the reason of why he stood out. Similarly, high school students judge to quickly. Again, that is a big part of why bullying takes place at school. Because Piggy is smarter than the others, it causes him to struggle the most for power. He is seen differently than the others and judged for it.Furthermore, possessions parallel materialistic possessions of people in high school. In the novel, the conch is used as an important object to the boys. Towards the end of the book when Roger rolls a boulder on Piggy, â€Å"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and c eased to exist† (181). In Lord of the Flies, the conch symbolizes power. The conch represents order; it keeps the boys in line. Similar to high school, the conch represents power like students’ possessions. By having expensive clothes, it symbolizes richness, coolness, and popularity.Ralph a leader in the novel, uses the conch to gain his power. But Ralph eventually loses his power. â€Å"The space under the palm trees was full of noise and movement. Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him. All at once the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone – following Jack (38). † This is like high school because everyone fights for their power. Ralph represents society and in order for them to maintain their societal image; Ralph guides the boys by making rules. The conch calls the group to meetings and remains exceedingly important to the boys – especially Ralph.After giving the boys false information for a period of time, the boys turn to Jack as their leader instead of Ralph. Therefore, Lord of the Flies is a classic because it persists as a metaphor for high school in this contemporary era because of the struggle for power showed through the setting, the characters, and the symbols. In Lord of the Flies people have to deal with bullying every day. All because of the social groups that take place and the power that comes along with it. Always remember – bullying will proceed to exist in high schools but if a person does not let it bother them then it will not be as affective.

The Emergence of the Project of Development Essay

The Emergence of the Project of Development - Essay Example Scientific aspects of modernization emerged during the cold war, and applied in the decolonization period to change the world economy. Escobar (25) points out that technology emerged during the colonial period and during the world war. In the time of World War II, countries such as Germany engaged in reinvention of technology to support their armies during the time of war. The colonial government introduced technology in agriculture and this led to the change in agricultural style during the period of decolonization.In the advent of technology, colonized countries modeled their agricultural style, which formed a critical part of the project of global development. With improved productivity in agriculture, many continents including Africa and Asia developed and improved their economic independence. Briefly, the decolonization and post war period formed a critical step towards project development. However, a more interesting twist of events culminating to project development was the sp ecialization brought about by modernization. Technological advancement led to specialization in many facets of production. For instance, food processing industries focused on processing and hence able to develop at a higher rate. Likewise, all other facets were able to develop faster. In many countries, the post-colonial period became a period of political development and consequential socio-economic changes. Indeed, during the decolonization period, countries such as South Africa became conscious of identity politics.

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 48

Art - Essay Example This means the figure represent humanity in general. Borofsky prompts the viewer to compare the sculpture with what happens in our daily lives. In as much as the figures face away from one another, they are able to communicate through holding hands. This simply means regardless of the differences people might have in life, they still need each other for survival (Borofsky 1). The image of two people holding hands could have various meanings. For example, it could demonstrate children playing in a field. One child is a head of the other while the other one is running after him. The holding of hand is a symbol of love and affection between the children. This is a message to all viewers that they should love one another. It also means that people should always be active and happy in their daily lives. The images demonstrate people who are running while holding hands. The runners could be sportsmen in the field. This means it is important for sportsmen to work as a team while in a competition. They should also demonstrate the true spirit of sportsmanship by helping any injured person in the field. Lastly, they should know competition is not about being enemies but rather it is a game that demonstrates who is well equipped to win a duel One of the images has a person running while the remaining person has a raised hand though standing. The raised hand could be intended to direct the running person. This encourages viewers to avoid trouble and run away whenever it is necessary. This means that viewers ought not to fight back when wronged. Instead, they should walk away in peace in order to avoid confrontation that could be more disastrous resulting into loss of life. Borofsky starts his work with drawings. This is usually a demonstration of his thoughts that he transforms into an object. The object is usually an initial idea about human life. The idea could be happiness, love or sadness. He then converts the ideas into images that could be understood by

Motivation College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivation College - Essay Example At the same time, people represent the highest single cost figure, they also are considered to be the most unpredictable, difficult to control, and they are by far the one critical factor that nothing much can be done about. Much of the industry have turned its energies to solving more technical issues and has turned away from dealing with human factors as the primary key to improving profit. (Gerry, 45-57) Motivation is the key factor in influencing humans to work better, so an increase in motivation will result in higher productivity and more profit, which is the ultimate goal of the construction industry. Understanding and having knowledge about motivation theories can help to create a motivational atmosphere, and application of these theories can result in achieving higher productivity. The leadership style of a manager has a lot of influence on the motivation of workers. Construction is still considered as a tough guys business. Most construction managers and supervisors consider a democratic leadership style as a weakness. However, research has proved that democratic supervisors have achieved higher performance and better results than any other leadership style. (Iain, 78-85) Motivation is defined as, "a person's active participation in and commitment to achieving the prescribed results". (Gerry, 45-57) The concept of motivation is somewhat abstract, different strategies produce different result at different times, and there is no single strategy can produce guaranteed favorable results all the time. One of the difficulties in motivating workers is that they all are different and react differently to the same kind of change or action. Many motivation researchers agreed that managers can create a positive motivational atmosphere that can help in motivating workers for higher productivity, but they will likely not motivate everyone, because everyone is motivated by different things. Most companies are looking into ways to improve efficiency, productivity, and quality. The question is how to make workers work more productively This is a question of fundamental importance to any manager. The answer to this question is both complex and vague. Flannes and Levi n (2001) explained it by saying, "the project manager must effectively and comfortably wear many different hats when leading a project". (Levin, 2001) A construction manager's job is to get work done by the workforce. The construction manager's leadership style has a significant role in workforce motivation. Researchers have identified the major leadership styles as, laissez-faire, democratic, and autocratic. According to behavioral scientists, the democratic leadership style has achieved higher productivity and effectiveness. Concept of Motivation Concepts of motivation are somewhat abstract. To analyze factors that influence motivation, five motivation theories will be discussed in detail in this paper. Figure 1 shows a conceptual model of motivation. (Gerry, 45-57) At point A, a person has needs and tries to fulfill those needs. At point B, the person finds the sources of fulfilling those needs. At point C, he engages or motivates himself to achieve tasks to fulfill his needs. At point D, once he achieves his goal, new needs or variations of those original needs will be

Theories of motivation in competitive sport Research Paper

Theories of motivation in competitive sport - Research Paper Example Psychology has different take on motivation. According to Sage (1977), motivation is defined as â€Å"direction and intensity of one’s effort† (Weinberg & Gould 52). For example, a person can be said to be motivated when he seeks out or approaches those resources which help him to improve his skills to perform a particular activity (Weinberg & Gould 52). His effort to seek different methods of improvement shows that he is ‘directing’ his effort with certain aim in mind. The intensity of effort refers to the amount of hard work and sincerity a person puts in his effort to achieve a particular goal or to perform a particular action (Weinberg & Gould 52). The intensity with which a person makes efforts to achieve a certain goal shows his level of motivation to achieve a particular skill or reach a particular goal. Hence, the direction and the intensity of human being’s effort show how much he is motivated to do a particular action. Similarly, the performance of a player in competitive sports depends on his motivation level. According to researchers Ryan and Deci ( 2000), all the aspects of human activity and intents like energy, direction, intensity and persistence are driven by motivation (Walker et al. 5). Without motivation, it is highly impossible for a sportsperson to perform in a competitive sport. Participating in a competitive sport needs a player to have high level of physical energy, discipline, determination, consistency, stamina etc. Without motivation, no human being can put in such an intense effort in performance. All the â€Å"biological, cognitive and social† regulations that an athlete follows are driven by his motivation to succeed in competitive sport (Walker et al. 5). Hence, motivation is considered the most important aspect of performance in competitive sports. In most of the activities, the reward for the performance is very obvious.

CDHPs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

CDHPs - Assignment Example It is in the same year that health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) begun. Then Health Savings Account (HSA) closely followed HRAs after the approval of the 2003 Modernization Act. This Act allowed individuals with a considerable amount of deductible health contrive to contribute towards HSAs. The main reason for coming up with CDHPs was to empower employees to make informed decisions about health care (â€Å"FAQ - What are Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHPs),† n.d.). Since 2001, CDHPs have assumed an upward trend as consumers have appreciated it as a financial friendly and cost- restraint system. Studies show that in 2013 only, nearly 23% of employers having workers ranging from 15 to 400 and employers with over 500 workers proposed the use of either HSA or HRA health scheme. Studies affirm that CDHPs do not downgrade preventive services and encourages younger healthier populations since most subscribers are young families. Today not only individuals but also business companies have embraced CDHPs as a way of handling their health related issues. There has been a rise for contributions in both HSA and HRAs 2013 having an approximated amount of $ 23.8 billion Collins, 2007). This was a significant rise from $18 billion in 2012. The number of account holders rose from 11.7 million in 2012 to 11.8 million in 2013. Although there are speculations about the ineffectiveness of CDHPs, it stands undisputed that this type of strategy has an amazing ability to make member to take actively part in their health care management. CDHPs readily offer necessary support to members in terms of materials and skills. Feeling that the individual may not be able to understand or manage his or her finances when enrolled in CDHPs is inappropriate. (Greene, Peters, Mertz, & Hibbard, 2008)A research conducted reveal that CDHP members are aware of their roles and make good use of the available information