Project on Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project on Financial Management - Essay Example The balance sheet of my family reveals that we have just enough assets to cover our liabilities. We keep liabilities to a minimum because we have three growing children and our money goes to support their daily expenses. Aside from paying for the mortgage, there are just the monthly utilities and the telephone and cable to pay for. But as can be reflected, the liabilities already consume about 77% of our resources. The asset to debt ratio of 1.29 shows that our financial liquidity, or our ability to cover our liabilities. As shown, our assets are still more than our debt which enables us to pay for our obligations by keeping them to a minimum – only that which we can afford. The only investment asset we have is our life insurance which has a cash value of $3000. Since we are still paying for our house, it is still not considered as an asset since the title to the property is not yet in our name until it is fully paid. The $5000 in our checking account is composed of the $300 per month I struggle to save for emergency purposes plus other savings made in the process.

The annual budgeting process has been criticised

The annual budgeting process has been criticised The annual budgeting process has been criticised as a cumbersome process which occupies considerable management time; concentrating unduly on short term financial control; having undesirable effects on motivation of managers; emphasising formal organisation structure. Introduction A budget is a quantitative measurable long term plan with specified corporate goals set to be achieved within a specific time period. The annual budget is usually divided into sub-plans usually quarterly and is based on an annual strategic business plan. It is formulated by following a process that requires careful analysis and evaluation of organizational objectives, alternatives, strategic options, decisions and actions and implementation of objectives as well as monitoring of results. The comprehensive nature of the budgeting process thus require participation of managers and executives who are responsible for the planning of actual operations, coordination of activities, communication of plans to responsibility centres; motivate managers to achieve budget goals; controlling activities; and evaluating performance. In all of these processes and activities, one notices the conflicting roles of budgets that involve planning, motivation and performance evaluation (Drury 2004). Due to these conflicting roles of budgets, in the recent years critics are of the opinion that the annual budget process is merely a waste of resource and a burden to management rather than enabling them to control their management environment. In the following discussion the researcher shall discuss the factors concerned and offers some recommendation for improvement of the annual budget process. Discussion a. Management time consumption Conventional annual budget process is a quantified plan prepared and approved to define the course of action and activities to be carried out during a specified time period utilizing certain amount of resources to achieve given objectives (Drury 2004). The process deals with projection of activities, contingencies, strategies and interaction of processes within an organization. Budgets are also controls in the planning process to ensure the organization does not deviate from its financial and operational goals. These activities and processes require extensive analysis of organizational processes; plans for targets to be achieved by individual departments and by the overall organization; and results expected to be achieved etc. Consequently, one observes that the annual budgeting process is a complex and tedious process that requires top management directives and participation of lower management and staffs. Not only this but according to Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser (2003) the tradit ional budget process require four to five months for completion and efforts of 20 to 30 percent of the manager's time. Furthermore, traditional budgeting is based on incremental budgeting whereby expenditures or revenue estimations are based the increments on the previous outcomes, and does not necessarily reflect the need of the environment in which the firm operates resulting in unachievable targets and undesirable outcomes. To resolve modern day organizations are focussing more on rolling forecasts and driver based budgeting models which are concentrated on participation and usage of drivers that operate the organization (Hunt 2003). b. Short financial control Another aspect of the annual budget process is that it is divided and based on quarterly objectives and results. Whether the organization is segmented into profit centres; cost centres; revenue or investment centres, the basic premise is that each of these centres are responsible for the designated outcome set by the annual budget. The overall outcome is estimated based on the quarterly results. The objective for quarterly results is to enable management to estimate expected results at the end of the year and also to use budgets as financial controls to counteract deviation, if there are any before the situation proliferate out of hand. Yet this very factor not only takes up a lot of management time but it also forces managers to dedicate significant time to target achievements, financial objectives and compliance with the process therein instead of concentrating on management excellence. c. Undesirable effect on manager motivation The pressure to deliver as Hope and Fraser (2003) note force managers and their teams to concentrate on sales targets; customers order of goods whether they want it or not; and achieve financial objectives. There is less and less time for managers to concentrate on team building; motivation; performance level; evaluation; or even time for designing effective and productive departmental structure to achieve better results. For this reason budgeting process tend to motivate managers to set their objectives to financial objectives and deliverables rather than on working as a team. The managers are thus the gatekeepers while the team members are forced to become dissociated from the organization's structure. d. Emphasis on formal organizational structure Given the emphasis on extensive and detailed planning at the departmental level, it is imperative that organizations have formal structure so that budgeting process can be integrated into the forecasting and goal achievement activities. Formal organizational structure is also required for building and approving budgets through communication and coordination. Managers are therefore expected to align day to day activities with organizational strategies and budgets in order to achieve the desired objectives. Without a formal organizational structure, it would be difficult for the management to have a control over operational activities and financial consequences therein. Conclusion Given the above discussion, the researcher deduce that the annual budgeting process is a tedious process that eats up the time of management and lower staff alike without much productivity. The reason for this low productivity despite well planned budgeting is because of the long process that entails and the nature of the budgeting process. Budgeting from a top down approach is usually an imposition rather than participation. In modern day organization participation of team members, managers and supervisors with the top management is imperative for efficient operation. Dictated objectives and plans do not help in this regard. For this reason many organizations are changing their approach to budgeting by focussing on operational outcomes and inputs to fixate targets reinforced by incentives rather than outlined targets to be achieved without any motivation. As McGregor indicate in his Theory X/Y human beings are liable to work better if their desired motivation are in place (2005) and they are satisfied. Similarly, effective organizational planning in the form of budgets should be based on firm's ability to respond to change and more importantly on the satisfaction of those who are responsible for carrying out the plans. Increased participation not only encourages responsibility but also makes accountability easier as individuals feel they are responsible for the operational outcomes. They are not bogged by the imposed accountability (Hunt 2003). References McGregor, D. 2005, The Human Side of Enterprise, Annotated Edition. McGraw-Hill. Drury, C., 2004, Management and Cost Accounting, London: Thompson Business Press, 6th Edition. Hope, J. and Fraser, R. Feb 2003, Trash The Budget. Optimize, Issue 22. Hunt, S. Aug 2003, Budgets Roll With The Times. Optimize, Issue 22.

Trapped :: essays research papers

Crash, Swish, Roar. The lonely empty silence is overpowered by a wall of foam rushing towards me. Wheels of sand are churning beneath my feet. My golden locks are flattened and hunched over my head to form a thick curtain over my eyes. Light ripples are printed against my olive stomach as the sun beams through the oceans unsteadiness. I look below me and can’t see where the sand bank ends; I look above and realize it’s a long way to the top. Don’t panic Kate, you’ll get through this. I try to paddle to the top but am halted by something severely weighing me down- My board. That’s what got me in this mess in the first place. I can see the floral pattern peeping through the sand that is rapidly crawling over it. I quickly rip apart the Velcro of my foot strap and watch my board float to the surface effortlessly as I attempt climbing through the water to reach the surface. The fin of my board becomes more visible to me as I ascend. Finally, an alleviating sensation blasts through my mouth. Air. Crash, Swish, Roar. Just as I get a breath, the powerful monster swallows me once more. It finally hits me that I’m going to be under a long time. These are 20 ft waves, I think to myself. There is no way I am getting out of here the easy way. I feel the blood surge to my head as the paranoia sets in. When I was 5 years old, Dad woke me up one morning and informed me that he was finally going to teach me how to surf. I was ecstatic. I used to watch my brothers in envy as I crouched on the damp sand with my head between my hands resting on my knees, sulking at the fact that I wasn’t allowed to surf until I was 5. Well, that time arrived when Dad was taking me, and nothing was going to hold me back. I watched Dad approach me as he returned from a blue and white hire tent with a long (well what seemed long at the time), bright yellow foam board. It had a small white fin sticking out its rear. We stayed shallow and like any impatient 5 year old I began to suffer from frustration as I continuously nose dived into the sand at my efforts to stand up.

Louisiana & The United States Essay

Louisiana is one of the United States of America states whose capital is located at Baton Rouge. The state is characterized by a rich unique multilingual and multicultural heritage. It is home for many ethnic groups. The Louisiana creoles people and the French speaking Cajuns are dominant in the southern Louisiana state and have distinct cultures. Blending of these cultures has resulted to Creole lifestyle immerging that has become deep rooted cultural, social, economic lifestyle of the Louisiana until the 20th century when it was overtaken by the Anglo Americans. Creole ancestors settled in Louisiana before 1803 when it was purchased from the Western Europe, and Senegal, they then settled in the State along the main water ways. Continuous blending of these disparate of France, Senegal and Germany led to emergence of the creed and this become a dominant social cultural and economic lifestyle till the 20th century (Carl Brasseaux, Keith Fontenot, Claude Oubre pp68-81). Acadians are the ancestors of Cajuns; the Acadians are French speaking people of Nova Scotia Canada and New Brunswick. After the Britain won the Indian and French war, the separated families and the Acadians were settled in camps in England colonies for 10-30 years and those who escaped settled French Canada, upon being freed they scattered in Canada Mexico, France with majority seeking refugees in South Louisiana. Cajun were considered as a lower class national as their name means but it was in 1970 when they disclosed their natural resources of gas and oil when their culture music, food and lifestyle was internationally recognized in . Creole is a term borrowed from Portuguese and Spanish by the French government. It means the native products and the colony’s people, whereas the meaning of Cajun is to subject to debate variant apathetic. The origin of Acadia is either Greek or India which means a camp set up in a good place. The Creole was an expression of colonial ghost in both the Spanish and French Regimes. The Creole then formed its own identity and they were normally referred to as the French creed. Colonial French was a language spoken by French Creole who were of white origin; a hybrid of French- West African language is usually spoken by the black creeds. It’s the hybrid language that is mostly spoken by the people of central Louisiana currently whereas the creed French is extent. The whites that are as a result of French – Spanish mixture were called French creed and the mixed up mulatto population was called creeds of color, African creed or black creed (Carl Brasseaux, Keith Fontenot, Claude Oubre pp 40-81). The Cajun have to date retained their unique dialect from the French language and assortment of other cultural characteristics that usually distinguish them from other ethnic group – unlike what its popularly believed by the Cajun communities, Cajuns did not solely descend from the Acadian exile but also descended from other numerous groups after intermarriage over several generations: the intermarriages with the Germans, Spanish, Native Americans, French creed and the Metis. The French creeds who were settled in the rural areas were absorbed by the Cajun have a very pure French dialect despite the influences from the Acadians. Unlike the French creoles, the Cajuns ancestors are not French origin but of Hispanic, German, Canary Islanders and Filipino settlers as a result of intermarriages The geographical location of the Cajun has a strong relation to the lifestyle of the Cajun people. Those who settle at Atchafalaya Basin, a long the Westland’s and Bayous adapted a water based lifestyle. This water based lifestyle included their economic life of trapping, hunting and fishing, the Cajuns who settled southwest Louisiana prairies adapted a land-based lifestyle, that included farming sugar cane and rice, cattle rearing among other agricultural practices. Many creoles and Cajuns migrated and settled part Arthur and Beaumont seeking oil related jobs since oil drilling become a major economic activity in the 19970 – 1980. The Cajun music originated from French speaking people that were Catholics of Canada. Fiddle was the most dominant instrument in the earlier years but with time, the Acadian has also become popular, Jazz is a popular music of the Blade Creole that has been popularized in the 20th century. Both the Cajuns and the Creole sing the zydeco music, but initially it was only sang in the Cajun French, but the blade creoles added some linguistic elements to the zydeco music. Nowadays, the zydeco music is sung in Cajun French or English and a few done in black Creole. The zydeco is closely related to American blues, Cajun music jazz and the swamp music and the most common zydeco music instrument is the frottoir just like the Catholic Church but nowadays they have joined other religious sects. The culture of these two ethnic groups was deep rooted in their community catholic and cuisine, they observed many catholic practices like the lent, holy week and the merdi gras (fat Tuesday). The Creole identity has been ignored since late 1960 by both the non creoles and creoles themselves after the emergence of the Cajun pride and the Louisiana French development council conception. Since then you can travel to New Orleans, the original birth place of creoles languages and identity of the west of Mississippi river where creoles families reside and find them referring themselves as Cajuns. Cajuns movements have divided Louisiana into Cajun French Creole and black Creole, but it’s however noted that Cajun initially referred to a separate subset of the Louisiana francophone. The colonial French and the Louisiana French are no longer fluently spoken by most creoles and this had catalyzed the neglecting of the Creole people. The creoles identify is a race versus culture but not recognized nowadays. The creoles of Louisiana are recognized people having the following mixes, Spanish, French, Africans and American ancestry and Creole is accepted as a big culture group that share Spanish and French ancestry (Ira Berlin PP 290-325). The cuisine is a unique cooking style that originated from new Orleans and adapted by both the creoles and the Cajun but its greatly influenced by the Americans, French Caribbean and the African Gumbo is traditionally a Creole dish which is of the features of the cuisine, other features of the cuisine include the jambalaya all these dishes are commonly prepared by both the creoles and the Cajuns. Despite efforts to have one national language in Louisiana, the francophone Louisianans have pressured the need to maintain their language. This led to the Cajun movement that pioneered the establishment of the council for development for the French in Louisiana. This council initially was advocating for the use of standard French in Louisiana but the pressure and protests by the Creole community and the Cajun community has forced the adoption of all varieties of French that includes the creoles and the Cajuns in Louisiana. This has had good fruits since it seen as a way of incorporating Francophone Louisiana with the other francophone world. Although the Cajuns were discriminated in the earlier times, the French Revival Movement has convinced the Cajuns to be proud of them selves, further more, the Cajun French is being taught in the public schools. Due to social factors that have led to the creoles French loosing their identity, the Cajun French has become more politically powerful than the Creole French currently. The Cajun French are becoming more dominant as the Creole French become extinct. Currently it’s only the black Creole who identifies themselves as the Creole people and there are very few Creole speaking people below the age of six years. As the Louisiana Creole are languishing, three movements, the Un Cajun Committee, the southern heritage supporting creoles and the C. R. E. O. L. E INC. these movement have accused the French movement with the intention of making the Creole extinct and there the few Creole have identified themselves with a unique culture meant to be preserved. Initially it’s the French Cajuns who were marginalized but today it’s the opposite as it’s the French Creole who are faced with the problem of racial and linguistic marginalization. REFERENCES Ira Berlin (2000) Many Thousands Gone, Harvard University Press, Harvard Carl Brasseaux, Keith Fontenot, Claude Oubre (1996) Creoles of color in the Bayou Country, University of Mississippi press, Mississippi Shane K. Bernard (2003) the Cajuns, University of Mississippi press, Mississippi

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Using the WileyPlus resources, go to the Interactive Case Study â€Å"Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success† example located in Chapter 3. To access the entire textbook, use the WileyPLUS Read, Study & Practice link located in the Student Center. Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you: 1. Determine how Five Guys’ philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains. 2. Analyze the original values for the start-up company and how it remains strong today. . Enumerate three (3) factors that contributed to Five Guys’ success in such a short time and what effect, if any, external markets had on these factors. 4. Assess how ethical and social practices are part of the Five Guys’ culture and provide examples to support your choices. 5. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. †¢Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Examine the private enterprise systems, drivers of change on the system, ethical and social responsibilities of business, and the requirements for success in today’s business environment. †¢Analyze the factors that drive supply and demand, different types of market structures in a free enterprise system, and factors of stability in a nation’s economy. †¢Use technology and information resources to research issues in contemporary business. †¢Write clearly and concisely about contemporary business using proper writing mechanics. Entrepreneurial Leadership Using the WileyPlus resources, go to the Interactive Case Study â€Å"Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Ingredients for Success† example located in Chapter 3. To access the entire textbook, use the WileyPLUS Read, Study & Practice link located in the Student Center. Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you: 1. Determine how Five Guys’ philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains. 2. Analyze the original values for the start-up company and how it remains strong today. . Enumerate three (3) factors that contributed to Five Guys’ success in such a short time and what effect, if any, external markets had on these factors. 4. Assess how ethical and social practices are part of the Five Guys’ culture and provide examples to support your choices. 5. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. †¢Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Examine the private enterprise systems, drivers of change on the system, ethical and social responsibilities of business, and the requirements for success in today’s business environment. †¢Analyze the factors that drive supply and demand, different types of market structures in a free enterprise system, and factors of stability in a nation’s economy. †¢Use technology and information resources to research issues in contemporary business. †¢Write clearly and concisely about contemporary business using proper writing mechanics.

The USA is Politically Exceptional essays

The USA is Politically Exceptional essays "Though often regarded as the leading liberal Democracy in the world, the USA is in fact politically ' exceptional' from other countries." Christian democracy, free democracy and liberal democracy are all terms, which have been used by George W bush to highlight the values, which the United States, and its allies are determined to protect. Since September 11th our democratic rights have been championed by the US as the lynchpin of our civil societies. Describing the US as the leading liberal democracy in the world is to say that it leads Britain, France and Germanyas the other liberal democracies of note. So what common features unite these systems under the banner of liberal democracy? " Liberal democratic states are characterised by constitutional government, a system of checks and balances among major institutions, fair and regular elections, a democratic franchise, a competitive party system, the protection of individual rights and civil liberties and so forth."[ii] It is not universally accepted that the USis a liberal democracy, "Libertyand democracy have been persistent influences over the course of American history and politics, but they are always in dynamic tension with each other."[iii] However if we accept the criteria laid out by Heywood then the US and the leading European nations are indeed liberal democracies, so what marks the US out as the leader? It is not in a political dimension that the USleads the field but in economics. As is often said ' If Americasneezes, the whole world catches a cold'. The US leads the world in its foreign policy. It has the most powerful army and the biggest nuclear arsenal to protect the most powerful and biggest economy. Some theorists suppose that isolationism and the intervention in World War 2 has all been a policy of economic protectionism. Whilst any modern terrorist threat cannot be understated, many observers have misgivings over the direction of USforeign Policy. Cli...

How to Avoid Biting Mites (Chiggers)

How to Avoid Biting Mites (Chiggers) Just the mention of chiggers is enough to make any outdoors-loving person tremble in fear. These tiny bugs can be difficult to see when theyre on you, but once youve suffered chigger bites, youll never forget them. Chigger bites are so itchy, they make grown men cry. So what are chiggers, and where do they live? Chiggers Are the Larvae of Mites Chiggers are nothing more than young mites, specifically the parasitic larvae of mites in the genus Trombicula. Mites belong to the class Arachnida, along with ticks and spiders. Like other arachnids, chigger mites go through four developmental stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Nymphs and adults have four pairs of legs, while the larvae have just three pairs. Unfortunately for us, three pairs of legs are all they need to catch us and make our lives miserable. The Chigger Life Cycle Its important to know that adult mites and nymphs dont bother people at all. They feed on small organisms (including insects) they find on decaying plant matter, as well as on insect eggs. Ecologically speaking, they can be considered beneficial organisms for their role feeding on other potential pests. Adult chigger mites spend the winter in the soil, under leaf litter, or in other protected places. When soil temperatures warm up in the spring, the females deposit eggs on vegetation, most often in areas where its slightly damp and the vegetation is thick. When the eggs hatch, the trouble begins. Hungry larvae crawl up the vegetation and wait for unsuspecting hosts – people, pets, or other wildlife – to wander past. Should you brush against chigger-infested vegetation, or worse, sit down to rest in shady grass full of chiggers, the tiny bugs will immediately crawl up your body, looking for a place to hide. Because chiggers measure just 1⠁„150 inch in diameter, theyre so tiny, you are unlikely to see or feel them. Backpackers, beware! If you drop your pack on the ground during a rest break, check it for chiggers before putting it back on.   Why and Where Chiggers Bite Chiggers like to settle under tight-fitting clothing, so theyll often wind up in your socks or waistband. Other favorite chigger feasting spots include the backs of your knees, your armpits, or your crotch. Once the chiggers find a good location on your body, they pierce your skin with their mouthparts and inject you with a digestive enzyme that breaks down your body tissues. Chiggers then feed on your liquefied tissues. They dont suck your blood, like mosquitoes or ticks. The chigger  remains attached to its host for several days, feeding on dissolved tissues. Once it has an adequate meal, it detaches and drops to the ground, where it continues its development into a nymph. For most people, however, the intense itching caused by the chigger bite leads to equally intense scratching, and the chigger is dislodged by frantic fingers before finishing its meal.   Avoiding Chigger Bites If youve never experienced chigger bites, consider yourself lucky and take every precaution to avoid them. To avoid chigger bites, follow three basic rules: Dress appropriately and use effective repellents when youre likely to be in potential chigger habitat.Avoid walking through chigger habitat whenever possible, and eliminate places where chiggers can breed from your property.Wash your clothing and take a shower immediately after outdoor activities where you might have encountered chiggers.

Examples of Persuasive Essays

Examples of Persuasive Essays Examples of Persuasive Essays Examples of Persuasive Essays Persuasive essay writing is one of the common college works. You must remember that essay writing consists of introduction, main text and conclusion. The structure of the main body depends on what the argumentative persuasive essay topics are asking you to do. In the case of a discussion type essay, the main body should be divided into two parts: one looking at the advantages of the topic and the other looking at the disadvantages. A plan for the first example might look like this: Topic:   Academic qualifications are of little practical benefit in the real world. Essay Introduction: variety of different qualifications; different methods of assessment. Benefits: international standards for professions, e.g. doctors; students have chance to study latest theories; qualifications lead to better salaries and promotion. Drawbacks: many successful people don't have qualifications; many qualified people don't have jobs. Essay Conclusion: qualifications are useful but are not the guarantees of success. Writing Persuasive Essay Effective note-making is a key persuasive essay writing skill with a number of practical uses. Good note-making techniques lead to accurate essays. Although you are the only person who will read your notes, clarity and organization are still very important. Pay attention to headings, listings, abbreviations ('N/S') and symbols. You need to develop your own style for note-making, as you will have to read your notes later. Do not abbreviate too much or you may find the notes impossible to understand in the future. Writing an Essay Paraphrasing involves changing a text of your English essays writing.   This skill is useful in academic essays writing. Effective paraphrasing is vital for college essays writing as it helps to avoid the risk of plagiarizing. Although paraphrasing techniques are used for summary writing, paraphrasing does not aim to shorten the length of a text. For example: Evidence of a lost civilization has been found on the coast of China. Could be paraphrased as:  Remains of an ancient society have been discovered near the coastal China. .com If persuasive essay writing is a challenging task for you, you are welcome to order custom persuasive essay writing help at our site.   We guarantee timely delivery and grant you the right to request unlimited number of revisions.   We offer the best prices!

Andrew Jacksons Invasion of Florida Research Paper

Andrew Jacksons Invasion of Florida - Research Paper Example He was selected the major general in 1812 in the volunteer corps. In October 1813, after the uprising of Creek Indians, Andrew Jackson led a troop of two thousand five hundred Tennessee forces who fought against the Creek Indians. During the invasion, they were able to triumph over one thousand Indian warriors. In the same year and month, Andrew Jackson invaded Florida and managed to capture Pensacola. He also managed to conquer the west and north of New Orleans where he took the city’s defense. After signing of the Ghent treaty in January 8, 1815, Andrew Jackson and his troops won over the British regulators who had invaded New Orleans making Andrew Jackson a hero. In 1817, President Monroe directed Jackson to make efforts and stop the attacking of Georgia settlers by Seminole Indians. Nevertheless, he was ordered not to invade Florida. He was only allowed to do that if he were in pursuit of the enemy (Seminoles). On the contrary, Jackson disobeyed the order and invaded Flori da. The purpose of the paper is to analyze Andrew Jackson’s invasion of Florida. Andrew Jackson’s Invasion of Florida During early 19th century, the United States of America grew rapidly and covered the lower south part of the continent. This was known to be the home of Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee, Seminole and Chicasaw nations. The white Americans viewed these Indian nations as obstacle in the progress of the country. Determined to acquire land and grow cotton, the federal government was pressured by the white settlers to acquire the territory of the Indian. From Tennessee, Andrew Jackson proposed the removal of Indians. In 1814, the USA military forces were commanded by Andrew Jackson and were able to defeat a section of the Creek nation. As a result of the group defeat, the federal government was able to acquire land in central Alabama and southern Georgia. In 1818, the United States was able to acquire more land, engineered by the motive to discipline the Seminoles for accommodating the fugitive slaves. As a result, Spanish Florida was invaded by Jackson’s troops. Jackson was influential in the negotiation of the nine treaties out of the available eleven between 1814 and 1824. The treaties were significant in negotiating between the eastern tribes and the government. The tribe was required to exchange its eastern lands with those in the west. The tribes agreed but under some conditions. For instance, they aimed at shielding themselves from the harassment of the white settlers and also appeasing the government with the hopes of retaining part of their land. The United States of America was able to acquire and gain control over three quarters of the land in Florida and Alabama as a result of the treaties. In addition to that, they controlled land in Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia. This was a time that a few Creeks, Choctaws and Cherokees decided to migrate voluntarily to their new land2. According to Andrew Jackson, the United States of America needed Florida for their economic prosperity. The United States of America was unbalanced due to Indian a nd Spanish occupation of Florida. As he (Andrew Jackson) further observed, the United States of America economy relied on Florida and other nearby states. Jackson blamed the Spaniards and Indians in Florida for channeling resources to their mother country. Huge portions of land were occupied and owned by Spaniards and Indians there. The Americans residing in Florida served as informal workers in the Indian and Spanish farms. Due to his nationalistic characteristic, Jackson had to use power to eliminate the Indians and Spaniards from

Meaning of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Meaning of Life - Essay Example Besides these tortures, he encountered constant threats of being thrown into the gas ovens probably because of his physical appearance. However, in spite of the experiences he faced in the three camps that he served, he emerged as a visionary person. His reason for being optimistic was that human beings hold the freedom of choosing the manner in which they view the circumstances they undergo on a daily basis. Therefore, they create meaning from such circumstances. Frankl outlined three experiences that the prisoners went through after their arrival at the concentration camps, during their stay there and after they were freed from the camps. After realizing where they had been taken to and the reason for their transfer, the first experience that the prisoners felt was the shock. Later, the shock would be replaced by a second experience. The experience would be the phase of psychological reaction as well as apathy. These were the necessary methods that the prisoners would use to cope with the abuse that they received from their supervisors. During this stage, the fear of death was no longer the prisoners’ concern. On the contrary, the part that was most painful was the insults that they received. The prisoners would be given uniforms that were more of rags (Frankl, 7-26). Also, they would be issued with shoes most of which did not fit them. Those who had reported with better shoes had no choice but to give them to the SS guards or risk s evere punishments. At a time, the prisoners were forced to walk bare footed on the snow since their shoes had been worn out. The author describes a twelve-year-old boy who he saw being taken to the sickbay. The boy had been forced to stand attention on the snow bear footed for hours because there were no shoes for him at the camp. The results were that the boy’s toes got some frostbites. Frankl writes that there was a frequent

Not enough though has been given in any European code to the way Essay

Not enough though has been given in any European code to the way contracts might or should be classified Do you agree - Essay Example Main land Europe is looking to create a common civil legal framework which will be developed in a number of steps. This common legal framework is currently being heralded as the European Civil Code and would require coordinated efforts over a number of decades for effective implementation3. The first step has been termed as the PECL4 and is aimed at unifying the contract law prevalent throughout Europe. Success of the PECL and its precedents will determine if it is possible at this stage to develop a common legal framework for the European continent. This could have even wider implications for the global harmonisation attempt given that the obstacles encountered in PECL would be encountered similarly elsewhere too. Importance of the PECL is enhanced by the fact that the European community is looking to create the Common Frame of Reference based on the learning from the PECL5. At this point in time the PECL is not an instrument that has been recognised by governments around Europe. In stead the PECL is more or less a document drafted by academics to serve as a standard reference when hard-core moves to harmonisation are attempted. The PECL is a broad attempt to create a set of â€Å"general rules† which are flexible enough to accommodate future developments and to provide a framework for contract law6. Here due consideration must be provided to the fact that contract law is the first thing that is being attempted in terms of a common legal framework for a number of reasons. Contract law is highly important when it comes to cross border trade. The significant differences between national contract laws make trade beyond borders costly, time consuming and often legally complex. Furthermore, a number of companies are dissuaded from trading in neighbouring nations because of complex trading instruments and their legal ramifications. This in turn promotes domestic trade at the expense of transnational trade which is not beneficial for the commercial interests of the European Union. Europe is currently looking to develop something close to the Lex Mercatoria so that trading and commercial transactions of all kinds are simple all across Europe7. In order to facilitate trading all over Europe with the same legal principles it was necessary to create a common legal framework. The PECL is the resulting legal framework which has emerged from these efforts. In addition there is another reason behind the PECL’s importance. As mentioned before, the PECL will serve as the basis for the future of the Common Frame of Reference so this enhances the important of the PECL even more. Here it must also be mentioned that the success of the PECL and the Common Frame of Reference are critical to the future of harmonisation attempts in Europe. Hence, careful consideration is mandatory in order to provide a framework that is successful and tends to provide solutions that are holistic. Any such framework would need to be carefully thought out. As mentione d before, there is no question of implementation as yet because these harmonised frameworks are merely guidance based as yet and are not strictly enforceable as yet. Drafting a standard set of principles for guidance over the domain of contracts may not be as simple or straightforward as it may seem. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to creating a common contractual framework is coming to

Artificial neural network Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Artificial neural network - Research Paper Example In addition, they are very helpful for solving those problems which are difficult to resolve through customary techniques, as well as often a lot of them have been tackled through neural networks, for example analysis of seismic signals, forecasting grassland community or solar radiation, control of chaotic dynamical systems, data and air quality control and categorization of remotely sensed information (Benvenuto & Marani, 2000), (Giles, 1998) and (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). This paper outlines the application of neural network to solving environmental problems. One of the major environmental difficulties and challenges that require using well-organized software tools is the forecast issues. These forecasting issues include meteorological forecast, water, soil, air, flood prediction, pollution forecast and many more. In the past, numerous techniques based on the artificial intelligence have been designed and implemented by taking into account that they are able to present additional in formed techniques that utilize domain specific information as well as offer solutions faster than the customary techniques those are based on mathematical techniques (Oprea & Matei, 2010).

Research crique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research crique - Essay Example The authors used a specific model so that they could gain a concrete idea of what teams looked like and how they were executed in the hospitals. Problem Statement Clinical and Research Problem Nursing teamwork has become increasingly important in hospitals because they are on the first line of assistance to patients. The need for nurses working together was seen in many areas of the hospital. For example, the authors state that most studies were done with surgical and emergency room nurses, but research on teams has not been seen with acute care facilities. The authors felt that there needed to be a specific understanding of teamwork so that nurses would be encouraged to work together because teamwork is critical to patient safety. The authors point out that hospitals still are unsure of what teamwork in nursing should look like and how it should be executed. The authors state that, â€Å"Lack of clarity about the teamwork processes underlying nursing teamwork hinders the developmen t of targeted, effective quality enhancement and patient safety initiatives† (p. 298). If teamwork is understood and there is a model that can be used to help hospitals be more effective, patient care will be enhanced, according to this study. The gap in the knowledge is that the research before this study has concentrated on surgical and emergency teams for teamwork; this study fills the gap for study of acute care. Significance of the Study The significance of this study lies in patient care initiatives. Kalisch et al. (2009) state that nurses who work totally on their own are prone to make errors with patients. As an example, nurses who work 12.5-hour shifts are prone to make at least 5% of their regular shifts and nurses working 8-12 hours often make 2% errors on their shifts. They also state that 70% of sentinel events happen because of miscommunication between staff members. The authors substantiate the significance of the study by providing these statistics and the read er finds that this is a very important aspect of any hospital. It seems that teamwork strengthens patient care. Purpose and Research Questions The purpose of this study was to measure teamwork effectiveness through the use of focus groups and the Salas conceptual framework of teamwork. The used this framework because it offered a behavioral component that they felt hospital personal could understand. The researchers do not state a specific aim but this was the major thrust of their work. There were no specific questions asked, but it seemed that, What constitutes a team? Was the question they were attempting to answer. They actually asked this question and then provided different studies that described how other researchers defined teamwork. The research question was definitely related the problem because the authors are defining teams. I think that the qualitative method was appropriate to this study because teams begin with people understanding what a team is and whether it is eff ective or not. It would seem that this question would need to be answered by talking to people about their experiences. Literature Review The authors used qualitative and quantitative studies, books, and government reports (Joint Commission). The references that were used spanned between the years 1994 and 2009. Most of them were between 1994 and 2002. I would not think that this was accurate information since most of the references were older than five years. The

Reflection paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection paper - Article Example The documentary also identifies the marketing effects of politics, it discusses how the politicians utilize the marketing perspectives to be elected and stay in their offices. Information in the documentary is presented in a manner that indicates all the aspects of marketing. Douglass Rushcoff , the correspondent is unbiased on the factors he attributes on marketing. He talks of issues that concern the relation between marketers and consumers. He also mentions that consumers tend to be trapped in marketing and they are usually confused by the diversity in advertisement. The film indicates that the type of advertisement that has occupied the marketing world and how they are convincing to individuals. The aspect of marketing in politics is legit and common in various parts of the world. Politicians have been note to manipulate the image they want the society to view so that they can secure their offices and maintain their

Research crique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research crique - Essay Example The authors used a specific model so that they could gain a concrete idea of what teams looked like and how they were executed in the hospitals. Problem Statement Clinical and Research Problem Nursing teamwork has become increasingly important in hospitals because they are on the first line of assistance to patients. The need for nurses working together was seen in many areas of the hospital. For example, the authors state that most studies were done with surgical and emergency room nurses, but research on teams has not been seen with acute care facilities. The authors felt that there needed to be a specific understanding of teamwork so that nurses would be encouraged to work together because teamwork is critical to patient safety. The authors point out that hospitals still are unsure of what teamwork in nursing should look like and how it should be executed. The authors state that, â€Å"Lack of clarity about the teamwork processes underlying nursing teamwork hinders the developmen t of targeted, effective quality enhancement and patient safety initiatives† (p. 298). If teamwork is understood and there is a model that can be used to help hospitals be more effective, patient care will be enhanced, according to this study. The gap in the knowledge is that the research before this study has concentrated on surgical and emergency teams for teamwork; this study fills the gap for study of acute care. Significance of the Study The significance of this study lies in patient care initiatives. Kalisch et al. (2009) state that nurses who work totally on their own are prone to make errors with patients. As an example, nurses who work 12.5-hour shifts are prone to make at least 5% of their regular shifts and nurses working 8-12 hours often make 2% errors on their shifts. They also state that 70% of sentinel events happen because of miscommunication between staff members. The authors substantiate the significance of the study by providing these statistics and the read er finds that this is a very important aspect of any hospital. It seems that teamwork strengthens patient care. Purpose and Research Questions The purpose of this study was to measure teamwork effectiveness through the use of focus groups and the Salas conceptual framework of teamwork. The used this framework because it offered a behavioral component that they felt hospital personal could understand. The researchers do not state a specific aim but this was the major thrust of their work. There were no specific questions asked, but it seemed that, What constitutes a team? Was the question they were attempting to answer. They actually asked this question and then provided different studies that described how other researchers defined teamwork. The research question was definitely related the problem because the authors are defining teams. I think that the qualitative method was appropriate to this study because teams begin with people understanding what a team is and whether it is eff ective or not. It would seem that this question would need to be answered by talking to people about their experiences. Literature Review The authors used qualitative and quantitative studies, books, and government reports (Joint Commission). The references that were used spanned between the years 1994 and 2009. Most of them were between 1994 and 2002. I would not think that this was accurate information since most of the references were older than five years. The

Propaganda, P.R., and the News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Propaganda, P.R., and the News - Essay Example It will also explain the propaganda techniques used by the U.S government in post war 1 and discuss why some techniques were too arrogant towards government’s action. The First World War popularized the word propaganda and provided it with a negative implication; since all the key nations participated in the war used new approaches of modern propaganda to organize their populations for the conflict. In the US, the effort was chaired by President Woodrow Wilson in the development of the CPI (Committee on Public Information) as a key propaganda ministry. The major theme of the Committee on Public Information was to improve the United States involvement into the war with the aim of establishing a world which is secure for democracy. This notion was particularly established by the leading scholar of the period, Walter Lippmann, who was 25 years old by then. Lippmann was interested majorly with the upholding of the nation’s capitalist system in the face of increased resistan ce, ideological opposition, and unrest, feeling that the field of science would require being employed to democracy, where social scientist and social engineers would give the current with a background upon which a latest stability might be achieved. Because of this, Lippmann proposed the need for information and intelligence control in what he referred the development of consent. The major intellectual of the period then became mainly concerned with the matter of propaganda during time of peace, having experienced its success during war. According to Lippmann, propaganda has desirable and legitimate role to play in the democratic system. He further noted that public was a confused herd of meddlesome and ignorant outsiders, who must be maintained as interested spectators of activities, and separated from the actors and the powerful themselves. Edward Bernays, the founder of public relations got his beginning with Wilson’s Committee on Public Information during the First World War, asserted that the intelligent and conscious manipulation of the organized opinions and habits of the masses is a crucial element in the democratic society. According to him, those who control this unseen approach of society form an imperceptible government that is the true proper ruling power of the nation. Bernays pointed out that modern society was conquered by few number of individual who understand the social patterns and mental processes of the masses. This was consistent with the Lippmann assertion of a sequential result of the manner in which the current democratic society s arranged. Hence Barneys borrowed from Lippmann the concept of engineering of consent. According to Lippmann, influencing nations thinking with propaganda is not an easy task; it takes a higher ability concerning how public opinion works and how such opinions can be made to unite beliefs. Therefore, the political leaders should use the propanda techniques to achieve their political desires the same w ay American did. During the First World War, the CPI (Communication on Public Opinion) attained this through making planned emotional appeals, demonizing Germany by connecting the warfare to the aims of different social groups and through lying outright. The CPI propaganda naturally appeals to the heart but not mind. Emotional protest is a preferred technique of propagandist, since every emotion

The Importance of Working Capital Management

The Importance of Working Capital Management Working capital management defines the management in the short term of the relationship between a companys current assets and liabilities. The most common elements of working capital will include inventory, receivables and payables which represent the operating working capital (OWC) held by a company usually within a year. Fig.1 below shows the interaction between these elements of OWC. The goal of OWC management is to ensure that a company has enough cash flow, measure in terms of liquidity, to satisfy its short term debts and continue to support its day to day operations. Most articles and books discuss the significance of OWC in terms of obtaining an optimal balance between inventory, receivables and payables, McLaney E. and Atrill P., Accounting: An Introduction (Prentice Hall, 2008). Abraham et al., Accounting for Managers, (Cengage, 2008) further expatiates on this critical importance and state that most organisations invest between 25 40% of their net assets on OWC which represents a major short term investment. However, these books present a generic methodology to OWC and do not consider a firms unique nature, industries or size. Furthermore, this significance of working capital will depend on its size and composition and will vary between industries such as Rolls Royce Plc a manufacturing company will place particular attention to its high inventory levels and payables unlike British Airways Plc a service provider with no inventory. Thomas M. Krueger, An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries, American Journal of Business, 2005, vol 20 presented a research based on the annual ratings of working capital management across industries published in CFO magazine. The result indicated that there was a consistency in working capital measures within industries but the working capital measures were are not static over time. In an online article Philip McCoster (2003), Accountancy: The Importance of Working Capital, (http://www.accountancy.com.pk/articles_students.asp?id=77).[Online].(Accessed 28/03/11) agrees with this dynamic nature of working capital and highlights this importance in more subtle way that most organisations are profitable on paper but are forced to cease trading because they cannot meet short term debts. According to him, small businesses in particular are prone to fail especially during start up bec ause they ignore the importance of working capital problems. Generally the importance of working capital is indisputable and whether its elements are managed as a whole or individual, its management is still important in order for an organisation to effectively manage its cash flow to continue operation. But while this is most said in papers, it seems rather paradixocal that in reality the importance OWC is ignore and most companies find themselves at the point of bankruptcy as was the case in the winning margin game. As a production manager in the Winning Margin game, I realised that the decisions I made especially in forecasting and managing machines output was very critical to the overall amount of finished goods inventory needed to achieve a positive OWC. This was clearly depicted in year two when two critical decisions; Forecasted a total production output of 11 costing $40 (appendix: Production and Sales Plans For The Year Ahead). Purchase of two additional Mark II machines (See appendix: Balance Sheet) This resulted to an increase in the amount of inventory to contracted amount although some inventory was tied up in Work in Progress and Finished goods leading to a drop in operating working capital (Year 2 Cash Flow Statement). Furthermore, the cash spent on new machines also led to a drop in the operating cash flow of the business. Therefore, in real life the production manager role is strategic and has a big impact on working capital and the overall business objective but his/her decisions can only be as effective when taken in collaboration with other departmental heads. 2.2 BUDGETING McLaney E and Atrill P., Accounting: An Introduction (Prentice Hall, 2008) defined a budget as a short term financial plan prepared by a business as an integral part of its strategic plan framework. A budget is use by managers to examine and compare between the actual to what was planned in a process known as the budget control. By using this technique, Group E benefited from the budgetary process in many ways: Forward thinking and identification of short-term problems: During the planning process of year 2, we realised that we had to budget for additional machine as well as additional loans. Doing this in good time gave us time to consider alternatives and chose the best course of action to take. Improved co-ordination: Doing planning each year meant we had to co-ordinate with each other. This was crucially beneficial because it improved visibility and decisions making as all activities were linked together. For example, decisions on production depended on sales estimates, raw material availability and funding to finance it. It provided a system of Control: At the beginning of each year, we had to compare year 1 and 2 performance and established areas of concerned. This provided a system of control and better planning for year 3. It created a system of authorisation: By deciding on a master plan of action for each year, this helped set expenditure limits especially as I, the production manager, wanted to increase amount of machine purchased in year 2 but was restricted. The budget motivated us to perform better: By establishing responsibilities to each member of the group, was beneficial to the whole team as each members felt they had contributed to the overall business objectives. Hence improving the teams spirit to perform. 2.3 Absorption Costing Absorption costing is a method of calculating the full output cost by charging direct costs with a fair share of indirect costs. The essence of absorption costing is to make costing simpler and easier so that management can make informed decisions. In the Winning Margin game, the use of this technique was beneficial to our group in several ways: Helpful in making output decisions: Absorption costing technique made calculating planned sales easier and as a team we were able to make informed decisions on production and cash flow. Exercising control decision: absorption costing is often used as a basis of budgeting and budget control. Therefore, it was beneficial to the team as it formed the basis of our budget and we were able to exercise control over our budget and plans Furthermore, the technique was particular useful to achieve efficiency since we were able to make decisions that compares alternative costs of doing similar things. For example we compared the costs of buying a Marked II or Mark III machine in year 2 as well as deciding between the various types of product to produce. In addition to this, absorption costing technique was significant as we were able to assess our teams performance. Its use made calculating yearly production cost, sales, profit and other financial data easier. This made facilitated the process of assessing our business and team performance for any given year. Although widely practiced, in real life the use of absorption costing technique will not be as simplistic as in the game. Moreover, the technique has been criticised for its use of past costs which are considered irrelevant in the decision making process as decisions need to reflect the future not the past. Other costing techniques such as variable costing are recommended. (Words 300)

The Role of Nature Essay -- Nature Poetry Poet natural Essays

The Role of Nature Introduction Considering the history of literature, the conception of Nature seems to be a quite complex question. 'Nature' is not a concept that can be grasped easily and it often requires discussing some great philosophical conceptions like 'Pantheism' or 'Deism'. However, my paper will not deal in detail with such vast enquiries. I rather want to focus more accurately on how 'Nature' is used by Pope and Coleridge, respectively. With other words, I would like to analyse the function of the concept of 'Nature'. The fact is, that even if these poets do not exhaustively characterise ‘Nature’ itself, they employ it in a lot of different analogies and metaphors to articulate and embody for example ideas about 'morality' (Pope) or the intimate 'self' (Coleridge). My argument would be to show that in both cases, nature has a sort of epistemological function. The apprehension of nature, its perception or its examination leads to knowledge of something that is not directly obvious; one can name it God or the divine. Thus, to mention of nature is a kind of disclosure that guides us to be aware of some reality that is meta-physical. As a matter of fact, the ways Nature is described by Pope and by Coleridge are very different: Pope uses a sort of analogical technique, whereas Coleridge exploits the more suggestive power of metaphors. That point shows that, even though Nature has the same overall function, that is reveal something that is beyond the mere material world, the way it can and should be perceived is not the same. I would like to argue that Coleridge considers a sort of intuitive faculty, whereas Pope thinks that a reasonable examination of Nature unveils the divine order of the universe. The present analysis will spotlight Pope’s Essay On Man and Coleridge’s Rime of an Ancient Mariner. First, I want to show that Coleridge and Pope advocate a pantheistic and a deistic conception of Nature, respectively. This should be the general framework through which I will try to show some other differences. Then, in a second time, the use of a concept like â€Å"reason† will be analysed in regard to Pope’s Essay on Man. This step shows that even if Pope is a writer of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, he deeply condemns the arrogance that results of a pretentious use of reason. In fact, reason should therefore be seen as an important but... ...enis. S.T. Coleridge. Poà ¨me de l’expà ©rience vive. Grenoble: Ellug, 1992. Boulger, James D. ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Englewood Cliffs: Prenctice-Hall, 1969. Crawford, Walter B. ed. Reading Coleridge. Approaches And Applications. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979. Cutting-Gray, Joanne, SwearigenN, James E., â€Å"System, the Divided Mind, and the Essay on Man.† Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 32, No. 3, Restoration and Eighteenth Century. (Summer, 1992), p. 481. Fairer, David. The Poetry of Alexander Pope. London: Penguin Books, 1989. Fraser, George S. Alexander Pope. London: Routledge, 1978. Hill, John S. ed. A Coleridge Companion, London: Macmillan Press, 1983. Laird, John, â€Å"Pope’s Essay on Man.† The Review of English Studies, Vol. 20, No. 80. (Oct., 1944), p. 290. McFarland, Thomas. Coleridge and The Pantheist Tradition. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. Nuttall, A. D. Pope’s ‘Essay on Man’. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1984. Tillotson, Geoffrey. Pope And Human Nature. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Woodring, Carl. "Nature and Art in the Nineteenth Century." PMLA 92, no. 2 (1977): p. 193.

Immigration of the Lao Iu Mein :: Laos Thailand

Immigration of the Lao Iu Mein I thought it would be an interesting idea to enlighten and inform people about the Lao Iu Mein and our process of immigrating to the U.S. as well as the challenges we have to overcome. I interviewed my parents, Lao Iu Mein refugees who immigrated to the United States from Thailand. Through this interview, I had a chance to hear for the first time the story of my parents' struggles and experiences as they journeyed to a place where they became "aliens" and how that place is now the place they call "home." During the 1960s and 70s, Laos became engulfed in the Vietnam War. The U.S. government also got involved by supporting the anti-Communist forces and getting the tribes in Laos to help them. The Iu Mein, as well as other minority tribes, provided the U.S. with armed manpower, intelligence, and surveillance. In 1975, the community forces rose in victory as the Iu Mein people began to escape to their homeland. My father said that the reason my family, as well as most of the Iu Mein in Laos, ran away was because they didn't want to be under the new Pathet Lao government. Escaping was not easy to accomplish. Many of my parents' friends who were caught trying to escape were taken to prisons, tortured, and most of them were killed. My parents were terrified of the Vietnamese soldiers and prayed that nothing would happen to them, their brothers, sisters, parents, and their son (my brother) who was 8 years old at the time. They had to flee during the night, pass through the jungles an d onto boats traveling across the Mekong River. When they reached Thailand, my parents and those who escaped with them were taken to refugee camps. The camps were fenced with barbed wire and guarded by armed Thai soldiers. The refugees were given a curfew that only allowed them to stay out before 10 pm. If they were caught disobeying curfew, they would be beaten and taken to jail. The camps received food and supplies that were provided by the United Nations Organization. My parents said that in the camps, their lives were still hard although they felt safer. My mother said that the one thing they worried most about was the fact that they wouldn't continue their farming to grow food, something that had been part of the daily lives before the camp.

Business Project

Mike Wardingley Define the term â€Å"the learning organization. †Ã‚   In what ways can the principles of the learning organization strategically impact an organization? A learning organization is one that: -Seeks to create its own future. -Assumes learning is an ongoing and creative process for its members. -Develops, adapts and transforms itself in response to the needs and aspirations of people, both inside and outside itself. – Allows people at all levels, individually and collectively, to continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about.A company that cares about development and their future will be a learning organization. Wide profit margins are great but a great company will not only worry about the bottom line, but the personal and professional development of their employees as well. An atmosphere of learning and improvement will also help spurn new and improved processes. Google has become a company that allows the employees to c ontinually improve and fosters creative thinking. The work environment is relaxed and the perks allow the employees to be free thinkers.Companies that put effort and money into the development of their employees will see a much bigger return in the end. Tuition assistance, college loan repayment programs, and during work learning opportunities will keep the employees happy as well as constantly developing into more educated and productive workers. Using the Internet, research the Small Business Administration’s website (www. sba. gov). What different types of financing are available to small firms? Besides financing, what other programs are available to support the growth and development of small businesses?The types of financing that are available to new small businesses are: * Loans * Grants * Bonds * Venture Capital In addition to the financing options, the Small Business Administration has set up a large number of other forms of assistance to make sure a new business has all the tools necessary to succeed. There is an online training program that will help an owner with starting, managing, financing, and contracting the new business venture. The Small Business Administration has also developed programs to help other types of new business owners.The Women’s Business Center was set up to help women start and maintain a successful business. The Veteran’s Business Center was created to help US Military veterans start a new fresh start after leaving military service. The US Export Assistance Center was established to help small businesses with the difficult task of beginning new exports to other countries. This difficult process is tough but made much easier with the help of the SBA. The SBA is a free resource that can help you develop a new business plan and then make a move to start your business and set you up for success.Define the term â€Å"emotional intelligence (EI). †Ã‚   What are the key elements of EI? Why is so important to successful strategic leadership? Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the capacity to reason about emotions, and of emotions to enhance thinking. It includes the abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.The four key elements are: 1. Self Awareness 2. Self Management 3. Social Awareness 4. Relationship Management A good manager knows not only who he/she is, but also who each one of their employees is as well. Not just that they have a wife and 2 kids, but knows about what makes them who they are. The likes/dislikes, the personality, the past, and the future goals should be vitally important. This is key to making sure the work center is productive and free of hostility.While opinions will differ, too much dissention and strife can kill not only office camaraderie but production as well. Fosteri ng healthy work relationships can also ensure that office cohesiveness stays on track. While the consequences of unhealthy relationships can be very costly, developing good and healthy relationships with employees can pay off in the end. Knowing each employee on a personal basis can help you better know how to interact with each employee and get the most productivity in return.

Lions Among Us

According to Mr. Edward Henderson, leaders are those people who can guide a work force into a path that leads to success and realization of goals by keeping the members of his work force committed, intact, and highly motivated. Moreover, managers of private clubs are those who extend their duties and responsibilities beyond the long-established and conventional roles of private club managers. They should be able to influence the members of their work force to create a reality out of their visions of success. Furthermore, Henderson has also presented what he calls â€Å"success factors.† These success factors are supposed to be instrumental in making private club managers successful in their field. This valuable piece of information was based on a survey conducted in 1994, which was administered to several managers. They were the ones who were responsible of narrowing down eight valuable factors that influence success. These success factors were also proven true by Henderson himself, as he has put great efforts to observe his colleagues who were private club managers themselves. In addition to the main success factors that will be discussed in the following statements, people who took the survey also included other factors that are important in success such as a reputable image, flexibility in working with diverse individuals or groups, communication and social skills, just pure luck, exerting effort and working hard, attitude and perspective in life, and continuous learning. Henderson has also noted that there is a strong connection between success factors and the successes of a leader. Although he himself, and all the managers who took the survey, could not argue with the fact that all success factors are significant in accomplishing success in their line of expertise. However still, everything depends on the work attitude and outlook of the manager. In addition, it is dependent on the nature and the background of the business that he is managing. The first success factor mentioned in the monograph is operational knowledge. Operational knowledge received the highest vote as one of the most important success factor. However, overall the most important success factor, it ranked second. It requires knowledge of the ins and outs of business, such as the technical aspect and expertise in handling the club. Expertise and knowledge of the business is achieved over time. Being in the business in such a long period of time is a learning experience for private club managers, especially with their experiences in success and failures in the past. The second success factor is integrity. It was the first most important success factor that was rated by the managers who took the survey. For those managers who took the survey, building a responsible and credible self as a private club manager makes one a true leader. Being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses, distinguishing right from wrong, expressing appreciation and gratitude to one’s constituents, exuding good morals and virtues, and working for the purpose of serving, are just some of the aspects of integrity that makes it a factor in a leader’s way to success. The third success factor is being in the right club where a manager’s personality is suiting. In other words, private club managers must be able to be in position within a club that is fitting or appropriate for their personality and management styles. They attribute this idea with marriage. For them, being a private club manager is like building a relationship or marrying a person. There should be chemistry or the personality, style, beliefs, and attitudes of a manager must be in sync with the needs and nature of the club to succeed. Just as how two people should be in order to have a successful marriage. The fourth success factor is acquiring financial skills. According to the managers who took the survey, being adept with finance and accounting enabled them to gain respect and trust from their colleagues. Needless to say, the finances of an organization are the indicator of its success or its failure. The fifth success factor is intelligence. The challenges and the demands of the private club industry require broad knowledge and skills in order understand the comings and goings within the club and also to understand human behavior and predict outcomes. According to the managers who took the survey, intelligence coupled with the right experiences and skills acquired equals great leadership and success. The sixth success factor is the ability to persuade others. Persuasion or the skill of one person to influence the behavior of a person is very significant in accomplishing success at present. A great leader must be able to persuade or influence others, his subordinates, colleagues, and everyone who he comes to work with, to lean to the direction of success and accomplish the vision of the club. The seventh success factor is authority. Perhaps authority comes with the previous success factor, which is persuasion. The ability to persuade must be coupled with authority that is in order to persuade people, the leader must exude authority and firmness among them. Although there are several issues raised about authority and its limitations, people cannot argue with the fact that authority is very important in dealing with all aspects of the private club industry. However, with authority comes great responsibility and sound judgment. The eighth success factor is social grace. Although several managers regard as least important in achieving success, they could not also deny the fact that being skilled in communication and interacting with other people is important. After reading all the factors that influence success as a private club manager, I have come to understand the qualities and skills that one should possess in order to be a great leader for the club as a whole and his constituents. Although all the success factors and much more, are instrumental in the achievement of great personal and group success in the field of private club management, I feel that the most important of all is intelligence. First, intelligence gets you to the position of a private club manager. As we all know, being intelligent and knowledgeable about the business makes one a potential and a strong candidate for a private club manager position. It is instrumental in getting one started, and intelligence keeps one going in the business. Moreover, intelligence equips you with the capacity to acquire all the other skills that are important in the business such as financial and social skills, being knowledgeable of the operations and processes that go on within the business, and even in the ability to persuade others, intelligence plays a role. Intelligence is also a major factor that spells out authority. For instance, one becomes granted the opportunity to become a private club manager because of one’s knowledge of the business. Through this, one gains support, respect and trust from colleagues, subordinates, board members, and other people one comes in contact with because of one’s ability to be knowledgeable in all aspects of the business, even for example in finance and accounting. Essentially, it drives one to learn more about the developments and changes in the industry making one capable of dealing with future obstacles and challenges. Therefore, one is able to persuade other people into working together as members of the club in order to attain their goals and objectives. Generally speaking, intelligence does not only get you the job, but it also guides you and lets you experience success and gets you out of failure. It lies in all aspects of the eight success factors that are why it is important.

Reading Philosophies Essay

Is the student| |Constructivist |and cultural belief can influence the |along with the teacher a book. |responding or actively participating in class | | |learning along with interactions of other |Teacher will give the student a project on a topic|discussions | | |students in the classroom. and then will present it in front of the class |Mind mapping will have the students list and | | |In a classroom that utilizes the theory of |Have the students watch a clip or a movie and then|categorize new concepts | | |constructivism, there would be: |the teacher will conduct a discussion afterwards |Pre-assessments allows the teacher to know what | | |Vigorous participation |Teacher can take the students on a field trip to |the students know and what topics they will need | | | Small group interactions |relate real world experiences to the concepts |to be taught | | |New concepts shown within context |learned in class |Hands on activities assess how the students can | | |Previous knowledge used to create new | |utilize a particular learning tool | | |knowledge | | | |Questions or activities to lead to new | | | | |concepts | | | | |This theory is based on the teacher defines |Teacher can have the students underline a portion |Assessments though individual work. Is the | |Explicit or Direct |and model the concept, guides the students |of the text on an overhead or on the board to |student completing and doing individual | |Instruction |through application, and creates guided |depict whatever topic is being discussed, like |assignments? | | |practice until there is mastery of the |naming the nouns, proper nouns, prepositions, etc. |Assessment through a test or quiz with an essay | | |concept. Ask the students to check the text on the overhead|writing or proje ct report | | |In this model, the classroom will consists |because you need to prove whatever topic is being |An informal assessment through having the | | |of: |discussed |children do â€Å"thumbs up or thumbs down† | | |Direct instruction of phonemic awareness |Ask the students to read a passage to see if it | | | |Decoding skills |sounds right and makes sense, then ask if there | | | |Rules of language |should be any revisions | | | | |Skill based worksheets, flash cards, or game | | | | |relating to the new concept | | Reading Philosophies It is important to know what type of effective teaching strategies you want to have when you step inside the classroom doors. Although there are many different teaching styles, the two most common philosophies are direct/explicit instruction and constructivist. Choosing either method is a matter of preference and what will work best for the teacher and the students. No matter what, the information that is given to the students must be informative and related to their needs as well as their particular grade level. This essay will discuss both approaches and what method I would like to utilize when I become a teacher. â€Å"Teachers can give students ladders that lead to higher understanding, yet the students themselves must climb these ladders† (Slavin, 2009, p. 231) emphasizes the view of a constructivist in which the students are vital roles in their own learning and development. A traditional idea about teaching is comparable to the constructivist method of teaching. This method commonly has the teacher identifying learning objectives, planning learning activities, and creating assessments. However this theory relies on the student’s knowledge and more hands on activities. The teacher’s role is to facilitate personal learning by establishing a community of learners, and by making it clear to the student that he or she is part of the community (Baines & Stanley, 2000). Jean Piaget is well known for generally attributing to the formalization of constructivism. Piaget felt that accommodation and assimilation will help students construct new knowledge from their past experiences. When students assimilate, they will digest their new experience into a pre-existing context without altering the new context. It is also important to know that constructivism is not a specific pedagogy. In short, this theory describes how learning happens, despite of whether students are using their past experiences to comprehend the lesson. In a constructivist classroom, there would be (1) vigorous participation (2) small group discussions (3) concepts introduced within context, and (4) authentic literature, (GCU, 2013). Truthfully, many aspects of constructivism are commendable (Baines & Stanley, 2000). One component of this theory is small group discussions. The next theory is direct or explicit instruction. This model (1) sets the stage for learning (2) teacher provides clear explanation of what to do (3) modeling the process (4) guided practice, and (4) independent practice. Throughout explicit instruction, teachers are responsible for monitoring the students’ needs and providing them a kind of scaffolding that is appropriate throughout their learning process. Modeling is a key component of scaffolded instruction (Truscott & Truscott, 2004). When this strategy is used there will be gradual withdrawal of supportive learning structures to eventually become the sole responsibility of the student (Truscott & Truscott, 2004). This concept has been known to improve learning however it may take a long time for the student to master. However once it is mastered, the student feels a sense of accomplishment and self-sufficient. Explicit instructions make the student responsible as well in a different way that constructivism is administered. Students will know and understand what they are expected to perform by themselves and what goals that they will work towards. In the content of reading, studies have shown that direct teaching of word meanings in a reading passage is more effective than an uninstructed vocabulary learning approach (Sanbul & Schmitt (2010). There is an allowance for student engagement as well. Learning is an active process. Teachers of this model will maintain the classroom with proper behavior; however students should stay actively involved in the lesson in order to have the greatest impact on their learning. While they are being taught, students will be focused on the lesson as well as try to make sense of the new material. I feel that either theory is the not better than the other. I feel that both theories can work together in a classroom if they are balanced out. A study was conducted at the University of Kansas of 83 students who were targeted in the winter of kindergarten as being high risk for reading failure. Interventions were conducted in small groups of one to six students for thirty minute sessions, three times per week, for a two year period (Kamps, Abbot, Greenwood, Wills, Verrkamp, Kaufman, 2008). Reading comprehension is a very complex skill to teach. In this study, the students worked on comprehension strategies including decoding words, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge and rapid letter naming. As a result, the findings from this study proved that small group instruction improved in critical early literacy skills. Some students even advanced to grade level performance (Kamps, Abbot, Greenwood, Wills, Verrkamp, Kaufman, 2008). I feel this is a great example of both theories placed into one. The teacher was incorporated by working directly with the students; however the students were placed in smaller groups like in the constructivism theory. In my classroom, I would use constructivism to create a print-rich environment with student’s work posted and a time that students are free and able to discuss classroom topics. I would also relate the content that is being taught to a life experience so the students can understand that specific content area. I would also create high levels of interaction with lots of group work. However there will be a time for explicit instruction. I will monitor the students for understanding to make sure that they are deriving meaning from the instruction. I also think it is important that I model the assignment before I give it, especially for kindergarten because their understanding for directions is still very new. All teaching strategies or theories require some form of assessment to make sure the student understands the given concept. Although both theories are quite different, the assessments are the same. The assessments are either formative or summative. Teachers will use formative assessments through class observations of participation, questioning strategies, and peer or self assessment. Through summative strategies, it is usually benchmark exams or state mandated standardized testing. In conclusion, both theories have been proven to be very successful. Researchers agree that teachers need to be adaptive to meet students’ diverse and individual needs (Parsons, Davis, Scales, Williams, Kear, 2010). No one can clearly state which theory works better. I have observed both theories inside classrooms of today and the students were successful in their learning. I feel that whatever works best for you and your students, then just go for it. Bottom line, we need the students to become successful and proper citizens once they graduate so I hope to do my best when I am teaching and use both theories to make it happen. References Baines, L. A. , & Stanley, G. (2000). ‘We Want to See the Teacher. ‘. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(4), 327. Kamps, D. , Abbott, M. , Greenwood, C. , Wills, H. , Veerkamp, M. , & Kaufman, J. (2008). Effects of Small-Group Reading Instruction and Curriculum Differences for Students Most at Risk in Kindergarten. Journal Of Learning Disabilities, 41(2), 101-114. Parsons, S. A. , Davis, S. G. , Scales, R. Q. Williams, B. , & Kear, K. A. (2010). How AND WHY TEACHERS ADAPT THEIR LITERACY INSTRUCTION. College Reading Association Yearbook, (31), 221-236. Slavin, R. E. (2009). Educational Psychology. In R. E. Slavin, Educational Psychology (pp. 30-44). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc. Sonbul, S. , & Schmitt, N. (20 10). Direct teaching of vocabulary after reading: is it worth the effort?. ELT Journal: English Language Teachers Journal, 64(3), 253-260. doi:10. 1093/elt/ccp059 Truscott, D. M. , & Truscott, S. D. (2004). A professional development model for the positive practice of school-based reading consultation. Psychology In The Schools, 41(1), 51-65.

MyWorld Religion 'MWR' Creative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MyWorld Religion 'MWR' Creative - Essay Example religion merely on a physical level, assuming that it is worth just active involvement in church traditions which may compensate for any shortfall of character. This concept, however, sets believers to the perils of blindness toward genuine principles of truth which should be learned and understood by the heart. Hence, in this regard, I propose to establish belief in Faith-Centrism. Under this religion, there would be one God whose image or form is yet unknown but still an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent entity anyone can speak to at any moment in all open spaces. There is no need for a firm embellished structure to house particular images or figures for which offerings must be made since worship by faith alone ought to be central and is not subject to judgment based on material possessions imparted. Faith-Centrism challenges a follower to exhibit true values of faith beyond public view or approval. For instance, showing compassion to someone in need is an act which, as much as possible, must not reap rewards by being seen and given any credit if faith must be kept pure. A believer is more spiritually attached when executing good deeds in secret because this way, he would be capable of meditative thought to weigh between pure and impure intentions. Moreover, Faith-Centrism shall have no administering priest to prevent the risks of formality people tend to become more focused on procedural custom rather than faith. It would be more appropriate to have organize brotherhood and sisterhood that would informally gather to share rich and colorful stories of faithful journeys in all walks of life. Any written code of ethic or conduct suitable should be personal and while I see it fit that the Bible or the Holy Scripture from the Christian tradition may proceed as the standard, nevertheless, a flexible interpretation is encouraged for all passages depending on how the biblical verses apply to one’s unique set of ways in dealing

Ways In Which Forces Within The Macro Marketing Environment Affect The Essay

Ways In Which Forces Within The Macro Marketing Environment Affect The Companys Ability To Market Its Products Successfully. Royal Bank of Scotland - Essay Example Marketing includes all the activities of the organization which are geared at identifying market opportunities, satisfying the customer needs and gaining competitive edge in the industry while at the same time maintaining an acceptable level of profitability (Kotler 2003). Financial services include the satisfactions and benefits which are connected to the functions of money which customers receive from the financial institutions. They include bank accounts, debit cards, loans, and mortgage facilities and other financial related value like interest payable and capital appreciation of the bank deposits (Kotler 2003). The development of financial services marketing has been slow due to the unique nature of the services. Financial services are perishable, inseparable and lack standardization in the service performance. This paper shall discuss the strategies which Royal Bank of Scotland in overcoming the challenges of financial services marketing. The paper shall also address the macro marketing environment forces which affect the banks ability to market the financial services (Kotler 2003). The paper shall also review the market segmentation approaches which the bank has implemented. In the final part, the paper shall discuss some components of the banks marketing mix and how the bank has incorporated them in the marketing mix. Question 1: Strategies used by Royal Bank of Scotland in financial services marketing Financial services have certain unique features which presents challenges to the marketing team. Financial services are characterized by intangibility, heterogeneity, fiduciary responsibility, and contingent consumption, duration of consumption, perishability and inseparability of the services from the consumer. Financial services are intangible since they cannot be seen or touched by the consumer. In dealing with intangibility challenge, the Royal Bank of Scotland provides physical evidence to the consumer by providing debit and credit cards to the consu mers (Kotler 2003). The bank also gives cheque books to the consumers and ensures the staffs are properly dressed and present themselves professionally while dealing with the customers. The bank also emphasis on the benefits of its services like low interest rates in order to reduce the customer perceived risk (Kotler 2003). The bank has overcome the intangibility challenge by building good working relationships with al customers hence this helps in attaining customer loyalty. Financial services marketing experiences the problem of inseparability since they are produced and consumed at the same time in presence of the consumer and the service provider (Kotler 2003). Royal Bank of Scotland has implemented s

El Nino Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

El Nino - Essay Example The water undergoes precipitation processes that cause torrential rains resulting into floods in eastern areas such as Peru, US, and Chile. The events also result into prolonged droughts in western areas such as the Indonesia and the Philippines. The effects of El Nino are not only felt in countries bordering the Pacific, rather, they are felt all around the world. However, the main effects of this phenomenon are felt in the Americas. These effects result into losses worth millions of dollars and also claims human casualties. However, the effects of the El Nino have been greatly diminished as a result of early warning systems and design of buildings and structures that can withstand the effects of heavy floods. Still, more needs to be done to curtail El Nino’s effects, particularly those occurring due to floods. Governments in affected areas need to sensitize persons living on coastlines on the dangers of El Nino besides helping in evacuation efforts if need

Case Study Bribery Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study Bribery - Coursework Example h companies are liable if its authorized officials commit a bribery act unlike FCPA that does not outline a strict liability offence for corporations. Under the FCPA, there must be a proof of corrupt intention, but the bribery Act is stringent since there is no requirement for improper intent as such situations constitute general bribery offence. The FCPA creates certain loopholes that make companies engage in corruption since companies are allowed to incur promotional expenses that may either be in the form of gifts, entertainment or incentives in order to secure contracts. However, the UK bribery act does not make an exemption for promotional expenses. There are various reasons why companies have continued to violate the FCPA in the recent past such as the poor prosecution abilities, the loopholes inherent in the Act and unethical corporate governance practices in the US. Some of the companies that have been charged by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in the recent past for engaging in bribery include BHP Billiton, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Avon Products Inc, Bruker Corporation and Hewlett-Packard. The companies have exploited the weak foreign legislation on bribery and the exemption on promotional expenses that is created by the FCPA to engage in acts of bribery. The FCPA has limited territorial reach and may fail to apply in some cases when the bribery act takes place outside the US borders. Another reason for this bribery trend is the less severe criminal penalties for bribery since prosecutors have imposed small company fines for violation and up to five years imprisonment. There are difficulties experienced in determining when a minor gift, entertainment or incentive constitutes a bribe since the anti-bribery law allows for companies to incur promotional expenses which are reasonable and bona fide expenditures related to a contract. The provision for making small gifts or incentives constitutes an important aspect of cultivating

Research Proposal on contingency leadership theories Essay

Research Proposal on contingency leadership theories - Essay Example Any decision is based on a body of knowledge which is produced through research. By applying the appropriate methodologies and the research method, the body of knowledge can be established and advanced with confidence. Research is basically a systematic method of investigation which increases knowledge. Research relies on facts and experience, data, concepts and constructs, hypotheses and conjectures, and principles and laws (Amaratunga, Baldry, Sarshar, & Newton, 2002). The ultimate purpose of this research is to add knowledge to the already existing body of knowledge, which would facilitate the right decision on the leadership that would suit the situation. Attempts will be made to reach a suitable conclusion to the objectives. Although research has been considered important in every business activity, there is no consensus on how it should be carried out. There are different paradigms for research which are classified under qualitative or quantitative research. Amaratunga et al., suggest that research strategy should be chosen as a function of the research situation. Each strategy has its own approach to collect and interpret data and hence its strategy has its own advantages and disadvantages. As far as this research is concerned, the qualitative method or the inductive method of research is preferable because a lot of literature is available, with diverse opinions and it is essential to understand what is happening. Besides, topic, theory and methodology are closely interrelated. The deductive method would not bring to light the deeper, underlying meanings and explanations of the data collected. Taking large samples would be impractical and small studies over a period of time would help establish facts. It would enable to understand the totality of the situation and multiple methods can be used to establish different views of the phenomena. Leadership research is a conservative field and slow to innovate. Qualitative