Joe, a Filipino Rockssical: Play Review Essay

We were assigned to watch a stage play entitled Joe, a Filipino Rockssical last July 22, 2012 at St. Scholastica’s College, Manila. Actually, I have no interest in watching stage plays but after witnessing the presentation, my point of view changed. The play was about our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, but who is Rizal? For me, Rizal in this modern period is an instrument for us to love our country more despite of the dilemmas or struggles experiencing by it. Even our country had some flaws or imperfections, even the views and beliefs of others to our country were unlovely, we should still be proud and fight for it like what Rizal who’s brave as a lion did. He was also an inspiration to all youths because of his distinct attributes and his perseverance when it comes to studies. The stage play, Joe, a Filipino Rockssical is a kind of presentation wherein it was accompanied by songs and dances which is for me, an effective strategy because it can avoid boredom among the viewers. It has three chapters and used Filipino language for us to understand the play. It also used a little English and Espaà ±ol. This play was not a drama at all, it was also blended with comedy that can crack someone up and will make your jaws fall from laughter. But the most important thing is that it has a moral lesson that the viewers will realize after watching. The stage play was started through a lively song and dance. Six students of Rizal Integrated School were assigned to research and perform a stage play about our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, for the celebration of the 50th Foundation Day of the school. Joecas that symbolizes a man who values his craft more than anyone or anything else, is the writer and director, Joanne that symbolizes the character of having a principle and always with the truth, is the researcher, Hunter that symbolizes a character of having a principle and belief but can sacrifice it for the love of his life, is the composer of music, Bimbo that symbolizes a character that is persistent and diligent in reaching his dreams, is the choreographer, Ambo that symbolizes the character that is gleeful despite of his struggles especially when it comes to love, is the set designer, and Julia that symbolizes a character that has determination in reaching her dreams, is the fashion designer. They finished the play successfu lly although they have a little background or idea about the national hero. Ten years after, Joecas became a prominent writer. He was commissioned by the government to make and direct a stage play about the life of Rizal to be presented as a tribute for his 150th Anniversary of being a hero. Joecas together with his wife Joanne searched for his friends way back in high school to help him in the making of a stage play entitled Joe, the name that Josephine used to call Jose Rizal. Joanne became a successful researcher, Hunter became a rebel who climbed up in the mountains of Banawe, Bimbo became a DJ, Julia became a famous fashion designer, and Ambo owned a parlor. They have decided to stay at the condo of Joecas while finishing the play. During the researching and writing of the play, they learned many things about Rizal’s life. All the significant parts of the history about his live were presented. Some of these were about his love life including Josephine Bracken and Leonora, the writing of the novels that woke the consciousness of the Filipinos, the studying of Rizal abroad and here in Philippines, the exile of Rizal to Dapitan, the retraction of his ideologies to embrace again the Catholicism and to marry Josephine, and the shooting of him at Bagumbayan. The six main characters in the play also faced the different issues in their lives which are similar and compared to the life of Rizal. These consisted of the love of Joecas for Joanne and not sacrificing his love for art which is his true love, the love of Hunter for Joanne and the sacrifice of his ideologies, facing the true sexual preference of Ambo, consciousness of Bimbo about the problems of society, and Julia’s will of studying again. The conflict which is about the retraction was ended through a song and dance wherein the viewers were given the chance to decide whether Rizal signed the retraction or not. At the same time, they presented that even though Rizal signed it or not, what is important is that he had a stand about the ideologies and principles he’s fighting for and he kicked the bucket for the country. After all what happened, years passed, Joecas was given an award and honor for the stage play entitled Joe and he met his friends again during the event. The stage play was ended through a beautiful and magnificent music. In this play, many social illnesses are mentioned and shown and some of these are still occurring nowadays. In the dialogue stated by Ambo, â€Å"Palibhasa kabit ang nanay mo!†, is one of the social illnesses. It symbolizes a character of being a gossiper or spreading a speculation about a certain thing or person. It can cause a dispute or quarrel between the involved people. It can also cause disharmony or disunity. â€Å"I’m so fed up with the so called professionals, sobra na nga maningil wala pang work ethics. At sa sobrang dami ng raket, hindi marunong magcommit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This was said by Joecas. It is one of the social illneses nowadays. Many people have too much confidence or belief in them, the belief that they are superb in terms of doing their work. Not only that, they are also asking for too much payment that is not appropriate, that’s why Philippines is not progressing. â€Å"Isipin na ang mabuting ina ay iba sa inang linalang ng prayle. Dapat palakihin ang anak na malapit baga sa larawan ng tunay na Diyos. Diyos na di nasusuhulan, Diyos na di masakim sa salapi, Diyos na ama ng lahat, na walang kinikilingan, Diyos na hindi tumataba sa dugo ng mahihirap, na hindi nagsasaya sa daing ng naruruhagi at nangbubulag ng matalinong isip.† These are the words mentioned at the back or the window of condo while Hunter and Joanne were fighting. The characteristics of God mentioned was contradictory to our government wherein it can be defined as another social illness. The scene where Ambo said that, â€Å"Hindi naman nasusukat sa sexual preference ang pagkatao at karakter. What is important is the heart and soul.† Judging a person is also one of the social illnesses acted in the play. The reason why most of the people do not believe in their talent is because they were primed by their anxiousness or shyness. The ability of a person is not measured by either physical appearance or sexual preference. In the scene where George Tauffer raped Josephine Bracken can be included as one of the social illnesses nowadays. Rape and other crimes are very rampant during these days. Sometimes, even their own fathers or stepfathers were the ones involved in this kind of situation. There are many barbarians in our country nowadays due to the lack of education or else because of drug addiction. The social illness like spreading information that is not proven or seen is very widespread nowadays. One example of this is occurring in the world of showbiz or show business. Many rumors are spreading in this industry that’s why it’s complicated. Those professionals that were taking too much charges or fees are also rampant nowadays that’s why the rich becomes richer and the poor becomes poorer. Similar to our government officials who live high on the hog, they were corrupting the taxes and other cash received from citizens for their personal use instead of giving it back in the form of basic services like education, health cares, and others. Criminals were also very rampant now and then but because police authorities like the friars before accept bribes, those culprits were not afraid to do crimes. These are some social illnesses mentioned in the play and at the same time I witnessed while watching. This stage play is not presented just to entertain but also to educate the audience. For me, having a stand in everything we do and say is the moral lesson that I have realized after watching. If we said and did something, continue it until the end as long as we know that we’re on the side of truth, although it can hurt those people that we loved the most. Another lesson derived from this play is the true love for the country. If our heroes can defend our country from opportunists and at the same time proud of it, we, the citizens of the Philippines, that have the capability to change the undesirable system of our government, can also do what they have done. It is the time for us to move and act especially the young generation that according to Dr. Jose Rizal is the hope of the nation.

Blood Brothers Essay

Dear Headteacher and Governors, I am writing in response to the governor’s decision to stop the production of Blood Brothers by Willy Russell. I understand the reasons for this, but I wish to demonstrate how certain themes are an integral part of the play, and that it is not unreasonable for it to be performed by students. One of the biggest issues is the use of swearing in the play. Willy Russell uses the bad language to emphasise the difference between the classes. This is shown when Micky and Eddie first meet and Micky says that he is â€Å"Pissed off. † Edwards’s reaction to this is â€Å"Pissed off? You say smashing things don’t you. † This shows that Eddie doesn’t understand Micky as he thinks he is â€Å"Smashing† Micky on the other hand is using the swearing to express his emotions in the best way he knows. Also, the fact that he has been brought up with so many brothers and sisters who swear makes it second or even first nature for him to swear. There is also the point that Eddie uses bad language in the wrong context. This is demonstrated when he calls his mother a â€Å"Fuck Off† this not only shows the audience that he doesn’t understand how to swear, but it also hint as the fact that Eddie is actually a Johnstone and is showing his true nature. This would play on Mrs Lyons’s mind, as this is the one thing she fears most and has spent many years trying to avoid. Bad language also gives the play a sense of comedy. This is shown when Edward tells his teacher to†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut. † This inevitably makes the audience laugh, as this is only the second time they hear him swear and the first time he uses it in the right context. It also leads to him being suspended, which reveals another similarity between him and Micky. A second point that someone may uses to discredit the play is the part when Micky and Eddie go to watch â€Å"Adult Films† this again is an integral part of the play as it shows the growing up and becoming teenagers. This is proven when Edward says â€Å"Listen, we can see how it is done; look the Essolado for one week only, Nymphomaniac Nights and Swedish Au Pairs. † This shows that the pair are eager to learn about subjects that they are interested in, and demonstrates them growing up. Also the names like â€Å"Nymphomaniac Nights† and â€Å"Swedish Au Pairs. † Are subtle and could be much more graphic in there description, and whilst performing the play we don’t actually have to show the film, as we can just simulate it. Two teenagers going to watch an erotic film will almost certainly lead to them discussing it in detail to each other, including them making references to the female body. This once again shows them growing up, but also demonstrates the differences caused by the upbringing. This is shown when Micky stops to talk to Linda, where as Eddie jus continues his chat of â€Å"Tits, Tits, Tits,† whilst oblivious to anything else. This shows that although having enjoyed the film Micky is un-phased and continues to act normally shortly after watching it. Eddie however is constantly going on about the film for quite a while after, showing that he has had a more sheltered upbringing. There are many other themes in the play that can be used against it, but these are far weaker in there argument. One of these is the presence on guns and violence in the play. Children today are exposed to violence from a very young age and guns are just a part of that. Also children play with guns from a young age to, and there fore have become desensitised to the violence. The theme of romance and relationships is relevant to the age group that will be performing the play, and also has the sub-theme of childhood sweethearts. Also the Edward/Linda relationship is realistic and does happen in the real world. Tragedy also plays a big part as the whole play is structured towards it. However as the audience see a small clip at the beginning that shows the end, it doesn’t comes as a surprise. Tragedy is a common ending to many stories. Mrs Johnstone makes a big deal about superstitions in the play, and they set up the ending. This demonstrates a contrast to Mrs Lyons as she thinks that superstitions are stupid and pointless. However the biggest theme in the play is class differences. This is in effect the whole play and shows how children are aware of it at a very young age, but it only really affects them as they get older. I hope I have portrayed my opinion of the play and the decision to stop the production of it.

Criminal case of Florida vs Jamarco Stafford Term Paper

Criminal case of Florida vs Jamarco Stafford - Term Paper Example The case of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams reflect a phase in the lives of human beings where crime seems to have taken a major role in changing an entire scenario of a family from happiness to a shattered stage of living. The families of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams could be realized to be in such a stage after they lost their children and faced their other children spending days and nights in jail. Murder being a heinous and harsh crime has been found to encounter several laws and charges. Yet, the society seems to be unable to control human beings from taking up such dreadful measures. Particularly, in the modern times, the younger generation seems to be more violent in nature and getting involved in incidents of murders (Holinger, 1994, p.21) as in the case of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams also get presented. The story of Jamarco Stafford and James Adams presents a case where these two friends who were extremely close friends, growing up together, attending places and events together, eventually betrayed each other when both killed each other’s brothers. Adams had killed the brother of Stafford on demand of a gun. The resistances on the earlier murder created confrontations that led to a second murder of Lavoris Adams who was the brother of James, by Stafford. The incident shattered the lives of these two families and the two young kids had to spend their lives in jail. The incidents were shocking and unexpected since these two kids had grown up together and were the closest of friends (Lebovich, n.d.).... The incidents were shocking and unexpected since these two kids had grown up together and were the closest of friends (Lebovich, n.d.). In the recent years murders or killing by adolescents have rapidly increased in rate. This has eventually created difficulties for â€Å"law enforcement personnel†, as well as other people who are involved in the social or health welfare of common people, the educators, members of families and the peer groups (Heckel & Shumaker, 2001, p.xix). Particularly in cases of adolescent killings it becomes highly difficult to judge the causes behind the act. The young generations are unable to explain their thoughts, their reasons, and are confusing and unaware of the consequences of such actions. Many times they attempt such acts from utter immaturity and impatience (Heckel & Shumaker, 2001, p.xix). Criminal laws are also applicable on the adolescents who execute such heinous crimes. In fact, the number of prisoners from adolescents seems to be rising more than adult prisoners. Juvenile murderers are also treated like adults since laws have now initiated measures not to be partial in such cases, instead criminals should tried as made by the law. The adolescents who have been found to be involved in murders reflect that the number of males in the records is much higher than there are females in the same record (Worell, 2001, p.617). Criminal law and its theories are highly significant in the context of adolescent killing. It has been observed that a criminal law theory may be different from other laws thus making the criminal law theory a unique theory in its context (Moore, 2010, p.8). In most cases the causes of a crime would not be able to be explained by common people. However, several researchers have

Timberland Case Study Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Timberland Case Study - Research Paper Example It is for this reason that the CEO of the company recommends the creation of a model that brings an era whereby â€Å"under the model, creating commercial value and social value, commerce and justice were â€Å"inextricably linked†Ã¢â‚¬  (Austin, Leonard, and Quinn, 2004, p. 1). Reading through the case study, it could be noticed that there is the likelihood that there could arise a subsequent problem that has to do with the implementation of the designed model. This problem is projected in the face of having to satisfy the stake of all stakeholders to accepting the innovative business model as the most suitable for the present needs of the company. Identified "stakeholders" The running of any public interest organization such as Timberland can never be complete in the absence of a well regulated and coordinated effort among some key players, commonly referred to as stakeholders (Maremont, 1993). The term ‘stakeholders’ is used to refer to these players because with their roles in the organizations, they could be said to be people who can legitimately claim stakes in the successful running of given organizations. In other words, the roles of each stakeholder are so important that eliminating the functions of one of them could cause the doom of the company involved. A critical review of the case in which Timberland finds itself brings out who the company’s stakeholders are and the roles played in the successful story of the company over the years. Employees, consumers, customers, partners, the community and the investment community all come together to act as stakeholders of Timberland (Austin, Leonard, and Quinn, 2004, p. 11). Employees of the company act as the engine of production, whose tasks include the need to ensure that there is an adequate supply margin to the demand chain on the company (Esposito, 2001). Customers and consumers are the financial lifeline to the company, whose purchases account for the company’s reven ues. Partners and the investing community also play important roles in fueling the company with fiscal resources though they come in as beneficiaries in the long run. The community, on the other hand, is an important stakeholder in the social justice phenomenon; as the community ought to benefit exclusively from the company without any thought of reciprocate in return. Important Target Groups Still on the commerce and justice vision of the company, there are some key target groups that ought to be considered in the rendering of the innovative business model of the company. Apart from the stakeholders who have been mentioned earlier as employees, consumers, customers, partners, the community and the investment community, suppliers and the government are two other important target groups. The justification in considering suppliers as important target group comes from one major factor and that is, Timberland as a company does a lot of outsourcing in the procurement and acquisition of r aw materials for its operations. This, therefore, means that for a lot of times that the company will be in the quest to go into production in order to meet demand from customers and consumers, the company would have to fall on its suppliers (Ducharme, 2002). It is for this reason that the role of suppliers as important target group cannot be underestimated. With government, not much needs to be said to justify its role as an important target

Resource Environmental Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Resource Environmental Economics - Assignment Example Nevertheless, the opposite situation is also possible. NOX variable reflects the pollution level in the area. The 'dirtier' in terms of pollution a town is, the less would the demand for housing in it be. Therefore, I expect nitric oxides concentration variable to be negatively correlated with price of houses and the corresponding coefficient to have negative sign. For the CHARLES variable which takes only two possible values of 0 and 1 calculation and interpretation of mean and standard deviation would be misleading. Count and frequency describe this particular variable better. Out of 506 entries, 471 (93.08% of total) correspond to 0-value of CHARLES variable and houses that do not bound the river. CHARLES is equal to 1 for 35 entries (6.92% of total). LSTAT variable demonstrates absence of correlation with CHARLES. Position of houses near a river and percentage of the lower status population in the area do not depend on each other. It is quite logical because the former is determined by the geographical factors while the latter is more of social nature. LSTAT is moderately correlated with PTRATIO, CRIME, RAD (positive correlation), and DIS (negative correlation). Based on the correlation coefficient it cannot be determined which variable influences which. For example, we can assume that high percentage of lower status of the population leads to increase in crime rates because of high poverty levels. However, it can also be argued that the relationship between variables goes in the opposite direction and

LEAN MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

LEAN MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Major businesses employ customer contact center concepts since these solutions provide businesses with flexible and strong infrastructure to interact with their customers and effectively manage ongoing projects (Schultz 2003). Based on these feedbacks, improvements in products and business strategies, development of new products, increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty, and exploration of new markets is sought to devise swift response to global competitive markets. In the recent past, number of companies has invested considerably in managing and maintaining contact center to get a competitive advantage by analyzing customer experience and company performance; however, due to recent economic downturn companies are finding it difficult to manage the contact centers due to increased operating expenses. As lean principle has effectively been applied in manufacturing sector, in a similar way this concept is equally well applicable to service industry. In doing so, Hines et al. (2004) cautioned that organizations may miss strategic aspect of value creation while focusing merely on cost reduction and lean tools while applying lean principles. To reduce the operating costs associated with contact centers, lean management approach would help in creating a greater value demand while reducing the failure demand (Marr and Parry 2004). IT businesses recognize that customers lean to support companies providing better services within a given price range. In this report, company realized that its competitive position in the market is no longer secured. Therefore, a shift to lean management was attempted to reduce wastes and costs and increase revenue. This report is an attempt to study significance of adopting and applying lean management concepts to Contact Center Industry using academic rigor while focusing on Averatec Contact Center and how it can effectively be applied to achieve zero defects with increased customer satisfaction. Averatec, established in 1984, is a

Customer relationship management and Enterprise resource planning Essay

Customer relationship management and Enterprise resource planning - Essay Example CRM assists in managing accounts, prospects, and territories (Pakroo, 2012, p. 213). It identifies what type of communications and outreach were conducted to the individual contracts. In addition, it enables the sales team to determine the best prospects. CRM provides pertinent information that assists the sales team into transforming such prospects into paying customers. In addition, it allows the sales team to follow-up contracts to make sure that customers are satisfied. The sales department can also improve its operations when it utilized user-friendly call center to manage customer’s inquiries and complaints (Pakroo, 2012, p. 213). A marketing department can improve its operations through employing CRM to determine trends and evaluate the popularity of the services and products of the company. It assists the marketing team to develop appropriate marketing messages and campaigns (Pakroo, 2012, p. 213). CRM can only improve the marketing productivity of a company when it manages to enhance marketing effectiveness and increase marketing efficiency. It can increase marketing efficiency through collaborative and cooperative processes that help reduce transaction cost and the overall cost for the company. Thus, it is important to build partnering relations with valued customers and promote proactive customer business development (Sheth, 2001, p. 6). Enterprise resource planning (ERP) employs a common software infrastructure and single database that presents up-to-date and broader scope of information. It enables the management to come up with good decisions, which are beneficial to the entire supply chain. ERP is fairly robust in presenting real time information (Wisner, Tan, & Leong, 2008). It communicates information pertaining to operational changes with minimal delay to supply chain members. In addition, ERP systems are created to fully take advantage of Internet technology; thus, it allows users

Immigration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Immigration - Research Paper Example Even though a lot of people may not like immigrants because they are putting them out of jobs, immigrants in this economy today are helping to keep inflation low, improve housing values, and benefit taxpayers (Martin, 2007, 3). In other words, immigration helps provide an increase to the U.S. economy. The only people that are really being hurt right now by immigrants are those people without high school degrees (Gelfand and Yee, 2009, 6). Every year they fight against immigrants for jobs and their wages just seem to keep getting lower. Hence, if more immigrants continue to enter each year seeking jobs, it decreases the amount of work available. Immigrants who see their relatives and friends leading a better life than what they were living before, especially of the Hispanic and Latino backgrounds, come to the United States and try to follow their example, but somehow, everyone isn’t that lucky to survive illegally without falling into the hands of the local mafia network, and in the end they become robbers, and gangsters, and also to compliment their pathetic situations are the current foreign policy of America, that allows illegal migrants to get weapons at ease. When immigration is thought of many people may think of it as being a negative effect, but not all people feel that way. Some people still feel that immigrants have little effect on the American economy because there are still not enough of them to influence this country’s economy (Martin, 2007, 4). These people see immigrants as a net benefit to America because they should be paying taxes, using services in moderation, helping drive business development through their own entrepreneurial behavior, keeping industries here in the U.S. that could have relocated overseas, and they take the normal low-paying jobs that U.S. citizens do not want. Various reports show that immigration continues to shape the New York City. Immigrant

UK Foreign Holiday Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

UK Foreign Holiday Market - Essay Example In the past few years, this market has grown at a modest rate of over 4% annually, with the significant consumer-groups in the market being families, youth, and the over-50 age group. However, the effects of global recession on this market are now gradually becoming evident. The demand for foreign holidays fell by around 15% in January, 2009 alone as the credit crunch tightened its grip on the UK economy (Devine, D 2009). A lack of consumer confidence and rising fuel prices have also recently added in, further dampening the demand. In addition, the unpredictability of British weather due to global warming, and a failure on the part of UK holiday-resorts to match services in terms of price and quality with that of their foreign competitors (Research and Markets 2007) have lowered the demand for UK holidays by foreign tourists. The overall effect is that the demand-curve for the market has shifted leftwards. Other factors like the threat of terrorism, war, and natural disasters in current years have also contributed to the left-shift of the curve, thereby resulting in lesser quantity being demanded at a lesser price in the market. However, the economic gloom does have a bright side for this market. The airline industry has been badly hit by the crunch due to which almost all air-fares have been dramatically reduced. Consequently, consumers are able to book cheap flights to almost anywhere in the world, and the overall package cost of foreign holidays has decreased. There has been an increase in demand for trips to Spain and Mediterranean shores - which surveys have pointed out as favourite holiday destinations - by the British (Holiday Watchdog 2008). This reduction in total price of the product has resulted in a downward movement of the market equilibrium point along the demand-curve. Moreover, cheaper flights also mean that UK has become more available internationally to foreign tourists, since they can now afford air-travel for leisure purposes. The fierce competition between Airbus and Boeing has created an over-capacity of aircraft, and is expected to result in an explosion of discount carriers offering flights at affordable prices. Thus, there has been an increase in the quantity demanded. The ocean cruise market, which is a complement of the overseas holiday market, is expected to reach 1.5 million annual passengers by the year 2010 (Travel Weekly 2005). This high growth prediction means that its complements (like the foreign holiday market) will also consequently grow. Also, surveys by the Confederation of Public Transport have shown that a very high priority is attached by British to the annual holiday as an item of family expenditure due to changes in consumer attitude and lifestyle over modern times (Scottish Tourist Board, et al 2006). Thus, the economic downturn has not put off the British from taking foreign holidays. On the contrary, the current poor weather in the UK has helped the tourism industry by encouraging even more people to go abroad for the summer, particularly to places that "offer consistently good weather" (Property Wire 2008). Infact, psychologically speaking, the British are more eager than ever to go on a holiday in this potentially depressing situation since one way they believe "to escape the current economic gloom is to take a foreign holiday" (Property Wire 2008). Being now considered as an annual necessity rather than a luxury, the

Tantalus Poem Essay Example for Free

Tantalus Poem Essay Favored by the gods of Olympus He partied dined and wined Cool to the mortals was Tantalus But he soon would pay the fine. He went behind the god’s backs From them Tantalus stole He committed other cruel acts Once a friend now a foe. If Tantalus was more of an honest man He wouldn’t take advantage of the god’s trust Accepting the lending hand Instead of turning it into dust. If Tantalus had another shot He would make a better soup Not boil his son hot But use a chicken from the coop. If Tantalus had another take He wouldn’t have hid the golden pet He was the source of Zeus’ heartbreak Got caught he should fret. If Tantalus had another chance He wouldn’t have been so famished He saw nectar and ambrosia in a glance They noticed and his penalties were lavished. Tantalus wasn’t the only one whose life was filled with demise His family wasn’t allowed good fate Only positive thing was his son’s rise This left his family filled with hate which wasn’t so great. Tantalus suffered in the afterlife Placed above him an apple tree Trying to take a bite was strife I bet he wished he could flee. Placed below him was water Never allowed a sip Tantalus shouldn’t even bother He wasn’t even allowed a drip. Tantalus learned from his mistakes Although it was too late He learned not to see objects and take Also not to use his son as bate.

Underwriting Process in Insurance

Underwriting Process in Insurance Underwriting Process In order for the insurance companies to make profit and charge the appropriate rate for an insured, they undergo the underwriting process. Underwriting is the process in which an insurance company determines if an applicant is eligible for insurance and the rate they should charge if the applicant is eligible. In simpler words, it is a process of risk classification. The purpose of insurance underwriting is to spread risk among a pool of insured in a way that is both profitable for the insurer and fair to the customer. Insurance companies need to make a profit like many other businesses. Therefore, it doesnt make sense if they sell insurance for everyone who applies for it. They may not want to charge an excessive high rate to the customer and also it is not good for them to charge the same premium to every policyholder. Underwriting enables the company to weed out certain applicants and to charge the remaining applicants premiums that are commensurate with their level of risk (Conra d, Clark, Goodwin, Morse Kane, 2011). The underwriting process consist of evaluating several sources of an applicant and the use of complex pricing models developed by actuaries that help the insurance companies set prices. I will focus on the risk classification along with some of the factors that help the underwriters classify each applicant and the use of insurance credit scoring that allow the insurance companies to price the premiums. Factors An insurance company usually looks at various factors during the underwriting process in order to evaluate a potential customer in terms of risk. These factors enable the insurer to determine whether or not the potential customer is insurable. If the potential customer is determined to be insurable, then these factors will help to place them in the appropriate risk group. Some of the factors considered are age, sex, health history, current health/physical condition, personal family health history, occupation, personal habits/character, financial condition, and hobbies (Clark, et al, 2011). Some people believe that any characteristic over which we have no control, such as gender, race, and age, should be excluded from insurance underwriting and rating practices (Baranoff, Brockett, Kahane, 2009, p.157). This argument reflect the idea that the factors used by insurance companies should be based on the behavior of the people instead of the quality on which they are born. Risk Classification Risk classification plays an important role in the pricing of the policy. The premium that the customer pays will depend on the category he/she belongs to. Underwriters classify the applicants into four types of risk groups: standard risk, substandard risk, preferred risk and uninsurable/declined risk. Standard risk. Individuals who have a likelihood of loss or the probability of filing a claim that is not significantly greater than the average are classified as standard risks. Based on the underwriting standards of the insurance company, the people in this group are given a term of insurance without being charged for any extra fees or be subjected to any policy restrictions and they are charged with the standard premium rate (Clark, et al, 2011). Most individual life and health insurance policies are issued at standard premium rates. Substandard risk. Insured that are classified as substandard risk or rated risk, are those that have a greater chance of filing a claim. Applicants are classified in this group because of their health and/or other factors that makes them more likely to die earlier than those who dont possess these kinds of risk factors (Clark, et al, 2011). They are usually charged a higher than standard rate because of the added risks that they possess. Examples of people that may be in this category are those who possess a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, drugs and alcohol. Or maybe they engage in some dangerous activities like skydiving or rock climbing. Preferred risk. Applicants classified as preferred risks are those who are expected to have an above average life expectancy (Clark, et al, 2011). People in this group are preferred by the insurance companies because of their health history and good habits. They are usually offered a lower rate or preferred rate. Applicants that may belong to this group are nonsmokers or people that have a good health history. Uninsurable risk. Individuals categorized as uninsurable or declined risk are those that pose a risk that is too great for the insurance company to cover. The applicants conditions are so rare or unique that the company may not be able to arrive at a suitable premium (Clark, et al, 2011), so their policies are generally declined. Examples of this category include people who have a serious illness and people who conduct illegal activities. Insurance Credit Scoring in Pricing After classifying the applicants into one of the risk groups, the insurance company needs to set price for the policies. One of the tools used by the insurance companies for pricing is the credit scores that help them determine the adequate premium for each consumer. Insurance scores are confidential rankings based on credit history information. Insurance scores are used to provide insurers with a snapshot to provide service to consumers. The score is derived from the consumers previous credit history. This data allows the insurers to price insurance premiums/rates more accurately. (Almarshary, Erbek Reddic) Insurance scores estimate the probability of having insured file a claim. The variables commonly used to estimate insurance scores include measures of performance on credit obligations, credit-seeking behavior, use of credit, length of credit history, and types of credit used (Powell, 2009). They do not include race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, address, salary, disability, occupation, title, employer, date employed or employment history for scoring purposes (Anonymous, 2009). Insurers have found a strong correlation between insurance claims and credit scores. People with low scores are more likely to file claims than people with high scores (Lankford, 2007). They also discovered that people who made late payments tended to have more claims (Almarshary, et al). Improving credit score can certainly make a big difference in the premiums. More insurers now are considering credit scores when setting premium rates. Credit scoring enables insurers to better assess the risk of future claims. In fact, insurance credit scoring helps insurers to differentiate between higher and lower insurance risk (Almarshary, et al). Therefore, insurers will charge a premium based on the information provided by the credit score. When insurers use insurance scores to improve the accuracy of predicted losses, it benefits individuals and society (Powell, 2009). Premiums are closely related to consumers risk of loss on average, so insurance scores increase the fairness in insurance pricing outcomes. Insurance scoring also adds value to insurance transactions. Because insurance scores are accurate and inexpensive rating variables; it reduces the overall cost of providing insurance and this reduction in cost is applied to the premiums of the customer (Powell, 2009). Many people may not be familiar with the underwriting process, but knowing the factors that affect the decision of the insurers of placing you into one of the risk groups, is very useful. In this way, you can easily know if you can be chosen as a potential customer based on your personal information and even if you are not chosen as a potential customer, you might at least know what to avoid in order to decrease the chance of your policy being rejected. Finally, we have to notice the importance of the credit scores, because many insurance companies used it nowadays to price the premiums. Having a good credit history is a key factor to get a lower premium rate in the policy.

The Used Car Industry :: essays research papers

The Used Car Industry In the past 30 years, the United States auto industry has gone through many changes. In order to stay competitive with a foreign market, constantly threatening to eat away at profits, the American auto industry has had to respond by being flexible and adapt itself to this new situation. Although, in the past, they were slow to get the message sent out by the consumers, the domestic auto industry now seems to be more than willing to analyze, and answer, the demands of a smarter, savior consumer. The growth of the used car field has been a result of these demands. Rising, higher prices for new cars have caused the typical American consumer to examine alternate solutions for their transpiration needs. As the average car on the road is 8 years old, compared to 5.8 years in 1970, the signal to the auto industry has been that cars are being built better and consumers are not afraid to buy them. Of course, this choice does not come without an opportunity cost for the consumer. A used car will generally be bought on the condition "as is" or, at best, with a very limited warranty. If a buyer of a used car drives off the lot and finds they have purchased a vehicle that needs lots of money spent on it for repairs, they may possibly find themselves out of luck. Another downside may come as more people continue to saturate the market, looking for used cars to buy, the resources available will become scarce. An increase in used car prices may gradually start to rise. As the figures indicate, for now consumers seem to be content with taking this risk. Sales for used cars and trucks last year totaled at 15.1 million(going on your article's figures). The auto industry has been busy changing and evolving to answer consumer demands. One of these signs has been the growth of large auction houses that are appearing all over the country. Big investors are attracted by the potential profits, which are an average of 1.5% of the wholesale price. The auctioneers make their money by auctioning off used cars and trucks mainly to dealers only, and are supplied with vehicles that come from trade-ins, repossessions, leased vehicles, and smaller used car lots. With this reallocation of resources many of the smaller mom and pop used car lots have been bought out, or forced out of business. Competition is heating up with the rise in the number of auction houses. This has forced the auctions to be more selective in the kinds of vehicles they offer.

Irony in the Story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay -- The Lottery

Irony in the Story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† irony is an underlying theme used throughout the story. The setting is introduced as a â€Å"clear and sunny† day, but ends with the brutal death of a housewife (715). The two people who essentially run the town, Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers, also have ironic names. In addition, the characters and the narrator make ironic statements throughout the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plot as a whole in â€Å"The Lottery† is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant upon arriving at the lottery; which makes it seem as if it is just another uneventful day in a small town. Considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery, the villagers do not make a big deal about it. Under the same note it is ironic that many of the original traditions of the lottery, such as the recital and the salute, had long been forgotten. All that the villagers seemed to remember was the ruthless killing of a random person. It also seems strange that they let the equipment for the lottery, the black box, get into such a poor condition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two people who run, and the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves. Mr. Graves is the postmaster for the town and is the person who swears Mr. Summers in as the lottery officia...

The Colossal Decision to Deploy an Atomic Weapon: An Individuals Impact on Society :: Essays Papers

The Colossal Decision to Deploy an Atomic Weapon: An Individual's Impact on Society Never before in recorded history has there been an event that has take so many lives in one instant. On the day of August 6, 1945 the first atomic device ever detonated was deployed on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It is recorded that sixty percent of Hiroshima was destroyed in this offensive maneuver. Seventy-eight thousand human beings lost their lives at 8:15 a.m.1 The man directly responsible for this attack was the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. While it is true that individuals are for the most part guinea pigs to society, there arises one striking exception to this rule: the leaders of our modern age. The impact this certain individual had on society is inconceivable, and to fully understand Truman's decision to drop an atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must understand the momentous forces driving him to this means to an end. There were many different circumstances pushing Truman to his decision to use this secret weapon against the Japanese. There were moral issues, military issues, and of course Truman and his closely-knit circle of advisors had to examine the impact of this use of atomic energy on the future of our planet. In the end, however, the opposing forces proved slight enough for Truman to overrule. The first barrier to using a weapon of such destructive capabilities is personal morality. It would be very reasonable to think that it would be an impossibility for one person to authorize the destruction of so many others. This issue turned out to be one of small importance for Truman for many reasons. First, the American public had a moral advantage in that the Japanese bombed us first at Pearl Harbor. Also, as Truman himself stated, "†¦ was either that or the atomic bomb, and I didn't hesitate a minute, and I've never lost any sleep over it since."2 This indicates his main reason for not having any moral qualms with this bombing, the consequences if he didn't drop the bomb. The most important of these was the expected American casualties if we chose invasion over the bomb. However, if Truman new the greusome effects the deployment of this weapon would have upon the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagisaki, perhaps he would have hesitated. To see what the effects of the a-bomb on the people and buildings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki click here.

Data Flow Diagram

mywbut. com Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) 1 mywbut. com Specific Instructional Objectives At the end of this lesson the student will be able to: †¢ †¢ †¢ Identify the activities carried out during the structured analysis phase. Explain what a DFD is. Explain why constructing DFDs are important in arriving at a good software design. †¢ Explain what a data dictionary is. †¢ Explain the importance of data dictionary. †¢ Identify whether a DFD is balanced. Structured Analysis Structured analysis is used to carry out the top-down decomposition of a set of high-level functions depicted in the problem description and to represent them graphically.During structured analysis, functional decomposition of the system is achieved. That is, each function that the system performs is analyzed and hierarchically decomposed into more detailed functions. Structured analysis technique is based on the following essential underlying principles: †¢ †¢ †¢ Top-down de composition approach. Divide and conquer principle. Each function is decomposed independently. Graphical representation of the analysis results using Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs). Data Flow Diagram (DFD)The DFD (also known as a bubble chart) is a hierarchical graphical model of a system that shows the different processing activities or functions that the system performs and the data interchange among these functions. Each function is considered as a processing station (or process) that consumes some input data and produces some output data. The system is represented in terms of the input data to the system, various processing carried out on these data, and the output data generated by the system. A DFD model uses a very limited number of primitive symbols [as shown in fig. 5. 1(a)] to epresent the functions performed by a system and the data flow among these functions. 2 mywbut. com External Entity Process Output Data Flow (a) Data Store number readnumber validatenumber data-item valid number (b) data-item readnumber validatenumber validnumber number (c) Fig. 5. 1 (a) Symbols used for designing DFDs (b), (c) Synchronous and asynchronous data flow Here, two examples of data flow that describe input and validation of data are considered. In Fig. 5. 1(b), the two processes are directly connected by a data flow. This means that the ‘validate-number’ process can start only after the ‘readnumber’ process had supplied data to it.However in Fig 5. 1(c), the two processes are connected through a data store. Hence, the operations of the two bubbles are independent. The first one is termed ‘synchronous’ and the second one ‘asynchronous’. Importance of DFDs in a good software design The main reason why the DFD technique is so popular is probably because of the fact that DFD is a very simple formalism – it is simple to understand and use. Starting with a set of high-level functions that a system performs, a DFD model 3 mywbut. com hierarchically represents various sub-functions. In fact, any hierarchical model is simple to understand.Human mind is such that it can easily understand any hierarchical model of a system – because in a hierarchical model, starting with a very simple and abstract model of a system, different details of the system are slowly introduced through different hierarchies. The data flow diagramming technique also follows a very simple set of intuitive concepts and rules. DFD is an elegant modeling technique that turns out to be useful not only to represent the results of structured analysis of a software problem, but also for several other applications such as showing the flow of documents or items in an organization.Data dictionary A data dictionary lists all data items appearing in the DFD model of a system. The data items listed include all data flows and the contents of all data stores appearing on the DFDs in the DFD model of a system. A data dictionary lists the p urpose of all data items and the definition of all composite data items in terms of their component data items. For example, a data dictionary entry may represent that the data grossPay consists of the components regularPay and overtimePay. grossPay = regularPay + overtimePay For the smallest units of data items, the data dictionary lists their name and their type.Composite data items can be defined in terms of primitive data items using the following data definition operators: +: denotes composition of two data items, e. g. a+b represents data a and b. [,,]: represents selection, i. e. any one of the data items listed in the brackets can occur. For example, [a,b] represents either a occurs or b occurs. (): the contents inside the bracket represent optional data which may or may not appear. e. g. a+(b) represents either a occurs or a+b occurs. represents iterative data definition, e. g. {name}5 represents five name data. name}* represents zero or more instances of name data. represe nts equivalence, e. g. a=b+c means that a represents b and c. {}: =: /* */: Anything appearing within /* and */ is considered as a comment. 4 mywbut. com Example 1: Tic-Tac-Toe Computer Game Tic-tac-toe is a computer game in which a human player and the computer make alternative moves on a 3? 3 square. A move consists of marking previously unmarked square. The player who first places three consecutive marks along a straight line on the square (i. e. along a row, column, or diagonal) wins the game.As soon as either the human player or the computer wins, a message congratulating the winner should be displayed. If neither player manages to get three consecutive marks along a straight line, but all the squares on the board are filled up, then the game is drawn. The computer always tries to win a game. display Tic-Tac-Toe Software 0 move Human Player (a) displayboard 0. 1 validatemove 0. 2 game move board result checkwinner 0. 4 playmove 0. 3 (b) Fig 5. 2 (a), (b) Level 0 and Level 1 DFD for Tic-Tac-Toe game described in Example 1 5 mywbut. comIt may be recalled that the DFD model of a system typically consists of several DFDs: level 0, level 1, etc. However, a single data dictionary should capture all the data appearing in all the DFDs constituting the model. Figure 5. 2 represents the level 0 and level 1 DFDs for the tic-tactoe game. The data dictionary for the model is given below. Data dictionary for the DFD model in Example 1 move: display: game: board: result: integer /*number between 1 and 9 */ game+result board {integer}9 [â€Å"computer won†, â€Å"human won† â€Å"draw†] Importance of data dictionaryA data dictionary plays a very important role in any software development process because of the following reasons: †¢ A data dictionary provides a standard terminology for all relevant data for use by the engineers working in a project. A consistent vocabulary for data items is very important, since in large projects different engine ers of the project have a tendency to use different terms to refer to the same data, which unnecessary causes confusion. The data dictionary provides the analyst with a means to determine the definition of different data structures in terms of their component elements. Balancing a DFD The data that flow into or out of a bubble must match the data flow at the next level of DFD. This is known as balancing a DFD. The concept of balancing a DFD has been illustrated in fig. 5. 3. In the level 1 of the DFD, data items d1 and d3 flow out of the bubble 0. 1 and the data item d2 flows into the bubble 0. 1. In the next level, bubble 0. 1 is decomposed. The decomposition is balanced, as d1 and d3 flow out of the level 2 diagram and d2 flows in. 6 mywbut. com (a) Level 1 DFD (b) Level 2 DFD Fig. 5. 3: An example showing balanced decomposition 7

Kosovo Movement

Kosovo served as a centre of Serbian kingdom with old Serbian monasteries and Serbian Eastern Orthodox Churches. These survived the harsh ottoman rule until 1912, when there was liberation. Large number of Serbs hard firm attachment to Christian faith thus, opposed the conversion to Islam. This made them to leave Kosovo region because of fear of persecution by the Turkish. The Albanians settled in their places and their number increased. Kosovo Problem. The problem faced by Kosovo is the highly increasing Albanians population. The population increasing rate outweighed the industrial growth, despite heavy investments on the region. Many efforts have been made to develop the regions especially the Yugoslav Federation to no success. The region continues to become poor, and remains the poorest region in Yugoslavia. An extensive autonomy was given to the Albanians with the aim of enhancing development, only to understand that the autonomy was abused by the Albanians since they used the autonomy to clear the Kosovo habitants who were non-Albanians. The Albanians aim of when clearing the Kosovo region of the non-Albanians was to start up a succession process as they needed to be greater Albania. The Albanians in Kosovo are self satisfied, small political classes of Western Europe. The Albanians claim that they are solving the problem selling drugs illegally, and carrying out other illegal activities in the west, and the income got from the trade, are used to cause more disaster in the region, since they purchase illegal weapons, which they used in the conflict and continued spreading terror throughout the region.( Booth, 2001). The conflict had inter-ethnic tensions in Balkans and despite how much the Serbian tried to find ways of implementing peaceful solution, the Albanians never cared.  The west have tried to use many method to solve problem, but most of the methods they used, and especially the ancient methods are aimed at getting chances to access the great mineral resources which the region owns. This explains why the Americans supported the Albanian terrorists. Important Actors and their interests The Milosevic acted in the Kosovo tragedy. He had power over the Kosovo region, and his interest was to control and clear the Kosovo autonomy. The Albanians in Kosovo lost their jobs, their access to school, and health care was limited, and they lost administrative control. He also had interest in creating Greater Serbia, and to clearing the minority from the region. The Kosovo Albanians responded against the Milosevic power, where they created a parallel civil administration, and other social facilities such as schools and health care facilities. Under the leadership of Ibrahim Rugova, the Kosovo Albanians resisted the Milosevic regime in a non violent way, where they applied Gandhian tactics. The Kosovo Albanians’ interest was to have their rights considered, because despite the frequent periodic reports made by human right investigators, and International diplomats who investigated the gross and systemic human rights violations, Milosevic continued to violate their rights. After the failure of non violent demonstration, the Kosovo Albanians decided to use violent demonstration. The Kosovo Liberation Army joined the fight against Milosevic, and the army publicly asked for help from the entire community. The crowd provided overwhelming support, but the Serb had a disproportionate retaliation responds. The conflict between the Serb and the KLA continued, and revenge was persistent. The human rights continued to be violated, with no intervention, instead the Milosevic increased the military to clear KLA. The Contact Group intervened, with the interest of enhancing negotiations between the two groups and subsequent signing of peace plan. The Contact group required the KLA to disarm, Milosevic to reduce his military, and to restore autonomy, and to have NATO peace keeping force to be implemented. This brought more conflict because the Kosovo needed full independence guarantees, while the Milosevic wanted total control over the Province and the people, so they could not allow a new military force in the Province. The NATO joined the fight with the aim of enhancing the signing of the peace plan, and threatened to bomb Serb if they failed to sign. Kosovo signed after a delay, but Milosevic refused to sign, and continued to destroy Kosovo. NATO launched air campaign targeting the Serb military. Milosevic fought the NATO, and the Kosovo population in respond. (Ruga, 2007). Why does this conflict exist? The Kosovo conflict exists because of the existing form of revisionism which has prevailed for many years among the critics of Kosovo population desire for independence. This has been caused by failure of scrutiny, ignorance, racism, culture and religion. The various sides are guilty of varying degree, and mall the actors have failed in one way or the other. No actor wants to be held responsible of the conflict, despite the fact that each of the actors has played a role in the conflict. Serbia blames the Serb security force of the 1998 and 1999 massacre. The Kosovo Albanians explains their innocence by convincing people that they flew from their land to be refugees because of the fear of NATO bombing (Loyd, 2007). This has led to continued conflict in Kosovo. References: Booth, K (2001) Kosovo Tragedy. New York: Routledge. Loyd, A (2007) Kosovo deserves its independence, Retrieved April, 2008, from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3037002.ece Ruga, G. (2007)   History of Kosovo war, Retrieved April, 2008, from http://www.friendsofbosnia.org/edu_kos.html.      

Difference between personnel management and HRM Essay

Difference between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management Human resource management involves all management decisions and practices that directly affect or influence the people, or human resources, who work for the organization. In other words, Human resource management is concerned with ‘people centric issues’ in management. The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can’t yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have — and are aware of — personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HRM AND PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ALTHOUGH both human resource management (HRM) and personnel management focus on people management, if we examine critically, there are many differences between them. Some are listed below: i) Nature of relations: The nature of relations can be seen through two different perspective views which are Pluralist and Unitarist. There is a clear distinct difference between both because in personnel management, the focus is more on individualistic where individual interest is more than group interest. The relationship between management and employees are merely on contractual basis where one hires and the others perform. Whereas, HRM focuses more on Unitarist where the word â€Å"uni† refers to one and together. Here, HRM through a shared vision between management and staff create a corporate vision and mission which are linked to business goals and the fulfillment of mutual interest where the organization’s needs are satisfied  by employees and employees’ needs are well-taken care by the organization. Motorola and Seagate are good examples of organizations that belief in this Unitarist approach which also focuses in team management and sees employees as partners in an organization. Relation of power and management: The distribution of power in personnel management is centralized where the top management has full authority in decision-making where even the personnel managers are not even allowed to give ideas or take part in any decision which involves â€Å"employees†. HRM, on the other hand, sees the decentralization of power where the power between top management is shared with middle and lower management groups. This is known as â€Å"empowerment† because employees play an important role together with line and HR managers to make collective and mutual decisions, which can benefit both the management and employees themselves. In fact, HRM focuses more on TQM approach as part of a team management with the involvement and participation of management and employees with shared power and authority. The nature of management is focused more on bottom-up approach with employees giving feedback to the top management and then the top management gives support to employees to achieve mutually agreed goals and objectives. ii) Leadership and management role: Personnel management emphasizes much on leadership style which is very transactional. This style of leadership merely sees the leader as a task-oriented person. This leader focuses more on procedures that must be followed, punishment form non-performance and non-compliance of rules and regulations and put figures and task accomplishments ahead of human factors such as personal bonding, interpersonal relationship, trust, understanding, tolerance and care. HRM creates leaders who are transformational. This leadership style encourages business objectives to be shared by both employees and management. Here, leaders only focus more on people-oriented and importance on rules, procedures and regulations are eliminated and replaced with: Shared vision; Corporate culture and missions; Trust and flexibility; and HRM needs that integrates business needs. iii) Contract of employment: In personnel management, employees contract of employment is clearly written and employees must observe strictly the agreed employment contract. The contract is so rigid that there is no room for changes and modifications. There is no compromise in written contracts that stipulates rules, regulations, job and obligations. HRM, on the other hand, does not focus on one-time life-long contract where working hours and other terms and conditions of employment are seen as less rigid. Here, it goes beyond the normal contract that takes place between organizations and employees. The new â€Å"flexible approach† encourages employees to choose various ways to keep contributing their skills and knowledge to the organization. HRM, with its new approach, has created flexi-working hours, work from home policies and not forgetting the creation on â€Å"open contract† system that is currently practiced by some multinational companies such as Motorola, Siemens and GEC. HRM today gives employees the opportunity and freedom to select any type of working system that can suit them and at the same time benefit the organization as well. Drucker (1996) calls this approach a â€Å"win-win† approach. iv) Pay policies and job design: Pay policies in personnel management is merely based on skills and knowledge required for the perspective jobs only. The value is based on the ability to perform the task and duties as per the employment contract requirement only. It does not encourage value-added incentives to be paid out. This is also because the job design is very functional, where the functions are more departmentalized in which each job falls into one functional department. This is merely known as division on labour based on job needs and skill possessions and requirement. HRM, on the contrary, encourages organizations to look beyond pay for functional duties. Here, the pay is designed to encourage continuous job performance and improvement which is linked to value-added incentives such as gain sharing schemes, group profit sharing and individual incentive plans. The job design is no more functional based but teamwork and cyclical based. HRM creates a new approach towards job design such as job rotation which is inter and intra-departmental based and job enlargement which encourages one potential and capable individual to take on more tasks to add value to his/her job and  in return enjoy added incentives and benefits. Human resource management is the new version of personnel management. There is no any watertight difference between human resource management and personnel management. However, there are some differences in the following matters. 1. Personnel management is a traditional approach of managing people in the organization. Human resource management is a modern approach of managing people and their strengths in the organization. 2. Personnel management focuses on personnel administration, employee welfare and labor relation. Human resource management focuses on acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources in the organization. 3. Personnel management assumes people as a input for achieving desired output. Human resource management assumes people as an important and valuable resource for achieving desired output. 4. Under personnel management, personnel function is undertaken for employee’s satisfaction. Under human resource management, administrative function is undertaken for goal achievement. 5. Under personnel management, job design is done on the basis of division of labor. Under human resource management, job design function is done on the basis of group work/team work. 6. Under personnel management, employees are provided with less training and development opportunities. Under human resource management, employees are provided with more training and development opportunities. 7. In personnel management, decisions are made by the top management as per the rules and regulation of the organization. In human resource management, decisions are made collectively after considering employee’s participation,  authority, decentralization, competitive environment etc. 8. Personnel management focuses on increased production and satisfied employees. Human resource management focuses on effectiveness, culture, productivity and employee’s participation. 9. Personnel management is concerned with personnel manager. Human resource management is concerned with all level of managers from top to bottom. 10. Personnel management is a routine function. Human resource management is a strategic function. Human resource management past and present Human resource management has changed a lot in the past 100 years. Previously, HRM was called personnel administration or personnel management, that is, it had to do with the staff or workers of an organisation. It was mainly concerned with the administrative tasks that have to do with organising or managing an organisation, such as record keeping and dealing with employee wages, salaries and benefits. The personnel officer (the person in charge of personnel management) also dealt with labour relations.such as problems with trade unions or difficulties between employers (those who employ workers) and their employees. Before we look at the role of HRM in organisations today, we will examine the way people were managed in organisations in the past. Definition Personnel Management – Personnel Management is thus basically an administrative record-keeping function, at the operational level. Personnel Management attempts to maintain fair terms and conditions of employment, while at the same time, efficiently managing personnel activities for individual departments etc. It is assumed that the outcomes from providing justice and achieving efficiency in the management of personnel activities will result ultimately in achieving organizational success. Facts [+] The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the world’s largest HR department. OPM provides HR services for the federal governments workforce of nearly 2.8 million workers. It’s staff carry out the tasks to recruit, interview, and promote employees; oversee merit pay, benefits and retirement programs; and ensure that all employees and applicants are treated fairly and according to the law. To set the COLA [cost-of-living allowances] rates, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) surveys the prices of over 300 items, including goods and services, housing, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses. OPM conducts these surveys in each of the COLA areas and in the Washington, DC, area. Human resource management is concerned with the development and implementation of people strategies, which are integrated with corporate strategies, and ensures that the culture, values and structure of the organization, and the quality, motivation and commitment of its members contribute fully to the achievement of its goals. HRM is concerned with carrying out the SAME functional activities traditionally performed by the personnel function, such as HR planning, job analysis, recruitment and selection, employee relations, performance management, employee appraisals, compensation management, training and development etc. But, the HRM approach performs these functions in a qualitatively DISTINCT way, when compared with Personnel Management. Main Differences between Personnel Management and HRM HRM has a long history of growing from a simple welfare and maintenance function to that of a board level activity of the companies. In recent years, the focus on people management from human capital/intellectual capital perspective is also shaping firmly. However, the hard fact is that this growth can be generally witnessed in management literature and rarely in practice. Peripheral observation of people management in organization can mislead the observers since, hardly there could be any organization that is  yet to rename its old fashioned title of industrial relations/personnel/welfare/administration department into HRM department. But, in practice, these organizations continue to handle the people management activities the way they had been handling earlier. The reasons for this could be many and varied. Among them, the potential reason is lack of clear understanding about the differences between personnel/IR and HRM. Professor John Storey brilliantly portrayed these differences in 27 areas of people management in 1992 in his book titled Developments in the Management of Human Resources. These differences are illustrated in Table Dimensions Personnel and IR HRM Beliefs and assumptions 1. Contract Careful delineation of written contracts Aim to go beyond contract 2. Rules Importance of devising clear rules/mutually ‘Can-do’ outlook; Impatience with ‘rule’ 3. Guide to management action Procedures Business-need’ 4. Behaviour referent Norms/custom and practice Values/mission 5. Managerial task vis-a-vis labour Monitoring Nurturing 6. Nature of relations Pluralist Unitarist 7. Conflict Institutionalized De-emphasized Strategic aspects 8. Key relations Labour management Customer 9. Initiatives Piecemeal Integrated 10. Corporate plan Marginal Central 11. Speed of decision Slow Fast Line management 12. Management role Transactional Transformational leadership 13. Key managers Personnel/ IR specialists General/business/line managers 14. Communication Indirect Direct 15. Standardization High (e.g. ‘parity’ an issue) Low (e.g. ‘parity’ not seen as relevant) 16. Prized management skills Negotiation Facilitation Key levers 17. Selection Separate, marginal task Integrated, key task 18. Pay Job evaluation (fixed grades) Performance-related 19. Conditions Separately negotiated Harmonization 20. Labour-management Collective bargaining contracts Towards individual contracts 21. Thrust of relations with stewards Regularized through facilities and training Marginalized (with exception of some bargaining for change models) 22. Job categories and grades Many Few 23. Communication Restricted flow Increased flow 24. Job design Division of labour Teamwork 25. Conflict handling Reach temporary truces Manage climate and culture 26. Training and development Controlled access to courses Learning companies 27. Foci of attention for interventions Personnel procedures Wide ranging cultural, structural and personnel strategies

Battering is a Momentary Loss of Temper

Battering is a form of domestic violence, which involves physical actions aimed at instilling pain, harm the body or to propagate a feeling of intimidation to a partner so that one can get and maintain full control over the victim (Prakashan, 2001). Battering as an abusive behavior has a long trailing history in the global society and its awareness, legislation and perception varies from one country to the other. Several myths have been conceived with a purpose of explaining the main causes of battering.It is in this interest therefore that this paper is written. It seeks to refute the proposed myth that battering is a momentarily loss of temper. Reliable information from the American Medical Association has shown that domestic violence is not an instantaneous thing but a process, which is cultivated by various factors and in most cases over a certain period of time (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2009). The same point is underscored by the Surgeon General of the Unite d States report.True to the word, victims of battering have been subjected to this traumatizing experience over time. Momentarily loss of temper is, in my opinion dictates for occasional incidences of this abusive behavior, which is undoubtedly inhumane. The fact that battering is aimed at gaining and maintaining control over their partners as well as revenging or punishment for betrayals or mistakes done by the victim need to be appreciated right at the beginning of this discussion otherwise the rest of its content might not make the intended impact to the reader (Baskerville, 2006).Based on this fact and judging by the principles of reason one can see the possibility of a long and well planed battering incidence. For instance, unfaithfulness is a major drawback to the family but many a times, one of the partners may fail to have enough evidence on the same and therefore he or she has no ground for divorce (Prakashan, 2001). The problem becomes worse if their intimacy overcomes the ir desire to separate. This can amount to a feeling of betrayal, unhappiness and aggressiveness which as human beings, can accumulate to uncontrollable levels resulting to battering.Various studies have it that most women are more venerable to battering than men. This is evident in the physical strength of men as compared to women (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2009). To avoid being branded a feminist, the author of this paper finds it necessary to mention that men are also victims of domestic violence mostly in forms of verbal and emotional abuse. As a matter of fact, physical abuse like battering is the highest order of family violence beyond which severe injuries or even death can occur (Buzawa, & Buzawa, 2003).Domestic violence starts in the least form like altering abusive words. If the problem is left unsolved, it propagates and instills emotional instabilities like depression, keeping victims isolated from friends and family members. Still if this is left unat tended, it will accumulate to levels which can amount to physical violence which is battering for this matter. In conclusion therefore, the above discussion dismisses the proposed myth that Battering is a momentary loss of temper.It underscores the fact that battering is a form of domestic violence which results from unattended simple forms of domestic violence like verbal and emotional abuse. It is indeed an inhuman act, but it is very common and hence it is the responsibility of any couples to address their differences in a more human manner. Simple forms of domestic violence should not be left unresolved otherwise they can amount to battering. References Baskerville, S. (2006). Family Violence in America: The Truth about Domestic Violence and Children Abuse.Retrieved August 11, 2010, from http://www. acfc. org/site/DocServer/familyviolence. pdf? docID=641 Buzawa, C. , & Buzawa, E. (2003). Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice Response. California: sage Publications National Coa lition Against Domestic Violence. (2009). Domestic Violence Facts. Retrieved August 11, 2010, from http://www. ncadv. org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National). pdf Prakashan, P. (2001). Battered Women: A Study of Domestic Violence. Michigan: The University of Michigan.

Materials and Hardware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Materials and Hardware - Essay Example The Change from One Material to Another in Aircraft Development The method for the choice of materials for aircraft development has changed over the years. For the Flyer, the Wright brothers utilized the first cast aluminium engine block and the major drivers for the material chosen were static strength and weight. The materials used on the main airframe were wood covered with a fabric. Wood is a natural compound possessing long fibres of cellulose, which are held together by a weaker matrix of lignin. The use of wood as a material for the aircraft structure illustrates that the use of composite airframes is not new in the aircraft industry. After the creation of precipitation hardening and the technique to protect the aluminium surface by anodizing and cladding, aluminium has been the main material for aircraft development (Merati, 2010). The reason why aluminium has been used as the primary material for aircraft development is due to its high toughness, easily recyclable, no low te mperature brittle fracture, long term performance, high specific strength (calculated by strength/density), ease of manufacture (particularly in extrusion), and readily joinable by mechanical riveting or welding. These advantages make aluminium the preferred metal for aircraft development. ... The design method for materials utilized in aircraft structures were linked with sufficient strength and low weight (Schijve, 2009). As time evolved, there was need to develop aircrafts that were lighter and faster. This was mainly driven by the needs of the market. Aluminium was the next material that came into the minds of the developers. The material is light, very tough among other advantages. Longer lifecycle, safety, low maintenance cost and reliability are other factors that have triggered the change from one material to another in aircraft development. Why Aluminium Alloys Are Used Instead Of Pure Aluminium in Aircraft Development Pure aluminium produced commercially is a white lustrous metal that ranks top in its resistance to corrosion, sixth in ductility, and second in malleability scale. Aluminium in combination with various levels of other metals creates alloys, which are then used in aircraft development. The principal ingredients used in the aluminium alloys include ma gnesium, chromium, silicon, and manganese. These ingredients make the aluminium alloy resistant to corrosive environments. However, aluminium alloys with substantial levels of copper are vulnerable to corrosive action. The amount of the alloying elements is rarely more than 6 or 7% in the wrought alloys (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], n.d.). Aluminium is the most widely used metal material in modern aircraft development or construction. It is important to the aviation industry because of its relative ease of fabrication and its high strength to weight ratio. The outstanding feature of aluminium is its lightweight (FAA, n.d.; Lye, 1989). The metal melts at relatively low temperature of around 1,250Â °F. It is an excellent conductor and nonmagnetic. The tensile

Art Therapy and Childs Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Art Therapy and Childs Communication - Essay Example It is known that language development starts from the very beginning of the child's life. Even newly born babies hear the sounds around them. They listen to the speech when they hear it somewhere nearby, and they can even be startled at some loud noise. At the same time they already know how to make sounds which let people know if they experience pleasure or pain. By the time the child is 6 years old he speaks fluently and is able to answer simple questions about them. But it is not always so good with all children. Those who have some physical diseases or have suffered a psychological trauma experience difficulties with expressing their thoughts and wishes. That's why art therapy and the use of creativity becomes crucial in teaching these children fluent language and free exchange of thoughts and ideas. Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of something different. (Ganim, 1999). The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (1999) describes creativity as 'imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value'. (NACCE, 1999) In order to define creativity in more simple way it should be said that probably creativity is combining the things which previously could not been combined. Creativity always has two so called dimensions, that is the medium through which a child expresses his thoughts and ideas, in our particular case it is drawing, and the second dimension is the content, which is carried by the medium. Creativity can be of two different types - spontaneous and multistage. The first one comes out of a sudden, the second one needs much time for generating ideas and putting them into reality. Thus, any general definition of creativity must account for the process of recognition or discovery of novel ideas and solutions. (Prentice, 2000) Examples of personal traits of individuals, who are considered to be creative, were described by Rhyammar (1999) - openness to experience, independence, and self-confidence. But there is no one single definition of creativity with which everyone could agree. Any definition must note that creativity is a process of discovery and development of new ideas. Early psychological studies of children's drawings strived to find some connection between them and the development of children's cognition. Some workers consider that there could be found some parallels between the development of child's drawing and the evolution of art through the history. On the one hand Zierer (1976) states, that there is a clear connection between the evolution of children's cognitive abilities and the evolution of art and the historical development of art was followed by the cognitive development of children. On the other hand Neboschik (1975) does not see such connection and confirms that the changes in art are the consequence of the child's which to follow the culture by which he is surrounded. One thing remains without any change: children have a very good possibility to express their feelings and thoughts through such a simple meaning as drawing. Children therapists often use such kind of art therapy in order to help children to put

Potential Opportunity for Samsung to Market in China and Vietnam Case Study

Potential Opportunity for Samsung to Market in China and Vietnam - Case Study Example In the current environment of highly competitive global business, it now needs to explore and analyze market potential for its tablet in China and Egypt. Criteria for assessing potential opportunities for Samsung Tablets in China and Egypt Sn. Factors for assessment China Egypt 1. Population/popn growth 1338 mn/nil 81 mn/1.8% 2. GDP per capita $7599 $6180 3. Poverty (%) 36.3 18.5 4. UN education index 0.623 0.560 5. Contribution of private enterprises to GDP More than 50% na 6. PDI (personal disposable income in urban area $2515 na 7. Inflation (1-7 taken from BTI, 2012) 3.3 11.3 7. Credit rating (S&P) (S&P, 2013) AA- CCC+ 8. Country risk factors Political Technological Economic Social low low low high high low low high 9. e-Business readiness yes yes 10. Business forecast for 3 years (growth rate) 2012 2013 2014 7.8 8.0 8.2 (IMF, 2013) 113.13 126.29 138.48 (HSBC, 2012) China China’s economic reforms since 1978 have opened the market for overseas business and created viable en vironment for FDI and multinationals. It has shown incredible advancement in economy to become second largest in the world in 2010, surpassing Japan and biggest exporting country in 2009 (bti, 2013). At the same time, the stimulus package of $586 billion has challenged its dependence on fixed asset and new credit of about $ 2.5 trillion in 2009-2010 could lead to inflationary trend. Though there is wide income disparity with GINI index at 0.475 and urban-rural gap widening from 2.79:1 in 2000 to 3.3:1 in 2009, per capita disposable income in urban areas being $2515 as against $755 in rural areas. South Korea is one of the most important trading partners of China with good bilateral relations. FDI at $ 105.7 billion in 2010 encouraging, especially when private enterprises contribute more than 50% of the GDP and create more than 80% of new jobs. It has relatively high disposable income which makes it attractive for overseas business, especially, tablets which have huge demand with 41% rise in its demand (Stanley Morgan report, 2011). Egypt The country is continually in a state of high political instability but surprisingly it has not affected its economic development and structural improvement. The economic reforms introduced during 2004 by the Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif have continued with focused approach. The economic reforms and liberalization has not addressed the problems of literacy and unemployment which has considerably increased poverty and income disparity across the population. 40% of 83 million population comprising of nearly 20 million people are between 18 and 29 years, most of whom are vulnerable to poverty due to lack of education and unemployment. With high inflation rate of nearly 12% and relatively low GDP growth of 5%, the most populous country of Middle East has shown negative growth in both its export and import trade (BTI, 2012). Despite market liberalization, lack of nepotism and law enforcement has adversely impacted growth of domestic and foreign businesses. There is also rampant gender discrimination and human development index has continually shown down trend. It lacks political commitment and institutional capacity to address the problem of growing illiteracy and unemployment. Recommendation for China China has stable socio-political environment with high growth in GDP which has also made it attractive for overseas business. With increasing disposable income

Migration between European countries and their former colonies Term Paper

Migration between European countries and their former colonies - Term Paper Example For migrants, there are rules that they were supposed to follow when in the nations they moved to in which they will also be discussed in the main paper. Generally. This paper will explain migration of the Europeans and their former colonies in details. Introduction Migration refers to the physical movement of individuals from one region to another. This paper will examine the migration between the Europeans countries and their former colonies. In this case, the form of migration undertaken is known as international migration. This refers to the movement of individuals across national borders with the view of remaining in the guest nation for at least one year. This means that citizens of various European countries moved from their motherlands, crossing the borders of other nations to settle there. There are various reasons as to why this migration took place and this is among the issues that will be discussed in the main body of the paper. The research that was carried out to find o ut the reasons why this migration was undertaken and various methodologies were implemented to make the research effective. The methodologies implemented in the research process will also be discussed in the main body of the paper to clearly show implementations used to gather the findings that were reached at the end. After the research, full information is gathered making it possible for the researchers to know why the European countries migrated to other nations and the impacts of this process. In this case, the impacts will also be put into consideration and discussed in details in the paper. These are generally the issues that this paper wishes to discuss in order to provide information of why how and the results of the migration process between the European counties and their former colonies. Literature review Research shows that the European region exhibited two different forms of migration patterns in the twentieth century. Within the first fifty years, Europe was involved i n emigration towards the New World, while the second half of the twentieth century involved immigration patterns. Immigration refers to the movement of people into a different nation in order to have their new settlement schemes there. This gives a clear impression that there are some of the European county citizens who moved to other nations for the purpose of settling there. Coleman explains that the diverse migration movements were undertaken due to a variety of factors. The factors that led to these migration movements include: termination of the cold war, the consolidation of Germany, decolonization, wars and political suppression and the considerable demand of law and unskilled laborers. These reasons give a clear impression that there are many factors that contributed to the migration movements of the European countries. They undertook this practice in order to avoid some problems and make their living standards better by settling in other areas (Coleman 54). The current migr ation movement pattern by the Europeans is due to different factors. These factors include: declining populations due to the higher number of ageing people compared to young people. This gives a clear impression that the economy of the various nations where movements take place has low development rates. This is major because the young people who are energetic enough to provide the required labor force for the

Public Opinion and Responding to Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Public Opinion and Responding to Crisis - Essay Example Rather, it takes the collective effects of all stakeholders and departments of the school management process to successfully undertake the roles of the school as a system of institutional transformation. In his work, Kowalski creates the awareness to the fact there are three major identified departments or stakeholders in the school management system and that the individual roles played by each of these departments needs to be harnessed and coordinated in such a way that they each become dependant on the other for the common goal of transforming lives through the school. These stakeholders are the staff, parents and students. In the case of the suicide at McKinley Middle School, there could be a thorough discussion of how the roles of each of these stakeholders could best be played from the perspective of public opinion and response to crisis to salvage future occurrences or better still to have prevented the happening totally. Problem identification mechanism in schools From the cas e, there is a clear indication of a major deficiency in the school management system that has to do with problem identification mechanisms. ... Clearly, suicide is a psychological problem that is most likely to be reflective in the life of a student or a person who has very little psychological attention. If all stakeholders in the schools management process as identified earlier could play their collective roles well to come to terms with some of the basic problems that students face in their academic life therefore, there is every indication that other major problems that could lead to worse forms of reaction to problems such as suicides would be catered for. Crisis Response Deficiencies More to the fact that schools do not put in much effort to identifying and mitigating crisis in students and for that matter crisis in schools, there also exists a serious challenge that has to do with the fact that schools do not respond to crisis quick enough even after the crisis have started. For instance there are a number of bureaucratic formalities that schools expect parents to go through to get crisis handled or responded to. This happens because schools fail to acknowledge and appreciate the fact that parents are part of the schools management system and that they should be in a position to have full access to the school especially in times of crisis response (Kowalski, 2010, p. 221). In the case of the suicide, there are several crisis response deficiencies that were noticed. Without an iota of doubt, if there had been a clear-cut policy in the McKinley Middle School regarding how crisis of all manners ought to be responded to, there remains a whole lot that could have been done to salvage the situation. Because of the absence of such crisis response policy, crisis always arises before solutions are sought. The way forward To conclude, it is important to reflect

Database Management of Northampton Business School Essay

Database Management of Northampton Business School - Essay Example From the report it is clear that  the organizations have realized that the key to an efficient running of a business operation or any management process is efficient access and storage of information. The electronic Database management system was designed to fulfil two primary needs, storage and access of data in a time efficient manner. The traditional database management was cumbersome and was not centralized.This discussion highlights that  information was limited within departmental boundaries of the organization. It was difficult for one department to access data of another department. Now with the development of computerized databases, data entry and data access, both are performed in a centralized manner.  The data can now be stored in a centralized server and can be accessed by all the departments. As a result, access to information has become faster which gives employees more time to invest in other endeavours. Thus, it can be stated that database management system has increased the productivity of an organization. Incorporation of database management into an organization is a perfect example of restructuring a management with the help of technology.  The database is to be used to monitor students’ activity, their attendance, individual grades, enrolled courses, performance rating and behavioural conduct. The entity relationship structure will further describe the database and how it is linked to the entire organization of a centralized operation.

Social Work; Blaming the victim(critical thinking) Essay

Social Work; Blaming the victim(critical thinking) - Essay Example This implies that she is responsible for the abuse, or at least could have prevented it, if she had taken more of an effort to avoid them. It places the responsibility on the victim to avoid the perpetrator. By telling her parents they had intervened it attempts to deflect the attention from the original crime or situation to hold the victim, Danielle, responsible. Victim blaming in this instance was subtle, but still existent. By holding Danielle responsible, implying she â€Å"deserved† or instigated the bullying by sending emails as well, the school blamed her for what happened. Because they believe the bullying wouldn’t happen without a â€Å"reason†, they believe the victim must have somehow provoked the actions. By blaming Danielle, it also allows the school to escape the blame from their own lack of action. They are able to side step the fact that they didn’t take strong, appropriate, immediate action against the bullies. It deflects the attention from the school, and the actual bullies, to Danielle, the victim. The memo was an indirect way of blaming the victim. Although at no point does it directly say Danielle was responsible, it insinuates it by implying she could have taken action by blocking the emails or following their other suggestions. It also diverts from the intensity of the bullying by avoiding, through exclusion, that there were other forms of bullying than just emails. The emails were only a small part of the actual bullying that occurred. The school didn’t address ways to counter slanderous actions like keeping her from making the team, bullying her in person, and spreading rumors. The memo they sent out only addressed a small portion of the bullying. Even if the emails were the main concern, the memo still holds the victim accountable by saying they shouldn’t’ respond to bullying—that by countering a bully’s actions, the victim is responsible. By not taking stronger action and by blaming the victim, the school