Monday, September 30, 2019

Gun Control Research Paper Essay

When you hear about all of the tragedies that have occurred over the last few years relating gun violence one of the first things that come to mind is how they can be prevented. Gun regulations could limit the number of shootings and gun related deaths in the United States. If we take guns off the streets to obvious result would be a decline the average number of deaths caused by shootings in the United States per year. This is a serious problem that is the logical thing to do in order to save countless innocent lives each year. Reducing guns sold to people with criminal records, mental illnesses or to people where it is a safety hazard are the steps that need to be taken in gun regulation. The United States has the highest gun ownership rate in the world in small arms the ones that are most common kind found in the hand of a civilian. Extremely important people in our nation’s history were killed by a civilian with a gun. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln also Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated (Doeden 26). The people who committed these offences were seemingly normal everyday people like you and me but the lack of laws and restrictions regarding background checks allow these criminals or the mentally unstable to acquire deadly weapons and cause mass unnecessary death. Gun control has been a political idea since the signing of our constitution. Only a few years after our nation was born New York politician, Rufus King, said â€Å"That it was dangerous to put arms into the hands of the frontier people for their defense, lest they should use them against the United States† (qtd. in Doeden 17). The political, ethnical and constitutional debat es of gun control have been going on for over two hundred years. The situation has not become any more resolved over that time because the debates continue to this day. There is a clear relation to gun control and safety of our friends and family. The lack of strong gun regulation laws in the United States  endangers the safety of innocent citizens. In December of 2012 a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage and killed 20 first graders and six staff members of a Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown Connecticut. The gunman was armed with two semi-automatic hand guns and an assault rifle (Bagne). In the weeks after gun sales spiked which is not the result that was expected and holds a problem in its self. The way to maintain safety in and around our neighborhood is not to have everyone stockpile guns. If this is the mindset of the American people then something needs to be done. Gun restrictions will allow people to go through their everyday lives with a priceless feeling of safety for them and their family. The necessity of caution when someone wants to acquire and firearm is immense. If there is no gun sold into a potentially life threatening situation such as a home with many children or with someone who has a history of violent acts then the chance of an incident involving a firearm is severely reduced. In order to reduce armed crime in the United States we must apply more powerful gun control regulations. Vice president Joe Biden is one of the most involved and dedicated politicians on the gun control issue. He is trying to reduce armed violence by creating a strict background check policy for anyone trying to purchase or register a gun .The objective of Biden’s campaign is to reduce the risks that are associated with a criminal being able to purchase a firearm with intent to use the weapon unlawfully. In the last year after the Newtown Connecticut shootings there have been more than 5,200 people killed with a gun in the United States (Feldmann). Mass gun related deaths in the United States unfortunately are not an uncommon occurrence. â€Å"In October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo used a Bushmaster assault rifle in a three weak sniping spree to murder ten people and injure three others in Washington D.C, Maryland and Virginia†(Carter). The point made in the article was that if gun restrictions and regulations were tighter there may have been a chance that the police would have been able to identify the shooters much sooner if they were able to match the bullet casing to the gun and its owners. The situation of armed crime has only gotten worse over the decade since this tragedy and as of right now there is no sign of improvement on the gun control policies in the United States. The occurrences of mass shootings in the United States in many cases can be related to the mental health of the people who were able to obtain and use these weapons. The Sandy Hook massacre was because a man who was mentally unstable was able to take his mother’s weapons shoots her then proceeds on the elementary school where he killed the innocent children and teachers (Bagne). Laws need to be put in place in order to protect our nation from tragedies like this. If there are regulations prevention the purchase of a gun in a home where there is someone who is not mentally stable and can access the guns. An alternate relation between and mental stability comes from the aftermath. After Sandy Hook many counselors were sent to schools around the country to try and allow students to cope with what had recently happened in Connecticut. Regardless if the students were at Sandy Hook or not there were people who suffered and were traumatized by this event. Gun regulations need to be put in place to prevent guns reaching the hands of people who are mentally unstable and to prevent mass shootings in order to preserve the innocence of the next generation. Gun regulations have become a very controversial issue over the years, but the amount of preventable and unnecessary death in the United States should be enough to force congress into passing laws on this issue. The rise in armed crime, the safety of our citizens’ minds and bodies should be a top priority. The only way to eliminate these factors is to reduce the amount of guns in the hands of people who should not be handling them. Works Cited Bagne, Mary. â€Å"Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting (2012).† Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society 2013: n. pag. ABC-CLIO. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Carter, Gregg L. â€Å"Washington D.C. Sniper Case (2002).† 2013: n. pag. ABC-CLIO. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Doeden, Matt. Gun Control: Preventing Violence or Crushing Constitutional Rights? Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2012. Print. Feldmann, Linda. â€Å"Gun Control: Why Vice President Biden Is Trying Again.† The Christian Science Monitor 18 June 2013: n. pag. Print.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

4 Paragraphs Essay

-My room is in a mess because I had a party with my best friends last night. I have to clean my room before my mom arrives from work. The underwear is hanging on the lamp, my books are all jammed in the closet, the scarf is beneath the TV and my shoe is under the bed. -We have the best cafeteria, they offer different type of foods, the food menu is so big it consists of Arabian, Indian, American, Mexican and Chinese food. They have a special Indian dish called â€Å"Chicken Tekka Masala† its a dish of roasted chicken chunks in a spicy sauce. Breakfast Burritos is a special Mexican food that contains Eggs, bacon, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla, hot sauce is optional. My favorite dish in the cafeteria menu is Shawarma, it’s an Arabian food made with chicken and bread. See more: Distinguish between problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping Essay -David is a dangerous driver, I hate the way he drives the car, he either drive too slow or too fast. One day we were in the Himalayan mountains, he was behind the steering driving uphill, he was driving so fast we almost fell of the cliff. The way he brakes the car is so scary, it reminds me of how my grandmother drives. Neighbors are so important if they are willing to help you in time of need. My favorite neighbor is Mrs. Shirley , I remember the day when the government cut off our water, she was the first one there to help us, she even offered us to stay at her place. She is so generous and I like the way she hosts me.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The Origins of African-American Christianity Essay

The Origins of African-American Christianity - Essay Example Traditional Ibo Religion and Culture written by Olaudah Equiano in the book’s first chapter adequately describes the traditional black religion. He specifically narrates the dichotomy of people involved in this ancient tradition. Hence, the account gives the reader an insight about the set-up of the mentioned African religion. Equiano gives an example that in the Ibo religion, places of worship merit no importance. Yet, he briefly explains that the traditional religion has priests and magicians as superiors of their worship. At the same time, the author expounds this information by explaining the multiple tasks of these religious leaders in the form of traditional witch-doctors (Equiano 14-16). Equiano does not only focus on the key personalities in Ibo religion, he also expounds on their beliefs and the rituals that form a specific culture. He narrates the burial culture of the African people and the accompanying beliefs that they incorporate death with poison (Equiano 17-18) . However, the author gives light to Christianity that the blacks had encountered in America. He mentions the belief in God and the injustice that is created with the slave trade (Equiano 18). African Religions in Colonial Jamaica by Bryan Edwards in the book’s next chapter further expounds the traditional African religion in the American colonies in the Caribbean. Once again, this specific segment brings the reader into the context of slavery where the blacks retain the tradition they had come to know in their native African home. The discourse of Edwards in this portion is indeed simple: he shares to the audience the taboo rituals of the African slaves which is predominant in the Christian lands of the American colonies (Edwards 20-23). How important is the second chapter to the first? Edward’s narrative tends to explain the strength of the African tradition and religion that is presented in the first. It is in this part that he details the culture that has been form ed during the height of the slave trade in the Americas. This chapter solidifies the transposition of the African experience unto foreign soils, thus creating an African Diaspora. The third chapter acts as glue to the first and the second because it discusses the eventual conversion of the African slaves to Christianity. Slave Conversion on the Carolina Frontier by Francis Le Jau is to be considered as the most reliable primary source when it comes to the history of black Christianity in the Americas. This particular account divulges Le Jau’s efforts of converting the native and African Americans in South Carolina to Anglicanism, the state religion of the British Colonial Empire. It explains the primary reason of their utter conversion – the opposition to black slavery and the abuses of the planters. The Reverend’s first hand experiences with the converts gave him an initial view of what America would turn into after the British rule – a society of mixed white and black Americans. This chapter also serves as basis for the growth that black Christianity would experience up to the outburst of the American Revolution. As what each chapter has narrated, the reader can see the importance narrative development in the respective authors’

Friday, September 27, 2019

Case analysis-Boeing Vs Airbus case, international business strategy Essay

Case analysis-Boeing Vs Airbus case, international business strategy - Essay Example It was claimed by Airbus that, â€Å"both the Boeing and the McDonnell Douglas have been benefited for years from the hidden U.S. government subsidies†. This merger was a horizontal merger between the Boeing and the McDonnell Douglas. By the term horizontal merger it can be understood that the merger is occurring between the companies that produces similar goods and services. This kind of merger basically takes place when larger companies attempt to create more efficient economies of scale (Investopedia, 2010). It is evident from the case study that the performance of the McDonnell Douglas had been very poor which would have forced it to exit from the commercial aircraft business. According to the analyst â€Å"the merger with the Boeing merely accelerated the process. Because the merger would reduce the number of players in the commercial aerospace industry from three to two, it was expected that the antitrust authorities would review the merger†. Both the Airbus and the Boeing have received under the terms of joint agreement, various government aids in order to develop the large aircraft like Airbus A380 and Boeing 787. The US had made a complaint against the loans that was granted to Airbus since Boeing had not received any such kinds of aids. According to the experts of the aviation industry, by this kind of complaint the US were actually trying to prevent the EU from granting any further launch aids to the Airbus for the development of the A350. This would also help the US manufacturer Boeing to strengthen their position in the United States. In response to the complaint made by the United States aircraft makers like the Boeing against the Airbus, the EU also filed a case against the US for unlawful subsidization of the Boeing. Therefore, this seems to be the major problem as analyzed from the case study which needs proper attention (Haak & Bruggemann, 2010). Another key

Thursday, September 26, 2019

HILTON HOTELS AND RESORTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

HILTON HOTELS AND RESORTS - Essay Example The tourism industry also falls in the hospitality. The hospitality industry is entirely dependent on the availability of individual’s leisure time and disposable income. The hotels and resorts seek to maximize the number of customers to their facilities in order to capitalize on profitability. To ensure a constant flow of customers, most of the hotels and restaurants today have engaged the services of hotel brokers. The brokers utilize business networks and other advertisement channels to create awareness of the hotels, restaurants and other fields of the hospitality industry’s services. Location and quality services are two essential factors that establish the competitiveness of any field in the hospitality industry. Other factors that helps the organizations gain and sustain their competitive advantage include dependability, professionalism and excellent customer experience. The Hilton Hotels and Resorts is an international organization from the hospitality sector th at has existed for over 92 years today. This organization is well known to many people across the globe for its stylish, advanced thinking and an international leader in the hospitality industry. In addition, the organization is famous for its innovative and creative approach to their services, facilities and other products tailor made to suit a variety of needs for their existing and potential customers (Hilton Hotels and Resorts 2013). ... The organization also continues to expand by constructing new hotels properties in different parts of the world while maintaining their quality services (Hilton Hotels and Resorts 2013). The Hilton Resorts are an epitome of quality in the hospitality industry with the best customer experience in the world. The Resorts offer several services to the customers ranging from spas to excellent cuisines. The spa offers all unique services that create the urge in customers to always come back for more (Potter 1999). The Resorts also offer a wide variety of quality to the customer’s with an option of tailor made cuisines on demand. The Resorts also provide unique surroundings and perfect beachside views that form a suitable outdoor sight that is appealing to individuals who prefer relaxing outdoors. To create repeat customers and to enhance loyalty from the existing ones, Hilton Resorts invests on creating good memories of a single visit to their facilities. In addition, the Resorts al so offer specialized treatment and services to periodical visits such as family gateways, romantic couple of vacations, business retreats. The need for such treatment is satisfied by the presence of a Hilton Resort within close proximity to their customers (Hilton Hotels and Resorts 2013). Just like any other organization, the Hilton Hotels and Resorts use an organizational chart that helps in giving all the stakeholders a clear overview of the reporting relationships at the workplace. The charts also provide a general idea of the division of work and levels of management within the organization. Hilton Hotels and Resorts current organizational chart portrays the structural dimensions taken by the management namely formalization, specialization, centralization,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Japanese literiture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Japanese literiture - Essay Example Death and decay or perishability is a theme that has been extensively dealt with in Western as well as Japanese literature. However in Western Literature the concept of death is always related to an ending and has negative connotations. Moreover the Western world is always desiring for permanence rather than accepting and letting nature work on its principles as it is also apparent from the example Keene quotes, â€Å"in west permanence rather than perishability has been desired and this has led men to build monuments of deathless marble the realization that even such monuments crumble is a proof of inexorability of the ravages of time† (18). While on the other hand for Japanese death or decay does not connote negativity or an end in fact they perceive it as a beginning of something new. Moreover unlike the west who craves permanence they accept this bitter reality of human existence. In Japanese literature this principle of perishability is also perceived as the â€Å"Tyrann y of time† (Varley, 47) because Japanese realize that time always takes its toll and it is a natural mechanism according to which everything meets its end or deteriorates eventually with time. Although it is a major theme that is incorporated in many Japanese literary pieces yet this concept is also practically utilized and applied in their culture and life style. The practical implication of this phenomenon in Japanese culture is evident from the example stated in the text, â€Å"Few things for common use are made in Japan with the view of durability. The straw sandals worn out and replaced at each stage of the journey; the robe consisting of a few simple widths loosely stitched together for wearing and unstitched again for washing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (18). This principle of perishability of Japanese aesthetics helps an observer to find beauty even in ugliness or deformity. As it is also mentioned by Keene, â€Å"†¦flaws are sometimes as attractive as intrinsic beauty† (19). This further reiterates another reality of human existence i.e. it is impossible to attain perfection. Although this cliche is accepted by the Japanese the western world prefers to ignore it or they are unable to comprehend this simple yet complex reality of life. Unlike the western world that condemns impermanence and despises the role of fate in human life Japanese admire this unpredictability because they interpret it as an adventure and they consider it as a break through from the monotony and dullness. The extensive plantation of cherry blossoms in Japan instead of any other plants and trees also support this concept because Japanese prefer novelty in life. Rather than opting for plants that bloom round the year or have longer period of blooming they like the three days glory of the cherry blossoms and such an approach towards life develops a feeling of contentment in them. Such a simplistic approach towards life helps them in enjoying and relishing life moment by moment rather than wasting it like the western world in the marathon or quest for attaining more and desiring for the unattainable. Another interesting fact that Keene explores is that although the Japanese are competing and attaining success in the technological and nuclear age of the twenty first century yet their success in the modern world has not corrupted them and hence they still retain their connection with their

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Rally Championship; Design Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rally Championship; Design - Coursework Example e other hand, Bacillus.cereus involves two important secretion systems that were responsible for toxin secretion and proteins such as Tat and Sec-SRP type. There are many benefits derived from some strains of Bacillus.cereus , it is used to treat crops disease and it does involve in a pesticide to prevent the fungi from plants .Although, this bacteria can be dangerous for human , the recent studies show that it has produced antibiotic toxins involving antibiotic B and zwittermicin A which are useful for plants to protect them from disease. Bucillus cereus is a gram –positive bacteria and it is a rod shaped and facultative anaerobic organism. The first time it was discovered was in 1969 from mail patient who had fatal pneumonia (Hoffmaster.A et al , 2006). In terms to the environmental aspect , Bacillus .cereus is found in the soil and it is separated widely in the nature. Also, it is participate to microflora of insects and might found in plants(Vilain.S et al ,2006) Bacteria belongs to bacilli family and it is related genetically to Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus pseudomycoides, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus weihenstephanensis and Bacillus thuringiensis. These bacterium have the ability to secrete different types of toxins. (Drobrniewski .F ,1993)has given an interesting example which is Bacillus anthracis lead to Cause anthrax to humans and animals, whereas Bacillus cereus is caused food borne illness .In addition, Bacillus.cereus is often beta hemolytic that is breakdown of red blood cells in vitro, while Bacillus. anthracis is non hemolytic. It is possible that, some strain of Bacillus. cereus are harmful to humans and the other would be beneficial to a certain degree. This due to the fact that sometime Bacillus. cereus can product probiotics which is useful while it may tend to give rise in Food poisoning and gastroenteritis. These diseases have a main syndrome such as emetic and diarrhea the vomiting might cause by contaminated food by only

Monday, September 23, 2019

Contracts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contracts - Assignment Example The appellant proved that Woods did not seek an equivalent request for her explicit promise. In addition, she did not make any requests for any proceeds from Wood in a manner that would have provided a sense of her â€Å"consideration†, which was vital for the validity of the contract. In light of this, the court established that even though, Wood failed to create a binding contract by not seeking the input of the other party, it was naturally implicit for the party to conduct himself in a reasonable manner by delivering half of the proceeds he was to obtain. The primary rationale behind the ruling was that for a contractual term to be deemed as implicit, they must be very clear to validate the contract. This means that in common law, parties to a contract must foster a relationship that undercuts formalism of the document signing process. The English case law of Chandler v Webster [1904] 1 KB 493 involved frustration in the performance of contracts. Mr. Webster entered into an agreement with Mr. Chandler, in which the latter party would have an accommodation on a strategic street to witness the Kings installation on June 26 1902. In the initial agreement, the tenant was supposed to pay 141 £ 15s. Mr. Chandler had rented the room on behalf of another party who was not impressed by it; besides, the party could not use it due to other commitments elsewhere. In light of these changes, Mr. Chandler paid  £100 on June 19 and requested Mr. Webster to raise money using part of the room, and promised to settle the shortfall in a letter dated June 10, if any occurred under the new arrangement. The King became unwell prompting the cancellation of the event (McKendrick 730). The High Court ruled that the claimant could not reclaim the  £100, and that his letter dated 10th June was clear enough that he would only settle the balance after the ceremony. The defendant was also disbarred

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Emergency Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Emergency Management - Assignment Example It is essential for National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to develop a strategic partnership with other stakeholders and implement proactive approaches to emergency management (National Emergency Management Association, 2011). Emergency managers should coordinate with other Federal agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and National Weather Service in disaster preparedness. I have noticed that safeguarding the critical infrastructures like the highways, buildings, and seaports is not enough since Emergency Management efforts should focus on hazard identification, and land use planning (Virginia Department of Emergency Management, 2007). I have understood that emergency managers should save and protect lives in case of disasters, mitigate damage on physical property and environment, coordinate communications through incident command system (ICS) and provide essential services to the victims (National Emergency Management Association, 2011). I have also lear ned that Emergency Operations Center should involve members from different skills background such as fire services, search and rescue operations, transportation, medical services, and relief support and information technology in order to coordinate the communications and operations. My respondents suggested several skills that Emergency Managers that are critical. For instance, some mentioned that emergency managers should have specialized skills in disaster identification and assessment. I acknowledge that is a critical skill in modern emergency management since prior hazard identification, mitigation and preparedness will be capable of reducing the impact and damage to property and loss of lives. I believe that the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and Gulf Coast oil spills would be minimal if the emergency management departments had foreseen the disasters.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Social Contract Theory of John Locke Essay Example for Free

Social Contract Theory of John Locke Essay According to John Locke (1690), â€Å"the people give up some freedoms to the government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order through the rule of law. † When the people surrender some freedoms and the government agreed to work together towards a common goal, to promote equal protection for both the people and the government. Based on the agreement a government was created. Therefore the government of the United States, has the powers to prosecute and punish individuals for criminal acts, and bears the responsibilities of providing public safety to the people through the police, court systems. We the people agree to obey civil and criminal law enforced by the government, and pays our taxes and the government agrees to treat us fairly and protect us and protects the country and our freedoms by uphold the Constitution. John Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson and our Founding Fathers while writing â€Å"the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, Locke’s Social Contract Theory on America’s political and governmental system is undeniable† (Moll, 2006). While writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, drew heavily from the writings of John Locke, and placed them in the Constitution. The social contract theory infuses both these documents. Thomas Jefferson adopted Lockes ideas people had rights to life, liberty, equality, and pursuit of happiness, the responsibility of government must protect those rights, and put them in the Constitution. The government was established from the consent of the people and therefore the power of government should be distributed among different institution. The words â€Å"we the people† in the Preamble to the Constitution, illustrates the people have agreed to work in partnership with government to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity† (Schwartz, n. d. ) illustrates that both the American people and government agree to work together to ensure the rights of the people will be protected at all times. â€Å"The Constitution is a flexible, lawful document of rights and restrictions. The Articles of the Constitution affirm the shape of government, divided into three branches, which are given powers to keep the others in check to balance government. The amendments grant certain civil liberties, but like the articles, also assert specific rules and restrictions on those who are not granted civil rights. The philosophic beliefs of natural rights to life, liberty, and property of John Locke are expanded into the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights† (Raborg, 2008). By using the Bill of Rights from the U. S. Constitution as a foundation for police ethics training is better than using state ethics law, because officers have taken an oath to uphold the principles of the Constitution. The major justification for corrective (criminal) law is prevention of harm. The social contract theory explains that law is a contract each individual gives up some liberties and, in return, is protected from others who have their liberties restricted as well. The interference of law in natural liberties kept to a minimum and should step in only when the liberty in question injures or impinges on the interests of another. The â€Å"Social Contract Theory gives legitimacy to the American criminal justice system and the role of police in our society. The authority of police is derived from the people through the social contract, which holds that the purpose of government is to better protect the rights that people already naturally possess: those of life, liberty and property† (Moll, 2006). The social contract theory is the foundation which our criminal justice system is based upon. The government exists to serve the people, and to maintain the political power. Locke’s â€Å"ideas are the fundamentals of American government today, Americans are free and have civil rights but when decisions are made in Congress, majority rules, but minority rights are protected† (Raborg, 2008). The U. S. Constitution establishes the form of government the people have agreed to abide by in turn the government agrees to protect the people, was built on the beliefs of John Locke. When the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution they left room for the Constitution to be modified to protect the people as society changes to ensure that the rights of the people are still being protected, and the government can provide more protection to the people without violating their given rights. Without the philosophical influence of John Locke on our Founding Fathers, I wonder what our criminal justice system would be like. References Locke, John (1690) â€Å"Two Treatises Government† Project Gutenberg (10th edition)Retrieved February 27, 2010 from http://www. gutenberg. org/dirs/etext05/trgov10h. htm Moll, Monica M (2006) â€Å"Improving American Police Ethics Training: Focusing on Social Contract Theory and Constitutional Principles† Retrieved February 25, 2010 from http://www. forumonpublicpolicy.com Roland, John (1994). â€Å"The Social Contract and Constitutional Republics† Retrieved February 25, 2010 from http://www. federalobserver. com Raborg, Chris (2008) â€Å"The Philosophical Influence of John Locke on the Fundamental Ideas of the United States Constitution† Retrieved February 25, 2010 from http://www. marylandsar. org Schwartz, Ed (n. d. ) â€Å"Social Contract Project† Institute for the Study of Civic Values Retrieved February 27, 2010 from http://207. 245. 99. 38/socialcontract. html.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything MASS COLLABORATION CHANGES EVERYTHING? A Book Report on Wikinomics Executive Summary Tapscott, D. Williams, A.D. (2008) introduced a new concept of Wikinomics in the book WIKINOMICS: HOW MASS COLLABORATION CHANGES EVERYTHING. It was proposed that in the contemporary world, any individual or commercial enterprises cannot realize fast and sustainable innovation on its own. Collaboration with consumers, suppliers and business partners, as well as collaboration within an enterprise or organization is of great importance to its success. Wikinomics envision that in the future all survival enterprises will have to accept rapid globalization and embrace the science and art of mass collaboration. The report is aimed to take a detailed look at the book and discuss why Wikinomics work, how it works and the possibility of it being embraced by all enterprises eventually. At the end of the article, a conclusion is drawn to summarize the research results of this paper. Introduction The boundary of traditional companies is generally thought to be clear and rigid: balance sheet illustrates all properties the ownership of which belongs to a company while the list of members of corporate organizations indicates all employees hired by a company. At the same time, enterprises can manage their boundaries in accordance with expanded production scale and increased organization cost. According to pure theoretical analysis of micro economics, the intersectional point of an enterprise’s production possibility boundary and its organization possibility boundary is the enterprise’s optimal external boundary, where the enterprise’s marginal production revenue equals to its marginal oganization cost. At this point, further expansion of its boundary will lead to situations of losses outweighing gains whereas contraction of its boundary will result in non-maximum profitability. Of course, on the other hand real life situations are much more complex than theor etical analysis – marginal revenue and cost are both theoretical concepts and cannot be accurately measured. Otherwise, operating a calculator at office alone can solve the problem of determining the best size of a company. Meanwhile, due to the diversity of organization forms, organizational costs are not necessarily bound to increase along with the expansion of the organization. Organization forms such as virtual organization, strategic alliance, outsourcing, etc. are gradually being invented throughout enterprises’ development process. The birth of each new organization form can mean a new possibility of organization expansion. But none of these new forms have had the kind of revolutionary influences comparable to that of mass collaboration which involves coordination and collaboration with the mass, partners and even competitors outside an enterprise’s boundary in terms of enterprise production and innovation. This trend has transformed the previously hierarchical, closed workplace into a self-organized, distributed, collaborative human capital network. The new phenomenon is characterized by reporters with the Wired magazine as Crowdsourcing; people in the software industry compared the model to OSB, Open Source of Business; and, Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, research fellows of New Paradigms think tank, dubbed it â€Å"Wikinomics†. Wikinomics, according to the book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by the two research fellows, is a new economic production paradigm based on mass collaboration and open platforms, which is a new economic production model that features all characteristics of â€Å"mass input, common creation†, including such new phenomena as content generation with user participation, external RD activities of an enterpriseà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ large scale collaborative production, integration of production and consumption, and establishment of sharing platform etc, The authors use a great number of enterprises cases to prove the superiority of the new economic paradigm. However, mass collaboration, at least has not changed everything or even become a business mainstream with more and more entrepreneurs getting doubtful or simply reject. Gold Mines outside of Enterprises Boundary In the book of Wikinomics, the authors choose to begin by citing a case in the mining industry which is actually very thought provoking. A small sized gold mining company in Canada, whose future is almost entirely dependent on whether the company can dig sufficient more gold at low cost on mineral deposits of which it has ownership. The geologists working for the company cannot accurately locate the gold in the short period of time. Facing this situation, the CEO, Rob McEven made a decision that was very unconventional in mining industry: he launched a gold company challenge contest, publishing all geological information the company already had to the whole world via its website and offering a prize of $575,000 to the contestant who provided the best estimate and mining method. The open source prospection resulted in amazing returns more than 1,000 virtual prospectors from 50 countries participated the challenging match and found 110 target locations on the company’s mineral deposit, 50% of which were not found by the company previously. More than 80% of the new target locations were proved to contain great amount of gold and since the launch of the contest more than 8 million ounces of gold was found. According to McEven’s estimation the contest shortened the time needed for conventional prospecting by two to three years and the value of his company also skyrocketed to $9 billion from merely 100 million. The gold company is not Wikipedia, but an enterprise that is engaged in a extremely closed, conservative industry. Here the authors implied that enterprises in any industries can benefit from Wikinomics. But why Wikinomics can enhance enterprises’ business performance? We can consider the gold company as a highly simplified enterprise model. Prospection cost and cost for unearthing the gold are the only input, while the gold is the output and the condition needed for the company to earn a profit is the two categories of cost cannot exceed the value of the gold to be unearthed. The essence of the challenge contest launched by the gold company is that McEven changed the conventional prospection cost which was uncertain and very hard to control and threatened to bring down the company, to a fix amount of money needed for attracting the best bid from outside. The nature of the company’s success is it reduced its cost significantly by taking advantage of external resources. It seems the â€Å"gold† that made the company rich was lying in its mineral deposits, but actually it was in the â€Å"outside†. Take the Lessons Further If we think deeper about the case of the gold company, prospection fees actually can be considered research and development costs of an enterprise. In an enterprise’s cost structure, fees put into research and development (RD) is similar to venture investment. Whether the RD activities can succeed or not, the company has to pay for all the costs. If RD activities prove successful, the enterprise makes economic profit; if those activities prove failures, then the enterprise’s investment will go waste. Yet in the RD models described by Wikinomics, risks and costs of RD activities are jointly shouldered by the enterprise and external specialists. On one hand, participation of outside resources can bring more ideas in and increase the possibility of success of RD programs; on the other, the gold company’s practice of soliciting the best prospection plan is tantamount to inviting bids that can ensure the success of RD programs; the company only needs to pay for RD programs that are successful while the costs of failed RD programs are spread among all bidders. The rise of benefit, or revenue, and the drop of costs both expand the enterprise’s profitability. Then why bidders outside of the enterprise are willing to shoulder the cost of its failed RD activities? Firstly, the cost spread onto each individual is already trivial; the RD cost invested by each individual may be just like lifting one’s fingers; on the other hand, outside bidders that participate in corpora te RD activities may have a mindset that is similar to that of lottery buyers – though the average benefit expectations maybe negative, they are still excited by the possibility of winning a huge amount of prize. A phenomenon I would like to mention is, actually Wikinomics have had its use in much earlier times, long before the human kind has developed so many dazzling technologies and devices. The listing of criminals as wanted by police authorities, or posting ads that offer some kind of incentive to find a lost relative or something value, are both effective use of Wikinomics. The searching cost is huge to should for a police department and is way beyond what a person or family’s can afford. By doing so, the enormous searching cost will be shouldered by the public and the police authorities or a family trying to locate someone or something will only need to pay a much smaller amount of money as an incentive. We can now see from a series of cases of enterprises cited by the authors of Wikinomics that the nature of the secret of Wikinomics is that an enterprise can make use of resources outside its boundary to increase benefits or reduce cost. However, to utilize resources outside of its boundary, a enterprise must do what the gold company had done, that is, disclosing some internal knowledge of the company such as RD platforms and technical standards. If an enterprise follows the logic of Wikinomics, it will inevitably take on the four characteristics that are central to mass collaboration: openness, peering, sharing and acting globally. Mythology and Reality Though Wikinomics has displayed a extremely attractive prospect for enterprises and many enterprises indeed have obtained the â€Å"gold† outside of their boundaries. Yet in reality, we can see still there is only a very limited proportion of enterprises that have chosen to make a change to their traditional prices of running their businesses within their boundaries. Consumers and producers are considered two categories of people that have little in common; openness is deemed as will eventually cause an enterprise to lose its competitive advantage. And more importantly, those enterprises which do introduce into themselves â€Å"mass collaboration and common creation† are considered miracles, rather than normal cases. The book Wikinomics will very likely be read by enterprises managers and owners as a set of mental gymnastics that can spart inspirations, rather than a research report on the trend of changes and reform of enterprises. To what extent has the new economic paradigm of mass collaboration influenced the trend of business operation model? The open source operating system Linux was deemed by many commercial analyst to be the terminator of Microsoft, however, till this day, Microsoft still holds firmly its considerable share in the operating systems market. Open source softwares are still considered by many as a business model that cannot last long. An IDC report indicates (Internet Data Center), the market share of Linux servers slumped to less than 10% last year from its 45% market share in 2012 (Hertel et al, 2003). Many enterprises which intended to switch to Linux from Unix have also slowed their pace down and begin considering Windows Servers provided by Microsoft. The major concerns of enterprises about open source softwares like Linux are security and subsequent assurance, which have also been the two issues where Microsoft attacks open source softwares. As for innovations made with users’ participation, Apple Inc.’s attitude may be representative of that of the majority of enterprises. The iPod and digital set top box Apple TV were cracked and expanded after they hit market, creating many new functions. The official attitude of Apple is, whatever users do with those devices is their own business, but Apple will not provide quality warranty anymore. â€Å"We will not interfere with these behaviors by users, yet once you cracked your Apple devices, they will not be warranted by us anymore†. Put it in a simple way, Apple’s approach toward these activities is â€Å"no blame, no encouragement†- Apple never wants to offend these fanatic consumers, nor it wants to encourage and lead this trend of users participating in innovation. If the Wikinomics success stories are so attractive, then what makes it hard to be taken as a mainstream choice? â€Å"Better to deal with a familiar demon than to stay with a strange angel† is a belief upheld by many entrepreneurs, which shows their hatred against uncertainties, especially situations over which they feel hard to control. Many business owners are adapt at managing relations with stakeholders and do not fear colliding with parties with whom they have conflict of interests, yet they tend to have a hard time dealing with neutral parties due to the fact the their behaviors are hard to encourage or constrain through benefits. A sharp criticism on Linux and Wikipedia is the negative impact they leave on the legitimate rights of private property owners and enterprises to secure profits. When resources are located inside the boundary of enterprises, calculation of cost and profits are a part of enterprises’ consideration. More importantly, these inside resources bear different rights and obligations from that of outsider resources, for example, enterprises’ employees are restricted by explicit or conventional rules and contracts. The traditional task driven model that is based on instructions and control will make corporate managers feel secure. Wikinomics use the movement style of Tarzan of the Apes as a metaphor of the mindset of this kind of enterprises: only when they hold firmly the next tree branch will they feel safe to loose the tree branch in his hands already. The first step of attracting outside resources to invest and participate in common creation is exactly the same situation as loosing the tree branch in hands while not grasping firmly the next one. Thus this step becomes a great barrier that many enterprises always cannot overcome. Organizational Reform Toward Wikinomics In order to realize Wikinomics, it is required not only to have theoretical books, but also practical action. If we realize that Wikinomics indicates the vague and open enterprise boundaries, then internal organizational structure must first make a change before the business open arms to greet resources outside because the traditional hierarchical system is unfit to this new change. For example, Linux community is not like Microsofts management as to manage the project team. And British Encyclopedia editorial department cannot run like Wikipedia management team. Therefore, traditional company organizations are unable to take advantage of a large number of resources that cannot be commanded. In fact, even like the Linux and Wikipedia, the world well-known open source community is not as boundless and unrestrained as we imagine. Linux’s highest decision-making authority rests in its original inventor Linus Torvalds who is supported by a ten-person core team. Below them is the hu ge and categorized Linux application developer community and community part-time administrators. In Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales manages five full-time employees and there are about 5,000 maintainer who manage the 100 million registered users and more than 200 million entries (Eric Raymond, 1999). Both Linux and Wikipedia or other open source communities have a similar internal organizational structure in terms of the company hierarchy system, like a round periphery diffusion from the core layer. The source of power is not primarily from higher authority, but from the knowledge and contribution of members. And the formation of such organizations can provide great opportunities to run in-depth study about wiki organization. Robert Stevens create the geek squad, showing us how to keep the vitality of a small team in a traditional hierarchical organization and to stimulate bottom-up organization ability to innovate. â€Å"Geek squad† was originally an independent electronic equipment services company. When it achieved its original success, it is acquired by the consumer electronics retail giant Best Buy. At the beginning, many people worried about geek squad would have the infected disease of large enterprises. However, under the support of Best Buy CEOAnderson, Geek squad established a set of internal corporate culture which is totally different from Best Buys. (Durman, P., 2007) Geek squad is actually free in Best-Buys organizational boundaries. It first took a network of self-organization and management model before the overall organization. For those reluctant to fully reach beyond traditional boundary, they can try to develop a small team within the organization in order to bridge some gaps wi th Wikinomics. Outsourcing and Crowd-sourcing Outsourcing, has long been a hot topic in business realm which is the contracting out of a business process to a third-party. The major motivation for outsourcing/off-shoring is to reduce cost and improve efficiency and to give full play to its core competitiveness. As previously mentioned, the phenomenon of mass collaboration is also dubbed Crowd-sourcing. A major difference between outsourcing and crowd-sourcing is, outsourcing stresses high professionalism while crowd-sourcing is exactly the opposite and values individual users’ active participation. Therefore here we see another restrictive factor of mass collaboration, or crowd-sourcing: some tasks require professionals to complete and little meaningful individual participation from the â€Å"crowd† can be realized. Conclusion As we look back at analysis throughout the whole passage, we can see many real life constraints on the practical use of Wikinomics. Many enterprise owners and managers are fearful of uncertainties; enterprises’ internal organization structure is not ready for embracement of Wikinomics’ requirements; and many business processes need to be handled by highly trained professionals. However, the concept of reducing cost and improving efficiency through bringing together the strength of a group of people is right all the time. We may boldly introduce the concept of â€Å"Sub-Wikinomics†, a business management model somewhere between outsourcing and crowd-sourcing. Reference Hertel, G., Niedner, S., Herrmann, S. (2003). Motivation of software developers in Open Source projects: an Internet-based survey of contributors to the Linux kernel. Research policy, 32(7), 1159-1177. Eric Raymond, 1999, â€Å"The Cathedral and the Bazaar,† in the Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings On Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary. Sebastopol CA: O’Reilly Publishing, pp. 30. Peter Schwartz, Peter Leyden, Joel Hyatt, 1999. The Long Boom: A Vision for the Coming Age of Prosperity, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing. O’Farrell, P. N., Hitchens, D. M. W. N. (1988). Alternative theories of small-firm growth: a critical review. Environment and Planning, 20(10), 1365-1383. Durman, P.(2007) Geek Squad Comes to Britain.The Times of London. Fuchs, C. (2008). Don Tapscott Anthony D. Williams: Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. International Journal of Communication, 2, 11.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Spanish Flu in Remission :: Journalism Influenza Health Medical Essays

The Spanish Flu in Remission For many it appears like there is finally reason to take a deep sigh of relief. The deadly Spanish Flu, now believed to have begun on the battlefields and in the military hospitals of the war, appears to be in remission. In the previous two days the death tolls has gone from 302 down to 269, and it today reached a remarkable low of only 17. Still the business men's advisory committee and our local Health Commission say that we must "keep up the fight so long as there is a case of influenza." The eradication of this illness is the responsibility of every citizen and does not simply rest with the physician. Many are preparing to proclaim an end to this devastating illness which has already claimed the lives of millions world-wide, and has forced many Los Angeles residents to isolate themselves. The disease was known in the battlefields in which it originated as "three-day fever,". Since then the name stuck. It can attack in an instance without warning, and leave those it infects dead in less than a week. John C. Acker, a Sergeant within the 32nd Division American Expeditionary Force, described the course of the illness in greater detail: "It runs its course in a week or more. It hits suddenly and one's temperature nearly chases the mercury thru the top of the M.D.'s thermometer, face gets red, every bone in the body aches and the head splits wide open." The disease has been the source of enormous tragedy, and sadly has claimed the lives of some of our nation's greatest young men, who have successfully fought to push back imposing enemy armies despite tremendous difficulties. After these soldiers returned home a new battle confronted Uncle Sam, as the dark shadow of flu claimed countless the lives of countless civilians and military personnel. Fortunately Los Angeles' reaction to this scourge has been swift. Quarantine has been the official policy. This week such measures continue as nearly all downtown churches announce that they will not hold their regular Children's Sunday School classes since large meetings could endanger the lives of the youth. While the measures are only temporary it has been yet another sign of the inconveniences that quarantine measures have produced. The churches which made this decision hail from virtually every denomination.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Chuck Close :: essays research papers

Chuck Close (born 1940) is an American photorealist specializing in close-up portraits and self-portraits. Close is one of the very few modern realists or photorealists who focus on the human face. In 1988, in mid-career, Close was paralyzed due to a blood clot in his spinal column. He regained partial use of his arms, and was able to return to painting after developing techniques which allowed him to work from a wheelchair.All of Close’s works are based on photographs he takes himself. Close always follows the same guidelines in planning a painting. The source photograph is a tightly cropped head and shoulder shot. The subject is a family member or friend. The finished work is always titled by the subject’s first name alone (with the exception of â€Å"Self-Portrait†). This decision was intended to project an aura of anonymity, allowing viewers to approach the work without preconceived ideas about the sitter.Close’s working method is extremely labor-intensive. He begins by dividing his source photograph into a grid and creating a corresponding grid on the canvas. He then meticulously transcribes the image onto the canvas square by square, proceeding from the top left to the bottom right. Some of the largest canvases contain thousands of squares; Close completes all of his paintings by hand. Given the painstaking nature of this work, some of the earlier large-scale paintings took up to fourteen months to complete.Close's work falls into two periods, the early and the middle, in which he is now fruitfully engaged. It is easy to divide the two periods on either side of Close's 1988 stroke that left him unable to hold a brush. (He paints with his brush tied to his hand by a metal and Velcro device.) Close started to work with bolder, more expressive and colorful marks before his great physical trauma. The new work is both the same; they're recognizable as works by Close and could be by no one else He still uses the grid and he still paints heads. Although the amount of information the new pictures carry is less than the old, the characters depicted seem warmer, more immediate, and more exuberant.Close's repertory of marks has changed dramatically. In place of the discreet dots and miniature strokes of his early work, not to mention the pictures constructed of fingerprints he made in the early'80s, each of the enlarged squares in the new grids contains colorful, painterly marks that function as mini- abstract paintings of their own.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Leonard Bernstein Essay -- essays research papers

Leonard Bernstein   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrenceville, Massachusettes on August 25, 1918. He was the first born child of Samuel and Jennie Bernstein, who lived in Boston, but had gone to Lawrenceville to visit some relatives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bernstein's parents had little knowledge of, or interest in classical music. The only records Leonard remembers hearing on his family phonograph when he was a child were the popular hit songs of the day, such as â€Å" Barney Google† and â€Å"Oh by Jingo.† For the most part, Leonard Bernstein was an unhappy child. He said, â€Å" I was a miserable, terrified little child† (Musicians p.64). His family moved from town to town, during Bernstein's school days, not giving him a chance to make close friends or feel at home. Sadly, Bernstein's peers would make fun of and tease Bernstein. He was a very sickly child as he suffered from chronic asthma, rose fever, and hay fever. This pathetic child grew to be a very shy person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leonard always had a heart for music, even as a young boy. As an eight year old, one morning, when he was sitting in the synagogue, the religious music of the choir and organ overwhelmed him by it's beauty and caused him to burst into tears. When Leonard and his family would visit their friends, Leonard would sneak over to the piano and experiment. When he was eleven, his aunt sent her piano to his house for his family to keep for storage. â€Å"I made love to it right away† he recalled (Musicians p. 65). He could escape from all his frustrations and sadness by playing the piano. His parents didn't like the fact that he was always at the piano, they wanted him to concentrate on his school work. They thought of piano playing as a waste of time because it stood in the way of Leonard's learning his father's business, which they planned for him to eventually take over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the age of ten, Leonard found a piano teacher who would give him lessons for a dollar a lesson. But that teacher soon moved away and Leonard found himself paying another piano teacher three dollars a lesson out of his allowance. After more than a year of piano lessons that just weren't teaching him much, Leonard found a new, and th... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bernstein has received such awards as the Albert Einstein Commemorative Award in the Arts from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; the John H. Finley Medal for service to New York City; the Golden European trophy, an annual award given to an outstanding figure in popular music; the Datsun Award for â€Å"outstanding service to American music†; the Institute of International Education Award presented by President Nixon; and the George Foster Peabody Awards for his television programs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bernstein provided the music for four famous Broadway musicals with a superior amount of sophistication and technique. Often times, he would produce music with great humour and sentiment. Bernstein's great talents led him to author a few books in the 1960's. One of his most recent, famous collections of his music is used in the ever popular film West Side Story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leonard Bernstein was the â€Å"Renaissance man of twentieth century music.† Over the decades, Bernstein has been called one of the most charismatic and gifted personalities in the music of our times.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Carpe Diem

Alex Rohret Mrs. Oxley English 1302 22 February 2013 The Light and Dark Sides of the Force The first time I heard the phrase Carpe Diem, I wasn’t sure what to think. First of all, I had never heard either of the words used in the phrase. Secondly, after repeating the words in my head a few times to see if I was getting them mixed up with some other words that are actually in the English Language. I later came to figure out that these words weren’t in the English Language at all; they’re in the dead language of Latin. This phrase’s literal translation in English is â€Å"Seize the Day. There are a number of similar phrases that are popular today that might be easier to understand. The most recent, and possibly more popular, is Yolo, meaning You Only Live Once. These two phrase’s purpose is to tell people to live each day like it’s their last. Robert Herrick’s Poem; To the Virgins to Make Much of Time, is a perfect way to tell others ho w to live each day to the fullest when he says â€Å"Gather  ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying : And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying. This is the first stanza to his poem, and in my opinion is the best stanza of the poem. Herrick’s meaning behind this stanza is basically to Seize the Day. This stanza’s translation, to me, is to do what you want while you can because you will not live forever, and if you don’t do what you want today, then tomorrow you might not get the chance to do anything at all. The reason that we’re studying Carpe Diem is because of the movie Dead Poets Society. The setting of Dead Poets Society takes place in the 50’s at an all boy’s prep school, where it always seems to be cold. A new English teacher, Mr.Keating, at the school inspires a group of kids to start an underground poetry reading group, where the students read poems written by dead poets, or written by themselv es. All of the poems read at these meetings follow the same meaning: carpe diem. The name of this group is the Dead Poets Society. Out of Herrick’s same poem â€Å"That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times still succeed the former. † This excerpt explains that it is better to live life to the fullest while you’re young, because as you age, you lose chances to seize the day.The Dead Poets Society is adolescent boys, which is exactly the time to seize the say according to To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. The adolescents in this society interpret Carpe Diem differently, because there is more than one way that it can be interpreted. Since there are different ways to interpret Carpe Diem, each character does something different. For example, a boy named Knox meets a girl from the local public High School, and falls for her. He works up the courage to call her one night, and she invited him to a party at her boyfriend’s house, where he kissed her, and proceeded to get beaten by her boyfriend.Another boy, Charlie, changes his name to Nuwanda, and insists all of the dead poets to call him as such. During a school wide meeting, Nuwanda brings in a phone and pretends to get a call from god, he then tells the headmaster that the call is for him. All of these boys do exactly what Herrick says in his poem. They are gathering ye rosebuds, while they can. I like to think of Carpe Diem as similar to The Force in Star Wars: there is a dark side, and a light side. The side that most of us would like to know is the side where one does whatever they want and only has fun doing it, which is known as the light side.The dark side is where one does what they want, but what they want to do may be way overboard, and the repercussions of their actions may lead to serious consequences, or even death. One of the boys, Neil, has an overbearing father that is making him go to school to be a doctor. But what he really wants is to be an actor. Mr. Perry would say things like, â€Å"You have opportunities that I never even dreamt of, and I am not going to let you waste them! †(Dead Poets Society). This, to me, is what set Neil over the edge. I believe that at this moment he realized that his father was trying to live through him.This was the moment that Neil finally has had enough, this was Neil’s climax. What happens to Neil brings out the dark side of the force that is known as Carpe Diem. Instead of talking to his father about what he wants, he does something as drastic as taking his own life. Neil went entirely too far with living each day like it is you last, because he would have lived the next day, if it were not for his poor choices. The resolution of this film doubles as another boy’s climax. Todd is a very bashful boy that only tries to do what is expected of him. Todd was even bashful through Mr.Keating’s teachings of Carpe Diem a nd all of the Dead Poets Meetings that took place. But at the end of the film, Todd finally broke his silence, and stood up on the desk saying O captain my captain, defying his temporary replacement teacher’s orders. He does this in honor of Mr. Keating, and everything that he taught them. Soon enough all of the members of the Dead Poets Society, as well as a few other students that have no relevance, are standing on their desks saying the same phrase, O captain my captain. To the Virgins to Make Much of Time played a big role in the Dead Poets Society, by capturing the lighter side of carpe diem.This poem also captures what I believe carpe diem means to me: Live life to the fullest, and to live life while the blood is still warm. This poem embodies carpe diem, and everything that the Dead Poets Society stood for. Understanding how the film and the poem connect so deeply helps the viewer, or the reader, appreciate them both just that much more. Works Cited Herrick, Robert. â €Å"To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. † Trans. Array  The Poerty in Dead Poets Society. OxleyPrint. Weir, Peter, dir. Dead Poets Society. Writ. Tom Schulman. 1989. DVD. 10 Feb 2013.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

School Attendance

â€Å"How was your day at school? † â€Å"Did you have fun? † â€Å"Who did you play with? † When we hear these questions, many of us flashback to our childhood; when we were excited for school. As we grow up, we lose interest in school. Some are bored with classes, have bullying issues, or have problems with school work. Whatever your reason for not attending school, you must remember that school attendance is crucial for being successful. Good attendance shows potential employers that you are reliable. Consider reading: Why Boarding Schools Should Be AbolishedEmployers are in search of employees that are punctual and who will be effective members of their company. If you do not attend school, then you will miss out on many opportunities of gaining qualifications that are needed. Without a job or career, you will not be an active member of society. You will not have an income and life will be hard. Not attending school sets a bad example for younger students. Younger pupils often look up to older students as role models and want to follow in their footsteps.Your attendance rate is important because you are more likely to excel in academics when you attend school consistently. It's difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress if a large number of students are frequently absent. In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communit ies. If you do not attend school, you miss the opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities.Extracurricular activities create a positive impact not only on a student’s life, but their peers, and the community. Students become involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills. Extracurricular activities provide a setting to become involved and to interact with other students, thus leading to increased learning and enhanced development. A wide range of extracurricular activities exist at our schools, meeting a variety of student interests.A few extracurricular activities that I participate in are: National Honors Society, Upward Bound, and the 4H Teen Club. School budgets may suffer when students do not attend school. In many states, school budgets are based on the average daily attendance at a school. If many students enrolled at a school fail to consistently attend, the scho ol has less money to pay for essential classroom needs. This puts a hold on advance learning. There are many ways of increasing school attendance.One way is parents, school, and faculty working together to focus of reducing absences and keeping kids in school. Another effective way of increasing school attendance is by making school a place where students feel welcome. Friendly teachers and faculty help to create a positive environment. Schools can also create an environment that enables students to feel successful in something–no matter how small it may seem. To promote attendance, schools can award academic and attendance â€Å"letters,† as they do for athletics.The most effective method I believe is when parents have a talk with their child, explaining the importance of school and discussing why they missed. This creates an awareness that your parent truly cares about you and your future. School prepares you for the real world by creating a responsibility for comple ting homework, attending consistently, being punctual, etc. It helps to form good habits that should follow you throughout life. Regular attendance enables effective learning, develops habits of commitment and dependability and opens doorways to future success.

Organizational Commitment

Organizational Commitment and Communication Paper Week 3 COM/530 10/27/2011 Introduction A look at an organization’s communication and leadership styles can say a lot about the organization as a whole. Google has a relaxed atmosphere, where management allows workers to create their own schedules; and fosters creativity by allowing and encouraging their workers to explore side projects (Google Culture, 2011). What would happen if the leadership style were to change? This is one of the elements this paper will explore. A look will also be taken at: sources of power within the organization, the employee’s commitment to Google, how communication within Google relates to the worker, other motivational theories which would work at Google and how communication plays a part in the functioning of these theories. Different Leadership Styles Google has recently embarked on â€Å"Project Oxygen,† a plan to make a better manager (Bryant, 2011). An examination of data sets, compiled from employee surveys, awards given, and managers who performed well, was conducted. This resulted in Google wanting employees to feel empowered, know their managers were available, and have a better overall feeling about the work they did (Bryant, 2011). Google has made the shift to transformational leadership by inviting their employees to be more active in roles they play and working to develop managers that encourage creativity (Robbins, 2011). Having leader member exchange theory in practice at Google would serve to undermine Project Oxygen. This theory states managers have their trusted employees, who tend to get special considerations over other employees (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Having this theory in play, would only serve to drive a wedge between employees and employee supervisor relationships and reduce communication. The studies conducted by Google show employees want respect and equal opportunity from management (Bryant, 2011). Another example of a leadership style that would take away from Google’s goal would be the laissez-faire style of leadership, as employees have stated they don’t want weak willed passive managers (Bryant, 2011). Having a leader using this style would reduce the amount the employees spoke to this individual and cause disarray among the teams. Sources of Power at Google One might expect that Google, being a technical company, places a high importance on expert power as greater knowledge of writing computer code will mean more employees will come to that person for help. The company may have placed emphasis on this in the past, but has since discovered employees want to follow managers whom they like and identify with, which more closely relates to referent power (Robbins, 2011). As Robbins and Judge (2011) explain this type of power deals more with an employee having respect and admiration for their manager. Referent power will lead to employees communicating openly with their superiors and should influence a more positive attitude overall within the organization, as negative views and opinions will diminish among the workers. Legitimate power is also wielded by Google as they have employees who must complete work or they risk losing their jobs. This type of power serves to keep employees in line with company views and reduce negative communication within the organization as employees will not want to suffer the consequences. Reward power is also in use as employees are allowed to set up their own schedules and vie for more prominent positions (Google Culture, 2011). This power also serves to create a positive attitude by giving employees what they desire in the work environment. Employee Commitment and Communication Employees appear to have a strong organizational commitment to Google. Based on the freedoms granted to their employees, workers look to stay with Google out of affective commitment. This type of commitment suggests workers have an emotional attachment to the company and believe in the core values (Robbins, 2011). Google has a commitment to meeting the needs of the employee by modifying compensation packages to suit the employee, giving bonuses, and making the employee feel valued for what they do by providing other amenities most companies would not provide. Google has on site gymnasiums, chefs, laundry service, and shuttles (Google culture, 2011). By providing for employees, Google works towards establishing an emotional attachment. Open communication is encouraged and ideas are rewarded showing employees they have value in the eyes of Google. This communication is necessary to create a sense of freedom at work and allow for an open exchange of ideas. Different Motivational Theories Google could benefit from the use of self-determination theory as they look to empower their employees. This theory suggests workers want to feel they have free will in choosing their work activities and take joy in what they do without feeling it has become an obligation (Robbins, 2011). Communication plays an integral part in the application of this theory. Workers need to know they have choices within the work they do and that managers are available for discussion of changing roles or work activities. Google is a corporation that wants it employees to interact at all levels and across teams. This environment may be excellent for reinforcement theory, as this theory looks to reward positive actions immediately to ensure they are repeated and also to punish negative actions to ensure they are not repeated (Robbins, 2011). If open communication is encouraged and workers discuss goals they achieved and how they were rewarded for this, a general effect should be seen on surrounding employees. This means other employees should repeat the rewarded action to reap the rewards. The same can be said for actions which are negatively reinforced. A third and final motivational theory which would serve Google’s open form of communication is the equity theory. This theory looks at the motivation behind having a fair workplace (Robbins, 2011). Employees want to feel they are paid or otherwise compensated for their work based on experience and accomplishments. Communication is vital to this theory as the more open employees are with each other it provides the opportunity for salary and compensation to be discussed. As long as Google is handling their employees in an equal manner this should serve to show workers the more they work and strive to be better at their jobs, the more they can expect to earn. Conclusion Google has chosen to study their management styles that work best, â€Å"Project Oxygen;† and then train managers in tasks they have found work well for top performing managers. This has caused a shift towards transformational leadership. Google has found other types of management styles which are, for example, too strict are failing and causing high turnover (Bryant, 2011). As stated, having different types of leadership styles in use at Google, such as leader member exchange theory or laissez-faire style would undermine current goals and lead to poor communication within teams, leading to loss of faith in management. Google uses referent power, meaning employees have respect and admiration for their managers to keep employees happy (Robbins, 2011). The company also employs the use of rewards such as compensation packages suited to the employee and on site amenities (Google Culture, 2011) as rewards to keep employees happy. Google’s efforts appear to lead to an affective commitment to the organization as the employee develops an emotional attachment to their job (Robbins, 2011). Motivational theories such as: self-determination, reinforcement theory, and equity theory would most likely fit with in Google’s company culture. Each theory looks to place the emphasis on the employee through enriching their work experience or giving compensation. In short Google is looking to keep employees long term through positive work environments and structure. References Adam Bryant (2011, March 12). Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss. New York Times Retrieved October 29, 2011, from http://www. nytimes. com/2011/03/13 /business/ 13hire. html? pagewanted=all, Google Culture. (2011). Google. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from www. google. com/about/corporate/company/culture. Robbins, S. P. , & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson- Prentice Hall.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Implications of Tuition-Free College Education Essay

In considering the matter of tuition-free college education for all qualified citizens, one must ask what impact there will be on society in general, national economics and the educational system over all. In removing all economical barriers to education on the four-year level, an increased number of qualified employees will exist and the level of Master’s and Doctoral degrees would heighten. This will serve humanity better in allowing a higher level of professionalism and informed citizenry for the countries in question. In a study performed by De-Fraja in 2002, the results were divided between the bright and the unintelligent. In allowing a tax-supported educational system, the study shows that more capable individuals who were not afforded an educational opportunity would be allowed to serve better the needs of the government and the populace in general. It also insinuates that the unfortunate challenged people would become more efficient if they opted for education, whereas otherwise they may become a burden on the system in general. In affording these opportunities, a higher-trained workforce becomes available, thereby giving more opportunity for tax-supported education from the increase in tax payments per capita. De-Fraja further supposes that the option of private education will widen the gap between the privileged and the non- but at least society is improved overall (De-Fraja 2002). Feldman and Steenbergen implicate the need to provide these opportunities in terms of humanitarianism. In allowing underprivileged individuals the ability to improve themselves, we are thereby improving our own society. The study argues that, â€Å"humanitarianism is an important element of the American sociopolitical ethos, although it has received little attention in the public opinion literature,† (Feldman & Steenbergen, 2001). With the social welfare system carrying a negative reputation, they suggest that the educational system would be impacted by this, but this is the area to address rather than the positives that would come from the tuition-free programs. Dynarski looks at the issue from an economics point of view. In contending that the financial burden of providing such a system would be heavy, the resulting influx of employee base would increase the operating capital of the project, thus off-setting the cost in the end. She also poses that even a $1,000 grant for students will increase the participation levels by 4-6%. In offering free college in the public education sector, the private organization can still offer varying levels of programs, but the populace overall will contribute in a positive manner. Although she states that the obvious impact would be in satisfactory standards for these programs, with the proper system in place, the concern should be effectively addressed, thus making the decision economically viable (Dynarski, 2002). Finally, as a practical implication, we look at the evidence offered by Foondun. In looking at the effect of free-tuition in developed and developing countries, Foondun found that while developing nations do not always have the distinct plan to offer educational programs, as countries grow – the sponsorship of private schools increase. With this increase, one finds betterment in the general populace and the economic situation overall. With an increase in educated individuals, the shift begins to slide towards betterment of the country and its people, humanitarian efforts increasing on a larger scale. With this would follow the tuition-free education systems, thereby improving the overall condition of the country (Foondun 2002). In conclusion, by looking at the economic, humanitarian, and practical implications of free-tuition offered to all qualified individuals, we can see that the impact will be positive. In looking at the growth potential of countries specifically, we find that without the foundation of an educated populous, a developing nation will remain at a disadvantage. In fostering education, tax bases increase, as does the livelihood of humanity throughout. Free-tuition for secondary educational is worthwhile and recommended overall. References De-Fraja, G. (Apr 2002). â€Å"The design of optimal education policies. † The Review of Economic Studies, 69(2), 437-466. Dynarski, S. (May 2002). â€Å"The behavioral and distributional implications of aid for college. † The American Economic Review, 92(2), 279-285. Feldman, S. & Steenbergen, M. R. (Jun 2001). â€Å"The humanitarian foundation of public support for social welfare. † American Journal of Political Science, 45(3), 658-677. Foondun, A. R. (Nov 2002). â€Å"The issue of private tuition: An analysis of the practice in Mauritius and selected South-East Asian countries. † International Review of Education, 48(6), 485-515.

Friday, September 13, 2019

The Theory-Approach Linkage Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Theory-Approach Linkage - Assignment Example Developed knowledge from qualitative research findings also adds to existing theory and facilitates development of new theories in answering qualitative research questions (Indiana, n.d.). This mutual relationship is evident in the articles that I reviewed towards my proposed study. The researchers applied existing knowledge to guide their studies to delimit their research scopes and identify variables for consideration and their levels. Two of the articles relied on general theories while one specified theories that informed its construct. Theory development from qualitative research approach is however common among the reviewed articles (Lorber and Savic, 2011; Su, Jeckins and Liu, 2012; Saccomanno and Zipp, 2011). Saccomano and Zipp’s article is the best example of theory alignment approach because it explicitly identifies a theory and applies the theory in informing the research. It applies the â€Å"Path-goal theory† to develop background information on expected relationship between leadership competence and the ability and tendency to delegate and to construct variables for the study (Saccomanno and Zipp, 2011, p. 524). Background information on different leadership styles and their characteristics facilitated the researchers’ construction of research hypotheses and informed research methodology. The research’s findings add to the existing knowledge in nurse leadership by proposing a theory that confidence in delegation of duties among nurses is independent of leadership styles (Saccomanno and Zipp,

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Future Layout Plan for Chicago O'Hare International Airport Research Paper

Future Layout Plan for Chicago O'Hare International Airport - Research Paper Example Comparing both the plans would help one understand how the future layout plan can resolve certain limitations that exist. Fro example, the existing airfield contains a total number of 3 paralell runways and a single north-south runway. Amongst these there is only one runway that meets the standard of ADG VI, while the rest of them are just 150ft wide. Now the betterment plan includes a puporsal of the field suggest the parallel runways to be raised to the amount of 6 in number and along with that two runways will be made enough wide i.e. 200ft wide to meet ADG VI standards. The rest of the runways would be kept 150 ft wide to accommodate ADG V. An additional thing would be the designated taxi ways that would aid aircraft taxing from terminal to aircraft runways. Terminal facilities are to provide the passengers with facilities and conduct operations both internationally and domestically. At present there are four terminals with one of them being conducting international operations, and all of them being simultaneously connected to ATS, that is further linked to a station in parking lot E. The future layout plan does not plan to make an entirely new terminal system but suggests amendments in the existing terminals and simultaneously offers development of new one on the western side. The modifications include extension of the existing terminals and development of new ones within them . The purposed plan for the west terminal includes the addition of satellite concourse and apart from that it purposes the term of making three terminals able enough to conduct international operations. And underground system is also purposed in order to connect satellite system to existing core and ATS. Support/ancillary facilities are a vital feature of any airport, if we look at the existing ones in Chicago OHare airport we have a main cargo area in the southwest part of the airport and an additional

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The main characteristics of Turkish banking system and its response to Dissertation

The main characteristics of Turkish banking system and its response to recent global financial crisis - Dissertation Example 62 Conclusion 64 Chapter Five 66 Conclusion 66 Table 1 68 Bibliography 71 Can Turkey’s Banking System Act as a Model To Buffer Global Financial Crises? Introduction With the burst of the US property bubble in 2008, mortgage defaults increased astronomically with irreparable harm to global banking sectors and financial institutions worldwide. A number of banks were hard hit by either non-performing loans or complicated financial assets arising under bad loans. As a consequence, actors in the market emerged as cautious which were further exacerbated by doubts about primary financial institutions’ solvency. ... Turkey also does not have an operating mortgage sector like the US has. Turkey’s Central Bank’s macroeconomic policies and measures taking by Turkey’s banks in response to the global financial crisis also contributed to the limited impact of the 2008 global financial crisis of 2008.4 This dissertation conducts a critical analysis of the main characteristics of the Turkish banking system and its response to the recent global financial crisis of 2008-2009. The main purpose is to determine whether or not, Turkey’s banking system represents a model for buffering the effects of global financial crises. This research is justified by the fact that the Turkish banking system faired relatively well during the recent global financial crisis of 2008-2009.5 At the same time, Turkey’s real economy suffered serious damages, thus making Turkey an interesting case study. Thus this dissertation seeks to determine whether or not capital restructuring of financial ins titutions which creates a hard cap against loans and mortgages suppresses economic stimulation elsewhere. Profits during the global financial crisis of the Turkish banking system were impressive compared to that of other countries including developed economies.6 While banks all over the world were collapsing, Turkey’s banks remained stable and registered profits.7 The Turkish banking system’s ability to withstand the 2008-2009 global financial crisis is generally attributed to its regulatory framework and risk protocols.8 The Turkish banking system has learned a lot with respect to responding to economic shocks and risk management following the financial crises of 2000-2001.9 As a result the Turkish banking system devised

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Trompenaars. Leading Change and Organizational Culture Essay

Trompenaars. Leading Change and Organizational Culture - Essay Example Thereafter, Trompenaars points out the common mistakes that are made by managers while dealing with culturally diverse workforces. The first one, according to him, is that most organisations still consider cultural issues secondary, and give them less priority on the belief that culture has nothing to do with the main business transaction (Craven). According to Trompenaars, if cultural issues are to be tackled, it is necessary to identify the origin of cultural values. Then only the organisations can develop effective norms and values. In other words, simply learning the norms and values of a culture will not help solve the issue. The second mistake, according to Trompenaars, is that organisations do not identify culture as a compliance issue. However, he reminds the fact that if cultural issues are not identified and solved, it can even lead to legal disputes. In the opinion of Trompenaars, in the 21st century, it is necessary for organisations to develop transcultural competence, which means the competence to reconcile dilemmas or to integrate opposites (Craven). At this point is wise to see what Levine, Phipps, and Blythe prefer to say about cultural differences. According to Levine, Phipps, and Blythe (16), linguistic and cultural pluralism is more than the mere coexistence of different languages; and it is about transcultural circulation of values across borders, the negotiation of identities, the inversions, even inventions of meaning, often concealed by a common illusion of effective communication. Trompenaars points out the fact that the currently available leadership literature is regionally biased. He gives the example of English, French, and Chinese literatures. It is pointed out that there is the need for more works on multi-cultural teams. In other words, the new leadership should transcend culture. According to Trompenaars, to effectively handle cross-cultural diversity, it is necessary to adopt reconciliation. According to Trompenaars, the first step of reconciliation is to let others be themselves. In simple terms, reconciliation is the understanding of how the perspectives of other cultures can help ones own culture. In others words, reconciliation calls for the fusion of two extremes; considering and accommodating the other culture. Trompenaars point out the fact that there are different ways of dealing with other cultures; ignoring other cultures, abandoning ones own culture, and reconciliation. In his words, in the modern world of business, an important factor for success of organisations is their ability to ‘celebrate differences’. In the opinion of Trompenaars, cultural is not a secondary entity, but is the contextual environment around all transactions in an organisation; financial, market, political, and technological. According to him, the success or future performance of an organ isation is no more identified based on its financial performance, but on its ability to handle local cultures. So, he proposes Process Principle Optimization based on five major principles instead of the usual ROI. The five principles, according to him, are corporate effectiveness, the client, the employee, the shareholder, and societal responsibility. So, according to him, the modern businesses should seek ways to improve their local learning so that they can increase their global access. In other words, in the modern business world, integration of values helps organisations ensure sustainable business performance for the long term. 2. According to Trompenaars, the modern leadership and management, to be effective, should have transcultural

Monday, September 9, 2019

Informal Recommendations Research Report Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Informal Recommendations Report - Research Paper Example Accounts payable is the hardest working accounting function. It is very important for an organization to use its resources for implementing this best practice in a company. In an organization generally different types of accounting record are being gathered. That information is invoices, purchasing orders and copy of receipt. Person from accounts payable department collects these three important documents and verify those documents before paying the accounts payable (Esma, 2013). It is tough job and highly error prone. Elimination of manual checking is a best practice for accounts payable. It is often being noticed that staffs of a company perform manual check of different bills and sign those bills and enter those information into a computer system. In this whole process staffs may enter faulty information into the system and as the process is done fast so, often some important information are not free from errors. Maintaining database of suppliers is a best practice for payable staffs of a company. It has been observed that maintaining a large data base of supplier is a serious problem for the staffs. It is often being noticed that suppliers make complaints that they are not getting their money in proper time. These kinds of problems generally occur due to large supplier base (Hansen, Otley and Sted, 2003). For resolving this issue reducing the supplier base is a best practice. Budgeting is a very difficult and painful but one of the most important best practices of accounting. It requires significant efforts to come up with a proper budget. Budgeting is all about allocations of the resources of a company in its different operating segments. This process is completed on the basis of past trends and futures forecasting and so levels of uncertainties are there. Those presences of uncertainties are making this a very risky function. It has been observed that when staffs of an organization is presenting the budget in front of the management of

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Racism and discrimination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Racism and discrimination - Research Paper Example It also highlights racism at schools in Canada and in larger society against members of various ethnic groups. It may sound surprising but the fact is that racism is taught in school in the form history. A teacher in who teaches in a school where the kids belong to the blacks highlights that she teaches the history of the white to the black children. Automatically it generates hatred among the whites and the blacks, which eventually leads to discrimination on the bases of color. Hence, the teacher highlights that the she herself dose not incorporate the elements of discrimination rather it is the textbooks that lead the teachers to the arena where discrimination and racism automatically seeps, in to the teachings in the classroom (Dei, 2011). The data available showed that the bullying on the bases of ethnic groups particularly aboriginal Canadians is significantly visible in schools (Dei, 2011). These cases showed that racism includes bullying along with physical abuse and name calling in schools. Other minority groups such as Muslims also face certain level of racism and stereotyping in Canada (Haque, 2010) Mehta, D. (2012, December 11). Aboriginal Canadians face racism, stereotyping in urban health care: report. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from CTV News:

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Managing Hospitality Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Managing Hospitality Resources - Essay Example The premeditated use of technology in marketing services has created many opportunities in the hospitality and tourism industry. Consequently customers are always not satisfied with what they receive and desire innovative alternatives. Since the 1980s, the information communication technology has transformed dramatically, the management and outlook of many hospitality industries resulting into computer reservation systems, which later transformed into global distribution systems in the early 1980s and finally the currently used internet. The invention of the internet has caused a shift in many operations changing operational practices and a general paradigm shift in the market (Moutinho 2011, pp 108). It is in this regards that many hotels are developing computer systems to meet the demand of their customers. The Royal Garden Hotel is a five star hotel that need improvement in technology since technology is a driving force towards growth of many economies. In addition, technological advancement in a hotel facilitates efficient internal operations and improvement in service quality. Body When the Royal Garden Hotel develops technology and systems in their operations many services are likely to be improved. To start, the management will be able, to create automated guest histories. By having the guest history available, defining the customer mix to come up with the services salient for each customer will not be a challenging factor. From this perspective customer satisfaction gets enhanced, this leads to retention and in turn maintaining loyalty. Secondly, the development of the E- business strategy at the Royal Garden Hotel will provide transaction centric solutions (Shin 2003, pp 76). This leads to efficiency and proficiency in administrative procedures (property management systems) and internal operations. The core function behind the improvement of management is in the provision of guest folio, a factor important in the provision of services to the guest. In as much as this is not a primary goal of introduction of technology in Royal Garden Hotel, it is an indirec t benefit, which accrues to the net yield of the hotel. One means of using technology to reach customers is by websites. This is because customers are increasingly applying voice recognition mechanisms and call routing technologies. They access hotels through websites where they speak to computers routing their calls to relevant departments. A website proposal for the hotel, therefore, would target various audiences. For instance, various company executives can access the website and check various services offered by the Hotel. This is because company executives often have meetings in hostels with partners from overseas of internal customers (Leong 2001, pp 201). Tourists also remain a central segment of the targeted audiences who book online through various websites before arriving at their destinations. To prevent customers who access the site from being bombarded with run-of-the-mill products the website developed by the hotel, must meet all requirements as well as expectations o f customers to gain the competitive advantage. It is from this perspective that Royal Garden hotel management should employ the automated system, which can impart