Multiple Learning Styles Essay

More than one student in Kindergarten through College has complained of boring courses and tedious homework that had no discernible connection to their immediate environment. Many students describe their courses as lectures that force them to sit and listen to a professor for one to three hours, sometimes without a break in between. It is rare, or even unheard of, for a student to participate in a class-related activity that involved groups, going outside, discussions, or movement. The physical, social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of the classroom are not often addressed, leaving school a less safe and less stimulating environment (Sprenger, 2008). Not surprisingly, school is labeled as a stagnant place lacking in the stimulation of our senses. Students would rather be with friends, play a sport, master a hobby or skill, or even immerse themselves into fantastic games than go to school. Yet these same students appreciate learning new ideas, growing stronger, and having fun in a wide array of visual, audial, and kinesthetic activities. Shouldn’t public and private education use the best methods to impart history, math, science, language, and philosophy to younger generations? While there is no â€Å"best† method to accomplish this, I believe that using multiple learning styles to approach teaching and learning is more effective than using one style to accommodate multiple unique individuals. In its entirety, a learning style is â€Å"the complex manner in which, and conditions under which, learners most efï ¬ ciently and most effectively perceive, process, store, and recall what they are attempting to learn† (Lujan and DiCarlo, 2012). Most professionals and students have used three major learning styles to categorize themselves: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. These perspectives can be defined in simpler terms to be â€Å"hearing†, â€Å"seeing†, and â€Å"moving/doing†. In the 1980’s, a fourth category was added to differentiate â€Å"visual† and â€Å"read/write† learners, since people like Neil Fleming noticed that â€Å"some students had a distinct preference for the written word whilst others preferred symbolic information as in maps, diagrams, and charts (Fleming, 2006). As a result, the VARK questionnaire was created to identify an individual’s â€Å"preferences for particular modes of presentationâ₠¬  (Lujan and DiCarlo, 2012). Learning style dimensions are connected and related to one another, not â€Å"either/or† categories (Felder and Spurlin, 2005). Some people excel at interpreting locations on maps, while others would rather hear a location described; some would rather draw the map itself. Thus, if a teacher is monotonously lecturing a topic to sophomore students in college, some students will interpret and make connections with the information presented more easily than others. Those students that â€Å"learned less† or â€Å"slower† than other students in that example would have benefitted from other styles of teaching, such as a visual diagram of the information, a mind map, written bullet points, or physical interaction with the subject matter. Without this insight, flexibility, or desire, most teachers would remain unaware that the students who performed worse in their courses might have scored higher on tests or assignments if they had understood the class material from anot her perspective related to learning styles. The use of multiple learning styles outside of the classroom has even more important and practical implications that could lead to more effective problem solving, safety prevention, and innovations that would stimulate more than one sense. Signs on streets could be renovated to accommodate audibly-inclined (or deaf) people while driving their car: their eyes can focus on the road, while their ears would be notified (via radio-wave, for example) of changes in speed limits, lane rules, and traffic congestions. Medical students, who spend roughly two to six more years in school than other college graduates with a bachelor’s degree, would benefit from this in the classroom and during residencies. These future and current professionals are responsible for memorizing and utilizing a multitude of technologies, medications, and other holistic treatments that must be understood through scholarly research papers and on-site administration of those same procedures. How else would they do this without being taught and teaching this complex information via multiple learning styles? In an experiment done by Heidi Lujan and Stephen DiCarlo (2005), only 36.1% of their study’s sample preferred using a single learning style over multiple learning styles. Not only are models and demonstrations useful in imparting information, but peer-to-peer interactions and roleplaying can also foster a student’s ability to create connections between ideas. Some researchers categorize learning styles into eight components: Sensing or intuitive, visual or verbal, active or reflective, and sequential or global. This is also known as the Felder-Silverman Model (Felder & Spurlin, 2005). Each set of words are opposites to each other in terms of ways of interpreting information. According to the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), which adapts these eight ideas into a measureable tool, each of us is a mixture of each learning style, represented by a numerical gradient that connect each paired learning style to itself. When comparing the VARK questionnaire to the ILS, the latter seems to take the four modes in VARK and categorize them even further. However, the audial aspect of the VARK isn’t clearly synonymous to any set of categories in the ILS, but rather, it is a part of the ILS in its entirety. This might be due to the fact that each of us learns things using a unique combination of the VARK, so instead of separating major senses into a questionnaire, the ILS separates major preferences into an index. The accuracy of these tools is always questionable, even by Neil Fleming (2006), who says that the VARK should be used to create conversations that pertain to how each individual learns, and how those learning preferences connect to decisions made by those individuals. As our technological advances increase, teachers, students, and other people will find newer, cost-effective, and dynamic ways to impart and absorb new information (Solvie & Kloek, 2007). Positive uses of virtual reality and MRI’s can lead humans to understanding the way our brains send and receive information. Nano technology might eventually allow us to physically connect our brains to each other’s through the tiniest circuits. This eventual phenomenon will have the potential to collect our natur al resources, connect to each other, and commit to providing excellence in education, our professions, and our daily lives. References Solvie, P., & Kloek, M. (2007). Using technology tools to engage students with multiple learning styles in a constructivist learning environment. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 7(2), 7-27. Fleming, N., and Baume, D. (2006). Learning Styles Again: VARKing up the right tree! Educational Developments, 7.4, 4-7. Heidi E. Lujan and Stephen E. DiCarlo (2005). First-year medical students prefer multiple learning styles. Adv Physiol Educ, 30, 13-16. Marilee B. Sprenger (2008). Environments for Learning. Differentiation through Learning Styles and Memory, 2, 1-10. Richard M. Felder and Joni Spurlin (2005). Applications, Reliability and Validity of the Index of Learning Styles. Int. Engng Ed, 21, 103-112.

My Research over Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars U. S. History 1301. 046 Carissa Farley Professor Rumanuk April 3, 2013 The Seminole Wars was one of many wars fought during our nation’s history. Some of the wars in our history were fought over Indian Removal. According to Ron Soodalter, â€Å"The Second Seminole War erupted over broken treaties that repeatedly changed the boundaries of the Seminole reservation and finally sought to push the Seminoles out of Florida altogether†.That sounds a little harsh to try and control the land of the Indian tribes. However that is just the way things were back then. Back then the Indians were considered one of the United States biggest enemies. â€Å"The U. S Army and the Seminoles fought three wars between 1816 and 1858. † One of these wars that were fought was the Second Seminole War. The war was fought for seven years. But the Second Seminole War, fought from 1835-1842 cost upward of 530 million-more than the annual federal budget at the time-and resul ted in the deaths of nearly 1,500 soldiers (mostly from disease), the forced removal from Florida of between 3,000 and 4,000 Seminoles, and the deaths of countless others. † Some wonder why all these deaths happened and it all comes down to the military strategy and stopping the spread of disease. There were people who opposed the relocation of the Seminole Indians. Two important people that opposed the relocation were two Seminole chiefs named Osceola and Micanopy.They both planned the effort against relocation but were defeated by a U. S commander by the name of Thomas Sidney Jesup. Jesup’s tactics wore down the Seminoles and in the end helped the United States drive the Seminoles out of Florida. The people who didn’t oppose the removal of Indians included President Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Thomas Jesup, Duncan Clinch, and most of the United States. The war was started due to a â€Å"conflict that was the direct result of the nation’s unbridled d esire for territorial expansion, and of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy. According to the constitution of the United States all men are created equal. So shouldn’t that include Indians? Seeing as how we are treating them as the enemy, I don’t think that the Indians were included as part of the all men are created equal line of the constitution. However some people would say that the Indians are the enemy and should be treated horribly. â€Å"Jackson believed Indians posed a threat to the peace and tranquility of the American nation and should be relocated or eliminated.He formalized his policy in 1830, selling his concept to Congress, which passed the Indian Removal Act by the narrowest of margins. Over the next few years Jackson continued his campaign to remove the â€Å"Five Civilized Tribes†- the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole- and drive them west of the Mississippi. † The Indians were divided in what to do. S ome chose to use non-violence while others decided to go to the Supreme Courts and let the Courts decide what to do. The courts ruled in favor of the Indians and that caused a problem for Georgia.Georgia went to Jackson and Jackson told Georgia to ignore the ruling. Georgia and Jackson decided to ignore the court’s ruling. Because of this the Cherokee Indians were removed in an event called the Trail of Tears. In 1834 Jackson had his sights set on Florida and the Seminoles. â€Å"Eleven years earlier the Treaty of Moultrie Creek had directed the Seminoles to surrender all land claims in the territory and move to a 4-million-acre reservation in central Florida. It also bound them to remain peaceful and to apprehend all runaway black slaves and other fugitives for the government.For its part the government would provide cattle and hogs, an animal annuity of $5,000, an interpreter, a blacksmith, and an Indian agent, and keep all whites from encroaching on Indian Land- the latte r an unenforceable provision. The agreement came with a 20-year shelf life. † Unfortunately Jackson broke the agreement and signed another agreement that would force the Seminoles to move to the Arkansas territory within a three year period and surrender all black runaway slaves. I feel like this is violating laws. It is violating treaty laws but making a previous treaty not being upheld.On the other hand it makes the United States gain more land. I don’t agree with President Jackson’s way of removing Indians and taking all the slaves back but to be fair â€Å"Jackson harbored a personal resentment towards the Seminoles for their practice of sheltering and adopting runaway slaves into the tribe. † However his resentment is violating a person’s right to having the freedom to make their own decisions. â€Å"According to several Army officers present at the treaty negotiations, the Indians had been â€Å"wheedled and bullied into signing†Ã¢â‚¬ . The government tried to justify why they did what they did to the Indians ut the truth is they violated civil freedoms. A turning point in the war happened in late 1835 when â€Å"the hawkish Seminoles judged one chief who had agreed to relocate one traitor to the tribe, and Osceola killed him. It soon became clear war would come-and soon. † Unfortunately Osceola killed the Indian agent on December 28 and anyone in the cabin. He then took treasure from the agent’s cabin. To me this looks like Osceola is out for blood but he isn’t. He is trying to protect his tribe from suffering having to move away from their homes. The agent’s death was avenged by Jesup.Osceola died from Malaria in prison. The war went on in a bloody fashion until it was finally ended by all of the Seminoles going to Arkansas and Florida being given to the United States. Jackson’s prejudice towards the Indians didn’t help. â€Å"In the midst of the War of 1812, Jackson, then in charge of the Tennessee militia, was sent into southern Alabama, where he ruthlessly put down an uprising of Creek Indians. The Creeks soon ceded two-thirds of their land to the United States. Jackson later routed bands of Seminoles from their sanctuaries in Spanish owned Florida. Bibliography SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 62-69. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). â€Å"Outline of the United States History† ——————————————– [ 1 ]. 1 SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 63. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 2 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). 3 ]. SOODALTER, RON. à ¢â‚¬Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 4 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 5 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 6 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 65.Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 7 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 65. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 8 ]. SOODALTER, RON. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 65. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 9 ]. SOODALTER, RO N. â€Å"ON REMOVING SEMINOLES. † Military History 29, no. 2 (July 2012): 66. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2013). [ 10 ]. â€Å"Outline of the United States History† (Unknown dates and author)

Fashion as Communication Essay

For this week’s task I had to read a quite difficult extract from ‘Fashion as Communication’ by Malcolm Barnard about how fashion is regarded in today’s society, whether it is trivial or not and highlighting how important it is in today’s economy. The first idea exposed is that fashion is ‘fit only for the intellectually disenfranchised’, suggesting that everyone working in the fashion industry lacks intelligence. Having chosen to study Fashion Marketing I completely disagree with this statement, but I am fully aware of the prejudices held against it. When I decided to pursue this course I realized most people did not consider Fashion Marketing a serious career, but the truth is that it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to succeed in this industry and most people do not understand what it really entails. What struck me most was a quote from a letter in The Guardian’s Women’s page arguing that ‘fashion is irrelev ant to serious minded persons’. As Anna Wintour says in The September issue ‘Just because you like to put on a beautiful Carolina Herrera dress or a pair of J Brand blue jeans instead of something basic from K-Mart it doesn’t mean that you’re a dumb person’ and even if you make a choice that you think completely leaves you out of the fashion industry, you are nevertheless engaging with it. Fashion is a way of expressing yourself; people will judge you on what you are wearing so if you want to be seen as a ‘serious-minded person’ you will have to look like one, thus making fashion relevant. Barnard then goes on to present a counter argument by saying that ‘fashion seems to be inevitable, given the social and economic organization of most of the world’, which is true, fashion is everywhere, everyone is influenced by it and it hugely contributes to the global economy. In addition to this ‘fashion is a product of a society with more than one class in it where upward movement between classes is both possible and desirable’, there is a market for every level of the social structure, from value to luxury, which have been developed because the elite cannot wear the same as everybody else. Fashion is thus a way of claiming social status and it creates a social mobility that could not otherwise be accessed. Fashion is an industry based on creating a need where there is none and nowadays, due to the current recession, I can understand that fashion may not be people’s biggest concern. But we cannot qualify it as ‘trivial’ since we are surrounded by it; each new generation of customers is highly exposed to commercial influences. As I have seen through the text  this industry ‘covers increasingly large parts of the world’ and its role on today’s economic organization and modern culture is just too important to qualify fashion as ‘trivial’. In my opinion people despise it or mock it because they don’t understand it or feel excluded from this world. Barnard, M. (1996) Fashion as Communication 1st ed. Routledge pp 17-18

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 9

Business Ethics - Essay Example s to show the possible impacts of developing Tea For All Ltd as an ethical organization and also, to realize its impact on the environment, fair trading and employee relationships of the company. The project also evaluates the code of conduct, which has been followed by Starbucks in dealing with its business partners. This is because Starbucks is the leading coffee shop company in the world, with a spectacular scale of operation. The ways through which Starbucks can improve its ethical operations have also been highlighted. The final segment of the project discusses possible ways of implementation of the code of conduct of Starbucks on Tea For All Ltd. Tea for All Ltd. is a tea producing and supplying company, which wishes to emphasize on code of ethics for establishing itself as one of the successful global companies. This essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages that can be faced by the company, if it wants to position itself as an ethical organization. The first and foremost argument that can be put forward for establishing the company as an ethical organization is the fact that it will provide the company with a competitive advantage over the competitors. Ethical leadership can facilitate good business leadership in the company. The research conducted by James A. Mitchell shows that companies with an ethical advantage demonstrate better financial performance than those without it (Mitchell, 2001). The advantages of using a sound ethical code of conduct, as far as the environment, trading practices and workplace relationships are concerned, are highlighted below. The ethical objective of the company is to reduce its adverse impact on the environment as much as possible. The problem of the company is that it involves extensive farming techniques which can have corrosive action on the soil and wastage of water Ethical leadership is not a sufficient condition to create a successful business venture, but it is definitely a necessary one (Mitchell, 2001).

Social Intelligence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Social Intelligence - Assignment Example In my case, I would consider my dressing sense as one of the attributing factors to my professional presence. I would always wear formal clothes to work with sober yet pleasant color combinations. The reason I am motivated to dress professionally is to send across an implicit message to my colleagues and clients that I am serious and dedicated to my work. This has a reflective effect, in that their communication toward me also becomes more professional. I have also attuned my workplace behavior to enhance my professional presence. Replying to emails and telephone calls at the earliest possible time is a habit I have tried hard to inculcate. I also pay a lot of attention to detail so that my competence is reflected in my work. By working to enhance my professional presence, I am set to achieve both personal and team goals. While the image I create of myself has ramifications for my career prospects and growth, they also help improve the image of the organization at large. Hence there is a symbiotic benefit to be exploited thus. 2. Albrecht discusses the importance of authenticity in Social Intelligence. Summarize the key points that he makes in our text concerning authenticity. In your opinion, why do you believe that authenticity is important to SI and in particular, with leadership? Albrecht explains ‘authenticity’ as the opposite of being phony. The implication being that an employee will have to be honest with himself and his behavior should reflect the personal value system he has adopted. Authenticity is a particularly important quality for a business leader, for those working under him look up to him as a role model. A leader will also function as a wise counselor to those employees who are in need of guidance. In such scenarios, the role of a business leader turns into one of a mentor.

PERI OPERATIVE PROCEDURE CHANGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PERI OPERATIVE PROCEDURE CHANGE - Essay Example Besides, before an operation preoperative care should also be conducted to a patient because it usually allows many patients to have better results after surgery. The preoperative care includes psychological and physical preparation. Physical care preparations include studying and analyzing patient history like anesthesia history. Thus, laboratory tests like electrolytes, CBC, activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin are done (Keele, 2011). Psychological preparations like answering patient question before an operation usually decrease their anxiety. The perioperative procedure that will be analyzed in this essay is the routine shaving of surgical sites. Shaving of surgical sites is usually performed by surgeon assistant (Evans, 1998). The hospital administrator or chief surgeon determines the basis for practice after reviewing the patient history and approving the best procedure to be executed (Evans, 1998). The procedure is usually carried out by using depilatory creams , which dissolve the hair, and it is usually a slower process as the skin has to be in contact with cream for 15-30 minutes. Hair can also be removed by using clippers, with sharp edges to cut hair close to the patient skin leaving short stubble of about 0.04 inches long. Shaving is the most common method because it uses a sharp blade held within the head of the razor which is swapped over the patient skin to remove hair. Shaving, which is commonly used by many surgeons, has been implicated to cause higher risks of infections. Shaving result into microscopic cuts and abrasion, thus act as a block of the skin’s barrier defense against microorganism colonies (Hakim and Papalois, 2007). On the flip side, depilatory creams have a catastrophic disadvantage in that there could be an allergic reaction to the cream thus forcing nurses to conduct a patch test 24 hours prior to operation time thus leads to increased cost. The rationale for making the decision usually lies to the operat ion team and factors like allergy and health record due to SSIs infections determines the best method to be employed (Hakim and Papalois, 2007). Besides, shaving of surgical sites before any operation is usually carried out in a specific manner to reduce the spread of SSI and avoid health catastrophe that a patient may suffer due to poor administration of safety procedure during shavings (Fisher et al, 2007). Preparation of surgery of years has included the removal of body hair form the intended surgical wound site. Hair is mainly removed as its presence can impede with the exposure of the incision and subsequent wound. Besides, hair is also alleged to be associated with lack of cleanliness thus hair removal has shown too led to reduction of surgical site infections. A surgical site infection (SSIs) contributes tremendously to surgical morbidity and mortality every year. SSIs accounts for15% of all nosocomial infections experienced by patients after surgery. There are three types of SSIs defined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and they include incisional or organ infection, which is further subdivided as superficial (it mainly involves only the skin and subcutaneous tissue) and versus deep which infects the underlying soft tissue beneath the skin. Most of the SSI cases, the pathogen source, is the native flora of the patient’s skin, mucous membranes or hallow viscera. When a patient skin is incised, the underlying skin tissue is uncovered to the

Business Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Ethics - Case Study Example Absolutely, as long as there are individuals who are willing to circumvent the system, in the hopes of accruing a further profit, and place the lives of their consumers at risk due to a hurried and ill researched drug release, the legitimacy of the entire process falls into question. The first liability is with regards to the fact that illegal form of payment and unlawful interaction between Chang and American Therapeutics has taken place. As such, in the event that this is discovered, both of Chang and American Therapeutics could be held liable for any damages that resulted from their collusion. Moreover, even if no harm came of this, both of these could still be held liable for corruption and bribery outside the bounds of the law. In order to obtain rapid FDA approval, Vegesna could easily have ensured that all of his documents were in the correct order and that the testing facilities had been vetted and approved by the FDA. Even though this might not have resulted in an immediate level of approval, as was created by the bribery of the FDA official, it would necessarily have increased the turnaround time that he could have expected as compared to what was realized by other firms. In order to prevent future payments such as the one that has been discussed, the level of interaction between a firm and a single individual at the FDA must be reduced. By engaging companies with a team of stakeholders from the FDA, the possibility and the temptation to bribe all of them will be greatly reduced; as compared to a single individual integrating with a hopeful

Advertising Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advertising Analysis - Essay Example Technical effects are aimed at adding value to the adverts. These include: Sound effects add value to the products, thus giving them emotion. Close-ups give emphasis. Lighting is used to attract viewers’ attention to certain details. Accessories such as models, props and clothes used alongside the products improve them. Editing is focused on generating and pacing excitement; most products are marketed using three primary emotions: humor, sex and fear. These emotions should be independent on intellectual analysis. Unique effects bring inanimate things into life, thus making them exciting. This feature is usually prevalent in children-targeted ads. Camera angles add value to perspectives. For instance, low angles often give the product or subject power; and popular songs and music provide pneumonic devices to ads, and trigger observer’s memory (Berger 14). Common attention –getting hooks are aimed at attracting viewers’ attentions. They include humor, symbol s, repetition, fear, sex, flattering, big lies, macho, femininity, ordinary people, famous people, hype, testimonials, cute and vague promises (Berger 17). These are described as follows: Humor is commonly used since it makes the observers more attentive and memorable. Symbols such as crosses and flags are easily recognizable elements that generate powerful emotions. Repetition is used to repeat sales pitch over and over again. Fear messages are focused on addressing observers’ insecurities. It is one of the commonly used techniques since extra attention is needed to resist these messages. And sex often sells without exception. Cute images and people always add value to the show, especially in cartoon and family programs. Most adverts feature celebrities giving testimonials why certain products are recommendable. This is because people respect products endorsed by celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Famous people like Tiger Woods make products attractive and a ppealing through associations. Ads that target family or community such as Wal-Mart use ordinary people in their shows. Femininity is a gender stereotype that is commonly used in a variety of products like alcohol ads and make-up commercials. Macho is commonly used in adverts that target male community, but not exclusively. It represents male stereotype and masculinity. Such ads include tobacco and military adverts. Exotic is the appeal of the other option. It maybe a tribal person, mountain location, beach location, or something unfamiliar or strange. Film effects, music, fashion and images depicting a certain period in history are focused to represent demographic featured in the advert. This may include pop and classic rock music (Berger 34). Culture is a feature that is essential when designing an advert. An advert should be designed in accordance to specific ethnic groups. For example, Latino-targeted adverts may include particular uses of language or family scenes (Berger 34). There are two key analytical frameworks used to describe adverts and other visuals. These are content analysis and semiotic analysis. The two techniques are not often used when analyzing an ad because they both originate from different ideological stances (Berger 41). Active interpretation is primarily concerned with the act of interpretation. From this, the meaning of the advert is obtained from the process of interpretation, but not from the content of the advert. Such adverts are designed to bring the viewers to a common understanding. There is also diversity of interpretation method, which focuses on the different views presented by the viewers regarding the same advert. This method takes into account factors such as ethnicity, age, class and

World Trade - Global Economics in the 21st Century Essay

World Trade - Global Economics in the 21st Century - Essay Example In the United States, trade deficits with China have soared as American products are unable to compete with the less expensive Chinese imports. American agricultural exports of corn, soybeans, and wheat reach markets all around the globe as vegetables from Chile and Mexico fill our supermarket shelves. Trade is everywhere and world trade seems to be a chaotic mix of goods and money, commodities and cash. However, world trade, administered under regional trade agreements and the World Trade Organization, are actually rather well-orchestrated transactions with rules, agreements, quotas, and regional trade organizations. A central component of the agreements on international trade is the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is the "only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations" (What is the WTO?). The WTO was established in 1995 as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT evolved as an international forum for establishing fair trade guidelines, negotiating agreements, and settling trade disputes. The biggest accomplishment of the international forum is that it has "dramatically lowered both tariff and non-tariff barriers around the world, creating freer trade and contributing to postwar world growth" (Democratizing the World Trade Organization). In addition, the WTO has addressed the issues of quotas and subsidies that give nations an unfair advantage on the world market. The 153 members of the WTO have agreed to non-discrimination in regards to tariff levels among the member nations, and have agreed to treat them all equa lly. The WTO is simply an organization that works to liberalize trade and reduces the barriers to international commerce. The vast amount of world trade is conducted under the WTO and is regulated by a set of agreed-upon principles. All members agree to treat all other members equally.

Playing Hard to Get Essay Example for Free

Playing Hard to Get Essay Walster, Walster, Piliavin, Schmidt have designed a study to test the why women play hard to get when to comes to dating. This article is talks about how there are two different types of women when it comes to relationships. One type is the easy to get and hard to get. Easy to get women are girls who are either desperate for affection, who might have to many demands for their significant other, may want to get serious right away and possibly may have a disease. Whereas, the hard to get women have something about them that every guy would want to be with, she knows she is pretty and that every guy would do anything for her. A women knows in her mind, playing hard to get will make any man go through all kinds of trouble or challenges just trying to please her and hopefully making the girl like him or even falling in love with him. If a guy, can get to be with her it’s like winning a gold prize and gaining respect from all kinds of men because they can recognize that the girl is a hard to get girl. The experimenters tested 5 different experiments to test and see if any theories can prove about these hard to get girls. Experiment I was the dissonance theory was the first experiment was to predict to see if one had to spend a lot of energy to attain one goal because he would be unappreciative of the outcome. Experiment II was the learning theory was next to see if two advantages were attainable: exclusiveness with value and frustration that will increase drive. Experiment III was the Schachtarian theory requires two components just like the learning theory to test the person for calling it love. Both Walsters Lyons designed a field study and a laboratory experiment in to demonstrate that men prefer a date that plays hard to get. Computer matching service was conducted for women to be hired as experimenters. Precise instructions was given on how to respond when their computer match called them for a date by pausing to think for at least 3 seconds accepting the date, which would be labeled hard to get. Other times women were told to accept the date immediately, to be labeled as easy to get. The results indicated that elusiveness had no impact on the mans liking for his computer. Experiment IV was a laboratory experiment that tested the knowledge that a woman is elusive gives one indirect evidence that she is socially desirable. This indirect evidence should have the biggest impact when a man has no way of acquiring direct evidence about a coeds value or when he has little confidence in his own ability to assess value. When direct evidence is available, and the man possesses supreme confidence in his ability to make correct judgments, information about a womans elusiveness should have little impact on a mans reaction to her. Blind dates were being tested to see if this came true. Experiment V, we had decided that perhaps the hard-to-get hypothesis must be tested in a sexual setting with prostitutes that gave the men mixed drinks that will see if the hard to get hypothesis is true. Later this experiment resulted that there is two components: How hard or easy she is for him to get how hard or easy she is for other men to get. To test this, 71 male summer students at the University of Wisconsin were recruited for a dating research project. This was designed to determine whether computer matching techniques are in fact more effective than is random matching. All participants were invited to come into the dating center in order to choose a date from a set of five potential dates. When the subject arrived at the computer match office, they were handed folders containing background information on five women. Some of these women had supposedly been randomly matched with him and others had been computer matched with him but in reality, all five folders contained information about fictitious women. Experiments asked if they liked her, would you get along, first impressions and questions of that nature. All these results of their hypothesis turned out to be false but learned new information of women being hard to get. In my own opinion, the experiments did their best to test this phenomenon regardless of how old this article is because till this day, a hard to get women is described as someone who requires a lot of work in order to talk or to be seen with. Being with a women gives the man a lot of respect because start to question to figure out what does a man have to do to be such a girl with high standards. These experiments are valid even though they have failed but have demonstrated how these women work when playing hard to get. When it comes to girls, men are usually clueless because there are no set rules on how they react or how to keep them happy. Any interaction with women are general is an experiment because it involves a lot of variables, different possibilities of what the men can say leading to various reactions from the women. A follow up study can be done because this article is over 20 years old but it may just strengthen the results of this article. A study of how or why women act hard to get in the first place, their intentions or see if there are any tricks to get by these kinds of women. Experiment V was the best experiment to test by randomly selecting girls for the men and seeing what their likes and dislikes were when women were being hard to get. Men today have changed a lot when these experiments have taken place according to society at that time. I feel that these experimenters did all they could with their limited technology and how boys and girls acted in that time frame. Nowadays, women explore all options of being hard to get and easy to get by mixing it to fully get what they want and that drives men insane because we tend to get clueless of how things work. This article is valid of what has been tested and outcomes that of that women playing hard to get is still unknown till this day.

Electrospinning for Encapsulating Functional Ingredients

Electrospinning for Encapsulating Functional Ingredients

Brian Duffy | Photographer Biography

Brian Duffy | Photographer Biography Brian Duffy was born in 1933 to Irish immigrant parents in London, England. His household was highly politicized because his father was a republican and had done time as an IRA man. His mother was from Dublin, Ireland which inevitably caused further friction in the household. Both of his parents were strict Catholics and Duffy was brought up in a typical working class family. As a child, he was a self- confessed rogue, particularly when his father left to fight in World War II. Free from parental control, Duffy and his friends roamed the streets of London, acting like little thugs and having a great time. He remembers the American soldiers everywhere, their swearing, and the exciting magazines that they read. He had little time for education. However, in the first of the many unlikely events that color Duffys life, at the age of twelve he was enrolled at an early version of a progressive school in South Kensington run by the London County Council. It was staffed by injured ex-service men and aimed to introduce problem children to the arts. Duffy was taken to art galleries, the opera, the ballet, museums, and was immediately admitted. A few years later in 1950, Duffy went for an interview at Central Saint Martins in the Fields to study painting. He got in easily. The surroundings into which he was thrown into was instantly appealing to him. His fellow students had long hair, anarchic tendencies, intense politics, and a passion for art. Although he did not know it at the time, it was a significant moment for British Art. Duffy mixed with Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossof, Joe Tilson, and Len Deighton. Deighton became a lifelong friend. During his foundation year he also learned a healthy appreciation for what was called artspeak. His new friends spoke an articulate language that in theory referenced art history, critical theory, and sought to legitimize what they did in their studios. While much of this was no doubt suspicious, it taught Duffy an important truth: sounding like an artist was half the battle in becoming one. This had a healthy impact on Duffys intellectual education as he sought to train himself as an intellectual. It took many years for Duffy to discover that photography was going to be the best outlet for his newly found creative urges. He spent the majority of his three years at Saint Martins studying fashion design which eventually gave him an edge as a fashion photographer. After college Duffy went in and out of several jobs in the fashion business, including working for Princess Margarets designer, Victor Steibel, and producing fashion drawings for Harpers Bazaar. He learned the business and the process by meeting the right people. He also began dabbling with photography. Duffy went through early photographic apprenticeships with a variety of commercial operations. He spent a short time with a photography company called Cosmopolitan Artists where he learned pretty much nothing from men there who didnt know what they were doing themselves. One of them was a young Ken Russell. Duffy enjoyed more success at Artist Partners, an illustration firm, where he worked with Adrian Flowers to photograph products and scenarios for the company and then copy and turn into advertisements. Unlike Terence Donovan and David Bailey, Duffy was turned down for a job by the fashion photographer John French whose studio had become the major training ground for young photographers in London at the time. With Duffys skill, ambition, and sheer nerve, by 1957 he had secured himself a contract with Vogue after engaging the interest of the magazines art director, John Parsons. Charged at first with photographing everything and anything, Duffy found himself in the creative environment of Vogue Studios where he encountered some of the great photographers of the age. He worked closely with models Jennifer Hocking, Pauline Stone, Joy Weston and Jean Shrimpton. At this time, Duffy also began mixing regularly with David Bailey and Terence Donovan who were following similar career paths. In fact, it was he who introduced Bailey to Shrimpton, and they went on to become one of most famous celebrity couples of the 1960s. Much has been written on the impact that the three young men had on Vogue. Also with photography and Londons growing creative scene, particularly the work and lifestyle of David Bailey. However, it was Duffy who in fact led the way. The three redefined the role of the photographer and became as well known as the actors, models, musicians, and members of royalty that they photographed. They also played a major part in developing the 1960s fashion aesthetic, sexualizing the human body, and capturing through photography the wider concerns of their generation. Duffy, Donovan, and Bailey were thought of as a unit of three renegade, working class photographers tearing up a corrupt industry with little regard for the rules of the old guard. Norman Parkinson referred to them as The Black Trinity, while Cecil Beaton, in his 1973 book The Magic Image, remembered them as the terrible three. Duffy himself said at the time, Before 1960 a fashion photographer was tall, thin and camp. But we three are different: short, fat and heterosexual (Brian Duffy). Duffy eventually left photography because the lifestyle was making him unhealthy, but also because he began to dislike the highly commercial, cut throat advertising world that he inhabited. His commercial work of the 1970s is of a high standard and is more distinctive than that of Donovan and Bailey, who found themselves following the fashion rather than dictating it. One can detect that the once exciting world of photography had become routine for Duffy. Perhaps as a result of this, Duffys personal work from that period stands out in particular, and forms one of the most important and interesting bodies of work in his archive. Rooted in the modernist aesthetics of Americans Paul Strand, Robert Frank and Walker Evans, Duffy experimented at length with finding the beauty in the intellectual process of photography. The pictures from this period are an investigation into the mysteries of photography, an attempt to shock the viewer into appreciating something that they would normally fin d boring. He was also trying to understand the impact of black and white, how taking color away from an everyday scene can add to it and give it additional resonance and power. Most of all though, they are the polar opposite of the glossy, color photographs that his clients demanded. By 1979, Duffy had had enough of photography altogether and made that fateful trip into his studio back yard. Moving on to my impressions and opinions about his work. I am not an expert in any way with photography and being able to see all of the intricate details associated with a photograph. I do not have much experience taking photographs myself. I will do my best as to give my best insights into his photographs. The first photo of Duffys that I found was a photo of a man and woman in a car. They appear to be a couple on a normal road anyone would be using. The car is stationary. The man is looking up in the air while the woman is holding what looks like a scarf over her head. I cannot tell what kind of car it is that they are in. When I first saw this photo I got the impression that the man is almost annoyed with her behavior. To me he has a look on his face that this is something she does a lot. The photo is in black and white which I think adds to the uniqueness of his photos. The next photo that I found of his that I like is a photo of a public area with a woman and man and a lot of pigeons. I like this photo because it brings me back to a time when I was younger and able to travel through Europe with family. I remember these public places in Europe having a lot of pigeons because people fed them. This photo brings out some childhood memories for me. It is another black and white photo. I think that the woman in the white dress was staged there and she is posing. I honestly think that the man in it was just a guy passing by and happened to be in the photo. He just has that look about him, compared to her. Following along, I especially like this next photo. I like the symmetry of it with the woman posing is lined up with the building behind her. In this photo I think that she is the only one posing for the photo. Everyone else in it are just regular people who happened to be in the scene. She seems to be expressing her openness to the situation and to life in general. Her arms are open saying to open yourself up to things. The next photo is finally a color picture by Duffy. I do not know who the man is in the picture. I like the effects done in this photo. You can see a time lapse effect in this photo where you can see three different hands as the man in the photo was throwing sand. This man seems to be in a desolate area. All you can see is the sand in the background. To me this photo is saying that you are not alone. Even in this desolate area you can still run into another person. The final photo of Duffys that I am going to discuss is a color photo with what appears to be an average woman. She is holding up a newspaper that is covering some of her face. She appears to be surprised by something in the newspaper. To me this photo is saying that surprises can be found in any place in life. To conclude, I was very interested in the life of Brian Duffy. As someone who lived in England for five years I wanted to do a photographer from that country. He lived an important life in the realm of photography. To be called the man who shot the sixties you had to have had a major impact. To be able to have that sort of impact for a whole decade is quite amazing. Bibliography Brian Duffy. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. Brian Duffy The Man Who Shot The Sixties. C41. N.p., 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. Brian Duffy. Brian Duffy Photographer Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. DUFFY: The Man Who Shot the Sixties. Dir. Linda Brusasco. Crackit Productions, 2010. DUFFY: The Man Who Shot the Sixties. YouTube, 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2016Â  

Summary of Metamorphosis :: Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find that he has been inexplicably transformed into a giant insect. He has also slept late. His parents and his sister Grete try to rouse him so he can make it to his dreary job as a traveling salesman. The family depends on him for its livelihood. Gregor, however, is now a bug. When a clerk from his company comes to demand an explanation for his absence, Gregor makes a great effort to open the bedroom door and show himself. This sends the terrified clerk tearing down the stairwell and Gregor's family into shock. Grete, more than his father or mother, handles the situation practically. Gregor is fed, and his room is cleaned. Before long, however, economic reality requires all three to find work, and less attention is paid to Gregor--except when he gets out of his room. No one in the family is fully able to reconcile him- or herself to the insect Gregor, and Gregor is unable to express himself to his family. The fear and disgust his presence inspires (the irrational fear of the mammoth cockroach) is a detriment to his mother's health and incites his father to brief fits of violence. One such fit, a bombardment of fruit, deals Gregor a deep and crippling wound. Hobbled and neglected, Gregor begins to waste away in his room. The family takes in three carping lodgers, using Gregor's room to store excess furniture and other miscellanea--adding insult to injury. Yet the family does leave Gregor's door slightly open in the evenings, so that he may take part in the household in a small way. One evening, the lodgers hear Grete practicing her violin. They call her into the parlor for a concert. She obliges, and the music so moves Gregor that he creeps out into the parlor towards her, wanting to convey that he understands her gift and will help it to blossom. The lodgers see Gregor and immediately give notice. This is the breaking point for the family. Grete declares that they must abandon the notion that this hideous bug is their dear Gregor. All sadly agree. Gregor slinks back into his room. He dies that night. A great weight has been lifted from the family. After a moment of mourning, the father demands that the lodgers leave immediately. The family takes a trolley out of the city and into the countryside. It is a beautiful, sunny day, and as Grete stretches out her limbs in the trolley car, her parents' thoughts turn to finding her a husband.

Computers Cause Laziness :: Technology

Looking around at daily life, I noticed a pattern of computer oriented devices that make life easier. While I do agree with faster production and less work, I can not allow this degenerative spiral of laziness to continue, it is out of control. These devices are in most daily activities ranging from waking up to an alarm clock to watching the news before going to bed. All of these computerized facets of our society help to increase our daily productivity and help us do whatever it is we need to accomplish in the day in the easiest way possible. The computer age is upon us and it will continue to grow in influence until society revolves around it daily, without any need for improvement. . In personal computers, the industry has been creating faster machines that can store more information than before. For example, speed, the microprocessor has been tweaked to perform high rates of data transactions. What this means for the average person is that we can be much more productive in a day than the average person 50 years ago. to allow faster hook-up to the Internet, fiber optic lines have been added, to transfer data about 35,714,285 times faster than conventional phone lines (about 28,000 bits per second has been pushed to about 1,000,000,000,000 bits per second). This may seem ridiculous to you but if you stop and think how many lazy people get on-line every day to order movies, pizza, and do there E-bay all from the comfort of home you will see that this is not only ridiculous but scandalous and down right insane. As speed enhances, memory and storage space is needed to hold excess information. â€Å"Double data rate three, synchronous dynamic random access memory† or DDR3 SDRAM is a new, faster memory module that helps transfer RAM data about 80 times faster than normal RAM. For long term storage of large amounts of data, hard drives have been under a constant upgrade of performance, and it is not uncommon to find hard drives about 300 gigabytes to 1 terabyte on the market. One terabyte may not sound like a lot of space to you so to give you an example it’s like having the ability of storing 13 million movies on your computer or 26.7 million songs and its all to keep you fat lazy and dumb. Along with technology, an ease of use factor has been instilled in the modern day PC's so it’s easier for the elderly and the toddlers to use.

Ownership and Sense of Self: Argumentative Essay

Every prosperous thinker of the world has different views on the relationship between ownership and sense of self. Differences arise in the prominent topic, theory, and thought of the sense of self identity. With all kinds of theories, I see ownership of intangible skills as a part of building a self identity. I see it as Jean-Paul Sartre sees ownership as being â€Å"proficient in some skill† as it can build a bridge with ownership and sense of self. I believe ownership and knowledge of any certain skill can certainly add to a sense of self identity, character identity, and an understanding the importance of learning a skill. A sense of â€Å"owning† an intangible skill of an endless list is important towards a strong development with creating a sense of self. A lot of people wish for some sort of ownership, like a child wanting a toy or an adult wanting beneficial finances for themselves. Yet, do tangible items create what and who we are for ourselves instead of showing off to others? For me, learning and trying to master a skill, for example painting, is like an anchor because it’s not like an object that I can lose. This â€Å"anchor† can be beneficial to our development on learning and creating our identity. What I and others have learned and having an â€Å"ownership† over a skill can help develop and discover our sense of self. Ownership also builds up a character in us as it intertwines with our sense of being development. We build ourselves, our lives, and our nations with having skills, as it’s sufficient for our sense of self. Accomplishing one or many types of skills is an endless journey, almost as if a path builds up for people to cater to their character building. For example, religions, like Buddhism, have such a linkage with our minds and with character buildings and having skills. Skills contribute to this sense people want to have as having skills gives accomplishment to one. Our identity and character are set on our sense of self owning an intangible and growing skill. The sense of â€Å"owning† a skill or a type of knowledge is vital and important as well, as it’s beneficial for anything to get done for ourselves. For example, would having a lawyer without important and vital knowledge would  be effective in defending a client in court? The lawyer would be worthless in helping you in this situation. Not only does owning a skill help with identification and a sense of self, it can help us in almost everything we need to accomplish. We need to learn and own skills, basic or difficult, for people to find their sense of self and to cater to our needs that accompany with the ideas of ownership intertwining with our sense of self. Ownership is a step in the development of a sense of self, almost vital for lives. â€Å"Owning† a certain type of skill or knowledge can help finds one’s identity, build character, and understand the importance of having intangible skills. Different views are out there, though they almost connect. Does owing anything, tangible or intangible, really play in our development of sense of self? A sense of ownership and a sense of self can almost determine what we identify with. Our identity intertwines skills with our sense of self.

Eat2Eat Strategy

Eat2Eat. com 27th of November 2012 Strategic Management – Questions 1. What are the key success factors for competing in the online restaurant booking industry ? 2. What are the fundamental aspects of Eat2Eat's strategy ? Which of the 5 generic strategies do you believe Eat2Eat is pursuing ? Has the strategy evolved since the company's conception ? 3. Perform a SWOT analysis for Eat2Eat. 4. What role have strategic alliances played in Eat2Eat's success ? What types of partners are most valuable to Eat2Eat ?Which partners does Eat2Eat have the greatest potential to benefit ? Which partnerships should Eat2Eat focus on forming in the immediate future ? 5. Provide recommendations concerning Eat2Eat's future strategy. 1. What are the key success factors for competing in the online restaurant booking industry? * Quality of restaurants contracted * A large network of restaurants in strategic places * Good interface with relevant criteria (Place, time, ambiance, cuisine price, rating, †¦) * Clever communication * Favorable reputation * Good knowledge of the market Ability to respond quickly to shifting market conditions * Technical capability to make innovative improvements * Fast, accurate, technical assistance * Superior information system * Access to financial capital 2. What are the fundamental aspects of Eat2Eat's strategy? Which of the 5 generic strategies do you believe Eat2Eat is pursuing? Has the strategy evolved since the company's conception? First let’s say that Eat2Eat. com is an internet based restaurant portal, promoting fine dining in Asia pacific region, through twelve cities.The website is a guide to the region’s best restaurants with an online reservation service. The founder of this website believed that there was a value proposition in connecting dinners both corporate and personal with restaurants, with the help of a highly automatic process like the airline bookings, hotel reservations or car rentals. He also believed tha t restaurants could benefit by having a presence on the internet. And we think it is important to precise also that the revenue generated by Eat2Eat is different from other restaurants portal on the internet. 0% of their total revenue came from their commissions on the restaurants (between 7% to 10% of the customer’s bill); 20% of the company total revenue are from banner advertising on the website, and the last 40% came from the preferred arrangements between credit cards companies and restaurants. Whereas most of other portals derive revenues from advertising alone. Therefore one of the major customers for Eat2Eat remains the restaurants’ owners (through the commission and the advertisements), Eat2Eat signed them up as suppliers, but also there can’t be any commission without any bookings. Corporate strategy Looking at Eat2Eat present corporate strategy, it is following a growth strategy and more specifically an internal growth. Eat2Eat strategy is to capitali se on its core competencies, expanding its existing resources. We have the example in the case when the company wants to increase its geographic coverage, launching in Kyoto, Melbourne and Phuket. We can also add that this choice of strategy follows Aggarwal’s desire to conserve full ownership and control on his company. * Generic strategyThe reason why we think Eat2Eat is following a broad differentiation strategy is the augmented services and their high quality. First, let’s say that comparing to other websites Eat2Eat is offering a wealth of supporting information, these extra features include: restaurants reviews, recipes, interviews with leading chief and list of tops establishments in various categories. To propose this service in a more convenient way, the restaurant can be search according to various criteria including location, ambiance and accessibility for disabled diners, smoking preference, cuisine, price range, quality rating and hotel affiliation.The lau nch of the content and the booking function through the WAP system improved also the accessibility of the service for the user. * Leader offensive strategy Eat2Eat can be considered as a leader because comparing to the other Asian pacific portals which are only city specific, Eat2Eat. com is offering regional coverage. Google and Yahoo! , search engines consistently ranked Eat2Eat. com first in search results for Asian restaurant reviews and reservations. And also the Smart Diners Organisation in the United-States has rated Eat2Eat. om as the top restaurant information and reservation site in the world. * A transnational strategy Because Eat2Eat is dealing with cross-country variations in buyer preferences and market conditions, it is very important to notice the differences between those markets (as market observations in exhibit 4) . Eat2Eat employed a combination of global local strategy. Eat2Eat has the same basic competitive strategy in all country market, but it is also able t o develop the capability to customise service offerings in different countries.To illustrate this point, the launch of equivalent sites in Japanese and Korean to cover the restaurants in Tokyo and Seoul is an example of this â€Å"think global, act local† strategy. Focusing on Tokyo again, another example could highlight this strategy: when Japanese corporations were reluctant to encourage their employee to sign up for the service and also because many first-tier restaurants in Japan had their own website but not the technology to support on-line reservations, Eat2Eat. com enabled the reservation for the restaurants’ website. This is clearly an example of a small adjustment for a specific market. Has the strategy evolved since the company conception? In a way, we could say, yes the strategy evolved, because first Eat2Eat was focusing its promotional efforts on corporate customers. It seems at the beginning the best way to reach customers, and this strategy worked well because both the corporation and Eat2Eat were wining (except in Japan as we observed previously, and the cultural adjustment were the first step to an increase in personal dinners booking in Tokyo). The strategy evolution from corporate customers to individual customers probably occurred with the success of the adaptation of Eat2Eat. om for mobile phones for Japanese and Korean customers. In order to reach its potential, Eat2Eat had to do all it can to increase the customer base in the personal market. The partnership with The Asian Wall Street Journal seemed the best way to reach the customer base. And even if the Eat! had little immediate impact on Eat2Eat. com reservations and revenue, it allowed the company to expand its restaurant base in current cities and established the business in new cities. With the same idea to reach more individual customers, Aggarwal thought of an agreement with credit card companies.We can also add that due to the lack of time and resources it may app ear now to Aggarwal’s mind, that an external strategic alliances might be taken into consideration and may be the best way to improve Eat2Eat efficiency. 3. Perform a SWOT Analysis. * * Strengths * Highly rated Eat2Eat. com was the most highly rated Internet based restaurant reservation service covering major cities in the Asia Pacific region. * Airline booking The airline booking is highly automated process. * 12. 000 customers After only five years of operations, the company already has 12. 00 customers from differents countries. Eat2Eat. com covered 823 restaurants in Bangkok, Hong Kong etc. * Team members Vikram Aggarwal hired 1 chief officer, 1 programmer, 2 other people in order to help with the workload. It was a little company, with competent personal and easy to manage. Moreover, the personnel costs should not be high. * Revenues The company makes 40% of total revenues with 7-10% of bill's customer. Then, in 2005, advertisements on the website contributed an addition al 20% of the revenues. * Recognition The company had received considerable recognition.A poll taken by the Smart Diners Organization in the United Staes had rated the company as the top restaurant information and reservation site the world. Moreover, Google and Yahoo ranked Eat2Eat. com first in search results for Asian restaurant reviews and reservations. * On mobile phone In 2004, the company was adapted to make its content and booking function accessible on mobile phones. This added accessibility would significantly extend the company's reach and utilization, considering the high penetrationof mobile phone in the region. * Weaknesses * Enable on certain cities The service became popular but lagged elsewhere.The service had not found greater acceptance in cities like Hong-Kong or Singapore. * Approach customers Vikram Aggarwal approached himself their customers but this technique is much too long. May be he can ask to professionals to make it A SA PLACE. * No time As we have just said before, Vikram Aggarwal had no time to convince all partners. * Second-tier restaurants Eat2Eat. com dealt exclusively for first-tier restaurants, there were moderately expensive or very popular and busy. Because second-tier restaurants did not accpet reservations and therefore were of no to Aggarwal. Resources The company did not have the employees or finanacial resources needed to pursue such a vast market. * Opportunities * Third party The company engaged in another complementary business : negotiated arrangment between credit card companies and restaurants for the benefit of credit card holder This third-party negotiations contributed the remaining 40% of revenues. And a partnership with a single credit card company might expose Eat2Eat. com to millions of new customers. * Discounts He negotiated discounts for corporate customers and commissions for Eat2Eat. Easy to access The website was an easy to access for secretaries and personal assistants. * Corporations Aggarwal fo cused his promotional efforts on corporate customers. Because he thought personal diners were too numerous and consequently, too dificult and expensive to reach. So, this approach would bring more value for Aggarwal efforts and would be the best way to reach customers. Roughly 80% of the companies he approached endorsed the program. * Partners Aggarwal wanted to find partners as hotels, local or regional newspapers and airlines companies. * Investment 0% of the new capital would be spent on public relationss and marketing activites to reach the personal dining market segmetn. And 10% would be spent on a technology upgrade. Only if the company raise $2 million in additional capital. * Threats * Equivalent sites There were other restaurants portals on the Internet, covering Adia Pacific and other regions but Eat2Eat. com was different, in fact the company offered regional coverage compare to competitors which derived revenue from advertising alone. * Languages The original website app eared in English. * Bank LoanEat2Eat had not yet established a profitable track record, so, it would be difficult to obtain bank loan. * Cost of maintenance The cost of maintenance of a website can be more and more expensive * Conclusion The situation of the company is quite good because the company is the most highly rated Internet based restaurant reservation service, and they have a real recognition. Moreover, they can find some partners to improve their service. Perhaps Vikram Aggawal has to be careful about potential new entrants, their resources and he has to find some solutions about his investment to improve his strategy. . What role have strategic alliances played in Eat2Eat's success? What types of partners are most valuable to Eat2Eat? Which partners does Eat2Eat have the greatest potential to benefit? Which partnerships should Eat2Eat focus on forming in the immediate future? * What role have strategic alliances played in Eat2Eat's success? First of all, strategic allian ces are short or long-term partnerships of two or more firms working on a specific project or cooperating in a specific business area. Those alliances can be in form of joint ventures, franchises or licensing agreements, which are the main alliances.Actually, Eat2Eat has made several strategic alliances. First, the core alliances, on which the business model is based, are the alliances made with each restaurant. Indeed, Eat2Eat brings customers to the restaurants and those latters pay a commission to Eat2Eat. Thus, this first type of alliance has played a key role on the revenue of Eat2Eat. Then, the second alliance was one with a regional newspaper : The Asian Wall Street Journal. In the long-run, it had a tremendous impact on Eat2Eat revenue. In addition, the number of the website users increased thanks to the Eat! romotion put in the well-known critics’ pages. Now, Eat2Eat needs a new strategic alliance. Indeed, the issue that Eat2Eat faces is to find a way to get an incre ase in the capital of the company : exactly, US$2 million more than actually. * What types of partners are most valuable to Eat2Eat? One of the most valuable partners would be an Internet company such as Yahoo. Indeed, it would provide the recognition needed for the growth of Eat2Eat. In addition, another valuable partner could be credit card companies. This alliance would allow Eat2Eat to get access to larges customer’s databases.That would have a great impact on the number of the website users. Even if it takes time to create a relationship, those types of companies would have a serious and positive impact on the Eat2Eat success. Then, given that no Internet company was interested in Eat2Eat, they had to think about potential venture. There were two possible types of ventures : venture with capital firms and one with entrepreneurial companies. In the first venture, the companies expect a return around 30% within 5 years, but with a minimum investment whereas in the second o ne, they only want to maximize their profit.Therefore, the most valuable partner between the two options above is the last one : the venture with entrepreneurial companies. Indeed, the main reason is that they have the same business expectation on the investment than Eat2Eat. Furthermore, this latter wants to do a venture with only entrepreneurial companies which cover the entire Asian region. * Which partners does Eat2Eat have the greatest potential to benefit ? Eat2Eat will probably make several partnerships. In fact, Eat2Eat knew that, in order to increase its success, they will need to do some partnerships with firms in other businesses.As an example, Eat2Eat wanted to work with firms such as hotels chains or airlines companies. However, they can continue working with other companies in the sector as themselves. In other words, it could be some other websites, but which cover only limited areas. In addition, we think that Eat2Eat will undoubtedly benefit from local Asian restaur ant website partners. Even if the Asian website partners cover a limited area, they are already implanted in a specific town. * Which partnership should Eat2Eat focus on forming in the immediate future?The current problem of Eat2Eat company is to get recognition. Indeed, this lack of recognition is a crucial issue for the company at the time being. It leads the companies to face problems in the process of making deals such as valuable partnerships with other corporations. Therefore, in the immediate future, Eat2Eat should focus on the partnership with all the Asian restaurant websites. Then, when Eat2Eat had covered enough key towns, their coverage provided from it will give them the credibility to do ventures with some banks.And then, in this way, they will get the database of customer needed to grow. 5. Provide recommendations concerning Eat2Eat's future strategy. Brigitte CISS As we could see, the company Eat2eat has a great concept which pleases a lot of consumers. The idea and the way it is implented is are good, and the only remaining issue, is the recognition. Indeed, Eat2eat has a problem being considered by â€Å"serious† companes such as banks, and trusted by businesses. Therefore, to be more recognized, the company needs to have contacts with big websites such as Yahoo! or Google, to be more available on the Internet, to increase the awareness and the knowledge of people. As the case said, also, Eat2eat has to be in a relationship with credit card companies to facilitate the online payment, and to create joint ventures with such companies. To increase the recognition, the company has to broaden its services to big cities, outside of Asia. Why not ? There are no infrastructures to take care of since it is an online operation, and it might be well known internationally. We would also recommend to the CEO to hire people specially for public relations.Going to every potential partner himself is a long process, and the opportunity cost is quite hi gh, with the amount of time lost. With more people available, the company could bring to her much more clients. After creating a more efficient network, maybe Eat2eat. com should now spend a bit on advertising. A quick ad on the Internet, not for businesses but directly destined to end consumers who are looking for restaurants, would increase the awareness and therefore the profits. On the long run, the company could even try to advertise on television.

Pitfalls in executive information systems (EIS) development

As identified by Watson, EIS failures are due to the following factors: Lack of executive support – The support during the period of development is very essential. The support from the higher management with regard to information transparency and belief for the system would define better activity lifecycle and speed in implementation. Often information gathering from higher management is poorly managed and lacks standard processes for recording mechanism.As not enough documentation is done, the primary stage of IS development is miscarried and entire lifecycle suffers. Undefined system objectives – The system objectives are often revised and requirements are poorly defined. The scope of such systems is open and is never seized, thereafter making the system development in an undefined fashion. The system objective is not understood from the very beginning. The idea is to determine and set right goals for the system. Such initiatives are often neglected and not documented well.Undefined goals push activities to a different path and lack enough direction to succeed (McNurlin, 2009). Inadequate support staff – The support staff are often inadequate and unskilled to handle the development. The high skill individuals are often lacking for the development of EIS, which demands effective resources with years of aligned experience. Such shortages pose a danger to the development. Improper planning – The planning of the EIS system development is often is not adequate and lacks risk management information.The idea is to make the right judgment of the system in conjunction with various organizational objectives and the scope of the system. Such analysis often lacks and thus the system development fails. Planning the EIS system into various sub-systems for development makes the system development planned, however often the system knowhow makes it quite difficult to understand the entire system and thus the development of framework becomes difficu lt. References McNurlin B. C. and Sprague R. H. (2009). Information Systems Management in Practice (8th Ed). Prentice Hall.

Who is a Hero for You?

UlEverybody may be confused to what would be the answer with the question, † Who is a Hero and How can you be a Hero? â€Å". From the word itself, Hero means a person with a powerful body, a strong open mind, and someone who lives according to their values and ambitions. So, who really is a Hero and how you can be one of it? Is it those who made a revolutionary cause to impose away the non-native colonizers?Or is it someone who did a silent and solemnizes way to drive away those who omitted an immoral deeds to our beloved country? Every person in this world can be considered a hero in his own littlest or largest great way. For there are countless ways and reasons to be done and to be one. In our nation, we used to give an account to those who fought for our freedom. Yes, I also consider them as one but whom I supposed to look upon is the one who faced a lot of trouble and excruciation not only from exterior but from within as well and still, made a way to set It aside and soa r upon it.It is not about being a hypocrite for we are taking a subject about a roes life, but it is about my realization to whom I should consider a hero according to the discussions and readings that we have been taking. A hero for me Is the one who really loves his country that much, and someone who Is concern with his countrymen. A man who Is able to keep on fighting for our own freedom and Justice with handling his beliefs and philosophy until his last breath. A hero Is also the one who Is a master in not Just one field and skill but about more than a number In a decade.Someone who can't see his country and fellowmen suffering because of the abusive government and colonizers. A real hero Is the one who has a lot of dreams for his nation and his people, and never stopped to strive and rise upon It even he has his own Incapableness, weaknesses and luckless. Therefore, the above title â€Å"The undying Past-Master† means that though this someone Is already burned under the stone, he Is still being remembered and until now, his greatness Is still In our dally lives, wherever else.The life of him has past already but his legacy In works and deeds will always be an undying one for It Is such a great Influence and Inspiration to each and everyone of us, that someday soon despite of our Imperfections, we can cake a better things not Just for ourselves but also to others. Who is a Hero for You? By Cheekbone not only from exterior but from within as well and still, made a way to set it aside and to the discussions and readings that we have been taking.A hero for me is the one who really loves his country that much, and someone who is concern with his countrymen. A man who is able to keep on fighting for our own freedom and Justice with handling his beliefs and philosophy until his last breath. A hero is also the one who is a master in not Just one field and skill but about more than a number in a abusive government and colonizers. A real hero is the one who has a lot of dreams for his nation and his people, and never stopped to strive and rise upon it even he has his own incapableness, weaknesses and luckless.Therefore, the above title â€Å"The Undying Past-Master† means that though this someone is already buried under the stone, he is still being remembered and until now, his greatness is still in our daily lives, wherever else. The life of him has past already but his legacy in works and deeds will always be an undying one for it is such a great influence and inspiration to each and everyone of us, that someday soon despite of our imperfections, we can

Bob Marley's Weapon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bob Marley's Weapon - Essay Example Miller provides a very apt interpretation of this real 'weapon' of Marley which also indicates his political and revolutionary concerns. "Bob Marley often used to say, 'My guitar is my weapon.' What he meant, of course, was that he could make more of a statement about the futility of oppression and violence with his revolutionary reggae music than he ever could by fighting or organizing physical uprisings." (Miller) Through the strength of his music, Marley was able to influence the political and cultural transformation of his land and he was aware from his childhood that race was culture. The great political and revolutionary concerns of the musician were enlarged by the power of his music and through the medium of his guitar he achieved international acclaim for the same concerns. The most influencing elements in the musical and political ideologies of this renowned musician were race and culture.

Integrating Environmental Factors into Life Cycle Costing Research Paper

Integrating Environmental Factors into Life Cycle Costing - Research Paper Example This paper aims to discuss one of the recommended strategies to quantify the impact a product has on the environment, and this is life cycle costing or LCC. It provides an introduction on the concept of LCC. It describes various approaches to LCC and how these approaches contribute to getting an understanding on how a certain product affects the environment. Lastly, it includes several recommended improvements on life cycle methods. The life cycle cost of a certain asset is defined as the â€Å"total cost throughout the life† of the asset, including the cost to plan, to design or to acquire (New South Wales Treasury, 2004), to operate, to maintain, to convert and/or to decommission an asset, particularly a fixed asset (Barringer, 2003). LCC techniques are used for various purposes, from the acquisition of the asset to deciding when to retire the aging asset (p. 30, Dhillon, 1989). LCC is used across several disciplines such as accounting, finance, engineering and statistics (p. 35, Dhillon, 1989). It offers a lot of advantages for the entity that applies this concept. It enables the entity to choose â€Å"the most beneficial procurement strategy†, offers incentives to suppliers and establish long – term mutual beneficial relationships with them, choosing the optimal solutions for the entity, formulating effective (and realistic) budgets and, generally, effectively controlling the project and/or the acquisition of the assets (p. 30, Dhillon, 1989). Although the LCC is a methodology to gather the costs for further analysis and monitoring, it is inevitable that LCC will also be looked at as a possible means to solve the environmental issues faced by the world today. According to Hunkeler and Rebitzer (as quoted by Guidice, La Rosa and Risitano, 2006), LCC can play an active and important role in addressing environmental issues and concerns as â€Å"it acts as a primary link between environmental demands and the production

This is the idea report of Small Business Management Assignment - 1

This is the idea report of Small Business Management - Assignment Example Market conditions tend to have significant effect on the viability of a business. While conducting market analysis certain strategic tools are required. Keeping the objective in mind PEST analysis of Australia has been conducted. Special emphasis has been to the city of Sydney while conducting a PEST analysis. A part from this the 4 P’s of marketing has also been used to provide a future action plan. The in-depth analysis has been punctuated with a brief market audit of the Australian Restaurant and cafà © market to analyze the present and future market scenario as well as growth opportunities (Burgemeister, 2009, p.25). Mainly due to the unrestricted spending nature of the restaurants, the industry has come across certain difficulties in trading. Due to the recent economic down turn consumers decided to control their spending and decided to eat at home more of than not. However the preference of gourmet coffee among of the coffee has been quite evidently visible. This is largely due to the fact that the Aussies view quality coffee like a luxury product at an affordable price. If numbers are to be believed more than one billion cups of coffee have been sold in Australia. The percentage of out of home consumption of coffee has seen a steady rise. According to analysts as the economic conditions are set for improvements, steady growth of the cafà © and restaurant business is expected over the course of next five years and so. Such growth is applicable as there is likely to be presence of both international players as well as other franchises (Henry, 2008, p.51). The cafà © and restaurant industry of Australia can be tagged as highly competitive. The main reasons can be presumed as very low barriers to entry. Add to that the industry is believed to be highly fragmented. According to reports the major players hold less than ten percent of the total market share. The small

Asset Assesment and E-Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Asset Assesment and E-Commerce - Essay Example early internal audit reports Delineation of Authorities and Responsibilities Roles defined and responsibilities delineated for: Overall fixed asset officer: 1. planning and overseeing of system asset management 2. involving in the implementation of asset management plan 3. taking action of defective or obsolete assets Hardware and software custodians (as related): 1. obtaining resources 2. performing functions 3. documenting and maintaining records 4. deployment and controls 5. managing contract agreements, internal and external customers’ relationships Asset Management manual and strategic plans, roles and responsibilities specified in the job description Organization-wide communication of the specified responsibilities Minutes of meetings, e-mails, posting in bulletin board Policies and Procedures Availability of policy and procedure development, periodic review, approvals, issuance, and control Approved policy and documented implementation Documented policies including: 1. Employees and leadership responsibilities on of software and hardware in use 2. limitations on the use of assets and software for personal use 3. compliance to legal and regulatory requirements, propriety and protection of data 4. asset acquisition 5. approval on installation and use of software 6. consequences of violating the policies Review of policies and documents on implementation Organization-wide communication of policies including: 1. newly joined employees during orientation period 2. continuing annually through in-house trainings 3. signing on acknowledgement 4. accessible to all anytime needed Publications through the e-mails, system database for manuals, adding to the code of conduct, e-mailing and minutes of meeting MANAGEMENT OF ASSETS INVENTORY Identification of Software Asset... This study shows that per audit checklist used, internal audit is not conducted periodically. Hardware changes are not covered in internal audit. Technology resources were not considered in the current year budget plan. Functions in control of assets overlap with overall fixed custodian and software and hardware custodians. Purchasing officer has nothing to do with assets contracts. Computer games are installed in the computer networks. No regular training of employees related to information technology. Positive findings deserve appreciation from the management to the responsible employees. â€Å"Keep up the good work.† On the other hand, all employees should get training on information technology. IT Department should be part of orientation program presenters for new employees. The human Resources yearly training program should include information technology topics. All employees should sign the â€Å"statement of confidentiality†. Storage of software, backup system an d consequences of information system violations should be included in the security policy.Findings from Belarc Advisor system audit recommendation should configure settings on account lockout, passwords, event logs, files permission, security options, user-right assignment and system services. Define policies for password issuance and usage, audit, the Internet, Explorer Seven and local computer. Impose restrictions on local computer administration templates, network, systems, and Windows. Create profiles for Windows firewall, domain, and standard.

Industrial Organization of Hot Rolled Steels Industry in India Research Paper

Industrial Organization of Hot Rolled Steels Industry in India - Research Paper Example The present research has identified that hot roll steel is in high demand all over the world and even the country’s growth is measured in terms of its production of steel, therefore components in this hot roll industry including the user demand, production, rate of growth, is always showing a positive trend. As per elasticity of demand, the hot roll steel industry in India is quite stable. Economies of scale, is one of the important reason for success of a firm in hot roll steel industry of India, the larger giants share more market. Raw materials are also one of the important factors in this industry. Steel billets are the major raw material along with other supporting raw materials. Mostly successful hot roll firms have their own production of steel billets, in order to avoid production delays and transportation costs. Hot roll steel product is an outcome of a metal rolling process that happens above the re-crystallization temperature of the metal. The raw material is typica lly big fragments of crude metal, for instance semi-finished casting items known as slabs, blooms, and billets. The metal billets or slabs are rolled from hot working rolls and the rollers produced a flat product that can be formed in coils as well as in hot rolled plates. There are two types of flat products resulting from a hot roll mill i.e. Plates or HR coils. More often plates are utilized directly. The HR coils (HRC) are utilized directly, but in addition to it, most of them are additively rolled and routed to manufacture products for example cold rolled sheets coils, galvanized or gal annealed sheets and coils, pipes etc.

Collaboration and Peer Reviews Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Collaboration and Peer Reviews - Essay Example Also, a project can be completed much faster when collaborating because each team member can focus just on what they are good at. Working as an individual requires someone to be involved in every role; group work means that each person can specialize. On the other hand, collaboration on a project means that some people may slack off because they think that others will do the work for them. Some people are just naturally lazy, so being part of a group allows them to receive a grade that they don’t deserve. Another disadvantage to working as a group is that there can be disagreements among group members. A famous saying that shows this is â€Å"too many cooks spoil the broth.† The same can sometimes be true in collaborating on a project—everyone thinks that they know what is best for the group and they try to impose their views on others. No one is willing to compromise and, as a result, the project turns out to be a disaster. By reviewing my peers’ writing, I have been able to get different views on how to write a paper. Everyone has a different style when it comes to writing, so to learn from someone else’s style can benefit my own writing. Of course, some of my peers’ writing may not be up to scratch; this is where I can offer advice and hopefully improve their writing ability. In doing this, I can think through the thought processes that go into writing and I can adapt my style so that I am a better writer in the long term. The good thing about getting my papers reviewed by my peers is that hopefully they will pick up on something that I may have missed. Because they have attended most of the classes with me, they have been taught the same writing principles that I have. Sometimes, another person can catch something that I haven’t because they are reading it with fresh eyes. A negative to having my peers review my papers is that they perhaps do not have a

Sun Yatsen's Revolution of 1911 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sun Yatsen's Revolution of 1911 - Essay Example The post Sino-Japanese War (1894-1896) further made the imperial China relinquish more territories including loss of suzerainty of Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria (Lee and Hock 20). The fulcrum of the revolution was the Wuchang rebellion on October 10, 1911, which mainly pushed for changes through the Qing court. The revolution aimed at transforming changing the authoritarian imperial rule to a constitutional monarchy. Led by Sun Yat-sen, a new leadership came into place with him taking the president’s position. The revolution concluded on February 12, 1912 with the abdication of the â€Å"Last Emperor† Puyi. The three people’s principle was responsible for ensuring equality, national identity and establishment of responsive policies as developed by Sun Yat-sen. China’s nationalism or People’s National Consciousness got ideologically drawn from diverse sources including Chinese American thinking, Marxism, Russian ethnological thought and American progressivism (Lee and Hock 28). Nationalism aimed at transforming China’s prosperity by overthrowing the Manchus and limiting the influence of foreign imperialism. Democracy was to proclaim the people’s rights by establishing a republic governed by a constitutional monarchy and not the imperial system. Undoubtedly, nationalism and people’s rights became his primary principles where people had to own the rights of Referendum, Initiative, Recall, and Election. Subsequently, democracy separated the different roles of the government incorporating five powers of the government of Legislation, Judicial, Execu tive, Examination and Control ((Lee and Hock 30). Socialism or people’s livelihood as a principle came after adoption of democracy and nationalism. It was a principle motivated by the idea to equalize land and regulate capital, which got controlled by a few people during the Qing dynasty. Transformation of China from imperial dynasty to a constitutional republic took three stages. The military rule was

PoL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PoL - Essay Example 298). The nature of management work is to bring together the three forms of leadership: adaptive, administrative and enabling. The bringing together of these three forms of leadership, the interaction between the â€Å"bureaucratic, administrative functions of the organization and the emergent, informal dynamics of CAS† are reflected (Uhl-Bien et al 2007, p. 298). In this regard, management works overseas adaptive leadership which refers to adapting to, being creative and learning to act within and from the CAS interactions for the purpose of adjusting to changes within and outside of the organization. Administrative leadership organizes roles within the organization. The nature of management work under the guise of enabling leadership functions to â€Å"catazlyze the conditions in which adaptive leadership† may exist and management interactions among all aspects of leadership (Uhl-Bien et al 2007, p. 305). Delegation and empowerment follows from the complexity leadership theory’s entanglement of three leadership operatives. Thus, the delegated power falls to CAS or â€Å"complexity adaptive emergent forces† (Uhl-Bien et al 2007, p. 305). Ideally, adaptive leadership (the delegated power) functions together with the administrative leaders or can resist administrative leadership. In other words, the adaptive leadership may cooperate with administrative leadership with a view to augmenting its strategies or it can resist administrative leadership or it can function as an independent arm of the organization (Uhl-Bien et al 2007). What emerges is Network dynamics which refers to the â€Å"contexts and mechanisms that enable adaptive leadership ((Uhl-Bien et al 2007, p. 307). What occurs is an â€Å"interactive ambiance† in which complicated â€Å"dynamics occur† accompanied by patterned conduct the â€Å"produce complex outcomes† (Uhl-Bien et al

Ethical Leadership in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Ethical Leadership in Organizations Essay Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. As leaders are by nature in a position of social power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their social power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in and ways they influence others. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader. Leaders who are ethical are people-oriented, and also aware of how their decisions impact others, and use their social power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests. Motivating followers to put the needs or interests of the group ahead of their own is another quality of ethical leaders. Motivating involves engaging others in an intellectual and emotional commitment between leaders and followers that makes both parties equally responsible in the pursuit of a common goal. Ethical leadership falls within the nexus of inspiring, stimulating, and visionary leader behaviours that make up transformational and charismatic leadership. Ethical leaders assist followers in gaining a sense of personal competence that allows them to be self-sufficient by encouraging and empowering them. What is Ethical Leadership? One typical response to the â€Å"ethics crisis† in business is a clarion call for more â€Å"ethical leadership,† yet there are few explanations of what exactly is meant by the term. Many executives and business thinkers believe that ethical leadership is simply a matter of leaders having good character. By having â€Å"the right values† or being a person of â€Å"strong character,† the ethical leader can set the example for others and withstand any temptations that may occur along the way. Without denying the importance of good character and the right values, the reality of ethical leadership is far more complex and the stakes are much higher. Over the past 25 years, in talking to executives in a number of industries about the problems of how to lead in a world of great change—globalization, democratization, and incredible technological advances—we have identified a number of touchstones for the idea of â€Å"ethical leadership.† Our experience is often contrary to the picture of business executives one finds in public discussion where they are often seen as greedy, competitive, and only concerned with compensation. In fact most executives want to be effective in their jobs and to leave their companies and the world a better place, creating value on both fronts for those whose lives they affect. Our view of ethical leadership takes into account not only the leader but also his constituents (followers and key stakeholders), the context or situation that the leader and constituents face, the leader’s processes and skills, and the outcomes that result. Leaders are first and foremost members of their own organizations and stakeholder groups. As such, their purpose, vision, and values are for the benefit of the entire organization and its key stakeholders. â€Å"Leaders see their constituents as not just followers, but rather as stakeholders striving to achieve that same common purpose, vision, and values. These follower and stakeholder constituents have their own individuality and autonomy which must be respected to maintain a moral community.† Ethical leaders embody the purpose, vision, and values of the organization and of the constituents, within an understanding of ethical ideals. They connect the goals of the organization with that of the internal employees and external stakeholders. Leaders work to create an open, two-way conversation, thereby maintaining a charitable understanding of different views, values, and constituents’ opinions. They are open to others’ opinions and ideas because they know those ideas make the organization they are leading better. Characteristics of Ethical Leaders In today’s turbulent world, ethics and values are present at a number of levels for executives and managers—leaders who devote their time and energy to leading the process of value creation. This broader concept of ethical leadership empowers leaders to incorporate and be explicit about their own values and ethics. The following list provides a framework for developing ethical leadership. It is based on the observations of and conversations with a host of executives and students over the past 25 years, and on readings of both popular and scholarly business literature. Written from the perspective of the leader, these ten facets of ethical leaders offer a way to understand ethical leadership that is more complex and more useful than just a matter of â€Å"good character and values.† â€Å"It is important for leaders to tell a compelling and morally rich story, but ethical leaders must also embody and live the story. This is a difficult task in today’s business environment where everyone lives in a fishbowl—on public display. So many political leaders fail to embody the high-minded stories they tell at election time, and more recently, business leaders have become the focus of similar criticism through the revelations of numerous scandals and bad behaviours. CEOs in today’s corporations are really ethical role models for all of society.† 1. Articulate and embody the purpose and values of the organization. Following a series of unethical activities by Citigroup employees in Japan in 2004, new CEO Chuck Prince fired several executives, publicly accepted responsibility and bowed apologetically to Japanese officials. Not only did Prince’s message resonate within Japan, but it also signalled a new era of â€Å"shared responsibility† within the culture of Citigroup where every employee was expected to take ownership for their decisions that affected the enterprise. 2. Focus on organizational success rather than on personal ego. Ethical leaders understand their place within the larger network of constituents and stakeholders. It is not about the leader as an individual, it is about something bigger—the goals and dreams of the organization. Ethical leaders also recognize that value is in the success of people in the organization. In 1998, in a bold gesture demonstrating how he valued the company’s line employees, Roger Enrico, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, chose to forego all but $1 of his salary, requesting that PepsiCo, in turn, contribute $1 million to a scholarship fund for employees’ children. In a similar manner, the founders of JetBlue began a process of matching, from their salaries, employee donations to a charity. Today, their entire salaries go to the JetBlue Crewmember Catastrophic Plan charity, to assist staff with crises not covered by insurance. The point of these examples is not that ethical leaders donate their salaries to charities, but rather that ethical leaders identify and act on levers, such as employee loyalty, that drive organizational success. 3. Find the best people and develop them. This task is fairly standard in different models of leadership. Ethical leaders pay special attention to finding and developing the best people precisely because they see it as a moral imperative—helping them to lead better lives that create more value for themselves and for others. Finding the best people involves taking ethics and character into account in the selection process. â€Å"Ethical leaders pay special attention to finding and developing the best people† Many CEOs have said to us that judging someone’s integrity is far more important than evaluating their experience and skills. Yet, in many organizations, employees are hired to fill a particular skill need with little regard to issues of integrity. 4. Create a living conversation about ethics, values and the creation of value for stakeholders. Too often business executives think that having a laminated â€Å"values card† in their wallet or having a purely compliance approach to ethics has solved the â€Å"ethics problem.† Suffice it to say that Enron and other troubled companies had these systems in place. What they didn’t have was a conversation across all levels of the business where the basics of value creation, stakeholder principles and societal expectations were routinely discussed and debated. There is a fallacy that values and ethics are the â€Å"soft, squishy† part of management. Nothing could be further from the truth. In organizations that have a live conversation about ethics and values, people hold each other responsible and accountable about whether they are really living the values. And, they expect the leaders of the organization to do the same. Bringing such a conversation to life means that people must have knowledge of alternatives, must choose every day to stay with the organization and its purpose because it is important and inspires them. Making a strong commitment to bringing this conversation to life is essential to do if one is to lead ethically. Most people know the story of Johnson and Johnson’s former CEO Jim Burke and the Tylenol product recall in the 1980s in which, at a great short-term financial cost, he pulled all potentially tampered-with products off the shelves, thereby keeping the public’s trust intact. The less well-known background to this story, however, is critical to understanding the final outcome. Well before the Tylenol crisis hit, Johnson Johnson had held a series of â€Å"challenge meetings† all around the world, where managers sat and debated their â€Å"Credo,† a statement of their purpose and principles of who they wanted to be as a company. The conversation about ethics at Johnson Johnson was alive, and in many ways made Jim Burke’s choice about handling the situation clearer than it otherwise would have been. 5. Create mechanisms of dispute. This needs to be made part of the organizational culture, not just a line item in a compliance program document. Some companies have used anonymous e-mail and telephone processes to give employees a way around the levels of management that inevitably spring up as barriers in large organizations. Many executives also have used â€Å"skip level† meetings where they go down multiple levels in the organization to get a more realistic view of what is actually going on. General Electric’s famous â€Å"workout† process—where workers meet to decide how to fix problems and make the company better—was a way for front line employees to push back against the established policies and authority of management. All of these processes lead to better decisions, more engaged employees, and an increased likelihood of avoiding damaging mistakes. In a company that takes its purpose or values seriously, there must be mechanisms of pushing back to avoid the values becoming stale and dead. Indeed, many of the current corporate scandals could have been prevented if only there were more creative ways for people to express their dissatisfaction with the actions of some of their leaders and others in the companies. The process of developing these mechanisms of dissent will vary by company, by leadership style, and by culture, but it is a crucial leadership task for value creation in today’s business world. 6. Take a charitable understanding of others’ values. Ethical leaders can understand why different people make different choices, but still have a strong grasp on what they would do and why. Following twenty-seven years in South African prisons, Nelson Mandela was still able to see the good in his jailers. After one particularly vicious jailer was being transferred away from Robbins Island because of Mandela’s protest and push back, the jailer turned to Mandela and stated â€Å"I just want to wish you people good luck.† Mandela interpreted this statement charitably as a sign that all people had some good within them, even those caught up in an evil system. Mandela felt that it was his responsibility to see this good in people and to try and bring it out. One CEO suggested that instead of seeing ethical leadership as preventing people from doing the wrong thing, we need to view it as enabling people to do the right thing. 7. Make tough calls while being imaginative. Ethical leaders inevitably have to make a lot of difficult decisions, from reorienting the company’s strategy and basic value proposition to making individual personnel decisions such as working with employees exiting the organization. Ethical leaders do not attempt to avoid difficult decisions by using an excuse of â€Å"I’m doing this for the business.† The ethical leader consistently unites â€Å"doing the right thing† and â€Å"doing the right thing for the business.† The idea that â€Å"ethical leadership† is just â€Å"being nice† is far from the truth. Often, exercising â€Å"moral imagination† is the most important task. Mohammed Yunus founded the Grameen Bank on such moral imagination. By taking the standard banking practice of only lending to people with collateral, and turning it on its head, Yunus spawned an industry of micro-lending to the poor. The Grameen Bank’s motto is that poverty belongs in a museum. In addition to having one of the highest loan repayment rates in the banking industry, the bank’s program of lending to poor women in Bangladesh to start businesses has helped millions of them to be able to feed themselves. 8. Know the limits of the values and ethical principles they live. All values have limits, particular spheres in which they do not work as well as others. The limits for certain values, for instance, may be related to the context or the audience in which they are being used. Ethical leaders have an acute sense of the limits of the values they live and are prepared with solid reasons to defend their chosen course of action. Problems can arise when managers do not understand the limits of certain values. As an example, one issue common to the recent business scandals was that managers and executives did not understand the limits of â€Å"putting shareholders first.† Attempts to artificially keep stock prices high—without creating any lasting value for customers and other stakeholders—can border on fanaticism rather than good judgment. Ethics is no different from any other part of our lives: there is no substitute for good judgment, sound advice, practical sense, and conversations with those affected by our actions. 9. Frame actions in ethical terms. Ethical leaders see their leadership as a fully ethical task. This entails taking seriously the rights claims of others, considering the effects of one’s actions on others (stakeholders), and understanding how acting or leading in a certain way will have effects on one’s character and the character of others. There is nothing amoral about ethical leaders, and they recognize that their own values may sometimes turn out to be a poor guidepost. The ethical leader takes responsibility for using sound moral judgment. But, there is a caution here. It is easy to frame actions in ethical terms and be perceived as â€Å"righteous.† Many have the view that ethics is about universal, inviolable principles that are carved into stone. We need to start with principles and values, and then work hard to figure out how they can be applied in today’s complex global business environment. Principles, values, cultures, and individual differences often conflict. Ethical leadership requires an attitude of humility rather than righteousness: a commitment to one’s own principles, and at the same time, openness to learning and to having conversations with others who may have a different way of seeing the world. Ethics is best viewed as an open conversation about those values and issues that are most important to us and to our business. It is a continual discovery and reaffirmation of our own principles and values, and a realization that we can improve through encountering new ideas.