Bram Stoker's Dracula Compared to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein Essay

Bram Stoker's Dracula Compared to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein - Essay Example aim being awarded to Shelley, who pioneered in brining a literary concept to light, which was initially an unchartered territory for most authors as she combined elements of Goth and Horror with that of science fiction. Although, Dracula and Frankenstein are essentially from the same genre with some overlapping themes, but the concept and the depiction of themes contain some stark dissimilarity as well. The substance of this prose will delve into each of the aspects one by one: Dracula and Frankenstein both entailed a similar theme about life, death and resurrection. Both creatures possess a strong fascination for the human world, which drives Frankenstein to read books by eminent authors, whereas Dracula reads English magazines to gain a deeper understanding of the human world. This is the prime reason as to why both Dracula and Frankenstein are known to have sophisticated intellect and are capable of making conversation on any subject, which adds to Dracula’s charisma in the society, but doesn’t help Frankenstein’s case because of his horrifying appearance. In fact the monster created by Frankenstein had grown miserable of his life and expressed it in the following words: â€Å"Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge† (Shelley, 2004, p. 137) Moreover, the stories are centered on the same theme that involves a group of men trying to eliminate a monster that is nothing but scourge for the society. Besides the character, the literary technique used to project the story is also quite similar as both authors wrote their novels in an epistolary form; in simpler word, the story is told through the correspondences of the main characters with each other. However, it is a clear indication that the entire story is told from a one-sided perspective of the protagonist

The Sodor Oil Terminal

The Sodor Oil Terminal Introduction The Sodor Oil Terminal project was undertaken by a team of students as a case study in project management. The purpose of the exercise was to organize and plan the project as part of a project team, and deal with events arising during the project life, utilizing techniques and tools learned during the study of project management. Management of the Project Team Team Selection The team selection for the project was left to individuals, who had to form themselves into teams based on personal choice and internal acceptance. In an educational setting random group selection is very common but not realistic as it does not consider the diversity of skills among the students (Blowers 2003). In terms of skill sets the team forming in this project was random in that there was no comparison before a team was selected, merely a choice of friends or acquaintances. This would seem to be negative and, as Blowers (2003) pointed out, totally unrealistic in the business world, where teams of high skill-set individuals would be chosen to give a project the highest possible chance of success. However, the team selection was not as random as it first seemed, as four members of the team had worked together before, and although it was not acknowledged formally, were aware of each individuals skills and working methods. This proved to be a positive feature in the project development. There were an additional two members of the group who were known only to one of the core four, and this also proved to be significant during the course of the project. Team Development Tabaka (2006) paraphrasing Tuckman and Jensen (1977) stated that in the forming stage the team members must acquaint themselves with each other and judge their own and others role in the team. This stage was already accomplished in the team which formed for the Sodor project. Four out of six members had already worked with each other in previous projects and knew each others capabilities. The two extra members were unknown, did not turn up initially, and showed no enthusiasm for participating in the project tasks. They were therefore largely ignored in terms of expectations of the other team members. The second stage according to Tuckman and Jensen is storming where team members try to exert power over one another, and jockey for position within the group. This stage was also already completed within the core team at the start of the project, and the team had already surpassed Tuckman and Jensens norming stage, with the trust having been built up in previous team encounters, and the ability to work together successfully having already been achieved. The team was therefore ready for Tuckman and Jensenss performing stage. Unfortunately the two outsiders to the team never achieved a real measure of trust within the team, so they remained outsiders for the rest of the project, but were allowed to contribute in a small way whenever they expressed a desire. Team Project Management In the initial stages of the Sodor project tasks, most of the project team was missing for the meetings. This would seem to be a very unfortunate and negative feature for the progression of the project. Ericksen and Dyer (2004) maintained that most of the successful project teams they had studied had had a very decisive launch, with solid project management, direction and clarification right at the beginning, as opposed to the teams who had procrastinated and lacked direction. As there was no-one else to take the position, the one team member present in the initial stages of the Sodor project took on the responsibility of project manager, at least for that stage of the project. The team member had to act alone at the start of the project and was able to be decisive and act with direction precisely because there was no-one else to interfere, and no negotiations to be performed, and the project was able to progress. As the team was already normed it was able to move into the performing stage. The reaction of the other team members was approval that the team member had shown the responsibility to take on the task. There was also an underlying understanding that the other team members would accept future responsibilities. This understanding was formulated into an informal contract of work within the team, more out of conformance to the project guidelines than from the need within the team. Throughout the course of the rest of the project the other team members fulfilled their roles as had been agreed in the contract of works. It was decided that the areas of relevance within the project would each have an individual largely responsible for that particular area. The areas of relevance chosen were planning, costing, procurements, and configuration or change management. The four core members of the group accepted responsibility for an area each with little consultation between members, with the two outside members agreeing to assist whenever needed. This seemingly discrete allocation of tasks would have been a negative feature in some teams but was suitable for the character of the team members, all being highly motivated and goal oriented individuals, but also having a high level of trust in their other team members to deliver. There was an element of informal skills measurement in the allocation of the tasks, done on a purely experiential basis rather than empirical evi dence. Tenenberg (2008) questioned whether people who are highly individual can be encouraged into more collaborative behaviour in order to make teamwork more effective. He quoted Cain et al. (1996) and stated that software development should be regarded as essentially social and that the social side of the activity needs to be addressed the same principle could be applied to any projects which are team-based. Tenenberg (2008) stated that teams have in common a set of collective action problems which require teamwork to be solved. One of those problems mentioned is that of dealing with people who do not contribute to the teams efforts. The Sodor project team did not address this problem at all, largely because the team worked as co-operative individuals rather than a team, and those who did not co-operate were simply ignored and their potential workload absorbed by the co-operating members. Akgun et al. (2007) also postulated team processes as a way to improve the chances of a projects success, and put forward the idea of group potency a belief held by team members that they can be effective. Although the Sodor team worked largely as individuals there was a genuine trust among the main members and a genuine belief in the potency factor which may have been mistaken. Summary The team did not behave as a traditional team with a high level of interaction and decision making but rather as a set of co-operating individuals. It did, however, go through the traditional Tuckman and Jensen (1977) stages of development, albeit before the Sodor project began, and also displayed some of the characteristics of a team as defined by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) complementary team members with common goals and approaches who were willing to be held accountable to the other team members. Evaluation of the Project General frameworks of project management can be found from many sources. Gannon (1994) suggested that project management should consist of six functions planning, organizing, executing, monitoring, reporting and controlling. Prodomos and Macaulay (1996) proposed four main activities planning, monitoring, co-ordinating, and reviewing. The Sodor project will be evaluated using the categories of planning, and monitoring and control. The Gantt charts and cost schedules from this section can be found in the Appendix attached. Planning the Project Prodomos and Macaulay (1996) cited Jordan and Machesky (1990) and proposed that the planning stage was the foundation for the other project activities. Dvir et al. (2003) reported that a belief amongst project management professionals (supported by the Project Management Institutes Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge hereinafter referred to as the PMBOK) is that planning is an essential activity which cannot guarantee success, but without which a project will most certainly fail. This belief was reflected in the Sodor case study where half of the activities were on planning the project. Activity Planning Initially, the Sodor project was presented as a textual case study, providing information to construct a work breakdown structure. Andersen (1996) argued that in a real situation activity planning cannot be completed when it is most useful, i.e. at the start of the project, because all of the activities cannot be known then. The Sodor projects activities were identified and provided, so a work breakdown structure could be constructed by the project leader. Other categorizations of the work and different breakdowns were possible but the project team was happy with the project managers decisions. Project Planning Hughes (1995) suggested a Step Wise guide for software projects with details of the stages a project planning team must complete to achieve an effective project plan. PRINCE2 a methodology advocated and required by the UK government also prescribes stages of project development including planning, which reflects the PMBOK areas of Scope, Time and Cost Management. (Siegelaub 2004). Scope management was outside the brief of the Sodor project team as it was provided in the project information. Clear objectives and methods were also provided and no feasibility study was necessary. Therefore the first main planning activity of the Sodor team was in time and cost management to produce a Gantt chart and estimated costs schedule based on the work breakdown structure and provided task precedences to calculate an estimated project end date and project cost. The next stage in planning was to choose vendors.The vendor selection process was carried out by one member of the team acting as project manager. This was where the rest of the team should have had more input, as two important issues in project management would arise which had implications later risk management and quality management. Risk Management The PMBOK devotes a whole knowledge area to risk management and PRINCE2 identifies risk as one of its components. The PMBOK suggests four phases of risk management identification, quantification, response and ultimately control. The Sodor project was totally dependent on third party vendors for both the supply of materials and construction. The biggest identifiable risk for the project would be the failure of a supplier or contractor to deliver on time. This would be particularly relevant to the tasks within the project which were on the critical path in the original estimated plan. Therefore the vendor selection for these tasks should have been carefully considered. Risk is usually quantified as a function of the risks occurrence probability and occurrence impact. (Williams 1996). The probability is a difficult judgement to make but the team was supplied with ratings which were based on how reliable the vendor was. The impact was the penalty cost for late project delivery. The contractors for the two critical tasks of jetty design and construction, and the installation of piping equipment were only rated 2. This proved to cause problems later. Methods of risk management include trying to reduce the risk (Gannon 1994). Of course, reducing the risk by choosing higher rated vendors would have had a cost and would have to have been judged to be cost effective. This was partly taken into account in the vendor selection policy, but should have warranted more attention from the project team. Another way of dealing with the risk in a real situation would have been to deflect it (Gannon 1994) by transferring it to the vendors. Penalty clauses could have been inserted into their contracts for overrunning the quoted task durations. The Sodor project team were not able to do this, so reduction of the risk was the only option available. Quality Management The PMBOK also devotes a whole knowledge area to quality management, so it is obviously an important area for project managers to consider. In the Sodor project the quality of the vendors was the greatest area for consideration. The only indicator of this was the rating provided, which was used in the vendor selection. In a real world situation vendors could have been required to conform to International Organization for Standardization quality standards such as ISO 9001:2008 dealing with Quality Management Systems Requirements, but this was not an option for the project team. After the completion of the planning phase with vendor selection, a final baseline plan and costings were produced. In order to adjust the project end date to conform to the required schedule it was decided to pay overtime to the painting contractor. At this point cash flow should also have been considered by delaying the times for the purchase of materials until necessary but it was not, a potentially huge mistake in the commercial world. Monitoring and Control Gannon (1994) stated that project performance can be measured by the comparison of actual progress to the original planned progress at any stage in the project. The slippages in the Sodor project at 25 weeks were entered into the project Gantt chart and it was found that as a result of slippage in critical path activities the project would overrun by 4 weeks compared to the baseline, and penalties would apply. The project team had 3 choices accept the penalties, reduce the length of an activity on the critical path by paying overtime (known as the time-cost tradeoff problem, (Liberatore and Pollack-Johnson 2006)), or reconsider the precedence requirements (Liberatore and Pollack-Johnson 2006). It was found that paying overtime to the painting contractor to reduce the project duration by 4 weeks was less than the potential penalties and less complicated than reconsidering the precedence requirements. Further problems at the 25 April 2001 stage were caused by the vendor selection for the jetty erection. For the same reasons as above it was decided to pay for overtime on the jetty erection thereby reducing the critical path back in line with the required completion date. By the project closeout it was found that as a result of a reduction in a critical path activity the project completed 2 weeks early and earned bonuses. Summary The project was a success if the criteria was to complete the project in time. But more careful selection of vendors could have also cut the costs of the project the choice of the pipe installation vendor in particular could have produced substantial bonuses. The complete exclusion of any consideration for cash flow was also a major mistake. In the real commercial world, projects can fail because of cash flow problems, so this should have been recognized. Conclusion The Sodor Oil Terminal project was a success in terms of completion of the project within the required time. Pinto and Slevin (1988) measure success simply by achieving the projects time and costs schedule, accompanied by an adequate performance. This approach, however, ignores the factors of commercial success in the marketplace, and how the future of the organization as a whole has been affected by the project, factors recognized by Shenhar et al. (1997). The Sodor project could have been completed within a smaller budget, with greater commercial success and larger profits for future investment in the organization if greater attention had been paid in the areas of vendor selection in terms of risk management. The financial pressure of the large project on the organization could have been offset by greater attention to costings in terms of cash flow optimization. These negative conclusions can be directly attributed to the project teams lack of real teamwork in not questioning each others actions enough or discussing relevant issues.

Religion Essay -- Character Analysis, Daja, Nathan

William Hazlitt, a British writer during the early 1800’s once said, â€Å"Prejudice is the child of ignorance.† During the eighteenth-century, the time period in which Gotthold Ephraim Lessing wrote his play, Nathan the Wise, there was much religious prejudice displayed throughout Europe, specifically against the Jewish and Muslim populations. For instance, Ronald Schechter notes, â€Å"eighteenth-century writers typically portrayed Jews as greedy moneylenders, [and] depicted Muslims as violent despots and servants of the despots† (4). Many people perceived Christianity as the only true religion; however, Lessing challenges these notions of Christian superiority throughout his play. One way he does this is by not portraying the Christian characters as any better or worse than the characters of different religions; in fact, the Patriarch is characterized as a despot, similar to how eighteenth-century writers portrayed Muslims. Furthermore, he tries to illustrate that not one religion be it Christianity, Islam, or Judaism is greater than the others, but rather all religions are ultimately equal in the eyes of God. From factors such as characters’ portrayal, the play’s audience is able to grasp Lessing’s overall view of Christianity, which is also his main message throughout—â€Å"Christians do not have a monopoly on religious truths† (Schechter 10). In Lessing’s play there are four Christian characters and two of the four, Daja and the Patriarch, are portrayed negatively. Daja, a Christian servant of Nathan and his stepdaughter Recha, is characterized as â€Å"one of those fanatics who imagine they know the universal and only true path to God† (111). Although she tries to be a devout Christian, she betrays Nathan by revealing his secret regarding ... ...sides† (118). Although this is only a stage direction and not an actual line from the play, it nonetheless has a major impact on the play. The fact that all characters, representing each of the three religions, come together in the end exemplifies what the author is trying to portray throughout. As Ronald Schechter notes in the introduction, â€Å"The play does not end with the various characters tolerating each other. It ends with them embracing each other [†¦]† (20). Having the play conclude this way conveys Lessing’s thoughts on religion. Lessing does not think of Christianity as any better or worse than Judaism or Islam, rather â€Å"practitioners of different religions can please God equally† (Schechter 16). And until that higher, experienced judge comes down to rule which religion is better than the others, all religions should be thought as equal in the eyes of God.

Employee Involvement Case Essay

For the case 1 â€Å"the sugar substitute research decision†, I will choose high involvement, which is let the subordinates to discuss the problems and identify a solution. So the entire decision-making process is handed over to employees, identify the problems, choose the best alternative and implement their choice. For the second case â€Å"coast guard cutter decision problem†, I will choose the low involvement, which is ask one or more subordinates foe information relating to the problem, but you don’t ask for their recommendations and might not mention the problem to them. So they don’t make recommendations and only participation involves is asking employees for information. Discussion Question 2 The first factor led me to choose high involvement is the decision structure; this problem is not programmed decision but a little bit complexity and more opportunity. This product need to take some source away from other projects in order to required some time and resources before it would be commercially stage. Second, source of decision knowledge could show that the leader lack sufficient knowledge and subordinates have addition information to improve decision quality. I don’t know much about demand is expected and the sugar substitute project beyond my technical expertise. However, the R&D lab researchers are familiar with that field of chemistry. Third, the decision commitment is trended to improve if high level of involvement to her decision. If the employees are unlikely to accept a decision made without their involvement, some level of involvement should be used. For this case, the company R&D budget is limited and other scientist in my group has recently complained th at they require more resources and financial support to get their projects completed. So the employees’ complaints make me chose high involvement. Also, the employees ‘committed make me believe that they have promise to ensure the company’s interest are achieved so that I should give them more involvement to ensure the project could be finished without conflict. For the second case, the first factor led me to choose low involvement is that this is likely programmd decisions which are follow  standard operating procedures and they have been resolved in past. So there is little needs for high involvement that may waste of time under this necessary and risk situation. Second, the leader has much knowledge to solve this problem which may occur in the past, and as the captain, I totally understand the mission and the goal for the mission. So that may need less recommendation from other employees who lack of experiences and abilities. However, the low involvement not no involvement, so I received an update weather advisory concerning the severity and duration of the storm, which is important to making decision. Moreover, the decision must be made shortly by facing a lot of risks. So if take long time to make high involvement may lead to unnecessary dangers. Third, the factor of risk of conflict is depend on the situation between the employee goals and norms conflict with the organization’s goals, and this would be take low involvement. Also, if there is low conflict that the employees will reach agreement on the preferred solution, then take low involvement. For this case, my crew members are extremely conscientious about their responsibility, so I don’t need to take additional time to take high involvement under this low conflict with the preferred solutions. Discussion Question 3 To the first case, if take low involvement may take longer time to solve this problem due to the fact that the leader has less knowledge about this technology of projects. Less involvement will not help to improve the number and quality of solutions generated. This case is complex so that need to prepare several alternatives with more available information which the employees who has more knowledge are good to support. Also, with the diverse perspectives and boarder representation of value may help to improve the likelihood of choosing the best alter nativities. Besides, these projects are group work in this organization, providing more involvement is good to make staff fell personally responsible for its success. However, the low involvement may lead to lower turnover, motivation and satisfaction. Moreover, if the leader uses low involvement, there is many more compliant and most likely to resist changes resulting from the decision by leader alone. To the second case, the higher involvement was taken, the higher risk could occur during the decision making. The reason is that the research has  been doing for 20 hours and the weather are more likely to affect the lives in the vessel. So taking time longer to do involvement are defiantly dangers. Also, the captain must be the one who has valuable experiences and ability to make the most perfect decision. So taking long time to doing high involvement could make the whole team lost of control. After all, everybody has different attitude and value that may have conflicts with the mission and the whole organization when they face the risk situation. Furthermore, too low involvement or no involvement may also make wrong decision, so the necessary information from weather advisory concerning are useful for helping the captain decrease the mistake when making the decision in the short time.

Go Lovely Rose: An Explication Essay

Topic Sentence 1: The lover has emphasized sweetness and loveliness of his lady by comparing her to rose. Proof 1: He seems to be disappointed by the fact that his warm love has not been requited by the lady he loves. His impassioned address to the rose – â€Å"Go, lovely Rose† – is an instance of apostrophe, a figure of speech effectively used. This comparison not only highlights the lady’s beauty, it also underscores its fragility. Proof. 2. It is the philosophy of hedonism that preached here. The pleasures of human life are indeed short-lived; so lovers should not waste valuable time in prolonged courtship. They should confess their love and accept the bliss of love. He is full of regret that her shyness does nothing but â€Å"wastes her time and me,† (l. 2) Proof 3. The poet reminds his beloved that death is the inevitable end of everybody’s life, therefore they should live fully and happily before death can seize them. His contemplative mood reminds him of the fact that each day brings all creatures closer to the grave. The rose which symbolizes beauty and sweetness may remind her of the common fate of all living creatures: â€Å"Then die — that she †¦May read in thee;†(ll. 16-18) A realization of this kind may change her mind and requite his love. Topic Sentence 2 : He urges the lady to enjoy the warmth of attention she is receiving from her lover rather than feel embarrassed by it. It is a pity that she â€Å"shuns to have her graces spied†(l. 7) He argues that her beauty would have been wasted if she lived in a desert. Then there would be no one to appreciate her beauty. The existence of beauty is only justified if there are viewers to admire it. Proof. 1. The Puritanical coyness of the ladylove seems to be an impediment to the fulfillment of his love and it only deepens his gloom. Living in isolation may make her more covetable and attractive, but it is unwise â€Å"not blush so to be admired. † (l. 15) The etymological meaning of the word â€Å"blush† is to â€Å"redden† which is derived from the Middle English blusshen, from Old English blyscan to redden, according Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The red color is associated with a lady in love and also with rose which is often chosen by lovers as a gift to express their love. Proof. 2. In this poem we find the recurrent theme of carpe diem reinforced as in John Donne’s â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† and other poems. Even the things â€Å"wondorous sweet and fair† (l. 20 ) are not beyond the jurisdiction of ageing and death. Proof 3. The lover asserts that beauty is useless unless there is some one to admire it. Her beauty would have gone unnoticed if she were born and brought up in a desert. The beauty of human form is revealed by light and therefore it would be unwise to conceal it by blushing as he says, â€Å"not blush so to be admired. † (l. 15) Topic Sentence 3: He reminds his coy mistress that it is a privilege to be the object of male attention, and it is wise not to spurn it. Proof 1: In the final stanza he reiterates the central theme of carpe diem – human life is short, therefore enjoy it. He makes an appeal to her to â€Å"Suffer herself to be desired† (l. 14) and not to withdraw from public gaze out of false modesty. The metaphor of light and darkness is very apt. Beauty is hidden in darkness; similarly love is marred by its concealment. As light reveals beauty, so love is denied by withdrawal. Lovers should express their feelings spontaneously. Proof 2: If we think of eternity, the span of human youth and beauty is indeed very brief. The span of human life is indeed short. Even three scores and ten or more is a very brief period to fulfill one’s desires. Reflection on the fleeting nature of the life one should make one conscious of its limitations and lead to a meaningful life in which there is no time to waste. Proof 3: The rose is a beautiful flower with sweet fragrance, but it is also short-lived. It stands for the beauty as well as vulnerability of life. The use of the word â€Å"resemble† to mean â€Å"compare† is archaic according to Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary. Conclusion: The lover in the poem (not necessarily the poet) attempts to persuade his lady to share his positive outlook on life and enjoy life to the brim. He is very modern in outlook. What he says is better appreciated in the twentieth or twenty-first centuries. Closing statement: The message to the lady is a universal one: every lover feels that lovers should not suppress their feelings under the cover of social respectability. They must not delay their decision to choose their mate as human life may not grant him or her another opportunity. Restate thesis: The poem explores a lover’s complaint to his lady about the need for eschewing her coyness and reciprocate his love by responding quickly as human life is ephemeral. Human life should be lived happily and meaningfully in which there is no scope for wasting time in vain modesty. Work Cited Waller, Edmund. â€Å"Go, Lovely Rose†. http://classicpoetryaloud. podomatic. com/entry/2007-12-04T00_24_07-08_00 (The text of the poem. Accessed on 12/29/08) Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary. 2003. Version 3. 0 (CD-ROM) 29-Dec-08

The shining houses essays

The shining houses essays The Shining Houses by Alice Munro is a classic story which portrays the simple yet innovative idea of conflict between old and the new and the human reaction to everyday change. Both sides of the story (tradition and diversity) have very strong feelings of what they expect to be done which leads to a fierce and controversial conflict between the two parties. The main character, Mary, is caught in the middle of the argument forcing her to make and take an opinion, a forced opinion that everyone will encounter at some point of their life. The role of the old in the story is portrayed by Mrs. Fullerton, the longest living residence of the community. Her attitude towards change closely relates to the oldest generation living today. These people grew up in the early 1900s during a time when life was described as simplistic and calm, but now with the extreme advances in technology many of these people are unable to cope of accept the new ways of life. Even though she is being ambushed by all things new, Mrs. Fullerton continues to fight the oppression she is being subjected to with her strong will and old time ways. Mrs. Fullertons house is described in the story as something unique, a one of a kind left in a world of conformity. Many people view change as just destroying the already perfect world to create an easier life for a minority group. Her only source of income is being seriously threatened as her own egg business cannot compete with the new environment of grocery stores and supermarkets. Change, symbolized in the new shining houses is described as an awful disgrace to the earth for the damages to the ground and the environment described as being placed in the wounds of the earth and resulted in leaving the earth raw. Alice Munro does a wonderful job of making The Shining Houses as true to life as possible. She is able to do this by the point of ...

Competition or Bust essays

Competition or Bust essays The world in which we live is a extremely competitive environment. It is nothing less than a doggy-dog world, where only the strong survive. It was become a fast-paced ruthless business environment. Those who cannot cut it can pack up their bags and find a job shining shoes on the streets. However, we strive in our economy for this competition. Competition, although vicious at times, has many positive effects on our economy in a whole. The most important benefit of a competitive environment is the creation of incentive for change. Since firms are in competition to sell their products or services, they must continuously keep a competitive advantage over the market. In order to do this they must constantly react to meet the improvements made by other companies in their products and services. For instance, Nintendo when it first started was very profitable for a while selling its game player, but when Sony came out with a 32-bit player which intern took allot of the business away from Nintendo. So as a reaction of Sonys new player, Nintendo created a 64-bit version, that was even better in all aspects of Sonys play station. It is a continuous cycle to make companies products better than the other. Without competition what incentive would there be? Atari might still be the number one game player, because there is no one else to come up with a better idea in that product line. Competition forces people to learn more and be more creative with there knowledge. Most of the technology that we have created in the last century has been form companies trying to out do each others product line. Another very important aspect of a competitive market is the affect on price. Prices are lowered in this environment. A firm has to be competitive with the prices of other close substitutes. If a Coke was two dollars for one can while Pepsi sold theirs for fifty cents, then Coke would loose mo ...

The 1990s and Beyond

The 1990s and Beyond The 1990s brought a new president, Bill Clinton (1993-2000). A cautious, moderate Democrat, Clinton sounded some of the same themes as his predecessors. After unsuccessfully urging Congress to enact an ambitious proposal to expand health-insurance coverage, Clinton declared that the era of big government was over in America. He pushed to strengthen market forces in some sectors, working with Congress to open local telephone service to competition. He also joined Republicans to reduce welfare benefits. Still, although Clinton reduced the size of the federal workforce, the government continued to play a crucial role in the nations economy. Most of the major innovations of the New Deal and a good many of the Great Society remained in place. And the Federal Reserve system continued to regulate the overall pace of economic activity, with a watchful eye for any signs of renewed inflation. The economy, meanwhile, turned in an increasingly healthy performance as the 1990s progressed. With the fall of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communism in the late 1980s, trade opportunities expanded greatly. Technological developments brought a wide range of sophisticated new electronic products. Innovations in telecommunications and computer networking spawned a vast computer hardware and software industry and revolutionized the way many industries operate. The economy grew rapidly, and corporate earnings rose rapidly. Combined with low inflation and low unemployment, strong profits sent the stock market surging; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had stood at just 1,000 in the late 1970s, hit the 11,000 mark in 1999, adding substantially to the wealth of many though not all Americans. Japans economy, often considered a model by Americans in the 1980s, fell into a prolonged recession a development that led many economists to conclude that the more flexible, less planned, and more competitive American approach was, in fact, a better strategy for economic growth in the new, globally-integrated environment. Americas labor force changed markedly during the 1990s. Continuing a long-term trend, the number of farmers declined. A small portion of workers had jobs in industry, while a much greater share worked in the service sector, in jobs ranging from store clerks to financial planners. If steel and shoes were no longer American manufacturing mainstays, computers and the software that make them run were. After peaking at $290,000 million in 1992, the federal budget steadily shrank as economic growth increased tax revenues. In 1998, the government posted its first surplus in 30 years, although a huge debt mainly in the form of promised future Social Security payments to the baby boomers remained. Economists, surprised at the combination of rapid growth and continued low inflation, debated whether the United States had a new economy capable of sustaining a faster growth rate than seemed possible based on the experiences of the previous 40 years. - Next Article: Global Economic Integration This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

Staffing Organization for a Gourmet Coffee Shop Assignment

Staffing Organization for a Gourmet Coffee Shop - Assignment Example I am planning to initiate a gourmet coffee shop next to a college campus in Washington, DC. During the week days, hours of operation will be from 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. and start at 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekends. The coffee shop is planning to have 3 store managers and 10 coffee servers. Below is my first part of the Staffing Organization that contains ways I plan to staff and manage the business for the next 3 years, and run it profitably. 1 The type of relationship I will establish between the coffee shop and employees from a legal perspective affects the duration that I will have them in the coffee shop. I will apply the indefinite duration employment contract in recruiting workers. They will have to sign a contract that defines their existence in the shop. In this contract, their continuous offering of service will be intended to last for an indefinite time (Smith & Smith, 2012). The contract has rights and responsibility that have to be followed and adhered to, for exampl e, the right to be informed when being terminated. I believe employees will work to their perfection to avoid losing a job. The type of relationship will augment the coffee shop’s profit. I will not be subjected to pay employees fixed amount of money for duration, but for efforts put in the business (Smith & Smith, 2012). ... The employment policies that define the salaries, promotions and hiring of employment are audited frequently to find out whether they are advantageous to workers. I will make sure that all information on promotion opportunities of the company reaches every employee. I will make an effort of identifying and removing barriers that deter a leave or absence from work so that employees can relax when needed (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2010). I will create effectual communication field with employees where they can air out their issues openly to be looked at. Lastly, I will train and promote hard working staffs to a higher echelon; hence, encourage them to put more efforts in their work. 3 External factors hindering staffing of the coffee shop include the modern complex technology that requires extensive and intensive edification to operate them efficiently (Koontz & Weihrich, 2007). The public is an external factor that hinders staffing since workers are required to adhere to high ethical stand ards when dealing with the public. Legal and political constraints affect staffing of coffee shop since they are obliged to follow government laws that guide the business operation. Recruiting and selecting workers is an external factor influencing staffing since it is difficult to get hardworking workers who are profit oriented (Koontz & Weihrich, 2007). Competition is a core factor that affects staffing. I will want to have innovative workers who make business boom and became a top class coffee shop. Lastly, the trade unions affect the staffing because of their requirements they want business organization to possess. 4 The plan will involve, analyzing the current labor supply, forecasting

Personal Statement for Urban and Regioanal Masters degree

For Urban and Regioanal Masters degree - Personal Statement Example My immediate plan is to take admission in an institute from where I can get a high quality education in urban and regional planning. My long-term goal is to serve the nation as a skilled project director by achieving a high post in some well-known organization. As I have studied urban development in my bachelors, I want to do further in this field by gaining perspectives in many areas, such as, historical preservation, planning law, economic development and transportation planning, and emergency preparedness planning in order to diversify my knowledge base and be able to apply new approaches to my work. With the knowledge I would attain with this degree, I would use my credentials to become a professional planner working in both development and policy streams and eventually become a planning executive supervising a large public organization in either Canada or the United States. As far as my professional experience is concerned, I have cultivated professional planning technical experience based on my interest in land use planning and have attained positions with progressive responsibilities. I have also been working within a public organization since graduating university. I have also gained leadership and teamwork experience by participating in some notable organizations, such as, Geography students association, Pre-Law society, model united nations society, and Sigma Nu fraternity kappa beta chapter. I wish to become a master’s degree candidate at your institution because I want to gain an accredited planning education from a prestigious university in order to remove any limitations in my career progress. My academic skills and relevant professional experience make me a suitable candidate to get admission in this university. I am sending this statement of purpose to get an opportunity to pursue my degree from this university. Having a

Les Croix de Bois Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Les Croix de Bois - Research Paper Example Also, portrayed is the courage shown by soldiers in the face of insurmountable odds. Such unwavering commitment is a necessary pre-requisite for success in war. Once commitment wavers, the war is half lost. Even the most accommodating movie can not capture all the realities of the battlefield. Our feature film is; thus, constrained by several factors among them time (Bernard). The film is one hundred and ten minutes long. Among the realities that did not make the cut is the role of women in war. However, they shall at least get a mention in this paper. The paper shall be brought to a close by studying how the inclusion or seclusion of some aspects relating to the war tie up with traditional French customs (Dorgeles 76). Among the most glaring omissions in Croix de Bois is the role of women. This is even starker considering that the status of the modern day French woman is highly elevated relative to that of the male. However, things have not always been the same. At the beginning of the 18th Century, there was the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. One of its famous authors was the French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau. According to this leading scholar, women had a leading role in family affairs compared to their male counterparts. They had to breastfeed and educate their children. This was hardly a progressive attitude towards gender relations. As a consequence, even in the film Croix De Bois, women are virtually anonymous. The understanding then was that their place was the home and, therefore, they had no business in the battlefield (Rousseau). However, not even in French history has it always been the case that the place of the women is only in the home. A remarkable exception for instance is Joan of Arc. She inherited a lost battle from Charles VII and miraculously managed to do what her predecessor had failed. She drove away the English and secured an important victory at Patoy, in 1429. It might still be argued that Joan of Arc did this with the help of supernatural powers. Conversely, the fact that this supernatural being chose a female figure to accomplish such a huge fete is in itself a confirmation that women can handle the rigours of battlement (Strachan 246). The movie Croix De Bois censures women as far as their role in the battlefield is concerned. All the cast in the movie are male, for example. They include Fouillard, Gilbert Demachy, Sulphart, Caporal Breval, Vieuble, Brouke, and several others. We witness the fact that women can engage as well as men in combat. As a result, the assumption that their place is only the home is not accurate. Another role that has been performed well by women during war is that of nursing wounded soldiers (Strachan). The case of Florence Nightingale is now legend. She ably provided her services to the soldiers wounded in the Crimean war. This challenges the French notion that women were not up to the task of war. Very important in Croix De Bois is the socio-cultural impact of the war. W ar although it happens many miles away can still affect society. Several problems accompany war. One of them is that the young men (Gilbert Demachy in the movie), and increasingly women, who engage in war usually have families to provide for at home. If they die at war, as is the case in the film, their families are left unattended. There shall be increase in cases of single parent families or even orphans. This directly impacts on society. Crime might

Tokugawa period until 1868 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tokugawa period until 1868 - Research Paper Example In fact, there had been no hiatus between high class and lower class cultures (Ng). Further I Ching scholarship which had achieved its highest status during the Tokugawa period and its aspects of yin-yang wu-hsing had also impacted on Tokugawa’s cultural aspects. The flower arrangement popularly known as Kado or Ikebana traceable to pre-Tokugawa period namely Kamakura period (1186-1336) had developed as a Buddhist art. It had been associated with nemustu (chanting to Amida Buddha) and renga (linked poetry) during the Muromachi period (1392 -1573). It came closer to chanoyu during the sixteenth century. The flower arrangement had been the most popular during the Tokugawa period. The yin-yang wu-hsing principle representing harmony of the universe was depicted in the flower arrangement relating to I Ching concepts of yin-yang, san-ts’ai associated with the three powers of heaven, earth, and man, and wu-hsing. The flower arrangement with three divisions was symbolic of hea ven, earth and man (Ng). Thus, the religions were the roots of Japanese culture and Tokugawa was no exception. Now the broad aspects of Tokugawa’s culture having been briefly examined, this paper will narrow down its research of Japanese Tokugawa’s culture to Theatrical forms (Kabuki) in the following pages. Kabuki Kabuki is depicted by the three Japanese characteristics referring to ‘dance, music and craft or skill’ as depicted below. Figure 1. (Source: creative-arts.net). Originally Kabuki was associated with â€Å"tilted† or â€Å"out of balance† characters depicted as ‘exotic’, racy, or debauched’. Though its origin comes from temple dance, Kabuki’s earlier recorded history shows much of its association with... The period between the ascendancy and the fall was the period of isolation of Japan from the rest of the world. The 268 years under the spell of Tokugawa clan had been characterized as ‘static political, social and cultural life’. Family structure, political structure and social class structure along with many values and ideas remained constant during the 268 years of Tokugawa rule. During this period, Buddhism and Confucianism had been rejected. The native religion Shinto re-emerged. The culture of Tokugawa period is indeed overwhelming with the Kabuki players surviving the period of seclusion and rigors of Tokugawa’s clans over more than two and a half centuries. The seemingly vulgar culture alleged to have been portrayed by Kabuki plays actually had been well intended as revealed in the above account of Nishiyama and Groemer. Otherwise, they would not have survived. The popularity of Kabuki amongst the lower classes had its own repercussions. The crowds gathering at the performance places often used to turn boisterous that Shougun had to ban the actors and dancers from towns and permitted them to perform only at the remote places close â€Å" pleasure quarters† in 1608. Kabuki’s early history shows that there had been links between such places of entertainment and theater as a source of entertainment at the places of pleasure for the common man popularly known as ukiyo (floating world). The actors of Kabuki Theater were social outcasts and theater managers were kawara kijiki (riverbed beggars) until 19th century when the actors were accorded the status of artists.

Comparison Analysis of Personal Consumption Habits Essay

Comparison Analysis of Personal Consumption Habits - Essay Example Boone & Kurtz (2006) outline the first step in the consumer decision-making process as being the identification of a specific problem. In the case of my food purchase, a relatively empty refrigerator represented such a problem. In addition, a personal craving for pickles was the initial motivation to visit the food market, where a series of searches and evaluation of alternative brands ultimately led to a final purchase decision. There appears to be a general consensus amongst most marketing research professionals that buying decisions are largely based on elements of the marketing mix (such as price and promotion), as well as previous experience with any particular brand. Pickles, under the model of consumer behaviour, usually represent low-involvement, meaning that lower price and affordability, as well as the fact that the majority of pickle brands are quite similar, would dictate a rapid purchase decision. However, in my personal situation, I am quite particular about the texture and flavour enhancements which are added to pickles, hence I generally weigh my potential brand alternatives carefully before selecting my desired product. The final pickle purchase involved a heavy evaluation of alternative brands, comparing ingredients, my own experience and distaste for certain brands, and the promotional elements of the market which included sale versus non-sale items; representing a series of personal evaluative criteria. The process of searching, as stage two of the decision-making process.

Answer 2 questions in form of essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer 2 questions in form of - Essay Example This is because the arguments between jurors makes others question their initial instincts which were formulated from actual case arguments, but now they are just arguing among themselves in a fight for achieving personal motives. Where once opinion was based on perceived facts of the case, quests for social dominance have changed facts to merely opinion which is impact whether the youth will get a fair trial. The idea that there are many interpretations of â€Å"the facts† is easily applied to real-life situations. For example, in the educational environment, teachers are responsible for dealing with interpersonal issues between different students at the same age level. In many situations, what the teacher is being told by each student is merely their own interpretation of what actually occurred. In order to make a decision, the teacher must realize that there is always more than just one side of the story and it might become necessary for research to decide what really occurred. A teacher could not give out reward or punishment effectively by drawing on student perceptions of fact. It would be better for the teacher to do first-hand investigation before coming to a decision. 12 Angry Men proved that civility will encourage your opponents to keep listening to you. In the movie, Jurors began to get frustrated by being unable to come to a mutual agreement about the youth’s guilt. Some people were strongly for their position of being not guilty while others simply wanted to come to some decision just to end the deliberations and go home. Juror #10 begins ranting ridiculously in a bigoted tirade, lashing out at others. This tirade makes everyone in the room stop listening to the Juror #10 and his reputation as a competent juror is damaged. Simply because people in the room did not agree with his position, one of the jurors lost their influence to coerce others in the group in order to reach a mutually-satisfying decision about the case. In real-life situations,

Comparison Analysis of Personal Consumption Habits Essay

Comparison Analysis of Personal Consumption Habits - Essay Example Boone & Kurtz (2006) outline the first step in the consumer decision-making process as being the identification of a specific problem. In the case of my food purchase, a relatively empty refrigerator represented such a problem. In addition, a personal craving for pickles was the initial motivation to visit the food market, where a series of searches and evaluation of alternative brands ultimately led to a final purchase decision. There appears to be a general consensus amongst most marketing research professionals that buying decisions are largely based on elements of the marketing mix (such as price and promotion), as well as previous experience with any particular brand. Pickles, under the model of consumer behaviour, usually represent low-involvement, meaning that lower price and affordability, as well as the fact that the majority of pickle brands are quite similar, would dictate a rapid purchase decision. However, in my personal situation, I am quite particular about the texture and flavour enhancements which are added to pickles, hence I generally weigh my potential brand alternatives carefully before selecting my desired product. The final pickle purchase involved a heavy evaluation of alternative brands, comparing ingredients, my own experience and distaste for certain brands, and the promotional elements of the market which included sale versus non-sale items; representing a series of personal evaluative criteria. The process of searching, as stage two of the decision-making process.

Homelessness in Need Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Homelessness in Need - Research Paper Example This research paper describes the homelessness isue that is a big social problem everywhere in the world today. The United States of America are also not an exception. The researcher focuses on analysis of what makes people homeless today. It is stated in the research paper that changing family concepts, unemployment, structural problems individual problems etc are making people homeless in modern world. It is aldo described that homelessness affects children more than anybody else today and it is important task of governmental and other social organizations to decrease the issue of homelessness arounf children and teenagers in the United States. In March 2009 CNN reported that in the United States of America one of every fifty children faces homelessness, meaning that more than 1.5 million children face this problem, "These numbers will grow as home foreclosures continue to rise†. The reasons for homelessness are different in different countries. In the United States, children who suffer from poverty or domestic violence may develop physical and emotional problems as a result of homelessness and instability. Homeless children are sick at twice the rate of other children. They suffer twice as many ear infections, have four times the rate of asthma, and have five times more diarrhea and stomach problems. To conclude, the researcher expresses his hope that government of the United States, social organizations and the individuals combine well and cooperate well can eradicate homelessness permanently from American soil.

Relationship Between The Catholic Church And Chivalry

Relationship Between The Catholic Church And Chivalry Except for the occasional knighting conferred by the Queen of England, actual knights in shining armor are basically extinct. Despite this, the principles that govern chivalry, a defining quality of knighthood, merit closer inspection to understand the relationship between chivalry and the Catholic Church and the sociological impact on the Medieval Era and on society today. In no order of precedence, I will explore the seven of the principles that help to define chivalry as practiced by Epic (definition) or Chivalric Heroes (definition), compare those principles to some of the basic principles of Christianity as practiced by the Catholic Church, and weigh the sociological impact on both the Medieval Era and Society today. The first of the seven principles is fair play. According to dictionary.com fair play is just and honorable treatment, action, or conduct (dictionary.com). It was an expected custom for knights to show chivalry. One way in which a knight demonstrated chivalry was to show fair play when participating in jousting. Under the rules of fairplay knights were expected to show self discipline, practice mercy and justice, and never attack an unarmed enemy. Because jousting, also known as tournament, was a very bloody sport which often resulted in death or dysentery, the Statue of Arms for Tournaments was established in 1292. In the article The Historical Sport of Jousting Dmedley states: they were required to abide by the ideas of chivalry and fair play reducing the abhorrence of the church considerably (Medley). The second principle for consideration is valor. Valor is typically identified with heroism. To further understand valor, it serves to understand who was considered a hero during medieval times. According Anniina Jokinen in the article Heroes of the Middle Ages Morton W. Bloomfield said: the original hero in early literature was probably based on the king who died for his people, the warrior who defeated the tribes enemiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦these men were celebrated in song and story and presented again to the people so that they could participate in their magic (Jokinen). The custom of celebrating heros through song and story gave rise to what we know today as Epic Literature. According to Jokinen, Bloomsfield went on to say: Epic literature is a stately, solemn celebration of national life in the heroic age. Its heroes are simple men, versed in the activities of common lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they are leaders not through class status or wealth or even birth, but through the excellencies of heart and mind and hands. Their motives are linked with the practical necessities of life (Jokinen). Men of valor were expected to inflict harm or pain as an act of revenge on behalf of those who were wronged or in defense of the weak and innocent. They were also expected to be courageous and not to abandon a friend, an ally, or a noble cause. Good examples of heroes who epitomized valor are Beowulf and Sir Gawain of Sir Gawain and the Green Knights. Beowulfs noble cause was the fight for the survival of his tribe or nation. Sir Gawains fight was not for a tribe or nation, but was a fight for his ideal. Though Beowulf knew that he might not return from his fight with the dragon, he did not let that fact sway him from his cause. Though Gawain was weary, he traveled through the land for a year in search of the green knight. Both men showed courage even though the stakes were high with little or no chance of overcoming them, both men worked toward the noble causes without retreating. Next, is the characteristic of honor. It was customary for a man of chivalry to keep his word since any departure from the principles of chivalry was uncharacteristic. Men of chivalry did not betray the trust of a friend. Honor is one of the cornerstones of chivalry. For example in Beowulf and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, they were both committed to keeping their words. Beowulf took on the challenge of helping King Hrothgar defend against the terror inflected by Grendel. Despite the challenges that Beowulf met, he remained committed to his word. The same is true for Sir Gawain. In his quest to keep his promise and meet the Green Knight a year and a day later, Sir Gawain, though there were temporary setbacks designed to stop him from showing up at the Green Chapel, remained committed to his word. The fourth characteristic of chivalry is Courtesy. Today, we use the word courtesy to characterize the expressions please, thank you, excuse me. We also use it to describe the practice of holding doors open and shaking hands. However, in the 14th Century the word courtesy was used to define much more. According to the article Important Ideas, Concepts and Terms in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because the root of the word is court the word courtesy is deeper than its modern use as we know it. The article states: To be courteous means to uphold and demonstrate all of the high values and virtues of the Kings court. Therefore, courtesy means to be faithful, virtuous, a defender of truth, a fighter of the devil, and a resister of temptation (Masterworks of British Literature). Interestingly, most people today misinterpret courtly love. In this era, courtly love is commonly associated with basic gentlemenly overtures that are superficial compared to what courtly love represented in medi eval times. For example, today, a man is generally expected to fall in love with a woman who is not already engaged or married. The man will show his intentions by doing nice things for lady. Generally, sexual relations should not take place before the wedding, however, it is customary for the couple to show affection by a kiss or holding hands; some couples engage in sexual activities as part of their courtship. Paradoxically, in medieval times, and during the fourth period of chivalry the knights generally fell in love with ladies who were already taken. These knights showed courtesy by doing nice things for the lady, just as men do today, but these knights could at no time disgrace themselves, the women, or the king, by having any level of sexual contact. Sir Camelot is famously known for violating this principle of chivalry because he had sexual contact with Genevere. It can be surmised that courtesy as a characteristic of chivalry held a strong christian value as it showed the strength of the men to keep themselves from yielding to temptation. The fifth characteristic for evaluation is loyalty. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, when the Green Knight showed up in King Arthurs court the Knights around the table were clearly scared. The Green Knight teased the Knights of the Round Table. In Beowulf, Grendel terrorized the King and his people. The teasing by the Green Knight and the terrorizing of Grendel represented tests of loyalty for the Knights. One of the first expectations of loyalty was loyalty to God, the Sovereign Kingdom, and the Code of chivalry. Both Beowulf and Sir Gawain epitomized loyalty when they rose to defend the Sovereignty of the Kingdom. Next, men of chivalry were expected to be generous and to show hospitality to strangers. Lord Bertilak showed hospitality to Sir Gawain. Of course, Sir Gawain did not recognize Lord Bertilak as the Green Knight. So for all intents and purposes, Gawain believed that he was being treated with generosity and kindness because to Lord Bertilak, Sir Gawain was a stranger. Incidentally, the practice to generosity and hospitality to strangers are common to chivalry and to Christianity. The seventh and final principle of chivalry for consideration is Piety. Men of chivalry were grounded in their faith, dependant on God, the saints, and Mary, and opposed the infidel. The Code of Chivalry is a fusion of Christian values and Military practices. Christian values are interwoven in the fiber of chivalry. For example, jousting or tournament was not acceptable until the sport adhered to the Statue of Arms of Tournament which allowed it to garner the favor of the Catholic Church. As with chivalry, the spiritual principles of the Catholic Church are based on their belief in God, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. As a result of their spiritual beliefs the Catholic Church has a strong core of moral values. The value system include the principles of human dignity, respect for human life, association, participation, protecting the poor and needy, solidarity, human equality, common good, stewardship, and subsidiary. Basically all of the moral principles are self explanatory. What may not be so obvious is how some of the principles work in concert for the common good of humanity. For example, the principles of solidarity and subsidiary provide a balance in working for the common good of all the people. Solidarity works best when a higher authority is in control as in the case of law. If every man in a society was left to police himself, undoubtedly that society would be chaotic. However, my having a central law enforcement agency, the common good of that society is taken care of by the higher authority. In the case of subsidiary, the people of the society are generally left to make the decisions that would best serve that community. For example, it is the people of a community who generally name a street within their community. Therefore solidarity and subsidiary work to bring about the common good. Another set of Catholic values that work together are those of human dignity, respect for human life, and human equality. While human dignity and human life are derivative of Godly principles that give rights to individuals that humanity should not violate, the principle of human equality are of the laws of the land that should be available to every citizen of the nation. As with the first set of principles mentioned, these three principles work to ensure the overall common good of humanity. For these reasons the Catholic Church is against social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. The principles of association and participation recognize individuality while seeking to promote unity. The principle of association holds that an individual is not only sacred but also social and as such is better off relating to others than being alone. The principle of participation requires that all people take active roles in shaping the socio economic, political and cultural values in their community. Indisputably, there are more similarities between the Catholic Faith and chivalry than there are differences. The similarities are as prominent as they are because the Catholic Church played an important role in the development of chivalry. The role of the Catholic Church is very apparent in the the first two of the four periods of chivalry. The major differences between the Catholic Church and chivalry are in the latter periods of chivalry in which there was a clear departure from many of the ideals of the Catholic Faith. The four periods of chivalry are time of The Crusades , of Military Orders, of Secular Chivalry, and of Court Chivalry. The first period of chivalry, The Crusades, lasted from 1095 to 1099. During this crusade, Knights rescued holy places from Moslem dominiation in Palestine. In exchange for this protection, the church took care of knights by conferring on them special privileges which protected them from the law of the land. The second period is the time of Military Orders which dates from 1147-1149. Out of the necessity of continual protection of the Holy City, knights vowed perpetual warfare against the infidels. Religious and spiritual laws were fused and chivalry reached the level of its highest acclaims. The third period was the era associated with the practice of Secular Chivalry and lasted from 1189 to 1192. In this period chivalry lost its religious ideals and became more of a romantic overture. It is said that Literature contributed to the decay of chivalry. Knights were mo re concerned with the love of a woman than with the love for country or for God. The fourth and final period is that of Court Chivalry . In this final period which lasted from 1202 through 1204, chivalry became a court service. Knights were no longer crusaders, they became courtiers and instead of making oaths in chapels and on crosses, they now made vows on emblemic birds. Chivalry was reduced to a futile pasttime and an empty promise, a staunch departure from the principles that were foundational to the order of chivalry. Undeniably, there is as much irony in the practices of Chivalry and of the Catholic Church as there is in any other practice. The irony of chivalry is woven in some of the very principles that guided Knights. For example, Knights were expected to protect the weak so of course, the peasants were protected. Wrong! The principles of chivalry did not extend to the common people known as peasants. In the Chivalric Code the word weak was a description ascribed to the women and children of nobility not the poor and needy as many might be inclined to believe. As a matter of fact, the relationship between Knights and peasants was that of servant and master or predator and prey. Knights often slaughtered peasant men by the hundreds and young peasant girls were often sexually exploited by Knights. In an article entitled Chivalry during the Reign of King Edward III Rich Larson writes: Between the warlike, religious, and courteous aspects of chivalry, there were many inherent contradictions within the ideals of chivalry. Even though these contradictions existed, it seems as if they were often ignored. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦For example, in his description of the siege of La Reole, Froissart writes that the towns-people suffered greatly, but he does not speak negatively of those attacking the town (Froissart 49). In this, just as in other descriptions of Froissart, the ferocity of warfare and any negative effects it may have do not seem to be attributed to chivalry, even when it was chivalric knights who were contributing to the death and destruction that took place (Larson). The peasants during medieval times were enslaved not only by virtue of their class, but also by virtue of the crippling fear caused by the violence that surrounded them. In exchange for protection, for a very long time, peasants accepted the exploitation of the Lords and of the Knights. Accordingly to the article The Barbarian West on Honolulu.hawaii.edu which states: It is important to understand why people would enter into this kind of unequal relationship. The answer is simple only by giving into the demands of the military elite, only by agreeing to this exploitative reciprocal agreement, could a defenseless peasant hope to survive the violence of this age. To survive, to achieve some kind of stability, millions of people suffered repression, impoverishment and exploitation (honolulu.hawaii.edu). Like the Code of Chivalry, the Catholic Church was also oxymoronic in its virtues. Peasants, the poorest of people, were expected to pay taxes to the church; the tax was called a tithe equal to 10% of their earnings and they also worked the land owned by the church. It seems that the church should be giving to and providing for the needs of the peasants, not taking what little they had from them. Another criticism of the role of the Church during Medieval Times was that the church condoned bloodshed. Heretics and infidels were killed to protect the teaching and the property of the church. Though the end does not justify the means, it was believed that the killing was for the greater good. During Medieval Times the church offered forgiveness of sins and protection to knights for killing in their line of duty to protect the Church and State. Given the irony in the Chivalric Code and in the Catholic Church, It is hard to ignore the sociological impact of both of these establishments during the Medieval Period and how the effects of those principles helped to shape our society today. Both are in some way responsible for the creation and or, the enforcement of the Class System and Slavery, Torture, Unfair Labor Practices, Taxation, and Civil Wars. The Feudal System or the Class System which included military, social, and political power structures had five divisions of people; there were Kings, Bishops, Barons, Lords, and Peasants. Peasants were the farmers of the land and boons that did other manual workers. While the overt practice of the Class System is taboo, there are still remnants of the Feudal System in Germany. The similarities of the Feudal System and the Caste System which exists in places such as in India and in Haiti are remarkably close. Though in todays societies there are laws that abate many of the injustic es of human rights such as unfair labor practices and excessive taxation, and limit the practices of inhumane treatment such as torture, there are many who are still considered second class citizens, many who are overtaxed without proper represented, and just as many who experience torture in more sophisticated manners and by more structured means. In summation, one could argue that the contributions of the Knights under the Chivalric Code and those of the Catholic Church based on its christian values are substantial enough to overlook the misdeeds since the bad practices are no longer condone. Equally, one could argue that because the Catholic Church supported chivalry, and because the Catholic Church is responsible for mass murder by approving the Crusades during which times many lives were lost, and because the church had unfair labor practices by requiring the peasants to pay taxes in the form of tithes, just as the Vassals required them to do, that the church is hypocritical in its teachings that call for respect and protection of human life. It is true that understanding history is important in understanding the present. Undoubtedly, the principles of the Catholic Church and of Chilvary may be compared to a coin, each having two sides. Which ever side of the coin one may examine, one thing is clear, all things considered, in every good there is some bad and in every dark cloud is a silver lining, therefore it is important for one to know what is important to him or her and find a way to keep a balanced perspective.

The play of to Kill a Mocking Bird. Discuss how you would produce :: English Literature

The play of to Kill a Mocking Bird. Discuss how you would produce the incident in which Atticus shoots the rabid dog "The play of To Kill a Mocking Bird" was adapted from a novel by Harper Lee. The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama in 1935, when racism was rife. The play deals with racism and shows how the blacks were exploited. The play is split into two acts; Act One is about a black man being wrongly accused of raping a white woman. It is in Act Two that the audience finds out that the legal system would wrongly convict a man, just because he is black. There are many incidents which occur in this play, but the one I am going to consider is when Atticus shoots the rabid dog. The part of the play where the incident of Atticus shooting the rabid dog occurs starts with Jean. At this point the spot light would be on Jean as she steps onto the stage and starts speaking. The incident is introduced when she says:- "Then a few weeks later something happened- something that made our father even more of a puzzle. The tension in the town about the approaching trial was getting drum-tight, but what happened had nothing to do with that - it had to do with a liver coloured bird dog called Tim." While Jean says that she would probably be standing at the front of the stage in the spot light. Behind her would be the set; which would comprise of the front of houses in Maycomb. At this point Jem and Scout would enter the stage, with Jem pulling Scout, and talking about Tim; although they do not realise he has rabies. Soon after, Calpurnia, a black housekeeper, would come onto the stage, as though she has just come out of the house; she would be wiping her hands on a tea towel. Calpurnia is not interested in the dog at this moment as she says in a sharp tone:- "What is it Jem? I can't come out every time you want me." It is not until Jem imitates the dogs actions - gulping like a gold fish and hunching his shoulders - that Calpurnia becomes interested. Unsure as to whether to believe Jem, Calpurnia points her finger at Jem and says with her voice hardening:- 'You tellin' me a story, Jem Finch? Jem goes on to explain how the dog is moving, he says 'Just moseyin' - but walkin' funny.' It is then that Calpurnia realises that the dog has rabies, and so hurries inside to call for help. At this point, she would have a

History of Slavery in the Caribbean Essay -- Caribbean Historical Essa

History of Slavery in the Caribbean The institution of slavery has played a major role in the history, and the shaping of the Caribbean. Therefore, in order to truly understand the Caribbean one must completely understand slavery itself. Slavery can be defined as belonging to a person, or being treated like a piece of property, and not having any individual freedom This was essentially the life many Africans lived for many centuries in the Caribbean . The master’s had total freedom and control over his or her slaves. As a result of this behavior they were able to run successful sugar plantations that resembled modern day factories. Until the end of the 18th century many sugar estates used the "gang" system. The owner treated hundreds of slaves as units of production. Many plantation owners had a very profitable and prosperous business, but it was expense of human lives. Slaves working in the sugar cane fields always faced the most brutal treatment. Due to the nature of cane farming, a lot of heaving lifting and back breaking cutting was necessary for many hours out of the da...

Supply Chain Simulation

The Market Jacobs Industries' only product is an industrial chemical that can be mixed with air to form a foam that is: †¢Lightweight; †¢Stable over a very wide range of temperatures; †¢A very efficient thermal insulator; †¢A very efficient acoustic insulator. Jacobs sells its chemical to manufacturers of air conditioner retrofit kits. The manufacturers are all located in the region of Calopeia. They purchase the foam chemical as a substitute for competitors' products. If Jacobs cannot ship an order within 24 hours of receiving the order from the customer, the customer makes its purchase from a competitor without any loss of future demand.The chemical is shipped in small plastic drums at a price of $1450 a piece. Demand for the chemical is highly seasonal but otherwise very stable. There are no long-run market trends, either upward or downward. The size of orders is very random, with an average size of 7 or 8 drums. Orders arrive randomly throughout each 24-hour d ay. It is now day 730, two years after Jacobs began producing and marketing the chemical. A new foam technology is in development at Jacobs that will render all production capacity and inventory of the current foam obsolete and worthless on day 1460.All customers are aware of the pending new technology and as a result, demand will decrease to zero on day 1460. Operations and Finance Jacobs' distribution network consists of a single factory and a single warehouse, both in Calopeia. The warehouse only supplies air conditioner retrofit kit manufacturers, who are all in Calopeia. Jacobs produces its chemical in batches, loads the chemical into small plastic drums, and then transports the drums from the factory to the warehouse by truck. The warehouse sends drums to customers as orders are received.The cost of fulfilling an order, including the cost of mailing the drum to the customer, is $150 per drum. The current capacity of the factory is 20 drums per day. More factory capacity can be purchased at a cost of $50,000 per drum per day. For example, expanding the capacity by 10 drums per day for a total of 30 drums per day would be (10)$50,000 = $500,000. Capacity costs are incurred as soon as the capacity expansion begins. It takes 90 days to complete a capacity expansion. Capacity cannot be retired. Production in factories is carried out in batches, where each batch is an integer number of drums set by you.The cost to produce one batch equals $1500 plus the number of drums in the batch times $1000. For example, the cost to produce a batch of 10 drums is $1500 + (10)$1000 = $11,500. The batch of finished drums is shipped from the factory to the warehouse as soon as production of the batch is completed. The drums can be shipped either by truck or one at a time by mail. One truck can carry 200 drums. One truck making a trip from the factory to the warehouse costs $15,000, regardless of how full the truck is. It costs $150 to mail one drum from the factory to the ware house.Transportation times from the factory to the warehouse are 7 days for the truck or 1 day for mail. There is no practical limit to the number of drums a warehouse can hold. Both the costs of producing the batch and then shipping it to the warehouse are incurred as soon as production of the batch starts. If there is insufficent cash to pay for the production and shipping of the batch, the factory will remain idle. Production of a batch is triggered when the finished goods inventory (both en route to the warehouse and in the warehouse) fall below the order point, which is set by you.Jacobs pays insurance and other out-of-pocket holding costs on chemicals once production is complete. These holding costs for one drum for one year equal $100, whether the drum is en route to a warehouse or the drum is physically in the warehouse. There are no such holding costs for work-in-process inventory in the factory. Jacobs earns 10% per year on its cash, compounded daily. Assignment Your team has been hired to manage the supply chain for the Jacobs Industries. You can make the following changes to the supply chain: †¢Capacity additions to the factory. The finished goods inventory threshold that triggers production of a new batch in the factory. †¢The factory's production batch size. †¢Whether batches are transported to the warehouse by mail or by truck. Your objective is to maximize the cash generated by the foam technology over the remaining two years of its lifetime. On day 1460 the game will end and all inventory and capacity will be obsolete. The simulation will run continually at the rate of 104 simulated days per real day, or 1 simulated day about every 14 minutes.You will have control of the game from day 730 to day 1460, or 730 days total. The game will conclude 7 days and about half an hour after it started. During that time you can access your supply chain any time of the day or night. The winning team is the one with the highest cash position on day 1460. After the game is over, your team should turn in a 4-page memo describing the actions you took and in retrospect, whether there were other choices that would have allowed your team to do even better.You will graded on the use of conceptual tools from class that you use to justify your conclusions. Selling price = $1450 Demand order size = 7 or 8 Obsolete date = 1460 day Set up Cost = $150 Capacity = 20 per day Capacity expansion = $50,000 to increase add 10 drum per day , but 90 days to complete capacity Cost of production = $1500+(units in a batch)*$1000 Holding cost =$100 per drum for one year Averagemin Max Day 123269 Day 26622133 Day 344397 Day 413163 Day 5425106 Day 66422108 Day 722185 -Most efficient if we set the batch size to 200 when only using truck delivery – –

What Is Normal in Our Society?

For you, what is normal? After browsing lousily in the blog topics given and after three garbage drafts of different topics, at last, I found the one topic I really get to put my mind on. Actually, it interested me to write about this topic because this is one topic which a friend and I debated about. At that time, we had different views on how we say that a certain person is normal. I think  everyone is just too normal and ordinary that everyone does different things to stand out. Because of this cause, everyone seems to be the same.This tends the idea for the contented people to look as if they are abnormal. People who don't tend to be â€Å"normal† are the ones who makes no effort to be different. Most of the people in our surroundings wants to prove themselves to other people (say, parents, boss and even a loved one) for reasons beyond our understanding. Because of this purpose, it becomes a trend for people that when a next person who announces his rebellion to be diffe rent is just normal. I know it's kind of confusing but my main point is, everything is normal. Examples? Fine, I'll give them. Change is normal.Absurdity is normal. Imagination is normal. Twisted minds are normal. Even abnormality is normal. Sometimes, those people who spend tremendous energy to be the same as everyone else are the ones who stand out and the ones who uses up gargantuan power to be different are often neglected because of its normality. People who uses queer routines would at first be queer but as time passes by, it would be normal in their aspect. The future tendency of that person is to make another show to stand out because that habit would not have lasting appreciation of the listener's.Being normal means to do things that are exceptionally dominant in a common society. When in a casual walk we suddenly see a beggar in America, we would think it is not normal. Why? Because in our knowledge, it has been put in our heads by our parents that America is a great count ry not liable of poverty. This is true. Back to the beggar stuff, well, who knows, maybe he is a broken down man who gave up hope in his life. If this is the situation, it would be normal. If he is a man who came from a wealthy and loving family and he is ust like that because he is needed to accomplish a prearranged marriage, that is normal too, however queer it might just be. To be normal is to be queer. Sometimes, it crosses my mind that normality is queerness all the same. What I literally mean is that when people try to be normal, it sounds so queer. How can a person not possibly be normal, right? While when a person tries to be queer, it looks so normal. I mean, it is just so common that people are just used to it. I JUST LOVE THE IRONY!

The Leader as a Strategist Report

The Leader as a Strategist Report Holly A. Shones Argosy University Perspectives in Change Leadership B6027 A01 Dr. Karen Ivy April 22, 2012 In late 2009 Mayo Clinic (MC) updated the vision, mission and strategy of the institution to better align with the ever changing healthcare industry. The primary value at MC is â€Å"the needs of the patient come first†. The mission is â€Å"to inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research†.The vision is â€Å"Mayo Clinic will provide an unparalleled experience as the most trusted partner for health care†. The four strategic requirements at MC are â€Å"solution and hope, trusted and affordable, knowledge to delivery, and transforming health care delivery† (Mayo, 2012a). According to Porter (1996) it can be useful for a company to look at the history of the business and implement the strategy of the past wit h a modern twist. An approach such as this can help to re-energize a company’s strategy and gain the commitment of the employees to carry out the strategies in their daily activities.The idea of â€Å"the needs of the patient come first† was originally attributed to Dr. William Mayo. By aligning the vision, mission and strategy of the institution around the value of the Mayo brothers, MC is able to inspire employees to work towards the goal of the mission statement. In the past MC relied on reputation and word of mouth to attract new patients. The patients had to travel to a physical location for a consultation and/or treatment. The institution did not advertise and was very low key.Only in the past several years has MC considered how to reach the large market population which is unable to access healthcare from MC with such a narrow view of the target market segment. The economic situation of the late 2000’s and the uncertainty of healthcare reimbursements has required MC to take a new look at possible patient populations in order to remain competitive in today’s market. The new motto at MC for targeting customers is â€Å"Mayo here, there and everywhere† (Mayo, 2008). MC is expanding its target market to include populations other than the core business of patients visiting the physical sites.MC is now expanding the target market to include people globally through partnerships in other countries including India, Sweden and the Czech Republic (Springer, 2011). The institution even has a space at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN in order to reach more patients with health and wellness information (Adams, 2011). The healthcare industry is becoming increasingly more customer driven rather than physician driven. MC is starting to utilize the Internet to reach out everywhere to empower people to take control of their healthcare decisions.Patients are using the Internet to research medical issues. They want to be informed and understand the choices in their own healthcare plan. MC provides accurate information on diseases and possible treatments via the Internet. Another way MC has expanded beyond its physical walls is through a collaborative venture with an outside partner to create medical applications for cellular phones (Pesek, 2012). The institution is working on e-Consults and AskMayoExpert sites so physicians at other locations can tap into the knowledge of the MC team.The institution is expanding its sphere of knowledge through an affiliated practice network in several locations within the United States. The affiliated practice network allows other medical institutions within the network the ability to draw on MC’s knowledge. Through the creation of affiliated practice networks MC’s â€Å"new strategy is to extend the Mayo Clinic's geographic reach without building costly new facilities, spending money to acquire hospitals or consolidating with another health system† (Tockne ll, 2011) and at the same time meeting the needs of the patient here, there and everywhere.Another recent addition to MC is The Center for Social Media to bring to the forefront the importance of social media use in healthcare for this generation and the generations to come. With the new target market strategy MC will continue to grow and come closer to the vision of the institution. â€Å"Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities† (Porter, 1996, p. 68). MC has delivered value to patients through its integrated approach to healthcare. The physicians are compensated a flat rate salary rather than compensated based on number of patients seen or procedures done.The physicians are able to fully focus on the patient’s medical issues during consultations without considering their own financial gain from the visit. Dr. William Mayo stated in a speech in 1910 â€Å"The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered† (Fox, 2010). This statement has been a cornerstone of the Mayo culture and work practice since its inception. Through the team based approach of Mayo’s model of care, MC is able to provide superior care compared to other institutions which do not have the team knowledge.Mayo is able to perform similar activities in different ways compared to other healthcare institutions due to the team based philosophy and the integrated approach to healthcare delivery. Porter (1996) considers this key to strategic positioning. MC’s sustainability is different from the competitors due to the reputation of the institution. MC is able to attract and retain a well qualified workforce in all areas. MC was rated as the third top hospital in the nation in 2011(U. S. News ; World Report, 2011).In addition, MC ranked 71 out of the top 100 companies to work for this year (CNNMoney, 2012). MC is able to build on the institutions past reputation to create their unique pos ition in the healthcare market. MC has implemented several new areas or themes to stay ahead of the competitors, also. MC is focused on innovation within healthcare with the creation of the Center for Innovation. To align with the four strategies, MC is investing in cutting edge research and continuing education. The institution recently created three new Centers.The Center for Regenerative Medicine which is focused on ways to healing damaged tissue and organs, the Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery which is focused on using scientific method to bring efficiencies to medicine, and the Center for Individualized Medicine which is focused on â€Å"leveraging genetic knowledge to find treatments, identify risks, or determine the right drug or dosage for patients† (Discovery’s Edge, 2012). By remaining at the forefront of discovery and translational science MC is able to stay ahead of the competition.The investment into the innovative centers will be the conduit which will allow MC to be able to achieve the mission of providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research. The strengths of MC as a formidable competitor are abundant, but there is always room for improvement. Dr. William Mayo stated â€Å"If we are satisfied, we are lost† (Mayo, 2011). Table 1 is a SWOT analysis of Mayo Clinic. One of the most important strengths for MC would be its reputation as a world class healthcare facility which helps to reinforce brand recognition.Our reputation has been built on the institution’s patient centered approach to healthcare, education, training and team environment. The institutional reputation has helped with recruitment of quality staff, also. In order to recruit and retain staff, MC offers many career development opportunities such as tuition assistance, continuing education classes and other seminars to increase staff satisfaction. Compensation trends for job classifications are monitored on a yearly basis and salaries are adjusted every year to stay competitive as a way to attract and retain quality employees. Mayo’s strong financial performance is another strength.MC had an operating margin of 6. 5 percent in 2010. In 2011 the operating margin increased to more than 7 percent (Mayo, 2012b). Since Mayo is a non-profit organization the profit is reinvested into the future of healthcare. MC announced the institution will reinvest $3. 5 billion on capital projects in the next five years which will be spent on information technology, equipment, facilities and other strategic investments (Snowbeck, 2012). With such a great financial performance, MC is able to act on opportunities such as telemedicine and cutting edge research to strengthen their position in the healthcare market.The use of electronic medical records (EMR) at MC is an important strength. It enhances the collaboration between teams by allowing any staff member who needs access to a pa tient’s medical record to have immediate access to the data. The EMR system increases efficiency and quality of care for the patient. SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS * Brand recognition * Reputation * Patient-centered approach * Strong financial performance * Quality of staff * Electronic medical record integration. Three shield concept – Practice, Research, Education * Senior leadership’s commitment to the vision and strategic plan| WEAKNESSES * Decision making process – execution of plans are slow * One Mayo concept slow to implementation * Quality differences perceived across campuses * Size of institution continues to grow increasing communication challenges * Geographical location| OPPORTUNITIES * Ability to be a leader in healthcare reform – influence government * Pioneer in healthcare delivery science * Innovation through new strategic initiatives * Telemedicine * Scientific advances with new technologies| THREATS * Healthcare reform/every changing political climate * Aging population * Increasing healthcare expense vs. diminishing healthcare reimbursements * Competitive market * Reliance on philanthropic gifts * Increased dissatisfaction in healthcare among the general population | Table 1 – Mayo Clinic SWOT Analysis Some of the weaknesses which MC faces are related to the size of the institution and the philosophy surrounding decision making. MC is a consensus led institution with many levels of oversight committees.Projects are vetted by many individuals within the organization before they are approved. Mayo thinks about their reputation and is risk adverse in many decisions made. As the institution continues to grow it is becoming more of a challenge to communicate throughout the organization in a personal way. MC continues to add small healthcare sites into the Mayo Clinic Health System. Leadership is working towards a one Mayo concept, but it is a slow process to integrate the newly acquired institutions within Ma yo. Each new site has different systems and processes which must be integrated into Mayo’s system. As Mayo expands its presence there is a perceived quality difference by other campuses.As an example, I am working on a project within the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to integrate four new Mayo Clinic health sites into the electronic system. The sites will be able to submit research protocol applications electronically at an enterprise level rather than each site approving their own research protocols. I have seen first-hand that staff at one location does not believe the quality of the review of the protocols at another site is sufficient. Attitudes such as this can lead to a breakdown of teamwork across the sites. The geographical location of MC can be seen as a weakness, also. The campuses are not located in large metropolitan locations. The weakness will decrease as the use of telemedicine increases. Exciting opportunities in healthcare are happening at MC.With the disc ussion of healthcare reform at the governmental level, MC has been tapped as a resource for discussion surrounding what healthcare should look like in the future. The institution can influence future governmental decisions on healthcare to spread the mission and vision of our institution. As MC continues to invest in the new strategic initiatives of healthcare delivery, regenerative medicine and individualized medicine the doors of opportunity to change health care delivery and increase translational science to practice in a shorter time than in the past. With new technologies healthcare is changing on a daily basis which allows for many new opportunities for discovery of better ways to meet the patient’s needs. Telemedicine is an area of great opportunity for Mayo, also.It could become a fast, efficient way to diagnose and treat patients which cannot physically travel to a MC campus. MC faces threats in the healthcare industry, though. The current state of healthcare reform is in flux. The political climate is continually changing. In addition, healthcare expenses continue to rise as reimbursements continue to decline. The payer mix is changing as the baby boomers are covered by Medicare. Medicare reimbursement is less than the other payers. As the population ages, revenue will decrease. The institution must discover new ways to increase efficiency and quality at the same time. Another financial weakness is the fact that a large portion of Mayo’s research funding comes from the National Institute of Health.As an employee in the research arena, I know the institution does not know what the next year’s governmental budget will be. Each year the selection of grant recipients grows more competitive with fewer grants awarded. Loss of the research funding would have a huge impact on the institution. Another threat is the reliance on philanthropic gifts to support Mayo’s mission. In 2011 $318 million was donated to support Mayo (Snowbeck, 2012). A poor economic climate can cause a decrease of benefactor gifts which would be a threat to the continued success of MC. Finally, the general dissatisfaction in healthcare among the general population could be perceived as a threat to the institution.MC must realize that healthcare can no longer be a physician driven business, but must become a customer driven business. The internal environment at MC is team based and focused on collaboration to accomplish our key value of â€Å"the needs of the patient come first†. MC is a physician led institution. The person in the CEO position must have an MD. The structure of the institution is team orientated. The Board of Trustees determines the direction of MC operations and strategic plan. The Board of Governors is the executive committee of the Board of Trustees. There are Management Teams throughout the institution to ensure the strategies and operation directive are effectively executed by all departments under Mayo leader ship.Executive Operations Committees direct the daily operations within the institution. These board and committees are part of Administration. The Management Teams and Executive Operations Committees are present for all three shields at MC. There are Chairs for each department within the three shields to help with the daily direction of operations. The direction of the institution comes from top leadership, but each department is given flexibility to determine the best way to accomplish the strategies set by the institution. To help reinforce the strategies, MC has adopted a project plan template which includes a section which requires the project group to think about how they will accomplish MC’s strategy with each project.Figure 1 is an example of the project charter (Mayo, n. d. ). Strategic Alignment| People| Processes| Create the healthcare workforce of the future that sustains Mayo’s values (People) D1. Improve staff’s ability to deliver high value care a . Facilities/Equipment b. Training/support for process changes * Implement individual provider scorecards including quality and cost metrics (outcomes, safety, service, cost, competence, adherence to standardized practice guidelines) * Invest in continuous staff development to improve staff satisfaction and retention * Increase diversity of staff and development of diverse staff * Improve leadership training and mentoring Increase the number and skill of physicians and clinical and basic scientists engaged in generating new knowledge * Increase our capacity and skill in comparative effectiveness and health care delivery research| Transform Mayo Clinic’s knowledge management and healthcare delivery process (Process) * Provide solutions and hope for patients a. Clinical Trials b. Implement Individualized Medicine into the practice c. Regenerative medicine d. Advance commercialization of research discoveries research discoveries * Standardize, improve effectiveness (outcomes, sa fety, service), and reduce cost a. Standardization b. Outcomes ; Safety c. Service d.Manage to Reimbursement * Explore new payment mechanisms * Generate, evaluate, integrate, and manage knowledge and information a. Information b. Knowledge c. Delivery * Create global value-adding relationships, alliances, and partnerships a. Patients and Consumers b. Providers C6. Increase our offerings for health and healthy living| Primary Operating Objective (Choose one from above, need sub-objective where applicable):| Secondary Operating Objective Optional (Choose one from above, need sub-objective where applicable):| Figure 1 – Project Charter Example In some ways MC is ahead of the curve by the use of systems to coordinate work throughout the organization. In other areas it is still a work in process.The EMR system is an excellent example of systems working to enhance communication, collaboration and coordinating between groups in the institution which aligns with the strategies of the institution. Finance has been working on a system to help with financial management forecasting and planning. The system is rather new and all of the functionality of the system is not being utilized at the current moment. The culture at Mayo is consensus and collaboration. The organizational culture is an enabler for the institution’s strategy in most cases. All employees are able to speak up and discover areas which need improvement. They are also given the chance to create solutions.MC works diligently to communicate the strategy to everyone. They create internal videos highlighting the vision, mission and strategies of the institution called â€Å"The Mayo Effect. There is a website dedicated to the subject. The culture at Mayo is everyone plays a part in the needs of the patient come first even if you do not have any patient contact. There is a sense of pride to be part of such a noble cause. Sometimes the culture can be a hindrance to the strategy, though. Innovation can be difficult at times in a consensus driven institution. By the time everyone agrees or accepts an idea, another group outside of Mayo could have run with the innovative idea.Another issue is the risk aversion created with consensus decision making. When you are risk averse, it is difficult to be innovative. Mayo incorporates Kouses and Posner’s five practices of exemplary leadership throughout the institution. The following summary highlights some of the ways Mayo has been able to model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act and encourage the heart. Modeling the Way * Setting a positive example: The founders (Will and Charles Mayo) strong belief in helping individuals, researching for solutions, and educating future care givers. Later generations of healthcare individuals are also highlighted. Achieve small wins by creating opportunities: Staff, physicians, and administration are empowered to promote and/or implement cost saving ide as or patient centered healthcare improvements. * Stand up for what you believe in: Mayo’s Three Shields are displayed throughout the organization reminding employees of practice, research, and education. Inspiring a Shared Vision * Envision an uplifting future: Websites and media promote a patient advances, success stories, and innovation improvements. * Let others know how you feel: Patients, external/internal focus groups, and external organizations are regularly polled for feedback, which is used to improve the organization. Believe in the organization: â€Å"We can do anything we set our mind to† is often a common quote used by staff. Challenging the Process * Search for Opportunities: Teams of improvement agents are available to evaluate and act upon suggestions. * Experiment and Take Risks and Challenge the Status Quo: Funding a leading â€Å"Center of Innovation† * Adopt the â€Å"great idea† of others: Entire division devoted to quality improveme nts throughout the entire institution. Enabling Others to Act * Always say â€Å"we†: In publications, both print and electronic, â€Å"we† is commonly used. â€Å"One Mayo† philosophy. * Strengthen people by making them heroes: Mayo allows staff time off to volunteer.It is not uncommon to find physicians playing music for patients, management in blue jackets directing patients, or staff donating blood. * Value teamwork and trust: Consensus and collaboration are key words within the organization. Encouraging the Heart * Recognize individual contributions: Mayo recognizes volunteers and staff who go to extraordinary lengths to support patients or make a difference in healthcare delivery. * Celebrate team accomplishments: â€Å"Team excellence† awards are distributed and highlighted throughout the organization. * Motivate others: Management are encouraged to write â€Å"thank you† notes to staff and may include a small discretionary gift card as reco gnition. Overall, Mayo is taking great strides towards achieving some lofty strategic goals.As long as everyone continues to remember the patient’s needs come first when making decisions which will ultimately affect outcomes, Mayo will stay competitive in the healthcare industry while at the same time delivering the best healthcare outcomes to people throughout the world. References Adams, J. (2011, August 10). Mayo Clinic opening high-tech outpost at the Mall of America. Retrieved from http://www. startribune. com/business/127497038. html CNNMoney (2012). 100 Best Companies to Work For. Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/full_list/ Discovery’s Edge (2012). Research Centers. Retrieved from http://discoverysedge. mayo. edu/de11-1-research-centers. cfm Fox, F. (2010, December 2). Clinic Guide. Retrieved from http://www. clinicguide. org/the-best-interest-of-the-patient-is-the-only-inter