OPERATIONS management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

OPERATIONS management - Essay Example By extension, adoption of standards in business operations leads to market fragmentation due to the rise of divergent requirements of resources for new products. However, implementation of various standards within an organization may come with challenges and disadvantages in the short run which nonetheless can be overcome in the long run. Research has shown that standards are vital in efficiency promotion especially during operations in manufacturing processes. Standards avail modalities through which processes can be carried out in large quantities without changes. In this regards, there is a reduction in technical errors which routinely occur during production of goods. When standards are put in place, a permanent design and materials necessary for production are specified which rarely change except when the standards are revised. By using the internationally acclaimed standards, organizations are at a vantage point where they can negotiate for favourable deals to boost their profi tability. In the end, contract ambiguities are avoided which often undermine smooth and efficiency running of organizations (Goldenhar and Schulte, 1994, 770). According to Aitken, Chaudhry, Boxall and Hull (1999, 190), conformation to accepted standards provides a means through conveyance of complex information with regards to a product is done. There are enormous challenges to organisations on how to inform the public about the suitability of their products. This is because some methods of manufacturing are widely used to produce products that are complex and hard to explain to the public. However, with standardised mode of operation and conformance, a shorthand mode of communication can be developed based on standards specifications. The standards even come with simplified ways and information on how different operations are carried out without including the highly technical details. In this regard, there is a common language which is easily understood by both designers and consu mers of different products. Reliability of the way operations are carried out within area of manufacturing is increased due to rationalisation and consistency of processes. When standards are put in place, mass production becomes easy because goods are produced within an accepted set standard which eliminates the need for constant check of quality. Therefore, many costly processes are eliminated such as inventory control and quality assurance processes which dig in the profitability of an organisation. In addition, training of workers to participate in the use of standardised procedures is efficient since the amount of time spent is little. In the end, there is streamlining of operations which results in production of goods and services that are internationally accepted (Nicholson, 2004, 147). Standards are very important to the management team of an organization since they help it in entrenching the culture of operational excellence. Operational excellence is vital for an organisat ion to realize its set targets and objectives efficiently without using many resources. Every organisation has its set business operations which must be conformed to acceptable standards within its sphere of operation. As such, business operation processes are important tools through which an organisation can achieve sustainable competitive advantage over other competing firms. In order to attain a sustainable

How does amount of CO2 vary in the places with a high amount of cars Lab Report

How does amount of CO2 vary in the places with a high amount of cars comparing to the fields - Lab Report Example The components of the fields determine the level of consumption that the field uses of the component while the cars release it. Cars release a substantial amount of the carbon dioxide the world environment suffers from (Mintzer. p.202). The study is developed to detail these studies and aid in understanding their effects on the environment. How does the amount of carbon dioxide vary in the places with a high amount of cars comparing to the fields? This question provides a more general approach to the study. A more direct question would include a coverage that includes the activities in an environment and the effect that they have on the volume of carbon dioxide. The question would consider the effect that the presence of cars in an environment would have creating a difference between the amounts of carbon dioxide in the two places. That is the fields and places with many cars. Based on these, the research question therefore would be: What effects does the level of activity in the environment have on the amount of carbon dioxide in relation to the presence of cars and their absence in a field? Places with cars have high carbon dioxide volumes while fields have low carbon dioxide volumes. Considering the volumes that cars emit in carbon dioxide, one discovers that chances prove high that places with many cars have a high carbon dioxide content compared to fields. The study aims at proving this hypothesis. The variables include two aspects that are the amount of carbon dioxide and the place or environment that is between a place with a high amount of cars and fields, which have a small amount of cars. In the study, the level of carbon dioxide provides the dependent variable whose volume depends on the environment and the activity in it in relation to cars. This means the environment is the independent variable. To understand further the effect that

Consequences of Using an Existing Company Name

Consequences of Using an Existing Company Name In relation to Roy wanting to name his company ‘Mini-Mahogany Ltd.’, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment could refuse to allow the registration of the afore mentioned business as it could be misleading to the consumers. There is already a company registered in Dublin called ‘Mega-Mahogany Ltd.’ This minor difference between the names of the two companies could lead some people to become confused as both companies deal in timber products. One such case that this infringement can be seen is the case of: Jacob Fruitfield vs United Biscuits (2007) Jacob Fruitfield was previously in the Irish market selling Fig Rolls and Cream Crackers when the defendants, United Biscuits (U.K.) Limited, tried to enter the market selling their version of both products. Jacobs sought an injunction to stop United Biscuits selling the biscuits using the same name and they were successful. To have the injunction passed, the judge tried a test. He asked for these three statements to be proved either true or false; The existence of a reputation or goodwill in the claimant’s product including, where appropriate, in a brand name or get-up. The risk of confusion between what is alleged to be the offending product and the claimant’s product. Whether damage to the claimants goodwill by virtue of any such confusion has been established. (Simon McAleese Passing Off) Having then found that United Biscuits were indeed failing on these three tests, Clarke J granted the injunction for to prevent the sale of United Biscuits’ Fig Rolls on the Irish market as they were too similar to the Jacobs Fig Rolls. Wrappers of both Jacobs and United Biscuits Fig Rolls and Cream Crackers Difference between Memorandum and Articles of Association Roy would also need to know that he would need to have a Memorandum and Articles drawn up for his company. Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association are separately very important documents and together they serve as the constitution of a company. A Memorandum is a document which outlines the rules and regulations of the proposed company and its dealings with the outside world. The Memorandum has the following features included; The name, address and the office of the company that has been registered. The way the share capital of the company has been structured The aims and the objectives of the company being set up. The Articles of Association is a document that contains the rules of the company which are used by all employees of the company. This is an internal document and is filed with the Registrar of Companies on Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Some of the major features of the Articles include; The structure of the company The rights of the employees and the voting pattern if needed Conduct of Directors meetings Conduct of Shareholders Difference in the structures of Shares The main differences that Roy would need to understand between the two documents would be the following: The Memorandum is also called the Charter of an organisation. This document is a helpful document for future investors as it gives them an insight into how their money will be used by the company. The Articles, however, is the document that allows the structure of the company and the breakdown of the power in the company. The Articles contain all the laws by which the company will adhere to and also the rules that the employees must follow. (Difference Between Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, 2011) Statutory Duties imposed on Directors of Irish Companies When a Director is appointed to a company, they are given a list of duties which they must follow for the wellbeing of the organisation. Some of these duties are common law duties; they are also called ‘Fiduciary Duties’. Other duties fall under the heading of ‘Statutory Duties’. These duties include the following points; Duty to maintain proper books of the company accounts. Duty to prepare the annual accounts of the company. Duty to file the necessary documentation with the Companies Registration Office. Duty of disclosure on personal information. Duty to call general meetings within the company. Duty to have an annual audit carried out in the company. Duty to write reports for the members of the company. (Pearse Trust Blog, 2014) Companies can only make loans to the directors of the company for a small number of circumstances and once the loan is fully disclosed in the company’s accounts. As mentioned in Section 31 of the Companies Act 1990, if the company has given a loan to a director and not followed all the necessary protocols, the director who granted the loan or who received the loan may be held liable for the cost of the loan. The same director could also be liable if the company goes into liquidation. For the director to avoid this punishment, they must follow all steps in that have been outlined in the Companies Act (see appendix). (McNulty, 2014) Directors must also disclose any interests they have in the company or in any company associated with the company they work for. Every company must keep a registry of these interests. The keeping of this registry is to avoid any situation where any person may claim that the company was fully aware of the director’s interest. Any such failing could result in criminal sanctions and/or the interested shares being void for that director. Fixed Charge and Floating Charge Roy also needs to know about the different types of charges he would face if he needs to take out a loan from the company in the future. Fixed and floating charges are used by companies to secure borrowing. This type of borrowing is typically arranged under the terms of a debenture. Any charge on a company’s assets must be recorded at the Companies Registry Office. A fixed charge is a mortgage that is secured on a piece of property owned by the company. These pieces of property could include land or buildings, machinery, shares, copyrights, patents, etc. Whereas floating charges are much easier for a company to handle as they can be taken without any specific asset being registered to the company. This means that any stock that the company holds or vehicles used by the company can be charged to obtain the loan. The speciality of the floating charges means that the company can go about normal business, buy and sell its stock, change machinery or vehicles without needing prior p ermission from the person or organisation they are paying mortgage to. As most borrowing is done through banks, it is these banks that then set the type of charge being applied to the company. Most of the time the bank will apply fixed charges on any asset which the company owns that already has fixed charges on. All other charges are then floating charges. Most banks want more than just this type of guarantee and will often ask the directors of the company for personal guarantees. (Fixed Floating Charges) Personal Guarantee A personal guarantee is a pledge in which an individual agrees to be responsible for the financial obligations of a debtor or a borrower to a lender in the event that the debtor or borrower fails to pay an amount owing under the loan agreement. A personal guarantee signifies that the lender can lay claim to the guarantor’s assets in case the borrower defaults. It is the equivalent of a signed blank cheque without a date. The guarantee can only be cancelled by the lender, not the borrower. In the event of the guarantor’s death, normally the lender will not void the personal guarantee but will seek for a new guarantor to fill in the deceased place and continue the guarantee. (McManus, 2011) Bank of Scotland (Ireland) vs Jim Mansfield In the case of Bank of Scotland vs Jim Mansfield, Bank of Scotland (B.o.S.) granted Jim Mansfield a loan to further his empire at CityWest. Mansfield gave a personal guarantee that the loan would be repaid in full. When Mansfield refused to pay back the money to NAMA, they sought an injunction in the Commercial Court where they successfully won and the court forced Mr. Mansfield to repay the â‚ ¬204m. Mr. Mansfield passed away before he could pay back the loan which now leaves his family liable to repay the fortune. Works Cited Companies Act 1990. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2014, from www.irishststutebook.ie: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1990/en/act/pub/0033/sec0031.html Difference Between Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. (2011, May 10). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from www.differencebetween.com: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-memorandum-of-association-and-vs-articles-of-association/ Fixed Floating Charges. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from www.companylawclub.co.uk: http://www.companylawclub.co.uk/topics/fixed_and_floating_charges.shtml McManus, F. (2011, February). The Dangers of Personal Guarantees. Retrieved November 30, 2014, from www.morganmcmanus.com: http://www.google.ie/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=3ved=0CDAQFjACurl=http://www.morganmcmanus.com/pdfs/The_Dangers_of_Personal_Guarantees.pdfei=j4N8VPWwOImU7AanwIGIBgusg=AFQjCNFYmFIsOKFPbT4a9yHjkycnbuCtdgbvm=bv.80642063,d.ZGU McNulty, T. (2014). Class Notes. Company Law. Dunlin. Pearse Trust Blog. (2014). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from www.pearse-trust.ie: http://www.pearse-trust.ie/blog/bid/99334/Duties-Powers-Of-Directors-Of-Private-Companies-In-Ireland Simon McAleese Passing Off. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from www.simonmcaleese.com: http://www.simonmcaleese.com/asp/printf.asp?RecordId=310 Appendices Case of Jacob Fruitfield Food Group Ltd v United Biscuits (UK) Ltd United Biscuits, more commonly known as McVities, sought to introduce fig roll biscuits and cream crackers into the Irish market. The packaging of both products was strikingly similar to comparable products already available on the Irish market by Jacobs. Jacobs successfully obtained an injunction in the High Court preventing the distribution of the McVitie fig rolls in packaging which was confusingly similar to that of Jacobs. What is the test to be met in determining whether packaging is so strikingly similar that it is in fact passing off? Clarke J set down a three part test to be applied in assessing whether or not there is an action for passing off: The existence of a reputation or goodwill in the claimant’s product including, where appropriate, in a brand name or get-up; The risk of confusion between what is alleged to be the offending product and the claimants product; and Whether damage to the claimants goodwill by virtue of any such confusion has been established. Clarke J specifically considered that the similarity between the two products should be judged, to a significant extent, as a matter of first impression. He stated: Firstly I should have regard to the circumstances in which the products are likely to be purchased, the sort of customers who are likely to purchase them, and the amount of attention which, at least the less careful of those purchasers, are likely to apply to their considerations. The competing get ups should be judged as a matter of first impression but also by reference to the type of features which, in all the circumstances of the case, are likely to attract the attention of a purchaser in those circumstances. Having considered the colour combinations, style of lettering and the suggested serving photograph of each of the packaging, he considered thatthe fig roll packaging was extremely similar, but that the packaging on the cream crackers was distinguishable. In deciding whether or not the balance of convenience lay with granting the injunction against the distribution of the McVities fig rolls, the court stated that it was never a presumption that the balance of convenience would lie with granting the injunction and that damages may sometimes be an adequate remedy. Nevertheless, Clarke J held that the balance of convenience in this case did lie with granting the injunction preventing the distribution of the McVitie fig rolls in packaging which was confusingly similar to that of Jacobs. (Simon McAleese Passing Off) Companies Act 1990 (Companies Act 1990) 1 | Page

Effective Use of Irony and Satire in Unveiling :: Unveiling

Effective Use of Irony and Satire in Unveiling Unveiling, by Vclav Havel, is an almost satirical view of societal behavior in the modern day world. The unusual props located throughout the apartment as well as the characters involved in the play come together to form an ironic tale wrought with realistic themes and an extremist view of modern society. The main characters are Vera, Michael, and Ferdinand Vanek. The play begins with Ferdinand entering the party of Vera and Michael. As the story line progresses, Vera and Michael continue describing their many material possessions and showing off their supposed glamour. All throughout the commentary on their accolades, they also openly criticize Ferdinand in every aspect of his life. They claim to do so only because they like him and because he is their best friend. In the end, Ferdinand begins inching towards the door, and Vera and Michael start to go hysterical at the thought of Ferdinand leaving. Finally, when he sits back down, Vera and Michael resume their "normal" chatter. The characterization in Unveiling is consistent in that each character is generally stagnant. Vera is a flat character. She starts out as a needy woman who is almost grandiloquent when she speaks of her belongings. Her husband Michael is no different. His pretentious behavior is only heightened by the accessory of his wife. In the end, they are still the same albeit not as composed as in the beginning. Ferdinand is really just a minor, speaking character in the play. There is not much depth to his character. He is essentially flat because there is no change in his character or lack thereof. Though Unveiling does contain many themes, the principle one that is prevalent throughout is social pretensions. Vera and Michael pretend that everything is fine in their life though it clearly is not. They hold themselves to a materialistic standard that they feel they must uphold. The slick veneer that they like to hide behind is actually rather brittle and transparent. Their loneliness is apparent. For their "unveiling" party, there is only one guest, Ferdinand. That points to the fact that they do not have many friends, thus the reality which is that they are alone. Along these same lines, societal pressures and social conformity are also major themes. They feel they must uphold such pretenses because that is the social standard.

Descartes’ Second Meditation

In Descartes’ Second Meditation the key philosophical idea of â€Å"I think, therefore I am† is introduced and thus begins a new age in western philosophy. Some of the arguments Descartes provide in order to support his claims are that in order to doubt anything, you must be able to think and if you think, you exist. Descartes brings up the point that there may be no physical world, along with that thought comes the doubt of anything else being real, which again concludes that he is thinking which means he is real.Descartes’ argument in the second meditation is that in order to think at all, whether it is doubt of an existence or belief something to be true it requires thought. Descartes makes the point that being able to have thought means that he must exist and he can know this without any doubt. The main argument that he uses to support this theory is to suppose he is being deceived by an evil spirit into believing all that he knows, when everything he knows i s actually a lie. He claims that whether or not he is being deceived is not important, rather the fact that he is able to be deceived or not be deceived confirms that he does indeed exist.He goes on to show that in order to be deceived, you must be thinking and if you are thinking then by default you exist. Descartes makes us doubt everything through his new revolutionary thought process. He claims that the mind is separate from the body, and even if there is a body at all. By doubting the reality of a physical world he brings into question everything that exists except for the individual existing itself. Descartes then moves from the point that he exists to trying to explain what â€Å"he† is. He claims that he is a thinking thing, and uses the word thing precisely.Descartes opens up a discussion on how being able to think means he exists, but does not include the proof of a body, instead he can only prove that a thinking thing is a mind. He claims that he cannot doubt that he can think, but he can doubt the reality of his body and physical interaction in the world. In going along with his experiment to purge doubtable beliefs, Descartes argues that things he cannot doubt about himself are therefore real, while things that he can doubt about himself are false. Obviously, this makes it much harder for him to believe in the hysical world. Not to confuse, Descartes I don’t believe was trying to imply that a thinking thing might never be wrong about doubting something; instead I see this as a division between the mind and body. Descartes is dealt with the problem of skepticism and how to overcome it. In order to overcome skepticism, he decides he must enforce it strictly upon his experiment and therefore attempt to explain around skepticism. Descartes put a heavy belief on the ability to deceive and how empirical thought is not to be trusted as sense can be deceived easily.Descartes goes into depth about dreams and how when we are dreaming everythin g feels and seems to be real, in fact we would never know it to be false if we never woke up. This proves that the senses not matter how powerful are able to be deceived. This was Descartes way of dealing with skepticism though; he explored it in its most extreme sense. Through experimentation he hoped to find a belief that could not be doubted and render skepticism irrational. Thus the whole thought of I think, therefore I exist begun and was the major belief that could not be denied. Descartes accomplishes his goal by using his enemy: skepticism. hing†. Using Descartes thought process to determine what is real and what is not, one has an extremely hard time confirming the existence of anything except for the fact they too exist. To conclude Descartes found the certain belief that he existed and all other who think exist, therefore Skepticism being true can rationally be denied. Skepticism plays the belief that there are no so called â€Å"true† beliefs and life as we know it is probably a lie, but through experimentation Descartes was able to rationally prove there are beliefs that can be held with certainty.

Explain Why Overseas Study at Australian Universities Is Popular

Different countries have different education system. Some students have decided to take their studies aboard to mainly achieve better with a different education system. These students go aboard to purse their academic learning by either at a foundation level or at a postgraduate level. With the outstanding education system, the multicultural society and the range of career opportunities Australia has to offer, students of different nationality, race and culture flock to Australia hoping to achieve better academically.Australia offers a unique education system that most countries do not have. Many students have actually found that the Australia has a lot to offer. Teachers with great devotion in teaching and helping students in every aspect of school work including life. This would be a great for student who is living aboard alone as they would have someone to turn to for emotional and academic support. With such a huge number of students entering Australia’s university each ye ar, it is for certain that the university would have an advance modern technology.This would not only assist teachers when are giving a lecture or a tutorial class, it help the students in understanding lessons and giving them the ability in presenting a good presentations with the equipment provided to them. With such an uncommon education system, the teachers too are dedicated in providing the students an interesting learning environment to make learning easier. For example, a common literature class would transform into a drama class to let the students feel closer to the book and the characters.Students become more involved in class and absorb more from the lessons. Australia had a wide diversity of races. By living an Australian lifestyle, students are bound to see the multicultural society Australia has to offer to them. With a wide range of races in Australia, students would be able to make new friends from different countries. Students would also encounter class mates of dif ferent cultural background. This would be a great way to learn and understand a different culture for the students.Since some restaurants are set up to cater to foreign students, it would a great chance to try different cuisines not found in their home country. By understanding different cultures, the students would know what to expect when they enter the working life. They would be able to communicate better with different people and if they have to bring clients to dinner, they would know what kind of food to look out for. Students would also learn to be sensitive to people’s feelings as in some cultures, some words are an insult to them.After graduating from university, graduates would start worrying whether they would be able to be employed. However, graduating from a prestigious university with good results may help graduates to get employed easier. Usaully universities become prestigious when they are able to produce graduates who are able to make a name for themselves, or it may be known for its good teaching techniques. Businesses, looking for a worker, would have a good impression of the applicant applying for the job just by looking at his application.This would give a good impression to the boss and just base on the resume, the graduate may get the job. Undergraduates would try to get into one of these outstanding schools hoping that they would be able to get a job easily. Most of these universities are in Australia, this making overseas study in Australia popular. In summary, an unique education system that makes class interesting, a multi-cultural society for students to experience new things and prestigious university are the reasons that attracts students to study abroad in Australia. Explain Why Overseas Study at Australian Universities Is Popular Different countries have different education system. Some students have decided to take their studies aboard to mainly achieve better with a different education system. These students go aboard to purse their academic learning by either at a foundation level or at a postgraduate level. With the outstanding education system, the multicultural society and the range of career opportunities Australia has to offer, students of different nationality, race and culture flock to Australia hoping to achieve better academically.Australia offers a unique education system that most countries do not have. Many students have actually found that the Australia has a lot to offer. Teachers with great devotion in teaching and helping students in every aspect of school work including life. This would be a great for student who is living aboard alone as they would have someone to turn to for emotional and academic support. With such a huge number of students entering Australia’s university each ye ar, it is for certain that the university would have an advance modern technology.This would not only assist teachers when are giving a lecture or a tutorial class, it help the students in understanding lessons and giving them the ability in presenting a good presentations with the equipment provided to them. With such an uncommon education system, the teachers too are dedicated in providing the students an interesting learning environment to make learning easier. For example, a common literature class would transform into a drama class to let the students feel closer to the book and the characters.Students become more involved in class and absorb more from the lessons. Australia had a wide diversity of races. By living an Australian lifestyle, students are bound to see the multicultural society Australia has to offer to them. With a wide range of races in Australia, students would be able to make new friends from different countries. Students would also encounter class mates of dif ferent cultural background. This would be a great way to learn and understand a different culture for the students.Since some restaurants are set up to cater to foreign students, it would a great chance to try different cuisines not found in their home country. By understanding different cultures, the students would know what to expect when they enter the working life. They would be able to communicate better with different people and if they have to bring clients to dinner, they would know what kind of food to look out for. Students would also learn to be sensitive to people’s feelings as in some cultures, some words are an insult to them.After graduating from university, graduates would start worrying whether they would be able to be employed. However, graduating from a prestigious university with good results may help graduates to get employed easier. Usaully universities become prestigious when they are able to produce graduates who are able to make a name for themselves, or it may be known for its good teaching techniques. Businesses, looking for a worker, would have a good impression of the applicant applying for the job just by looking at his application.This would give a good impression to the boss and just base on the resume, the graduate may get the job. Undergraduates would try to get into one of these outstanding schools hoping that they would be able to get a job easily. Most of these universities are in Australia, this making overseas study in Australia popular. In summary, an unique education system that makes class interesting, a multi-cultural society for students to experience new things and prestigious university are the reasons that attracts students to study abroad in Australia.

Technology Siri for submission

Technology Siri for submission Siri is many people’s new best friend. This voice recognition system has been a feature of iPhones since the iPhone 4s was introduced. Siri demonstrates a facility that puts most computer-resident voice recognition software to shame.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Siri for submission specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Siri software seems eerily to comprehend users in a way that some human listeners cannot even manage. The addition of this feature transforms the computer functions of an iPhone into something almost universally accessible. How this feature has been (nearly) perfected is a mix of technology and human skill. Siri consists of two separate technologies. There is the voice recognition part, and there is the voice-data-to-speech part. Both are awesomely complex. As quoted by the website of the Human Interface Laboratory at Washington University, voice recognition is the technology by whi ch sounds, words or phrases spoken by humans are converted into electrical signals† (Baumann). Then, â€Å"these signals are transformed into coding patterns to which meaning has been assigned (Baumann). To recognize words from among all the sounds that humans make when they produce speech, the voice recognition software must use â€Å"speech unit extraction and concatenation† (Baumann). To accomplish this â€Å"Sentence and word units which maximize the weighted sum of linguistic likelihood, amount of information, confidence measure, and grammatical likelihood of concatenated units are extracted from the speech recognition results and concatenated for producing summaries† (Baumann). This translates to a complex amalgam of grammar, vocabulary, and lots of statistics. The voice production part of the system is, if anything, even more magical-seeming. The voice that comes out in the form of Siri actually sounds human, and it is, fundamentally. A live woman, and ma n, or perhaps more than one, recorded hundreds of spoken words and parts of words. She recorded them in different tones and rhythms to create the richest possible range of English speech. These sounds were then used as a sound bank from which to extract individual phonemes, or the smallest and shortest identifiable elements of speech (Anderson).Advertising Looking for essay on programming? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As described by Anderson, â€Å"Words and sentences are analyzed, catalogued, and tagged in a big database, a complicated job involving a team of dedicated linguists, as well as proprietary linguistic software† (Anderson). In the next step, a piece of software called a â€Å"text-to-speech engine† searches for sounds, in real time, to combine with other sounds (Anderson). These are strung together, as beads are on a string, to create novel words and sentences like â€Å"727 South Warno ck Street† or â€Å" the Lakers won by 2 points† when users need this information. The inclusion of Siri in an iPhone does more than make forgetting one’s grocery list a thing of the past. It adds safety when driving, and turns the hand-held device into a mobile business office. A user can generate all sorts of correspondence using the voice recognition function to dictate text. Using the iPhone’s accessibility settings for ‘speaking text’, a user can listen to almost anything on the screen read aloud. Siri seems to have even inspired a full-length movie Her. The lonely protagonist falls in love with a sweet-voiced operating system that sounds suspiciously like Siri (IMDB). Admittedly, the artificial intelligence, and the relationship depicted are probably a few years away. However, many people are already very dependent on the way that Siri helps them connect to the internet, and to use their iPhones. Siri is also not the only voice in the m arketplace. More and more pieces of equipment (for example, RSS readers) and other venues now are using some form of voice generation or voice recognition. Anderson notes that â€Å"Google, Apple, Microsoft, and even Amazon have all invested heavily in speech† (Anderson). Voice recognition and generation, whether in the form of Siri or some other software, is a welcome and useful part of users’ lives now. Anderson, Lessley. Machine Language: How Siri Found Its Voice. 17 September 2013. The Verge. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Siri for submission specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Baumann, James. Voice Recognition. 2014. Washington University. Web. IMDB. Her. 2014. IMDB. Web.

Assignment Durex Essay Example

Assignment Durex Essay Example Assignment Durex Essay Assignment Durex Essay The county has seen a shift from a conservative society to an increasingly open perspective. Condoms can be easily purchased at most petrol kiosks and convenient stores and are usually placed near the counters. Singapore are also seen as materialistic and brand conscious when it comes to purchasing (Google Books, 2015). More youths are also engaging in sexual relations at a younger age due to such influences like internet, media, and society at large (Enid Grubber, 2010). It is important that Dared constantly pays attention to these changes in society and constantly reposition its brand to avoid being seen as an out-dated brand. This way, it is able to connect to he youths and to avoid being stigmatize but the younger generations. In Singapore, technology is integral in the growth due to the limited resources. Singapore are mobile saws with 88%, either owning an Apple device or an android device that enables them to have access to the internet wherever and whenever they need it (semaphores in Singapore: A Whitepapers Release, 2012). However, technology is also a double-edged sword; while it can provide fast information but it can also be a Source of clutter. This provides a challenge for Dared as it has to compete with other online advertisements to reach out to the market. At the same time, because of technological advancements, this also allows condoms to be an alternative for contraceptive pills. In the recentness, Dared has caught up with the technological and social trend which allows them to reach out to more youths through the use of floggers, Youth and Google by purchasing the condoms online. By doing so, Dared has effectively addressed most of the PESTLE concerns by shifting their marketing efforts in that direction (Lovingly, 2014). Singapore has a tropical climate with humid temperatures, however, this does not affect Dared much as all of the products are not affected by seasonal or climate change. Singapore is a moderately green country and with their increasing efforts to categorize wastes accordingly, there is still a low adoption rate of these practices among households. As such, condoms are often used during personal time or at homes and are usually not disposed in a green manner. Dared condoms are made of Latex, Polystyrene and Polyurethane, which are not biodegradable materials (The Condom Depot Learning Center, 2014). This means that they must either be burnt or disposed in a landfill. There are no landfill taxes to be paid in Singapore, however, expired/unsold condoms are turned to Dared to ensure that they are not irresponsibly sold or disposed. This also means that Dared has to take on the costs of disposing off unwanted condoms and affects their profit of margin. There are no legal restrictions on the sale and use of condoms in Singapore, however, the legal age to have sex is at the age of 16 years old and 1 8 years old for commercial sex (Congregationalisms. Com, 2011). Therefore it is also a regulation that the condoms are to be accompanied by a user manual. This user manual often comprises of a pictorial diagram So as to cater to all. This ads additional production cost to the product. There are not much legal implications for Dared Singapore to enforce the legal age to have sex but however, they spend more resources on promoting safe sex as part of their social responsibility. 3. Porters Five Forces Analysis 3. 1 . Threat of New Entrants (Low) Due to the costs and access to the distributive channels for the industry, the threat of having new entrants in this trade is seemingly low. Action for Aids (FAA) by World Health Organization (WHO) have been promoting prevention of HIVE and Studs constantly but with little demand for condoms, companies eke Dared have put in all their investments in this particular industry. Dared does not only produce condoms but they have also constantly produced new products to compete with the other condom brands in the market, with the products at a lower and affordable cost. 3. 2. Threat of Substitutes (Moderate) Besides the myriad of condom brands available in Singapore, there are also many alternative contraceptive measures that are popular among Singapore. Condoms are socially viewed to be the less pleasurable method, and are also attached with the stigma of embarrassment when making the purchase (Thinkers. Erg, 2014). Because of this, many youths tend to shun away from using condoms. Less informed youths may use withdrawal as a mean of contraception, although strictly speaking it is counted as unprotected sex. More informed youths may choose natural contraception, abstinence from penetrative sex or even oral contraceptives. There also are surgical contraceptive methods available that are limited due to the permanent effects. However, this suits a particular older market; those who have made decisions or also due to health reasons. The threat of substitutes is moderate due to the propensity for the market to eek out other alternative contraceptive methods. As sex and contraception are intimate and personal decisions, it is often hard to alter the mind-set of the market. Recently, Dared has made several efforts to introduce Fatherlier, thin and skin like condoms to change this (Dared. Com. My, 2015). 3. 3. Bargaining power Of Suppliers (Low) Most of todays condoms are made of latex and other synthetic materials. The primary ingredient for these is rubber. The 5 main suppliers of this commodity are Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Vietnam; all of which are very close to Singapore, reducing the supply chain cost. As these sources re also located within SEAN region, it is not difficult to switch supplier from within the country, or even to source for materials in neighboring countries (Steve B. Scoot, 2015). Hence, the bargaining power of supplier is low. Furthermore, there are recent developments to use synthetic rubber (Polypropylene) as an improvement to latex condoms provides and alternative supply source for Dared. Since it is a synthetic rubber, Polypropylene is easily produced and available throughout the world. The low cost in the supplied materials are vital for Dared to be able to keep the condoms at a low price point to remain competitive. While the selling point of the product does not always directly relate to the quality of the material used, Dared spends a lot on to constantly develop and improve their products on materials. 3. 4. Bargaining Power of Customers (High) In the Singapore market, condoms are easily available at all convenience stores and are often placed near impulse purchase shelf areas. This is because the nature of the product is fast moving and disposable. To further add on, there are way too many other competitor brands with a variety of other different product offerings. A lot of youths also chose to have unprotected sex, due to the many social related issues despite the low cost of condoms in Singapore (Heartfelt. Asinine. Com, 2015). This makes the bargaining power of Dared customers high. Although Dared is a well-positioned brand and more recognized, there is little brand loyalty among customers due to the discussed points. Competitor brands are similarly priced coupled with the affluence of Singapore make the cost of switching to a competitor brand very easy. Any significant changes in the price of Dared condoms can cause a loss of customers unless the price change can be justified by the product offering. 3. 5. Competitive Rivalry (High) Competitive rivalry in the industry is relatively high. This is because of the nature of the product that is low involvement and customers have little loyalty. It is hard to differentiate the products from other brands and it, coupled with the difficulty of marketing to the masses. This high competitiveness has driven the various companies to constantly innovate to differentiate. From condoms of different flavor, texture, and thickness are all efforts by brands to grab the attention of the fickle consumer. Dared has responded to this rivalry by creating bundle packs of pleasure gels and sex sys along with condoms to be branded as an advocate of enjoyable and safe sex. Dared is able to differentiate themselves from other competitors by addressing the perspective that condoms are a pleasure-kill. Ultimately, regardless of all the marketing and bundles that Dared can offer, the core product offering of a condom is fundamentally the safety and assurance that it provides to consumers. The measure of safety and reliability is often intangible and difficult to market out. Hence, Dared strategies to compete against rivals involve providing scientific data to instill assurance and life in Duresss technology. Dared is a company with relative branding in Singapore with quite a range Of products they have displayed on the shelves. Not only their products are of good quality, they are also constantly coming up with new flavors and innovations. However, compared to the prices of their competitors, Dared products are still relatively higher. Therefore, the four strategic recommendations are Cost Leadership, Differentiation Strategy, Diversification Type and Diversification Process. 4. 1 . Concentration Strategy Based on the brand equity that Dared has already built up, it would be advantageous for the company to continue investing and further strengthening their foothold in the industry. With the application of Nations Matrix, there are many directions that Dared can pursue in the industry. Remaining in the industry allows Dared to focus more resources onto developing better products so as to gain leverage over the competitive market in Singapore, as shown in the Porters 5 forces analysis. 4. 2. Concentric Diversification As the social and technological trends develop, it is difficult for a company like Dared to predict and react. Hence, a strategic move is for Dared to acquire ND develop into other forms of contraception industries (both commercial and medical) so as to remain a key player in the industry. Regardless of what forces exert pressure, Dared will be able to have a certain degree of influence over the market and its environment. In order to further influence those with no brand loyalty, innovation can often help to tip customers in choosing Dared. As with the case of Samsung, by introducing many innovative products to the market and reacting to the consumer preferences can actually help to differentiate how different the brand is from the others. For example, Dared came up with an ultra-thin Indo ranged Fatherlier is a good strategy to attract customers. Dared also has a superior research team which further adds on to the branding (Dared. Com. So, 1 915). Although the price range of Dared may seem affordable, however customers think of Dared much more as a premium brand compared to other competitors like Spire and Oakmont. Hence, implementing low costs to beat the competition is ideal for the saturated market in Singapore and at the same time, this also allows Dared to gain more brand loyalty customers. For example, current pricing at $7 may not be attractive to win impulse buyers or hose who have no brand preferences. Hence, if the price range of Dared is justified this may in time gain brand loyalty customers. In the recent years, Dared has managed to find much marketing success online. Much of this is because of the Singapore culture and environment that Dared is able to benefit from. However, the strict advertising policies still pose a problem for the industry as it is difficult to market and stand out. Furthermore, as a low cost product, little emotional attachment and buyer involvement, Dared has done more to innovate and differentiate themselves from competitors.

A Statement Of Death Of A Salesman English Literature Essay

A Statement Of Death Of A Salesman English Literature Essay Thesis Statement: Although Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a classic tragedy in the Aristotelian sense, it is also a biting critique of capitalism and the empty promises of capitalism’s materialistic version of the American Dream. II. Death of a Salesman as a Tragedy A. Catharsis of Emotion B. The Play’s Organic Unity C. Reversal in Fortune 1. Waste of human potential D. Willy’s Hamartia E. Willy as a Noble Personage 1. The nobility of the salesman is derived from the values of capitalism. 2. Ways in which Willy is a noble salesman III. Death of a Salesman as a Critique of Capitalism A. Miller Shows the Ways in Which Capitalist Values have Warped the American Dream 1. Willy’s Fall is ignoble because there is no increase in self-knowledge B. Willy’s Materialism Blinded Him from his Inner Worth IV. Conclusion Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is often heralded as the first modern American tragedy. Utilizing the American Dream as the foundation of American values and morals, Miller builds his play around the hero Willy Loman, a common man, and his family. Through the character of Willy and his family, Miller uses the play to convey the tragic consequences of unerring devotion to that dream. Although Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a classic tragedy in the Aristotelian sense, it is also a biting critique of capitalism and the empty promises of capitalism’s materialistic version of the American Dream. One of the qualities of a tragedy observed by Aristotle was the catharsis of emotion that occurred throughout the drama, and this characteristic is readily observable in Death of a Salesman (Arp 1220). Willy’s relationships with all of the other characters in the play reveal a deep sense of grief, despair, and disillusionment as Willy clings to his version of the American Dream and alternately attacks and defends the people in his life. For instance, Willy contradicts himself constantly, cr iticizing his son Biff in one breath and defending him in the next. In Act One Willy yells at Biff, saying, â€Å"One imagines at first that Willy is focused on ensuring that his son has the best life possible according to his version of the American Dream, but as the play progresses one begins to believe that Willy’s treatment of Biff, Happy and all of the characters is an expression of his need to defend his philosophy of capitalist progress. The feelings of despair, anger, and grief that come arise are all focused around this idea that if Willy’s dream is false, his whole life will have been lived in vain. One literary technique that Miller uses to convey the emotional intensity that engenders the catharsis is repetition of phrasing and words. This device can be found throughout the play, used by any character. For instance, Willy states early on, â€Å"I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England† (Miller 4). In a conversation between Wil ly and Biff, Biff says, â€Å"Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you!† and Willy answers, â€Å"I’m not a dime a dozen! I’m Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!† (Miller 105). Much later in the play he says, â€Å"I’ve got to get some seeds. I’ve got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground† (Miller 96). Biff, too, talks in this repetitious style, saying to his mother, â€Å"I can’t take hold, Mom. I can’t take hold of some kind of life† (Miller 39). In each of these instances, Miller writes in such a way that the characters repeat key phrases or words that are representative of some deeper emotional message and meaning. New England represents the promised land of plenty that Willy can never reach, the phrase â€Å"dime a dozen† represents the reality of being a common man making a meager living, and the seeds Willy does not have in the third quote refer to the necessary preconditions to success that Willy never acquired. The phrase ‘taking hold’ signifies the notion of success as defined by Willy throughout Biff’s upbringing.

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrude von Le Fort Essay

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrude von Le Fort - Essay Example She has a most uncharacteristic nature which is totally unsuited to her social standing, being fearfully timid and frail. She chooses Carmel of Compiegne as her saviour from the fears and terrors of life. At the sanctuary the character of Sister Marie of the Incarnation is introduced as one which embodies confidence yet humility and faith in the church, but feels that Blanche is unsuited to the rigorous lifestyle of the Carmel. The unfolding events of the French Revolution, bring a drastic change in Blanche’s circumstances from glory and comfort to distress, taking away the one sanctuary she trusted most; the Carmel at Compiegne. The author presents her uniqueness to us as she willingly steps out and joins the sisters who are being led to the guillotine, showing a superb transformation from fear and horror to unimaginable courage. This transformation is the epitome of her faith and belief in God bringing her to a point where the darkness of her fears Surname2 is encompassed an d destroyed by the one and only ultimate source of light ; her love of God. Sister Marie who has a strong, wilful and quite an eloquent personality, has all the makings of a heroine, manages to flee from the executioners for greater service to the Lord and mankind. She realizes that bravery and piety do not necessary come from great acts of heroism. Weak and insignificant beings are chosen by God to become vessels of the working of the Divine. Surname3 The novella has a very interesting character in the form of Blanche de La Force. She was the daughter of Marquis de La Force. Her birth in the nobility did not in any manner reflect in her demeanour. She had a frail disposition and lived in a constant state of fear, which according to her father, was the result of the circumstances at the time of her birth. She would surely have been beautiful considering the lineage she belonged to, had not fear overcome all other senses. She always wore a pinched expression on her face, reflecting i nner turmoil. The other interesting character of the story was that of Sister Marie of the Incarnation. She was the opposite of Blanche in appearance. She was stout and strong. Her demeanour reflected her state of confidence and strong belief in God. She showed a stoutness which bordered on overconfidence. Blanche and Sister Marie had the love of God as the most marked similarity in their personalities. Apart from that, Blanche had a timid and nervous personality. She showed signs of an extreme insecurity complex from a very early age, when she would reconfirm from her nanny that the stairs would not slip from under her feet, or when she would tremble at the sight of a new servant as if she had seen a ghost. As she grew up and sensed the ridicule aimed at her from all quarters, these insecurities only added to her agonizing fear of all things known as well as unknown. Such a disposition had a profound effect on the girl’s personality putting her apart from others of her age g roup. The reason might have been the demise of her mother at childbirth, who might have in other circumstances soothed and calmed her by giving her a confidence which the Jacobean father could not and did not. Sister Marie ,on the other hand showed a self-assurance which seemed to stem from her strong Surname4 faith. She had absolute belief in her own

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic - Assignment Example According to Birkett (2005), response parameters measures in an organism involve aspects like blood pressure, concentration of hormones produced by the drug or severity of side effects. The first point when the curve diverts from the zero scale represents the threshold drug dosage. At this concentration, the drug starts exhibiting desired response from the organism. As concentration increases, the graph gets steeper. This means the levels of response increases together with severity of a drug’s side effects. At extremely high dosage, the curve grows almost flat again meaning adverse biological response and even fatality. Technically, drug response time may delay, causing a wrong response to be measured and plotted in a exposure-response graph. Delay in response is caused by the effect of drug distribution and re-distribution around the body system. When data from such unconventional measurements are plotted, they give either clockwise or anticlockwise hysteresis loops. In pharmacokinetics, hysteresis loops signifies presence of delayed response with changing drug concentration. At times, the hysteresis loop can assume a clockwise direction. An anticlockwise hysteresis loop usually results from the differing responses associated with distribution and re-distribution of the drug’s active components to site of action. On the contrary, a clockwise hysteresis loop occurs when there is rapid tolerance whereby after the first administration, tolerance develops which makes similar drug concentrations to cause different responses. After tolerance is developed, a succeeding dosage of similar concentration causes a greater effect than the first level of concentration. As acknowledged earlier, hysteresis in food or drug compounds results from differing responses associated with similar level of substance concentration. Hysteresis occurs when there is either tolerance of the substance or as an effect of substance distribution properties. Numerous

News paper summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

News paper summary - Essay Example Halting the business discouraged government reform efforts but of late the Bank of China has been offering Yuan remittance services to limited loaded clients who have been researched on to determine their source of monies. Citigroup’s high earnings jump-started the stock market raising the market indexes. In spite of improved U.S. economic data, optimistic investors kept a view of other foreign stock markets and oversaw improved results in the second-quarter earnings. Big banks recorded an increase in their share earnings despite being hit by litigation costs, declined trade, and a frail mortgage market. Citigroup recorded the highest rise in shares up from $.42 to $48.42 followed by J.P. Morgan Chase 3% and Goldman Sachs 1.3%. Investors thus gained confidence from the report, and their reaction helped the Dollar gain against the Yen and ease on the euro. Hardly anyone thought capital would return to Australia after it flowed out but with the completion of the mining business; the Australian dollar has since been boosted, and government bonds have lowered. Investors will have a bumpy return in the market due to low-interest rates and low vitality. The dollar has highly been driven by the search for yield raising it from 8% to 15%. Japanese firms are the leading investors in the high-yielding Australian market whereby they sell their low-yielding Japanese investments in search for a high-yielding currency. Sluggish domestic economy brought about the drop in Australian bond yields and statements from the central bank that low-interest rates would carry on for long to back growth caused persistent low-interest rates. Despite growth from the financial crisis in 2008, the Australian government bond market is still small though demand for the bonds remains high. The article centers on incoming AIG chief executive, Peter Hancock’s salary, a former banker who succeeded Robert

Wheelchair Basketball Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Wheelchair Basketball - Essay Example The fact that these soldiers were recently paralyzed led to a lot of frustration and no outlet for them to channel their energy. As they began rehabilitation and searched for a physical outlet to relieve stress they decided what better than sports? (Schweiker: 1954) The soldiers began with sports such as ping-pong, catch and pool, then it went to bowling, volleyball and swimming, then to the more energy requiring sports such as water polo, touch-football, softball and basketball. Although several other sports have now been added, it was basketball that overshadowed the others in a few years time in overall popularity. In 1946, other historical documents reveal that the California Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America played the very first match of organized wheelchair basketball, two weeks prior to the New England Chapter. According to these facts, it thereafter spread across the nation to the VA hospitals in Chicago, Memphis, Boston, Richmond and New York. Not before long, the sp ort had spread across the border to the UK and to Canada as well. (Schweiker: 1954) By time 1948 rolled around, there were six teams in total in the United States. All were members of the PVA and all functioned from Veteran hospitals. This was the same year that the Birmingham, California team obtained a sponsored tour to travel by plane, and play other paraplegic teams across the nation. The immediate result of the first sponsored tour of the Birmingham Flying Wheels was the development of the first wheelchair basketball team outside of VA hospitals in Kansas City. The first ‘civilian’ hometown team was known as the Kansas City Wheelchair Bulldozers (later known as the City Rolling Pioneers). (Schweiker: 1954) In 1955, the Touring U.S. Pan Am Jets team was the first to bring wheelchair basketball to England, when they participated in the first international competition at Stoke Mandeville. (GBWA.org: 2011) Now, there are several teams throughout the United Stated, UK, and rest of the world. The first World Championships for Men, the G old Cup, took place in Bruges, Belgium in 1975, but has long since continued on thereafter. In the UK, The Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association governs wheelchair basketball. The GBWA is a registered charity and forms the representative body of wheelchair basketball in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Teams in the GBWA league consist of the RGK TCAT Rhinos, Sheffield Steelers, Teamside Owls, GLL Capital City Raiders, Essex Outlaws, Knights and Aces. However there are several more teams at different divisional levels. GBWA.org: 2011) Aside from the GBWA there is also the Welsh Wheelchair Basketball Association WWBA. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) governs the sport itself. The height of the basket and the size of the court are the same as in the running version of the game (10 feet from the floor and 28mx 15m, respectively). The duration of for all international games is 40 minutes. In terms of eligibility, athletes using wheelchairs play wheelchair basketball, and whose disabilities might include lower limb amputations, paraplegia, polio and cerebral palsy. In general terms, any individual who cannot participate in stand-up running basketball as the direct result of an injury, disabling condition, etc. is eligible to play wheelchair basketball. It is important to note that not all participants in wheelchair basketball use a wheelchair for daily living. (Paralympics.org: 2011). Other important classifications to notice are the points rating system. Athletes in wheelchairs are classified by their physical

Cause-Effect Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cause-Effect Analysis - Essay Example Mobile devices possess vulnerabilities that make them attractive and easy targets for exploitation. The first major cyber threat to mobile devices stems from the size and portability nature of these devices. Since these devices contain sensitive and large volumes of information, theft or loss of a mobile device can be a major problem to the user. These devices are packed with volumes of information related to the owner of the device. Unfortunately, people accidentally leave these devices in cars, airplanes and hotels (National Computer Board, 2011). In addition, it is easy for such devices to be stolen from one’s bag or pocket, especially in crowded places. If the device ends up the hands of criminals, critical information such as bank account numbers, emails, passwords and PINs can be accessed (US-CERT, 2010). With such information, the criminal is in a position to carry out various activities without the knowledge of the user. For example, the criminal may transfer a given sum of money from the victim’s account within a short period of time. Due to the portable nat ure and size of these devices, they can easily be misplaced or stolen. The loss of the device is not the only threat to these devices. Mobile devices are vulnerable to malware in similar ways to desktop computers. There are specific malware that have been targeted to these devices. These are usually transmitted when one downloads applications that contain malware. In many cases, mobile malware is contained in most of the applications available for free on the internet, and these usually masquerade as security software of games. For instance, in a paper by the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) (2010), the malware known as Ikee.B is discussed. These malware is an iPhone worm that is able to search and forward financial information that is stored on iPhones. Therefore, as the example shows, malware can also be used to

The Thomas Jefferson Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Thomas Jefferson Presidency - Essay Example The first way is to assess the presidency of Thomas Jefferson based on how writers during or close to the period viewed the presidency. The other way is to assess it on the basis of two key indicators: 1) economic growth and economic management data during the period; and 2) political institutional data associated with his rule. Of the former, a good indicator can be provided by the inaugural statements of President Thomas Jefferson himself. ... land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry, engaged in commerce with nations.† 7 Perhaps, the best indicator of what eight years of the presidency of Thomas Jefferson have brought to America is the presidential inaugural address of James Madison in 1809. Speaking on 4 March 1809, after 8 years of the rule of Thomas Jefferson, Madison said that the US national prosperity was â€Å"at a height not before attained.†8 Madison also pointed out that under the Jefferson administration â€Å"†¦the fruits of a just policy were enjoyed in an unrivalled growth† of United States faculties and resources.9 According to Madison, the proof of the unrivalled growth can be seen â€Å"in the improvements of agriculture, in the successful enterprises of commerce, in the progress of manufacturers and useful arts, in the increase of the public revenue and the use made of it in reducing the public debt, and in the valuable works and establishment eve rywhere multiplying over the face of our land.† 10 It is clear, therefore, that we have a good and a reliable basis to say that President Thomas Jefferson has been successful as a president of the US and his achievements can be considered as extraordinary during his time as he was credited to have expanded the United States territory through the Louisiana Purchase. The success of Thomas Jefferson is also supported by solid data. One piece of such data is growth in gross domestic product in real 2005 terms. This is documented by MeasuringWorth, a data collection institution in the internet. Figure 1 from the website is illustrative. Figure 1. US GDP in real terms, 1795 to 1820 Source: http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/usgdp/graph.php It is clear from the MeasuringWorth data that the US real GDP data was on the

Cause-Effect Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cause-Effect Analysis - Essay Example Mobile devices possess vulnerabilities that make them attractive and easy targets for exploitation. The first major cyber threat to mobile devices stems from the size and portability nature of these devices. Since these devices contain sensitive and large volumes of information, theft or loss of a mobile device can be a major problem to the user. These devices are packed with volumes of information related to the owner of the device. Unfortunately, people accidentally leave these devices in cars, airplanes and hotels (National Computer Board, 2011). In addition, it is easy for such devices to be stolen from one’s bag or pocket, especially in crowded places. If the device ends up the hands of criminals, critical information such as bank account numbers, emails, passwords and PINs can be accessed (US-CERT, 2010). With such information, the criminal is in a position to carry out various activities without the knowledge of the user. For example, the criminal may transfer a given sum of money from the victim’s account within a short period of time. Due to the portable nat ure and size of these devices, they can easily be misplaced or stolen. The loss of the device is not the only threat to these devices. Mobile devices are vulnerable to malware in similar ways to desktop computers. There are specific malware that have been targeted to these devices. These are usually transmitted when one downloads applications that contain malware. In many cases, mobile malware is contained in most of the applications available for free on the internet, and these usually masquerade as security software of games. For instance, in a paper by the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) (2010), the malware known as Ikee.B is discussed. These malware is an iPhone worm that is able to search and forward financial information that is stored on iPhones. Therefore, as the example shows, malware can also be used to

On Site Wellness Programs in Corporate America Essay Example for Free

On Site Wellness Programs in Corporate America Essay On site wellness programs are now focal points in major corporate organizations in America, as company managers attempt to improve the health and well being of their employees, in order to control health care costs. Some health conditions can be diagnosed early by building health awareness among employees, and carrying out screening campaigns. Early diagnosis also ensures that health problems are treated on time, to decrease the risk of complications arising, thus reducing overall health care costs, and improving or maintaining employees’ optimal health status, and work performance. In the early 1990s, managed care plans were implemented, which helped in the control of increasing health care costs. Organizations continued throughout the 1990s to upgrade their health care plans, in an effort to further reduce health care costs. As we entered the beginning of the millennium, it became increasingly difficult for these modifications to contain the continuous rise in health care costs. It became clear that it was necessary have additional measures in place. Wellness in a corporate environment begins with a conscious decision to shape employees’ habits to fit into a healthy lifestyle. This conscious effort is a much better alternative in the long run, than dependency on drugs and doctors. This encompasses employee education, fitness, adequate and proper nutrition, stress reduction and mental health. Most times, employees in a corporate organization are plagued by Poor exercise habits, High stress levels, High cholesterol, Former or current use of tobacco products, and extreme weight (either too high or too low body weight). Employees whose lifestyles include health risks like smoking, drinking, and who get little or no exercise become overweight at a rate that is 75% higher than those of employees who participate in wellness programs and activities. High-risk employees at this Grand Rapids, Michigan-furniture manufacturing company who improved their health habits through the company’s health promotion program and became low risk cut their average medical claims in half thus lowering their medical insurance costs by an average of $618 per year. If all high-risk employees (20% of the total employee population) in one location changed their lifestyles to become low risk, the projected savings could total $20 million over three years. The Steelcase study that correlated health risk and lifestyle assessments with medical claim costs showed that employees who were high risk in 1985 but had shifted to a low risk profile by 1998 had much lower medical claims from 1988-1990. (2004). In 1985, Average annual claims increased from $1,155 to about $1,677. Medical claims also remained at approximately the same level for low risk employees, both in 1985 and 1988. But those who went from low risk to high risk in the same period saw an increase in their medical claims from about $655 to $1,513. Ten years into a 20-year study of Steelcase Inc, a conducted by the University of Michigan, the following results were evident high-risk employees who dropped to low-risk through participation in health and fitness programs at work decreased their average annual medical claims by 54 percent. In contrast, high-risk individuals who remained high-risk increased their costs by 26 percent. And low-risk employees who became high-risk increased their annual claims by 130 percent. To establish and continue with a corporate lifestyle that is consistent with wellness principles of wellness and well-being on a daily basis, is not an easy task . Most people who do not indulge in exercise and wellness activities say that they simply don’t have time to exercise. Indeed, various work-life surveys have shown that about 84. percent of employees in corporate organizations are in a constant struggle to maintain their fitness levels and their health. In 1999, a study on corporate wellness was carried out by the Lewin Group. This study confirmed that obesity among corporate employees greatly increases the risk of developing chronic heath conditions, and it was also discovered that about 22% of the working adult population have obesity related problems. Obesity and excess weight are directly responsible for 31% of health care costs in corporate America. The fifteen ailments involved in the study included breast cancer, arthritis, endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer, Type II diabetes, end stage renal disease, gall bladder disease, heart disease, hypertension, renal cell cancer, sleep apnea, liver disease, low back pain, urinary incontinence, and stroke. People with a BMI (Body Mass Index) that is above 35 are 6. 61 times more at risk of having Type II diabetes than people with a BMI that is less than 25. employees with high BMI are also 3. 77 percent more at risk of being hypertensive. Lifestyle related conditions are disorders that can be positively or negatively impacted by lifestyle behaviors such as eating habits, wellness checkups, exercise, safety habits, and alcohol and substance abuse. Other behaviors such as adherence to physician prescribed therapies and medication have a direct impact on outcomes and utilization. By practicing healthy lifestyle behaviors and adhering to prescribed plans of care, individuals can improve their health and decrease risk of illness, accident or injury. By doing so, related health care costs can be significantly reduced. Lifestyle Related Conditions also account for over 50% of health care related costs (CDC). Research indicates that early detection and/or practice of health promoting behavior can significantly decrease the severity of Lifestyle Related Conditions (hypertensives can be removed from medication, etc. ) or even prevent their occurrence (cancer, heart disease, etc. ). There are effective programs available that use the latest behavior change techniques that are designed to reduce risks and associated costs for illness, prevent illness, and help individuals develop patterns of behavior that enhance their health. It has also been found that one in every four Americans suffer from have high blood pressure but 35% are undiagnosed (AHA). Undiagnosed individuals sometimes end up in emergency situations or when diagnosed, their illness is at a more costly, critical stage like bone fracture, stroke, heart attack, late stage cancer, blindness, and so on. 50% of men and 33% of women are going to get cancer in their lifetime; and 2/3rds of the time it could have been prevented. Research indicates that approximately 13% of women and 9% of men fail to get the care they need.

The History Of Goodmorning Vietnam Film Studies Essay

The History Of Goodmorning Vietnam Film Studies Essay Goooooooodmorning Vietnam! Ive seen the movie Good Morning Vietnam for my movie review. Good Morning Vietnam is a 1987 American comedy-drama. The film is written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. The film is set in Saigon during the Vietnam War. The movie is about a disc jockey, Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams), who works at Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). This radio station appears hugely popular by the soldiers serving in South Vietnam. Adrians outrageous parodies and his rock music makes him popular, but hated by his immediate superiors. I think its a very nice film to see. and Ive seen the movie with a lot of pleasure. The movie Goodmorning Vietnam is filmed during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War took place during the Cold War. The movie is set during the Vietnam war. We speak of the Cold War in the period from the second half of the 20th century. The Vietnam War occurred in the countries Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, from November 1 1955 to the fall of Saigon that took place on April 30 1975. This war was the First Indochina war. It was the North Vietnam, who were supported by the communist against the government South Vietnam, who were supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The Viet Cong were the army of the Communist, who were placed in South Vietnam. The Vietnam war was largely a guerrilla war. Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. He is born at July 21, 1951. With his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy and later with his stand-up comedy work, he became a famous actor. Williams has performed in al lot of films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film Good Will Hunting. Good morning Vietnam was a very important film in his career, because the most of his outrageous parodies were improvised by himself on the spot. In 1965, Airman Cronauer arrives in Saigon, during the Vietnam War, to work as a DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Service. Cronauers disrespectful behaviour contrasts with a lot off staff members and by his behaviour and other means of presentation, has he soon a conflict with his superiors. These superiors are Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk and Sergeant Major Dickerson. Hauk complies with rigorous Army guidelines in the field of sense of humor and music programming, while Dickerson is irritated by the behavior of Cronauers, but there are people who like Cronauers behaviour like Brigadier General Taylor and all the other DJs like the new man and his kind of humour more and more. Cronauers show consist of unpredictable humour mixed with news updates and rock and roll music that are hated by his superiors. Cronauer meets Trinh a Vietnamese girl. He followed her to her English class. The teacher let him take over the class. When the class ended, Cronauer tries to make contact with Trinh, but her older brother Taun stopped him, who tells Cronauer to leave her alone. Instead, Cronauer befriends with Taun and takes him to Jimmy Wahs, the local bar. Two older soldiers started a fight with the group that escalates into a big scenario. Dickerson states Cronauer responsible for this accident. Tuan is impressed of the DJs behaviour, so he arranged a date with Trinh, with the rest of the family, who chaperoning them. The news in Saigon is censored, but Cronauer locked the door of the studio and broadcasted it anyway. Dickerson ended the radio signal. Hauk replaces Cronauer, but his bad attempts at comedy and plays polka music rather than rock and roll, induce to a lot of letters and phone calls from soldiers who demand that Hauk must be removed and that Cronauer must be put back on the air. Cronauer can come back on the air, but he refuses to go back to work. During a traffic jam, Garlick and Cronauer are by a convey of soldiers. The soldiers persuade him to do an improvisation for them and he gives them a good laugh before they go off to fight in the field. It reminds Cronauer why his job is so important during the war and he is going back to work. Dickerson made up a conspiracy to blow up Cronauer by sending him to interview soldiers in the field, while Dickerson knows that the only road into this specific area is controlled by the Viet Cong. Cronauer doesnt show up by his English class and Tuan steals a car and drives off after them. Tuan finds them, but the car breaks down and they must stopped an Army helicopter that take them back to Saigon. At the station Dickerson tells Cronauer that his friend Tuan actually Phan Duc To is, a Viet Cong operative responsible for several bombing. He will be killed by the Army when they catch him. US Armed Forces members being friend with a Vietcong could be a serious problem for the United States Army. When Cronauer the next day on his way is to the airport, he sets up a softball game with the students from his English class. Garlick, who takes Cronauers place as DJ, plays a tape on the air the next morning after Cronauer is gone. The tape begins with a yell of Gooooooooooooodbye, Vietnam!. What spoken to me about the movie is that its based on a true story. There actually has been an Adrian Cronauer that broadcasted a radio show during the Vietnam War. His popularity and sense of humour werent exaggerated in the movie. I can imagine how important this show must have been for the American soldiers. Cronauer was their form of relaxation and amusement in the Vietnam War. I was also very impressed about the way Adrian (Robbin Williams) broadcasted his radio show. His sense of humour and quick reactions to the situation were amazing! This makes me appreciate Robbin Williams as an actor because of the fact that most of the radio scenes of the movie were totally improvised on the spot. I think the movie was also good because there was a deeper meaning in their description, in my opinion. This deeper meaning was in my opinion that Adrian found out that he was very important for the soldiers. I think that the radio during the Vietnam war very important was for the soldiers in t hat time, because it was the only thing were a bit of happiness took places.

Descartes and the Existence of Physical Objects Essay -- Descartes

Descartes and the Existence of Physical Objects In his sixth meditation Descartes must return to the doubts he raised in his first one. Here he deals mainly with the mind-body problem and tries to prove whether material things exist with certainty. In this meditation he develops his dualist argument; by making a distinction between mind and body; although he also reveals that the are significantly related. He considers existence of the external world and whether its perception holds any knowledge of this world. He also questions whether this knowledge is real or is merely an illusion. He makes it quite clear how misleading and deceiving some external sensations can be. In the beginning of this last meditation he attempts to prove the existence of external object. One way of achieving this is by recognizing the distinct ideas he had of external objects are thoroughly imprinted in his memory, he realizes that the concept of these ideas could not have originated from his mind. Therefore holding the clear knowledge of these objects was a projection of other objects. He realized he...

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - The Power of Money Essay

In the preface to Major Barbara, the playwright George Bernard Shaw observes that "money is the most important thing in the world--it represents health, strength, honor, generosity and beauty," but, the poet continues, "it also destroys people as certainly as it fortifies and dignifies others" (Shaw 28). Shaw recognized that many people look toward money, the ultimate representation of materialism, in search of the power that enables them to live. But, money can play many parts in the drama of life. It can represent or give the illusion of wealth, prestige, nobility, and power. Those that seek to harness its powers must also strive to conquer its ability to destroy and corrupt. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the repeated image of money, no matter in what form or through whom it is portrayed, is used to such an extent that it becomes central to the development of the story. The abstract idea of money can be expressed in many ways. Perhaps the most straightforward way is through the acquisition of grand possessions. In the first chapter of the novel, Nick, the first-...

Market environment Essay

Market environment is a marketing term, which refers to the factors and forces that affect a firm’s ability to build and maintain successful relationships with the customers. In marketing terms there are two main environmental factors (i.e Macro environmental and Micro environmental) Macro environmental is national larger societal forces that affect the micro environment. Micro environment is mostly internal environment, which include small forces within the company that affects its ability to serve its customers. The internal (micro environment ) affects the organization directly. It refers to the environment that is most closely linked to the firm. Micro environmental factors of Coca Cola :Following are the main micro environment factors which are affecting Coca Cola: 1. The company itself (including departments). The first is the organization’s internal environment–its several departments and management levels–as it affects marketing management’s decision making. Chairman of Board & Chief Executive Officer Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer, Marketing Department, Finance Deptt, Packing Deptt, Sales Deptt Research & Develoment Deptt, Administrative Dept. These all top management and departments are involved in operations and decisions of the company. 2. Suppliers Suppliers always play an important role in a company’s operations. Suppliers provide resources and raw material which the company requires to produce the goods and Coke company suppliers in Pakistan vary with respect to the raw material they provide. There are different suppliers of coke in different areas of the country. 3. Marketing channel firms (intermediaries). marketing intermediaries (middlemen, physical distribution firms, marketing-service agencies, financial intermediaries). Marketing Intermediaries help the company to promote, sell and distribute its goods to the end users. 4. Customer. It consists of the five types of markets in which the organization can sell: the consumer, producer reseller, government, and international markets. Recent survey shows that coke is the only product in the world with which more than 85% of the population is well aware of. Value of customers for coke can be understood by these factors that coke spends lot of efforts on customer research. From kids to youngsters, from youngsters to elders and from elders to older, coke has always captured high customer attention from decades. We can divide coke customers in different categories. †¢Consumer Market: †¢Reseller Market †¢International Market 5. Competitors. consists of the competitors facing the organization. As we know there are two soft drink giants, Coca Cola and Pepsi .Competition between the two companies’ remains very close. Both the companies continue to make efforts to take lead in terms of price, packing, promotion. These companies try theier best to give more customer value and satisfaction than their competitors. Micro-environment(continued) Competitive rivalry There are currently three(3) major players in the cold drink industry. Coca cola Pepsi cola Cadbury Schweppes Coca cola has got dominant position. There are currently growing markets and niches that can be exploited so competition is not so keen. 6. Publics. The company’s marketing environment also includes various publics such as , Financial publics , Media publics , Government publics , Citizen action publics , Local publics , Internal publics and the general public. Amongst all the publics the most important is the general public , because they are the ones that but the product so the company needs to be concerned about their attitudes toward its products. Every country has different type of public which affect any business in the country most effective public for Coca-Cola is media public.

Why D1 Athletes Should Be Paid

Trying to Get That Paper According to the NCAA, student-athletes are students first and athletes second. However over the last decade there have been many questions raised about what the actual definition of what a student-athlete really is. This is because of the millions of dollars generated by institutions that broadcasting and promoting these â€Å"student-first† athletes. The main question that arises from this is should the NCAA and or institutions/ conferences be paying athletes for their services?By looking at the billions of dollars a year that the business of college sports generates just in television and radio time alone, indicates that student athletes should be paid. If these schools and the NCAA are making billions of dollars from college sports, then why shouldn’t the athletes get paid for doing what they do? After doing some research over a year ago and taking another look at this issue now, the question about paying college athletes has stayed the same .The debate whether to pay college athletes or not arose in the 1980s after Southern Methodist University was caught paying football players for their services. Upon discovery of these infractions, SMU was administered the â€Å"death penalty†, including loss of scholarships and no participation in bowl games for five years. The controversy surrounding paying college athletes seems to have risen from this unfortunate circumstance and has been cultivated into a huge social topic today.Following the SMU scandal in the late 1980s the NCAA rewrote their guidebook that describes an athlete’s role in an academic institution. According to the NCAA, â€Å"Student-athletes are students first and athletes second. They are not university employees who are paid for their labor† (NCAA. com). Looking at the arguments made by the NCAA, they make a valid point in showing how athletes are â€Å"compensated† for their participation in sports. According to the NCAA, â€Å" Many [athletes] receive athletics grants-in-aid that can be worth more than $100,000 (NCAA. om). There are many people who would agree with the NCAA in saying that the scholarships given to the student-athletes is enough â€Å"compensation† for the student-athletes to cover their costs of attending school. There are many other topics that all have a role in deciding whether or not to pay college athletes; mainly television, memorabilia sales, and individual endorsement deals. The question itself hasn’t changed over the years; it’s the financial situation that college institutions and athletes now are exposed to that has changed.All seemed fine and well until, starting in the early 2000’s, large Division 1 sports conferences signed deals with large television networks, generating millions of dollars in revenue for the institutions who were a part of the conference. So the question arose again, should we pay college athletes? According to research done by t he National College Players Association, â€Å"If allowed access to the fair market like the pros, the average FBS football and basketball player would be worth approximately $121,048 and $265,027 respectively (not counting individual commercial endorsement deals)† (NCPANOW. rg). People today are still opposed to paying college athletes, but the case for actually paying them grows stronger year after year. According to ESPN columnist Michael Wilbon, college football and basketball generate over 11 billion dollars in television revenue. He argues, â€Å"why not take 1. 3 billion dollars off the top and, invest it, and make it available for stipends to college athletes? † (Wilbon). Another person in favor of paying college athletes is former Penn State basketball player Stephen Danley.In his interview with National Review reporter, Duncan Currie, he says that, â€Å"in certain programs players are even allowed to take enough credits to graduate in four years. If they [t he colleges] want â€Å"student-athletes† then they should at least give them the financial means to return for an extra year to complete a degree after their playing days are over† (Currie). These two arguments not only show that there is in fact funding to pay these athletes, but that scholarships don’t cover the actual amount of time it takes for a student to finish his/ her degree.So why not help them out financially and allow them to finish? Looking at the large amounts of money going to conferences and universities due to the profits of college sports, it’s easy to see where the debate about paying college athletes comes from. This isn’t a discussion of moral issue or ethical debate; rather, this is simply an issue of looking at the numbers generated and whether or not to pay these athletes for benefiting their schools in popularity and financial gains. So after looking at everything that encompasses college sports, the debate continues; shoul d college athletes be paid?

Herzbergs Two Factor Theory Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Motivation is an important driver in an organisation and is crucial to the management of intellectual capital. Motivation underlies what employees choose to do (quality and/or quantity), how much effort they will put into accomplishing the task, and how long they will work in order to accomplish it. Employees who are motivated will work more effectively and efficiently and shape an organisation’s behavior. A motivated workforce will have a strong effect on an organisation’s bottom line. Motivation is strongly tied to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is how individuals feel about the tasks they are supposed to accomplish and may also be influenced by the physical and social nature of the workplace. The more satisfied employees are with their jobs, the more motivated they will be to do their jobs well. There are several important studies relating to motivation. These include Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Frederick Herzberg’s study of hygiene and motivational factors, Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, and J. Stacy Adams’ Equity Theory. It is worth noting that the paper will give some highlights of the above mentioned theories so as to give a bigger picture on the subject of motivation, further the paper will give brief definitions of some key concepts such as motivation and job satisfaction. It is also important to state here that the paper will restrict itself to the two factor theory by giving a brief explanation on the theory and then zero in on each of the hygiene factors in detail after which the position of the author on the subject under discussion will be outlined and the conclusion shall follow with the bibliography. 1.1 DEFINITIONS OF KEY CONCEPTS As posited by Vroom (1964), the word â€Å"motivation† is derived from the Latin word movere, which means â€Å"to move†. Motivation is an internal force, dependent on the needs that drive a person to achieve. Schulze and Steyn (2003) affirmed that in order to understand people’s behaviour at work, managers or supervisors must be aware of the concept of needs or motives, which will help â€Å"move† their employees to act. Locke (1976) defines job satisfaction as the positive emotional state stemming from valuation of a person’s experience associated with the job. Job satisfaction is associated with salary, occupational stress, empowerment, company and administrative policy, achievement, personal growth, relationship with others, and the overall working condition. It has been argued that an increase in job satisfaction increases worker productivity (Wright & Cropanzano, 1997; Shikdar & Das, 2003). Therefore, job satisfaction has a major effect on people’s lives. Locke (1976) indicated that job satisfaction most commonly affects a person’s physical health, mental health and social life whereby people who are satisfied with their jobs will tend to be happy with their lives. Breed and Breda (1997) indicated that job satisfaction may affect absenteeism, complaints, and labour unrest. In view of this, satisfied workers will be much more productive and be retained within the organisation for a longer period, in contrast to displeased workers who will be less useful and who will have a greater tendency to quit their jobs (Crossman, 2003). More importantly, satisfied workers not only perform better but also provide better service to customers, which could result in improving customer satisfaction. It is assumed that motivation and satisfaction are very similar and that, in many cases, they are considered to be synonymous terms. According to Hersey and Blanchard (1988), motivation and satisfaction are quite different from each other in terms of reward and performance. The authors point out that motivation is influenced by forward-looking perceptions about the relationship between performance and rewards, whereas satisfaction involves how people feel about the rewards they have received. In other words, motivation is a consequence of expectations of the future while satisfaction is a consequence of past events (Carr, 2005). Researchers have given considerable attention to employee job satisfaction because it is closely related to the quality of the employee’s life. Jenner (1994) insisted that increasing the employee’s job satisfaction or morale is an important technique for eliminating absenteeism, reducing turnover, and eventually raising productivity. Barber (1986) found that job dissatisfaction was associated with greater absenteeism and higher turnover rates. With high job satisfaction, the employee tended to show stronger organizational commitment and higher intention to remain with the company. 1.2 UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATION USING THEORIES Theories of motivation can help us understand why people behave as they do. No theory has a Universal approach to explain human behaviour, because people are too far complex (Donnelly, et al.1996). Two important groups of theories are content theories and process theories. Content theories are concerned with identifying what factors in an individual or the work environment energise and sustain behaviour. Process theories try to describe how behaviour is energised, directed, and sustained. Process theories first attempt to define variables in choice, i.e., Should I work hard? (Choice); how hard do I Work? (Persistence). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs posits that behavior at a particular moment is determined by the strongest need. He placed them in a framework referred to as the hierarchy of needs because of the different levels of importance. Those needs that come first must be satisfied before a higher-level need comes into play. Equity Theory posits that perceived inequity is a Motivational force. Workers evaluate equity using a ratio of inputs to outputs. Inputs include qualification, experience, effort, and ability. Outcomes include benefits. Inequities occur when workers feel that outcomes are not compatible with inputs. Expectancy Theory asserts that employees are motivated to make choices among behaviors. If employees believe that effort will be rewarded, there will be motivated effort, that is, they will decide to work harder to receive a reward. Expectancy is the belief that certain behaviours will or will not be successful. Preferences are the values a person attaches to different outc omes. 2.0 THE TWO FACTOR THEORY Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation (1959) explains and studies the factors that play a key role in making the employees of an organisation satisfied or dissatisfied with their work and job profiles. The two factors are- hygiene factors and motivators. If hygiene factors are absent, they can lead to creation of dissatisfaction among workers, but when they are adequate, they alone cannot lead to satisfying workers in the work environment. On the other hand, motivators are the factors that are related to the nature of the job and play a significant role in providing satisfaction among workers and leading to higher level of motivation (Bassett-Jones and Lloyd 2005). Employees all over the world not only want job security but also want quality employment. They desire to be given ample opportunities for advancement, good working conditions, and fair treatment by managers, autonomy on their work, challenging jobs and responsibility (Miner 2003). These factors are included in the motivator factors given by Herzberg and still hold true today in contemporary business environment. Today’s organisations focus on teamwork and cohesion among the group so as to create an inductive environment for work where employees are motivated to work and contribute to attaining the goals of the organisation. Cock and Davis (1990) demonstrate that work quality is one of the major factors that determine satisfaction among employees in terms of motivation. For instance, if an employee has adequate money, but he has no meaningful work, then the employee starts feeling lack of self value, which is again in coherence with the Herzberg’s theory that when money stops being the driving force of motivation for employees, psychological rewards take its place and become more crucial as well as significant in terms of acting as a driving force of motivation. So, money stops acting as the motivator for employees beyond a certain threshold (Critical Analysis of Adam J. Stacy’s and Frederick Herzberg’s Theories on Job Satisfaction of Employees 2012). In today’s business scenario, sources of satisfaction at work and the ways in which jobs can be designed so as to make the work itself more challenging and enriching can motivate employees and help organisations attain their aims and goals as mentioned in Herzberg motivation theory (Locke and Latham 2004). Herzberg stated that the only way to motivate employees in the organisation is to give them challenging work so that they can feel a sense of responsibility as well as belonging towards the organisation. Today, employees are involved in decision making due to which they feel more responsibility as well as find themselves at a higher level of motivation. Intrinsic drivers dominate over external stimuli in terms of motivation and lead to enhanced contributions towards organisational success. According to Herzberg’s book on Work and the Nature of Man 1973, he says man has two sets of needs: his need as an animal to avoid pain, and his need as a human to grow psychologically. The biblical personages of Adam and Abraham are used to illustrate and develop the duality of man’s nature. Briefly, as Adam, man is pictured as an animal whose overriding goal is to avoid the pain inevitable in relating to his environment. On the other hand, looking at man in his totality, in addition to his avoidance nature there exists a human being who is impelled to determine, to discover, to achieve, to actualise, to progress and to add to his existence. These needs summarise the Abraham concept of man Work and the Nature of Man 1973. A basic understanding of the concept is that man exists as a duality and has two sets of needs present at the same time. Another interesting and important aspect of man’s dual nature follows in that the two sets of needs of man are essentially independent of one another. That is, each of the two concepts of man consists of a system of needs that operate in opposing directions. Furthermore, seething the needs of one facet of man (Adam) has little or no effect upon the needs of the other facet in man (Abraham). It should be noted that since both sets of needs exist in man at the same time both must be served and one will not substitute for the other. To illustrate, one cannot find happiness simply by avoiding physical pain, or avoid pain by finding happiness. From this illustration it becomes apparent that happiness and pain are not polar opposites of the same feeling originating from the same source; that is, happiness and pain are not on the same continuum. This is the principal upon which the Herzberg two-factor theory is based. Job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction represent two separate and distinct continua just as observed earlier with respect to happiness and pain. Herzberg offers another analogy-as follows-to help explain this way of thinking about job attitudes; let us characterise job satisfaction as vision and job dissatisfaction as hearing. It is readily seen that we are talking about two separate dimensions, since the stimulus for vision is light, and increasing and decreasing light will have no effect on man’s hearing. The stimulus for audition is sound, and, in a similar fashion, increasing or decreasing loudness will have no effect on vision. Herzberg analysed and classified the job content factors or satisfying experiences as follows –Achievement -Recognition -Work itself -Responsibility-Advancement –Growth. According to Herzberg, these factors stand out as strong determiners of job satisfaction. Job responsibility and advancement being the most important relative to a lasting attitude charge. Achievement, more so than recognition, was frequently associated with such long-range factors as responsibility and the nature of the work itself. Recognition which produces good feelings about the job does not essentially have to come from superiors; it may come from subordinates, peers, or customers. It is interesting to note that recognition based on achievement provides a more intense satisfaction than does recognition used solely as a human relations tool divorced from any accomplishment, The latter does not serve as a satisfier, Rush, H. M. F. (1969- 92-93; 9:370) Compared with the satisfiers or motivators are the factors which cause low job attitude situations or job dissatisfaction. Such factors were found from the analysis of the study results to be associated primarily with an individual’s relationship to the context or environment in which he does his work. These factors are extrinsic to the work itself and are referred to as dissatisfiers or hygiene (or maintenance) factors. Herzberg categorized the context or environmental factors causing dissatisfaction to include: Dissatisfies: – Company policy and administration – Supervision – Working conditions – Interpersonal relations (with peers, subordinates and superiors) – Status – Job security – Salary – Personal Life 3.0 Hygiene Factors Why, for instance, do hygiene factors serve as dissatisfiers? Why, on the other hand, do motivators affect motivation in the positive direction? Consider the answers to these questions in terms of the distinction between the two sets of human needs (Adam vs Abraham). One stems from man’s animal nature and his need to avoid pain. This set consists of the needs for which the hygiene factors are relevant. The word â€Å"hygiene† is a medical term meaning preventative and environmental. This is an –appropriate term in view of the fact that the hygiene factors represent the environment to which man as an animal is constantly trying to adjust. The dissatisfies or hygiene factors previously listed are the major environment aspects of work. Because these factors serve only to reduce pain, they cannot contribute to positive satisfaction but only to the avoidance of dissatisfaction. Herzberg found, for example, that good working conditions (Physical, environment, congenial co-workers, good supervision) were rarely named as factors contributing to job satisfaction; however, poor working conditions were frequently cited as sources of dissatisfaction. Herzberg argued that improvement in the hygiene factors would only minimise dissatisfaction but not increase satisfaction and motivation. In order to motivate employees, the managers must ensure to provide the hygiene factors and then follow the motivating factors. When hygiene factors are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; but at the same time they may not be fully satisfied. They will be in a neutral state. If we want to motivate people on their jobs, it is suggested to give much importance on those job content factors such as opportunities for personal growth, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. These are the characteristics that people find intrinsically rewarding. Herzberg model sensitises that merely treating the employees well through ‘good’ company policies is not sufficient to motivate them. Managers should utilise the skills, abilities, and talents of the people at work through effective job designing. In other words, the work given to employees should be challenging and exciting and offer them a sense of achievement, recognition, and growth. Unless these characteristics are present in the job, employees will not be motivated. A company policy that treats workers well may not be motivation in itself if there is no clear career progression plan or it hinders progression whether through strict staff development policy or lack of provision of scholarships. For example, some companies have policies that a worker needs to serve a minimum of 8 years for them to be granted paid study leave without sponsorship; in view of the life expectancy which is significantly reduced, it may not be possible for an employee to wait for that long. Additionally, an employee may have added responsibilities such as taking his children to school thereby making it extremely difficult for them to pay for their own studies. It is important to note that even in situations where this policy is elaborate, it may not bring motivation in itself unless it be accompanied by a motivator such as personal growth or recognition. There are a number of managerial styles that are adopted by different supervisors; some are strict and do not consult while others are open and make workers autonomous. The quality of supervision alone, however, will not motivate a worker. Even when the supervision is good, it may not motivate a worker unless this good supervision is coupled with achievement, where the worker is given a normal task load and these tasks are smart in nature. Only then can this be a source of motivation. Despite being good, the supervisor must be seen to apply the concept of equity in dealing with subordinates, if this aspect is absent, then the workers may be dissatisfied Factors that involve the physical environment of the job: amount of work, facilities for performing work, light, tools, temperature, space, ventilation, and general appearance of the work place. In a company were working conditions are poor, workers will not be motivated to work. For example, a receptionist who works in a small and stuffy room will not be motivated to go for work the following day. Even if such a person worked in an air conditioned room with good chairs, but the company does not recognise her contribution to the organisation, she may decide to leave the organisation because she will not be motivated. So it is only when these factors are combined that one will be motivated. For example, when such a worker’s contribution is recognised even by management writing her a letter of appreciation, then there will be motivation and satisfaction. When it comes to job security, which is employee’s job tenure and/or the company’s stability or instability, objective signs of the presence or absence of security, it is worth noting that when a job is secured it will produce a good feeling or the psychological well being of the employee will be good. However, on its own, it cannot provide motivation unless a balance is struck between the motivators and hygiene factors as outlined by Herzberg In Herzberg’s two-factor model pay is a maintenance factor that should not contribute significantly to motivation. The money that employees receive is actually a package made up of salary, and other fringe benefits such as transport, housing, furniture, medical allowance. Others include meal subsidy and utility allowances. This pay is given across the board or is universal and, therefore, a worker will not feel anything special about this pay unless it is given to workers who have performed exceptionally well and not to everybody else. In this case, it becomes a merit pay. For example, a government worker who has been in service for five years at a given position will be given the same salary as someone who has just graduated from the university because they have the same position and qualification and salary scale. In such a situation, salary will not be a motivation for the one who has served longer. In view of this, the employee who has worked for five years will only be motivated if his salary is different on account of performance and length in service. Here, we see an aspect of recognition coming into play. In expectancy theory, pay can satisfy a variety of needs and influence choice and behavior, while in equity theory, pay is a major outcome that one compares with other employees. The relationships between the worker and his or her superiors, subordinates, and peers-by which we mean the related interactions and social interactions within the work environment-play a major role in determining how employees feel about their work. Ordinarily a good and warm relationship with one’s supervisor would entail no dissatisfaction on the part of the worker. However, if the company does not recognise one’s effort or contribution to the organisation, then they will not be motivated. In order to motivate, good supervision has to be coupled with a good company policy and recognition. 4.0 Conclusion The concept of Herzberg’s Two-factor theory is one that focuses on understanding the acceptable hygiene factors that prevent the employee from being dissatisfied. It must be noted, though, that hygiene factors do not do much to motivate the employee and the management of companies has to seek other ways of achieving this. The main idea behind such factors is that they may spell the difference in the perceptions that employees hold with regards to their work and their relationship with their organisation of choice. It must be noted that both factors (hygiene factors and motivation factors) must exist in order for the employee to be motivated in his work, in the best way that he/she possibly can. If there are missing factors (whether they may be hygiene factors or motivation factors), it is possible for the employee to be dissatisfied and not perform in the best way that they can. If all the hygiene factors are present and even when there is more than enough of a hygiene factor present, then it is possible that the employee would still not be motivated. Thus, in order for managers to successfully motivate their employees, there is a need for them to determine the appropriate and the sufficient motivation factors to use. Although, it is not always necessary that motivators keep motivating employees all the time and hygiene factors cause dissatisfaction. Some of these factors can interchange their roles as well. Therefore, it is required on the part of managers to adopt more pragmatic approach and apply a blend of both motivator factors and hygiene factors to attain the individual as well as organizational goals with efficiency and effectiveness