The Salvation Army and Stakeholder Governance

As a registered charity and religious institution, the Salvation Army has been in existence for quite a long time. Though some organizations waited for the government to formulate laws that governed the use of public money, practices of transparency, financial disclosure and accountability have been engraved in their procedures even before that (Institute of policy studies, 2010). External stakeholders in the institution are found in the organization. Stakeholders in the organisation are not owners in any aspect and neither do they work in the organization but partner with the organisation in ventures that are of interest to both of them. They are called external stakeholders. Being part of the projects the stakeholders have expectations on the information they should get from the institution regarding the finance they contribute and the activities that are undertaken (Bhatia, 2007). Financial disclosures in terms of balance sheets and income statements are important to the stakeholders especially since they contribute to the kitty of the events or activities that are carried out. Salvation Army gives disclosures not only to the external but also to the public quarterly and incorporates it in the annual report. This is to show what the organization realised or achieved with the finance (Mullins, 2005). Accountability is yet another value that the stakeholders can expect from the institution. Giving details of how the money was spent and who was involved is the main objective of the value. Members of the organisation believe that they owe the Almighty God accountability and do so through financial reporting to the stakeholders and other key personnel (Bhatia, 2007). Transparency is the ultimate crown for the flawless use of resources and execution of plans. In the values of the Salvation Army, this is not left out. It reveals honesty, creates good relation between the involved parties, and is a practice of Christian code of conduct (Mullins, 2005). REFERENCES Bhatia, S.K. (2007). Management of Non-Profit Organisations. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications. Institute of policy studies. (2010). Defining social impact. Retrieved on 18th August 2010 Mullins, L. J. (2005). Management and organisational behaviour. New York, NY: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.

My Biggest Pet Peeves Essay

A pet peeve is an irritating experience caused by others that you cannot control. It could be an act, noise, or just something that ticks us. Sometimes people do not realize their acts or behaviors are annoying to others. Some of my biggest pet peeves are people who use a cellphone where or when there are not supposed to use it, people who chew loudly, and people who smoke in public places. The cellphone is a big invention at this time; people can use cellphones for many purposes besides talking with others. My pet peeve is about people who use a cellphone where or when it is not supposed to be used because it is very rude and disrespectful. I used to work as a cashier, and many customers, while they were paying for their purchases, were talking on the phone. They did not pay attention to the total amount they needed to pay and kept asking the cashier about the total. That kind of situation is unfair for people who are waiting in the line to wait longer. Some people think that as customers, they can do whatever they like. People who chew loudly are very annoying because that kind of habit is disgusting and inappropriate. People should not have that habit; only animals chew loudly because people learn about manners or the appropriate way to chew. It is very important for parents to teach their children about manners, so the children will not humiliate themselves. My last biggest pet peeve is people who smoke in public place because I do not like the smell, and it is dangerous to our health. Fortunately, I am not allergic to smoke, but for people who are allergic to it, they will have a hard time breathing. Besides that, smoke is more dangerous for second-hand smoke than the first hand smoke, and in fact, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Everyone has a pet peeve, something that really gets on his or her nerves.

Good News Final Question Essay

A young man named Saul stood by and watched as a crowd stoned Stephen.   He went on to be a major persecutor of Christians for a number of years.   One day he was on his way to Damascus, he was blinded by a light and God spoke to him.   He was converted to Christianity and changed his name to Paul.   He made up for his persecution of Christians by telling the â€Å"good news† all over the region. What is the good news?   The good news is that Jesus is the son of God.   He was sent to earth to save the people from their sins.   Those who accept him as their savior will have eternal life in Heaven.   He knew it was true, because God himself told him it was in the blinding light.   The difference it should make in the lives of people in modern society means people should live according to the words God has provided for people to live by.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Paul spent years trying to save people from their sin once he’d learned the truth.   He was taught about God and Jesus.   He taught many to accept the gift of eternal life through the acceptance of Jesus.   Then he wrote many books of the Bible to teach people how to live their lives.   He wrote basic instructions for Christians to follow to be an example for God.   God sent his son to earth for the sole purpose of saving his creation (man) from their sins. He would not choose for anyone to be lost, but he provides humans the opportunity to make the choice for themselves. The life people live on earth is short, for most only about eighty years then there are two possible places to go.   The best choice obviously is the one without eternal torture.   When a person goes to Heaven it will feel like home (familiar, comfortable) (Alcorn, 1999)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Paul learned about God through God himself.   God spoke to Paul through the light on the road.   He then blinded him and gave him specific instructions on what to do.   Paul realized he had been wrong and needed to follow the instructions, because he did this he was not only healed of the blindness, but he received the gift of eternal life. He had no reason to doubt this and neither should those he taught or those still being taught.   Paul taught of God’s love for his people and his forgiveness. He also taught people to continue sharing the good news.   An additional reason to believe the news is true is the hundreds of promises from the Bible, many of which have already been fulfilled and although people fail to keep their promises, God does not (LaHaye and Jenkins, 2003) In order to convince others the news is true, though, his people need to change the way they live in order to set an example.   Just as Saul changed his name to Paul and turned from persecuting Christians to converting people to Christianity, his followers need to live by the words of the Bible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How should Christians change the way they live their lives?   It usually does not have to be as great of change as the one Paul made, but it does need to show a change of heart.   God created people to have free will, the ability to make their own choices.   From the moment people are born, they have choices.   They can cry or sleep wet or eat, etc.   As they get older the choices are more difficult.   If they are lucky enough to be raised with religious parents, they are taught the news of Jesus and Heaven from an early age.   Others have to hear it along the way, and like Saul may have several years of making rather bad choices first.   However once the news has been heard and the person has accepted the gift of eternal life, a change must be made. God still expects mistakes since no one is perfect, but an attempt to live as he wants is how Christians teach others.   The first step in this change is to strive to be like Christ being righteous, loving others and overcoming the world (Wiersbe, 1996).   It is popular to wear jewelry that says WWJD, which stands for What would Jesus do?   This is a very important message if people want to live their lives according to God’s word and to teach the good news to others.   When a person stops long enough to consciously ask themselves what Jesus would do in a situation, they would be less tempted to make the wrong choice. Living the kind of life God wants people to live does not mean they have to act extremely different or carry their Bible around with them everywhere they go.   They just need to think they are taking Jesus with them, because if they have truly accepted the gift, they are taking Jesus with them.   He wants his people to be honest and caring.   He wants them to make positive choices for their lives and not get caught up in things that would take their focus off of their ultimate goal (life in Heaven).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What Paul would tell people is that the news he has to share is the greatest news anyone could hear, because it promises an eternity without pain or sadness and it is a free gift.   All anyone has to do is accept it show it off for everyone else in the world to see.   If people receive a diamond or a new car they can not wait to show it off.   How could they be embarrassed or afraid to show off the world’s greatest gift?   Paul would tell people to believe in God and if they have questions to simply turn to the instruction manual (the Bible), because it contains all the answers.   He would say it should change the way a person lives their lives simply because of the hope it offers in an uncertain world.   Paul heard the news, accepted the news and spread the news.   He would encourage everyone who hears it to do the same. References Alcorn, Randy. 1999,In Light of Eternity, Colorado Springs, Colorado: Waterbrook Press LaHaye, Tim and Jenkins, T. 2003, God Always Keeps His Promises..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers Wiersbe, Warren W., 1996,Being a Child of God, , Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Publishers

Planning functions of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Planning functions of management - Essay Example However, Nestle usually plans for some period of time. Three to five years are more typical planning horizons. As one of the most important functions of management, planning process is based on stipulated criteria and procedures which have a great impact on planning processes. Criteria such as reduced cost, improved quality, improved sense of direction, better teamwork, and improved service delivery might be used. The timing of any evaluations should also be considered. In Nestle, the plan involves deciding upon how resources will be used to help the organization achieve its strategic goals. It relies more on past records and involves shorter time periods. Present conditions are usually dominant in the planner's mind when the organization initiates a plan and these may be overstressed. Also, many events are obviously unforeseen, but planning can be aided by techniques giving suggested probabilities of events taking place (Bateman, Snell 2004). In Nestle, a special attention is given to product quality and product standards. This policy is important because Nestle produces a wide range of food products from coffee, beverages and ice-cram to infant food and pet food. The responsibility of companies in food industry is to analyze social conditions and possible threats of their products for potential consumers. They should be well aware of regulation changes and should not sell a product which can be injurious to health. In order to meet high standards and quality, Nestle constricts its activities according to legal regulations and requirements stipulated by EU for European countries. Also, planning process include analysis of the macro-environment (e.g., economic trends, inflation, changes in citizen needs, changing demographics, etc.), the government environment (especially changing federalism and state government trends), the competitive environment (the present and potential competition, particularly as related to economic development), the citizen environment (what the service user says), and the organization's internal environment (e.g., is there antiquated technology, high turnover, many people planning to retire soon) (Boone, Kurtz, 1992). Environmental scanning will also identify a variety of factors, both internal and external to Nestle, to be considered as part of the planning process. In fact, one of the benefits of planning is that an organization will gain a better understanding of how environmental scanning should be done and be able to manage more effectively as a result. Factors to be considered as part of the macro-environmental scanning process include social factors such as demographics, financial factors such as interest rates, and political factors such as increasing government deregulation, changing federalism and state government's trends, and regulations (Campbell, 1997). Among the factors to be considered as part of the government environment are the number and locations of other governments, the degree of federal and state government presence, the typical services being provided, and the marketing strategies of other competitive local governments. Ethics and corporate social responsibilities affect all decisions and plans developed and introduced by the company. From the very beginning, Nestle clearly informs customers about threats and possible impact of products. Ethical guidelines and social responsibi

Management 4330 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management 4330 - Research Paper Example This strengthens my confidence to put the best in my work as well as offering encouragement to improve my skills. I rank among the top as compared to other students who undertook this exercise. Being in the first quartile did not surprise me as I am aware of my positive abilities affecting my work and those around me. My capability of organizing people according to their skills is on the higher side. I know how to assign roles to different people according to how well they can perform them. Identifying the areas they are competent in as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This is among my strong points that make a competent manager. Secondly, is that I am able to generate multiple solutions for solving a problem rather than depending on just one way of tackling a problem. I take time to go through the best solutions for a problem after studying it rather than just offering one temporary solutions that will only be short term. However, the above data shows areas that I need to improve on. I take this positively as this is a way of improving myself in how I work and relate with other people. I use too many positive comments even where negative comments are of essence. This is can be an encouragement for some people might to take advantage of the situation and present substandard work because they know they will not get negative comments (Lussier 60). I should tell it like it is and give negative comments where necessary. This will make people work hard and present quality work as nobody wants to look like a failure in his or her job. Another area I need to improve on according to this survey is encouraging people to develop their strengths rather than just overcoming weaknesses. This way people will be independent in the decisions they make, and also improve on the quality of their skills. Compared to other associates, my skills of good

Do the general principles and strategies of strategic planning apply Essay

Do the general principles and strategies of strategic planning apply to IT planning What may apply, what may not, and why - Essay Example According to druck (2011), the last principle involves identifying the resources that are already available or those that are needed in order to begin. All planning practices may be motivated by systematic determination to yield fundamental actions and decisions that can guide and shape organizations or businesses. Strategic planning aims at developing a specific, solid road maps or plans that can manage a firm and the necessary tools required to manage or start one. Some critics however, insinuate that some of the effectiveness of strategic planning has faded slowly. Most managers luckily enough are still awareof the importance of implementing an effective strategic planning. Flemming (2012) notes thatstrategic planning demands a lot of time and attention and if the principles are not followed to the letter then it can be very frustrating. Onthe other hand, if conducted correctly they can help a company to identify its effective point within the industry. There are a number of perspectives and model approaches that are used to implement strategic planning. The implementation and development of the various tools depends on a variety of factors like the organization’s culture and leadership, organization’s size, complexity and nature of the business environment. For example, a firm may start using the same matching baselines as Wal-Mart and McDonald but at a certain period in the progress, it will need to make vital changes and assimilate its strategies (Druck, 2011).The same applies to general principles relating to IT planning, general principles are very effective but will only take a firm to certain point. Ten years ago system and process integration could have been eliminated and abolished from strategic planning. This is because critics had predicted that this would form an IT platform structure that would major in the business sector. Currently, the level at which a company carries out IT

Fair Shares Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fair Shares - Essay Example Despite (or perhaps because of) your love of all things amphibious, you currently lack the funds to pay each of the others their probable fair share. You will not receive the collection, but wish to receive as much money as possible. You have no knowledge of the amounts in each of the sealed bids, but strongly suspect that Abraham will bid between $10,000.00 and $12,000.00. Soln. As I know that I cannot pay the others their probable fair share and so I won’t be able to win the collection and I also believe that Abraham will bid between $10000 to $12000 than I would think about putting a value that is just below the one that Abraham will put which in this case would be $9999. The reason for putting this value is that it will give me the highest possible fair share without having a chance of winning the items as the fair share that I will get if Abraham bids $10000 and wins it would be: And so the total amount that I will receive would be 2499.75+250.0625=$2749.8125. This is the highest amount that I can win considering that I cannot win the collection and Abraham’s bid will be between 10000 to

Diversity Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diversity Programs - Essay Example William Sonnenschein also talks about this problem in his book, The Diversity Toolkit: How You Can Build and Benefit from a Diverse Workforce. â€Å"The demographics of the workplace are changing and will continue change rapidly...Workforce diversity... presents one of the greatest challenges facing todays organization†. As different humans could only create a different working culture, the success rate to form a single working culture will be minimal. But, if a common and winnable working culture is ‘operationalised’, through out the organization, the organization will be a success story. And, the script for this success story can only be scripted, by an effective leader or manager. So, if I have been a manager, I would impose my own assumptions as a form of single work culture and thereby will suppress the prevailing different cultures. One of the important first tasks of a leader in an organization is the creation of a common working culture. That is, the task of the leader is to create a working culture, embed the working culture in the working group and environment, sustain it and also rectify it, when faults occur. As leaders are the man in lead, they usually have a major impact on how the group initially defines and sets into an organization. Typically, the leaders or managers will have strong assumptions about the nature of the world, the role that organizations play in that world, the characteristics that make up human nature and relationships, how truth is arrived at, and how to manage time and space. They will, therefore, be quite comfortable in imposing those views and personal cultures, on their partners and employees as the organization copes with challenges and targets. This imposition of founder’s assumptions, as a form of good culture is one of the good leadership traits. The workers mind will always be receptive to the leaders’ or managers’ views, orders, suggestions etc

Lease hold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lease hold - Essay Example Laws usually govern granting a lease and certain order is followed when creating them (Great Britain parliament, 2000). Different leases require different sorts of agreements. A lease has specific elements that must be put in place for it to be valid. It also has specific requirements for creation of a valid lease. The elements of a lease A lease has specific elements that weigh heavily on the contracts overall acceptability. These elements must be considered during creation of an agreement between the property owner and the tenant as stipulated by the law. Exclusive possession This is a very essential part of a lease .It forms the backbone of a lease and therefore without it, there can be no lease. Exclusive possession is that right of the leaseholder to utilize the property with exclusion of all the other individuals including the property owner (John, 2000). The occupier must have a right to exclusive possession to use the premises leased, though this should not be a conclusive pr oof that the leaseholder has a lease. If denied exclusive possession then the leaseholder is right to use the premises, do not amount to a lease. Exclusive possession gives the tenant the right to exclude everyone else including the property owner from the premises except on an agreed case. ... Certain/specific term/period The start of a period in a lease must be clear. It should be me4ntioned in an agreement if not it will be deemed to commence immediately. In cases where an individual has an agreement for a future lease, then it is void unless clear at what date it is to start from an express term in the contract or by inference. A periodic tenancy stating that the property owner would not give notice to quit until when ready to redevelop the land is stipulated. Through this, the tenant has a sense of security and the property owner has ability to regain possession of the premises when needed. It is acceptable for a period of tenancy to restrict the property owners right to give notice unless for a specified purpose during a stated period. The maximum duration of a lessee must be certain. The law of property act provides that, a lease stated to take effect more than two years from date of agreement is void and any contract purporting to create such a term is void. It is n ot enough to specify a period. A beginning date and exact ending date must be stated. The time to vacate should also be clearly stated. Term less than that of a grantor An owner in fee simple can grant a lease of his premises for any term since the fee simple is effectively perpetual. A fee simple owner has the right to grant a lease to a tenant for many years like up to 9,000 years. There can be more than one term of years in one fee simple estate in a single piece of land. A tenant can grant a lease of the premises called a sublease to a subtenant .This can only happen if the sublease will last for a shorter period than the original lease from the property owner. The subtenant can also grant a further lease of the same premises

Statistics and quality control in business Research Paper

Statistics and quality control in business - Research Paper Example The quality control process is used to improve the effectiveness of the producing system, therefore, reducing the number of defective products in the system. However, it is not possible to produce perfect products, so organizations resort to statistical methods to determine the number of defective products in the manufacturing process. One of the ways of ensuring the quality of a product is by introducing quality into the product that is presented to the customer (Reid and Sanders 172). The efficiency of the quality control process is determined by the perceived quality of the product to the final consumer. Therefore, organizations introduce statistical quality control process to improve the detection and reduction of defects in manufactured products. The statistical tools used by quality professionals are divided into four parts; statistical process control, designed experiments, descriptive statistics, and acceptance sampling. Statistical process control is used to determine whether the products from a production line meet the required standards of production (Grant and Leavenworth 521). The use of this statistical tool includes random selection of a product in a production line and measuring its characteristics to determine whether it meets current standards. This process is effective because it helps to determine the effectiveness of a process in a manufacturing line, therefore, if a process does not meet required standards, it can be reviewed and improved. This is the most effective statistical quality control process because it determines the effectiveness of a manufacturing process in the production center; therefore, the process can be improved. The second statistical tool used in quality control is designed experiments, which are also used in the production process to determine the effectiveness of the production process (Brue 59). This tool is useful in discovering the factors that influence process performance, after which process optimization is

By Using the Structural Functionalist Approach Essay Example for Free

By Using the Structural Functionalist Approach Essay Rule by the people is what a democracy is made of, this might be achieved by having the party in power elected into office into office by the majority, the term democracy and the practice itself is diverse in each country but it has similar features which characterize all forms. This essay explains the impact or contributions of political parties in a Liberal Democracy using the Structural functionalist Approach. It will also converse the important roles that these political parties play in every political structure, specifically in Zambia. To start with, it will explain what the terms Liberal, Liberal Democracy and Political Parties are; it will also explain the Structural functionalist Approach. Thereafter, the works and critiques of having Political parties will later be discussed. According to Emerson (1920), Liberal is that mind or attitude which wills to understand and respect other people`s behavior, opinions it implies vigorous convictions, tolerance for the opinions of others and a persistent desire for sound progress, Democracy is Rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly, as in Ancient Greece, or through elected representatives as in many modern societies (representative democracy). Franà §ois (1998). Therefore Liberal Democracy refers to a broad array of related ideas and theories of government that consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal. Partridge, 1866). A political party According to Schlesinger (1992) is a group organized to gain control of government in the name of the group by winning election to public office. The Structural functionalist Approach is an approach that studies, analyses and views structures and systems in any social setting with regards to the role or functions they play in the development of any society. A political party being a structure in a political system has a vital role or function it plays in society. A liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms: it

Cooking Methods Essay Example for Free

Cooking Methods Essay Baking is a way of cooking sweet or savory items in the dry heat of an oven. Although baking itself is a relatively easy process, it is good to have some knowledge of the role each ingredient plays in creating the final dish. Barbecuing: Nothing beats the deep, rich flavor of good barbecue. In the United States, barbecue refers to the slow, indirect cooking of meats over a wood, charcoal or gas flame. The meat is often seasoned with rubs, sauces or mops. This same method is known as barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa. Asian barbecue, on the other hand, uses thinly sliced meat and seafood, often highly seasoned, that is quick-cooked on a hot grill or a searing hotplate Deep Frying: Who doesnt love fried food? Deep frying may not be the most calorie-poor way to prepare food, but it certainly produces some of the worlds tastiest. The high heat of the oil seals in a foods moisture and crisps up the outside, giving that irresistable pairing of crunchy and juicy Grilling: Grilling is the quick cooking of meat, fish or vegetables over intense heat. The source of the heat can be burning wood, simmering coals, a gas flame, or an electric heating element. A related method is broiling, but with broiling the heat source comes from the top instead of the bottom Roasting: Roasting is the slow cooking of meat, poultry, fish or vegetables, uncovered, with dry, indirect heat. Spit roasting was the original form. In the modern kitchen, the dry heat of an oven is preferred. Roasting is a method best used with large cuts of meat, whole poultry, whole fish, or with sturdy vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and onions. Steaming: As the term implies, steaming involves suspending food over simmering or boiling water and cooking it with the resulting steam. Steaming as a method is valued for the fact that it preserves vitamins and minerals in the food that might otherwise be washed away with boiling. It is also a way to cut back on fat, since none is needed, unlike sauteing or grilling.

The Importance and Role of Public Relations

The Importance and Role of Public Relations The art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders and implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the organization and the public interest. (Asch and Solomon 1946) Public relations aim primarily to provide a communication between an organization and its users. It is one of the most important business functions as for any organization. It is essential to continually check its reputation in the market that it caters. Moreover, with the present climate of global extensions that majority of the modern day businesses practice, it is essential that the organization keeps touch with what it wants to portray to the consumers so that expectations from the organization is likewise. Public Relation is used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters or the general public. Almost any organization that indulges itself in being portrayed in the public environment employs some level of public relations. Public relation is not limited to simply increasing awareness about an organization. It deals with other complex functions of checking and monitoring the reactions of its actions( Ahluwalia et al 2000). This illustrates what the organization reflects to its market hence aiding in deciding the next course of action as and when required. Publicity is one of the major tools for Public relations. Most; if not all, PR campaigns invest heavily for publicity. Publicity involves spreading of information for a product, person, service, cause or organization to gain public awareness. Publicity helps in effective PR planning and is one of the most viral methods adopted by any PR for an organisation. In present times, professionals commonly use technology as their main tool to get across their messages to target audiences (Collins et al, 1975). Traditionally, one of the oldest tools used by public relations professionals is a press/media kit. It is usually a collection of promotional materials for the purpose of circulation. These provide information about an event, organization, business, or even a person. Information also includes, fact sheets, press releases (or media releases), media alerts, brochures, newsletters, photographs with captions, copies of any media clips, and social mediums. In recent times, most organizations may have a website with a link which usually updates the message that is required to be communicated for the purpose of communication. Online version of such news is one of the essentials that is adopted in recent times. Other widely-used tools include brochures, newsletters and annual reports. (Basuroy et al 2003) In the recent times, technological uses of social networks, blogs, and even internet radio public relations professionals facilitate to directly send messages through their respective mediums. Methods are used to find out the reaction of the audience in the current market. Inquiring into the favorable appeals of the target audiences extensively include the use of surveys, conducting research or even focus groups. Various tactics are undertaken to attract target audiences by using the information gathered. This is then directed as a message to them using tools such as social or other popular mediums.`(Burrough and Bryan,2006) Increasingly, companies are utilizing interactive social networking options, such as media blogs, Twitter and Facebook, as tools in promotion for the PR campaigns. This can be credited to the fact that unlike the traditional tools, social media outlets enable the organization to engage in two-way communication, and receive relatively quicker feedbacks hence efficiently aiding in making accurate decisions. Reciprocal nature of communications Extracted from Effective Public Relations by Cutlip(2010) The above figure illustrates, communication is a reciprocal process of exchanging signals to inform, instruct, or persuade, based on shared meanings and conditioned by the communicators relationship and the social context. (Godes, 2004) NEGATIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS: Negative Public relation occurs under circumstances and situation when the message sent across to the public by the organization is seen not coherent to what it portrays. It may be expressed as that process which threatens the reputation and corporate identity of an organization due to improbable actions that leads to unlikely situations and circumstances. (Eliasberg et al 1997) However, this phenomenon can be either intentional i:e. (by an external source such as a competitor) or unintentional (inadequate research of an expected reaction or poor internal communications ). (Hueng et al,1982) Owing to the nature of this report, the researcher has chosen to consider only the unfavorable public relations for this study and thus Black public relations shall only be mentioned once. Thereafter, steps to deal only with unfavorable public relations shall be included for further part of this work. Intentional Negative Public Relations It indicates in context to incidences which are carried about by third party source with intention to tarnish the reputation of a targeted organization, these kind of intentional negative PR strategies are also known as Black Public Relations (James and Caryn 2006). It involves gathering information using high level of industrial espionage and competitive intelligence to uncover the targeted company secrets that are unfavorable to the organizations stakeholders (Hueng et al,1982). The only objective of such practices is to strategically disturb the channels and messages of communication between the organization and its shareholders. This kind of negative public relation is an unethical business practice yet it is been widely used against business rivals. (Grossmen et al1984) Unintentional Negative PR / Unfavorable Public relations. This is an occurrence under circumstances when an organization is facing a public challenge to its reputation. Generally these challenges may come in the following forms:- An investigation from a government agency. A criminal allegation. A media inquiry. A shareholders lawsuit A violation of environmental regulations Finally a violation in a number of other scenarios involving the legal, ethical and / or financial factors (Godes et al 2004). The above are challenges that an organization faces which may lead to an unfavorable Public relations situation for an organization. However, most of them can be contained almost immediately if handled with urgency. Generally, source of a negative Public relation is born out of mismanaged crises situation in an organization. Crisis communication is of utmost importance to contain any such unlikely circumstances. If efficiently handled, crisis communication can become the best defense against any issue turning into a fully blow catastrophe. An illustration to explain the above can be found in the case of Johnson Johnson. In 1982, after cyanide was discovered in some capsules of a JJ product Tylenol, J and J immediately announced a recall of an estimated stock of about a hundred million in circulation in its domestic market of the United States and other foreign market (Berger,2005). This decision of Johnson Johnson, to cooperate fully with the media, earned it lots of praises for its business principle of being socially responsible. The resultant was that the company received additional positive press coverage when it subsequently introduced its new tamper-resistant packaging. Similarly In March 2005, a woman bit into a finger while eating chili at Wendys. Wendys responded promptly and shut down that location. This was followed by carefully discarding all the other chilli that was dated as the controversial stock. The location was reopened only after a thorough investigation of the rest of the stocks.This crisis could have damaged Wendys image, but owing to it responding properly and appropriately, very little damage was observed to their image (Berger,2005). These are two of the few examples which illustrate efficient crisis management procedures despite not being in control the negative PR at the initial stages of the crisis. Johnson Johnson was able to gain positive publicity for the prompt decision making and was thus able to contain the situation before it went out of proportion. Conversely, many other organisations have shown lack in managing a crisis situation and have suffered for the same. Source Perrier is an example of such an organization that was unable to overcome negative publicity when its top management displayed poor crisis-management. Traces of benzene were found in the companys bottled water in 1990, however the company assured the public that it was only contained to bottles in North America. During the same time, scientists found traces of benzene in its bottled water which was being sold in Europe. This time, the management blamed it upon a contaminated filtering system an reassured that it was being tackled with utmost urgency. Never the less, media had then sampled the brands water from all its prevalent market and discovered that the situation had been persistent for a longer period of time and that the benzene laced product had been selling all around the world. The media questioned Perriers integrity and concern for public safety, and the company lost its dominant position in the marketplace; it has been unable to rebuild its reputation (Bogart and D ave 2001). The available literature on the source of negative PR is not coherently conclusive as different researchers have difference in the scope and width with regard to their view about the causes of unavoidable PR. Lerbinger (1997), attributes two causes i:e. management failure and environmental forces. He categorizes the two into eight categories of crisis situations which are as follows: Natural- for example Asian Tsunami which affected everything alike i:e. nations, government, corporations, businesses and so on. Technological- Mercedes A class had design faults thus had to roll over Confrontation- Shell Oil wanted to sink an oil platform into the North Sea and thus its petrol stations faced a consumer boycott. Malevolence-product tampering by private citizens, as in the case of Tylenol capsules of Johnson and Johnson Skewed Management- Barings Bank went out of business when the bank management was accused of turning a blind eye towards rouge trader Nick Leason. Deception Management misconduct- Enron Power Business and economic- Economic turmoil affecting businesses, hence organizations unable to live to the promise. (Lerbinger 1997) FEARN-BANKS FIVE STAGE OF CRISIS STAGE 1 Detection The organization is watching for warning signs STAGE 2 Preparation/prevention The organization takes notes of the warning signs and prepares plans proactively to avoid crisis, or reactive one to cope with the crisis if it is come. STAGE 3 Containment Taking Steps to limit the length of the crisis or its affects. STAGE 4 Recovery At this step, efforts are made to get back to normal operational conditions or effectiveness of an organization STAGE 5 Learning This is when the Organization reflects and evaluates the experience to consider the negative impacts for the organization and any possible benefits for the future. Fearns- Banks(2006), are amongst the school of thoughts that attribute Negative Public relation wholly to mismanaged crisis situation. In the table above, are the five stages of a business crises outlined that explain the steps to be ensured during different stages of a crisis. If attended to, the crisis management should be efficient and thus save the organization any unwanted harm to its reputation The most important efficient way of dealing with unfavorable public relation can be found in practicing crisis communication (Lerbinger 1997). Crisis communication aims at assisting an organisation to sustain continuity in the critical business processes. These business processes can be any information flowing during critical situations, natural calamities or event driven circumstances. The most commonly know five steps that must be ensured in situations threatening the PR of an organization may be best explained as the following Firstly, the corporation in crisis should be prompt and act accordingly. This can be achieved by addressing the public immediately following the discovery of the situation. Secondly, the corporation in question must maintain honesty as it is obliged to be completely truthful no matter what the consequences from the public may be. Thirdly, the corporation should be informative. This would require them to provide facts that are coherent with the situation and restrain speculation under any circumstance. The other reason for this step is to also assure that public does not create its own rumor as rumors might cause more damage to the organization as compared to the already worsened circumstance(Lerbinger 1997). Next, it is important to be socially concerned and illustrate efforts of improvement to the public. This would reflect on the business as being socially responsible hence improving chances of faster recovery from the damage incurred. Finally, maintaining two-way relationships. It is very essential as the corporation get response from the public hence increasing the chances of being accepted to do business with. More so, as this kind of communication shall project to the corporation directly about what is expected from them in the near future. These steps are essential in order to manage any crucial PR circumstances (Norton et al 2007). Quick response is the key to any negative publicity. Efficient and effective crisis communication strategy diagnosed in a premeditated manner can provide most of the solutions to problems relating to negative publicity. In this global and dynamic business world, technology can be effectively harnessed for communicating to the people about a rapid response to the issue. not only can this save the organizational reputation but also it can prevent any unlikely circumstances. Ensuring a co-ordinated response provides a stronger foundation to tackle tricky situations and in turn can result into a potential advantage to a range of potentially crippling scenarios. A well thought out and executed plan shall reflect strongly upon the management of the organsation hence, bringing some more goodwill amongst the users. Timing of responding is a critical factor as the longer the lag, higher the chances of a considerable losses to company revenue and reputation (Reinstein et al 2005). An Effectiive crisis communication strategy will typically consider achieving most of the following objectives: Maintain connectivity Be readily accessible to the news media Show empathy for the people involved Allow distributed access Streamline communication processes Maintain information security Ensure uninterrupted audit trails Deliver high volume communications Support multi-channel communications Remove dependencies on paper based processes (Norton et al 2007) Crisis communication can play a significant role by transforming an unexpected situation into a competitive gain. The only essential requirement is respond accordingly and immediately to the urgent situation. CONCLUSION This study is an attempt at understanding the concept of Public relations and investigates into the causes and sources of negative Public relations. In a theoretical context, literature on negative Public relation shows a very distorted view amongst the researchers as it lacks clarity in its core concept of whether is it a result of mis communicated Public message or is it a concept of deliberately damaging a organizations reputation owing to competition rivalry. However, all of these views are coherent on the thought that quick response to the critical situations can effectively deal with the arising unfavourable circumstances. Efficient and effective crisis communication strategy diagnosed in a premeditated manner can provide most of the solutions to problems relating to negative publicity. Source of a negative Public relation is born out of mismanaged crises situation in an organization. Crisis communication is of utmost importance to contain any such unlikely circumstances. If efficiently handled, crisis communication can become the best defense against any issue arising in the organization. Ensuring a co-ordinated response provides a stronger foundation to tackle tricky situations and in turn can result into a potential advantage to a range of potentially crippling scenarios. A well thought out and executed plan shall reflect strongly upon the management of the organsation hence, bringing some more goodwill amongst the users. Timing of responding is a critical factor as the longer the lag, higher the chances of a considerable losses to company revenue and reputation. Public relation also deals with complex functions of checking and monitoring the reactions of its actions as this illustrates what the organization reflects to its market. Thus regular contact with the public over the underlying issues provides better deciding power for the next course of action as and when required. Technology needs to be exploited the most in critical situations, in this modern day of vast technological choice, communication with the public is easier and cheaper than in the past Thus along with the prior mentioned five steps technological advantages should be used at it optimum to properly manage a crisis can as well as the six types of responses continue to be at the foundation of any crisis public relations.

Music, Technology and Society :: Music Technology Society

Music and the relationships of music have changed drastically in our society. The course of studies and the evaluations of the applications of the technology of music, the making and the listening of music have changed in the way we listen to music, the styles of music in our society and in the media. The importance of the technology in music today, has, over the past century been charted through the study of musical examples and through viewing how human values are reflected in this century's timely music. There are very many different types of music that are listened to. There are readings, writings, lectures and discussions on all the different types of music. Music is found in every know culture, past and present. It is also, already being composed for the future. It is widely varied between all times and places. Since scientists believe that the modern humans arrived in the African culture more than 160,000 years ago, around 50,000 years ago, it is believed that the dispersal of music has been being developed between all cultures in the world. Even the most isolated tribal groups are thought to have had a form of music. It has been scientists' belief that music must have been present in the ancestral population prior to the dispersal of humans around the world. Therefore it is believed that music must have been in existence for at least 50,000 years, with the first music being invented in Africa and then evolving into becoming a fundamental constituent of human life. Any culture of music is influenced by the aspect of their culture, including their social and economic organization, climate, and access to technology. People express their emotions and ideas through their music. Music expresses the situations and how music is listened to and played. The attitude towards music players and composers varies between regions and periods of history. Music history" is the distinct subfield of musicology and history which studies music (particularly western art music) from a chronological perspective. ("History of Music") The first music era know to man was the "Prehistoric Music." This was quite possibly influenced by birds singing and other animal sounds as they were communicating with each other. It was developed with the backdrop of natural sounds. Some evolutionary biologists have theorized that the ability to recognize sounds not created by humans as "musical" provides a selective advantage.

The Stock Market :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The Stock Market Have you ever noticed how everyone thinks they know what is best for you? Everyone telling you what to do when you are the only one who knows what is the best for you. You maybe wondering what this is about, would you believe me if I told you it is about the stock market. Well it is, you may have thought that this had nothing to do with the stock market, but actually it is everything about the stock market. Why trust everybody else when you can invest yourself ? Develop your own system of trading and get started. This may raise another question, " How can I find the right stock and buy them with out the assistance of a stock broker?" In the following information I will take you through the process of finding hot stock picks and turning them into tremendous profits. Eventually you will even develop a trading system. First of all lets get the basic steps down before we move to the more advanced steps. The two main ways to make money in the stock market is from dived ends and buying low and selling high. To make great outrageous profits you will have to riley on buying low and selling high. This is very easy to say but very difficult to do. With dived ends you will receive a small percentage gain every quarter of the year, this helps with your profits but not much. To buy low and sell high you first have to find some stocks or funds. With this information and your motivation with stocks you can rule the world! O.K. maybe not the world but definitely your own portfolio. Now that you have the main concepts down we can move on and try to find some hot stocks. You never want to buy over bought stocks, because over bought stocks means that they are over valued. If you bought a over valued stock chances are that you bought high, and this may force you into selling low and take a loss. An easy way to get a round about feel for a stock to see if it is over or under valued is to look at its PE ratio.

How does Intelligence help the Joint Force Commander Essay -- Militar

Intelligence is a critical component of joint planning and execution. Through the prism of Phase 0 (zero) Shaping, intelligence relates the realities of the operational environment before hostilities including an assessment of current economic, political, and cultural dynamics. Yet, throughout the subsequent phases of operational planning, analysts can also develop concise estimates on friendly and enemy centers of gravity (COG), thereby introducing not only the triggers of adversarial activity but at what point friendly forces can maneuver with maximum decisiveness. All the while, intelligence professionals systematically prepare real-time and near real-time intelligence to maintain the informational edge during execution. Intelligence enables the Joint Force Commander to visualize the operational environment, evaluate operational effects, and sustain information superiority throughout the duration of joint operations, thereby offering increased integration, synchronization and direction of involved joint elements. Understanding the complex operational environment of today and tomorrow is elemental when integrating diverse forces to achieve a favorable outcome. Intelligence professionals have a wide array of systems to draw from when preparing intelligence to facilitate a broad understanding. This array includes combat support agencies as well as national intelligence agencies which work in an ever increasingly collaborative environment. This aids the intelligence professional as they collect raw information as well as already produced actionable intelligence gained throughout all levels of war and throughout the full scope of military operations. This effort is critical in establishing priorities of effort which will ... ...s to collect information, evaluate problems, and reach the most plausible solutions. However, the varying requirements of operational and tactical warfare merit differing approaches to planning and execution. The design of the JOPP process is for campaign contingencies which fall into the scope of operational level, while the MDMP process is best suited for the tactical level. Moreover, JOPP takes into account that a joint commander may not be as thoroughly knowledgeable of all assigned forces as the tactical commander would be. Wisely, JOPP asks the joint staff and commander to evaluate friendly, as well as enemy, COGs so to evaluate capabilities of either force. The tactical commander, not wanting to take anything for granted, would already know the true combat potential of the force, as speed and decisiveness are certainly critical in the tactical realm.

What Ethics of Care in Nursing Means to Me

My definition of Ethic of Care is caring for individuals equally throughout all cultural backgrounds while using a precise fair code of ethics. It is extremely pertinent that ethic of care be implemented into nursing care in order for this to happen we must first understand the meaning of ethics. Ethics is the ideal actions of right and wrong behavior. With that said Ethic of Care should be looked at as a standard of nursing that must be met. When I become a nurse I will implement ethic of care in various ways.When I am assigned a patient I will be sure that their comfort level is maximized given the situation and most importantly I will communicate in my verbal and no-verbal behavior that the patient is of high importance. I will let the patient know that I will do any and everything in my power to address their situation as unique and in the most caring and respectable manor. Like theorist Leineger, I think that it is important to consider culture when developing a plan of care for the patient. A successful nurse does not address all patients an all cultures the same.By knowing and staying on top of the most recent research regarding cultural care the nurse increases the chances of a patient having a positive experience as opposed to a negative experience at that specific facility. Another theorist, Watson, demonstrates that care is the single most important component of nursing and everything else revolves around it. As a nurse I plan to use Ethic of Care as the major factor around nursing and use that as the foundation and move forward from there. Without the implementation of Ethic of Care you do not have a â€Å"nurse† looking at it from the ideal perspective.

The Muscular System:Skeletal Muscle Tissue

The Muscular System: Skeletal Muscle Tissue Fill in the characteristics of the three muscle types: Muscle Type Cardiac Shape of cell Skeletal branching chains of cells single, long cylindrical # of nuclei 15 um in diamter, small Striations yes, has myofibrils and sarcomers Control involuntary 100 um In size, big Smooth single, spindle shape cells 2-10 In diameter, medium yes, presences of myoflbrilsno presence of myofibrils and sarcomeres voluntary tendons What attaches muscles to bone? 3. The whole muscle is composed of muscle cells (fibers) grouped in bundles called fascicles 4.Name the connective tissue coverings surrounding the following: Whole muscle epimysium perimysium Fascicles endomysium Muscle cell 5. Match the following three terms with their definitions: 2 Sarcolemma Sarcoplasmic reticulum Cytosol 6. – endoplasmic reticulum in muscle cell 3 – intracellular fluid around organelles – plasma membrane of muscle cell Terminal cisternae T-tubules 2 Triad 1 7. – part of sarcolemma†carries action potential – part of sarcoplasmic reticulum†stores calcium ions Myofibrils consist of contractile proteins calledName the two types and what they're composed of: thin filaments composed of protien actin protien myosin thick filaments 8. . microfilaments Arrangement of myofilaments. Give the letter name of each band: Dark band †+ A band Light band †+ band Match two definitions with each band: – contains only thin filaments A contains defined by length of thick filament A defined 9. both thick and thin filaments as distance between two thick filaments Z line (disc) defined by length of thick filament, A band the H zones lies within the A band where the thick filaments are H zone 10.What happens to these areas during contraction? the z- lines move close Z line (disc) H zone the h zone will lesson in width during the contraction 11. Define these two terms: this is a thin or a fine band that is dark and wi ll cross over into the center of the M line A band and has striated fiber muscles are muscles that have two important filaments, thin and thick. they lie in between Sarcomere bands 12. the two z- Organization of muscle. Put the following components in order, from smallest to largest: 6 fascicle 2 muscle myofibril 4 myofilament 5 muscle 1 muscle fiber.

Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 4

Poppy was staring without appetite at a dinner tray of chicken nuggets and french fries when Dr. Franklin came in the room. The tests were over. The CAT scan had been all right, if claustrophobic, but the ERCP had been awful. Poppy could still feel the ghost of the tube in her throat every time she swallowed. â€Å"You're leaving all this great hospital food,† Dr. Franklin said with gentle humor. Poppy managed a smile for him. He went on talking about innocuous things. He didn't say anything about the test results, and Poppy had no idea when they were supposed to come in. She was suspicious of Dr. Franklin, though. Something about him, the gentle way he patted her foot under the blanket or the shadows around his eyes . . . When he casually suggested that Poppy's mother might want to â€Å"come for a little walk down the hall,† Poppy's suspicion crystallized. He's going to tell her. He's got the results, but he doesn't want me to know. Her plan was made in the same instant. She yawned and said, â€Å"Go on, Mom; I'm a little bit sleepy.† Then she lay back and shut her eyes. As soon as they were gone, she got off the bed. She watched their retreating backs as they went down the hall into another doorway. Then, in her stocking feet, she quietly followed them. She was delayed for several minutes at the nursing station. â€Å"Just stretching my legs,† she said to a nurse who looked inquiringly at her, and she pretended to be walking at random. When the nurse picked up a clipboard and went into one of the patients' rooms, Poppy hurried on down the corridor. The room at the end was the waiting room – she'd seen it earlier. It had a TV and a complete kitchen setup so relatives could hang out in comfort. The door was ajar and Poppy approached it stealthily. She could hear the low rumble of Dr. Franklin's voice, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Very cautiously Poppy edged closer. She chanced one look around the door.She saw at once that there was no need for caution. Everyone in that room was completely occupied. Dr. Franklin was sitting on one of the couches. Beside him was an African-American woman with glasses on a chain around her neck. She was wearing the white coat of a doctor. On the other couch was Poppy's stepfather, Cliff. His normally perfect dark hair was slightly mussed, his rock-steady jaw was working. He had his arm around her mother. Dr. Franklin was talking to both of them, his hand on her mother's shoulder. And Poppy's mother was sobbing. Poppy pulled back from the doorway. Oh, my God. I've got it. She'd never seen her mother cry before. Not when Poppy's grandmother had died, not during the divorce from Poppy's father. Her mother's specialty was coping with things; she was the best coper Poppy had ever known. But now . . . I've got it. I've definitely got it. Still, maybe it wasn't so bad. Her mom was shocked, okay, that was natural. But it didn't mean that Poppy was going to die or anything. Poppy had all of modern medicine on her side. She kept telling herself this as she edged away from the waiting room. She didn't edge fast enough, though. Before she got out of earshot, she heard her mother's voice, raised in something like anguish. â€Å"My baby. Oh, my little girl.† Poppy froze. And then Cliff, loud and angry: â€Å"You're trying to tell me there's nothing?† Poppy couldn't feel her own breathing. Against her will, she moved back to the door. â€Å"Dr. Loftus is an oncologist; an expert on this sort of cancer. She can explain better than I can,† Dr. Franklin was saying. Then a new voice came – the other doctor. At first Poppy could only catch scattered phrases that didn't seem to mean anything: adenocarcinoma, splenic venous occlusion, Stage Three. Medical jargon. Then Dr. Loftus said, â€Å"To put it simply, the problem is that the tumor has spread. It's spread to the liver and the lymph nodes around the pancreas. That means it's unresectable – we can't operate.† Cliff said, â€Å"But chemotherapy . . .† â€Å"We might try a combination of radiation and chemotherapy with something called 5-fluorouracil. We've had some results with that. But I won't mislead you. At best it may improve her survival time by a few weeks. At this point, we're looking at palliative measures – ways to reduce her pain and improve the qualityof the time she has left. Do you understand?† Poppy could hear choking sobs from her mother, but she couldn't seem to move. She felt as if she were listening to some play on the radio. As if it had nothing to do with her. Dr. Franklin said, â€Å"There are some research protocols right here in southern California. They're experimenting with immunotherapy and cryogenic surgery. Again, we're talking about palliation rather than a cure – â€Å" â€Å"Damn it!† Cliff's voice was explosive. â€Å"You're talking about a little girl! How did this get to – to Stage Three – without anybody noticing? This kid was dancing all night two days ago.† â€Å"Mr. Hilgard, I'm sorry,† Dr. Loftus said so softly that Poppy could barely pick up the words. â€Å"This kind of cancer is called a silent disease, because there are very few symptoms until it's very far advanced. That's why the survival rate is so low. And I have to tell you that Poppy is only the second teenager I've seen with this kind of tumor. Dr. Franklin made an extremely acute diagnosis when he decided to send her in for testing.† â€Å"I should have known,† Poppy's mother said in a thick voice. â€Å"I should have made her come in sooner. I should have – I should have – â€Å" There was a banging sound. Poppy looked around the door, forgetting to be inconspicuous. Her mother was hitting the Formica table over and over. Cliff was trying to stop her. Poppy reeled back. Oh, God, I've got to get out of here. I can't see this. I can't look at this. She turned and walked back down the hall. Her legs moved. Just like always. Amazing that they still worked. And everything around her was just like always. The nursing station was still decorated for the Fourth of July. Her suitcase was still on the padded window seat in her room. The hardwood floor was still solid underneath her. Everything was the same – but how could it be? How could the walls be still standing? How could the TV be blaring in the next room? I'm going to die, Poppy thought. Strangely enough, she didn't feel frightened. What she felt was vastly surprised. And the surprise kept coming, over and over, with every thought being interrupted by those four words. It's my fault because (I'm going to die) I didn't go to the doctor's sooner. Cliff said â€Å"damn† for me (I'm going to die). I didn't know he liked me enough to swear. Her mind was racing wildly. Something in me, she thought. I'm going to die because of something that's inside me, like that alien in the movie. It's in me right now. Right now. She put both hands to her stomach, then pulled up her T-shirt to stare at her abdomen. The skin was smooth, unblemished. She didn't feel any pain. But it's in there and I'm going to die because of it. Die soon. I wonder how soon? I didn't hear them talk about that. I need James. Poppy reached for the phone with a feeling that her hand was detached from her body. She dialed, thinking, Please be there. But this time it didn't work. The phone rang and rang. When the answering machine came on, Poppy said, â€Å"Call me at the hospital.† Then she hung up and stared at the plastic pitcher of ice water by her bedside. He'll get in later, she thought. And then he'll call me. I just have to hang on until then. Poppy wasn't sure why she thought this, but suddenly it was her goal. To hang on until she could talk to James. She didn't need to think about anything until then; she just had to survive. Once she talked to James, she could figure out what she was supposed to be feeling, what she was supposed to do now. There was a light knock at the door. Startled, Poppy looked up to see her mother and Cliff. For a moment all she could focus on was their faces, which gave her the strange illusion that the faces were floating in midair. Her mother had red and swollen eyes. Cliff was pale, like a piece of crumpled white paper, and his jaw looked stubbly and dark in contrast. Oh, my God, are they going to tell me? They can't; they can't make me listen to it. Poppy had the wild impulse to run. She was on the verge of panic. But her mother said, â€Å"Sweetie, some of your friends are here to see you. Phil called them this afternoon to let them know you were in the hospital, and they just arrived.† James, Poppy thought, something springing free in her chest. But James wasn't part of the group that came crowding through the doorway. It was mostly girls from school. It doesn't matter. He'll call later. I don't have to think now. As a matter of fact, it was impossible to think with so many visitors in the room. And that was good. It was incredible that Poppy could sit there and talk to them when part of her was farther away than Neptune, but she did talk and that kept her brain turned off. None of them had any idea that something serious was wrong with her. Not even Phil, who was at his brotherly best, very kind and considerate. They talked about ordinary things, about parties and Rollerblading and music and books. Things from Poppy's old life, which suddenly seemed to have been a hundred years ago. Cliff talked, too, nicer than he had been since the days when he was courting Poppy's mother. But finally the visitors left, and Poppy's mother stayed. She touched Poppy every so often with hands that shook slightly. If I didn't know, I'd know, Poppy thought. She isn't acting like Mom at all. â€Å"I think I'll stay here tonight,† her mother said. Not quite managing to sound offhand. â€Å"The nurse said I can sleep on the window seat; it's really a couch for parents. I'm just trying to decide whether I should run back to the house and get some things.† â€Å"Yes, go,† Poppy said. There was nothing else she could say and still pretend that she didn't know. Besides, her mom undoubtedly needed some time by herself, away from this. Just as her mother left, a nurse in a flowered blouse and green scrub pants came in to take Poppy's temperature and blood pressure. And then Poppy was alone. It was late. She could still hear a TV, but it was far away. The door was ajar, but the hallway outside was dim. A hush seemed to have fallen over the ward. She felt very alone, and the pain was gnawing deep inside her. Beneath the smooth skin of her abdomen, the tumor was making itself known. Worst of all, James hadn't called. How could he not call? Didn't he know she needed him? She wasn't sure how long she could go on not thinking about It. Maybe the best thing would be to try to sleep. Get unconscious. Then she couldn't think. But as soon as she turned out the light and closed her eyes, phantoms swirled around her. Not images of pretty bald girls; skeletons. Coffins. And worst of all, an endless darkness. If I die, I won't be here. Will I be anywhere? Or will I just Not Be at all? It was the scariest thing she'd ever imagined, Not-Being. And she was definitely thinking now, she couldn't help it. She'd lost control. A galloping fear consumed her, made her shiver under the rough sheet and thin blankets. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to – â€Å"Poppy.† Her eyes flew open. For a second she couldn't identify the black silhouette in the darkened room. She had a wild idea that it was Death itself coming to get her. Then she said, â€Å"James?† â€Å"I wasn't sure if you were asleep.† Poppy reached for the bedside button that turned on the light, but James said, â€Å"No, leave it off. I had to sneak past the nurses, and I don't want them to throw me out.† Poppy swallowed, her hands clenched on a fold of blanket. â€Å"I'm glad you came,† she said. â€Å"I thought you weren't going to come.† What she really wanted was to throw herself into his arms and sob and scream. But she didn't. It wasn't just that she'd never done anything like that with him before; it was something about him that stopped her. Something she couldn't put her finger on, but that made her feel almost . . . frightened. The way he was standing? The fact that she couldn't see his face? All she knew was that James suddenly seemed like a stranger. He turned around and very slowly closed the heavy door. Darkness. Now the only light came in through the window. Poppy felt curiously isolated from the rest of the hospital, from the rest of the world. And that should have been good, to be alone with James, protected from everything else. If only she weren't having this weird feeling of not recognizing him. â€Å"You know the test results,† he said quietly. It wasn't a question. â€Å"My mom doesn't know I know,† Poppy said. How could she be talking coherently when all she wanted to do was scream? â€Å"I overheard the doctors telling her. . . . James, I've got it. And . . . it's bad; it's a bad kind of cancer. They said it's already spread. They said I'm going to . . .† She couldn't get the last word out, even though it was shrieking through her mind. â€Å"You're going to die,† James said. He still seemed quiet and centered. Detached. â€Å"I read up on it,† James went on, walking over to the window and looking out. â€Å"I know how bad it is. The articles said there was a lot of pain. Serious pain.† â€Å"James,† Poppy gasped. â€Å"Sometimes they have to do surgery just to try to stop the pain. But whatever they do, it won't save you. They can fill you full of chemicals and irradiate you, and you'll still die. Probably before the end of summer.† â€Å"James – â€Å" â€Å"It will be your last summer – â€Å" â€Å"James, for God's sake!† It was almost a scream. Poppy was breathing in great shaking gulps, clinging to the blankets. â€Å"Why are you doing this to me?† He turned and in one movement seized her wrist, his fingers closing over the plastic hospital bracelet. â€Å"I want you to understand that they can't help you,† he said, ragged and intense. â€Å"Do you understand that?† â€Å"Yes, I understand,† Poppy said. She could hear the mounting hysteria in her own voice. â€Å"But is that what you came here to say? Do you want to kill me?† His fingers tightened painfully. â€Å"No! I want to save you.† Then he let out a breath and repeated it more quietly, but with no less intensity. â€Å"I want to save you, Poppy.† Poppy spent a few moments just getting air in and out of her lungs. It was hard to do it without dissolving into sobs. â€Å"Well, you can't,† she said at last. â€Å"Nobody can.† â€Å"That's where you're wrong.† Slowly he released her wrist and gripped the bed rail instead. â€Å"Poppy, there's something I've got to tell you. Something about me.† â€Å"James . . .† Poppy could breathe now, but she didn't know what to say. As far as she could tell, James had gone crazy. In a way, if everything else hadn't been so awful, she might have been flattered. James had lost his consummate cool – over her. He was upset enough about her situation to go completely nonlinear. â€Å"You really do care,† she said softly, with a laugh that was half a sob. She put a hand on his where it rested on the bed rail. He laughed shortly in turn. His hand flipped over to grasp hers roughly; then he pulled away. â€Å"You have no idea,† he said in a terse, strained voice. Looking out the window, he added, â€Å"You think you know everything about me, but you don't. There's something very important that you don't know.† By now Poppy just felt numb. She couldn't understand why James kept harping on himself, when she was the one about to die. But she tried to conjure up some sort of gentleness for him as she said, â€Å"You can tell me anything. You know that.† â€Å"But this is something you won't believe. Not to mention that it's breaking the laws.† â€Å"The law?† â€Å"The laws. I go by different laws than you. Human laws don't mean much to us, but our own are supposed to be unbreakable.† â€Å"James,† Poppy said, with blank terror. He really was losing his mind. â€Å"I don't know the right way to say it. I feel like somebody in a bad horror movie.† He shrugged, and said without turning, â€Å"I know how this sounds, but . . . Poppy, I'm a vampire.† Poppy sat still on the bed for a moment. Then she groped out wildly toward the bedside table. Her fingers closed on a stack of little crescent-shaped plastic basins and she threw the whole stack at him. â€Å"You bastard !† she screamed, and reached for something else to throw.

Barilla Spa (A) Case Study Essay

Executive Summary Sales representatives at the Barilla SpA, world’s largest pasta producer, are seeing customers changing due to long re-order lead-time and frequent stock-outs. Even with a high inventory levels, Barilla is still not able to cope with the fluctuating demand. The fluctuation in demand is seen as the bullwhip effect that is caused by sales strategies that have been put into place that is very product focused. This causes excessive demand from week to week depending on the product that the promotion or incentive is been aimed towards. There is also a lack of data sharing and poor communication throughout the whole supply chain which does not bring visibility for production forecast. With the Just-in-Time Distribution (JITD) that was brought in from the logistics manager, neither internally nor externally is supporting the new system. With the lack of understanding of the new system and the positive results it will bring, it will be hard to convince buy-ins from different angles. The initiative should be tested first from Barilla’s own facilities and prove out the methods and be able to visualize the improvements to the rest of its supply chain. During the implementation and test phase, there should be dedicated teams which monitor the data and metrics coming from the new system. Daily meetings should be held to discuss issues and resolve them as quickly as possible. As inventory levels drop, issues with the distribution system will arise which provides a priority of issues to resolve. Once the system has been proven, the results will be the biggest selling points to have the implementation through the whole supply chain and for everyone to understand its benefits. Issues Identification Barilla is experiencing issues to meet their fluctuating demand from the distribution centers even when carrying additional inventory throughout the supply chain. Brando Vitali has came with a proposal of a Just-in-time Distribution (JITD) but neither the sales team in Barilla or the buyers at the distribution centers are agreeing with the approach. At the same time, these teams are already noticing that our customers are leaving due to the lack of servicing we are able to provide. Distribution centers were asked to carry more inventories to prevent occurrences of stock outs but the suggestion was not accepted. In return, they issued a complaint regarding the number of SKUs Barilla has which makes it impossible to manage and the long manufacturing lead-time due to the tight heat and humidity specifications. Environmental and Root Cause Analysis Fluctuating Demand: The fluctuation in demand is caused by a combination of reasons. The trade promotions and volume discounts that Barilla uses as sales strategies are one of the biggest influences. There were also no limits to the quantities that the distributors are allowed to order per each â€Å"canvass† period. The incentive program for Barilla’s sales representatives is also causing inconsistency to the demand; they would be pushing for the SKU’s that would bring them a higher incentive. Barilla is also experience a growth in their export market; it was expected to reach 20-25% per year. With this increasing growth, Barilla does not have any sophisticated forecasting technique that would prepare them to meet the demand. There is a minimal visibility for Barilla to see where the volatility is in the demand is coming from. This is creating the Bullwhip Effect throughout their whole supply chain. The poor communication and cooperation between retailers, distribution centers and manufacturer is the reason that they all are maintaining higher inventory than required. Resistance to Changes: There were many resistances to this new initiative when it was being brought up internally and externally. When there is a lack of understanding of the results that a new initiative will bring, there will always be resistance to change. Sales team fears that that they would see a reduction of responsibilities and distribution centers were defensive when they misinterpret the approach as saying they don’t know what they are doing. Alternative and/or Options Alternative #1 – Continue to promote the Just-in-time Distribution (JITD) initiative To be able to eliminate the Bullwhip Effect, there must be an increase in visibility through the whole supply chain. With better communication and an understanding and trust between vendors, it will eliminate the volatility in demand. This will improve the service levels from distributors to retailers and at the same time reduce the inventory carrying cost. With the visibility, it will better Barilla to forecast their demand and improve their production planning process. While achieving this, it will reduce their manufacturing cost and their inventory cycle. Alternative #2 – Eliminate product focus sales strategies Instead of promoting particular products in each canvass period that will cause excessive demand, Barilla should maintain a constant competitive pricing through the year. Barilla should also eliminate their product-focus incentive policy for their sales representative and create incentive programs that will not allow them to focus on a particular SKU. Recommendations and Implementation Barilla should continue to promote the Just-in-Time Distribution initiative. As this is a new concept for the distributors and retailers, Barilla should prove out this initiative at their own facility. With the results, they can then have bigger bargaining power to promote this idea to its whole supply chain. As for anything else to be successful in a company, it is important for top management to be actively involved. Employees need to be aware of the importance of this project in order for it to be successful and for them to understand positive results it will bring to the company. During the implementation, there would be decrease in inventory levels. Before, the inventory levels were used as a buffer to hide the problems that prevents us from working with a lower inventory level. As we decrease the inventory levels, the problems will arise and it will identify for us what issues we need to resolve as a priority. If the problem requires a longer time to resolve, then the inventory levels can be raise to prevent affecting customers from stock-outs. Then the focus would be to resolve the issue and the inventory levels can be lowered again. With this approach, it will help prioritize the issues that need to be address and which ones will help lower our inventory levels. Monitor and Control To monitor the affects of this initiative, there are a few key performance indicators that need to be set-up. Stock Out Rate – This will immediately show the trend with the current system and be able to visualize that JITD will increase service levels. Inventory Levels – Visualize inventory levels at all firms to demonstrate the win-win scenario that this initiative will bring. Re-order Lead-time – To show with the increase communication, it helps for manufacturers to respond faster There should be daily meetings held with the key departments to ensure that the information is communicated in an effective manner. The meeting should be held at the same time in the same form to create a drum-beat system that will create a habit for the stakeholders to inform of any issues that they have encounter and to gather as a group to resolve.

Marketing Plan Skylarknet a Wireless Essay

Wireless mesh networking is the latest tech in this field. Internet pro Wireless networks provide unprecedented freedom and mobility for a growing number of laptop and PDA users who no longer need wires to stay connected with their workplace and the Internet. Ironically, the very devices that provide wireless service to these clients need lots of wiring themselves to connect to private networks and the Internet. This wiring is expensive to install and change, and deployment must be carefully planned and timed to minimize disruption to normal business operations. Permits or permissions may be required, and then there are the laborious tasks of pulling, terminating and testing the copper wiring or fiber optic cabling. With all the work involved, it should not be surprising that wiring can be the most expensive part of a â€Å"wireless† network! Indeed, the many obstacles associated with wiring are now preventing or delaying the deployment of wireless applications that could deliver a real competitive advantage or a high return on investment—or both. This marketing plan provides an overview of implementing Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) service for the first time in the suburban areas of Bangladesh. Wireless Mesh Network is an exciting new technology which has tremendous potential especially for a developing country like Bangladesh. Quite a few African countries are already benefiting from this novel technology. Supported by the growing buying power, a number of desktop and laptop users in the suburban areas of Bangladesh are badly in need of high quality internet service. In the world of internet the best suitable option stands for the suburban areas is the wireless technology. We plan to act as a service and equipment provider for the local ISP dealers and some institutional market such as university campus, NGO, hospitals and nursing home etc. As we are the pioneer of this new technology we conducted an insightful analysis of the competitor’s position and their offerings. The marketing plan starts with the situational analysis of the current market. External and internal factor analysis (SWOT analysis) provides a clear picture of current scenario. Grameen Phone, Qubee, Banglalion, ZoomUltra are our main competitors. But the cost of their offering is much higher than ours. Because there lies a higher establishment cost. Eliminating wires dramatically reduces the implementation costs, and substantially simplifies on-going operations. Without wires, the network becomes far more adaptable and flexible. That’s why we focus on the cost effectiveness and performance of the WMN service. We identify our company as a market challenger and set some strategies suitable for the challengers. Some pilot projects are planned to create the awareness among target customers. Based on these projects success further promotional and pricing strategies are set. In the later part of the report the feasibility of this marketing plan is justified by the financial analysis. Expense and sales are forecasted for the next three years followed by a break-even analysis. Overall monitoring and contingency plan (in the case of failure) completes the total planning for our company. Introduction In this world of modern technology, most people prefer not to connect computers with Ethernet cables because excessive cables scattered throughout their office or home is unsightly. One can choose to install a wireless network to avoid excessive cabling. For a wireless network, there is no need to use Ethernet cables to connect your computers to the DSL or router. Moreover, WLANs are available anywhere in the world at an affordable cost. In the suburban and rural areas Wireless tech suits best. Wireless mesh networking is the newest tech in wireless field. Our objective is to identify the potential suburban customers of Bangladesh who can afford a cost-effective internet service. Origin of the Study This report has been prepared a requirement to fulfill the course. This report evaluates the business opportunity of latest wireless mesh network technology in the suburban areas of Bangladesh from service provider point of view. Objective of the Study The primary objective of this report is to fulfill the course requirement of â€Å"Marketing Management†. The secondary objective is to describe a detail marketing plan for a new technology. Limitation of the Study There is no authentic statistics about the potential number of internet users in the suburban areas of Bangladesh. As this is a new technology, the costs of the equipments vary depending on the different manufacturers. We are making a new entry, so the estimation of potential market is based on the secondary data of other existing competitors rather than the primary data. Sales and expense is forecasted on the discretion of our part that may vary widely in real case implementation. Unavailability of previous year’s financial report necessitates greater recourse to mere guessing in some cases. Situational Analysis What is WMN (Wireless Mesh Network)? Mesh networks represent an emerging wireless networking technology that promises wider coverage than traditional wireless LANs and lower deployment and operation costs than 3G cellular networks. For these reasons, network operators and service providers consider mesh networking to be a serious candidate to solve the so called last mile problem. Some network operators worldwide have already started to deploy mesh based access networks offering nearly ubiquitous and inexpensive wireless Internet connections to their customers. Examples are Ozone’s mesh network in Paris (www. zone. net/en/) and The Cloud in the City of London (www. thecloud. net). The real business potential lies in operator based mesh networks. By their systematic design, deployment, and maintenance, operator based mesh networks provide higher levels of Quality-of-Service (QoS), meaning larger coverage, higher speed, and more reliable operation. In addition, it can be argued that mesh network operators in a give n geographical area will cooperate in order to further optimize their costs and increase the QoS provided by their networks. The form of the cooperation can range from traditional roaming agreements to joint provision of specific services. Figure 1: Wireless Mesh Network Strategic planning is important because in well-run companies the goal from the very top of the organization down to where one is working should form a more-or-less unbroken chain (or â€Å"hierarchy†) of goals. At the top of the company the president and his or her staff set strategic goals. These goals should flow from top and make sense in terms of the goals at the next level up. Then the vice presidents’ subordinates set their own goals, and so on down the line. In this way, management creates a hierarchy or chain of departmental goals, from the top down the lowest-ranked managers, and even employees. Then , if everyone does his or her job-if each salesperson sells his her quota, and the sales manager hires enough good salespeople, and the HR manager creates the right incentive plan, and the purchasing head buysand CEO should also accomplish the overall, company-wide strategic goals. One could therefore say with great certainty that without a clear plan at the top, no one in the company would have the foggiest notion of what to do. Wireless Internet Market in Bangladesh Wireless Internet Service was first introduced to Bangladesh in public by cell phone giant Grameen Phone. Then other GSM mobile phone operators like Banglalink, Aktel and Warid follow suit. Citycell, the only CDMA based mobile phone operator in Bangladesh introduced the Zoom internet service, which was a little different from the other mobile phone operators in that consumers could connect to internet by using a USB modem included in the Zoom package. Later on Grameen Phone also introduced a package where they include an USB modem.

Discuss the ethical issues in the Monsanto case Essay

Discuss the ethical issues in the Monsanto case - Essay Example Most cases, the company owned up its failures and strived to clean up in its attempt to safeguard its stakeholder interests. In its attempt to balance the stakeholder interests, Monsanto has often disregarded a number of ethical issues mostly in health, environmental and moral issues as the discussion below portrays. The company has a poor reputation owing to the number of scandals arising from the unethical techniques it employs in its operations. The debate around the suitability of genetically modified foods continues to jeopardize the activities of the company and its profitability given the fact that the company prides itself in the sale of such products. Genetically modified foods present a number of advantages to the society. Genetically modified substances mature faster and are resistant to both drought and pests. As such, genetic modification of foods is among the surest ways of enhancing the global food security (Gillam, 2009). Such arguments continue to enhance the profitability of the company since the company presents the answer to some of the world’s greatest concern. Food insecurity in Africa is of a major concern. Through consistent research on genetic modification of agricultural products, the company promises to develop plant and animal species that can help improve food security in the continent. While such beliefs continue to improve investor confidence on the company, Monsanto must continue employing ethical practices in order to safeguard the safety of the substances it develops. The company must address all the major concerns and doubts that people have on the safety and suitability of the genetically modified foods (Fraedrich, Ferrell & Ferrell, 2012). Another equally important ethical concern is environmental degradation. Global warming is a real threat to the safety of the earth. As such, the company must enhance the safety of its operations with the view to protecting the environment from such of the pollutant its produces. In

MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

MARKETING - Essay Example HFSS refers to foods high in fats, sugars, and salts. This key marketing issue aligns with the advertising appeal strategy (Zou and Fu, 2011: 116). According to this theory, products ought to be advertised or marketed in a manner that would manipulate or control consumer behavior in relation to purchasing. The message in the advertisement particularly in the media according to Akabas, Lederman and Moore (2012: 49) should be captivating in order to capture the attention of the consumers. The article posits the introduction of regulations in the year 2009 in a bid to limit advertisement of unhealthy foods. As a consequence of the regulations, the rate at which unhealthy foods has been advertised in the media has been curtailed. As elucidated by Veenema (2003: 172), the Maslows hierarchy of needs outlines health in terms of safety as one of the basic need in human existence. Obesity is considered one of the most serious childhood health issues in the developed world. This has been largely contributed by advertisement through the social media and other channels (Delgado, 2013: n.p). It is of significance to posit that children are easily manipulated hence are more likely to develop food preferences from advertisements (Varley, 2012: 92). This is one loophole that has been exploited by food companies in marketing unhealthy foods to children through the social media. Therefore, ensuring that children access information of healthy foods is imperative for the maintenance o f a healthy and productive population (Samour and King, 2012: 518). Though the regulations introduced in 2009 have reduced promotion of unhealthy foods in the television sets, there has been an observable increase in advertisements particularly in the social media (Preedy, Watson and Martin, 2011: 982). In the contemporary world, there has been a lot of advancements in terms of technology. It is very easy for individuals

Lodon Underground Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lodon Underground - Essay Example In its effort to serve the UK residents, the UK government provides various merit goods including London Underground and health as well as London underground. This paper aims at discussing London Underground as one of the merit goods that are enjoyed by the residents of the United Kingdom. London Underground is an important metro system that serves residents of UK. Serving more than 270 stations, London Underground was originally operated by various companies including City and South London Railway and Electric traction trains. The vision of London Underground is to deliver a state of art world-class underground globally (Hardy, 2002). Also referred to as Tube, London Underground obtains its revenue mostly from the large number of massagers it serves in the UK. One of the major reasons as to why large number of passengers uses the Tube is due to its convenience as well as the high speed that it adopts. According to the Tube management, safety and reliability cannot result to world-class transport system even though they are the base of good service. As a result, London Underground believes that quality of travelling is the most vital aspect to passengers. One of the major challenges facing London Underground is keeping the city of London on the move while the Tube is being transformed. As the demand for the use of London Underground rise, it has resulted to expansive investment in order to improve its revenue and provide world class services. The success of Tube is based on its efforts to put the experience of its passengers at the central position of its strategies. For example, the organization maintains helpful and always available staff, adequate security systems and high-quality information. During their travelling, most of the passengers using the Tube use Oysters. An Oyster is smartcard that is plastic in

The Role of Women in Ancient Greece and Egypt Research Paper

The Role of Women in Ancient Greece and Egypt - Research Paper Example In many countries, there is an opinion that women are even not so intelligent and do not possess the creative mind. Certainly, these wrong beliefs have been already disproved by the science after different investigations were held to prove that women and men do not differ much in their emotional behavior and possess the same intellectual and creative abilities. Many experts state that in many societies women are deliberately taught to be inferior and subordinate. These negative and destructive stereotypes are mainly maintained by men who try to save their privileged positions as more and more women in the world manage to overcome the influence of feminine teaching and take the place under the sun. Feminine teaching is different in different countries and has its roots in the country’s history. The given paper will consider the role of women in Ancient Greece and in Ancient Egypt. What is remarkable about Ancient Egypt is that in contrast to other ancient civilizations Egyptian women had the rights almost equal to men’s. ...They could take many decisions independently. Egyptian women could apply to the court and appear in public. However, their appearance in public without men was still undesirable and they stayed home most of the time. Women could have different occupations, but their abilities still were limited and many of them were housewives. Some women could work in workshops and few of them could even occupy leading positions. The position of women in Egypt was better than in any other ancient state. Their position was described as follows: â€Å"Egyptian women, the mother that one respected above all, the women subject to a strict moral code, but granted a great freedom of expression -- her entire legal capacity, her shocking financial independence, the impact of her personality in family life and the management of common belongings and her own belongings† (Desroches Noblecourt, 1986).This was due to the fact that Egyptians had very special principles. The life in Ancient Egypt was focused on reaching happiness and pleasure and the family was considered to be the main source of this happiness. In the ancient world, the position of women in the family was determined as subordinate, but there were variations depending on the territory and the principles, which were maintained in this or that ancient state. The influence of such prejudices was stronger if the legislation created a strict distinction between men and women and their roles in the society and in the family. Marriage and family were always valued very high, but in many countries, women were considered to be just home servants. Children also had absolutely no rights and they got them only when they become adult.