Sample Financial Plan Description

We have created a financial plan to help you retire at the age of 62 and afford to send your son, Sam, to college. After looking at the information you gave us regarding your income and expenses, we came up with the best solution for your financial future. We’ve picked out profitable mutual funds for your son’s college, as well as retirement investments. We also have found different methods of saving money for your retirement and future education for your son. We believe that there will be a great benefit to having a financially stable future. We understand with Sam attending a four-year university, the cost will be great along with the need for saving money for this to work financially. Grand Valley State University will provide an excellent education for your son, along with benefiting him for his future. Overall, it will cost $189,750 to attend Grand Valley State University for four years. We do, however, understand that the cost to attend the university may concern you at first, but there are methods of assistance that are available, such as investments and savings plans. Investing in specific funds, with good performance history, will have a huge advantage in acquiring the money for your son to go to college. We strongly advise investing a portion of your discretionary income into mutual funds. Your discretionary income would be the amount of your income that is left over, after taxes and expenses have been paid. Investing in mutual funds, rather than other investment options, will eliminate the stress and difficultly of trying to time the market. We invested 46% of your discretionary income into four different types of mutual funds, which will provide diversification for your investments. Using a MET and/or a MESP savings plan will create many advantages that will benefit you in sending your son to college. Both, the MET and MESP savings plan, are 529 plans. These are tax-advantaged savings plans specifically designed to encourage saving for future college costs. You are not able to withdraw money that is invested into a 529 plan unless it is an eligible college expense. We feel as though it is a benefit for most because it allows the money to amass without disturbance. The Michigan Education Trust (MET) is a way to help pay tuition and mandatory fees at Michigan public colleges. The plan allows for years of college tuition to be purchased for the future use of a student at today’s price. For example, you could buy four years of tuition now at 2011 prices, which would be $189,750, for Sam to use when he enters college in 2028. Some advantages the MET offers are a state tax deduction and a tax-free growth. The only thing that we want to bring to your attention is that you only have fifteen years to use the tuition benefits, unlike the MESP, which has no expiration date. The Michigan Education Savings Plan (MESP) is an advantageous way to allow your family to save for the expenses that come along with college. The MESP is a 529 college savings plan which allows families to save for tuition, room & board, mandatory fees, equipment, and required books for any qualified institution in the nation and some abroad. When the student is ready to use the funds in the MESP, whatever has been accumulated is what they have to work with. Some benefits of the MESP include: a state tax deduction, tax-free growth, and it allows for unused benefits to be transferred between members of the same family. We would recommend this plan over the MET to your family. The MET will cover tuition fees; although, it lacks the flexibility to pay for other related expenses, such as books, supplies, and other miscellaneous items. A mutual fund is an investment in which a company brings together money from many investors and invests it in stocks, bonds or other assets. Mutual funds are a good long-term investment, such as for your retirement. The risk level depends on the type of mutual fund it is. In your case, we chose the mutual fund with the best performance out of each different type. We recommend taking the remaining portion of your discretionary income, which would be 54%, and invest it just as we did for your son’s education. Mutual funds that are properly diversified will have investment dollars spread equally among four different classes of financial assets. We invested the remaining portion of your discretionary income into the same four mutual funds that were used for your college savings. We chose to invest in an international mutual fund, the New World Fund, which has a 9. 55% rate of return. We also chose an aggressive growth mutual fund, the SMALLCAP World Fund, which has a 9. 62% rate of return. Thirdly, we invested in a growth mutual fund with a 13. 63% rate of return, known as the Growth Fund of America. And lastly, we chose a Growth and Income mutual fund, the Capital World Growth and Income Fund, with has an 11. 17% rate of return. When diversifying the money in which you would like to invest, the smartest decision that you could make would be to invest in the four mutual funds that I just stated or funds that fit into each of the four different classes. This helps to reduce risk, such as if a couple securities in the mutual fund lose value and that loss could compensate for other securities that appreciate in value. When reaching the retirement age you can then transfer your gained revenue from all four of your mutual funds and place it into a bond fund. Bond mutual funds are designed mostly to provide investors with a steady stream of income versus capital gains. These funds are debt securities, or IOUs, which are issued with a promise of repayment on a certain date at a specified rate of interest. For your financial plan, all of your gained revenue was placed into a bond mutual fund as soon as you retired, therefore liquidating your riskier assets. Using this bond fund, you are earning a 5% interest every year. For example, the first year of retirement, after removing your yearly expenses, you will have $678,785 to place in your bond fund. At the end of the year, with the 5% interest rate of return on bond fund, you will have profited $1,139. 70 throughout the year, even after your expenses. We recommend that you invest in at least one retirement savings plan, such as a 401k or a Roth IRA, to securely save for retirement. It is a good idea to look into different savings plans, rather than make a hasty decision, because everyone benefits from a different savings plan, depending on their situation. In your case, the Roth IRA or 401k will be the most beneficial. With both of these retirement savings plans there are tax breaks that will benefit you. These savings plans are greatly used in America to help save for retirement nowadays. Each savings plan offers different advantages for couples saving for retirement. A 401k is a retirement savings plan for employees in which a desired amount of your check is taken out before tax deductions and placed into your 401k account. We understand that you have a pension plan through work, but your wife does not. This type of savings plan would be a great way to save for retirement. 401k is the favorite plan for corporate America today, due to its many advantages. Many employers will match, up to a certain percentage, the amount in which you place into your 401k. Invisible savings is one of the biggest advantages to the 401k savings plan. The money saved is taken directly out of you check weekly, even before the income tax is withdrawn. In doing so, this makes the money seem invisible to your eyes, and to your financial pocket book. There are other beneficial savings plans available, which can be used along with the 401k. Roth IRA’s are after- tax IRA’s. They grow tax free and offer many more choices than the normal IRA. Roth IRA’s are a good choice when it comes to saving for retirement. Even though you contribute after-tax dollars into a Roth IRA, all withdraws are completely tax free if you are over the age of 59 ? and have had the account for 5 years. With Roth IRA’s, unlike a tradition IRA or a 401k plan, there are no required minimum distributions. Direct contributions can be withdrawn at any time as well. Roth IRA’s can be set up on top of already existing retirement plans; as well the assets can be passed onto beneficiaries after death, therefore leaving an inheritance for your family. We are sure that we have supplied you with a detailed overview in helping you to be financially secure now and in the future. In taking the advice that we have given you with these many different investment ideas, you will find yourself more than content financially. We can guarantee that down the road, you will not have to worry about your financial status. Although in actuality, it is important to remember that building wealth takes time. However, the acquisition of your financial contentment will be well worth your time. We hope, here at L&N Financial Planning, that providing you with this letter will give you the financial peace of mind that you and your family deserve.

Narrative on a Special Place Essay

My love for Africa Hello everyone my name is Tulsi Amin and I attend South University at the West Palm Beach Campus in Florida. I have been to many different places in my life and in fact I have stayed in three different continents as of now. I was born in India moved to Kenya when I was two and final destination is America since the age of 10. Africa is where I consider my childhood where I learned to play with butterflies saw talking parrots and was visited by wild monkeys frequently in my courtyard. With my experiences with people in the Western world and their depiction of Africa being like the â€Å"Jungle Book† I wish I can take them all there to see the reality of this beautiful continent. I lived in Nairobi, Kenya the capital city of that country. There are no lions, tigers or giraffes on the street as I have heard many people ask me. We do have high rise buildings, malls, public transportation and homes built out of brick. Although I lived there from the age of two to eight I remember many things that are very special to me today. I remember having an aunt that lived in a town called Thompson Falls that was on the Equator and the weather was always perfect there. I used to go there many summers and go down waterfalls and see huge hippos basting in the river. I met the local tribes that are called Masais and learned to make tribal necklaces out of gemstones. Africa is a country that is full of culture and having been lived there has made me appreciate many things in life that are scarce resources that we take for granted elsewhere. When I moved to America in 1993 and started school in New Jersey I was so excited when I saw a few black students in my class. I went up to them and started speaking in Swahili and they looked at me and replied â€Å"I am sorry we are not Indian† So I told them no this is your language. All the students looked at me and said our language is English. That’s when I learned that African Americans do not speak Swahili the native language of Kenya. As I learned more about history and slavery and saw how many African Americans lost their roots to their homeland it was a rude awakening for me. I am glad that this is a rich part of my life and will always be a special place for me. Although many people got a colorful depiction of Africa and the safaris through Disney’s Lion King the real safari is even more exciting to see. I do remember traveling to other smaller towns that were on the outskirts on our way we would zebras grazing in this vast open green land. Many times we have seen giraffes, antelopes and elephants just enjoying their natural habitat. These memories and sightings are something that I will never forget. I love that country and am delighted that it is part of my life. I will love sharing these memories with my children and hoping to take them one day to see Kenya, Africa. Over the years I thought how I may make people appreciate other countries and their culture. America is known as the â€Å"melting pot† where many different cultures come to make a living yet are we so ignorant to learn about all these cultures. As a child when I attended school I was taught about all major religions and how to respect others and their beliefs. As they say education and manners are taught young and school is where this appreciation for other cultures should be taught. Modern day education needs to implement the positive aspects of the other countries such as teaching students about their culture, economy, what these countries are famous for. I learned about slavery which is a big part of part history but now it is time to teach and appreciate where the slaves came from. They left their roots so far behind that many of them do not know where they came from in Africa. We live in a modern day world where everyone around us comes from different backgrounds, values and beliefs. We all have special meaning for the places where we come from and I think we deserve for others to respect these places. There are problems everywhere but despite them when they place is special to any one of us we tend to overlook the problems. We need to have an open mind and room to explore and learn about other countries and cultures.

Impact Of Technology On Healthcare Health And Social Care Essay

Medical information engineering is frequently thought of in the modern context of computing machines, but the careful aggregation and analysis of information related to observation of patient status, effectivity of different interventions, and design of new interventions dates back to the clip of Hippocrates ( ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 Be ) ( Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Hippocrates took punctilious notes that enabled him to do legion discoveries both in the apprehension of the workings of the human organic structure and in the moralss and attack to thought that are indispensable to modern medical pattern and probe ( Olguin, Gloor & A ; Pentland, 2009 ) . Relatively small invention took topographic point in furthering, the pattern of medical specialty from the clip of Hippocrates until the early twentieth century, with developments such as the variola vaccinum in 1901. During the twentieth century, the growing of medical engineering has increased continuously, with inventions such as penicillin, X-ray, PET/MRI scanning, computing machines, robotic surgery, radiation therapy, chemo-therapy, and many other signifiers of engineering and interventions ( Garson, 2008 ; Munnelly & A ; Clarke, 2007 ) . While the usage of medical hardware and information engineering has been indispensable to healthcare for 1000s of old ages, these same tools can make hard jobs ( Appari & A ; Johnson, 2010 ; Ziefle & A ; Rocker, 2010 ) . For illustration, the over-use of antibiotics has caused a new signifier of pathogen normally called super-bugs, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococci aureus ( MRSA ) and other antibiotic opposition strains that are highly hard and expensive to handle. Healthcare installations ( edifices ) can besides be considered to be a signifier of engineering. As with other signifiers of engineering, physical installations involve a common interaction between users of the engineering and the engineering Anderson & A ; Wittwer, 2011 ) . In healthcare contexts, the physical installations are frequently closely interrelated with the staff and other engineering that the edifice contains ( Munnelly & A ; Clarke, 2007 ) . Often, engineering is integrated into the edifice itself. As with other signifiers of engineering in health care, organisations spend important amounts of money on their installations. If these financess are non spent sagely, they contribute to the lifting cost of health care and can impact the fiscal or operational viability of the organisation ( Aziz et al. 2006 ; Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Among the innovators of Healthcare Technology, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) has been one of the most supportive. Concerned with the health of the spacemans during infinite missions, NASA scientists developed technological devices for the measuring and transmittal of physiological and medical informations between infinite and Earth Stationss in the sixtiess ( Lankton & A ; Wilson, 2007 ) . This attempt was subsequently applied in the 1970s to back up medical services to the rural Papago Native American Reservation in Arizona utilizing a manned nomadic medical unit linked to local infirmaries. The first full service Healthcare Technology operation appeared in 1968 between Logan Airport Health station and the Massachusetts General Hospital ( MGH ) of Harvard Medical School ( Garson, 2008 ; Munnelly & A ; Clarke, 2007 ) . The service included 10 remote sites linked through the New Hampshire-Vermont Medical Interactive Television Network with a cardinal hub s tationed at Dartmouth. The service supported medical instruction and forte medical services including psychopathology, malignant neoplastic disease, and dermatology ( Pai & A ; Huang, 2011 ) . Another important Healthcare Technology event occurred in the 1990s when NASA launched the first big graduated table international Healthcare Technology undertaking, Spacebridge. Spacebridge presently supplies a assortment of medical specializer audiences and medical educational chances to the Eastern European part ( Sneha & A ; Varshney, 2007 ; Varshney, 2009 ) . Modern Healthcare Technology in the last century evolved from basic telephone audiences as experimental undertakings. Propelled by emerging engineerings and the information expressway, Healthcare Technology has resurfaced with new content and significance. Healthcare Technology experiments that are presently used in pilot signifier will turn out to be everyday in the hereafter. Impact of Technology on Healthcare The intent of this subdivision is to reexamine the literature on the impacts of engineering in health care. Evidence on the impact of engineering in health care is assorted. Literature on engineering impacts in health care have looked at both concluding result steps, such as productiveness or end product or mortality, every bit good as intermediate public presentation steps such as mistake rates, rhythm times, use, and complications ( Pai & A ; Huang, 2011 ) . A revenant subject among surveies on engineering and health care is the function of clip slowdowns ; the empirical grounds by and large supports the impression that engineering investings require a significant clip period for users to larn how to utilize the engineering ( Ziefle & A ; Rocker, 2010 ) . Surveies pulling from engineering literature base, consistent with the literature on engineering investing, appeared more likely to include complementary investing factors such as concern procedure reengineering ( BPR ) and preparation ( Varshney, 2009 ) . These surveies find positive impacts to engineering and frequently included ( Varshney, 2009 ) . Surveies based in the medical literature painted a more assorted position of results engineering investing ( Bardram, 2008 ; Coronato & A ; Pietro, 2010 ) . These surveies by and large did non include complementary investings and by and large took a â€Å" tool position † of engineering investings. The surveies based in the medical literature used a more nuanced pick of results ; consistent with the thought that health care is a alone context, including outcome steps such as mistake rate, differential mortality, use rates, and complication rates ( Sneha & A ; Varshney, 2007 ; Varshney, 2009 ) . What is losing from this literature is a survey that takes into history the alone nature of engineering investing, every bit good as the alone context of health care. Theory and grounds about the impacts of engineering investing suggest that engineering: a ) is a all-purpose engineering which frequently requires complementary investings to give positive returns, B ) lowers search costs, which lower the discrepancy of results, degree Celsius ) installations the accretion of â€Å" memory capital † over clip, vitamin D ) lowers monitoring costs, vitamin E ) speeds information diffusion, and degree Fahrenheit ) exhibits web effects ( Ziefle & A ; Rocker, 2010 ) . While many of the possible impact of engineering would look to ensue in positive returns in health care, findings on the impact of engineering in health care to day of the month are mixed. Most surveies on the impacts of engineering in health care have either: a ) used a rich apprehension of engineering investings focuse d upon the impact of engineering on traditional result steps such as profitableness or response clip, or B ) used a simplified position of engineering investing with a rich understand of the peculiar phenomena which arise out of the alone context of health care ( Coronato & A ; Pietro, 2010 ) . What is needed in this literature is a survey which takes into history the peculiar impacts of engineering investings on phenomena which are alone to healthcare, such as intervention incompatibility. Research Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Background Present research examines the factors that influence patient Healthcare Technology acceptance pulling support from the following theory. Theory of Reasoned Action The Theory of Reasoned Action asserts that beliefs influence attitudes. Attitudes, in bend, act upon the purposes that guide behavior, and credence of engineering is so demonstrated through behavior. TRA is well-tested and has been proven valid in foretelling and explicating behaviors in general human behavior. The construct of Theory of Reasoned Action was founded on Fishbein and Ajzen ‘s societal psychological science research. TRA suggested that important dealingss exist between beliefs, attitudes, purposes, and behaviors ( Aziz et al. 2006 ; Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Harmonizing to TRA, most societal behaviors are non automatic actions ; alternatively, they are under volitional controls. TRA asserts that people consider the deductions of their action based on the information available to them before they decide to execute behavior ( Aziz et al. 2006 ; Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Since behavior is a consequence of cognitive logical thinking, behavior is predictable. Theory of Reasoned Action is built on three concepts: attitude ( AT ) , subjective norm ( SN ) , and behavioral purpose ( BI ) . TRA has been examined and tested through legion research surveies. In TRA, attitude reflects personal behavioral beliefs and subjective norm refers to societal influences. TRA suggests that behavior purpose is a map of two determiners, a individual ‘s attitude and the subjective norm. A individual ‘s behavioral purpose, in bend, is the immediate determiner of the existent action ( Aziz et al. 2006 ; Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Based on the pictural presentation of TRA by Ajzen and Fishbein, TRA may be expressed as: BI = AT + SN and existent behavior = BI. A individual holds different beliefs from past experience about objects, actions, and events. Beliefs service as the immediate deciding factors of a individual ‘s attitude ( Aziz et al. 2006 ; Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Positive belief means stronger strong belief and credence toward the behavior in inquiry. With positive beliefs, a individual tends to garner positive attitudinal purpose to behaviour, which in bend leads to more possible realisation of the behavior. Attitude is a individual ‘s rating of the entity in inquiry ( Lankton & A ; Wilson, 2007 ) . Attitude arises as a map of beliefs. Beliefs may alter due to clip and fortunes or be replaced by new beliefs ; these alterations in bend affect a individual ‘s attitude. Social scientists have long established that attitude is a critical behavioral temperament ( Lankton & A ; Wilson, 2007 ) . However, a individual ‘s favorable or unfavorable perceptual experience to behaviour in consideration entirely does non ever produce the behavioral result. To accurately predict attitude, an extra variable must be taken into history of the attitude-behaviour relationship. This extra variable in TRA is the subjective norm ( Aziz et al. 2006 ; Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Subjective norm refers to a individual ‘s sensed outlooks from relevant persons or groups on whether or non to execute the behavior in inquiry ( Varshney, 2009 ) . Subjective norm is a map of normative beliefs, the ensuing influence of the societal environment. Social force per unit area can coerce an person to execute or avoid behavior in consideration regardless of the individual ‘s bing purpose. Since it has the potency of overruling a individual ‘s ain purpose, subjective norm is an independent concept to attitude in the TRA theoretical account. Concept of Pervasive Healthcare Technology Many Pervasive Healthcare Technology devices have undergone experimental tests in infirmaries every bit good as in patients ‘ places. Infrared engineering, gesture detectors ( infra-red sensing or acoustical sensing ) , picture cameras, and so on, that usage radio, Internet, ISDN, and telephone lines have been installed in health care installations ( Snyder, 2007 ) . Traditional non-invasive Pervasive Healthcare Technology frequently requires patient battle with devices at a set clip and location. For at hazard instances, such as post-stroke and postoperative wound-related complications where a close un-obstructive proctor is important in the recovery procedure, periodic monitoring may non catch episodic marks at the critical clip ( Washburn & A ; Hornberger, 2008 ) . Recent development of permeant monitoring systems focuses on automated and un-obstructive Pervasive Healthcare Technology without the limitations of clip and topographic point. Pervasive health care requires wireless engineerings and the duplicate substructure capablenesss. Permeant services are supported through radio LANs, cellular GSM/3G webs, satellite-based systems, and so forth ( Varshney, 2007 ) . Pervasive health care applications include â€Å" permeant wellness monitoring, intelligent exigency direction system, permeant health care informations entree, and omnipresent Mobile Healthcare Technology † ( Varshney, 2007 ) . Research on permeant Healthcare Technology started in the early 2000s utilizing the so budding permeant calculating engineerings. The end was to use omnipresent communicating engineerings to better patient liberty and health care mobility through uninterrupted monitoring. In instances such as myocardial ischaemia and station abdominal operations, uninterrupted physiological informations for timely sensing of impairment can alter the full attention result. Extended from Varshney ‘s definition for permeant health care ( 2007 ) , present research defines permeant Healthcare Technology as a Pervasive Healthcare Technology for anyone, anytime, and anyplace without location, clip, and other restraints. Earlier permeant Healthcare Technology experimented with video-telephony installings ( Thuemmler et al. 2009 ) . These devices provide unrecorded picture synergistic communicating through field old POTS for its broad handiness and comparatively low costs ( Lankton & A ; Wilson, 2007 ) . Using video-telephony, the healthcare professional can reexamine the therapies and supply support in real-time. More significantly, these devices alleviate the spread of distance, leting attention suppliers to supervise the patient ‘s emotional and mental provinces and non merely physiological information ( Olguin, Gloor & A ; Pentland, 2009 ) . Other types of permeant Healthcare Technology are enabled by portable topical detectors that integrate wireless engineering with clinical devices. Tele-devices such as tele-ECG and ring-sensors are worn by the patients for Pervasive Healthcare Technology. Data, such as ECG, pulsation rate, respiration rate, and O impregnation degrees, is collected and forwarded to the health care suppliers automatically ( Tu, Zhou, & A ; Piramuthu, 2009 ; Varshney, 2007 ) . This continuously monitored informations can supply of import clinical penetration for timely and accurate diagnosing. Advanced permeant devices for automatically roll uping multiple clinical parametric quantities have shown success in a organic structure detector web system ( Nachman et al. 2010 ) . This Pervasive Healthcare Technology system equipped with multiple detectors is able to roll up, procedure, and wirelessly convey the received informations via a secured nexus to a laptop for farther diagnosing. Pervasive Healthcare Technology devices that do non necessitate patients to have on the tele-devices besides have been developed in the past old ages. For illustration, mattresses, lavatories, kitchen contraptions, and vesture embedded with proctors can feel sleep form, organic structure weight, organic structure temperature, pulse rate, and so forth ( Bardram, 2008 ; Coronato & A ; Pietro, 2010 ) . Further experiments on advanced tele-sensing systems utilize the Doppler radio detection and ranging technique to garner scattered critical marks from throughout the organic structure ( Ziefle & A ; Rocker, 2010 ) . These systems can garner multiple clinical parametric quantities and are able to run autonomously without upseting the lives of the patients. Pervasive Healthcare Technology is built on widely deployed radio webs and advanced calculating engineerings. Pervasive Healthcare Technology solutions have focused chiefly on at hazard disease direction Anderson & A ; Wittwer, 2011 ) . However, a turning market in a broad scope of the healthcare field is ready to impel the development and ingestion of permeant Healthcare Technology. This pattern has had

The Audit Commission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Audit Commission - Essay Example There are different job functions with the audit commission namely the Audit family, Performance audit family and Functional family, working towards the same goal of improving the public services. The Audit commission follows different work patterns which would vary according to the job role and preference of the employee. There is a flexible working pattern adopted by the Audit commission which involves numerical flexibility, functional flexibility and place of work flexibility. This pattern was adopted to benefit both the organization and the employees. The numerical flexibility is adopted to balance the fluctuating word loads of the organization where there is increase or decrease in the size of the employees. The functional flexibility is where the employees are trained on various skills to serve different job functions so that they can be shuffled between various tasks during the time of needs. The place of work flexibility will help employees strike a balance between work and l ife and also it reduces the cost of the company incurred on the infrastructure and optimizes the use of resources Main objective of any organization is to use the availability of resources effectively and complete the work in the given time line. Irrespective of the work location or a function, a committed employee works effectively to give desired results. Building trust with an employee and giving him responsibilities will enhance his efficiency and also makes his responsible. The leader in organizations makes a lot of difference. There must be a healthy relationship at work which will motivate the employees and as a result produce better results. The Audit Commission follows the autocratic to a democratic model by Tannenbaum and Schmidt which states that the leader must be authoritative at the same time provide freedom to the employees. The Audit commission is a friendly work atmosphere and has a good work tempo.

Marketing Planning and Strategy (The Dark Side)1 Assignment

Marketing Planning and Strategy (The Dark Side)1 - Assignment Example Through excellent use of promotion tools, an organization can create new product/service needs and influence consumers to spend additionally. Similarly, the tool of marketing can be effectively used to identify the changing consumer needs and to satisfy those needs before losing customers to competitors. Undoubtedly, there is a dark side of marketing. Fraudulent multi-level marketing (MLM) is identified to be a major dark side of marketing. As Manning (2010, p. 367) points out, fraudulent MLM requires high entrance fees or expensive purchases without involving any authentic product or service. Using the concept of MLM and unrealistic schemes, it is easy to trap modern people who wish to become rich effortlessly. Compromising credibility is another dark side of marketing. Today even well established companies market their products and services to customers without disclosing the real benefits and costs. Hidden tariff rates and conditions are increasingly used by companies to attract more customers and to improve sales. Enron Corporation and Worldcom are two prominent examples of companies that have compromised their ethics/values for increased sales and

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 6

Book Review - Essay Example motive behind a criminal assault, and how the criminals are rescued and supported by the statute of the law and provisions of the jurisprudence, which turn the judicial trial into a highly complex phenomenon. While elaborating the court trial of a murder case, the novel discusses and explores the manners, under which the professionals related to the field of law and justice, perform their activities, forgetting about legal ethics they are bound to observe in while performing their duties and obligations. The novel also describes the problems faced by the accused, defendants and convicts, and projects the role of lawyers and judges during various phases of the court trial. The author points out the flaws and weaknesses the contemporary justice system that it contains in its fold, prevailing in the American society. The story of the novel revolves round the protagonist Paul Biegler, a small town lawyer, who takes the case of the alleged murderer Lt. Frederick Manion. Lt. Manion has murdered a bar owner named Barney Quill, and takes the plea that he had caught Quill red-handed while raping his wife Laura Manion. Since the rape of his wife is quite an intolerable thing for a husband, it also compelled him commit the murder of the rapist; hence, Manion pleads that his offence serves as an immediate reaction to the rape of his wife. Laura also supports her husband in his plea that Quill had raped her, though the medico-legal report finds no clue of any rape with Laura at all. During the trial, the lawyer Mr. Biegler collects sufficient evidences of the murder incident, in order to set his client free from the murder case, but he explores the very fact that Laura is not the woman of strong character, and was indulged in sexual relationships with many men including the murdered bar owner Quill. Hence , her husband has killed Barney Quill out of sheer feelings of jealousy and resentment he maintains for Quill, the paramour of his wife. Since there are no solid grounds on

Sports Cricket Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sports Cricket - Essay Example Such lost for the English people can be considered as a wake up call and thus can be perceived as main reason for the continuous kindling and motivation of the sport in participation of the two countries and even other countries. This is due to the fact that the even is continuously attracting participants from different parts of the world and the members of the international community. From the onset of the tradition of the sports cricket, The Ashes can be considered as the most important. The influence that the said event made already transcends the world of sports. In fact, it can be considered to have influenced the different aspects of the society. This can be perceived in terms of the social, economic, cultural and even the political aspects (Birley, 2003) Through the ages, the Ashes had surpassed the different challenges that a game can meet. The said sports can, in fact, be considered as an institution already. The said status of the game can be attributed to the stretch of long and colourful history that the event already surmounted. The establishment of the Ashes as an important event in cricket can be regarded as the most influential event. In terms of the history of the game itself, the most important part can be identified as the earliest and the latest years, although the continuous drive to present and organize the Test contributes largely for each year of commencement (Cricinfo, 2006). The early years are essential for the recognition of the Ashes due to the fact that the early part of the development of the tournament represents the establishment of the rules and the internal workings and even the administration of the game. On the other hand the latter years, which can be recognized as simultaneously occurring through the development of the modern time, can be recognized and commended due to the fact that the event was able to survive even through the through the introduction of a number of pastimes, events, sports and other form of entertainment (Birley, 2003). The charisma of the game can be attributed to the fact that the rivalry of the two participating countries can be considered as an attractive factor. The hype of the competition along with a number of different factors that even heighten the excitement of the event can be recognized as on of the reasons behind the status of The Ashes (Birley, 2003). There are important factors that can be considered that make the event, the Ashes, as one of the recognized and popular sports in the international community and the world. These factors can be considered as consciously or unconsciously being tackled through the involvement in the game, though as a participant or as an observer. Included in the said factors are the media and other social factors such as the race, the class and the gender, making the event an attraction in both the positive and the negative sense of the word. Due to the effects of these factors, it can be perceived important to be able to present the interaction of the said concepts. One of the approaches to be able to achieve the particular goal is through the determination of the effects of the portrayal of the media, in different forms, on the other factors such as t

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 25

Leadership - Essay Example There must be procedures and policies that are vital in managing a program and therefore failure to successfully communicate these may interfere with success of the project. Workers need to understand basic information required in doing their jobs and therefore effective communication is really weighty in getting the job done. According to West (2012), there are always limited resources and time constraints that ought to be completed. Failure to accomplish project on time may indicate overall project failure and therefore all the resources both human and materials should be allocated in the most efficient way. Improper utilization of resources may break the smooth running of the project and eventually lead to terrible program failure. Also, resources and time play a major role in the estimation of the project. These two elements are very expensive and are the reason behind program budgeting and estimations. Failure to control resources and time may heighten the cost of the project. Indeed, resources and time are very important aspects of any project and are vital in determining long term health of the project. Managers are required to manage their conflicts democratically with a clear distinction between substantive and personal issues. In managing interpersonal conflicts, leaders need to be prepared with information that is more detailed and multiple alternatives to enhance the quality of their debate. Availability of more data, which are objective based, compel managers to focus on issues rather than personal matters or useless arguments rooted in ignorance. Inadequate information makes management rely mostly on guesses and baseless assumptions that do not help the program (West, 2012). Reliance on facts reduces involvement on personal issues and eventually interpersonal conflicts. In addition, administrators need to use humor and share a common goal in debates while maintaining a balanced power structure. Furthermore,

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HRM - Essay Example In fact, it has been proved that organizational practices, which are opposed to existing ethics, are not viable in the long term. Moreover, it seems that in the modern market the alignment of business policies with existing ethical standards or the organization’s social responsibility rules is not always guaranteed. The above problem is most extensive in organizational strategies that are involved in the international market – where the effective control of business policies can be quite difficult. On the other hand, there are organizational sectors that are more exposed to ethical and social responsibility problems: the IHRM is an indicative example. The limitation of the effectiveness of IHRM strategies as reflected in the ethical and social responsibility issues related to these strategies can be addressed by adopting different approaches in all phases of HRM – both in the context of the national and the international market. 1. Introduction The continuous inc rease of competition in the global market has led firms to develop practices, which will help them to improve their position towards their rivals. The human resources management sector of each organization has a key role in the stabilization and the improvement of a firm’s position in its market; however, the practices used by managers for developing the specific sector are differentiated, under the influence of the conditions in the internal and external organizational environment. Current paper focuses on the presentation and the critical analysis of the ethical and social responsibilities issues related to the international human resources management (IHRM) practices. The literature published in the specific field is reviewed and critically evaluated. It is proved that, at a first level, there are certain standards that HR managers need to follow when developing the HRM policies of their organization. These standards can be market driven, referring to the rules applied on a particular market, or organizational driven, referring to the ethics related to the culture and the corporate social responsibility of the particular organization. However, in certain cases, these standards are ignored, usually under the pressure for increasing organizational productivity. In the context of the international market, the above initiatives have even more challenges to face, as explained in the sections that follow. 2. International Human Resources Management – description, overview International human resource management (IHRM) can be described as a complex organizational activity, referring not just to the globalization of a firm’s HRM practices, but also to their appropriate transformation so that they are aligned with the characteristics and the needs of the local market (Perkins and Shortland 2006, 26). From a similar point of view, Briscoe, Schuler and Claus (2008) note that IHRM management needs to address a series of issues developed ‘at l ocal, cross-border and global level’ (Briscoe, Schuler and Claus 2008, 32); Reference is made, as an example, to the staffing, compensation, selection and training of staff at local and international level (Briscoe, Schuler and Claus 2008, 32). Moreover, Stahl and Bjorkman (2006) note that the IHRM refers to ‘the way that organizations that operate across national borders manage their employees’ (Stahl and Bjorkman 2006, 68). It is also explained that through the years the framework of IHRM has been expanded including all

Doing Psychotherapy Essay Example for Free

Doing Psychotherapy Essay The book entitled â€Å"Doing Psychotherapy† written by Dr. Michael Franz Basch is renowned as a functional guide that could be used in implementing effective psychotherapy. As such, this book is considered as an insightful composition that is profound in such a manner that it clearly renders factual actions and activities as to how such psychiatric therapy works. Distinct from any other book with the same topic, Dr. Michael Basch’s opus about psychotherapy is not only a representation of his brilliant ideas and views with regard to the relationship between the therapist and its patient but also serves as an essential demonstration of the real occurrence in psychotherapy. Dr. Michael Franz Basch is a Professor of Psychotherapy at Rush Medical College and also serves as a Supervising Analyst at the Chicago Institute of Psychoanalysis (Basch, 1980). In addition to this, he also works as an attending Psychiatrist at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center (Basch, 1980). Overview of the Mechanism and Tools The ccomprehensive interpersonal relationship and open communication between the therapist and the patient is one of the major mechanisms presented in the book as this is essential to bring about change. In here, the author gives an emphasis on the behavior of the therapist in which he said that psychoanalyst must not have personal bias and control their emotions against the actions of their client to be able to initiate change in psychotherapy and render positive results for their patients. Moreover, the book has also utilized various system based from reliable clinical protocol without the exclusion of the unavoidable mistakes which the therapist may commit. As such, the book has utilized a profound mechanism in providing the reader a therapeutic discussion through the method used in presenting factual experiences, which essentially occurs in the actual treatment of psycho cases with varying difficulty. Likewise, the author concentrates in discussing the treatment for the patients with light cases that normally receives little concern and are generally disregarded in most of the training guides, but requires essential attention as the personal relationships of these patients are normally unsatisfying, disturbed and habitually unhelpful. Critiques and Concepts Presented In the book, the author clearly states his concept that the quality of the relationship between the psychotherapist and the client is an essential factor in which it has a greater influence in achieving helpful outcomes on the client’s end. As such, this concept tells that a good relationship between the client or patient and the therapist is more inclined to achieve a positive outcome. In addition to this, the author said that in designing psychotherapy, the process of diagnosis must be done accordingly. Hence, the treatment process must be in line with the condition and diagnosis of the client. From a personal point of view, such concepts in psychotherapy may not be as effective as it is perceived by just relying on the stability of relationship between the two parties and the definition of the case. Hence, this should be well-supported with the accorded clinical protocols towards the treatment of psycho disorder. With this, it can be said that a more helpful and positive outcome for the patients as well as for the entire process of therapy is within reach. Conclusion In the end, the approach of Dr. Michael Franz Basch that have developed for the past decades of practicing and teaching in the field psychotherapy is indeed logical and dynamic in which he evidently states that management of the transference relationship is a positive stepping stone for the treatment process. As such, most of his teachings and concepts presented in the book are evidently modern in which his thoughts evades the stiffness that is often associated with the classical psychoanalytical position and seems to be an integration of various techniques from the different disciplines of therapy. Hence, Dr. Basch emphasizes in his concepts that building on the patient’s strengths is more essential and helpful towards effective psychotherapy, rather than concentrating on studying the illness or condition of the patient. Nonetheless, the book â€Å"Doing Psychotherapy† is indeed functional in serving as an ideal guide for the professionals engaged in clinical work. Reference Basch M. (1980). Doing Psychotherapy. Michigan. Basic Books

The Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir Whorf Hypothesis Sapir argued that : We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. (Sapir 1958 [1929], p. 69). Looking at the statement above, that inferred that thoughts and behavior are mostly influenced by language. From this statement, first we have to look back the root of the language itself. Saussure (Saussure, 1966, pp. 7 9) wrote a question about how to define a language, and gave an answer to this as social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty. From his writing, it is clear that language is a part of internalization of a community, and including the function itself as a communication media. So, it is clear that words, sentence, and eventually language act as a bridge for the interaction of the human in a community. Another question that arise in this is that in which community can we use a language. We can say that the community is a form of interaction between language, culture, and mind. Language is a fundamental form of the culture, and vice versa. After looking at the definition of the language itself, we can go back to the hypothesis from Sapir. How far can we understand different interpretation of an object and how we communicate its definition with the world. It comes to the conclusion of the need of interpretation of communication and culture. So we have to do a reverse thinking about the definition of a culture, community, and the socio activities that human can use inside it. Take a case of the community that I belong to. A study community in Germany, that the people inside it use a same language, which is German. How a person can interact with the solid community that use a same language, and how a person could blend into this community. Some difficulties will eventually arise, because of the background from different communities that is forced to be merged into one bowl that we call an education port. Different people from different cultures want to fit in this bowl, and expected to share a same vision, which is eventu ally to get a degree. Back to the definition of a community : A community is a collection of people (or animals) who interact together with the same environment, and it exist everywhere in the nature. From people to penguins, monkeys to meerkats. Grouping is a touch of simplicity as a means of describing community (Bacon, 2009, p. 4). From the previous definitions, we can say that language is an important part of building a culture and community. What if the language differ in a community, would the translation of a language will become a problem, and would the different interpretation because the difference of language would build different interpretation and feels of an occasion that occurred? Rumana Quazi, from Media Culture and Mind class of RWTH-Aachen, mentioned that Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis is to some extent correct. She said that it would probably correct for some cases only. She think that Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis would be correct, but if it is implemented on the previous years when the hypothesis was created. It is not relevant if it is implemented now. I also agree to her opinion. Thomas L. Friedman wrote about his opinion about three different term of globalization, 1.0, in which countries and governments were the main protagonists, the globalization 2.0, in which multinational companie s led the way in driving global integration, and eventually globalization 3.0, the era of convergence (Friedman, 2005). If the need of communication between different cultural people is not possible as Sapir had said, which is in fact is easily enabled by the high speed data transfer communication, how come the development of the world itself nowadays goes exponentially. Nowadays, because of the introduction of Internet and personal computer, we can talk to people in different time, different language with a very small delays. We indeed can still deliver the message although the difference of the language itself. With technologies, we can even have an online dictionaries that we can easily carry everyday. So if we have a difficulty in expressing our idea, we can use these online dictionaries. However, I also think that for some particular objects and occasion, we cannot use the translation. For instance, Sharad, also from the Media Culture and Mind class, give an example of the nami ng of a specific year that only exist in India. He thinks that he cannot translate it, so he has to give a direct definition for this without doing any translation of it. Sharad think that the difference of language does not give any problems to the communication as long as there is a bridge between these two languages. He mentioned an example of the most popular language in the world, which is English. If the speaker is fluent, they can still express particular things and to share the same thoughts. This is the case of Sharad, who I think also used English in his daily live in India. Nevertheless, this language bridge still give a big hole for me, because I come from Indonesia. The Indonesian people only use Indonesian language everyday, and English (or even German) are only popular for those who have a proper education. So for me, the language bridge is not fully build, because of the fluency level that differs between one country and another. So in my opinion, Sapir is not fully correct in observing this problem. To this extent, we can say that indeed Sapirs hypothesis can only be implemented in some things. Now for the view of realities that construct the language. So what if the problem of differences in the language can be solved by using a bridge language, like English. According to Sapir-Whorf, language is an integral part of human, and language shape a humans way of thinking (sloan.stanford.edu). I could not fully agree with this statement, because we have to realize that the way we think is not fully determined by language, or vice-versa, but instead, it influence each other. Take an example of different interpretation of language itself, and eventually how people interpret the meaning behind the words. For instance, the Germans have different meaning for ein Freund von mir and mein Freund. If we translate this word by word to other language, such as English, both have the same meaning, which is my friend. However, this is actually different meaning. It is used in different context, on e for our couple, and the other is just regular friend. In Indonesia, we use different verb to describe this condition. If we see also the context of culture itself, we would have different interpretation of sentences. For instance, once I had an experience using different language (in this case German) to get a package in post office. After thinking that I have done all procedure, I took the package on the table. However, the lady which was in charge on me, suddenly said nicht so schnell! which means in English not so fast. This is for some reason , I considered as rude because in my culture, people donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸t say not so fast but instead please wait for a moment. Different language make different interpretation and meaning. This is support Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis, because the way that she speak, does not support the way I perceive because of the difference in language. This question also asked by Anna Wierzbicka, who found out the relation between emotion and cult ure (Wierzbicka, 1992). Emotion is a point that support by Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis. Anna Wierzbicka also mentioned an example from Australian Aborigin language, Gidjingali, that does not distinguish à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾fearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾shameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. Obviouslly, in different cultures and different societies, people talk with different ways. If we observe these differences, we can take the value which is kept inside a specific community, that has different social-values. However, of course that there are some ways of expressing emotions that is cross-cultural, and we can express exactly our feeling in other language. This is showing a minor flaw of Sapirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis. According to Donald Davidson, the utility of referring to meanings of an expression e that we expressed by using e1 will make an ambiguous definition. To focus on the the mind as the representation of language, we have to think whether thoughts is relevance with language. Devitt and Sterelny think that thoughts is a form of Inner representations (Devitt Sterelny, 1999). If language is a form of thought, how can we define the thoughts itself. Does that mean, that children who started to speak several words, or even some people who have difficulties in articulating the words does not have the same way of perceiving reality? Does that mean that they do not have a normal way of expressing thoughts and also to express their inner self? I think that is true. If we look back again to the words of Devitt and Sterelny, that thoughts is a form of inner representations, it makes a simple relationship between thoughts and perception. The reason for this is that because a person having a difficu lty in expressing the words, that means that the brain also having a difficulty to work optimally. In other word, the way these people perceive reality is not the same like the normal people. For example, some people who is diagnosed with slow learning ability, that means that for specific stage, they could not understand the definitions of words and sentences, and also eventually, perceiving reality. Still according to Devitt and Sterelny, who use the term of :Mentalese, a person tends to translate Mentalese into English and they understands English by doing the reverse. So Sapir should have taken into account how the brain works. How the brain consider of how different language would effect the meaning of an entity (object or occasion). This opinion is also proved by Aubrey L. Gilbert, Terry Regier, Paul Kay, and Richard B. Ivry, who did an experiment and conclude that Whorf hypothesis is supported in the right visual field but not the left. Another point that I want to share rega rding the language and the brain, according to Rumana Quazi, who contradict with the basic idea of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, think that language is just a small part of mean that drive our thoughts. In this case, she thinks that language can be achieved by a process, and procedures. I agree with her idea, especially after she gave a brilliant example for an infant who still not learned to talk. Indeed, as the time goes by, a children could learn to talk, and they do a process of thinking to achieve the goal, which is talking. Again, this is a minor flaw of Saphirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis, that a person could point out one by one. The relations between culture, language, and societies is very complicated, because these things bond one and another. So as conclusion, we can say that there is a strong connection between language, culture, and societies. These relations occurred in a long period of time, and it occurred not just two ways, but multiple ways. Saphir theorem is not fully correct for todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s societies, because of the technologies and other languages that solve the communication problems, although we have to admit that for some specific objects and also for some specific occations Saphirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s hypothesis still occurres. 4

Theories of The London Riots

Theories of The London Riots Secondly, Karl Marxs class conflict theory of Marxism will be discussed regarding its theoretical input to the preliminary causing of the riots. Capitalism engenders crime through the infusion of egotistic tendencies with the failure of means to satisfy such demands. A financial hierarchy has been created in which wealth and material possessions are crucial when escalating up this hierarchy. Lastly, the theory of consumer culture shall be considered in response to the London riots. Consumer culture is broadly defined as ones desire and ability in living beyond basic needs. Merton (1938) suggests that crime occurs when an individuals ambitions of material wealth cannot be achieved in a socially acceptable manner, leading to means of deviance such as theft. Social Exclusion in response to the London riots. Individuals, families and groups can be said to be in poverty when . . . their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities (Townsend, 1979). We need to remember that social exclusion doesnt just happen within the working classes; it can happen across all the classes. Social exclusion differs to Marxism in that it doesnt concern itself primarily with poverty, social exclusion can be multi-dimensional in which poverty is typical, but not always implicated (Saunders, 2003). Social exclusion is contrast to Marxism in that the focus isnt on poverty and class. Social exclusion happens for many global roots, whether this can be through the decline of manufacturing industries and the creation of structural unemployment. Wilson (1996) highlights issues with people wanting to work but not having the necessary skills or education to do so. This therefore leads them into financial deprivation then essentially crime i.e. looting and robbery. University fees now situate themselves at  £9,000 alone. This prices out many individuals leaving them without the necessary education to strive and achieve in the workplace. In relation to the riots, it is this exclusion from societal expectations that leads individuals to have to fight for their place in society. Bauman and Rose also argue that active rejection of the lower class by society by downsizing industry creating higher unemployment, the labelling of those without jobs and the ideology that the lower class are criminogenic, violent, with many being ethnic. Social exclusion detracts poverty and class away from the causes of crime however, which was a very apparent concern in the spread of the riots. Coupled with this there is very little theory to actuall y explain the causes and effects of social exclusion in which is very apparent within the Marx theories. MacDonald and Marsh (2002) state that it has become a confusing and slippery catch-all phrase with no real explanation. Social exclusion reiterates the implication of dichotomy between exclusion and inclusion (Levitas 1996; see also Hills et al. 2002) in which is very poorly explained. Marxism in response to the London riots. Representation of anger and resentment from the working class, predominantly the poorest, most excluded individuals were shown towards the police, capitalism and racial victimisation throughout the London riots. The catalyst for the initial focus was the killing of Mark Duggan by police officials. Reports from the police and the news teams which followed this unlawful killing were contradictory and unclear leading to an uproar of frustration and anger. Marx would suggest that the police are an organisation of armed men, who look to implement the authoritarianism of the bourgeoisie. Furthermore, he would suggest that the media and police are all products of the same billionaires who fund and own such organisations. This coupled with the consumerist society is what drove individuals to rebel. The Marxist theory suggests that societal judgment of an individual is performed on the contents of their wallet and wardrobe as appose to their characteristics and personality (Clinnard and Meier, 2008). Marx states that where a ruling class classification is achieved; the individuals not situated in this group will revolt against them who do, thus creating power relationships between different social groups (Haralambos and Holborn, 2007). Inequality is largely fuelled through social deprivation; this creates jealousy, greed and conflict within societies and in turn leads to public displays of rebellion and revolt. The London riots of 2011 suggest that a society driven by consumerism encourages anti-social behaviour, coupled with the vast amount of material looting, we can assume that this revolt was aimed at the rich capitalists who situate themselves pinnacle within this hierarchy of wealth and importance. Whilst applying Marxism to the riots and the real world it would seem that accountability for essential parts of society are lacking. A Marxist society sees individuals who work hard being rewarded with wealth and stability for their efforts. Unemployment rates were exceptionally high within society at the time of the riots giving well educated and skilled individuals no means of income or alternatively, struggling whilst working hard in low paid jobs. Furthermore, within the riots it was stated that individuals involved were all low class, young and criminogenic complimentary to Marxist views of criminals being from a third class, lumpenproletariat. Amongst those convicted for rioting however was a millionaires daughter and law student who were firmly nestled within middle class families. Colvin and Pauly (1983) suggested that people in lower paid jobs are controlled at work through manipulation and coercion. This can further be seen in the lead up to the riots of August 2011 through the policing of communities. 73 per cent of individuals interviewed in the reading the riots article had been stopped and searched within the past year. Marx would suggest that this robust policing on specific communities are the ruling class exploiting the working class, thus explaining involvement within the riots as an act of hatred for the authorities. Consumer Culture in response to the London riots. Throughout the aftermath of the London riots many aspects of society have been subjected to culpability in the reasoning for the preliminary causing of this rebellion and revolt. However, rather a large aspect of societal influence hasnt been subjected to this liability, this being designers, retail companies and electrical suppliers. The riots were not focussed on the destruction of property or violent attacks upon our government/forces instead these riots were subject to obtaining goods free of charge. Footlocker, JJB, Carphone Warehouse etc. these were just some of the shops in which were targeted but these young individuals, this coming as no surprise. Businesses like these are home to the goods in which are most desirable by individuals today, highlighting that the riots happened due to an out of control consumerist ethos (Hawkes, 2011). Consumer culture has an illustrious history behind it. Slater (1997) stated that consumer culture is discovered every few decades; or, to be uncharitable, it has been redesigned, repackaged and relaunched as a new academic and political product every generation since the sixteenth century. Importantly, consumer culture became mass during the 20th century, particularly after the Second World War (Hall et al. 2008). This shows that under no measures will consumer culture be controlled. Consumption has now replaced production as the defining characteristic of Western societies (Lasch 1979, Bauman 1998). Advertising is dominant in every aspect of an individuals life, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, these are all new and improved ways in which products can be publicised. It is this constant barrage of consumerism that leads to every aspect of an individuals life being consumeristic, education, where you reside etc. all are key in your social expression. Merton (1938) states that when a materialistic wealth is unable to be achieved through socially acceptable means, crime and deviance will occur. This links well with Youngs (2007) view of a bulimic society in that massive cultural inclusion is accompanied by systematic structural exclusion. He then continues to say that the consumer markets propagate a citizenship of joyful consumption yet the ability to spend (and sometimes even to enter) within the mall is severely limited. The riots of August 2011 where described as envy masked as a triumphant carnival (Zizek, 2011). Bankers, politicians, footballers etc. are all subject to ample amounts of publicity and it is their materialistic wealth that creates this want and envy, in turn, leading to individuals going to these extreme lengths in order to achieve such wealth. Hayward (2004) however creates a different notion. He believes that the material goods in which where taken during the riots where not for the wealth they bestowed but alternatively for the identity in which they gave the individual. Thus, where the employed and wealthy are also looting it is hard to label these select individuals into one generic category. This rebellion of consumerism and social exclusion that is seen everywhere when reasoning for the riots surely is incorrect. It was an attempt to join in (Bauman, 2011), climb that materialistic hierarchy and enhance your identity. Conclusion: The theories discussed above are merely three of many in which can account for the riots in August 2011. All three of these theories highlight issues surrounding poverty, class and the exclusion in which conjoins itself to this hierarchy of wealth. Karl Marxs capitalism suggests response to the riots in that a good capitalism is needed to rejuvenate Britain but we must then account for the question, can capitalism be reformed to account these lower class individuals or simply continue to exploit them? It is this exploitation in which needs to be controlled and accessed within many societal areas. It is extremely evident that the police forces abuse their stop and search powers and this is further targeted at the same individuals in which are secluded from society from governmental statues and manifestos; the youths, blacks and underprivileged. Education, direction and employment are very regularly inaccessible for these individuals which, in turn, lead to a lifetime in crime as means of survival. But where there is consumer culture, they will be exploitation. Our direction, our role models tend to locate themselves at the highest end of this hierarchy of wealth. We see the watches they buy, we see the clothes they wear, we see the cars they drive, this strive for success and these material goods are the main factors in which also spirals an individual into a life of crime. The London riots saw an extremely large number of individuals overlooking the laws and their morals to provide themselves with these material goods in which they probably wouldnt have owned without taking these measures. The conservative government have a history in capitalism, exploitation and the lack of societal values. We saw Margret Thatcher openly state these views throughout her time as prime minister but, in this modern society in which we live it has become obvious that these views will not stand and individuals will do anything in their power to rebel against this.

Classification Essay - Evolution of the Motorcycle Rider

Evolution of the Motorcycle Rider My first motorcycle was a Kawasaki Eliminator 250 street bike. I consider it to have been my training bike, and it was somewhat generic in the sense that it was not easily identifiable as a member of a specific style of motorcycle. And, more importantly, by associating with other riders, I realized that I was not easily identifiable as a member of a specific class of riders. Riders are a species all their own; and, though there are many sub-classes within a class, observation has shown that three main branches of evolution can account for most riders. The cruiser (Homo Draggusanus) variety is most often seen riding a vintage Harley or Indian-made motorcycle. He rides very low to the ground in a Ralph-Machio-crane-kick-like position-arms high and outstretched, knees bent, feet level with buttocks. Most cruisers are between thirty-five and sixty years old, but they always look fifty. If one is wearing a helmet at all, it is a small, open-faced helmet covering little more than the crown of his head. The helmet may contain a variety of markings, such as skulls with crossbones, or "Freedom" stickers that tend to match tattoos adorning the rider. The cruiser may have several metal objects hanging from various parts of his body, and he usually has matted facial hair that ranges from one-quarter inches to twelve inches in length. Members of this class also wear tattered bandanas, studded leather vests or jackets, "Born to Ride" T-shirts, or leather boots with spikes. Physically, the cruiser is generally unfit, with dark skin t hat is somehow both wrinkled and taut, and rotting, tobacco-stained teeth. Though most cruisers are docile unless provoked, a permanent scowl serves t... ...ner shirts that seem one size too small for them, and, whether or not they have facial hair, they are generally neat and clean. This class is the most easily approachable of the three and usually travels in single, male-female pairs. They are always coming or going, just passing through, and rarely know anyone in the area; yet tourers are the most friendly and outgoing of the classes. When choosing a motorcycle, one is, in effect, choosing into which class of rider he will eventually evolve. I have not yet decided into which class I would like to evolve. For this reason, I have not yet decided what type of motorcycle will be my second. My decision will rest on a careful consideration of the desirable and undesirable qualities of the different classes. Who knows? Maybe I will begin a new branch of evolution and start a completely new class all my own.

Rock and Roll Essay -- Music, Elvis Presley

What comes to mind when you think about Rock and Roll? Is it the pulsating rhythms, and upbeat tempo that seemingly sooth the mind? What many don’t realize is this phenomenon was started by a single man that combined various elements he loved. This man, Elvis Presley, not only created Rock and Roll but a new era of attitude and personality which people perceived as they watched him perform. Elvis Aaron Presley, one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century, started a new clothing style for his generation, influenced a new era of dance, and most notably introduced Rock and Roll to the world. Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi into a loving but poor family (Tracy 1). From the young age of 7, Elvis showed a passion for music. He was introduced to music in the family’s Assembly of God church where the southern gospel music became an important influence on his success. When Elvis’ mother Gladys acquired enough money, she bought him his first guitar, he then taught himself to play and in October 1945, he had his first taste of success in music by placing in the town fair talent contest (â€Å"Famous Quotes†. After graduating high school in 1953, he worked various jobs while still pursuing his musical career. Later in 1953, he walked into Sun Studios where he paid four dollars to record his first record. Upon hearing Elvis’ recording, Sam Philips decided to take him under his wing and then became his record label owner (â€Å"Elvis Presley†). In 1954, he produced his first single â€Å"That’s all Right.† From then unt il his death he became the biggest phenomenon ever in the world of entertainment (Morrison 1). From the start of Elvis’ career, he was in the center of the spotlight but before his career even started his appe... ...ers of his time. Elvis is known as the leading artist in R & B, gospel, and American country (â€Å"Elvis Presley†). He has sold over a billion records, more than any other artist known to man. He was one of the first performers ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 (Brewster 1). Elvis loved performing live concerts â€Å"A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity that is generated in the crowd and onstage,† it’s his favorite part of his business (â€Å"Famous Quotes† 1). Even today he still remains a legendary music icon for popularizing and creating the start of Rock and Roll (Brewster 1). It is impossible to think of a Rock and Roll star who doesn’t owe a debt to Elvis Presley (Ebsco). Today he is still known as the starter of Rock and Roll, and is the most successful recording artist in terms of hit songs and hit albums still today.

Business Information Systems

Business Information Systems HA(IT) My questions: 1. Define the concept information system and its constitutive elements; describe the broad categories of computer-based information systems, providing relevant business examples for each category identified; explain how computer-based information systems can support managers at each level of an organisation. 2.Explain the main elements and steps of the project management process and, considering your essay writing as a project, provide a concrete description including numbers for that project; relate the main project management steps to the main phases of the systems development life cycle model; how are the life cycle phases handled in the V-model and the spiral model? 3. What is the Information Systems and Information Technology Function in an organization; what needs to be managed; how can the IS/IT function be organized; what does outsourcing mean and which role does it play in this context?Characters (with spaces) and 1 figure: 2 2645 Question 1 Information Systems To understand and define an Information System (IS) thoroughly, it’s important to separate the two words and understand them separately. Information is produced by processing data so that it is meaningful which can be not only understood by the recipient but also used to meet a specific goal or requirement. To understand information, data needs to be understood as well. Data are raw facts like a specific date or measurement. Data needs to be processed and transformed into information; this process is called the transformation process. E. . data regarding sales of a firm is useless unless putting it in the correct context. But if you sort the sales after type of product, you will be able to see what product has been sold the most. By using data to gain relevant information, it’s possible to reduce the uncertainty of different questions and thereby improve the decision making. A system can be found in every part of the world. A system is a set of interrelated components that work together towards a common goal. The solar system might not a have an obvious goal while a firm might have several goals like gaining profit or making the best product possible.To achieve these specific goals the system will need to obtain inputs and transform these into outputs, like described in the transformation process, data is seen as the input and information as the output. But to transform input into output isn’t enough. The output needs to be relevant compared to the objective(s) of the firm. For systems to be more effective the system can contain a feedback and control stage as well. By using the information we have just gathered it’s possible to define IS. IS is defined as the way people and organizations are gathering, storing and processing information.In a business the IS will contribute to making the correct decisions. But IS isn’t solely used for managers and workers’ decision making it can als o be used in other ways, like feedback for an organization’s quality. Computer-based information systems Today most IS involve Information Technology (IT) to create management information also called computer-based information systems. This is because of the many disadvantages it gives not having a computer-based information system. An IS can be divided into two categories called Operations Information Systems (OIS) and Management Information System (MIS).OIS contains 3 sub-systems each contributing in the daily running of a business. The 3 sub-systems of the OIS are: The Transaction Processing System (TPS), Office Automation Systems (OAS) and the Process Control Systems. The TPS is managing the many transactions occurring on daily basis on the operational level of an organization like withdrawal of money from an ATM, or orders and payments for goods and services. Even though the TPS is marked by a lot of repetitive tasks and routine, the function of it is essential and missi on-critical to an organization. A TPS will e. g. secure that an ATM is running correctly.If a person wants to withdraw money from his account via an ATM, the TPS will make sure that there’s enough money on the customer’s account so that the money can be withdrawn. The transaction will only take place if all tasks in the process can be completed. OAS is a common system within the OIS. OAS refers to the way that basic tasks in an office have been computerized. Before creating, storing and managing information was done physically, but by computerizing the office the time taking to create documents or arrange meetings is done faster, giving more time for the organization to take care of other tasks.The OAS helps making the office more than just an area for typing but an area for exchanging important knowledge about the organization by still reducing costs as well. If a manager wants to set up a meeting instead of giving a paper to each participant, he can choose to send an e-mail to all the participants even though they aren’t at the same location. The process control system deals with large amounts of data created by production processes.The process control system is used to control and support the different manufacturing processes of an organization. The process control system will automatically control the flow of the manufacturing process by a specific limit set by the user, and might e. g. support the production of a standard product like the Model T Ford car. The MIS contains three sub-systems. All three systems are supporting decision-making in a business and are called: Decision Support Systems (DSS), Information Reporting Systems (IRS) and the Executive Information Systems(EIS).DSS uses raw data along with different business models to provide useful information for the manager which he can use for making tactical and strategic decisions, being especially semi-structured or unstructured. The DSS is often created by end-users, because t hey often have the much needed knowledge about the organization compared to a bespoke or on-the-shelf package developed by a third party. An example is the expert system which contains the knowledge and decision making skills of specialists, giving none-specialists enough knowledge to make decisions.In the world of medicine, it’s possible for a nurse to enter the symptoms of a patient. The system will then compare the entered symptoms with all the different symptoms of different diseases already stored in a knowledge base and provide a diagnosis. A problem with the DSS is that the more options the system has the more complex it gets. IRS uses information to produce predefined reports for the day-to-day decision-making. There are two commonly known reports used by the IRS being the periodic and exception reports. The periodic reports is required by decision makers at regular intervals, it can e. . provide a report showing the sales of a product from day-to-day. The exception r eport is only being produced when needed; it might be produced automatically if a performance measure moves outside a predefined range. EIS is mostly used for the strategic decision making by senior managers to monitor, compare and analyze and thereby support the decision-making process of the senior manager. EIS could e. g. notify the senior manager with specific information about a facility anywhere in the world underperforming, giving him enough information to make a decision about the future of the facility.The different IS just described are each used at different levels of an organization. The top leaders of an organization are all placed in the strategic level, where unstructured decisions are a big part of the management. They mainly use EIS to support their decisions but it’s important to notice that their decisions tend to rely on their own knowledge and experience as well. At the tactical level of an organization the expert and decision support systems are used to support the semi-structured decisions being made at this level.The operational level of an organization makes a lot of structured decisions because of their little authority; therefore the TPS is used by the workers at this level on a day-to-day basis. The higher up we come in the organization the more unstructured the decisions are because of the level of authority rises. But this isn’t always true; it is possible to make unstructured decisions at the operational level as well as structured decisions at the strategic level. E. g. in a hospital the doctors (who work at the operational level) often have the authority to make important and less structured decisions.Question 2 The project management process There are three key elements of the project management process being time, cost and quality. BIS (Business Information Systems) projects are likely to consume a lot of time and money and involve many parts of the specific organization; the project manager therefore has a big responsibility for the failure or success of a project and whether or not the project is following the time, cost and quality requirements given. The use of a well-structured project management process has the ability to highly reduce the chance of a BIS projects failure.The project management process has four steps being: Estimation, schedule/plan, monitoring and control, documentation. The estimation step gives the project manager time to plan how much time and effort the project will take to fulfill the given requirements. The overall project requirements will be compared to the available resources. In the early stages of the project it’s often hard for the project manager to give precise estimations because of the great amount of uncertainty, but the project will often be constrained by a deadline or the type of people and hardware available.Effort time and elapsed time is two important terms used to explain the amount of work different tasks will take. Effort time explai ns the total amount of work needed to complete a task while the elapsed time indicates how many calendar days the task will take. A project’s estimation will often change a lot from the start and to the end of a project because of the many constraints and changes that can occur. The requirements might change or hardware might break down, but a good estimation is essential to the success or failure of a project.The schedule/planning step is about determining when a project should be executed; the finished schedule is then called the plan. There are two main terms important to notice called the serial and parallel relationship. The serial relationship describes how some activities have to be completed before another activity can start. The parallel relationship explains how some activities can be totally independent, but that four activities might need to run in parallel before an implementation can occur. Monitoring and control is a very important step which ensures that the t asks of a project are meeting the requirements.This is done by monitoring the different tasks; if the project isn’t running as planned and is deviating from the given requirements, controls might need to be made for the project not to fail. To disseminate the information provided during project execution an essential step is documentation. It’s the project manager’s task to make sure that good documentation is provided from the different parts of the project. With poor documentation or without any information at all, the project might not deliver on time and the expenses of maintenance will most likely increase.It’s also important that the documentation provided is acceptable and understandable. My project: To support my project planning a Gantt chart was made to show an overview of the activities. Project startup describes my first day of the project; I chose my questions and estimated the overall process of the project. I wanted to use three days on eac h question, all though I have to use four days on question 2 because of other homework. My writing will compared to my estimation be finished on the 30-okt and I will thereafter be editing the project. The product has to be finished and delivered on the 2-Nov.If the project isn’t delivered on the 2-Nov the project will fail. The different tasks being question 1, 2 and 3 are in this project all independent but I chose to run them in a parallel relationship with the editing task so that before the editing task can occur, the three questions have to be answered. This gives me an overview of the size of my project and whether or not the project has to be shorter. I have been executing the project as planned so far regarding time (today 22-okt), but looking at the size of my project so far, I’m going need more time than estimated on cutting the project in the editing phase.Relation between the project management steps and the SDLC The main phases of the System Development L ife Cycle (SDLC) are by order: Initiation, feasibility study, requirement analysis, system design, build, implement, maintain and kill. The estimation step is used in almost all of the SDLC stages, and will be used more frequently in some stages depending on the type of project. In the initiation stage of the project the project manager will use estimation to make an overview of the project, estimating the different resources that are required to carry out the project, but the estimation isn’t detailed yet.A detailed estimation will be produced when the project has been determined feasible and is under or close to production. The leader will estimate whether or not the project is feasible at the feasibility stage by using the information granted through interviews and reports. In the analysis stage the requirements for the new system will be specified. After the requirements have been established it’s possible to make a detailed estimation of especially the work requir ed at the design and build phase.The estimations will often be much more precise if timings from the previous projects are available. The scheduling and planning step runs alongside the estimation step. By knowing how much time and effort is needed for the project, it’s possible to make a more precise schedule of the process of the project. It’s important to always have a schedule of the plan for the project, but the most effective schedule will be made after the detailed estimation has been produced at the analysis phase (it can be produced at other steps depending on the project).Once the schedule has been produced, the monitoring and control step will monitor the performance at all of the SDLC stages and ensure that the project is following the schedule/plan and fulfilling the requirements. It’s essential to monitor all of the SDLC stages since deviating from the plan can result in a project failure. Documentation is important during the whole project but esp ecially essential at the development and maintenance phases. This is because most projects are based on team efforts.Not only does the documentation allow monitoring and controlling, but it allows the different members of a development team to disseminate their design information between each other, making their work more effective. The V- and spiral model The V-model’s V describes the graphical overview of the relationship between the different tests and SDLC phases, but the V is also a synonym for verification and validation. The verification will check if there is any better solution to the design of the product, and that the design we are building is without errors or bugs.The validation is used to test the design of the product and check whether the design is fulfilling the requirements. Validation and verification forms the basis for producing tests. The tests shown in the V-model are used during implementation which is why the model has the V-shape. But it’s i mportant to notice that the life cycle phases on the left side have to occur, before the tests on the right side of the model can occur. A concern about the V-model is that it has no maintenance phase, meaning that it’s possible to believe that the product is finished and bug-free when signed off.The SDLC can also be used via the spiral model. The spiral model is an iterative system. The three stages of analyzing, design and coding often tend to be repeated as a part of the prototyping process, and this is why the spiral model was made. The spiral model consists of four main activities: Planning, risk analysis, engineering and customer relation. The model contains all of the elements of the SDLC but it also contains risk assessment. By being able to make several iterations it’s possible to make a more detailed production and to add in new elements to the production because of the repetition. Question 3 The IS/IT functionThe goal of using IS/IT is the hope that it will generate more benefit than the costs used on it. The function of IS in an organization, is to make the management process effective and support it. IT is the tools like hardware and software that the organization uses so IS can run and be built. Managing the IS/IT functions When managing IS there are different areas that need to be managed. It’s important to manage the development of the different business systems. When migrating from one system to another it’s important to have a project leader, as well as to manage and make sure that the migration is going as planned.When inventing end-user applications, it’s important to have management to make sure that the software being produced isn’t full of bugs, and isn’t a reinvention. Other important areas that needs to be managed is the database administration, user support and training, shared services and the IS/IT staffing. It’s also important to manage different areas of IT. Some of the areas that need to be managed are which hardware platforms to use in the organization, the manager might choose to only use the client/server environment.Good network architecture is also vital to an organizations sharing of information, and therefore it’s important that this area is managed. Many organizations use a lot of money on IT, and many big organizations have large amounts of IT including development tools. If this area isn’t managed, new tools being bought might not be compatible with the chosen database management systems or the selected hardware platforms. If an organization is using legacy systems, these needs to be managed so that it can still operate with newer systems (this might be an IS area as well).A final important area to manage is the operations management which contains hardware management, capacity planning, security, technical support, telecommunications and network management. Organizing the IS/IT functions To organize the different functions of I S/IT isn’t easy, but an essential part of making IS/IT more effective in a business. It’s possible to ether centralize or decentralize when organizing the IS/IT function in a business. When centralizing, the IS/IT management will be placed in one specific spot in the organization from where all of the functions of IS/IT will be managed.This could for example be the MIS, which will then be reporting to an IT director or another head of the department. Decentralization is the opposite of centralizing and means that the IS/IT functions will be spread out across the organization by having small IS/IT groups stored in different parts of the organization. It’s hard for organizations to be 100 % centralized or decentralized all though many organizations tend to focus on one of them. Outsourcing Outsourcing is a term used when a company chooses to subcontract a service to a third party. This service can be catering, cleaning, public relations and IS.Outsourcing of IS ma nagement has become a major term in many companies in the world today because of its many benefits and uses. Some of these are cost reduction, quality improvement, risk reduction and to enable a focus on the core business. In a 2009 IBM survey of 2500 CIO’s worldwide 76% of the respondents anticipate to have a strongly centralized infrastructure in five years. A highly centralized IS/IT function does as mentioned before contribute to cost reduction, and having the function in one place makes it easier for companies to take advantage of developments like outsourcing.By seeing more companies outsourcing and more companies wanting to centralize which both contribute to a lower cost might not be a coincidence, and can be a way of saying that IT is more than just a support capacity for the outsourcing/centralizing organizations. Outsourcing plays a huge role in the management process as well. The problem with outsourcing and its relationship with the management process is the impo rtance of making outsourcing work. Outsourcing might be a huge trend, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to work.Many company’s outsourcing projects tend to fail because of bad management and contracts with the third-party. The failure of many outsourcing projects can have a connection between the management and organizing of the IS/IT functions. If the management and organizing of the IS/IT functions isn’t managed well or if the company isn’t seeing IS/IT as an important part of the company’s strategy, outsourcing has a bigger chance of failing. Litteraturliste * Business Information Systems, fourth edition, Paul Bocij Andrew Greasley Simon Hickie, 2008 * http://www. omputerworld. com/s/article/347073/Swinging_Toward_Centralization (29-10-2011, klokken 13:10) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. 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