Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) Essay

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) - Essay Example ements are prepared in accordance with the accounting standards with a view to provide reliable, comparable and very useful information to various stakeholders, but also they are duly audited fairly and reported properly. Given the multiplicity of transactions involved, it is not easy for the ultimate owners to go through each and every entry so as to safeguard their interests. Auditors normally perform such functions. In the United States, the American Institutes of Certified Public Accountants have prescribed Generally Accepted Auditing Standards in order to facilitate fair auditing procedures. These Auditing standards mostly deal with what auditors should be performing, how they should do the fieldwork and what they should report. These auditing standards specify that audition function should be done by qualified auditors with appropriate technical skills and proficiency, free from such mental attitude that may obstruct auditing process and should have the capability of giving independent opinion on the books of accounts and accounting practices followed. Further, the auditing standards discuss the importance of checks and balances to be instituted by auditors in the fieldwork not only concerning auditing and accounting procedures but supervising assistants. And, finally, the standards provides a very good description of the meaning of independence that needs to be exercised by auditors while providing opinion. It has to be fair on the issue of comprehensiveness of accounting procedures, their sufficiency, transparency and ability to provide such opinions. Given the institutional feature of corporate America, there is a need to understand the meaning of corporate governance. Though the subject attracted a wider interest with formulation of Cadbury Code by London Stock Exchange in the early 1990s, the collapse of giant organizations like Enron and Worldcom attracted wider interest in United States and elsewhere internationally. The fall of various public

Analysis of Johnson Johnsons production Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Johnson Johnsons production Essay 1. Company characteristics and supply chainJohnson Johnson is a global American pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in the state of New Jersey, United States in 1886 (Wikipedia, 2008). The corporations headquarters is located in New Brunswick and its consumer division is located in Skillman, New Jersey. The corporation includes some 250 subsidiary companies with operations in over 57 countries while its products are sold in over 175 countries. Johnson Johnson and its subsidiaries have approximately 115,600 employees worldwide. Johnson Johnsons primary focus has been on products related to human health and well-being. According to MarketWatch (2006) states that Johnson Johnsons worldwide business is divided into three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices and Diagnostics. The Consumer segment manufactures and markets a range of products used in the baby and child care, skin care, oral and wound care and womens health care fields, as well as nutritional and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products. These products, available without prescription, are marketed principally to the general public and sold both to wholesalers and directly to independent and chain retail outlets throughout the world (MarketWatch, 2006). The Pharmaceutical segment includes products in the following therapeutic areas: anti-fungal, anti-infective, cardiovascular, contraceptive, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hematology, immunology, neurology, oncology, pain management, psychotropic and urology. These products are distributed directly to retailers, wholesalers and health care professionals for prescription use by the general public (MarketWatch, 2006). The Medical Devices and Diagnostics segment includes a range of products distributed to wholesalers, hospitals and retailers, used principally in the professional fields by physicians, nurses, therapists, hospitals, diagnostic laboratories and clinics. Distribution to these health care professional markets is done both directly and through surgical supply and other dealers (MarketWatch, 2006). From the research we gather, that effective supply chain at Johnson Johnson is similar to the above scenario of trust based partnerships, which mean suppliers are working in tandem with the business for mutual benefit. It also suggests a proactive approach being taken rather than a reactive approach to manage logistics issues. 2. Importance of Supply chain managementThe company and its subsidiary like Lifescan are one of the top users of collaborative product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions for the value chain. For example it uses MatrixOnes PLM environment, which provides a secure, collaborative product development environment that will streamline product design and development across LifeScan Scotlands global operations, enabling the company to quickly and cost-effectively bring new products to market. The deployment was prompted by the results of a Johnson Johnson study into the key product lifecycle solutions in the market. Johnson Johnson aimed to cut their product development cycle by as much as 20%. In addition, the company aims to drive improved customer satisfaction, integrate suppliers into the development process, improve visibility to design centers throughout the world, and have easy access to all vital product information. (Lifescan press release 2005 from HREF 1)Fig 1 Mutual Accounta bility Map between buyer Seller at Johnson Johnson (Source Slobodow, B Abdullah, O Babuschak, W C 2008p 78) Distribution CentresJohnson Johnson has finished the construction of a 440,000 square foot distribution centre in Memphis, TN to provide direct shipment of their medical products with no third party distributor involvement (Healthcare Purchasing News, 2004). In addition, Johnson Johnsons new European distribution centres for its medical devices diagnostics division in Courcelles, near Charleroi, Belgium (Janssen Pharmaceutica, 2005). In this way, the centre will increase the competitiveness of the organization and facilitate delivery to the companys customers. Orders completed through the Johnson Johnson direct model would eliminate that distributor mark-up, providing incrementally lower procurement costs for customers. Thus, this lower pricing will be enough to entice customers to bypass the convenience of their one stop distribution relationship (Healthcare Purchasing News, 2004). The Supply Chain graph source Heizer, J. and Render, B. 2004 p 414The supply chain includes all the interactions between suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers. The chain includes transportation, scheduling information, cash and credit transfers, ideas, designs, and material  transfers. Risk ManagementAccording to a report from Goldman Sachs, Johnson Johnson is requiring all of its medical products distributors to agree to not source any Johnson Johnson products from any entity other than Johnson Johnson (Healthcare Purchasing News, 2004). It appears that the aim of this mandate is to reduce the risk of counterfeit medical products reaching end customers by forcing distributors to agree not to participate in the secondary market and to purchase only from Johnson Johnson. While over 100 distributors have signed the agreement none of the publicly traded medical distributors are on Johnson Johnsons list of those who have agreed with the companys terms and signed its agreement. This decision is important because of the clear mandate made in its trading partners. According to Healthcare Purchasing News (2004) Goldman Sachs believes that Johnson Johnson products may account for as much as 14% of the hospital distribution market and Owens Minor indicates that Johnson Johnson products represent approximately 16% of total company sales. However, Johnson Johnson remains an extremely important supplier for any medical products distributor whose managements are under significant pressure to come to agreement with company demands and to remain as authorized distributors (Healthcare Purchasing News, 2004). 3. Operational Features reflecting common practice in supply chain management. Efficient Consumer Response (ECR)It is a strategy where partners in a supply chain synchronise the product flow through the distribution pipeline from point of manufacture to point of final sale. ECR is primarily related to strategic partnerships in the distribution channels of the grocery industry to increase the performance of the consumers while Johnson Johnson states two-digit turnover increases in their respective business segments by using it (Kotzab, 2000, p. 145). Master Cyclist PrinciplesIt is defined that how a market literate management team would approach short-run functional decisions regarding inventory, production, marketing and pricing as well as more strategic choices  regarding capital expansion, acquisitions and divestitures (Navarro, 2004, p. 19). According to Navarro (2004, p. 19) reported, Johnson Johnson cut its capital expenditures by over $100 million the first decrease in seven years and as the significant cash reserves, it saw double-digit growth in both revenues and earnings. Two-Way ScorecardThe Two-Way Scorecard is a tangible means of embedding cooperation in the supplier-buyer relationship. In Johnson Johnson, supply chain performance is measured across five components: execution, compliance, financial impact, new products and partnership. Furthermore, the Two-Way Scorecard has been put into practice with strategic suppliers over the last four years. Positive results have been seen in a range of areas, from resolving potential supplier liquidity problems to addressing the inefficiencies of global trading. Several habitual pain points have eased; most notably new product launches (Slobodow, Abdullah Babuschak, 2008, p.76). 4. Effective interaction. Johnson Johnson Health Care Systems Inc. (JJHCS) uses a standard internal process for design, development, and implementation while utilizing Six Sigma and change management tools. Importance of Organizational DesignOrganizational design is important for several reasons. Organizational design can be a competitive tool by providing the organization with flexibility needed to respond to changing customer needs while bolstering organizational efficiency and effectiveness. It can create the infrastructure to enable a strategy to be implemented and provide accountability to employees by clearly demarcating the areas of ownership and control. It can also provide personal growth by creating opportunities for people to take on different and challenging roles within the same organization. Any work process in the organization can be in scope for organizational design (Yacovone, 2007, p. 105). Benefits of Organizational DesignJJHCS identified the need for an organizational design model and process through an internal Six Sigma business assessment. Six Sigma is a rigorous and disciplined methodology  that uses data and statistical analysis to measure and improve a companys operational performance by identifying and eliminating defects in manufacturing and service-related processes (Six Sigma.com cited in Yacovone, 2007, p. 106). This ensured that the customers needs and critical quality factors were the drivers of the redesign. These findings drove the development of the JJHCS organizational design framework, process, and toolkit to conduct organizational design, along with the recognition that several large change initiatives within the company were going to require significant organizational design. Additionally, the organization recognized that the human resources (HR) business partner role required new competencies, such as change management and organizational design, to meet the needs of the business (Yacovone, 2007, p. 107). ResultsA key business metric for accounts receivable is days sales outstanding (DSO), and this project resulted in reducing the DSO by over one day. This equates to several million dollars a day for Johnson Johnson. Also the use of the impact assessment tool resulted in robust change management plans such as communication activities, standard operating procedures, and proper training (Yacovone, 2007, p. 105). 5. Issues SolutionsGrey MarketJohnson Johnsons Medical Device Diagnostics business (MDD) is one business that has faced brand risks head on and taken a proactive stance to address its current issues and mitigate future risks from counterfeiters and related concerns. For example, According to Wald and Holleran (2007, p. 58) reported that in 2003, some doctors submitted surgical mesh to MDD that did not have the handling qualities they were used to with MDDs product. The company sent the product through its quality assurance processes for authentication and determined it was fake. This grey market is a concern because it can signal questionable third-party business practices, present a possible avenue for counterfeit products and cause significant lost revenue. Therefore, MDD decided to take action, they asked Ernst r Young to expand the investigation to regions around the world to identify additional risks. Finally, the studys findings were that the company had a diversion problem which involves the selling of a legitimate product in markets other than  those for which it was intended, and it opens the door for counterfeit products to enter the supply chain (Wald Holleran, 2007, p. 58). CausesOne factor was MDDs business culture. Because Johnson Johnson is a highly decentralized business, each of its operating and regional companies was approaching grey market issues and counterfeiting with disparate brand protection policies or strategies (Wald Holleran, 2007, p. 59). As a result, different operating companies were independently developing their own anti-counterfeiting and anti-grey market solutions. Another cause was the business design and practices. One example was that no single person or group at the MDD level was responsible for protecting MDDs brands or its products. A second example was that the companys due diligence process, which it reviewed third-party suppliers, manufacturers and distributors, was incomplete. The company also did not have a robust supply chain strategy to assess how it might negotiate standardized terms of sale such as authorized distributors, the right to audit and the right to data in jurisdictions outside the United States that allowed the sharing of such data (Wald Holleran, 2007, p. 59). The third identified cause of the companys vulnerability was a lack of information. SolutionsTo establish a system whereby MDD could manage its brand-related risk day to day, the team focused on policy design, organization design, market monitoring and enforcement which were vulnerable from a business culture, business design and informational perspective (Wald Holleran, 2007, p. 60). Firstly, the team developed a brand protection policy that is now being used as a guideline by MDD. The policy addresses the protection of intellectual property, accountability issues, product protection and supply chain standards, and incident reporting and enforcement protocols. Secondly, an organization was put in place throughout MDD to address brand protection across the business. The team helped to define the key resources and assign them specific roles, responsibilities and accountability. These roles include a vice president and executives responsible for product protection, supply chain management, and incident reporting and enforcement. Thirdly, for those products at highest risk, the company will develop product protection plans that include overt and covert anti-counterfeiting  technologies and features based on their risk levels. This allows the company to consistently manage its products throughout the organization, from sourcing through distribution. Finally, which also is under development, is a market-monitoring program to keep tabs on the product actually being sold to consumers. Today, Johnson Johnson executives report that they are now more effectively dealing with counterfeits than ever before, which they credit to the heightened awareness and new reporting policies (Wald Holleran, 2007, p. 61). References Healthcare Purchasing News 2004, Johnson Johnson launches self-distribution program, accessed 26/04/2008, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BPC/is_2_28/ai_n6364792Heizer, J. and Render, B. 2004, 5th edn, Principles of Operations Management, Pearson: Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Finch BJ, Operations Now Profitability, process, performance, 2nd Edition 2006, McGraw Hill Irwin New YorkJanssen Pharmaceutica 2005, Johnson Johnson starts building European Distribution Centre for its Medical Devices Diagnostics Division in Courcelles, Belgium, accessed 27/04/2008, http://www.janssenpharmaceutica.be/news_headlines43_E.aspKotzab, H 2000, Managing the Grocery Industry in an Efficient Consumer Response Manner, Retail, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 145-150. Lifescan Press Release, 2005 from HREF 1 http://www.matrixone.com/matrixone/press_releases_20050208_lifescan.htmlMarketWatch 2006, Company Description, accessed 25/04/2008, http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/profile.asp?sid=2689symb=jnjsiteid=mktwNavarro, P 2004, Principles of the Master Cyclist, MIT SLOAN Management Review, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 19-24. Slobodow, B Abdullah, O Babuschak, W C 2008, When Supplier Partnerships Arent, MIT SLOAN Management Review, vol. 49, no. 2, pp.76-83. Wald, J Holleran, J 2007, Counterfeit Products and Faulty Supply Chain, Risk Management, vol. 54, iss. 4, pp. 58-61. Wikipedia 2008, Johnson Johnson, accessed 26/04/2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson__JohnsonYacovone, L 2007, Organizational Design for a Supply Chain Transformation: Best Practice at Johnson Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Organization Development Journal, vol. 25, iss. 3, pp.103-109.

Greek And Roman Architecture :: Architecture Greek Roman Essays

Greek and Roman Architecture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Greeks thought of their Gods as having the same needs as human beings, they believed that the Gods needed somewhere to live on Earth. Temples were built as the gods' earthly homes. The basic design of temples developed from the royal halls of the Maycenaean Age. A Mycenaean palace consisted of a number of buildings often more than one story high, grouped around a central courtyard. It was brightly painted, both inside and out. In each palace there was a large hall called a megaron, where the king held court and conducted state business. Little remains of the megaron at Mycenae. This reconstruction is based on the remains from other palaces, which would have been similar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Romans took and borrowed a lot of things from the Greek culture. For example, the took the Greek Gods and renamed them. They also took the styles of Greek temples, but they changed them some. The temple was rectangular, with a gabled roof, with a frontal staircase giving access to its high platform. They used mainly the Corinthian style, but they also made combinations, for instance the Corinthian-Ionic style. The Romans also added a lot of details and decorations to their temples. The Romans also made what became the very common round, domed temple. The main temple of a Roman city was the capitolium. The Pantheon, the famous temple in Rome, was a sample for some of the modern day cathedrals and churches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Classical Period Temples became much larger and more elaborate. Parthenon, one of the most famous structures ever, was created during that period. The Greeks held many religious festivals in honour of their gods. The purpose of festivals was to please the gods and convince them to grant the people's wishes. Such as making the crops grow or bringing victory in war. In addition to religious events athletic competitions and theatrical performances took place at festivals too..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The early Greek architecture, from about 3000 BC to 700 BC, used mainly the post and lintel, or post and beam, system. Their main building material was marble. Classic Greek architecture is made up of three different orders that are most seen in their temples: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. All three had the same components, but had different types of details. The orders are known mostly by their column style. The Corinthian order was not as widely used as Doric and Ionic. It was fancier than the others, and had a lot more detail. The Greeks only used one order on one building, they never mixed. The basic temple followed these same rules.

Heart of Darkness :: essays papers

Heart of Darkness Life in London set a cushion for its citizens, â€Å"with solid pavement under your feet, surrounded by kind neighbors ready to cheer you or to fall you, stepping delicately between the butcher and the policeman, in the holy terror of scandal and gallows and lunatic asylums.† On the other hand, once a man enters the Congo, he is all alone. No policeman, no â€Å"warning voice of a kind neighbor,† -- no one. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness sets Marlow on a journey in the Congo, where he realizes the environment he comes from is not reality, but an illusion hiding true human nature. His arrival at the First Station is his first exposure to the Congo where a horrid reality and naà ¯ve mentality is revealed -- a comparison of darkness and light. The chosen passage falls in the beginning of the narrative to set a picture of what to expect at upcoming stations. Marlow leaves London, his home, and his Aunt to travel to his first stop on the Congo River; the First Station. Here, Marlow begins to realize the unspeakable horror that exists. â€Å"Six black men advanced in file†¦ I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them.† Marlow disapproved of what he saw and chose to avoid the six men. After his encounter with the â€Å"gang,† he meets the Chief Accountant, a well-dressed, tidy man, whom he admires. â€Å"I respected his collars†¦ his appearance was certainly that of a hairdresser’s dummy; but in the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance. That’s backbone. (Pg. 227)† Despite the dehumanization surrounding them, there s till stands a man who can present himself â€Å"properly†. The first chapter of the novel is framed to present life in London, then contrasting it with a picture of the savage Congo, and finishing by showing that civilized life can still exist in the jungle. Diction plays two pertinent roles in the passage: to produce imagery and to label objects or people. Diction reflects the extent of the contrasting light and darkness of the station that the imagery creates. In the midst of â€Å"mounds of turned-up earth by the shore†¦ a waste of excavations,† Marlow notes â€Å"a blinding sunlight drowned all this at times in a sudden recrudescence of glare.

Historical context: book of 2 thessalonians Essay

Thessalonica was one of the key cities of Macedonia. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he had expressed that their efforts to spread the Gospel to their place were not wasted because their faith in God became evident and in fact, became known to many places in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thessalonians 1). Because of the good news Paul had been hearing about the Thessalonians, he longed to visit them again. The second letter, probably sent about six months after the first letter (The Book of 2 Thessalonians, 2008), contained reminders about the coming of Jesus and about idleness. The first time Paul had visited Thessalonica; he stayed there about 3 months and shared the Gospel in their synagogues. Many Thessalonians belief in Jesus through Paul. But because of the Jewish who got jealous of Paul started trouble that caused Paul to leave Thessalonica. News came to Paul that there were issues concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Thessalonians were confused whether Christ had already come or not. Paul was proud of the Thessalonians for they had accepted Jesus Christ and their faith was growing more and more. Yet, they were easily disturbed by the issue of the coming back of Christ. The devil had seen the faith of the Thessalonians. He looked for ways to shudder their faith and he found the opportunity by creating news that Jesus had already came back. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul had instructed the Thessalonians not to get alarmed easily on such reports. He encouraged the Thessalonians to stand firm on their faith to God. Paul had explained that the devil was doing his best to discourage them from serving God. Among the churches of God, Paul and his company boasted about the Thessalonians because of their endurance in times of trials. So the work of the devil was also evident here for many Thessalonians, through the help of the Holy Spirit had truly developed a good relationship with the Father. But since they were also â€Å"new† to the Gospel, some Thessalonians had rattled easily on the issue for Jesus’ coming back. So in the second letter, Paul had reminded them not to be deceived immediately. Trust God. Another news that came to Paul was regarding idleness. Some Thessalonians were lazy. Paul reminded them that during his stay with them, he worked hard so he would not be a burden to them. In fact, he said, he worked day and night just to provide for what he needed. Paul had reiterated to the Thessalonians that they should never be influenced by those who are idle and by those who did not live according to Christ’s teachings. He set as an example himself when he was with them. He was never lazy, for Paul believed that if a man won’t work, he couldn’t eat. For those who did not live according to Christ’s teachings, Paul told them not to be associated with them. Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians also contained his thanksgiving to the Lord for the continuous growth of the church in Thessalonians. He commended the Thessalonians for their perseverance amidst persecutions. This was God’s working. The Thessalonians remained with God for God had allowed it. With the present condition in the churches during Paul’s time, his second letter also contained prayer requests. Persecutions of the followers of Jesus were great during the earlier times. So prayer was very necessary and since the Thessalonians had deep relationship with God, Paul requested them to pray for the successful advancement of the Gospel. The letters of Paul showed the relevant development and issues concerning the Christian life of the Thessalonians. Paul also used this letter to encourage them to stand firm in the faith and live according to God’s plan. Works Cited â€Å"Book of Lamentations. † Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 25 September 2008 â€Å"Lamentations. † The University of Sheffield. Edited by Rogerson, J. W. and J. D. W Dunn. 30 May 2000 (online publication). 25 September 2008 â€Å"Lamentations. † New American Bible. 09 December 2002. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 25 September 2008 â€Å"The Book of 2 Thessalonians. † IBS-STL Global. 2008. 25 September 2008 Malick, David. â€Å"An Argument of the Book of Lamentations. † bible. org. 25 September 2008 Pride, Lesley. â€Å"Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians. † EasyEnglish. January 2004. 25 September 2008 The Holy Bible, New International Version. USA: International Bible Society, 1984.

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Through chapters 4 to 7 in Emily Bronte's, Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff and Catherine's characters are developed, from when they are children and inseparable to when they are adults and have to live with the pain and anguish of living separate lives where they cannot be together. The love they share is one of great passion, that is both unexplainable and all time and energy consuming for both.Heathcliff is introduced to the Earnshaw household and the plot as a young orpahn boy plucked off the streets by Mr. Earnshaw on his way home from Liverpool. Heathcliff is immediately abhorred by his new family. He is referred as an "it" or "thing" by Nelly and as the "imp of satan", by the rest of the family. The name Heathcliff, was the name of a previous son of the family that had died at a young age. Heathcliff never really became a true member of the Earnshaw family , because he was not given the family name.Wuthering Heights (song)Their love of freedom, and unrestricted passion for each o ther are depicted through the wildness of the Moors, their naturalness, and their unlimited sweep. Wuthering Heights is an old rustic looking house. In contrast, Thrushcross Grange is well kept and well furnished. Mr. Linton, the owner of Thrushcross Grange, has his children, Isabella and Edgar, the play indoors and are formed into a proper lady and gentleman. Edgar's sister, Isabella becomes infatuated with Heathcliff and Edgar, the highly civilized son of Mr. Linton, falls deeply in love with Catherine. The entire story takes place at Thrushcross Grange, Wuthering Heights, and at The Moors, creating an element of seclusion. The two families form their own world that appears to be separate from the rest of society.Wuthering Heights is usually accompanied with bad weather. Early in the novel, Mr. Lockwood, a tenant at Thrushcross Grange, who hears...

Predator Prey Lab Report Essay Example

Predator Prey Lab Report Essay Example Predator Prey Lab Report Paper Predator Prey Lab Report Paper Essay Topic: Catching Fire The Bean Eaters An adaptation aids survival by either decreasing a preys chance of being eaten, or y increasing a predators chance of obtaining food to survive and reproduce. Predators must fight for food. They face density-independent factors which are factors that limit resources, but they cannot be controlled; an example would be bad weather or wildfires. Density-dependent factors are things that can be controlled such as the amount of competition in an environment. For example, if a preys traits allow it to run faster, the predator must also have the characteristics to allow it to run fast enough to catch its prey. Many people confuse adoptions with evolution, but they are not the same. Adoptions are changes in an animal that happen in one generation, while evolution occurs over many generations (Modern Biology, 2006). Charles Darwin had a theory that was the opposite of adaptations. Charles Darnings theory of natural selection was basically survival of the fittest. When organisms reproduce and exceed the carrying capacity, the competition in the environment increases. Because of this, some organisms will not survive (Theory of Natural Selection). It was then that Darwin realized those organisms who were most suited for the environment were the ones who will live on and produce (Darnings Theory of Evolution). For example, picture two birds in an environment. One bird has a long beak and the other has a short beak. The bird with the long beak is able to reach into the holes in the ground and eat the seeds, but the other cannot. The bird populations with the long beaks will be able to survive and reproduce while the population of birds with the short beaks will thin out and eventually go extinct (Modern Biology, 2006). Problem: Which predators will be able to survive and reproduce based on their characteristics, adaptations to the environment, density-dependent factors such s competition for food, and density-independent factors such as bad weather or wild fires? Hypothesis: The spoon will be the predator that survives, reproduces, and dominates the population. If there is a competition between predators over a prey, then the spoon will easily be able to use its bowl-like shape to easily scoop up the prey. If the prey is hidden in the grass, then the spoon will be able to slide through the grass and scoop up any prey hiding. Materials: . 300 pieces of corn 2. 300 pieces of black beans 3. 300 pieces of lima beans 4. 100 pieces of pinto beans 5. Plastic forks with one tongue removed (Broken Forks) . Plastic forks 7. Small plastic knives 8. Plastic spoons 9. Tweezers (forceps) 10. A grass field approximately 15 meters square or a carpeted area about the same size. 11. Styrofoam 6-8 oz. Cups 12. Stop watch Procedures: 1. Distribute 100 pieces of corn, lima beans, and black beans onto the field. 2. Divide the class into 5 groups that are as close to equal as possible. . Give each member of one group forks, of another group spoons, of another group broken forks, of another group knives, and the last group forceps. (If there are no forceps available, the lab can be demonstrated with only 4 groups. 4. Every student gets a Styrofoam cup. 5. Instruct the students that they are individual predators with structural variations. The beans and the corn are the prey. The prey must be picked up with the feeding mechanism (forks, knives, spoons, broken forks, and forceps) and placed in the model mouth (cup). No scraping or pushing of the prey in the mouth is allowed the cup may not touch the ground area. The predators may, however, dash in and pick up any prey being pursued by another predator. Do not hesitate to intrude, any hungry natural predator would not. Hunting time will be 5 minutes. When the teacher or the wildfire comes around and touches any of the students, they must step out of the playing area for fifteen seconds. When told to stop, each student will tally up his kills. If a predator is in the process of capturing a prey when told to stop, he must drop it. 6. Repeat this process for each generation and make the proper adjustments required for each. 7. At the end of the lab, share your data with the class and add up the number of prey killed. Observations: In certain parts of the field, the grass was very tall and the prey that were in that area were very difficult to find. Because of this many predators ignored the grassy areas which caused a lot of competition for prey in the other areas of the field. Certain prey such as the corn was easily concealed in the grass because of its small size. However, in the dirt area, the color of the corn really made it stand out. Therefore, the spoon population was able to reproduce while the other populations began to thin out because they were not as well adapted to the environment, and they were not able to reproduce. Their populations decreased steadily and we can infer that they will eventually go extinct. Fig. 5 shows predator consumption. This graph corresponds to the Predator Population graph. In both graphs the spoon population increases while the others decrease steadily. Again, this is because the spoons were well adapted to the environment and they were able to get more food and reproduce. Another reason was the fact that when some predators starved to death or consumed fewer than five preys they became part of the spoon population. This was done to show how populations that cannot get enough food die off, and those who can continue to live and reproduce. It proves the theory of natural selection. Fig. 6 shows the population of prey. In all cases except for the lima beans, the populations increased. This is because the lima beans were the easiest prey to catch and all the redactors went after them in the first generation. Their population immediately decreased at a drastic level. Because of this, no more lima beans were thrown on the field to show they were no longer able to reproduce. However, for the second generation, the black beans and the corn population increased by one- hundred. This is because there were enough of them left to reproduce. In the third generation you see the corn population increase by one-hundred once again. This is because they were able to reproduce again. However, the black bean population did not increase, but a pinto bean population started at one- hundred. This was because the pinto beans were an invasive species and took over the black bean population. This caused the black beans to not be able to reproduce and their population size stayed the same. Conclusion: This lab was done to show how natural selection affects a predator-prey relationship. Only the strong and most adapted species can survive. The hypothesis was correct because the spoon population was the most adapted and over time became the dominate population. The spoon population was best adapted because it was able to easily scoop up and hiding prey and it was able to scoop up the prey easily in a competition. The spoons were the best adapted at capturing prey as well. The knife and broken fork populations went extinct because they were not well adapted to the environment or catching prey. It can also be inferred that all but the spoon population will also go extinct because they are declining steadily. In human examples, men are able to adapt to the heat by air condition and water. They can adapt to the cold by wearing heavy clothing and heaters. There should be funding to continue to save certain species because there are many species that cannot fend for themselves, but they are incredibly important to the environment. Letting natural selection wee out these species could cause great harm to humans and other animal. Reproduction allowed the spoon population to grow and dominate. It also allowed the corn survive and provide food for the predators. In this lab the experimental group was the predator and prey populations decreasing and increasing based on natural selection. The control variables was the area because it was not tested, as well as the time, and the fact that when you died you became part of the spoon population. The independent variables were the changes in population and prey consumption for each generation.

Word Choice Past vs. Passed

Word Choice Past vs. Passed Word Choice: Past vs. Passed The words â€Å"past† and â€Å"passed† are surprisingly tricky. As well as sounding similar and starting with the same letters, for example, they can sometimes be used in similar situations. If you want to avoid errors in your written work, though, you may want to check out our guide to how they are used. Past (Noun and Adjective) When used as a noun, â€Å"past† refers to a time before the current moment: History is the formal study of the past. It also refers to a previous point in time when used as an adjective: My past choices were sometimes flawed. Here, â€Å"past† modifies the noun â€Å"choices† to show when they occurred. Past (Adverb and Preposition) Another use of â€Å"past† is as an adverb or preposition, where it means â€Å"beyond a point in time or space.† For instance, we could use it as an adverb like this: They walked past the bridge on the way home. Here, we use the adverb â€Å"past† to modify the verb â€Å"walked.† Passed (Verb) â€Å"Passed† is the simple past tense and past participle form of the verb â€Å"pass.† It is therefore used in a number of situations, which include having: Moved beyond a particular point in time or space Succeeded in a test Handed something to someone Died or departed Changed from one state to another Declined to accept a chance or offer For example, we could use â€Å"passed† in any of the following sentences: They passed the bridge on the way home. She passed her exams with flying colors. He passed me the envelope with a nervous look. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. It passed from a solid to a liquid state. I regret having passed on buying shares in Facebook. This isn’t even a complete list of how â€Å"passed† can be used! The important thing, however, is that â€Å"passed† is always the past tense form of â€Å"pass,† including in the example sentences above. Past or Passed? These terms are most often confused when discussing movement. We can see how similar they are in this case if we repeat two examples from above: They walked past the bridge on the way home. They passed the bridge on the way home. The key here is that â€Å"passed† is a verb, while â€Å"past† in this case is an adverb. To make sure you get this right in your writing, remember that: As a noun and an adjective, â€Å"past† refers to a previous point in time. As an adverb, â€Å"past† should always modify another verb in a sentence. â€Å"Passed† and â€Å"pass† are both verbs spelled with a double â€Å"s.† Furthermore, while â€Å"passed† is the past tense of â€Å"pass,† the word â€Å"past† is never a verb. Consequently, if you need an action word, â€Å"passed† will always be correct. If you need a noun, adverb, adjective, or preposition, on the other hand, the term you need will always be â€Å"past.† Past (noun) = A time before the current moment Past (adjective) = From an earlier time Past (adverb/preposition) = Beyond a point in time or space Passed (verb) = Past tense of â€Å"pass†

Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt - Essay Example hin the book entitled â€Å"Devil Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three.† In the first half of the book, readers are given an in depth look at Jesse Miskelley’s trial specifically, and from the evidence provided, the verdict returned by the jury does not appear to be correct. Although some elements of the crime remain shrouded in mystery, there are certain aspects that all parties regard as factual. The murders of three eight year old boys—Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch—occurred on May 5, 1993(Leveritt, 6). The details of the crime were particularly gruesome as the boys were found naked, beaten, hogtied with shoelaces, and floating in a bank within the Robin Hood Hills(Leveritt, 11-12). One of the boys was missing parts of their genitals, and it appeared that the primary cause of death was drowning. The murder shocked the close-knit, largely religious community, and there was a lot of pressure on the local police to find the murderers as quickly as possible. After a few leads that did not go very far, the police began to focus on the idea of a gang or cult perhaps having committed or been involved with the murder. This idea quickly took shape due to the disturbing nature of the crime. Additionally, in 1993, there was a certain kind of satanic panic spreading across the United States. Leveritt states, â€Å"By the late 1980s, interest in the suspected prevalence of satanic ritual abuse, or SRA, as it became known, had grown so intense in the United States†(Leveritt, 44). Basically, anyone who dressed in black, listened to heavy metal music, or was in any other way an outsider, was seen as someone who could potentially be involved with satanism. Ultimately, it was a combination of the crime and the satanic panic that pointed the police in the direction of three teenagers: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Miskelley. Although these boys were initially suspected due to their odd behavior and dress, there was not really

Critical Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Critical Thinking - Essay Example Quoting those who support marine parks, he investigates the validity of their arguments, like the one that states that most Australians live in cities and cannot come across marine wild life except through such parks. However, Daly asserts that there are quite a number of places where city dwellers can afford to see wild life. In fact, such places are more in number than the number of marine parks. Moreover, most Australians need to travel more to the parks than to the natural surroundings which feature wildlife. Therefore, it is evident that there are a sufficient number of places where wildlife exists in Australia and most of them are accessible to Australians. Moreover, no one has to pay a costly fee to see the animals in natural surroundings – they are absolutely free. Daly contests another view propagated by scientists like Dr. Alison Lane, that people need marine parks so as to conduct scientific research on them. According to her most of the knowledge regarding marine m ammals were conducted at such parks. Daly quotes Jones to assert that such research is useful only as far the life of captive animals goes, and hardly useful for the life of wild animals. Even the biology and life habits of whales and dolphins change in marine parks. For instance, their diet habits are different, they have a lower life span and are more porno to disease. Their social behavior is also significantly different from wild animals, since they are trained at the parks, for providing entertainment for the visitors. Daly states that the research undertaken at marine parks are not reliable because of all these reasons. Daly attacks the view held by the Marine Park Owners association that marine parks attract a great number of tourists. But surveys prove that most of the tourists who visit Australia are drawn to its real wild life and natural

Situational Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Situational Leadership - Essay Example Leadership, management, power and authority are all closely related terms and sometimes are difficult to separate and understand individually. A leader is someone who exercises influence over others. In a group, it is the performances of those acts which help the group achieve its preferred outcomes. (Cartwright & Zander, 1968)A view holds that leaders are people oriented and their main task is to inspire people. Their primary functional output is a change (Veal, 2004) and their capabilities are assessed in terms of controlling the process of this change. That is to mould and control change to suit project's objectives. Bryman (1986) offers somewhat similar views when he opines that leadership is," the creation of a vision about a desired future state which seeks to enmesh all members of an organisation in its net".Whereas managers are task and process oriented and their main task is to organize such tasks and processes. Management's main output is task done in target time at target cost. In plain language Management is assigned the task of producing and maintaining a degree of predictability & order (Veal, 2004). Leadership on the other hand assumes the function of producing change under a constantly updated schemata of direction and vision. Leadership is the process of motivating others to work to meet specific goals and objectives. Leadership is deliberately causing people-driven actions in a planned fashion for the purpose of accomplishing the leader's agenda. Qualities of a Good Leader Subsequent to identification of role of leadership in project management it is clear that leadership physically comprises of an individual or set of individuals acting on common concert and vision. A set of qualities are generally stated in support of good leadership. Such qualities helps in execution of the agenda of leadership as defined above. These qualities are stated below corresponding to their importance in an information system project: (a) A project leader must have the capability to nurture and develop a vision and a concrete sense of direction in which to lead the team on. He must make the entire team convinced of his stance of an inspired shared vision. At least he should be able to convey his vision to critical members of the project team. "Visionary leaders enable people to feel they have a real stake in the project. They empower people to experience the vision on their own (Barry, Top). Bennis explains about the leaders that "They offer people opportunities to create their own vision, to explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and lives, and to envision their future as part of the vision for the organization," (Bennis, 1997). (b) A project leader is expected to have high level of problem solving skills (Barry, Top). He may share problem-solving responsibilities with the team .As Kouzes says that a leader must have a "fresh, creative response to here-and-now opportunities," and not much concern with how others have performed them. (Kouzes, 1987).Thus he would be capable of giving new solutions to complicated problems and lead in dead

Victoria Secret Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Victoria Secret Marketing - Essay Example By way of vast expansion it is felt that they may not be able to stick onto this concept of self preservation. But for expansion of the stores this aspect must be totally changed and a contradictory thought is required in this. There are also whole worlds of opportunities that wait outside the US. Even under calls for protectionism by several business and government leaders, the trade agreements and reconfiguration of certain countries are undergoing and becoming a global marketplace where new ventures can be and are willingly carried out. (The Wide World of International Trade) Though many limited brand companies do recognize the potentiality of the global marketplace, the thought of executing the new venture is found to be discouraging. By way of this expansion there could be a more-deeper amount of commitment and also by opening stores in various other countries we could learn and formulate strategic business plans in wake of the expansion and which specifically addresses the new realities. Firstly to measure the potential of our expansion and target markets, the market study should try to identify certain aspects like similarities in business culture, practices as well as the law in the countries that we are going to expand. There are also other communication barriers being the language. Even the thought of spending, national tradition and religious beliefs of the people have also to be taken into account. The stability of the economic and political background of the market has also to be taken into account. What are the barriers to the limited market e ntry And also the current market size and the potential for growth have also to be taken into account for expansion (The Wide World of International Trade) There are countries that are found suitable in all the above aspects for the opening of new stores and for the expansion of Victoria Sercret. They are Tokyo, Taiwan and Korea, Singapore, Philippines. There is a market open for expanding to nearly many hundreds of stores in Taiwan alone. This is because of the reputable and retailing know-how of the country and also due to the acceptance of the people perspective in inviting new markets. For example the Starbucks Coffee International have agreements signed in opening 12 retail stores in Tokyo, 7 in Hawaii, 6 in Singapore and also in Philippines in 1998. This shows that these countries are very open to new markets and also welcome the new stores and also accept the coming of more markets into their country. (Come one, Come all, Come Every Year!) As a member of the marketing team a very vast potential market could also be visualized in Taiwan and Korea. These countries are suitable for these market expansions due to their perspective of culture and religion. If new stores are opened in these countries there could be an inviting market waiting in these countries which could benefit our expansion in the perspective of culture and religious tourism throughout the year. In this study there were also countries that may not help in expansion. They are Iraq, Syria, Iran and Caucasian countries. There could be no gain in opening new stores in these countries due to less scope in potential market. Whereas, the Arab countries could also be another good place for our expansion for opening new stores, due to the importance given to tourism in these countries. We could gain a good amount of market from the Arab countries

Conflict at Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Conflict at Workplace - Essay Example The occurrence of conflict can occur in an organization for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons that it can occur is interdependence. â€Å"When individuals or subunits are mutually dependent upon each other to accomplish their own goals, the potential for conflict exists† (Csuponona). Take for example a factory that produces and sells office supplies. The salesmen depend on the production department to have inventory to sell. If production does not keep up with the product demand the salespeople could enter into a conflict with the production department. A second reason that conflict can arise in an organization is due to the existence of scarce resources. Examples of scarce resources include money, time, materials or human resources (Sullivan, 2014). It is the responsibility of the manager to distribute resources in a fair manner. A third reason that conflict can manifest itself in an organization is due to power struggles. A power struggle can occur between the CEO and the board of directors, among the departmental leaders, or among the members of a workgroup. A fourth factor that can lead to conflict in the workplace is interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal conflict involves conflict between two or more individuals that disagree over a subject manner (Chand, 2014). This type of conflict is probably the most common type of conflict. Once conflict manifests itself companies must deal with it to find a resolution. An important aspect of any solution to resolve conflict is communication. â€Å"Clear, concise, accurate, and timely communication of information will help to ease both the number and severity of conflicts† (Forbes, 2012). A manager must use active listening techniques between the parties involve to decipher the root of the problem. Appealing to the common goals of the parties can help alleviate the conflict. When interdependence caused the conflict a manager can

Victoria Secret Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Victoria Secret Marketing - Essay Example By way of vast expansion it is felt that they may not be able to stick onto this concept of self preservation. But for expansion of the stores this aspect must be totally changed and a contradictory thought is required in this. There are also whole worlds of opportunities that wait outside the US. Even under calls for protectionism by several business and government leaders, the trade agreements and reconfiguration of certain countries are undergoing and becoming a global marketplace where new ventures can be and are willingly carried out. (The Wide World of International Trade) Though many limited brand companies do recognize the potentiality of the global marketplace, the thought of executing the new venture is found to be discouraging. By way of this expansion there could be a more-deeper amount of commitment and also by opening stores in various other countries we could learn and formulate strategic business plans in wake of the expansion and which specifically addresses the new realities. Firstly to measure the potential of our expansion and target markets, the market study should try to identify certain aspects like similarities in business culture, practices as well as the law in the countries that we are going to expand. There are also other communication barriers being the language. Even the thought of spending, national tradition and religious beliefs of the people have also to be taken into account. The stability of the economic and political background of the market has also to be taken into account. What are the barriers to the limited market e ntry And also the current market size and the potential for growth have also to be taken into account for expansion (The Wide World of International Trade) There are countries that are found suitable in all the above aspects for the opening of new stores and for the expansion of Victoria Sercret. They are Tokyo, Taiwan and Korea, Singapore, Philippines. There is a market open for expanding to nearly many hundreds of stores in Taiwan alone. This is because of the reputable and retailing know-how of the country and also due to the acceptance of the people perspective in inviting new markets. For example the Starbucks Coffee International have agreements signed in opening 12 retail stores in Tokyo, 7 in Hawaii, 6 in Singapore and also in Philippines in 1998. This shows that these countries are very open to new markets and also welcome the new stores and also accept the coming of more markets into their country. (Come one, Come all, Come Every Year!) As a member of the marketing team a very vast potential market could also be visualized in Taiwan and Korea. These countries are suitable for these market expansions due to their perspective of culture and religion. If new stores are opened in these countries there could be an inviting market waiting in these countries which could benefit our expansion in the perspective of culture and religious tourism throughout the year. In this study there were also countries that may not help in expansion. They are Iraq, Syria, Iran and Caucasian countries. There could be no gain in opening new stores in these countries due to less scope in potential market. Whereas, the Arab countries could also be another good place for our expansion for opening new stores, due to the importance given to tourism in these countries. We could gain a good amount of market from the Arab countries

Paleontology and molecular biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paleontology and molecular biology - Essay Example It is in this regard that fossils must be cited in providing the present generation a unique opportunity to know evolutionary history and help scientists or interested groups in preserving some combinations of primitive and discovered characteristics of living things that are non-existence in extant taxa. Fossils, therefore, are very critical in documenting the character transformation sequences over a long period of time that cannot be achieved in modern times by the lone use of molecular data. The integration of fossil and molecular data has been well established in the book of Neil Shubin â€Å"Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body.† It all started with the discovery in 2004 by Shubin, Ted Daeschler, and Dr. Farish A. Jenkins, Jr. in the Arctic of the fossil of a fish, which they named Tiktaalik. The emergence of Tiktaalik fossil from the rock was a beautiful intermediate between fish and land-living animals (Shubin 22). Tiktaalik has a shoulder, elbow, and wrist composed of the same bones as an upper arm, forearm, and wrist in a human (39). Tiktaalik was just the beginning of the evolution of creatures living in water to land-living animals. It was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. With fossils, experiments cannot be done to reach a conclusion. Enter the role of the genes. To understand the difference of each cell in the body, it is imperative to understand the genetic switches that control the activity of genes in each cell and tissue (46). Experiments can be performed wherein the genes can be manipulated to see how bodies actually change in response to different conditions or stimuli (47). The discovery of the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) in the 50s and 60s by biologists Edgar Zwilling and John Saunders (49) and the Sonic hedgehog in the 90s by Cliff Tabin, Andy MacMahon and Phil Ingham (52) contributed to the role of genes in the evolutionary development. ZPA was responsible for the

Carr and the Thesis Essay Example for Free

Carr and the Thesis Essay Edward Carr begins What is History? By saying what he thinks history is not†¦by being negative. In Carr’s words, what history is not, or should not be, is a way of constructing historical accounts that are obsessed with both the facts and the documents which are said to contain them. Carr believes that by doing this the profoundly important shaping power of the historian will surely be downplayed. Carr goes on to argue – in his first chapter- that this downgrading of historiography arose because mainstream historians combined three things: first, a simple but very strong assertion that the proper function of the historian was to show the past as ‘it really was’; second, a positivist stress on inductive method, where you first get the facts and then draw conclusions from them; and third – and this especially in Great Britain – a dominant empiricist rationale. Together, these constituted for Carr what still stood for the ‘commonsense’ view of history: The empirical theory of knowledge presupposes a complete separation between subject and object. Facts, like sense-impressions, impinge on the observer from outside and are independent of his consciousness. The process of reception is passive: having received the data, he then acts on them†¦This consists of a corpus of ascertained facts†¦First get your facts straight, then plunge at your peril into the shifting sands of interpretation – that is the ultimate wisdom of the empirical, commonsense school of history. 2 Clearly, however, commonsense doesn’t work for Mr.Carr. For he sees this as precisely the view one has to reject. Unfortunately things begin to get a little complicated when Carr tries to show the light, since while it seems he has three philosophical ways of going about his studies one being epistemological and two ideological his prioritizing of the epistemological over the ideological makes history a science too complex for comprehension to anyone other than himself. Carr’s epistemological argument states that not all the ‘facts of the past’ are actually ‘historical facts. Furthermore, there are vital distinctions to be drawn between the ‘events’ of the past, the ‘facts’ of the past and the ‘historical’ facts. That ‘historical facts’ only become this way is by being branded so by recognized historians. Carr develops this argument as follows: What is a historical fact? †¦According to the commonsense view, there are certain basic facts which are the same for all historians and which form, so to speak, the backbone of history the fact, for example, that the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. But this view calls for two observations. In the first place, it is not with facts like these that the historian is primarily concerned. It is no doubt important to know that the great battle was fought in 1066 and not 1065 or 1067†¦The historian must not get these things wrong. But when points of this kind are raised, I am reminded of Housman’s remark that ‘accuracy is a duty, not a virtue’. To praise a historian for his accuracy is like praising an architect for using well-seasoned timber. It is a necessary condition of his work, but not his essential function. It is precisely for matters of this kind that the historian is entitled to rely on what have been called the ‘auxiliary sciences’ of history archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, chronology, and so-forth. 3 Carr thinks that the insertion of such facts into a historical account, and the significance which they will have relative to other selected facts, depends not on any quality intrinsic to the facts ‘in and for themselves,’ but on the reading of events the historian chooses to give: It used to be said that facts speak for themselves. This is, of course, untrue. The facts speak only when the historian calls on them: it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor, and in what order or context†¦The only reason why we are interested to know that the battle was fought at Hastings in 1066 is that historians regard it as a major historical event. It is the historian who has decided for his own reasons that Caesar’s crossing of that petty stream, the Rubicon, is a fact of history, whereas the crossings of the Rubicon by millions of other people†¦interests nobody at all†¦The historian is [therefore] necessarily selective. The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing objectively and independently of the historian is a preposterous fallacy, but one which it is very hard to eradicate. 4 Following on from this, Carr ends his argument with an illustration of the process by which a slight event from the past is transformed into a ‘historical fact’. At Stalybridge Wakes, in 1850, Carr tells us about a gingerbread seller being beaten to death by an angry mob; this is a well documented and authentic ‘fact from the past. But for it to become a ‘historical fact,’ Carr argues that it needed to be taken up by historians and inserted by them into their interpretations, thence becoming part of our historical memory. In other words concludes Carr: Its status as a historical fact will turn on a question of interpretation. This element of interpretation enters into every fact of history. 5 This is the substance of Carr’s first argument and the first ‘positionâ€⠄¢ that is easily taken away after a quick read his work. Thereby initially surmising that Carr thinks that all history is just interpretation and there are really no such things as facts. This could be an easily mislead conclusion if one ceases to read any further. If the interpretation of Carr stops at this point, then not only are we left with a strong impression that his whole argument about the nature of history, and the status of historical knowledge, is effectively epistemological and skeptical, but we are also not in a good position to see why. It’s not until a few pages past the Stalybridge example that Carr rejects that there was too skeptical a relativism of Collingwood, and begins a few pages after that to reinstate ‘the facts’ in a rather unproblematical way, which eventually leads him towards his own version of objectivity. Carr’s other two arguments are therefore crucial to follow, and not because they are explicitly ideological. The first of the two arguments is a perfectly reasonable one, in which Carr is opposed to the obsession of facts, because of the resulting common sense view of history that turns into an ideological expression of liberalism. Carr’s argument runs as follows. The classical, liberal idea of progress was that individuals would, in exercising their freedom in ways which took ‘account’ of the competing claims of others somehow and without too much intervention, move towards a harmony of interests resulting in a greater, freer harmony for all. Carr thinks that this idea was then extended into the argument for a sort of general intellectual laissez-faire, and then more particularly into history. For Carr, the fundamental idea supporting liberal historiography was that historians, all going about their work in different ways but mindful of the ways of others, would be able to collect the facts and allow the ‘free-play’ of such facts, thereby securing that they were in harmony with the events of the past which were now truthfully represented. As Carr puts this: The nineteenth century was, for the intellectuals of Western Europe, a comfortable period exuding confidence and optimism. The facts were on the whole satisfactory; and the inclination to ask and answer awkward questions about them correspondingly weak†¦The liberal†¦view of history had a close affinity with the economic doctrine of laissez-faire – also the product of a serene and self-confident outlook on the world. Let everyone get on with his particular job, and the hidden hand would take care of the universal harmony. The facts of history were themselves a demonstration of the supreme fact of a beneficent and apparently infinite progress towards higher things. 6 Carr’s second argument is therefore both straightforward and ideological. His point is that the idea of the freedom of the facts to speak for themselves arose from the happy coincidence that they just happened to speak liberal. But of course Carr did not. Thereby knowing that in the history he wrote the facts had to be made to speak in a way other than liberal (i. e. in a Marxist type of way) then his own experience of making ‘the facts’, his facts, is universalized to become everyone’s experience. Historians, including liberals, have to transform the ‘facts of the past’ into ‘historical facts’ by their positioned intervention. And so, Carr’s second argument against ‘commonsense’ history is ideological. For that matter, so is the third. But if the second of Carr’s arguments is easy to see, his third and final one is not. This argument needs a little ironing out. In the first two critiques of ‘commonsense’ history, Carr has effectively argued that the facts have no ‘intrinsic’ value, but that they’ve only gained their ‘relative’ value when historians put them into their accounts after all the other facts were under consideration. The conclusion Carr drew is that the facts only speak when the historian calls upon them to do so. However, it was part of Carr’s position that liberals had not recognized the shaping power of the historian because of the ‘cult of the fact’ and that, because of the dominance of liberal ideology, their view had become commonsense, not only for themselves, but for practically all historiography. It appeared to Carr that historians seemed to subscribe to the position that they ought to act as the channel through which ‘the facts of the past for their own sake’ were allowed self-expression. But Carr, not wanting to go the route of his fellow historians, nor wanting to succumb to the intellectual complaints about the demise of the experience of originality, says: In the following pages I shall try to distance myself from prevailing trends among Western intellectuals†¦to show how and why I think they have gone astray and to stake out a claim, if not for an optimistic, at any rate for a saner and more balanced outlook on the future. 7 It is therefore this very pointed position which stands behind and gives most, if not all, of the reason for Carr’s writing What is History? Carr himself seems to be quite clear that the real motive behind his text was the ideological necessity to re-think and re-articulate the idea of continued historical progress among the ‘conditions’ and the doubters of his own ‘skeptical days’. Carr’s ‘real’ concern was ‘the fact’ that he thought the future of the whole modern world was at stake. Carr’s own optimism cannot be supported by ‘the facts’, so that his own position is just his opinion, as equally without foundation as those held by optimistic liberals. Consequently, the only conclusion that can arguably be drawn is that ‘the past’ doesn’t actually enter into historiography, except rhetorically. In actuality there should be no nostalgia for the loss of a ‘real’ past, no sentimental memory of a more certain time, nor a panic that there are no foundations for knowledge other than rhetorical conversation.

Theories of Motivation in Business Management

Theories of Motivation in Business Management Motivation is the factors that determine the grounds for engagement in a particular behavior by a person or persons. It attached with the beginning, route, the level of involvement and the sustaining at a particular level of behavior of a person. The grounds for a particular behavior may include the determinants which are varying from basic human needs to higher level of social needs. Motivation can be reflected through the energy and commitment of the individual or group to perform a certain task or tasks (Joseph 1989). The employee motivation is a crucial factor for every business at a same or sometimes at a higher level with compared to other businesses. It affects the every aspects of the business. The basic level of the motivation is reflected by the hard working work force. At this stage the productivity will be high and hence the cost of labor per unit will be reduced. However the mere improvements in productivity will not be the single factor that a firm can achieve by motivating its workforce. Motivated employees are performing to a high standard level of performance where favorable impacts over the customer satisfaction and the shareholder value can be gained. The motivated employees are less likely to engage in industrial actions or such other violence actions against the company. The employee conflicts and grievances may lower. Further the motivated employees would work effectively under minimum supervision. They will be enthusiastically learning new things relating to their jobs that wou ld enhance the quality of performance. Building or creating motivated employee force is a difficult task by which a high amount of effort and money are absorbed. More importantly the culture, leadership style and the management style affect the employee motivation. Therefore the motivated employee force is becoming a competitive source to the company. There are various theories that are built regarding employee motivation. Various philosophers have presented various models on employee motivation. Their efforts and numerous case studies on this topic show the importance of the subject matter to the todays business context. This assignment will present an introduction of those theories and the practice of those theories in the todays business environment with relevant case studies. Motivation Theories There are several theories of motivation of various philosophers such as Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Herzbergs Two Factor Theory, Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y, Kurt Lewins Force Field Theory, Victor Vrooms Expectancy Theory, F.W. Taylors Scientific Management, etc. At lower levels of the Maslows hierarchy of Needs theory the monetary benefits are considered to be the motivation factor. At the higher level of the hierarchy factors such as social respect, recognition, sense of belonging and empowerment are powerful than the monetary factor of motivation. Accordingly Maslow suggested that the money is a lowest important factor as a motivator of employees. McGregor has included money in his Theory X category and explained it as a poor motivator and in theory Y category he has placed social recognition and praise suggesting that they are strong motivators other than money. This section of the assignment will present explanations of those important theories of motivation before understand the practical usage of those theories to generate a motivated workforce (Werther and Davis 1985). Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory This theory composed of two parts; classification of human needs and relating classes to each other. The classes of needs are as follows. The theory explains the order of the fulfilling needs as follows. Person begin from the bottom line of the hierarchy and will try to satisfy the very basic physical needs of hunger, thirsty, shelter, etc. When he has satisfied these needs then they are not motivators further. Hence he moves upward of the hierarchy. Then the person would seek for the safety at work, job security, etc to ensure his survival at workplace. Having ensured that he is safe his curiosity then will search for social needs such as belongingness, love, friendships, etc. the person would seek for colleagues to work with, share information, team work, communication, etc. Then the esteem needs will come forward. This is the need for being praised, given recognition or evaluation for a job well-done. The people normally seek for respect of others while sharing the happy and sorrow. Self-actualization is the way a person perceives himself. It measured by the extent of success and the amount of challenge of work. There are several problems attached with this model where as it has greater potential to appeal in the business world such as, It is no clear when would be a certain level is considered as satisfied Individuals may respond differently regarding the same need Sometimes individual behavior reflects the reaction for more than one need Model has ignored several conditions such as bearing a low-pay by an employee expecting future benefits Some critics argue that this model explain the behavior of middle-class workers in UK and USA (Forshaw and Korn 2010) Herzbergs Two Factor Theory This is a content theory of motivation whereas the main theory is the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. Herzberg carried out a research utilizing 200 engineers and accountants. They were asked to memorize the situations when that they felt positive or negative feelings at their job and the reasons there of. According to his findings he presented a two-steps approach to understand employee motivation and satisfaction which are called as Hygiene factors and Motivator factors. There are several factors that can be used to eliminate the unpleasant working conditions at work. These fcators are called a Hygeine factors. These factors may include one or all of the following factors. Working conditions Company policies Administration Quality and the way of supervision Eetent of inter-personal relationships Salaries, wages and other financial benefits The job security The individuals need for personal growth determines the motivaor factors of the particular person. Motivator factors actively create job satisfaction when they exist. If those factors are effective then the individuals performance would be of above-average. The motivator factors may, Opportunity for growth in the job Entrusted responsibility Social status Recognition among others Challenging work Sense of achievement (Stephen 2002) Herzberg model more identical to the Maslows theory yet it focus specially on the higher levels of the hierarchy of needs. The factors in the lower level of the hierarchy are considered as generating dissatisfaction only when they are not met with. Motivator factors are specific to the job itself such as how interesting the work is and how much of responsibility whether it assumes. The hygiene factors are considering the factors that are related to the environment of the job such as the safety working environment and the resources to complete the job assigned. These factors facilitate or able the employees to perform the job rather motivate to do the job with an extra effort and interest. Herzberg identified pay as a Hygiene factor. According to his theory the businesses are required to adopt the democratic approaches to motivate employees. These approaches may include one or more of the followings. Job Enlargement: Employees are given a range of tasks that are in various areas of the business or fields. However these tasks must not assume much responsibility if so the motivation to the tasks would less. Job Enrichment: this assigns the employees with more complex tasks which are attached with the completion of full work unit. The tasks will be of more challenging and interesting. And at the end the employee will feel a sense of achievement. Employee Empowerment: Here the employees are delegated with more power to make decisions on the areas attached to their jobs. The responsibility of the decisions made also to be held by them. (Musselwhite 2004) F.W. Taylors Scientific Management Taylor has formed several assumptions about the human behavior at work base on observations of the research he carried out participating US steelworkers. Man is a rational economic animal who concerned with maximizing his economic growth. People respond as individuals and not as groups. People can be treated as standardized machines Taylor simply described that the motivation factor of people at work is money. He suggested that the pay based on the rates produced by an each worker will induce him to produce more and more to earn more. Further the employees who do not achieve target of a daily production should be paid less in order to induce them to meet daily target. And the employees who exceed the target production should be paid more to induce them to keep that productivity and to motivate others. Accordingly managers job is to tell the employees what to do and the employees target is to complete that and to be paid according to their production (Tripathi 1991) When presenting this theory Taylor has ignored that there are many individual differences which would affect the motivator factors of the employees. However his methods were highly implemented by the business world which experienced a higher productivity and lower unit cost. It also gave the beginning kick to the mass production. Workers were unhappy with the Taylors methods since it assigned them with boring, repetitive work that required them to effort greatly to maximize the earnings. The employees were treated as machines and business people redounded employees as the productivity grew. These situations lead many industrial disputes and industrial actions by the workers (Mathis and Jackson 2000). This model is closely related with the autocratic leadership style. Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y This theory presents two extremes of the behavior of people at work as theory X and theory Y. No individual would be necessarily categorized into one category but the whole behaviors will be in between the ends of X and Y. The characteristics of the two categories are as follows. Theory X Workers Theory Y Workers Dislike Work and avoid working as much as possible Who are lackof ambition Willing to be led by someone else than taking risk Highly seek for security and self-survival Managers will have to impose a management system of coercion, control and punishment to achieve the business objectives through such employees Highly interested in working and enjoy it Interested in taking risks and responsibilities Like to try new things and take challenges Work is considered as a source of satisfaction or punishment depending on the working conditions The management would face a challenge of creating a working environment that enable these employees to show their creativity and responsibility Elton Mayo Mayo suggested that employees are not mere considering the money and can be better motivated by giving them the opportunity to meet the social needs of the individuals. This is the Human Relationship Scholl of thought by which the managers are focused on considering more about the peoples relationship aspect understanding the how workers enjoy interactions. Mayos theory based on the extended research carried out in the Hawthorne factory of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. From that research Mayo came into conclusion that employees can be better motivated by; Effective communication among managers and workers Greater manager involvement in employees working life Working in groups or teams Accordingly it is suggested that the greater use of team work, high involvement of managers in the workers working life, and encouraged two way communication would be benefiting the companies. The Mayos theory is more closely running with the paternalistic management style. (www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_Employee_Motivation.html(Accessed on 03/05/2011) Role of Other Factors It is highly considered that the way of motivating employees is the financial rewards. However there are many other aspects of the scenario that would be considered by the managers and executives to motivate their subordinates. The factors would be different on the individual basis which will need to put more effort into their work. Such factors may include followings. Organization Culture The organizational culture has a direct relationship with the employees performance and level of motivation. If the elements of the culture fit with individuals background, values, beliefs, norms and expectations then the employees are automatically willing to work in the organization. If the corporate culture is built on the teamwork, encouragement, collaboration, evaluation, then the employees is likely to be motivated to put more efforts to bring the organizational objectives accomplished. More often employees seek for their leaders direction and support, and at the same time they look for the collaboration of teammates and co-workers (Werther, Davis, Shwind, Das and Miner 1985). Relationship with Leaders The leadership style can be significantly influence the motivation of employees. The qualities of the leader will determine the extent to which the e employees are contributed to the organization. If the leader is unfair, do not provide clear instructions, and negatively look at the things then the employees will lose their desire to work hard to accomplish the goals. The organizations leaders must communicate with its employees openly so that the employees are clear about the things that they are required to do. (Source: http://tutor2u.net.business/people/motivation, (Accessed on 01/05/2011) Management Style The organizational culture, the situation and the expectations and personality of the subordinates will determine the suitable style of a manager. The characteristics of the managers style would be of no fit with the changes in the organization and the cultural changes accompanied by that change. As an example in past the authoritarian style of the managers was appreciated with the bureaucratic organizations, but today the interest is more focused on participative or empowered managers who admire the democratic policies of management. Many of the management theories are supporting the that sort of management styles such as Total Quality Management, Management by Objective, employee empowerment, self-managed work teams, etc. A comprehensive review of the management styles and their contribution to motivated work force will be presented below. Management Style Participative Management Description:Â   Share information with employees and participate them in the decision making process Employees are entrusted with the responsibility of running their own departments and determine the appropriate policies and procedures Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   Not suitable to adapted by every organizations and at every levels This is a remedy to the poor morale and low productivity that gain the results very soon to the organization Redistributed power will enhance the willingness to work If the culture supports and if the employees are competent enough then the participation will result in effective decisions and productive operations. Giving the employees recognition as they are important as the mangers and the stakeholders will satisfy their esteem needs. Theory X and Theory Y Description:Â   These theories are based on several assumptions. It explains two extremes of the involvement and utilizing efforts and energy to accomplish tasks by the employees Theory X explains the negative side of the performance and theory Y represents the positive side of the performance Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   Considering the poor performance as the total fault of the employee by Theory X and therefore employees are motivated by the extrinsic rewards such as money, promotion, appraises, etc. The low productivity is considered as the fault of the management. Theory Z Description:Â   It represents the good characteristics of the both Japanese management and the Western management styles. The theory has combined those features of the management at every level of the organizations. The characteristics of this theory included long-term employment, less specialized career path, group decision making, informal control, etc. Concerns the all levels of needs of the employees. Concerning the employee well-being satisfies the physical and security needs of the employees. Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   Team work and group decision making satisfy the social needs Encouragement to take risks and responsibilities will satisfy the higher level of needs such as self-esteem and self-actualization Management By Walking Around Description:Â   Managers can gather as much as possible information regarding the policies, procedures, employee matters, and other work related information Manager can maintain proper relationship with employees so that he would be considered as a counselor or advisor by the employees Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   Leaving decision making responsibility with the employees will achieve the fastest response time Close relationship with manager will let the employees to present their suggestions, complaints and grievances as soon as they occur Self-Managed Work Teams Description:Â   This is a derivation of the employee empowerment Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â  The teams will comprise of about 10-15 employees who require minimum supervision Delegates the authority to decide on simple work related aspects such as how to spend money, what work to undertaken, etc Total Quality Management Description:Â   The all functions of the management are integrated to achieve a high quality product Quality is the responsibility of all employees and teamwork Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   The customer satisfaction is highly recognized Recognition is given from CEO to lower level employees to maintain quality Shared commitment to achieve the organizational objectives Encourages employees to grow, learn and participate in the business operations actively Encourages the continuing change and adaptation to the changing environment Management by objective Description:Â   Employees are participated in the establishing goals and objectives Overall organizational objectives are converted into employee objectives Steps are setting goals, participative decision making, implementing plans and performance feedback High involvement of the employees in decision making and goal setting related to their jobs Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   Managers are empowered to implement, control their plans and performance. This motivate the managers to work hard for the company Periodical review of the employees performance will give the employees a sense of completion and will let them know what the areas to be improved more are. This will induce them to take more efforts to achieve the goals established with their participation Employee Empowerment Description:Â   The organization structures are change and the decision making is lapsed with the lowest levels of the organization The objectives of the empowerment is to speed up the decision making and giving solutions to problems regarding the business operations, give employees the opportunity to grow, and to lower organizational cost to managers by assigning them to various other projects Contribution to Motivated Work Force:Â   Employees will be trained to take high responsibilities and make more accurate, effective decisions quickly A sense of belongingness of the work they are engaged in will generate within the employees They think that the company is their own one and work hard to attain day-to-day work successfully www.ehow.com/about 5387352 definition-employee-motivation.html, (Accessed on 02/05/2011) The managers are obliged to select the suitable style for managing their subordinates and work which is suited to them, their subordinated personalities and general characteristics, the department they are assigned with and in general to the whole organizational setting and its culture. Management style highly correlated with the level of performance of the employees and outcome of the operations under their control. Managers must be delegated with the certain amount of authority and then their role becomes a nature of a leader. Then he must use suitable leadership traits to motivate and direct their subordinates to achieve the departmental/organizational objectives or outcome (Mathis and Jackson 2000). Reward System A properly designed reward system must be there in the organization by which the employees can attain such benefits. Employees must have the confidence that they can be rewarded with established performance criteria of the job. Further the rewards must be fairly distributed so that the employees can clearly identified that there is no any discrepancy over them. If the rewards are based on the performance evaluation procedure then all processes may transparent and the employees must clearly see that the evaluations are put on regularly and fairly (Joseph 1989) Job Title The job title will give the respective employee an idea about his role within the company, the extent to which he can contribute the accomplishment of organizational objectives. When the employees are aware about their importance to the organization they are automatically motivated to work hard to make their job effective (Deming 1986) Monetary Benefits Whether the money is being derecognized as a positive motivator it has proven to be more effective in practice. Selecting the right remuneration package for the employees is a challenge for nowadays. A number of ways are in use to motivate employees over their work such as; Time-rate pay Peace-rate pay Performance related pay Shares and share options Bonuses Commissions Pension There are several aspects of money to be an important motivator such as; Pay helps to satisfy many other needs of person such as esteem needs, safety needs, etc It is an important cost to the company It helps to attract competent employees It helps to retain skilled and competent employees It is subjected to various legislations such as National Minimum Wage (Cherrington 1994) Motivation in Practice Case Examples The Tesco Plc The UK giant retailer, Tesco Plc has provided its large workforce to join the company as prospective shareholders. Staff is enabled to be a part of the Tescos profit by share allocation based on their performance. The number of shares allocated to each employee is determined by the number of days worked in an each period. The Department of Education The UK Departmental Education Sector is in the view that the teachers pay must be linked to their performance. In 2002 the British government introduces a performance based bonus scheme to give rise to the teachers pay and to retain the existing staff and to attract new staff to the teaching sector. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority The NDA has utilized many theoretical perspectives of the employee motivation to motivate its employees. The NDA Way shows that several phenomena which is based on the fulfillment of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs as follows. Always acting safely and responsibly Building talent and teams Challenging themselves Learning from experience Being open and transparent Confronting problems Delivering whet they promised The NDA implemented the strategies like job enrichment, job enlargement, and job rotation, empowerment to effectively affect the employees motivation to carry out the organizational objectives effectively and efficiently. Its focus was to ensure that the employees are acquiring a range of skills and proficiency making the work is more interesting and challenging. Further the company introduced the flexibility into the workforce. The NDA involved in wide range of projects which are each project is of a unique challenge. Hence the authority required people with flexible people to work in teams and willing to learn continually and to take responsibility. Their team work and relationships were based on the Mayos Human Relations School of motivation. The NDA build relationships on a win-win basis. The staff encouraged to build necessary skills and competencies to adapt the variety of the work involved by the authority. The employees are delegated with Personal Development plans with SMART objectives and provide the path to professional development as well. Conclusion Motivation is crucial factor of the success of the organization these days. There are various theories have been presented by various philosophers regarding the motivation of employees. Management, leadership, and organizational culture are key determinants among the factors affecting employee motivation. Every job has the probability of motivation or demotivation the employee. Motivation affects the every aspects of the business and strongly affects the level of productivity. Whether some philosophers have considered money as a low motivator it has a high influence of persons life and hence still it is valid as motivator. The reward system, job title, periodical performance reviews can also be considered as motivators. Many organizations have adapted the teachings of theories like Mayo, McGregor to create a motivated employee force. A motivated employee force would benefit the company by lowering the unit cost, high productivity, maintaining quality, etc. the motivation is simply the work harder to accomplish the organizational goals effectively and efficiently by its workforce. Only a motivated workforce will be able to bring the organization to a successful position in the todays dynamic competitive market environment.

Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching Statement Essa

Philosophy of Education There comes a definite time in the life of every individual when a clear and conscious comprehension of identity must be established. A person must ask himself who he is, what his personal strengths are, and what path he wishes to pursue in order to shape his future and procure his dreams. I recently found myself at such a crossroads, and I faced the decision with much ambivalence. I was influenced by my high school peers and instructors to do something â€Å"incredible† with my promising life – to pursue medical school or law school. I, however, failed to see the appeal in either and opted instead for my own variation on an incredible future. I chose to pursue not only a career, but a cause and personal goal as well. After much deliberation, I decided that teaching high school English was the only endeavor that promised to reward me with the satisfaction for which I longed. I realized that I could not only express my own passion for literature, but that I cou ld also hopefully instill that same passion into the hearts of students. Many have since criticized my dreams and my aspirations as mediocre, but I argue that every man, woman, and child is a product of at least one exemplary educator. Education, in one form or another, shapes the lives of everyone on a daily basis. Educators, to me, are the unsung heroes of modern culture. I realize, of course, that not everyone is called to teach. I feel that only those with a true passion and love of knowledge should even consider the profession and way of life. In terms of the teacher that I will be, I hope to mirror a number of influences from my own education. I’ve always admired teachers who take time to personalize their classrooms – teac... ...n, if met with the opportunity, I would love to join one or more in order to gain valuable insight from fellow educators. The American statesman Edward Everett once stated that, â€Å"Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.† Indeed, the educated individual is empirically liberated. Knowledge is power, and he who has it, powerful. This rousing sentiment establishes teacher as freedom fighter, aiding daily in the demolition of ignorance’s bondage. It is my solemn vow to join these celebrated ranks in the crusade for knowledge. Many small children dream of becoming astronauts and firefighters because of their formidable accomplishments and heroic statures. Similarly, I will be a teacher; I will work with diligence, fervor, and compassion to change the lives and thought processes of students, for I can think of no nobler contribution.