Deportation is not a good solution to reduce illegal immigrants issues Essay

Deportation is not a good solution to reduce illegal immigrants issues - Essay Example This deportation may be mostly done to illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are people who migrate to a certain place or country without following the right procedures or without formal certification of the migration. A country may deport illegal immigrants because of their unknown status to the security of the country. Reasons for such a person migrating may be several a fleeing criminal, or individuals fleeing from internal war in the country. If a person is a criminal then he/she migrates to a foreign country without formal accreditation and may pose as a security risk to that country. Deportation may be advantageous to the country, but it may also cause harm to the victims involved that is if the victim migrated his/her country because of political instability. Such victims may be seeking refuge in the current country, is deported then, he/she will lack place to go, and thus, he might be subjected to harsh environments. Rules of a given country give the rightful rights of depor ting immigrants living in the country with or without legal certification of staying in the country (Forsythe & Lawson 53). If a given country’s rules and regulations give authority of deporting the immigrants then, the immigrants have no luck of staying in the country. What is contained in this paper argues out that actually deportation is not a good solution to resolve illegal immigrants’ issues. ... ed by those individuals who have committed serious crimes, entered the country without legal certification, and overstayed their visa and,or they have lost their legal certification of staying in the country (Forsythe &Lawson53-54).External deportation is only done to those immigrants who have broken the rules of immigration. These rules govern the mode and way of migrating and additionally they give legal certification for staying in the given country. If these immigrants break the rules and enter the country without certification, they are deported back to their original countries. The second form of deportation is internal deportation, which occurs only in the country or state. This is whereby an individual is deported out of the state he/she does not belong to. For example, an individual can be deported from California back to his/her original state because he/she does not belong in California. In this form of deportation, the rules of the state are the ones facilitating this pro cess of deportation, but not the rules governing the whole country. Immigrants who migrate to the new place or state are subjected to deportation if they are there without legal certification of migration. This may also be referred to the country’s rules and regulation if need arises. Reasons for such deportation within a state is that an individual or a group of people may be acting as spies, helpers or undercover for the enemy and thus may bring harm to the state (Garcia 15). For example, the state of Georgia deported about 400 females who were workers at the mill industry. These female workers were deported on reasons that they were suspected to be northern sympathizers. This happened during the civil war. The governing body of Georgia had all the rightful rights to deport the

Your Creative Thinking Profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Your Creative Thinking Profile - Essay Example These aspects can be apparently observed as clarifying any sort of problem, creating ideas, developing solutions and also implementing effective plans. However, at certain conditions, I become a â€Å"Hare.† This is because of having improper knowledge about implementing required skills. Moreover, at certain times, I also become an â€Å"Optimist.†This is because of having deficiency in clarity with regards to the problems faced at certain adverse situations (Pucciuo, n.d.). The role, which I aspire to have, is of a top managerial position of an organization. In this regard, I must possess certain roles about resolving several issues within the organization. Hence, from the organizational perspective, it is quite essential to have all the desired qualities in the creative thinking profile. Being the â€Å"Integrator†, it is desirable for the organization to have me as the top managerial position, based on which several issues can be resolved in an efficient manner. Moreover, at certain times, I also lack in clarifying any sort of problem. Thus, the job role, which best suits me besides the top managerial position, is the idea along with solution provider (Pucciuo, n.d.). It is worth mentioning that as a manger of an organization, it is quite important to learn, respect and collaborate with other individuals for attaining predetermined business or operational targets. This can be made possible by encouraging the colleagues and the subordinates along with others to have and share a common goal. As per my understanding, arranging team meetings and other events would certainly lead towards forming greater collaboration with the members. In addition, forming greater communication with the colleagues and the others would also lead towards strong collaboration (Meador, 1997; Pucciuo, n.d.). It has been evident that each and every organization possesses diverse nature of people working in a collaborative manner towards the attainment of desired

Computer Crimes And Hacking

Computer Crimes And Hacking As the Internet growth, it creates convenience for human and benefit for the market. However, there are some hidden negative effects behind, the computer crime. The following table showing numbers of computer crimes in Hong Kong. The computer crimes are in a increasing shape. In this study, we will look into different kinds of computer crimes. And provide some prevention for different crimes. Description E-auction fraud The E-auction fraud is a kind of crime that happened in E-auction. There are different kinds of E-auction fraud. The most common type is stealing fake products. There is news about the e-auction fraud in Hong Kong in January, 2010. A 19-year-old youth was arrested in suspected of e-auction fraud of HK$100,000, and it involved more than 20 cases of e-auction fraud. In the case, the youth post some information of foreign fashion clothing and accessories on the e-auction site, and asked the buyer to deposit the money to the designated bank account first, and claimed that the goods will be sent after payment. But the delivery didnt happen, and the buyer had lost his money. (Sing Tao Ltd., 2010) 2.1.1 Prevention and Solution Check the e-auction websites about the protection policies. Learn the selling history of the seller before placing a bid. If cant find anything out about the seller, than avoid doing business with them. Never ever give out the personal information to others, like the credit card number, or bank account information until have thoroughly checked out the seller and the escrow service. Always save the history of the transaction information. 2.1.2 Legal and Ethical issues As for the e-auction fraud, there is not a specific law for every kinds of e-auction fraud. But selling fake products, cheating money and stealing buyer personal for criminal use, then it will be against the laws in Hong Kong. In the case sample, the teenager opposes the morality. He tried to make money in an illegal way. Its immoral, because the youth is too greedy. He tried to earn fast money without paying effort on it. And he lost integrity to the one who trust him and buy his products. 2.2 Spamming According to the Yip, Tse Tang (2010), spamming is the act of sending unsolicited electronic messages in bulk, whether for commercial or non-commercial purpose. Sending unsolicited messages does not confine to emails. It happens with postal junk mails and junk fax. Spam by emails is the most often seen form of spamming on the Internet. Emails are delivered with contents or messages for commercial advertising. Because of the little cost on sending email emails in massive scale, Non-commercial junk emails are also found. There is news about spamming, this time not on E-mail; its on the cell phone. IT companies has set up websites and send SMS to the cell phone users. Its selling point is free registration, but there is a hidden charge for each SMS. When the users register the account, it means the company can send the SMS to the registered users and receive charges. And the company sends 80 messages to a user within 1 hour; each message cost HK$5, the user being charged more than ten thousand dollars a month. (à ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ±Ãƒ ¦- ¹Ãƒ ¦- ¥Ãƒ ¥Ã‚  Ã‚ ±, 2010) 2.2.1 Prevention and Solution The following solution and prevention are based on the E-mail spamming: Check the privacy policy of websites or companies before providing any personal information when filling in some web registration forms, online surveys, etc. Check the terms and conditions of the email service more carefully, especially their privacy policy when subscribing to free email account services, when filling in the account profile. Open different email accounts for different purposes, like Gmail for school work, Hotmail for office work, etc. Simply delete emails from unknown senders because reply or click on the link in the email means the sender is confirming that the email address is a valid one. Ask the ISPs for any anti-spam solution or install email filters to make a black list for reducing the amount of spam emails. 2.2.2 Legal and Ethical issue In Hong Kong, there doesnt does have any specific anti-spam legislation. But there are detailed guidelines on spam prevention found in a Code of Practice issued by the Hong Kong ISP Association (HKISPA) in 2000. The HKISPA asks its ISP members, to include terms in their Internet access agreement that require the subscriber to not engage in sending spam messages. But it isnt a law. For the company, they send out junk mail is because they want to promote their companys products or services. Bu they dont understand that this will cause problem to the one who received the junk mail. For who receive the mails need to waste time on deleting the mails. Digital Forgery Digital signatures help organizations sustain signer authenticity, accountability, data integrity and non-repudiation of electronic documents and forms. According to Will (2002), Counterfeit website security certificates can be generated and used make sites appear secure when they are not, says a US computer programmer. The trick could tempt surfers into handing over personal information, such as credit card details. The forgery technique relies on the way Microsofts Internet Explorer handles the security certificates that verify the identity of a web site, says Mike Benham. These certificates are used to establish an encrypted connection to a web site so that private information can then be safely handed over. 2.3.1Prevention and Solution Provide different kinds of security certificates, like the digital signature and digital watermark. Also, all data for issuance encrypted into a metafile. Moreover, prevent entering any personal information on the Internet. And try not to download any unknown certificates and access to any unknown websites. 2.3.2 Legal and Ethical issues Counterfeit a website security certificate is not illegal, but using the fake certificate and try to collect others personal data may against the laws in Hong Kong. And there is no laws for just counterfeit the website security certificates. Its immoral for collect the personal data from others without their permission. And propose to counterfeit the website security certificates and replace the original one is also immoral. The malicious intent of doing is not acceptable. Identity theft The identity theft usually cause by hackers. The hackers stole others personal information, like the credit card numbers, and for criminal uses. Manhattan prosecutors announced that they uncovered a large multinational group of credit card and identity theft. The defendants were charged with enterprise corruption, theft, money laundering, fraud, and other offenses. The crime syndicates used a multinational Internet company to carry out criminal activities from 2001 to 2007. They smuggling credit card numbers and others identity information for selling and earning profit. (à ©Ã‚  Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ã‚ Ãƒ ¦- ¥Ãƒ ¥Ã‚  Ã‚ ±, 2009) The identity theft is usually caused by hacker. 2.4.1 Prevention and Solution First of all, handle the account and password carefully. Then encrypt data when transmitting personal information on the Internet. Moreover, dont reply or click any links embedded in unexpected e-mails. Last but not least, dont submit personal data on the Internet that may be irrelevant to the purposes of collection, such as credit card number. 2.4.2 Legal and Ethical issues In Hong Kong, there is Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance to protect the use of personal information. But posting others basic information on the Internet, like name, age, e-mail address or personal website is not a crime. Only stealing without permission for criminal use is illegal. The one who steal other personal information and use others information is immoral. They should respect others privacy. But they dont respect it or may be lack of this kind of knowledge. So they may violate others privacy. They are malicious intent. Hactivism Hactivism is a conference that holds by hackers. And they shared the latest hack technologies on the conference. In 2002, there were about 2000 hackers from different countries gathered in New York. They held a big hactivism. At the conference, hackers want to hold information guerilla warfare due to the dissatisfaction of network security for more than 20 countries. And develop out a new software tool as a declaration of war. Then, the U.S. network security institutions and other large companies worried about the software. Because the new software is likely to become the tool for criminals or even terrorists for stealing trading secrets, and transferring terror information. (à ¥Ã…’-à ¤Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¬Ãƒ ©Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¹Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¥Ã‚  Ã‚ ±, 2002) 2.5.1 Prevention and Solution The large companies should be aware of the latest information about the hactivism, because they will announce any latest bug that they find. And the companies should try to keep update their software to fix the bug of their software. For the normal computer users, they should keep updating their software and system to protect from being hacked. 2.5.2 Legal and Ethical issues Holding the conference actually is not illegal. And hacking the software is not illegal too. But publish those hacked software and cause any criminals to other then will be illegal. And hacking to other system is also illegal. The reasons why they hold the conference is due to challenge. They want to compete with other hackers and try to become the first to find out the bugs or problem of the software. Discussion on Hacking According to George (2008), Apple wanted to hire a iPhone hacker to the company. The company wants to improve the security of the OS system. People may argue that why they hire a hacker to hack their system. But in my view, I think hacking is beneficial to the companys products or services. The reason why Im saying this because hacking can draw the companys attention to their released products or services. Hacker will try to find out the bug from the system security and then attack the system. For the Apple case, people may jail break the iPhone and get the root management of the iPhone. Apple then want to hire the hacker to hack their system for improvement. So when the company found that their systems are being hacked. Then they will notice that their products are not perfect. So, they will try to keep update the system to avoid being hacked again. The company profit may be affected if their products can be easily hacked due to the comparison of the similar products from other comp anies. So the companies may keep improving their products and provide the best services to their customers. Thats why Im saying hacking is beneficial. 3.1 Action to reduce hacking activities There are some suggestions from the H.K. Government to reduce hacking activities. The suggestions are as follow: Install the anti-virus software and personal firewall software on the computer devices. Keep updating the anti-virus software, because the outdated software can be easily hacked or affected by the new virus. Try not to install any unauthorized software on the computer. Turn off all JavaScript or ActiveX support in the web browser before visiting a un familiar websites. Apply the latest security updates and patches to the software. Disconnect from the Internet when not in use. Because connected to the Internet all the time has a high risk of infection, and has a greater probability of being hacked. Conclusion Computer and Internet have brought us convenience to our daily. People should get well use of them. And try to avoid commit any computer crime. The computer users should aware of the latest news of computer crimes and protect their personal information. The Social and Schools should pay more attention on the computer crimes. And promote the proper way to use network resources.

Evolution versus Creationism in the American School System Essay

Evolution versus Creationism in the American School System â€Å"God! God! God!† My ears were ringing from my father’s latest lecture. He wasn’t very consistent with his church attendance, so I primarily learned about the ways of Christianity through his own instruction. This lesson pertained to our creation. He described how God, after his six-day creation binge, formed the first man, Adam, from dust, and the first woman, Eve, from Adam’s rib. Early on in my life, my father’s beliefs were my own. He raised me to be a good Catholic girl and due to a lack of any sort of alternative, a good Catholic girl I became. The idea was plausible for me at the time. How else did the Earth and everything it held come into being? Who taught the leaves to change color in the fall, exhibiting their true beauty only just before their ugly end? How did the mountains reach so high as to pierce the sky with their cloud-stained peaks? Who formed my brain and gave me the ability to reach my mind into the realm of the abstract? God seemed the obvious answer, but I would still pose the question of â€Å"Where did God come from?† to my father, and as I grew older, I became increasingly dissatisfied with his answer: â€Å"He was always there.† My sixth grade science class brought enlightenment. The teacher instructed us to open our books to chapter seven: evolution. I had heard of evolution before, but I had never really understood it or the threat it posed to my fledgling religious beliefs. To say that the theory of evolution single-handedly brought an end to my love of all things holy would be a great exaggeration. It merely gave me an idea around which the logical half of my mind could wrap itself. In this area, the teachings of my father ha... ...iple.† AIP.org. 2005. American Institute of Physics. 4 Dec. 2005. http://www.aip. org/history/heisenberg/p08.htm. Charlesworth, Brian, and Charlesworth, Deborah. Evolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. â€Å"Kansas Schoolboard Redefines Science.† CNN: Student News. 8 Nov. 2005. Cable News Network. 16 Nov. 2005. http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/11/08/evolution. debate.ap/index.htmal. Peacocke, Arthur R. â€Å"Welcoming the â€Å"Disguised Friend†: A Positive Theological Appraisal of Biological Evolution.† An Evolving Dialogue: Theological and Scientific Perspectives on Evolution. Ed. Miller, James B. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2001. 371–398. Stanford, Craig; Allen, John S., and Ant ¢n, Susan C. Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005.

Operations Management †Hayes and Wheelwright Essay

The Hayes and Wheelwright model (Slack et al, 2009) is a useful way to classify the operations function of an organisation. Select your own organization, or an organization with which you are familiar, and identify at which stage of the Hayes and Wheelwright model you would currently place the operations function. Justify your positioning by drawing on relevant theory and practice. This paper discusses the operations strategy and management of the construction division of Larsen & Toubro Limited – the leading engineering, construction and technology conglomerate of India with an international presence in over 40 countries. I have spent 10 years working with the construction division in various capacities including a rewarding 5 year stint in the corporate head office reporting to the Vice President. Operations function is perhaps the most important function in most organizations, be it a product manufacturing or a service oriented company. The day to day operations, when considered in their totality actually reflect and in turn also constitute the organization’s long-term strategic direction (David Barnes, Operations Management: An International Perspective, 2007). This is in other words the operations strategy impacting the overall business strategy or the corporate strategy. Hayes and Wheelwright’s Model The Hayes and Wheelwright four stage model summarizes the operations contribution to overall strategy. In stage 1 the operations function is reactive and internally focused. Its best contribution is to avoid any big mistakes. In stage 2 the operations function aligns ideology with the best in the market and tries to adopt these. Its forward looking and willing to learn even the hard way and is externally neutral. In stage 3 the operations function is comparing notes with the best in the industry and also has reached a respectful place within the cross-functional company matrix and the other departments look to it for guidance. The operations function is internally supportive. In stage 4, the operations function is providing the foundation for competitive success by being innovative, proactive, and flexible, forward looking and correctly anticipating future, in short being one step ahead of competition.

Susana and the Elders

Susanna and the Elders On my trip to the Norton Simon Museum, a painting labeled Susanna and the Elders, Flemish women Jan Massys, really stood out to me. The specifications of this oil on canvas work of art are 42 x 77-1/2 in. (106. 7 x 196. 9 cm). The painting was made in 1564, during the Renaissance, and portrays an example of the religious tension of that time and reflects the era after the start of the Reformation. My first thought when gazing upon Susanna and the Elders bad things are about to happen; there is two old men hiding behind a planter box and appear to be conspiring an evil plot.These men are dressed in red, which in this case, it must represent last that they are feeling toward Susanna. The focal point is Susanna looking as though she is getting ready for bed or perhaps to take a bath. Also, she is dressed in very nice cloths so appears to be of noble stature. I should also not that she is conntroposto in her posture and the way her cloths fall on to her body. To th e right, there is two women that look as if they are trying to lure her to safety, away from the creepy men behind her. Perhaps they are her loyal servants.This all appears to be taking place in a fancy garden which gives me the idea that she vulnerable in that she is secluded. The men must have planned ahead to sneak up on her out here rather than around other people furthering my suspicion of their cruel intentions. One last thing I noticed was the little statue in the bottom right corner; however, I can’t make much sense of it. I know it means something, but I just don’t get it. If you follow the lines of the stone benches they lead you to a point just beneath Susanna’s head which suggest the use of perspective.The use of lines is evident again when looking at the fine detail in the trees that surround this scene. On, a side note, the tree that the old man is holding on to appears to be minerature in size, as if her is this evil giant. Perhaps this is meant t o symbolize their dominance and her vulnerability. Massys placed the buildings in the background so they are proportional to the balanced figures in the foreground. Also, it looks as if there is use on linear perspective, especially in the stone walls; they look at if they are wrapped around Susanna keeping her safe from these bad men.The light source is coming from the top right of the painting and appears that it is shining directly on to Susana, almost making her this heavenly entity. I think this is a symbol that God will keep her safe from these men. It is a soft light that that allows the colors Massys chose to stand out and add to the chiaroscuro. Though the Chiroscuro is light, Massys makes decent use of it. Susana is lit up signifying that she is pure and innocent and the creepy guys behind the tree are in the shadows giving off the idea that they are evil with malicious intent.The deep blood red that the two guys are wearing is symbolic of their lust for Susanna. Red, I be lieve, sex or passion whether it be good or bad. The gold that Susanna is wearing gives her some authority in the painting and also an angle like presence as gold represents the heavens. The colors seem very realistic and must closely portray what this actual place must have looks like. Everything in the painting looks as if it is overlapping and this adds to the drama. Also, the figures seem to be very strategically placed in the setting.There is Susana in the center, the to evil old men on the left and the maidens on the right giving the scene much balance. It looks as though he may have started from the back of the painting and moved forwads as the object got closer. He probably started with the building in the back and then moved his way up to the human figures. Even though the figures are put fairly close together there is obvious depth. If there wasn’t any perspective in the painting I don’t think it would have depth and would come out rather flat and dull.The pe rception of depth in this work of are seems to be very important in composing the message. The use of color might add some dimension but without depth they would still seem flat and dull. There are many things that suggest motion in this picture. Susanna’s hand is stretched out giving the impression that she is reaching out to them. The maids are pointing at theselves and also where they are going looking as if they are asking Susanna to follow them. They also look rather worried for her safety.The maids are leaning forward while both of their right legs are extended behind them preparing for their next step making a very strong implication that they are walking rather quick. I don’t know if this is just me, but it looks as if the clouds fading into the distance faster than normal perhaps to represent the passing of time and they are golden suggesting the presence of God. I think that the way Massys has the two lurking men staring at Susanna and the two maids looking a t her from the opposite direction make all the characters one.Also their heads all lay on the same plane adding to the composition. The two benches that are on either side of Susanna lead the eye back into the painting so you experience the whole scene. It’s almost as if they are a Ying and Yang; the men want her to do bad things to them and her maids want to protect her and her good name. The creepy looks on these guys’ face give me the impression that they will blackmail the women in to getting what they want from her.Also, unfortunately, they also appear to be powerful men and most likely have the means of doing so rather easily. The look as if perhaps they are part of the clergy somehow, and this ties back to the representation of the corruption going on in this time. Perhaps Massys was Protestant and was trying to convey her view of the Catholic order. Also their heads all lay on the same plane adding to the composition. The two benches that are on either side of Susanna lead the eye back into the painting so you experience the whole scene.

Tips for Working on Group Projects in Business School

Tips for Working on Group Projects in Business School Group projects are designed to help you improve your ability to lead and work as part of a team. But as anyone who has ever worked in a team atmosphere knows, completing a project as a group can be difficult. Every group member has different ideas, temperaments, and schedules. And theres always at least one person who doesnt want to commit to doing the work. You can cope with these difficulties and others by employing some of the group project tips below. Tips for Working on Group Projects If you have the opportunity to choose members for your group, choose carefully and consider everyones skills and abilities before making your decision.Hold a meeting to discuss the project and the desired results in detail before getting started.Make assigned tasks and progress reports visible to everyone. This will keep members motivated and on point.  Make sure that work is equally distributed among the group.Make sure that everyone (including yourself) understands their personal responsibility.Create an online calendar and task list so that everyone can easily keep track of project progress, important dates, and other essential information.  Take advantage of these useful  Mobile Apps for MBA Students  to help you create common virtual spaces, share files, communicate and network with your peers.Try to meet at a time that is convenient for everyone in the group.Create a group communication plan and stick with it.Track communications and request that others acknowledge emai ls and other communications so that nobody can claim later on that they didn’t receive instructions or other information. Stay on top of deadlines throughout the project so that the final deadline doesnt create a lot of stress for the group.Follow through on your commitments and encourage other people to do the same. What to Do When You Dont Get Along with Group Members Remember that you dont need to like someone to work with them.Do not let your differences interfere with the project or your grade. It is not fair to you or the other group members.Try to concentrate on what other people are trying to say versus how they are saying it. Some people are naturally abrasive and do not realize the effect it has on others.Do not get angry with people who are not following through on commitments. Be the bigger person: find out what the problem is and how you can help.Dont sweat the small stuff. It sounds cliche but it is a good motto to employ when working on a group project.Try to communicate with the people you are having problems with. Feel free to share your feelingsbut do not lose your temper.Dont expect other people to change their personality for your benefit. The only behavior that you can control is your own.Lead by example. If others see you acting respectably and responsibly, they will be more likely to do the same.Consider yourself lucky. The op portunity to work with difficult people in business school will give you the practice you need to deal with difficult co-workers in the post-graduation world.

Marketing Mix of Ecstasy Essay Example

Marketing Mix of Ecstasy Essay Example Marketing Mix of Ecstasy Paper Marketing Mix of Ecstasy Paper INTRODUCTION This is a report about the marketing 7ps issues of one of the leading fashion houses of Bangladesh, Ecstasy Fashion. This company is very famous for its superb quality men’s wear. Quality is the first priority of Ecstasy Fashion. From the begging to the end of this report, we have sort out how a company can be successful by performing 7ps marketing activity from the very beginning. HISTORY OF CATS EYE Ecstasy Fashion Accessories, Inc. started its operations in 1983, exporting fashion jewellery and accessories. With a solid background of 20 years in the field of fashion jewellery manufacturing, the company with 50 employees and 82 subcontractors is looking forward to a steady growth; especially in the European markets. Well the small company Ecstasy Fashion started its business with one outlet only. Now they have around thirty one branches in the major cities of Bangladesh such as Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna etc. In this way the journey of Ecstasy Fashion started and now they are one of the highly appreciable, profitable RMG Company of Bangladesh. Ecstasy Fashion is very conscious about its reputation status thus we can see the reflection of status in its highly interior showrooms with highly trained salespeople. Their focus is to satisfy their customer and their target market actually covers different age groups especially from teen age to onwards. MISSION VISION OF ECSTASY FASHION The mission statement of Ecstasy Fashion is â€Å"To be the most popular and trusted Men’s wear Brand manufacturer and retailer of the country. † Goals and Objectives of Ecstasy Fashion are: From the inception the goal is to create a style statement that suits the discerning individual, while keeping a stringent eye on quality yet being affordable. The unique styles are created based on years of experience and keeping up with global trends that have placed our brands as the leaders in the market. Moreover we want internationally recognition. That’s why we are working hard to meet the quality standard of the international market. We are focused on high productivity, team orientation creativity. MARKETING MIX OF Ecstasy Fashion Marketing mix is the full combination of 7P’s (Product, Place, Price, Promotion, People, Process, Physical environment). Ecstasy Fashion does all the activities (manufacturing, sales, and distribution) by themselves. Here is the marketing mix of Ecstasy Fashion: 1. Product In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. In retailing, products are called merchandise. Ecstasy Fashion produces different types of products for men. They have their own production house in Narayanganj. They have no distributor or retailer. They don’t sell in wholesale. What they do is that after production, directly by their own transportation vehicle they send their products to their showrooms. Because of no supply chain, they can keep their products price reasonable. Another important thing is that they don’t store inventory. Ecstasy Fashion purchases their product material from China, Malaysia Bangkok mostly. They also use Bangladeshi materials for production. Product Categories: ? Shirts ? T-Shirts ? Blazers ? Polo T-Shirts ? Belts ? Trousers ? Ties ? Jeans ? Seasonal Dresses (Winter Collection, Summer Collection etc. ) 2. Price The sum or amount of money at which a thing is valued, or the value which a seller sets on his goods in market; that for which something is bought or sold, or offered for sale; equivalent in money or other means of exchange; current value or rate paid or demanded in market or in barter; cost. It is the motto of Ecstasy Fashion to increase its market growth as possible while protecting the captured market share. Ecstasy Fashion believes that customer loyalty is needed to remain profitable. Ecstasy Fashion sets their price considering their mark-up price, perceived value price by the customers competition based price. They always charge effective pricing to beat their competitors. They have different price level to meet the need of different income people. Price ranges: |Shirts |550-1400 TK. |Trousers |850-1400 TK | |Blazers |4000-6500 TK | |Belts |450-1000 TK | |Ties |400-950 TK | |T-Shirts |250-800 TK | |Jeans |850-1500 TK | |Seasonal Dresses |Not Fixed | 3. Place Any portion of space regarded as measured off or distinct from all other space, or appropriated to some definite object or use; position; ground; site; spot; rarely, unbounded space. Ecstasy Fashion has Thirty one outlets n Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet to sell their products. They are planning to establish more ou tlets so that customers can easily buy their products from convenient location. 4. Promotion Promotion is communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward buying your products and/or services. Ecstasy Fashion does its promotional activity by using billboards, magazines and newspapers to reveal their ads. Especially this year they are arranging special discounts for their customers and own composed CD’s for their customer’s conveniences so that customers can know in details about their organization. They believe discount is an effective method to create customer interest. Other promotional activities they perform are sponsoring fashion shows, free t-shirt campaign etc. 5. People Ecstasy Fashion using good and well stuff. They are providing good salary and taking well skill stuff for good service. They also trained them to how to interact with customer? Ecstasy has sixty seven employees in showroom and behind the showroom fifty people like transportation etc. 6. Process In Ecstasy there process is well then others. Ecstasy process system fast like when customer in showroom they are always ready to provide the service quickly. When customer needs to change the size they collect from stock. Everything is in display. Sold cloths not refund. Trail room here checks the cloth for customer. 7. Physical Environment Where is the service being delivered? Showroom is well decorated in Ecstasy Fashion. Here customer can get cloths and other using product easily. They always using well smell spray in there showroom for attracting the customer. They have also changing room well. Recommendations 1. Ecstasy has good quality in there cloths but here is little higher price then others. It may be the burden for their potential or actual customer. So they should profit there margin and not in quality and also think about their higher price 2. They open showroom now in three divisions. They should cover others divisions. 3. Ecstasy complaining system is not good. Sometime there product may be failed in provide customer satisfaction. They should think about it. 4. Ecstasy provides all the new collection news in internet. That’s why few people miss the collection. They should use newspaper and billboard for giving more information about there collection. Conclusion In report we focused the 7ps marketing of Ecstasy Fashion ltd. This report is only based on marketing mixed. All data Collected from Internet and that are very recent. The study group tried our best to complete this report. BIBLIOGRAPHY www. ecstacyfashion. com www. lifestyle. com [pic]

A Summary Of Utilitarianism Philosophy Essay

A Summary Of Utilitarianism Philosophy Essay Utilitarianism, also known as the â€Å"English common sense philosophy† dominated the Western world during most of the nineteenth century. Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the seed of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies, hence also sometimes referred to as â€Å"the Consequentialism†. The history of this theory dates back to its true pioneer Jeremy Bentham ( 1748-1832) who gave rise to a new concept in hedonism: The Social Hedonism which was quite different from the Hedonistic doctrines of Aristipppus and Epicurus who are considered to be the fathers of Hedonistic school of thought. Bentham ; the common-sense British thinker is largely held responsible for the shift from † egoistic (individualistic) hedonism to the Universalistic( social ) hedonism. He declared in his book † Introduction to the Principles and morals and Legislation† that all mankind is ruled by two basic masters; namely PAIN and PLEASURE and that all human race is busy in the so-called rat-race of the pursuit of pleasure and the disapproval of pain.He also asserts that good can be equated with pleasure and evil with pain. Here comes in the big question that† How should pleasures be graded as far as preference is concerned?† Whether one should go for ‘short-term and intense’ pleasures or ‘ long-term and mild pleasure’ take precedence over the former. He therefore came up with a detailed outline of principles regarding the preferences of pleasures in his â€Å"Hedonic Calculus†. According to Bentham’s calculus, he emphasized the significance of seven â€Å"circumstances† in order to determine the value of any action, hence presented a criteria for the preference of pleasures influenced by following major factors: Intensity: of the pleasure or pain that results Duration: of either of the two Certainity: The confirmation that pleasant event will be occurring. Promptness : The nearness of the pleasant event. Fecundity: Its ability to reproduce( lead to) more pleasure. Purity: freedom from either present or future. Extent: characterized by the number of people affected by the action John Stuart Mill(1806-1873) adjusted the more hedonistic tendencies in Bentham’s philosophy by emphasizing that it is not infact the quantity of pleasure, but the quality of happiness that is central to utilitarianism. He further argued that pleasure couldn’t be quantified as stated by Bentham and can only be measured in terms of quality only. Mill advocates his rationality of ideas in the following famous words: â€Å"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better Socrates disstatisfied than a fool satisfied† The implification of this advancement by Mill lead to a belief that the calculus is unreasonable — (there is a distinction between ‘higherâ⠂¬â„¢ and ‘lower’ pleasures). According to Mill, utilitarianism now refers to â€Å"the Greatest Happiness Principle† – GHP. it seeks to promote the capability of achieving happiness (higher pleasures) for the maximum number of people. The Maxim holds as such: † Greatest happiness for the greater number† Act and Rule Utilitarianism The principle of utility can either either be applied to PARTICULAR ACTIONS or GENERAL RULES. The former is called â€Å"act-utilitarianism† and the latter is called â€Å"rule-utilitarianism.†

Research on two large regeneration schemes in London and one Essay

Research on two large regeneration schemes in London and one regeneration in Slough town centre, Berkshire - Essay Example (Greenwich council, 2007) The plain to project to regenerate the Greenwich peninsula is being led by the Greenwich council, the planning of the project was done by Meridian Delta Ltd and submitted to the council who approved the master plan, which will cost a staggering 5 billion sterling pounds and it is estimated to take 15 years before it is completed. (Greenwich council, 2007) The Greenwich council, granted the permission of regenerating the Greenwich peninsula to a group of consortium named Meridian Delta Ltd, the Anschutz Entertainment group and the national regeneration agency. The group is supposed build the proposed regeneration project of the area which will include; building new nursery, primary and secondary schools, Building modern health facility, improving the transport system, which will improve the employment opportunities of the local community. (Greenwich council, 2007) Anschutz entertainment group: one of the global leader in the sports and entertainment presenters in the world. The management owns and control many international famous and best venues, arenas and sports franchises. Meridian delta limited: this is a joint venture company which comprises of Lend Lease and the Quintain Estates & Development Plc, which was formed to specifically lead the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula Quintain Estates and Development Plc: this is a major Britain development and property investment company that specializes in redevelopment, property acquisition and asset management in many property sectors. (Greenwich council, 2007) At present the Greenwich peninsula is considered as a derelict and contaminated. There is no any meaningful development. As Cllr. Chris Roberts of Greenwich council state, â€Å"the council is building a new community on peninsula, land that used to be derelict and contaminated† The Greenwich peninsula comprising of 300 acre is physically secluded land with gasworks which are in derelict and contaminated. In 1996 a

Analyzing Rhetoric of the movie Casualties of War Essay

Analyzing Rhetoric of the movie Casualties of War - Essay Example The movie Casualties of War does not overly provide an abundance of detail about the Vietnam War of 1962-1972. Overall, it is a movie that â€Å"tells† rather than â€Å"shows† the reader about what was experienced, as evident in the high use of evaluative adjectives and adverbs in the script. The movie seeks to share with the audience the ambiguous nature of war, and to highlight that those who may be portrayed by media and governments as the â€Å"heroes† or â€Å"saviors,† could in fact be guilty of unethical and undemocratic behaviors that they accuse others of practicing. As such, the movie was more about war itself, and the realities that often go unreported, than about the Vietnam War itself. From this viewpoint, the movie casts the Vietnam War as a dangerous place for marines, as well as a dangerous situation for the Vietnamese for who the marines are supposedly fighting for. It was a time where North American men could consider themselves truly fr ee as they exist together in the field of war, at least if they lived. Casualties of War portrays the event as a ‘war of consciousness,’ thorough the eyes of one marine who bucks the chain of command.

Identify a particular issue or problem that occurs with HRD in a Essay

Identify a particular issue or problem that occurs with HRD in a country with which you are familiar - Essay Example The calculation is very simple.   The number of employees leaving in a year is calculated as a percentage of the total number of employees during the same period.   It is also known as separation rate. Employees in the beginning and closing of the year are averaged for this purpose.   However, if the monthly beginning or closing figures for the twelve months are averaged, it would be better. Some times the companies calculate a retention rate, and alternative method of calculation.   It is also called as Stability Index and worked out as below. The figures in the calculation will be unduly inflated if the replacements are frequent during the year.   For example 85% of the employees are retained.   If the vacancies caused during the year are replaced twice, the labor turnover ratio works out to 30%, if replaced only once, it works out to 15%.   Therefore retention ratio is preferred.  Ã‚   Another problem is in averaging.   If there is huge variation during the year from beginning to end or average, the ratio will be vitiated.   In a country like India, this may happen due to seasonal factors also.   For examples, if rain gods play a trick on farmers, production, consequently the employment is affected in sugar industry.  Ã‚   Michael Hanni and Mark Knold pointed out, ’construction, retail trade, administrative services, and accommodation and food services. Together, these four industries make up 35 percent of all employment, yet constitute 52.2 percent of all job separations (separations were the minimum variable of the numerator for 2006). In other words, these four industries account for a disproportionate amount of job churning.’  Labor Turnover in Utah, Source: U.S. Bureau of Census, LED data.http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/wi/pubs/specialreports/laborturnover08.pdf We usually consider ‘Year’  as a basis for calculation.   However, year

Perestroika Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Perestroika - Essay Example The development of strategic plans worldwide is based on specific criteria. Most usually, the targets set have to be feasible – in terms of the resources and the time required – while the potential failures need to be identified in advance in order to ensure the limitation of failures. On the other hand, not all organizational initiatives have the same characteristics; when the achievement of specific targets is attempted then the methods used have to be carefully chosen – a balance between the cost of a specific strategic project and the expected benefits of this project must be pursued by managers in modern organizations. Current paper focuses on the examination of the strategic plans required for the increase of the market share of the firm LG in a particular sector: the televisions and audiovideo equipment. The firm’s current pricing strategy is reviewed and evaluated in order to decide on the appropriate of the marketing plans used in relation with th e specific marketing plan. It seems that the achievement of the specific target is feasible but specific measures will be required especially if taking into account the position of the firm’s competitors but also the challenges of the specific industry in all markets internationally.

Will let you know the paper later Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Will let you know the paper later - Assignment Example In order to have a fruitful business meeting with the Australians, it is vital to have a clear insight of their culture, communication styles and their behaviors (Schroevers, 2013). For Alison McKenzie to make a commendable first impression at the introductory meeting, there are basic etiquettes that she ought to observe. Establishing contacts with the Australian business people is considerably simple. They pay less attention to first creating solid relationships, and are thus open to approaches from outside their business contexts. In general, Australians do not necessarily require a recommendation from a mutual friend to enter into a business agreement with a foreigner. Nonetheless, having such a connection is normally important, since business relationships tend to be personal (Sabath, 2002). Australian business executives are usually very occupied and busy. As such, securing an appointment with them can be a tricky task. To secure a business meeting with them, it is advisable to book an appointment a month prior to the set date. In spite of their busy nature, they are friendly and approachable. Generally, the working hours in the country start from 9AM and ends at 5PM. Thus, when scheduling a business trip, the material day should not fall within their vocational period, which is between December and February. Depending on the organization’s size, appointment proposals are usually submitted via emails and confirmed through telephone calls (Schroevers, 2013). Australians have a dominantly conservative dress code for business visitors. Australian men put on dark suits and ties, while their women while their ladies wear professional dresses or suits. In Australia, the dress code of an organization is dependent upon the climatic environment that the firm is situated (Schroevers, 2013). For that reason, the business attire may be less formal in tropical regions unlike in towns and cities like

Identify a particular issue or problem that occurs with HRD in a Essay

Identify a particular issue or problem that occurs with HRD in a country with which you are familiar - Essay Example The calculation is very simple.   The number of employees leaving in a year is calculated as a percentage of the total number of employees during the same period.   It is also known as separation rate. Employees in the beginning and closing of the year are averaged for this purpose.   However, if the monthly beginning or closing figures for the twelve months are averaged, it would be better. Some times the companies calculate a retention rate, and alternative method of calculation.   It is also called as Stability Index and worked out as below. The figures in the calculation will be unduly inflated if the replacements are frequent during the year.   For example 85% of the employees are retained.   If the vacancies caused during the year are replaced twice, the labor turnover ratio works out to 30%, if replaced only once, it works out to 15%.   Therefore retention ratio is preferred.  Ã‚   Another problem is in averaging.   If there is huge variation during the year from beginning to end or average, the ratio will be vitiated.   In a country like India, this may happen due to seasonal factors also.   For examples, if rain gods play a trick on farmers, production, consequently the employment is affected in sugar industry.  Ã‚   Michael Hanni and Mark Knold pointed out, ’construction, retail trade, administrative services, and accommodation and food services. Together, these four industries make up 35 percent of all employment, yet constitute 52.2 percent of all job separations (separations were the minimum variable of the numerator for 2006). In other words, these four industries account for a disproportionate amount of job churning.’  Labor Turnover in Utah, Source: U.S. Bureau of Census, LED data.http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/wi/pubs/specialreports/laborturnover08.pdf We usually consider ‘Year’  as a basis for calculation.   However, year

Will let you know the paper later Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Will let you know the paper later - Assignment Example In order to have a fruitful business meeting with the Australians, it is vital to have a clear insight of their culture, communication styles and their behaviors (Schroevers, 2013). For Alison McKenzie to make a commendable first impression at the introductory meeting, there are basic etiquettes that she ought to observe. Establishing contacts with the Australian business people is considerably simple. They pay less attention to first creating solid relationships, and are thus open to approaches from outside their business contexts. In general, Australians do not necessarily require a recommendation from a mutual friend to enter into a business agreement with a foreigner. Nonetheless, having such a connection is normally important, since business relationships tend to be personal (Sabath, 2002). Australian business executives are usually very occupied and busy. As such, securing an appointment with them can be a tricky task. To secure a business meeting with them, it is advisable to book an appointment a month prior to the set date. In spite of their busy nature, they are friendly and approachable. Generally, the working hours in the country start from 9AM and ends at 5PM. Thus, when scheduling a business trip, the material day should not fall within their vocational period, which is between December and February. Depending on the organization’s size, appointment proposals are usually submitted via emails and confirmed through telephone calls (Schroevers, 2013). Australians have a dominantly conservative dress code for business visitors. Australian men put on dark suits and ties, while their women while their ladies wear professional dresses or suits. In Australia, the dress code of an organization is dependent upon the climatic environment that the firm is situated (Schroevers, 2013). For that reason, the business attire may be less formal in tropical regions unlike in towns and cities like

Hurricane Sandy Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Sandy Essay 1, Background * The outline of hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy was formed on October 22 and dissipated on October 31. Its highest winds throughout all the date was 110mph (175km/h) and the lowest pressure was 940hPa. The number of fatalities was 253 in all, and all costs of damage, at least, have risen to $65.6 billion. Affected areas by this hurricane expanded to wide range. This is Hurricane Sandy when it was near peak intensity on October 25. Firstly what is the hurricane? It is an intense tropical depression with a very strong rainstorm. Hurricane has the other different names, typhoon and cyclone, but these don’t have any of differences in terms of their characters, and the difference is only where it takes place. A hurricane is classified to five levels according to Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale based on the maximum wind speed within one minute. According to the National Hurricane Center, its highest wind speed was 110mph, which mean Hurricane Sandy is classified to category 3. (More than Category 3 is distinguished as a record hurricane) Due to its climate, around the Southern Atlantic, there is likely to have a hurricane between June and November (especially between Aug and Oct), and U.S, as well as the West Indies countries has been suffered from its damage. From such a historical background, these countries have a strong feeling of prevention of damage by hurricanes. Particular in U.S, when hurricane Katrina strikes U.S, the government could not take adequate measure against a hurricane, and there was a great deal of damage. Since then, such a perception has been bigger and bigger among people. After the storm became a tropical cyclone on October 22, in case of Jamaica, the government called upon the all of citizens in the whole island to take precautions against the approaching tropical cyclone. 2, Cause To begin with, how was it formed and how did it progress? At the first time, it began with a low pressure which is classified as a tropical depression on October 22 South of Kingston, Jamaica, and this tropical depression was named Tropical Storm Sandy at the same date. Firstly, it moved slowly because of a peak of the high atmospheric pressure called ridge. However early on October 24, the eye of hurricane started developing, and it headed for northward with steadily speed affected by the atmospheric trough. After that, the NHC (National Hurricane Centre in U.S.A) upgraded it to hurricane status and as of 19; 00 in Greenwich Mean Time that day, Sandy finally arrived at Kingston, Jamaica. Then just after Sandy left from Cuba towards the northern sea, it rapidly intensified to winds of 110mph which is 175km/h although it had been 80mph (130km/h). After Sandy left Cuba, its structure became disorganised, and due to it, Sandy turned to the northwest over the Bahamas. By October 27, because of influence from an approaching trough, Sandy was no longer fully tropical depression. But after that, Sandy re-intensified into a hurricane from a tropical storm. Sandy’s second peak was on October 29, and it recorded 90mph (150km/h) and it had a wind diameter of over 1,000nautical miles (1,150 mi, 1850km). As of 2300 in Greenwich Mean Time on October 29, Sandy was not tropical, and an hour later, it made landfall on the south-west of Atlantic City with 90mph (150km/h) wind. On October 31, Hurricane Sandy finally dissipated over western Pennsylvania This map shows the route of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy’s route was not usual as well. Most of tropical depression is likely to path into the sea in this season. However, in the case of hurricane Sandy, other high atmospheric pressure in the southern Greenland pushed it to side of inland. Now, why did it develop to one of the biggest hurricane on record? There has some of hypothesises, but most of experts say that there is a strong relationship between the global warming and its abnormal development. The sea surface temperature from Florida to Canada was 0,6â„Æ' before the global warming had been identified, however since it has come up to the surface, its temperature increased by 2,4 â„Æ'. As the condition when a hurricane is created, at least, it requires three conditions. First, the ocean water must be warm enough to put heat and moisture into the overlying atmosphere to provide the potential fuel for the thermodynamic engine that a hurricane becomes. Second, atmospheric moisture from sea water evaporation must combine with the heat and energy to form the powerful engine needed to propel a hurricane. Third, a wind pattern must be near the ocean surface to spirals air inward. In terms of hurricane’s mechanism, it still has a lot of unsure parts but as of today, it is found that hurricane’s initial energy source is the latent heat released by water vapor in the atmosphere on the tropical sea surface, which mean, as the temperature of surface of sea water increases, amount of vaporized water (primary energy source for a hurricane) also increases, and it is considered as the cause of Sandy’s unusual development. As I mentioned above, hurricane mechanism is still not made clear so it is not sure that whether or not only the global warming is the cause of occurring a massive scale of hurricane. 3, Impacts * Impacts on Jamaica. Jamaica is also one of the region were has suffered from terrible damage by a hurricane Sandy. When hurricane sandy made landfall over south eastern Jamaica, the hurricane was still classified as category 1 with winds of 129km/h, and torrential rain was also hitting the country. In addition, because of its strong winds, a lot of trees were fallen and these blocked several roads, which made many communities inaccessible. Electricity and domestic water supply system was cut too. As a result, any of lifelines were temporary not available. Not only public facilities but also a lot of houses were damaged by a strong wind (for example, the roofs were removed by the wind). In Portland and the area of Mount Pleasant 80% of roofs have been destroyed. Flooding also brought about in Pamphret and Port Maria and it made a lot of people evacuate to collective centers. Number of deaths was relatively less in spite of this scale of hurricane, but such an accident that one man was crushed by stones falling from a hillside and dead in a rural area near Kingston. The total cost of damage becomes $16.5 million throughout the country. * Impacts on Haiti Although Haiti was still recovering from 2010’s earthquake damage, a massive hurricane hit there. As of October 29, estimated 200,000 people became homeless because of heavy raining which went on four days. Port-Salut, where was given one of the worst effects by it, was damaged by over floated rivers, in addition, nation’s capital street, Port-au-Prince were also flooded by the heavy rains. Moreover, ongoing cholera epidemic was also warned due to unsanitary situation brought by flooding. The storm also ruined most of crops and as a United Nation said, as many as 1 million people in Haiti would face to food shortage problem unless enough aids would come. * Impacts on U.S The damage brought about by hurricane Sandy in the whole U.S was one of the most severe throughout all of U.S’s record. Eventually, the hurricane caused about ten billion dollar damage in the U.S. The total number of deaths raised to, at least, 131 in eight states and about 1000 houses were destroyed, so about millions of people left without electric service after the hurricane attacked. However, in comparison with Hurricane Katrina, total damage was considerably smaller. According to statistics, its differences are very clear. For example, in terms of the number of deaths, it was over 1000 in the case of Hurricane Katrina, but in this time, the total number was ten times smaller than before. The number of displaced was also ten times smaller although Sandy’s diameter was bigger than Katrina and its total amount of rainfall was almost no differences. So, U.S’s countermeasure against hurricane has improved a lot compared with past examples. However, the other West Indians Countries are still developing countries regarding countermeasures. Bibliography http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/hurricane/resources/TropicalCyclones11.pdf http://www.ifrc.org/docs/Appeals/12/MDRJM003EA.pdf http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/hurricane-sandy-vs-katrina-infographic_n_2072432.html http://www.skepticalscience.com/hurricane-sandy-global-warming.htm http://phillyecocity.com/act-philly/climate-act-philly/how-hurricane-sandy-is-related-to-climate-change/

Performance measurement

Performance measurement Introduction: This report is about operations Management in general and performance measurement in specific, which is broadly a study of an organization’s performance. LYCATEL has been chosen as Model Company in order to measure its performance. This report will focus on studying the different areas of their operations. This repot will also look at the positive or negative impacts of operational decisions taken by the company. This report will positively contribute to highlight some issues which may lead company towards betterment or vice versa. Finally the conclusion will proceed to some recommendations based on our analysis.This report will begin with brief explanation of performance measurement and its related concepts. The next section will introduce the Model Company and description of the problem. Finally the company will be analyzed on the basis of performance measure tools and recommendations will be made. Performance Measurement: Performance measurement can be defined as: a process in which we check or evaluate the company from different angels that how they are performing in their field. If we explore history, organisations have always measured performance in some way through the financial performance that they are making profit or not. However, traditional performance measured, based on cost accounting information; provide little to support companies on their quality journey. They never check the performance of an organisation seen by their customers that how they think about organisation’s performance. According to an article published in PMA Newsletter: â€Å"Evaluating performance is important, but we can not limit the performance measurement to this purpose. If we want to manage for results and manage through measures we should consider the performance measurement not just as a rear-view mirror to evaluate our past performance but as a tool to support decision making process in the organisation day by day.† Now a days in a successful total quality organisation, performance measures by the improvements seen by the customer as well as by the results delivered to other stakeholders, such as the shareholders. In the issue of Perspectives on Performance, Max Moullin recommended his personal definition of performance measurement and explained the aims of it. We would like to contribute to the discussion what he asserted. Here is how Moullin defined performance measurement: â€Å"Performance measurement is evaluating how well organisations are managed and the value they deliver for customers and other stakeholders† â€Å"We are not totally agreed with this definition because the word he used ‘how well’ should be decided after the measurement, we can’t say that the organisation is doing well or not before the measurement.† But as far other concerns it covers the both sides that the performance measurement tells the customer satisfaction and the stakeholders. Obviously if the customers are happy with the products or organisation they will stick with them and organisation will make profit, it’s just the different angle to see the things. Tools for Performance Measurement: When we talk about measuring something the first concept in the mind comes that measurable things should be tangible. So question arises here how we can measure intangible things? Then there should be some tools to measure the performance like if we want to measure the speed we measure in km/hr or if there is some liquid then we measure in litre and length in meters but for organisations we check that how good is their performance. It is really easy to say that in some organisation, some operation is not doing well or its performance is not very good but how we can say that what exactly we mean by these words â€Å"Well† or â€Å"Good†. To justify this we need something to measure the performance of operations in an organisation, some tool to do that. For this we will use Slack’s theory as a tool and measure the performance. His theory is also a best match with our case. In his theory he is using Quality, Speed, Dependability, Flexibility and Cost as tools to measure the performance. And these tools can be used to measure that the organisation is: Gives Doing things Right a Quality advantage Gives Doing things Fast a Speed advantage Gives Doing things On-Time a Dependability advantage Gives Changing what you do a Flexibility advantage Gives Doing things cheaply a Cost advantage The LYCATEL Group In this section a brief introduction is given about LYCATEL which is a dynamic, fast growing alternative provider of telecommunications services for consumers and businesses throughout the world. We will asses their performance in the UK market that how they perform in the market from customer’s point of view. LYCATEL Group covers several countries all over the world but we will check its performance specifically in the UK. The LYCATEL Group offers a broad product portfolio comprising of prepaid telephony solutions including: Carrier to carrier wholesale services Calling cards Residential Indirect Access Services (1xxxx) Mobile services (MVNO) Through a relentless focus on providing high voice quality by partnering with over 70 global telecommunications carriers, the LYCATEL brand serves its growing base of over 2 million customers who want to make low cost international calls. LYCATEL Group’s FUTURE The LYCATEL Group is committed to being the first choice telecommunications provider focused on serving global niche segments that have a need to call internationally whilst managing their monthly budgets through prepaid solutions. Vision To create a world-class telecommunications organisation where their talented people team up with their business partners to continually drive down costs and deliver superior value propositions to their customers. Mission To be the global market leader in the prepaid international calling card business by 2008. To diversify their revenue mix by developing prepaid carrier to carrier wholesale, prepaid residential and prepaid international mobile businesses, accounting for 40% of revenue streams by 2008. To delight their customers by providing low cost, high quality telecommunications services. Performance Key Facts Generates over 700 million minutes of voice calls every month – handling over 1.2 million completed calls daily. Operates a state-of-the-art global network comprising over 2,500 E1s – combining modern VOIP and traditional TDM technology. Employs over 150 talented professionals in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Portugal. Interconnects with over 70 blue chip telecommunications carriers. Operates though a broad European distribution network of wholesalers providing access to over 300,000 outlets, including own controlled outlets in key locations. Provides customer services through a 24-hour multi-lingual call centre. Brand is recognised and used by over 2 million pan-European consumers. Is the European prepaid calling card market leader with an estimated market share of 25% in the UK, 20% in Holland, 20% in France and growing rapidly in Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland? Has annualised global revenues in excess of $300 million and on target to achieve global revenues of $500 million in 2006. Calling Cards LYCATEL calling cards enable their customers to make international calls easily and cost effectively. Providing over 100 calling card product brands to the market place including Uni Asia, Uni Tel, Lyca India, Latino Tel, Euro Tel, Africa Tel, They originate over 350 million minutes per month, of which we terminate over 60 million minutes to the Asian Sub-Continent, 70 million minutes to Africa, 20 million minutes to the US, 35 million minutes to Europe and 20 million minutes to the UK per month. The LYCATEL Group produces and distributes 6 million calling cards a month making us one of the biggest European operators in this sector. They achieve this through an extensive network of wholesalers ensuring that their customers can easily purchase cards at over 300,000 retailers across Europe including own controlled outlets in key strategic locations or online through their e-shop at www.LYCATEL.com. (3) Measuring the Performance of LYCATEL: As we all know that there is a big competition in telecommunication companies now a day in the UK and all over the world. Everyone is trying to give the best to their customers in this competitive market and want to bind the customers with them forever because they know the values have been changed. Now the customer’s satisfaction is a very big issue for the companies in the UK and all over the world. In telecommunication companies if someone needs to contact any one in the company, need any information, or they have any complaints or any sort of matter they have, they go through customer services. So it means customer services play a vital role in these companies and leave a deep impact on the customers as well. That’s why we decided to measure the performance of their (LYCATEL Group) customer services. We gathered views of people about LYCATEL’s customer services and measure them using our tools to get their performance. Now we will try to measure their performance using different tools. No doubt that the facts figures they are showing in their charts are very good and the company is progressing but it is not enough if we compare with their competitors especially in the UK. We will asses their performance using some tools like Quality, Speed, Dependability, Flexibility and Cost. We took review of the people about their customer services in which we will check these certain areas: Quality: One of the main factors in quality measurement is to evaluate the level of complaints. There are many sources to check the customer’s complaints. Different businesses use different strategies in order to get feed back. There have been many companies and websites formed in order to collect the positive negative reviews of the company. We have measured company’s customer services on the basis of customers complaints registered on one of the authentic web source, which is famous to collect customers views. There have been many complaints registered regarding their poor customer services depicted in one of the customer’s view as: View: â€Å"Bought Africa tel lycatel phone card and it gave me 5 minutes to talk yet claiming I had more minutes. I guess they disappeared in the thin air. I then proceeded to call customer service, who do not seem to know what they are talking about, did not answer or help me in any way shape or form, they just wanted me to get off the phone by giving me false information.†(4) In our research we found that customers were not much dissatisfied with the products of the company but with the customer services. A number of complaints were found regarding language barriers especially accent related issues. The customer services don’t seem to be well trained. They have not been equipped with proper information as reflected in the view which clearly shows the communication gap between management and staff. We also found many complaints regarding warrant claims and mean time between failures when measured the performance of customer services. Another person’s view as follows: â€Å" Very bad. Customer service too bad. I have online account with lycatel and I paid through credit card and they took the money and did not credit my account. Trying to contact them but call center could not help me on this. Very bad service.† Speed: Communication is known as a backbone in the field of customer services. LYCATEL’s customer services lacking in the field of communication due to their pronunciation problem as their most of the staff is non English. The consequences of this factor is influencing very negatively on their customer query time. The bad communication leads to misunderstanding, repetition and finally frustration. This does not only results in delaying customer query but also increases the order lead time. View: â€Å"Bought Africa Tel Lycatel phone card and it gave me 5 minutes to talk yet claiming I had more minutes. I guess they disappeared in the thin air. I then proceeded to call customer service, who do not seem to know what they are talking about, did not answer or help me in any way shape or form, they just wanted me to get of the phone by giving me false information.† Dependability: In this regard we would like to share personal experience of one of our colleague’s, who was dealt with many of the customer assistants including their supervisors. He experienced that every person he spoke to was not dependable at all. Every assistant provided different information on a same query but no one could solve it. Finally it was found that information provided by each of the members of the staff did not exist in the policies of the company. The same issue was also reflected in many other views. View: â€Å"Its so annoying when the card tells you have 195 minutes for the call. You make a call for one hour. A couple of hours later you go back and the card tell you have no funds. What happened to the other 2 hours? You call the customer service team (at YOUR expense), am left holding for over 15 minutes only to be told that the computer does not update for 6 hours. You call back again in the morning over 9 hours later only to be told the same thing.† Flexibility: Our research found that LYCATEL is not flexible enough to provide solution for diversity of queries. Very minor issues are discussed with supervisors or transferred to others. This causes dissatisfaction and finally shows inflexibility. The customer assistants are not equipped with the variety of information that’s why they depend on their seniors. View: â€Å"I bought a  £5 card, used it once for about 20mins, (out of an apparent 1000+). And then, despite it still having credit, I could never call a single other number on it again. Needless to say their customer services are the very kind you fear coming across, i.e.: a million miles away, deaf to your concerns and completely unable to do anything to rectify your loss of time, money and whist.† Cost: Minimizing the cost is one of the main objectives of any organization. When companies try to minimize their costs they must consider many factors in order to make decisions. Lyca tell seems to increase cost due to the delay of handling costs. These problems eventually result in dissatisfaction and obviously if one customer is dissatisfied hundred of other are affected due to the word of mouth. Hence labour productivity effects directly on the increasing costs and puts bad impacts on efficiency. View â€Å"I am so frustrated with my attempts and loss of time that I will not buy this card again and will relay my experience to my friends too.† â€Å"There was nothing good in my experience about Lycatel and their calling cards. Open a card without using it, and you will be surprise Lycatels computers will use the card for you. I thought I would have received loads of minutes on the cards but Lycatel.com never fulfilled this for me. I therefore do not recommend Lycatel.com.† Problem Description: Analysis has pointed out a problem in their customer services. Being business doctors it is diagnosed that actually the problem doesn’t exist directly in the customer services but in their operations. The statement we arrived at as diagnosed above is based on our detailed analysis by utilising the performance tool in the early section. Our research has found that the root cause of the problem exists in operations management because that the call centres of LYCATEL’s are based in India which is purely an operations based decision as the service layout is wrongly designed. Due to the cheap labour most of the customer services staff is hired from the mentioned country. LYCATEL deals with millions of customers in the UK market every day. Further more it is found that many other problems link to this decision. Solution/Recommendation: It is recommended that LYCATEL should realize the customers concern and they should change their layout of call centres from India to UK. Our conclusion is based on our detailed analysis where all factors are analysed and we find that in order to improve quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and reduce cost the service layout must be redesigned and call centres should be based in the UK. And British people should be hired. This will not only reduce the customer’s complaints regarding language barriers but also improve quality satisfaction. Properly trained employees with better communication will increase the speed of handling calls which will eventually reduce the cost and also reduce the waiting calls time. LYCATEL’s call centres are basically structured in India due to the cost effectiveness. They have surely seen one side of the picture but have totally ignored the other side. Our calculations show that if one person is dissatisfied it can distract 100s of customers. If LYCATEL satisfies one customer it means he is saving hundreds of customers which is actually cost effectiveness. Another angel of cost reduction can be considered by employing well trained staff who can satisfy three times more customers as compare to less trained staff. As LYCATEL is operating in different parts of the world, We recommend that small scaled call centres should be established for only UK based customers which another way of considering cost effectiveness. Our research has also found that people living in India are not much familiar with the cultural values of the UK, this is also one of the reasons which results communication gaps when dealing with totally different cultural background customers. References: (http://www.balancedscorecardreview.it/c2005/Definition-of-Performance-Measurement.pdf) 12/03/09 @ 20:30 Max Moullin – Defining performance measurement in Perspectives on Performance Volume 2 (Issue 2 March 2003) (http://www.lycatel.com/LycaTelHome.aspx) Date: 14/03/09 @ 14:00 (http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews93358.html) 16/03/09 @ 19:45

Letter to President Coolidge :: essays research papers

President Coolidge:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although some people believe that we, as a country, don’t have enough room for all these hard working immigrants, there comes a time when we need to realize the real basis of this country. We are all immigrants, in our own way, some of us may have been born here, but we do not all come from here. We all have ancestors that come from somewhere in Europe, or somewhere else. No one is a natural citizen except perhaps the Native Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To not grant someone entrance into our great nation is not only unethical, and immoral, but also unconstitutional. Everyone deserves his or her fair chance. The real questions when talking about the Immigration Act is, do we take the risk, do we let these people into our country and let them become free, or do we just shoot them down and tell them that they have to live there lives with religious persecution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If we do not let theses people in the America, the great nation, than we are in a way not letting people become free. We are preventing people from living the lives they want to live. Most of all we are feeding communism, and foreign army’s with people that want to live in the Americas but we wont let them. Think of all the people that would come and live in America, the United States of America, The Land of The Free, and join our Army, our Air Force, our Navy, and our Marine Core. Talk about one great nation. Think of all the farm hands, all the people striving to make a living by helping in anyway they can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When it comes time to make a decision, I hope that you consider these factors. And see how great of a nation we may become with these immigrants that just want a chance.

Moral Destruction In The Great Gatsby Essay -- essays research papers

The Great Gatsby: The Destruction of Morals In The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the destruction of morals in society. The characters in this novel, all lose their morals in attempt to find their desired place in the social world. They trade their beliefs for the hope of being acceptance. Myrtle believes she can scorn her true social class in an attempt to be accepted into Ton's, Jay Gatsby who bases his whole life on buying love with wealth, and Daisy, who instead of marrying the man she truly loves, marries someone with wealth. The romance of money lures the characters in The Great Gatsby into surrendering their values, but in the end, "the streets paved with gold led to a dead end" (Vogue, December 1999). The first example of a character whose morals are destroyed is Myrtle. Myrtle's attempt to enter into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. She enters the affair with Tom, hoping to adopt his way of life and be accepted into his class to escape from her own. Her class is that of the middle class. Her husband, Wilson, owns a gas station, making an honest living and trying his best to succeed in a world where everything revolves around material possessions. With her involvement in Tom's class, she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She loses all sense of morality by hurting others in her futile attempt to join the ranks of Tom's social class. In doin...

Kurt Vonnegut’s Cats Cradle Analysis

Ben Fisher Mr. Anderson AP Writing and Composition 1 14th November 2012 Cat's Cradle American Author Analysis by Ben Fisher Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a science fiction book that was published in 1963. The book is (falsely thought to be)centered around the narrator, John, and his quest to write a book about what was happeneing with the creators of the atomic bomb the day the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. His adventure follows his travels as he meets with researchers, the children of a fictional Dr. Felix Hoenikker, and ventures to an island nation to talk to the good doctors final son.Along this course, he explains a religion he does not yet have, as this is from a post-experience diary perspective, called Bokononism, and its practices. He gains knowledge of this religion and its creation on the island of San Lorenzo, which resolves in him becoming president. But this is a side plot of the book. The main plot, hidden in the background, is centered around a ficticious sub stance called Ice-Nine, with the power to freeze all the worlds oceans in the blink of an eye if it were to touch a single water source, an expression of mans' ability to destroy the things that surround him.Cat's Cradle is set in an unknown year more than 20 years after August 6th, 1945. At the beginning, John visits Ilium, New York to talk to Dr. Asa Breed at General Forge and Foundry, the place in which Felix Hoenikker â€Å"worked†, which leads to his discovery of several key locations in the area. The later half is focused on the fictional Carribean island of San Lorenzo, an island nation started by Earl McCabe, a marine deserter, and Bokonon, born Lionel Boyd Johnson, who created Bokononism.These settings leave a sense of a tight dichotomy between modern America and the Caribbean nation of San Lorenzo. Though the concept of the book within, about the bombing of Hiroshima, and a freeze frame of the events of that day, reveals a young nation holding infinite power in a va st expanse of nothingness. The concept of San Lorenzo as a country in location is central to the happenings of the book. To contrast this idea of self destruction is the concept of Bokononism, a religion outlawed on the island after being created by one of its founders.Christianity is the official religion, but both Protestantism and Catholicism are illegal, and every single citizen of the island celebrates Bokononism even with the threat of the â€Å"hy-u-o-ook-kuh†, representing how San Lorenzan natives pronounce the Hook, a giant fish hook that a Bokononist is threatened to be speared upon if they are caught practicing Bokononism. Though this concept is really an illusory ploy created by Bokonon and McCabe, and perpetrated by the island's leader, â€Å"Papa† Monzano, to give hope in pure foma, or harmless untruths, that form a religion that gives hope and reason instead of defining how you should live.You exist to serve the wampeter of you karass whilst avoiding gra nfalloons and trying to find kan-kans that leads the creation of more sinookas that lead to a procces of vin-dits. All the while you may be bothered by stuppas and pool-pah, but when you are busy, busy, busy, you will truly understand your situation, and in your zah-mah-ki-bo, you may lead yourself to think, â€Å"Now I will destroy the whole world†. All this while, you may connect to another, boko-maru will most likely lead to you finding your path. * *Translated: In short, the book is lies.Your life is based around serving the central theme of you group (wampeter of your karass) and avoiding intermingling into false groups (granfalloons), and finding items that help your cause (kan-kans) To create tendrils to intertwine others into your life (sinookas) causing shoves towards Bokononism (vin-dits). A fogbound child (a stuppa) or a shitstorm/the wrath of God (pool-pah) may try to mislead yourself, but eventually tou will think about the complicated and unpredictable machinery of life (busy, busy, busy) and will find your inevitable destiny (zah-mah-ki-bo) leading you to your task unknowingly.This may end in suicide (Now I will destroy the whole world) due to the duffle placed upon a stuppa (a fate of many placed on one who knows, nor can find, nothing). The idea of boko-maru is supposed to be a very sensual experience that connects two people deeply. Though at any time, your spirit is orbiting an object of great importance, your karass around a wampeter. The person who secondhandedly introduces us to these concepts is not our protagonist. It is our narrator, a minor character in his own aspects, but the only one that is left later, though he never truly matters.He is simply around to be an expositor of the actions of others, a minor characters sharing the traits of a protagonist. The true protagonist of the story, or which the story revolves around, is Felix Hoenikker, a fictitious addition to the Manhattan project team. He is portrayed as an odd man in capable of conventional thought or process, but able to think up and create brilliant objects in moments when presented with a problem. His mind otherwise wandered his whole life, and he was emotionless and apathetic towards anything but his work.His children, Newton, Franklin, and Anglea, play major rolls constructing the story for the narrator, exposing themselves as as weird as their father. Their mother, Emily, plays a minor roll in the story, but a major roll in a shift in the good doctors attitude that would barely be noticed by most, including his own children. Bokonon and Earl McCabe are presented as opposing forces, one being the founder and continual contributor of Bokononism, the other of a government willing to convict those practicing to keep the concept practical.This provides the whole concept of possibility for the ending of the book. One Julian Castle once owned the island and used it as a sugar plantation, and by all means is one of the most complex and thoughtful (see: evil/diabolical) characters in the book, running a humanitarian aid hospital in the jungle of San Lorenzo. He works alongside one Schlicter von Koenigswald, a former S. S. member that had worked in Auschwitz doing various unnamed evil tasks, now working at the Hospital of Hope and Mercy to atone for his sins.The main characters progress in that they gain a concept of both brotherhood and false family through their karass. By the end, the narrator has gone through rage, happiness, depression, excitement, and finally, he tells himself the truth. He becomes what he once feared, but does not fear what he becomes. The revelations that bring about this change are rather odd. At the beginning, John introduces that this is a book written about the events that brought about the end of the world.John is writing a book about the day of the dropping of the Little Boy on Hiroshima. This leads to a discussion with Dr. Asa Breed, the man who supervised Felix Hoenikker, the fictional forefath er of the atomic bomb. They discuss that the good doctor was very flittery minded, and worked on whatever he felt like. Once, they asked him if he could create something to turn mud to solid ground in seconds. He said it was impossible, and Dr. Breed believed it was never created. The truth is the good Doctor created the substance, named Ice-9, in small portions.John follows the trail to the son of Doctor Hoenikker, Newt, and his sister, Angela, a painting and a clarinetist, respectively. They all end up meeting on a flight to San Lorenzo, where John heads after learning Frank Hoenikker, the middle son of Doctor Hoenikker, had become the Major General of San Lorenzo. It is later revealed that this was achieved by using a sample of Ice-9 as a bargaining chip, trading it for the position after washing up on the shore after a shipwreck.The separate chunks, carried by Franklin, Newton, and Angela, were created when the good Doctor, whilst on vacation at his summer home, was playing arou nd with his original sample in his spare time. Whilst on the island, â€Å"Papa† Monzano becomes sick, and declares that Franklin will become the next president, and requests Bokononist burial rights. Franklin passes the buck on to John, asking him if he would take the position if he could marry Mona. He accepts, and plans to change the law so Bokononism may be practiced, but sees it has been outlawed such as to carry a flame of hope for all residents of the island.As he prepares to assume the position, â€Å"Papa† Monzano kills himself declaring that he â€Å"will destroy the whole world†, and freezing himself with his sample of Ice-9. Angela, Newton, John, and Franklin attempt to destroy any samples of Ice-9 and the corpse, but during a staged bombing run, one of the planes crash into the cliffside mansion and knock his body into the water, freezing the whole world solid. John and Mona takes refuge in a chamber built by â€Å"Papa† Monzano for the same reason, and they survive to see it in wreck, tornadoes reigning supreme, the sky a blanket of everlasting storms.Mona, upon finding most of the population frozen, tastes a small sample of the snow created by Ice-9, and dies instantly. John then happens upon the others who survived in the remains of the castle, and shortly thereafter meets Bokonon. The possible final words of the Books of Bokonon, driving the narrator subconsciously and consciously throughout the book, are well thought out, but only in the moment. â€Å"If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human tupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take form the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who. † Throughout the book, constant references are made to the book within the book about the creati on of the atomic bomb. Along these lines, Cats Cradle itself is an allegory about the destructive power of man when faced with an object of great potential that can be so easily mishandled.Ice-9 represents the arms race, and is a literalization of the phrase â€Å"Cold War†. Taking the context of the stringent political atmosphere between America and Cuba/Soviet Russia at the time, Vonnegut creates the theoretical isle of San Lorenzo for the bringers of doom, much as the Americans perceived Cuba could bring about the same end in an alternative fashion. Nuclear winter makes a strong connection, along with the toxicity of the snow that is brought about, along with the changes in weather and atmosphere. I opened my eyes—and all the sea was ice-nine. The moist green earth was a blue-white pearl. The sky darkened. Borasisi, the sun, became a sickly yellow ball, tiny and cruel. The sky was filled with worms. The worms were tornadoes† (P. 151). The true severity of the arms race is also parodied by the easy manner in which â€Å"Papa† Monzano brings about the end, with just a touch of the material to his tongue, similar to how with just the touch of a button over a faulty Early Detection System, the world could be brought to Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).Kurt Vonnegut, as he has done in many of his pieces, inserted his own consciousness to portray John, allowing him to insert his own perspective on any scene in which he is included. Though John only represents parts of his personality, and is not wholly the same. Through a combination of conversation, observation, and presentation of the conceptual ideas of this parallel reality, the exploration of practical destruction. Relevant to this information is his personal experiences in the happenings of war and the propensity of our people to complete these actions.Today, this book is a paradoxical, if not accurate, mirror to the climate at the time. Cold and drastic, not an inch to budge or you'd get bombed to smithereens. In this way, Kurt Vonnegut challenged a major part of what was considered standard for a novel, and instead wrote what he felt would move correctly, and for that he is remembered. â€Å"In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in his cosmic loneliness.And God said, â€Å"Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done. † And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat, looked around, and spoke. â€Å"What is the purpose of all this? † he asked politely. â€Å"Everything must have a purpose? † asked God. â€Å"Certainly,† said man. â€Å"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,† said God. And He went away. † I thought this was trash. (Pg. 153)

Children of Divorce

Statistics show that each year, over 1 million American children suffer the decision made by their parents to end their relationship (Amato, 2001). Divorce may be a solution to a discordant marriage, however, for many children and their parents, tensions continue and the entire divorce process is a long, searing experience (Amato, 2001). Divorce ends the established order of family, friends, finances, work and in some cases health and well being (Amato, 2001). Divorce is the termination of the family unit, and thus, it is often characterized by painful losses. Psychologists rate divorce as one of the most stressful events in life, just below the death of a spouse (Pedro-Carroll & Cowen, 1985). Divorce has been compared to getting in a life boat. The lifeboat may be the chance to escape from the terrible situation, but abandoning the ship holds little appeal because of the enormous uncertainties (Pedro-Carroll & Cowen, 1985). To a child who is unable to envision possible good outcomes this can be very overwhelming. Decisions to end a relationship can be traumatic, chaotic, and filled with contradictory emotions (Amato, 2001). Research shows that children from divorce families are on â€Å"average† somewhat worse off than children who have lived in intact families (Amato, 2001). Children in divorce homes may have more difficulty in school, more behavior problems, more negative self-concepts, more problems with peers and more trouble getting along with their parents (Amato, 2001). With this research there needs to be an examination of what factors in divorcing families contribute to the children having difficulties and what the factors are that contribute to children’s adaptation. Children’s reactions to the decision of their parents dissolution of marriage depends on three factors (Sarrazin & Cyr, 2007). These factors consist of the quality of their relationship with each of their parents before the separation, the intensity and duration of the parental conflict, and the parents’ ability to focus on the needs of the children (Sarrazin & Cyr, 2007). Divorce itself is usually not the first major change in the affected child’s life. Parental conflict before the separation often leads to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, even in preschoolers (Sarrazin & Cyr, 2007). Children may â€Å"blame themselves for the deterioration in their parent’s relationship† (Downs, Moore, & McFadden, 2009). After the divorce children may feel that their parents have less time for them (Downs, Moore, & McFadden, 2009). Other contributing factors include increased stress, economic loss, and loss of former supports and resources (Downs, et al. , 2009). When risks are reduced or overcome children will fare better. It is important for parents to be able to support their children through divorce. Sanders and Wolchik (2011) have identified the following actions parents can do to enhance a child’s adjustment to divorce: * Prior to the separation, it may be helpful for both parents to discuss the impending divorce at a level appropriate for the child * Be available to answer questions; Read age appropriate books on divorce with your child * Reassure the child divorce is not his or her fault and let the child know that you will both continue to love him. Put child's needs first * Do not argue with other parent in front of child. * Do not expect your child to meet your emotional needs * Be consistent in your parenting; Make visitations regular and predictable Parents who are struggling themselves through the divorce may fail to be aware of these enhancements. The Wisconsin court system, when filing for divorce requires parents to attend a co-parenting class. Wisconsin has seen success in utilizing this requirement for divorcing parents with children, it often assists in the mediation process and serves as a wake-up call to parents who are not fully aware of the effects that divorce has on their children. These co-parenting classes are ways in which parents can develop effect ways to assist their children from having adverse affects from the divorce proceeds and receive supportive information of where they can receive additional help. Parents who lack the ability to support their children through this difficult situation because of their lack of parental competence or poor adjustment to the situation may have to depend on outside interventions for assisting in this process. Given that divorce has negative effects for children, the utilization of effective prevention programs has great significance in changing the outcomes of these children (Sander & Wolchik, 2011). Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP) is an award winning curriculum that has helped thousands of children in the US. Since 1982 CODIP has helped children understand and accept their feelings and perceptions regarding their parents’ separation (Pedro-Carroll & Cowen, 1985). The goals of the program is to minimize the emotional and behavioral problems that divorce children face, increase children’s ability to identify and express their feelings, reduce children’s anxiety, and build confidence (Pedro-Carroll, & Cowen, 1985). Individuals involved in this program have positive, supportive group environments with peers in school settings, a reduced desire to blame themselves, increase their coping skills and ability to solve problems, and have enhanced positive perceptions of themselves (Lowenstein, 2006). School personnel, community members, or parents can refer children to the program. Group leaders trained in this method will conduct group sessions that target different age ranges giving the correct information and skill-building activities (Lowenstein, 2006). Children may also be referred to therapy to help them adjust to divorce. Activities that are creative and play-based can engage children and help them safely express their thoughts and feelings. Therapy can take on the form of child-focused, residential parent-focused, nonresidential parent-focused and combined residential parent and child-focused therapy (Sanders & Wolchik, 2011). Child-focused programs target skills to cope with stressful divorce-related events, emotional expression skills, and interpersonal resources (e. g. parent-child relationship quality) (Sanders & Wolchik, 2011). Parent-focused programs target factors like parent-child relationship quality, discipline, anger management, and the quality and quantity of contact with nonresidential parents (Sanders & Wolchik, 2011). There is no evidence that doing a combination of child-focused programs and parent-focused programs leads to more success than doing one (Sanders & Wolchik, 2011). In order for therapy services to ef fectively treat children of divorce, a number of key issues need to be addressed. Therapy needs to address developing effective coping skills, facilitating the appropriate expression of feelings, clarifying divorce-related misconceptions, expressing anger through appropriate outlets, disengaging from parental conflict, eliminating self blame, and enhancing positive perceptions of self (Lowenstein, 2006). Studies indicate that active coping that includes problem solving and positive thinking enhances resilience among children (Lowenstein, 2006). Interventions that help children identify their unique strengths further acilitate children’s healthy adjustment (Lowenstein, 2006). Helping children express feelings of anger about the divorce through appropriate outlets is another important treatment goal. When parental conflict has been high prior to divorce and continues after divorce an effective intervention needs to involve an integrated family therapy approach (Amato, 2001). This therapy approach will assist children from disengaging from parental conflict. M any therapeutic agencies in Milwaukee are embracing therapy that is more engaging, innovative, and immersed in play to assist children of divorce. The decision to divorce is a decision being made for the children, they have no voice. Parents make the decision and children react. The court system has taken a step in the right direction by requiring parents to take a co-parenting class. Parents struggling through their own issues and fear with this change in their life often times are incapable of supporting their children the way they need. It is important that through the pain or anger parents have over their marriage ending that they see things through their child’s eyes.References Amato, P. (2001) Children of divorce in the 1990s:An update of the Amato and Keith (1991) meta analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 355-70. Downs, S., Moore, E., & McFadden, E. (2009). Child Welfare and Family Services; Policies and Practice, 8th edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Lebow, J. & Rekart, K. (2006) Integrated family therapy for high-conflict divorce with disputes over child custody and visitation. Family Process, 46, 79- 91 Lowenstein, L. (2006). Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce. Toronto: Champion Press. Pedro-Carroll, J.L. & Cowen, E.L. (1985). The Children of Divorce Intervention Program: An investigation of the efficacy of a school-based prevention program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53(5), 603-611. Sander, I. & Wolchik, S. (2011) Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Sarrazin, J. & Cyr, F. (2007) Parental conflicts and their damaging effects on children. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 47, 77-93.