human resource management- Starbucks case study - 4015 Words

CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Objectives 3. Significance 4. Impact of HRM 5. HRM Shareholders 6. HRM Roles Responsibilities 7. Shift of Focus on HRM functions 8. Starbucks- Company Profile 9. Leadership Style at Starbucks 10. Factors affecting Starbucks HR Practices 11. HRM Models 11.1. Matching Model 11.2. Harvard Model 12. High Commitment HRM 13. Starbucks HCHRM 13.1. Job Security 13.2. Selective Hiring 13.3. Training Dvpt 13.4. Employee Involvement Info Sharing 13.5. Team Work 13.6. Compensation 13.7. Reduction of Status Differentials 14. Benefits 15. Criticisms 16. Conclusions 17. Referencing Executive Summary: Introduction This†¦show more content†¦Services at Starbucks are known to stand out compared to other firms in the same field due to staff commitment to the brand. HRM can make a significant contribution to the competitive advantage of a firm if the firm is capable of tapping thier people’s exceptional skills and core Competencies. It is hence understood that by developing and maintaining competitive advantage, a company can be successful and remain profitable. HRM stakeholders: These are the groups affected by business practices †¢ customers- expect exceptional service or/and better product †¢ Employees- expect attractive job and sound compensation †¢ shareholders- expect a return on money invested †¢ Community- expects activities and projects that minimizes harmful effects to environment STARBUCKS – Company Profile Starbucks is the world’s largest coffeehouse company; Starbuck’s first store was opened in Seattle on March 30th 1971 by three partners. The firm believes in supplying andShow MoreRelatedEssay about Starbucks Organizational Behavior1463 Words   |  6 PagesStarbucks Organizational Behavior A companys understanding and use of organizational behavior concepts can make or break it. Just as important, if a company ignores these same concepts, it can easily spell disaster. Starbucks intertwines and successfully uses three main organizational behavior concepts to increase the strength of the organization: organizational culture, organizational structure and motivation. The implementation of these concepts has definitely benefited the company, creatingRead MoreFactors Affecting Employee Productivity2999 Words   |  12 PagesInternational Journal of Quality and Productivity Management Vol. 07, No.01, December 15, 2007 Lichtman Effects of an organization’s climate on performance of supply chain managers in Michigan: A Perception Study By Robert J. 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Appelbaum Professor of Management, Faculty of Commerce Administration, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Integrating organizational development (OD) and technological intervention into a total system is one of the more difficult tasks for an executive or consultant to execute. Organizations are profoundly affected by technological advancements and require a ï ¬â€šexible customized changeRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. 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Understand the relationship between organisational and international cultures. C04_ICSA_STUDY_TEXT_STRAT_OPS_MAN.QXD:ICSA 112 18/6/09 10:49 Page 112 CORPORATE MANAGEMENT 1 What determinesRead MoreCase Study: Union Baristas at Starbucks? Essay906 Words   |  4 PagesCase Study: Union Baristas at Starbucks? Case Study: Union Baristas at Starbucks? After I read the case study what I had gained from reading it is that Starbucks does not want their employees under any circumstances to become unionized. The IWW believes that Starbucks does not treat their employee fair and equally because of the 42 percent of employees have company provided health insurance which is a lower percentage than Wal-Marts 47 percent. In any case the IWW is trying to build a

Why We Must Study Theologies Sometimes Mess Up Your Brain

Have I told you that studying theologies sometimes mess up your brain? There are lots of theologians who are studying different things, especially in the area that we call â€Å"systematic theology.† Some of the systematic theology studying is related with Bible, studying every verse by verse, and mark up each verses like, this is what Jesus said, this is what disciples understood not directly from Jesus, this one is very similar with some other religions’ ancient praises. Also, when I got in the Methodist Theological University in Seoul Korea, my first theology professor had taught me about salvation which I still cannot understand how could he teach like that in theological university. But he mentioned that salvation can be also belongs to other religions blah blah. So there are people who studies theologies and scriptures, and think about why people study that. As we’ve seen from today’s scripture, even disciples or the followers of Christ who slept, eaten, walked, and discussed many of different things together, could not understand what jesus was talking about when Jesus told them about eat his flesh and blood for eternal life. That made them to think that ‘He may not someone who came from God since I cannot understand what that guy is talking about.† The apostle John said, â€Å"many of his disciples† got confused by the words that Jesus said, but he was not meant 12 disciples. Jesus had much more followers who were following Christ all the time. Christ teaching was hardShow MoreRelatedPersonal Theory Paper4363 Words   |  18 PagesPersonal Theory Paper In partial fulfillment of the assignment submitted to Dr. Max Mills PACO 507 Theology and Spirituality in Counseling Lynn C. Ball Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary May 8, 2015 Abstract I stumbled through the first thirty-eight years of life attempting to mask the hurts caused by myself and others. I was my own worst critic fueled by raging addictions and chaos; searching to find a perfection that could never be achieved. Life was a hurricane of madnessRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesmymanagementlab is an online assessment and preparation solution for courses in Principles of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Read MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesphotocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations

Running Head Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All Free Essays

Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All October 26, 2012 Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All2 Abstract This paper discusses Jane Elliot’s experiment with her third grade class and Olivia Murray’s document A Mindfulness To Transcend Pre-Service Lip-Service A Call for K-12 Schools To Invest in Social Justice Education. The document gives a brief overview of each author’s work and their approach to help understand the impact of a social justice education. Finally, the essay provides the importance of combining both author’s approach to achieve equality in America. We will write a custom essay sample on Running Head: Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All or any similar topic only for you Order Now Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All3 Every morning, diverse groups of American students- rich and poor, black and white, rural and urban- begin the school day rising, facing the flag, and pledging allegiance to a country that claims to be indivisible, ensuring liberty and justice for all. Students learn about the value of equality, as Americans we have the right of equal treatment regardless of our background, belief, race or religion. They learn about justice, that society offers the same benefits and has the same obligation to all citizens. Both of these values teach students that no one is favored over any other one, yet by reading A Mindfulness To Transcend Pre-Service Lip-Service A Call for K-12 Schools To Invest in Social Justice Education (Olivia Murray) and watched A Class Divided I recognized that disparate inequalities not only exist, but may continue to be perpetrated, if we do not take the initiative to change. Lisa Delpit wrote â€Å"we all interpret behaviors, information, and situations through our own cultural lenses; these lenses operate involuntarily below the level of conscious awareness making it seem that our own view is simply the way it is† (Olivia Murray, pg. 48-49). Not until we are impacted by someone else’s perception of us as being different do we realize that our cultural awareness is bias. Society has faced this debacle for centuries; we have scholars go back and forth trying to find a solution on how to teach ur children to be color blind, to be less bias and to treat everyone the way they want to be treated. It seems so simple to say yet it is very hard to achieve. In the video A Class Divided, third grade teacher Jane Elliot attempts with her class an experiment to demonstrate the impact of discrimination. The article A Mindfulness To Transcend Pre-Service Lip-Service A Call for K-12 Schools To Invest in Social Justice Education (Olivia Murray) presents a three-fold approach so individual schools can address the issues of avoiding social injustice. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led to turmoil and riots across the country. Jane Elliot, a white, third grade teacher, felt the need to try a new approach to teach her Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All4 young students about discrimination especially after hearing the white media referring to â€Å"those people† and â€Å"those communities†, as if black Americans were somehow not part of America. The experiment was for two days, it started on Tuesday. Jane Elliot begins by asking the class about National Brotherhood Week, what it means and whether there are people in America who aren’t treated like brothers. The children responded yes, Blacks and Indian Americans are not treated like brothers. So, Elliot proposes the experiment to help the students understand what discrimination means. Over the next two days, the class was split into blue-eyed and brown-eyed students and that on the first day, blue-eyed people are better than brown-eyed. This meant they got extra recess, could drink from the fountain, have seconds at lunch and could play on the playground equipment. Brown-eyed students must use paper cups to drink from, may not play with blue-eyed children, must stay off playground and wore collars around their necks to be easily identified. During the rest of the day, Elliot points out how much time brown-eyed children took to complete tasks, how not prepared they were, how they don’t take things seriously and were disruptive and badly behaved. She entices the blue-eyed children to agree with her. On Wednesday, it is the turn of the brown-eyed children to be better than the blue-eyed children. The roles are switched and the brown-eyed children despite having been on the receiving end of discriminatory behavior the day before are now tormenting the blue-eyed children. The children described their experiences like being a dog on a leash, like having collars and couldn’t think as well. At the end of the day, Elliot asks the children whether eye or skin color should be how we decide whether someone is good or bad or if those things make a good or bad person. All of the children said no. Elliot also learned that the children who are privileged because of the eye color do better on tests than children who are being discriminated against. Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All5 Olivia Murray’s article A Mindfulness To Transcend Pre-Service Lip-Service A Call for K-12 Schools To Invest in Social Justice Education (Olivia Murray), suggest a three-fold approach for schools to adopt. It includes a partnership between the school staff, a school wide team, and a relationship with the school community. The school staff must take a leadership role to confront the challenges; they should endure the discomfort of their own prejudices and biases. Open discourse about their own personal experiences will identify how each school supports equity and how they influence the social development of the children. Secondly, is to create a school-wide Equity Leadership Team (ELT), to assist schools in maintaining self-awareness among teachers and preparing our future generation of non-biased children. The team can present the relevance and respect for different cultures, can pinpoint if the needs of particular groups of students is not being met due to lack of awareness. Finally, building and maintaining a true invisible relationship with the school community to promote the social justice values. When parents and the communities are involved in strengthening the communication for one same purpose it transmits a shared appreciation, therefore becoming part of the solution and not an outsider. I believe that a combination of Elliot’s experiment with a continued application of Murray’s approach will eventually produce lifelong learners characterized by rich diversity. Being exposed hands on at an early age about the effects of discrimination will allow children to be more open-minded and color blind. Once the children are self-aware of the negative feelings they encounter and bringing on board the school staff, parents and community to promote the same values of equality, will only lead to a more just and equal America. It was very surprising to realize that living in such a diverse country we are still faced with the same oppression as Blacks were in the 1960’s. Nowadays, it is not only due to skin color but also due to our religious beliefs and our sexual preferences, as well as others. For decades we have been trying Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All6 to figure out racism. We feel and believe we are not racist however we all have biases. The most important theme from Elliot and Murray’s work is the importance placed on the education that is delivered to our children. By teaching our children through the use of right words and being open enough about our own prejudices will empower them. Empower them to make a change that will affect the future generation of America and worldwide. After all, we will have the ability to see America as the country that is indivisible, ensuring liberty and justice for all. Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All7 References Murray, Olivia. A Mindfulness To Transcend Pre-Service Lip-Service A Call for K-12 Schools To Invest in Social Justice Education Elliot, Jane. (1968) A Class Divided How to cite Running Head: Indivisible, Liberty, and Justice for All, Essay examples

Analyze an Article

Question: Find out numbers of smartphone users who keep their phone with themselves at the time of sleeping. Answer: The report has found that almost three quarters of the smart phone users sleep with the smartphone (Sleep Review, 2015). The focus of the research was to find out numbers of smartphone users who keep their phone with themselves at the time of sleeping. So, here, the population refers to the determining the total numbers of users who sleep with the smartphone in Bedroom. For determining the population, a telephone survey was conducted. The sample size of the survey was 1000 which is used to determine the population. The results of the report has found out that the 71% of the total respondents reported that they sleep with their smartphone. The report has also found that the users are not only sleep with phone but they also keep their phone in several times in the entire day (in home) which are as follows: (i) In the morning: 35% (ii) Before coffee: 17% (iii) At the time of toothbrush: 17% (iv) In other time (10%) In consideration of sleeping with a smartphone, the results show that almost 55% of the respondents keep their smartphone on the night stand. 13% respondents reported that the phone is on the bed and about 3% of total respondents reported that the phone is in the hand. On the other side, a quarter of respondents (24%) said that they do not keep the phone with them at time of sleeping due to hygiene advice. The survey also determines that a quarter of smartphone users have fallen asleep with that keeping in their hand at some of their lives in United States. But, in case of young age group (18-24 years), the percentage was almost double. The survey was done taking 1000 respondents throughout the United States and the ages of respondents were above 18 years. Despite of that, an additional survey was done choosing 300 respondents in 9 target markets. In case of statistical survey, it is required to consider the margin of error. It is considered due to the selecting of sampling size. In case of larger sample size, the margin of error will be less (Tamhane, 2009). So, large sample size is more preferable than the smaller sample size. But, it is required too much capital and time for the larger sample size. So, the sample size is selected on the basis of available resources (Bowerman, O'Connell Murphree, 2009). Therefore, it is required to consider the margin of error in case of statistical analysis. The margin of error can be calculated by using the following formula: E = z/2/(2 n) In case of statistical analysis, another thing is needed to consider that is confidence interval. Generally, 95% confidence interval is considered for statistical research (Kayis, Pinarkara, Uygan Hakki, 2009). Here, two types of margin errors are considered due to conducting of an additional survey. In case of national quota (n= 1000), the margin of error is as follows: E = 1.96/(2 1000) = +/- 3.1% [ at 95% confidence level, the critical value of z/2 = 1.96) In case of oversampled market (n=300), the margin of error is as follows: E = 1.96/(2 300) = +/- 5.7% Reference List Bowerman, B., O'Connell, R., Murphree, E. (2009).Business statistics in practice. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Kayis, S., Pinarkara, E., Uygan, S., Hakki, E. (2009). Evaluation of confidence interval estimates of cluster analysis in molecular marker data.New Biotechnology,25, S305. doi:10.1016/j.nbt.2009.06.936 Sleep Review. (2015). Nearly Three-Quarters Sleep With Smartphone in Bedroom - See more at: https://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2015/07/nearly-three-quarters-sleep-smartphone-bedroom/#sthash.6tqzdkA0.dpuf. Retrieved from https://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2015/07/nearly-three-quarters-sleep-smartphone-bedroom/ Tamhane, A. (2009).Statistical analysis of designed experiments. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

A Cure For The Ongoing Epidemic Professor Ramos Blog

A Cure For The Ongoing Epidemic Figure 1 Homelessness is an ever-growing issue worldwide.   It affects a broad range of diverse individuals.   Homelessness can lead to or be caused by addiction, abuse, poverty, and imprisonment.   As a result, it is important to find and implement solutions to diminish the consequences of homelessness.   There are many solutions that would make a major impact in the homeless crisis.   These solutions include, rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing, shelters and transitional housing, increasing income and employment opportunities, and preventing homelessness (National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)).   Although these solutions are incredibly impactful to ending homelessness, the most effective, and the solution that incorporates almost all other solutions, would be fixing the problem of unaffordable housing.   In California alone, there are currently 129,921 homeless people one any given night (NAEH). According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the lack of affordable housing and low income is the prime cause of homelessness in America. Some other major causes of homelessness are health issues, survivors of domestic violence who are trying to escape their abuser, and minority groups who experience racial inequality (NAEH). The issue of homelessness may seem daunting and impossible to fix but there are many solutions that could at least improve homelessness. Some of the other leading causes are financial instability due to low income, lack of affordable health care, domestic abuse, mental illness, and addiction (National Coalition for the Homeless). Financial instability can be caused not only by a lack of employment opportunities but also by most of the aforementioned causes, such as addiction.   Healthcare is a big issue, since quality insurance is most often very pricey.   For example, one vial of insulin costs $250 without insurance (Tsai).   Combine that with the price of needles, cleaning materials, the cost of health insurance, living expenses, car payments and insurance, gas money, a family to feed, and all to pay for with a low-income job.   Domestic abuse, whether it be from parents, spouses, or guardians, drives people to run away.   This especially puts teens at risk for homelessness.   Ã‚  Mental illness can make it hard to keep jobs, thus leading to financial instability, which then can lead to homelessness.   And finally, addiction takes over an individual’s life and goals.   Being addicted to a substance makes it incredibly difficult to hold a job, provide for family members, pay bills, eat, and can also create mental and physical health issues. So, let’s talk about how housing would be one of the major solutions for nearly all of these issues.   Alpha Project’s â€Å"rapid re-housing† program connects people to a home and services, such as rental assistance and security deposits (Alpha Project), swiftly through providing short-length rental help and services (NAEH).   Rapid re-housing helps people get housing quickly, promotes self-sufficiency, and ultimately keep people housed.   It is also less expensive than shelters and transitional housing.   â€Å"Rapid re-housing assistance is offered without preconditions - like employment, income, absence of criminal record, or sobriety - and the resources and services provided are tailored to the unique needs of the household† (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness). Research has shown that people who have been beneficiaries of rapid re-housing are homeless for shorter lengths of time (NAEH). â€Å"The Department of Housing and Urban Development indicates the effectiveness of the Housing First model to aid the problem of homelessness, which emphasizes rapidly rehousing the homeless† (Dittmeier et al. 449). The enactment of rapid-rehousing is founded on the evidence that supports that families and people who spend more time in permanent housing have better outcomes (NAEH). Other types of housing that is beneficial to the homeless are shelters and transitional homes. However, there is usually limited space in these institutions. Depending on the situation and the individual, there are five different levels of assistance for rapid re-housing. Levels can be determined using the National Alliance to End Homelessness Center for Capacity Building’s Rapid Re-Housing Triage Tool. Level One is for households who require minimal support to get and keep housing. Level Two is for households who require routine assistance. Level Three is for households who require longer time periods and/or more concentrated assistance. Level Four is for households who require longer time periods of assistance and intensive assistance. Finally, Level Five is for households who require longer time periods of assistance, more rigorous services, and staff with more professional training. The second tier of the housing solution is permanent supportive housing, particularly for the extremely vulnerable. It combines housing with supportive services and case management (NAEH). The services help build tenancy and independent living skills and link people with community-based health care, treatment and employment services (NAEH). Since 2007, permanent housing has helped decrease chronic homelessness by 26% (NAEH). Permanent supportive housing is a largely supported as a vital resource to avert unneeded institutional stays and helps people with disabilities have stable lives within the community (Signer 18). Investing in permanent housing programs makes a great impact in improving and ending chronic homelessness. The next solution for ending homelessness is increasing employment and income. This can be done in many ways. For example, creating more jobs, raising minimum wage, income support programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and unemployment compensation (NAEH). TANF is incredibly useful for families struggling financially. However, people need to be educated on how to use such services. The Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is an effort to help under-skilled entry-level workers through funding subsidized employment and programs (NAEH). Some cities, for example, Fortworth, Texas, have gotten creative with their solution for the issue of available employment opportunities by having homeless individuals clean up the streets in exchange for payment or housing. This not only helps increase money for homeless people and also raises incentive to clean streets and keep their jobs, but also positively effects the community and environment of the earth we all live on. In the words of Asa Don Brown, â€Å"Homelessness is not a choice, but rather a journey that many find themselves in.† When you think of the homeless families, teenagers, children, women, men, humans- think if you were any one of them. Wouldn’t you want someone to take a chance on you to help you get back on your feet? Works Cited Dittmeier, Kerry, et al. â€Å"Perceptions of Homelessness: Do Generational Age Groups and Gender Matter?† College Student Journal, vol. 52, no. 4, Winter 2018, pp. 441-451. EBSCOhost. Figure 1: Sandie. â€Å"Homeless in Southern Utah- Pretty Sad.† Homeless in Southern Utah- Pretty Sad, 20 Feb. 2011, 63angel.blogspot.com/2011/02/homeless-in-southern-utah-pretty-sad.html. Guarnieri, Grace. â€Å"This Texas City Is One of Several across the Nation to Employ the Homeless and Clean up Litter on the Streets.†Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2018, â€Å"Home.†Alpha Project Serving the Homeless of San Diego, alphaproject.org/programs/rapid-rehousing. â€Å"Homelessness in America.†National Coalition for the Homeless, nationalhomeless.org/about-homelessness/. â€Å"Homelessness Quotes (153 Quotes).† Goodreads, Goodreads, goodreads.com/quotes/tag/homelessness. Peabody, Zanto. â€Å"First-Person Stories of Homelessness.†Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 1999, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-12-me-21378-story.html. Signer, Mira E. â€Å"The Case for Permanent Supportive Housing for Persons with Serious Mental Illness: Improved Lives, Reduced Costs, and Compliance with Federal Law.†Developments in Mental Health Law, vol. 35, no. 4, Winter 2016, pp. 17–23.EBSCOhost â€Å"Solutions.†National Alliance to End Homelessness, endhomelessness.org/ending-homelessness/solutions/. Szeintuch, Shmulik. â€Å"Homelessness Prevention Policy: A Case Study.† Social Policy Administration, vol. 51, no. 7, Dec. 2017, pp. 1135-1155. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/spol.12228. Tsai, Allison. â€Å"The Rising Cost of Insulin.†Diabetes Forecast, diabetesforecast.org/2016/mar-apr/rising-costs-insulin.html. Yousey, Amelia, and Rhucha Samudra. â€Å"Defining Homelessness in the Rural United States.† Online Journal of Rural Research Policy, vol. 13, no. 4, Oct. 2018, pp. 1-24. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4148/1936-0487.1094.

Words to Use Instead of Said

Words to Use Instead of Said Its common to use the verb say over and over again when writing dialogue. Not only is he said she said repetitive, but its also not very descriptive. To better describe the feelings behind the reported speech and other statements in narrative writing, its important to use vocal verbs and adverbs. Vocal verbs and adverbs help provide motivation behind statements, questions, and replies and convey important information to readers. Each vocal verb and vocal adverb has a short description of typical usage, as well as an example statement illustrating how to replace he said she said with something much more descriptive. Vocal Verbs Vocal verbs provide information on the tone of the statement. For example, the vocal verb moan indicates that something is said in a complaining fashion in a low voice. These vocal verbs are grouped by a general indication of the type of statement made. Speaking Suddenly blurtexclaimgaspsnap Examples: Alison blurted out the answer.Jack gasped in reaction to the scene.I snapped a quick response to his question. Providing Advice or an Opinion advisearguecautionnoteobservewarn Examples: Pete cautioned the children to be careful.The teacher observed that the exercise was difficult.The driver warned his passengers about the noise. Being Loud exclaimbellowcallcryscreamshoutyell Examples: She shouted out the answer.The boys screamed as they dived into the cold water.The mother cried out in disdain when her son was accused of the crime. Complaining The following four vocal verbs are often used to describe someone complaining:   groanmoanmumblemutter Examples: Jack mumbled his responses to the questions.He muttered so badly that they couldnt understand him.I moaned that I was hurt. Speaking with Authority or Command announceassertorder Examples: The teacher announced the exam at the end of the week.Jane asserted her rights as a voter.The police ordered the protesters away from the area. Vocal Adverbs Vocal verbs provide information on the manner in which the statement is made. Vocal adverbs are often used to provide additional information on the feeling that the speaker has when making a statement. For example, the vocal adverb joyfully indicates that something is said with great joy. For example, He joyfully exclaimed the news! indicates that the speaker is happy when making the statement. Compare this to He arrogantly exclaimed the news,  which conveys very different information about the speaker. Common Vocal Adverbs admiringly: indicates respect for someoneExample:Alice admiringly noticed his clothes. angrily: indicates angerExample:She angrily denounced his crimes. casually: without much importanceExample:She casually conceded her mistake. cautiously: in a careful mannerExample:She cautiously mentioned the extra homework. cheerfully:  indicates joy, happinessExample:Frank cheerfully agreed to do the job. decisively:  indicates a belief in the statement madeExample:Ken decisively replied to the question. defiantly: indicates a challenge to somethingExample:Peter defiantly taunted his classmates. formally: proper, through official channelsExample:Josh formally complained to the personnel department. harshly: indicates critical judgmentExample:The teacher harshly scolded the children. meekly: indicates quietness, shynessExample:Jennifer meekly mumbled her apology. offensively:  indicates rudenessExample:Alan offensively argued his point about schooling. sternly: indicates authorityExample:The teacher sternly stated that all reports were due on Friday. thankfully: indicates gratitudeExample:Jane thankfully accepted the job offer. wisely: indicates  experience or intelligenceExample:Angela wisely commented on the situation.

Introduction to Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to Business Law - Essay Example The report states that the contract included a clause specifically stating that the seller would provide up to $500.00 for any necessary repairs, after inspection, at the closing of the deal. Now the buyers have had the house inspected and the inspector has informed them of two needed repairs. Due to the clause in the contract, the seller is obligated to pay up to $500.00 in these repairs but no more than that. So in regards to the buyers possibly expecting more, legally that would be a breach of contract so they can only expect to receive the amount the clause states for the repairs. Any expenses above that and they are required to pay the additional fees. (Larson, 2003-2005). Since there does not seem to be any specific clause such as: "Waiver clause, Liquidation Clause, Non-Waiver clause, etc then the only other logical means to go about settling the dispute would be to use an arbitration system. If this case were to go to a court of law then the seller would be forced to uphold the terms of the agreement in the time that was specified.  

Economic Growth and Unemployment Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Economic Growth and Unemployment - Dissertation Example 2.1 Theories of Economic Growth in UK For several years, economists have debated on the drivers of economic growth of a country. In this section of the research proposal, certain ideas of economists will be reviewed to present a concrete idea about the driving factors. According to articles released by Tutor2u (2010), the best definition for economic growth would be to determine it as a â€Å"long term expansion of the productive potential of the economy†. The theory suggests that for measuring the economic growth trend, at least data of past 20 years is required. This is essential for calculating the average rate of growth and identifying different cycles of economic growth. This trend calculation also allows for estimating the future rate of growth sustainability without creating any increase in the pressure of inflation (Tutor2u, 2010). The chart above demonstrates the potential level of national income for the UK economy over the last 30 years. The trend shows that the UK’s national income is expected to rise every year except certain uncertainties. Another essential factor of the chart is the long run average potential for growth. 2.2 Theories Related to the Economic Growth and Employment in UK The focus of the literature review is to measure the relationship between the rate of growth and level of employment in the UK economy. Data released by Department for Business Innovation and Skills (2010) shows the co-movement of UK’s GDP and employment since the last 30 years.

Zynga Inc Strategic Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Zynga Inc Strategic Plan - Case Study Example Being originally known as Zynga Game Network Inc., the company changed her name in November, 2010 to Zynga Inc. Zynga specializes in simulating virtual games as live services on the internet, social networking sites such as Facebook, and on mobile platforms. Today, Zynga provides a wide variety of games under the names; The Firm Ville, City Ville, Firm Ville 2, Chef Ville, castle Ville, Zynga Poker, Words With Friends, Scramble With Friends, draw Something, Bubble Safari, Mafia Wars, Ayakashi, Horn, and Respawnables. All these games are provided on Facebook, mobile platforms and other social networking sites. The games are also present on Zynga.Com, Google+, Tencent, Apple iOS and Google Android (Raice, 2012). The company has registered great success in the recent past with a total customer base of about 83, million monthly active users from all over the earth in the year 2010. Her collaboration with the most popular social networks in the world today has been the main reason behind the success of in her business. Zynga remains top among the most proffered internet games providers among many users from all over the world despite the numerous challenges that has been facing her in the near past. The company is as well among the leading employers in the region and in the world in general. As per February 25th report on the company’s employee database, the company was employing a total of 3,058 persons from across the world. Zynga has put down measures to boost her network and consequently her income earnings across the world following the tremendous drop registered in her performance in the year 2012. The company is operating on a five- fold strategic mode which includes; 1) the company is looking forward to expanding her global user community by exploiting regions which have not been fully accessed by the services offered here. This expansion aims at reaching out to all customers from all locations over the earth’s surface, especially focusing on t he less penetrated geographical locations such as Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. Growing the user number is the company’s key strategic mission. 2) The company has also embarked on building other great products to increase global engagement in the gaming systems. This will include the key components of the company including; the company advisers, the product users, product developers and other company stakeholders. This is to be gained by improving the quality of key products on the social media and networking sites such as timeline and ticker besides enabling new network applications and integrating the existing websites. 3) The company looks forward to providing users with the most compelling and outstanding experience during their gaming missions. This is aimed at improving customer experience and increase participation across the world via the social networking sites. 4) Alongside all these the company is making investments to help her build a mor e engaging mobile experience as the most upcoming and lucrative capital system for current and future exploitation. This is key as the company has realized the increasing use of mobile platforms for online gaming and access channels across the globe. Internet access through mobile, platforms has outgrown the use of computers over time. This has become a lucrative site for reaching as many customers as possible over time and space. 5) Lastly, the company aims at creating a suitable environment for her developers to build great social products using the Facebook platform. Facebook has grown to become the worlds most cherished and used social site wing almost everyone in the world having full time access to her valuable

Human Resources Management at Walmart

Human Resources Management at Walmart 1 Introduction Human resource management is process of management of people working in any company or organization. There is another term used instead of human resource management is personnel management All the human resource management models emphasizes on following important things: searching new ways of working role of manager in change making managing the activities of employees Human working capital is very important for success of the businesses especially in service sectors. Human resources are one of major costs part for any business, they always play very important role in development which path company is adopting for success in business. Correct and efficient management of resources and their utilization is necessary for success of all businesses. Practitioners of human resource management have developed a modern view related to work management rather than previously set of traditional philosophy. In current competitive business world that is always dynamic organizations have to keep them advance with the pace of development in this changing environment. The division of work inside organization aimed at completing tasks on time. Among all of the important organizational departments is the department of human resource management. According to some experts organizational success basically depends on the success of human resource department. This department has lot of value inside the organization. Human resource management is well set, properly designed and rational approach to any of the management work that contributes to the achievement of set business objectives. In all organizations human resource people have various functions. In companies department of human resource play a crucial role as they are responsible for dealing with diversity of staff. Starting from the recruitment identification process to the identification of the benefits that each employee can bring to the organization, with a proper planning for this achievement. There is always a way that ensures functions of human resources will be different for different organizations according to the needs of that organization. The people in human resource always have the focus and responsibility to improve the performance of the employee. Mainly the staffing is a vital step related to this process, but results and outcome lies in performance management. This is directly result of internal control of the Human Resources to make more of the workforce. Human Resources Department mostly tries its good efforts to give benefits to employees cause it wants them to perform well with higher satisfaction, according to their job description. Improvement in the s taff performance comes through a systematic approach adopted by human resource people. Current assignment will study the concept of human resource management, main responsibilities of the department, problems and issues faced by this department, workers incentive and appraisal, diverse approaches related to human resource management, and idea and administration of any change in origination. We also will try to find that how walmart making progress in current competitive business environment while managing all its Human Resources effectively to bring desired success. What are some critical features of walmart policy and strategy for its human resource management. 2 History of Walmart Date of Wal-Mart Most people know that most popular discount retailers started in 1962, K-Mart, flat and Wal-Mart opened its first store. (Company, 2010) actually started by Sam Walton of this work during the intense competition of the 1950s many of the regional discount stores. Before making the opening of its company Sam went to most of the parts of country to learn things about the discount retail business. He successfully convinced American consumers that he got the idea for a new and compared to the old. With confidence and vision, Sam with his wife Helen started the development of a major stake in the first store in Rogers, Kmart has expanded rapidly in the 1960s, while Sam was to get sufficient money for the development of 15 stores of Wal-Mart. In 1972, business shares were offered to public in the New York. With this combination of money, the company made growth in business established its stores in 11 countries with number of 276 stores by the end of its first decade. In 1983, opened its fi rst store Sam Club Members Gallery. The early Supercenter was opened by 1988, featuring grocery store and other 36 departments for general merchandise. By 1989, there were 1402 Wal-Mart Stores 0.123 Sam Club sites. Increased ten-fold work. Its sales grown to $ 26 billion from one billion dollar. (Milner, 2005) Today it have stores and sites numbered 8747 in more than 15 countries of the world that have 2.1 million Associates and provides service to at least 176 million customers in a year time. 3 Concept of Human Resources Management Human resource management Can be defined as the sum of all these activities that are associated with management of staff and their relationship within the company. Or And continue operations in the management of people and organizations in any way to achieve their goals and objectives. While an agent (2007) is defined as all the decisions and strategies and the factors managers processes and practices, functions, activities and methods for the management of the peoples who work as employees in any organization. So, human resources management is essentially a study as well as management in any organization that stands on the ideas and techniques to improve the status of employee motivation, efficiency and performance. Based on the idea of managing people to believe that the staff is very important for the specific business and its continued success. The organization can gain a competitive advantage only by using its staff effectively, drawing plans on the basis of their expertise and skills in order to achieve well-defined objectives. In organizations, and human resources departments play a crucial role as they are responsible for dealing with diverse staff. Of the recruitment process and to identify the benefits that each employee is done through the Department of Human Resources. Could be that the functions of human resources are always different to cover the requirements of organizations, similarly they always focus and take responsibility to improve the performance of the employee. Mainly the process of staffing is very important step for this, but mostly the result lies in performance management. This is linked to internal control by the Department of Human Resources and more of the workforce . 4 Workforce Planning and the difficulties Work force planning and preparation of all your options before going into the real work set for the staff to get the organizational goals is very important issue. It is well understood principle that the people are organizations important asset. Because without the capable staff it is difficult for all organizations to reach towards their goals. The bulk of organizational improvement will come only after ensuring that the right staff with the right skills, knowledge and behaviors in the organization. Workforce planning related to achieving this outcome, and any serious link between business planning and development, recruitment and retention, and staff training. Wal-Mart is much concern about this issue, human resources and recruitment system and effective to deal with their needs for this purpose and put the plan always. They announced the vacancy correctly, a pre-assessment before engaging in the selection process. They provide benefits to its employees and facilities in spite of, is blamed for some time to Wal-Mart facilities discrimination and ill-especially low-paid. This layout is about the workforce and provides the opportunity to work on long-term thinking about the relevant services in the future, and needs, and explore all viable strategies. Thus, the central planning for company work becomes important for the organizations. 4.1 Employment Requirements Critical stage in the recruitment of human resources management. It should be well planned and structured so that the organization can recruit the right person for the right place instead of just making the availability of another person at work. There are many of the problems faced during this process and managers for some time and the inability to focus, time and financial resources necessary to make this process effective. Wal-Mart that they always take qualified personnel and according to it, and it makes employees with proper education and skils efficiency. 4.2 Development and Training Appointment comes after the development and training stage. Most the organizations unfortunately sometimes even for technical jobs do not provide adequate training for their employees before hiring and employment. There must be made sound system which can ensure that the Organization the necessary arrangements to work before and on the job training and development for their employees. The-job training is the main part in the field of human resources at Wal-Mart is now not only offers these courses for their employees, but in times of recession, they offer training courses for some people who are by this time of recession. (Wal-Mart, 2010) 5 Administration of human resources and staff performance Human resources management are primarily responsible for the employees performance in business administration (Jones, 2007). To achieve its purposes, which is responsible for dealing with staff from induction to work on and improve their commitment and reduce absenteeism and turnover, and improving skills levels and productivity, and improve the quality and efficiency of its work. 6 Century 20 key ways to manage human resources There are some key criteria developed that are in use from the days of the 20 century and developed later by some HR professionals to achieve the highest standards of performance and strongly recommend the organization to follow the rules of these standards for the performance of high-quality employees. These are the best practices, fit this view of resources. 6.1 Best practices Also called as high commitment human resource management to ensure that the realization of the best practices in human resources makes improvement to organizational performance. There are many best practices to keep the advantage using the employees for profits by giving due importance to staff at Wal-Mart. These practices are: 1) job security, (2) recruitment of flour, 3) training and large-scale, 4) the exchange of information, 5) capable teams, 6) also paid a much higher according to the profit and reduce the inequalities in the position of the staff. 6.2 best fit, or approach of emergency Says that the management of human resources that can perform well when there was a suit involving the required vertical on the performance of human resources management and corporate strategy. There must be a unity between the process closely and human resources and policy with the policy of the foreign company. There are various theories related to vertical integration. For example is life cycle models, that argue in favor of the human resources which according to experts can be easily known in development stage of any organization by its policies and practices that it adopts at development or life cycle process. Some other models of competitive advantage that the idea of Porter on strategic choice. Maps a variety of human resources practices in the organization options for the development of competitive strategy. The third is configurationally models that provide a more accurate assessment depends safe from an organizational strategy to determine the appropriate human resources pol icies and practices. Wal-Mart is famous for this approach because it is conscious to get the best people to do their job, because they are not many offers, such as previous experiences of the application, it is also strict rules in the second performance evaluations. Showing 6.3 resources and building According to some is the basis for modern human resources management, and it focuses mostly on internal organizational resources, and considers how these resources contribute to competitive advantage. And the scarcity of resources is ideal for harmony and human resources management and its central role for the development of human resources organizational value, and this is rare, it is sometimes difficult to replace and organize effectively. Wal-Mart in the keyword in the field of human resources is a valid but the staff who works to meet these goals which are set by organization. 7 Academic theory It is based on the fundamental principle of human beings are not like machines, and therefore any organization needs to have multidisciplinary assessment at their workplace for all staff. Many areas of psychology, for example, sociology, industrial relations, economics, engineering, industrial and monetary theories play an important role and a key. Universities and colleges offer diverse courses in human resources management. Wal-Mart and a good learning approach to build capacity in the area of personnel. One commonly used way to explain the function of human resources management was developed by Dave Ulrich, which identifies four areas of the role of human resources management: collaborator and strategic businessà ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ § As a result of the change agentà ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ § a hero of the staffà ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ § and experts on Administrative. 8 Responsibilities of the Department of Human Resources Different companies and different departments working within the organization, and these departments including sales management to human resources management. Human Resources department staff muscles depends on size of staff in company. Job opportunities in this section includes human resources coordinator, human resources and assistant director of human resources management. Can the responsibilities of human resources management as follows: 1: Human resources management is doing all the planning, advertising, interviewing and selection of staff. 2: Department should know law at all levels from federal, state or provincial and local laws relevant to the work of staff. 3: This section helps companies on training and staff development. Companies train their staff to a variety of reasons, such as motivating staff to learn new things new. The length of hours of time for several weeks, depends on the nature of the exercises. Some time and include safety measures in the workplace. As mentioned by Derek, et al (2004) that It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all staff. 4: should any private company to use the drive is able to attract staff, skilled and hard work. After the payment of these benefits are shared to keep on encouraging workers for a long time on the functions of the organization. These include the benefits for time of unemployment. Companies offer a variety of benefits, including dental insurance, and vision insurance and payments for a few days off. 8.1 Tasks performed And human resources in any company that requires kind of management, that involves several steps for this process. They look to achieve all these goals mentioned above. Cannot be performed by each of these activities in human resources management, but some tasks can be outsourced or cannot be performed by these executives, even by other departments. People at Wal-Mart human resources, efficient in their jobs, they provide significant benefits to employees who claim Associates. The following are the main tasks carried out by human resources departments at Wal-Mart: Employment-planned Employment Employee induction and orientation to make them on-board Employee skills of management Employee proper training Employee daily base management Compensation Time Management Travel arrangements Payroll (some companies give this task to the accounts) Employee benefits management Planning staff costs Annual Assessment Labour Relations 9 Human resources strategy when some human resources management and strategy for implementing the tasks set by the department of handling human resources management. Have human resources functions of the Organization include the recruitment and selection policies, and procedures related to disciplinary procedures, policies, rewards and prizes, and human resources plan and policies specific learning and development. But it should be aliened all these regulatory issues in the overall strategy for the business sector. Human resources management strategy and the comprehensive plan, with regard to human resources policy in the implementation process. Human resources management strategy usually consists of the following factors: Wal-Mart always gives priority to the strategies that best fit and best practices, which means there is a link between human resources management strategy and corporate strategy. Encountered some blam critic Wal-Mart to use this strategy against the employee benefits and fair pay, so many times waltmart cases of discrimination against them. But the people Wal-Marts efficient in the field of continuous monitoring of the human resources strategy, through the study of the employee, feedback and surveys necessary for the organization. 10 Career Education There are a number of Universities and Colleges to study in the areas of human resources management and related benefits. It was the first Cornell University in the world who started their studies in human resources management and educational administration full. Wal-Mart and good training and education system for workers in the teaching profession and communicate with various projects and sectors that handle these projects in their human resources. There are many new careers at wallmart , which engaged things related to recruitment, employment, recruitment and the interviews done in general, equal opportunities in employment or professional employment organization. Training is conducted regularly with the development of specialization by the trainers. 11 case studies: critical analysis of the human resources approach Walmart Wal-Mart, which is famous for retail in the U.S. A and the top retailers in the U.S. market. Wal-Mart is the rapid growth in the awareness that you make. According to the site Wal-Mart (Company, 2010) Wal-Mart serves customers and members in more than 200 million times a week in more than 8747 retail units under the flags of different countries, 5515. With fiscal 2010 sales of 405 billion dollars, 2.1 million Wal-Mart is working partners all over the world. Leader in sustainability, charitable companies and jobs, in first place among retailers, Wal-Mart impressive in Fortune magazine as most companies in the survey for the year 2010. Wal-Mart has the status of these substances can also see that Wal-Mart to buy large quantities of items from its suppliers to create economies of scale, and inventory control with an effective system to assist in making operating costs less than those of its competitors. It is also many goods imported from China, factory of the world for its low cost. In the word of the strategy at the level of the company from Wal-Mart, the low cost strategy with a little insulation. Wal-Mart managers and engage in three levels of strategic planning (Gary Dessler, 2005) in the business, and corporate-level strategic function. As for Wal-Mart, corporate and business level strategy to drive low-cost. From the perspective of performance management, to Wal-Mart has very high standards and strict job titles. In career management, Wal-Mart and also goes great efforts to reduce costs, and there are many cases that women Su, Wal-Mart to its policy of discrimination against women by systematically denying them promotions and paying them less than men. There are women who have been paid to the departments to lower FEMALE complain about unequal treatment of male colleagues. From the perspective of compensation management, has also showed Wal-Mart human resources policies and activities of the very aggressive to fit the low cost strategy. Wal-Mart imported $ 15 billion worth of goods from China, but also Wal-Mart has some of the factories in China, which branded products with the name of Wal-Mart. We can see just how Wal-Marts strategy of companies only extensively with integrated human resources policy. Wal-Mart workers in California to earn 31 percent less on average than workers in large retail as a whole. In fact, with other operating costs that put it on the highest level of inventory management, and managers must turn to the storage fees to increase profits, Wal-Mart is expected to reduce labor costs by two-tenths of a year. So, these aggressive policies of human resources, not just more, the fittest. From the viewpoint of the employee and the interest of safety, as well as human resource policies at Wal-Mart, which aligned well with the strategy at the corporate level. Often accused of Wal-Mart failed to provide employees access to affordable health care, but the senior managers and HR managers know their focus was just trying to implement most of the low cost strategy. Wal-Mart strongly against the policy of the Union. It was reported in the United Kingdoms Guardian newspaper that Wal-Mart faces the prospect of a messy legal battle with the messy GMB bruises in a row about the rights of collective bargaining, to the Union does not accept the Wal-Mart has withdrawn its bid to pay 10% to more than 700 workers. (Milner, 2005) and here there may be some doubt as to why Wal-Mart has recently allowed trade unions in their stores in China, where trade unions are required. I tried Wal-Mart in China every possible effort to develop good relations with the Government of China and other groups of influence. So make this the exception of China and Wal-Mart unionizations except in accordance with the overall strategy and human resources strategy. If the company has ignored the rule of the Chinese government, the cost is more than just what would be saved by not allowing the Organization of Trade Unions. We may evaluate the various human resources practices and systems, Wal-Mart best fit the organizations strategy for competitive companies. Then here is the role of HR managers in this company who are professionals with strategic skills of human resources and other resources needed to build a human-oriented strategy. Human resource managers in one of the technical departments of Wal-Mart, and tried their best to fit the companys strategy to reduce the cost low. They made some rules and policies, for example, the implementation of the policy against the Union in its stores to reduce costs from outside the EU, but to assist in the implementation of the lock in policies; tried to resist the deficit in the loss of efficiency. Should encourage women to discrimination by giving them a far less chance of money, and workers in fact mentioned in the Wal-Mart has also received a salary much lower compared with the average level of the industry. Try Wal-Mart human resources managers and also to control the conduct of staff and competencies that require the companys strategy through the actions and policies of the companys strategy in support of human resources, some of which may be adduced. Wal-Mart human resources managers refers to its employees as partners and encourages managers to think of themselves as servant leaders, and this is to encourage them to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organizations values and integrity. Wal-Mart also faces lawsuits alleging that the companys discrimination against disabled workers, to employ these men intended to provide more facilities for them and lost efficiency to some extent. They also faced charges of child labor. Also charges of discrimination of women. All of these types of human resources policies are not enough compared to international best practices approved by the Department of Human Resources in all good companies. Regardless of Wal-Mart to adopt low-cost strategy or differentiation strategy, and these policies and practices to achieve specific objectives to save any additional cost, but to motivate employees to increase their contribution in helping companies and even in shapin g culture. 12 Conclusion and proposals With the update that brought the introduction of computers and mobile phones, information and technological advances robots to support human life and the work it is easy to be good performance in any business.

The College Experience - Exploration and Self-discovery Essay -- Perso

The College Experience - Exploration and Self-discovery What do you want to do with your life? If only I had a nickel for every time I was asked that pesky question ... in particular, by some overly-concerned adult! I swear, if I hear it one more time, I'll launch into a screaming fit! It's right along the same lines as the annoying, "where do you see yourself in ten years?" As a student wrapping up my freshman year at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, even the question "what's your major?"can pose a bit of a problem. At this point in my life, I simply feel that such questions are too restrictive. Why is society fixated on categorizing everyone into neat little groups? I thought that college was meant to be a process of self-discovery, rather than a mere obstacle on the way to a career that's been predetermined since kindergarten! Yet you'd be amazed at the pitying stares you receive when you tell someone that you're undecided. You'd think that you'd just told them that you'd been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor! I'm here to reassure all those "lost souls" out there that there is nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to do. My first year of college has been a veritable roller coaster of trying on and discarding various ideas of "what I want to be when I grow up." Like most people, I felt the overwhelming pressure to settle on a career before entering college, and so I arrived at USC as a declared broadcast journalism major. The only experience I had in this area was co-hosting my high school news program, which was more sketch-comedy than real news, and yet on the basis of that alone, I decided on my major... ...magazine, Palaver. And next year, in contrast to the small film company where I am now interning, my goal is to have a summer job at DreamWorks. All of this is an effort to cram as much into my four years as possible. And why not? There is something to be gained from every new experience, whether I stick it out for the duration or not. Maybe I'm flaky by nature, or maybe I'm just determined to get every bit of the well-rounded Liberal Arts education that my parents are shelling out big bucks for. Does it really matter? The point is this: don't ever let anyone tell you that there's something you can't do. If you have a yen for something, try it. You never know, you may discover some hidden talent that you didn't know you had. Or you may not. But hey, exploration and self-discovery is what the college experience is all about!

Market for Human Organs

Logan Williams Economics 211 Cupelli 28 February 2013 The Market for Human Organs Richard Knox, a National Public Radio reporter (Richard Knox), states, â€Å"About 75,000 Americans are on the waiting list for kidney transplants. But in the coming year, just 18,000 will get them. † Unfortunately, the transplant list is only growing with each passing year. This means that many people will die on the waiting list and those who are lucky enough to get to surgery may not be strong enough to survive the operation because they have been without vital organs for so long.The legalization of the market would cause more people to donate, evening out the difference between donations and needed transfers. Since the demand for human organs is so high people will do everything in their power to get what they need. Often times this leads to people searching the black market. These organs and operations are not only non-sterile, but can be extremely dangerous as the buying and selling conditi ons are often extremely unsafe. The black market is also known for causing crime, but the offenses committed for human organs a lot of the time involve violent crimes and sometimes murder.The legalization would cause these crimes to almost come to a complete stop. If the human organ market is legalized many more people would be able to get the organs they need. Many more lives would be saved if selling and purchasing organs were legal. Participation in medical research, the selling of blood, eggs, and semen for compensation has become a way for many people to come out of debt or simply have a little bit more money to get by. It only makes sense that if people were given the options to sell their organs more would be involved.With the legalization of the human organ market, people would be more likely to donate their organs knowing that they can get a reward for saving someone’s life. This will help people pay off debts, save money for retirement, or give them more spending mo ney in a safe, reliable way being treated by doctors. When donations are taken after a donor has passed away, the payment would simply be given to a person, institution, or charity chosen by the donor. If it becomes legal to sell organs, it will also become a taxable good, bringing more money into the government.As donation numbers increase, more organs will be available to those in need, and many more lives will be saved. With the increased number of donated body parts, not only will we see direct increases in the number of transplants, but also a tremendous reduction in hospital costs with less people on organ waiting lists. When less money is needed to treat patients waiting for body parts, hospitals can redistribute funds into other branches to buy new technology, hire more staff, or offer more treatment to patients, thus saving more lives.Unfortunately, the many people on the transplant list are slowly dying without any significant treatment. These people know that if they do n ot get any new organs soon, which many realize because they have been on the waiting list for extremely long with no end in sight, they most likely will have to resort to very dangerous ways of getting what they need. They are willing to pay any price so save their lives. This often leads them to the black market.The amount of people involved in the black market is increasing, but untrained people perform surgeries in non-sterile environments leading to risks of infection and possibly death. Another issue with the black market is many poor people become victimized by the wealthy and do not get the money they were promised before the surgery (Growing Market). If the market of human organs was legalized the surgeries would be safer and the money would be guaranteed, leading people away from the dangers of the black market. The black market is notorious for causing crime.Since most people that are in dyer need of an organ don’t care where they are getting it from, people begin s tealing other people’s organs. Many people commit violent crimes or kill for other people’s organs and sell them for their own profit. If organs could be legally sold there would need to be proper identification and paperwork before the surgery could take place, making it so there is not profit in selling organs, therefore dramatically reducing the violent crimes taking place. The legalization would cause the sale of human organs on the black market to almost completely stop.Sadly, the organ transplant list is only growing with the passing time and if there are no changes in how the system is today the donor list will not increase with any significance. If the market for human organs is legalized it would cause an increase in the donor list, money brought into the hospitals and the government. It would decrease the list of people in need of a transplant, the crime rate for organ thefts, the deaths caused by black market surgeries, and could cause an end to the sales of human organs on the black market completely.Without a change people will continue to die waiting for organs they likely never had a chance to receive since the beginning. The legalization of the market for human organs could save many more lives than the organ waiting list is saving now. Works Cited â€Å"Growing Market for Human Organs Exploits Poor. † MSUToday. N. p. , n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Knox, Richard. â€Å"Should We Legalize the Market for Human Organs? † NPR. NPR, n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. â€Å"Richard Knox. † N. p. , n. d. Web. 27 February 2013 â€Å"Should the Sale of Human Organs Be Legal? † a Debate. org. N. p. , n. d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Dramatic events Essay Example

Dramatic events Essay Example Dramatic events Essay Dramatic events Essay All three female characters being discussed all possess characteristics that help them survive through crisis despite societies opposition. In order to successfully defend their loved ones the female characters use common sense, flexibility, and quick thinking to steer themselves clearly away from further trouble. Medea has an advantage over Nora and Mrs. Linde because she is a powerful sorceress and has experience in plotting against her enemies even prior to her plot to avenge Jason. Since she is cunning she also thought and acted more cautiously. She knows exactly when to exert more power and when to play a foolish (Euripedes, p.89) woman to get what she wants from Aegeus, Jason, and Creon. Nora, in contrast, is obviously more sheltered than Medea because both her father and husband have treated her like a doll (Ibsen, p.226) for so long. Fortunately, she learns quickly and manages to find odd jobs to help her pay off her debt. She knows how to manipulate Torvald to get what she wants. Nora pouts like a child if she does not get her way or acts like Torvalds little songbird (p.223) to get her way . Her quick thinking in forging her fathers signature on the loan agreement is praiseworthy as well. She may have been arrested for doing so but it undoubtedly saved Torvalds life. Mrs. Linde is also wise in deciding she will have a greater chance of finding a job in a larger city. She is flexible and humble enough to ask for Noras help in finding a job. In addition, Mrs. Lindes judgement is fair. She does not become biased listening to Noras or Kronstads accounts regarding the blackmail issue. Instead, she looks at both sides of the story before choosing the best way to help solve this problem. Without common sense, flexibility, and quick thinking, the female characters would not have easily protected their loved ones. Most people have pride and they feel even more proud if they achieve something great. The women in these plays are proud as well. Medeas overwhelming pride is evident when she refuses to take Jasons money. She is confident that she can escape to safety using her own methods. She feels proud that she has gained her revenge and Jason is ruined at last. Likewise, Nora beams with pride as she describes to Mrs. Linde how she managed financially to pay off her debts and contributes to assisting her husband. Mrs. Linde has every right to be [proud] (p.159) that she is [making her] Mothers last days a little easier (p.159) and raising her brothers even if she has worked so very hard to achieve this end. Her choice of not remarrying someone rich shows that she is content with working independently to support her family. When the women in these plays initiate the tasks to help their families they are doing it through instinct and are not motivated by any other incentives. Their rewards are more valuable than money for they are able to obtain pride and the sense of accomplishment. The courageous acts that Medea, Nora, and Mrs. Linde have done to help others are triggered by dramatic events that are extremely realistic. The abandoning of a wife or family financial crisis could happen to women around the world as well as those in the play. There is certainly more assistance available for modern women in places like Canada in times of crisis, but that does not mean women are becoming more dependent. What were thought of as male characteristics in the plays are simply human characteristics and have simply been well adapted by modern women and by the female characters mentioned. Their accomplishments are admirable and demonstrate womens vast ability to adapt to change.

Marketing Management

Marketing Management Introduction Al Ahlia Gulf Line (AGL) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of soft drinks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some of brands marketed by AGL in the UAE include Fanta, Arwa, Burn, Coke, and Sprite. Coca Cola is a leading company in the world. Coke’s brand equity is also strong in the UAE. The parent company began in 1892 after Charles Candler incorporated the organization.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company originated in the United States. Today, Coca Cola markets its soft drinks to consumers across the globe. The company’s background dates back to 1886 when Candler’s father, John Pemberton, came up with the original â€Å"Coca Cola formula†. By 1899, Coca Cola was a leading company in America. In the past years, the company has promoted the best business practices thus becoming a leading player in the global s oft drink industry. In the UAE, Coca Cola (AGL) began its operations 1989. The company has succeeded in the region due to its quality bottling operations and distribution systems. Marketing Environment There are different macro and micro environmental factors that affect the performance of a business. Micro-environmental factors are the â€Å"internal† aspects affecting a business. Macro environmental aspects are those factors that a firm cannot control. In the UAE, Coca Cola has been considering such macro and micro environmental aspects in order to emerge successful. Micro Environmental Factors Organizational Aspects The company embraces the best managerial strategies. This makes it easier to establish the best internal policies, objectives, and strategies. Consumers and Suppliers The company has to consider the bargaining powers and expectations of both its suppliers and consumers in order to remain profitable. The managers should consider the best principles in order to e nsure the company is on the right path towards success. Competitors There are different â€Å"fast food† companies in the region. These companies produce fruit juices and mineral water. As well, Pepsi is a leading marketer of soft drinks in the UAE market. These competitors might affect the company’s performance.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Marketing Mix Al Ahlia Gulf Line (AGL) uses the best marketing mix in order to remain successful. The marketing includes aspects such as â€Å"price, place, promotion, advertising, and quality of its products†. Macro Environment Factors: PESTEL Analysis Political Factors Al Ahlia Gulf Line (AGL) operates in a politically stable country. The region has a reliable political climate and labor practices. However, insecurity is also common due to terrorism and insurgencies. Economic Factors The UAE is defini tely portraying a positive economic growth. This explains why the company should always consider the economic factors in order to remain profitable. The company can succeed in the long term. Social Factors The region is experiencing a socio-cultural change. The MNC should consider such changes in order to succeed in this market. Technological Factors The company should consider new technologies because they influence logistical operations, product development, and service delivery. These are critical aspects for the company. Environmental Factors The world is presently becoming aware of the environment due to climate change. AGL should consider the best practices in order to safeguard the environment. Legal Factors There are certain legislations affecting different companies in the UAE. These range from ethical practices, business policies, environmental legislations, and food safety measures. It has been necessary for the company to reconsider such legal aspects.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Segmentation One of the company’s favorite products is â€Å"Coke†. The use of segmentation can make Coke successful in the UAE. In order to make this particular product successful, AGL should consider the idea of â€Å"multi-segmentation† as detailed below. Geographic Segmentation Al Ahlia Gulf Line (AGL) can target different regions whereby more individuals will consume the product. The main regions will include the major urban centers and cities in the country. Demographics The company can target the population based on income levels, gender and age. For instance, the company should target individuals between 16-45 years of age. This population has a good income and is willing to spend money on luxury products. Psychographic Segmentation Many consumers are conscious about brands. That being the case, more consumers will be w illing to consume Coca Cola’s products. Current Target Market There are certain values that describe the target market for Coke. Most of the consumers have similar needs and expectations. The first thing to consider is the issue of geographic location. The potential consumers are in the urban areas. As well, the company should consider certain issues such as demographics, lifestyles, and behaviors. Most of the targeted consumers are between 16 and 45 years of age. The company can use â€Å"socioeconomic segmentation† in order to market its product successfully. The issues to consider include gender, occupation, personal expectations, and education level. The company will also have to consider the attitudes, lifestyles, and behaviors of its consumers. Description of the Market Opportunity The existence of a â€Å"marketing opportunity† makes it easier for a company to realize its goals. To begin with, the company has a unique brand equity thus making it a major c ompetitor in the industry. The country is today receiving more tourists and investors.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The UAE is also experiencing a robust growth in terms of economy and political stability. More consumers are becoming financial stable and aware of their expectations. This has contributed to a â€Å"lifestyle change† thus presenting new opportunities to market Coke to the consumers. Marketing Analysis The study focused on key aspects such as â€Å"economic position†, consumer expectations, and public awareness. The study also examined the past and current position of various soft drinks in the UAE market. After conducting the survey, the gathered information presented the behaviors of the potential consumers. By so doing, it was possible to establish the existing opportunities for the company. As well, the respondents provided a â€Å"detailed description of the existing opportunities for Coca Cola† in the market. This made it easier to come up with a clear description of the marketing opportunity for the company. Proposed Product Al Ahlia Gulf Line (AGL) can s uccessfully introduce a new product in the UAE. The best product to introduce in this market is â€Å"Diet Coke†. Based on the existing marketing opportunities, AGL can market Diet Coke successfully to the consumers. The marketer needs to use the â€Å"three levels of the product†. The first one is the â€Å"core product†. Coke’s brand equity will make this level successful. The second level is the â€Å"actual product†. Diet coke can help people address their health problems and benefit from the product. Finally, the company needs to use the best marketing mix, promotions and advertisements to add value to this new product in the UAE market. Diet Coke SWOT Analysis Strengths The product is healthy and tasty. Diet coke has succeeded elsewhere. It is competitive in the market. The company’s â€Å"brand equity† is unique. Weaknesses It is a new product. Marketing incentives are lacking for Diet Coke. Can be described a â€Å"foreign product†. Opportunities More consumers are sensitive about their health. More people are consuming soft drinks. Coca Cola dominates the market. There are stable economic and political factors. Threats There is competition from substitute goods such as â€Å"fresh juices†. There is competition from Pepsi. Proposed Pricing The pricing strategy for Diet Coke should be in accordance with the existing competition and consumer expectations. The product’s price will be slightly higher than that of the competing products. The approach will make Diet Coke a â€Å"superior product†. The price should also be sensitive to the prices of other competing companies such as Pepsi. Proposed Distribution Process After introducing the product and identifying the targeted consumers, the company will use its effective supply chain system. The approach will ensure equal distribution of the product across the UAE. The marketers and distributors will be monitoring the level of consumption in order to promote a steady chain supply for the new product. The supply system will include distribution centers, convenient stores, shopping malls, and customer outlets. Proposed Promotion Mix Promotion is an important aspect of marketing mix. AGL should employ the right personnel to market the product directly to the consumers. As well, sales promotions will sensitize the people about the benefits of the new product. The company will also use sporting events to increase awareness. The company will also use different media and celebrities to advertise Diet Coke in the country. The use of internet-based promotion will make the product successful. For example, AGL can embrace the use of different social media in order to market its new product.

OPERATIONS & FINANCIAL DECISION MANAGEMENT Essay

OPERATIONS & FINANCIAL DECISION MANAGEMENT - Essay Example 1. As per the abbreviated balance sheet dated 31.1.2006, the stock levels on 31/1/2007 was  £ 1382,592 as compared to  £ 1132,505 on 31/1/2006. Thus, there has been an increase of 22.08% over the previous year. Moreover, it is seen that the inventory components of stock in the company consists of many small items supplied by different manufacturers . Among these, items like envelope, envelope scoop, padded cover, inflator fans, basket, burners and cylinders form the main constituents of the finished product – the inflatable balloons. It is seen for these crucial stock items, there may be only one or two approved suppliers. Therefore, it needs to be ensured that delivery and quality aspects need to be strictly looked into, since the safety aspects of these air balloons cannot be compromised since it involves human safety and security. Moreover, if it is needed to change suppliers of crucial items, it become necessary to get recertified from the approval body for safety and security which may not be an easy task. Therefore, it is felt that given the fact that there are many sub assembly parts and components involved in the making of an air balloon, it is necessary to maintain a higher level of stock inventories. Lead time: The manufacture of hot air balloons involves a specialist task entailing maximum safety and standard control adherence, and nothing could be left a chance in the manufacture of hot air balloons. In the case of ordering being placed for resupply, the delivery may take time, depending upon the type of raw materials and the time required for reorders. For the supply of fabrics, the lead time may be around 8 weeks. Again, in the case of other items, the lead time would be a period ranging from 3 days to 3 months, depending upon market conditions and availability of materials reordered. Sometimes it may happen that the items may not be available in ready stocks with the vendors/suppliers, and therefore, it may

Research and prepare an advertising plan Asume you own an advertising Paper

And prepare an advertising plan Asume you own an advertising agency, write that you would share with the CEO of Shazam - Research Paper Example The various platforms in the mobile phone operating systems have also been changing at a first pace and hence the company’s need for an advertising strategy geared to keep up with this dynamism. The main objective is to expand the target market for about 200% within the first half of the period of advertising and even grow it further in the long run. This is to be achieved at a very lean but objective budget estimate of about 2% of the total revenue derived from additional sales or profit. The plan further outlines an evaluation criterion for the proposed advertisement campaign to ensure that all set objectives and targets are met in accordance with the schedule and in line with the rapid changes being experienced in the industry. Shazam entertainment limited is a privately owned company connecting over 250 million individuals to their preferred brand, TV shows and music (Shazam Entertainment Ltd 2). This advertisement plan aims to leverage on this potential and exploit other avenues to ensure that the brand derives further gains in the competitive industry. The multimedia content industry is at the peak of competition today owing to vibrant watching and sharing population that mostly consist of the youth. This has been further enhanced by an ever growing number of social sites that people are able to communicate using tools like voice, text and video chats. In the process of these communications in the internet, the users end up commenting on various things and sharing information that sometimes can be in the form of referrals to some form of -multimedia content. Shazam has a presence in the world’s major cities laden with social media enthusiasts. It is positive to note that it has been positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that come with the ever growing mobile phone platforms that have come to be the single most effective and preferred communication and entertainment tool in the world today. The product was

Advocacy in mental health an Anotated bibilography of research Essay

Advocacy in mental health an Anotated bibilography of research articles which influence policy change - Essay Example Precisely, this paper will give an account of all the research done on the subject of mental health summarizing the main arguments, points, as well as scope of each source while evaluating them on their merits and making comparisons. This article voices its advocacy in the field of mental health by examining the consequences of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the mental health of the UK armed forces through a cohort study following the increased concerns over the possible psychological effects of continued exposure to combat as well as successive deployments on service men and women. This study establishes that the UK service men and women are more likely to present with symptoms of common mental disorders as well as alcohol misuse than they are with symptoms of probable post-traumatic stress disorders (Fear 1783). More so, this study indicates that the overall incidence of mental disorder in the UK service men and women remained constant between 2003 and 2009, despite the prolonged deployments to Afghanistan as well as Iraq in the same period, thereby underscoring the fact that the mental health of UK army personnel has not changed. These findings are extremely reassuring especially in the context of the anticipated tidal wave of mental health complications as a result of increased deployments and prolonged exposure to combat. The research methodology data utilized in this research is not only objective but also valid since it is obtained and analyzed through empirical research methods and it is appropriate to the topic because it is based on a sample population from the UK cohort study. This research is very helpful to policy in mental health in particular since it informs or shapes argument regarding army deployments and levels of exposure of service men to combat, besides underscoring the significance of regular health surveillance in the UK military personnel. For instance, this

Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 Essay Example for Free

Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 Essay The law allowed an increased cost exemption, which stated that employers that can demonstrate a one percent or more rise in costs due to parity implementation will be allowed to exempt themselves from the law. The Mental Health Parity Act did not include rules for service charges, designations for the number of inpatient hospital days or outpatient visits that must be covered, coverage in connection with Medicare or Medicaid, restrictions on a health insurance plan’s ability to manage care, and coverage for treatment of substance abuse or chemical dependency. I do not think that the Mental Health Parity Act was successful, because there are many people still in this world who don’t have insurance have to pay more than what people with insurance do. Even some people with insurance have to pay a lot out of pocket for services. Even when it was still in act, it only took effect to people with major disabilities. This left most of the population having to pay for many of the services themselves.

The Viewpoint Of Developers Background Of Study Construction Essay

The Viewpoint Of Developers Background Of Study Construction Essay Nowadays, building quality has been one of the important factors to satisfy customers. The priority of the customer is mainly based on quality rather than cost. In todays economy competition, it is getting more fierce and cruel than before. Products with good quality can attact buyers to purchase, therefore the pressure has been formed from customers leads the developers to provide the building product with excellence quality (Connections Magazine 2003). Connie (2001) acknowledges that facilities, exterior and interior design are included in building quality. Due to the inconsistency in construction quality, the naissance of Construction Quality Assessment System or CONQUAS by the Construction Industry Development Board Singapore (now known as the Building and Construction Authority (BCA)), in conjunction with major public agencies and some leading industry professional bodies and organisations, had been designed to measure the construction quality level in construction industry in year 1988 (The National House Buyer Association 2008a). The CONQUAS has been evolved in seventh edition which renamed as CONQUAS 21. Although having the different name, but still, QLASSIC aka Construction Industry Standard (CIS:7) serves the same objectives as CONQUAS 21. Quality Assessment System in Construction or QLASSIC was developed by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia together with various professional bodies, association, universities and government agencies to resolve the inconsistency construction quality. It is designed to standardise the quality standards in construction, to evaluate the performance of the construction, to have a proper standard of assessment system as well as to collect data for statistical analysis to continually improve quality of construction (The National House Buyer Association 2008a). In other words, QLASSIC can be served as a quality yard stick for the construction industry and is able to let outsiders to compare relatively and quantitatively the quality of workmanship between construction projects. Furthermore, some developers can set a CONQUAS score as a target for contractor to achieve (Building and Construction Authority 2008). Once the contractor has reached the targeted score, he will be awarded, but if the contractor is below the base line, he will be penalised. This will encourage the contractor to provide a superior building product. Both CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC are an independent assessment which is conducted by inspectors from BCA Singopore or CIDB Malaysia. Sample of building will be selected randomly and inspected to represent the quality of overall project, means that the inspection will not evaluate and measure every single unit in the project (The National House Buyer Association 2008a). Problem Statement Recently, people are more concerned about quality achieved in building project. So, many people will hesitate whether the property is up to the standard and worth to purchase with the amount of money that they pay (The National House Buyer Association 2008a)? Building project with high quality can ensure future marketability and enhances the clients confidence to the building (Building and Construction Authority 2008). Therefore, developers should deliver the final building product with high quality standard to the purchasers. Quality is always being emphasized in a construction project, the establishment of CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC is an additional assurance for the developers to ensure the quality of the workmanship in the project is infallible. Moreover, the result of the assessment can present impartially the overall quality of the completed project as well as represent the performance of the building by the developer and the contractor. Furthermore, the higher score of the building can give a great sense of confidence to the house buyers to purchase the houses. However, some developers in Malaysia are adopting either CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC to ensure the quality of the product. There is no study being conducted regarding the preference of application of these two assessment methods. Therefore, a study on preference of application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC will be proposed to find out the preference of developers. At the meantime, the researcher also wants to compare the application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and to determine the advantages of applying CONQUAS or QLASSIC. Finally, the researcher also wants to find out the constraints when implementing CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. Project aim and objectives Aim The aim of this research is to study the preference of application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC from the viewpoint of developers Objectives In order to achieve the aim mentioned above, several objectives are created. To compare the application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC; To determine the advantages of applying CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC in construction projects; To examine the problems or constraints when implementing CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC in construction projects; To find out the preference of developers in the application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and the reasons. Key Questions The following key questions are formed in order to achieve the objectives: What are the differences between application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC? What are the advantages of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC? What are the constrains or problems to be faced when implementing CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC? Which type of construction quality assessment system is more preferred among Malaysian developers? Importance and benefits of study This study is to find out the preference of developers on application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. This can gather the opinions from developers in order to determine which construction quality assessment system is more preferred among Malaysian developers. Besides, this study also can increase the level of awareness for the Malaysian developers who do not apply either CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. Other than that, the research also focuses on the advantages and constraints in applying CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. The benefits of this study provide better understanding to the developers about the advantages when applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC and encourage them to apply either system for further improvement in the quality aspects of construction projects. Besides, this study highlights the constraints when implementing CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC so that developers are aware of these issues and able to avoid or mitigate them for effective application of the aforesaid construction quality system in their construction projects. Scope of study To achieve the objectives mentioned, this study will just focus on two construction quality assessment systems, namely, CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. This research does not include other construction quality assessment system such as European Association for Quality Assurance (ENQA), Project Quality Performance in Hong Kong developed by Chan (2001) and Blueprint in United States developed by the Quality Performance Measurement Task Force (QPMTF) of Construction Industry Institute (CII) (Stevens 1996). Additionally, the researcher will conduct an in-depth study on the advantages and constraints of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. The researcher will also cover the preferences of application between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC from the viewpoint of developers. Data collection will be done by conducting a structured interview among developers in Malaysia to ascertain the advantages and constraints of applying CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and to find out the preferences of developers in the application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and the reason. Due to time constraint, the structure interview will be conducted on developers, which are registered under Construction Industry Developer Board (CIDB) within Selangor and Kuala Lumpur area only. Thus, the contractors as well as developers from other states will not be considered for this study. Methodology In order to achieve the objectives of this study, there are two methods to be used to collect data, they are respectively the primary data sources and secondary sources. Primary Data Sources The second, third and fourth objectives, which are determining the advantages of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC, problem or constrains when implementing CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC and preference of the developer in application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC and the reasons, can be obtained by conducting structured interview. Structure interview will be conducted with developers who adopted both CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC in the previous or current projects. The interview mentioned will be conducted within Selangor and Kuala Lumpur area. Secondary Data Sources Literature review is an essential material for researchers to enhance basic knowledge regarding to the research topic. Journal articles, government articles, newspapers, journals, books, magazines and internal research are used in secondary data sources. The review from those sources would complement the information for the first, second and third objective, which are compare the differences between application of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC, advantages and constrains of applying CONQUAS 21 or QLASSIC. Besides, information can also be obtained from library at TARC, National Library and the resources centre of CIDB. Figure 1. Outline of research proposal Literature Review Quality Philosophy Definition of Quality The word of quality has a wide definition and it is an elusive concept, because different people view it differently (Joel E.Ross 2009). It can be further proven by Kerzners (2009, p.875) study, he indicated that quality cannot be defined accurately, the major reason for quality depends on the view of the customer. Quality is always treated as a complicated term, the explanation is inadequate to help a quality professional fully understand the concept. However, quality experts define quality in a different way as well, which is based on the customers perspective, speciafication-based prespective (Assignment Expert n.d.). However, there is a modern definition derived by Prof.R.K.Gupta (2008) that quality is fitness for intended use. It can be explained as meeting or exceeding customer expectations. It can be further defined as the degree of fulfillment of customer needs and expectations by a supplier or service provider. Undoubtedly, quality is an essential element in a series of activities that has been preceived and value much by end users, not the suppliers. There are seven essentials of measuring quality, they are Functions, Safety, Aesthetics, Reliability, Longevity (product lift and maintenance), Service-delivery (effectiveness of marketing channel) and customer communication (effectiveness of communication channel). Those are the main elements to cover customers satisfaction and developers preception about quality of product (Prof.R.K.Gupta 2008). Davids study (cited in Joel E.Ross 2009) stated that quality can be summarised into five principal approaches, which are transcendentel view of quality, product-based view, user-based view, manufacturing-based view, and value-based view. The explanation of each view is shown as below: Transcendental view of quality cannot be defined, but it can be differentiated by looking product. For instance, advertisement. Product-based view quality is deemed as quantifiable and measurable characteristics. For instance, measure products durability or reliability (e.g. mean time of failure or finish) and design the product to the benchmark. Although this approach has a lot of benefit, but it has restriction as well. In fact, quality is mostly based on individual taste or preference, therefore the benchmark for measuring may be misleading. User-based view products that meet customers preferences are esteemed as highest quality. This may lead to two problems, one is the differences of customers preferences and the other is the difficulty of unifying the different preferences of customers. This approach can identify the products that meet the needs of major customers. Manufacturing-based view products are complied with the requirements, or specification. This concept applies to both services and products. Good quality product is not necessary in the eye of end-user but in the standards or specification set by the organisation. Value-based view quality is defined in terms of costs, prices and other attributes. Therefore, the materialization of customers decision mostly depends on the quality at an acceptable price. Evolution of Quality There is a changing view of quality during the past twenty years, so improvement of quality is occured from time to time. Quality improvement not only focused in product but also services (Harold kerzner 2009, p.875). Additionally, Harold kerzner has introduced a changing view of quality from past to present as shown in table 2.1. Table 2. Changing views of quality Past Present Quality is the responsibility of blue-collar workers and direct labour employees working on the floor Quality is everyones responsibility, including white-collar workers, the indirect labour force, and the overhead staff Quality defects should be hidden from the customer (and possibily management) Defect should be highlighted and brought to the surface for corrective action Quality problems lead to blame, faulty justification, and excuses Quality problems lead to cooperative solutions Corrections-to-quality problems should be accomplished with minimum documentation Documentation is essential for lesson learned so that mistakes are not repeated Increased quality will increase project costs Improved quality saves money and increases business Quality is internally focused Quality is customer focused Quality will not occur without close supervision of people People want to ptoduce quality product Quality occurs during project execution Quality occurs at project initiation and must be planned for within the project (Source: Harold kerzner 2009, p.875). Importance of Quality There is no doubt that quality is extremely important because it will bring benefits. The benefits can be divided into two, they are internal benefits and external benefits. The figure 2.1 below shows the internal benefits and external benefits from good quality. (Source: Abhiman DasMulmi 2009, p.7) Figure 2. Internal benefits and external benefits from good quality Historical Perspectives of Total Quality Management There are four stages of evolution of Total Quality Management, they are Quality Inspection, Quality Control, Quality Assurance and Total Quality Management (TQM) (UTM 2003). Figure 2.2 shows the four stages of Quality Management. Abhiman DasMulmi (2009) recogonised that quality management is also a hirarchical process which is initiated with rough inspection and then developed through quality control, followed by quality assurance under the wider management approach of TQM. Figure 2.3 shows the different characteristics of different stages in TQM. The concept of TQM has been developed since 1950 by various American experts. Among the experts, W Edwards Deming, Joeseph Juran and A.V.Feigenbaum have contributed significantly in developing the concept of TQM. Quality Inspection Abhiman DasMulmi (April 2009) has stated that in order to ensure the basic level of quality to be accomplish, the most suitable use of quality control will be quality inspection. Once the inspector found out the poor quality product which is separated from the acceptable quality product, the product would be scrapped, reworked or sold as lower quality. Therefore, the method of inspection mainly sorts out the conformance and non-conformance of the product, it usually is done by visual inspection or testing (UTM 2003). (Source: Dale 1994) Figure 2. Four stages of quality management Quality Control (QC) Due to industrial advancement, it came to second stage of TQM development. Quality control is a stage above inspection (Abhiman DasMulmi April 2009). The quality was controlled through supervised skills, written specification, measurement and standardisation (Prof. Alessandro Brun 2010-2011). The process of QC involves monitoring and then utilizing statistical techniques to make decision. Quality standard of products and services can be improved and maintained through QC (Abhiman DasMulmi April 2009). Quality Assurance (QA) Quality assurance (QA) is the third stages of quality evolution. It is aim to provide products and services that fulfill customers expectations and needs (UTM 2003). QA can be defined as a process of checking, correcting and controlling is conducted in such a manner that the manufacture/ service providers are aware that all stages of the process are being conducted correctly with the specified standard (Abhiman DasMulmi April 2009). Other activities such as comprehensive quality manuals, use of cost of quality, development of process control and auditing of quality systems are also developed in order to progress from quality control to the quality assurance (UTM 2003). Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management is the last stages of this development, it involves the understanding and implementation of quality management principles and concepts in every aspect of activities. (Prof. Alessandro Brun 2010-2011) The purpose of TQM is to fully utilise these activities to provide customers with best quality products or services at the lowest cost. Additionally, continually improve quality is the main aim of TQM to become a winning strategy to gain customer loyalty (UTM 2003). (Source: Chew 2000) Figure 2. Different characteristics of different stages in TQM 2.2 Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS 21) Introduction In current scenario in Construction Industry, performance of completed product can be measured by implementing either QLASSIC or CONQUAS 21. Both of them are an independent assessment carried out by assessors to inspect, evaluate and measure the quality of workmanship. QLASSIC Quality Assessment System in Construction or QLASSIC is an independent method that developed by CIDB Malaysia to assess and evaluate the construction work which done by workman based on the approved standard (CIDB n.d.). On other hand, QLASSIC also act as a benchmark for contractor to achieve and maintain the quality of construction work (CIDB 2011) According to Ali Faizal (n.d.), QLASSIC is a standard which expected to reduce contentious disputes between relevent parties such as architects, engineers, developers, purchasers, contractor regarding on constitution of acceptable quality and to ensure that the interest of buyers or purchasers is secured. CONQUAS 21 Since year 1989, Construction Quality Assessment System or CONQUAS is introduced in Singapore to serve as a standard assessment system on building project. In year 1998, several features was added into CONQUAS by BCA, therefore, CONQUAS has evolved in a new edition which renamed as CONQUAS 21 (Building and Construction Authority 2008). Comparison Both quality assessment systems served as a same function to assess and evaluate the quality of workmanship of building project based on the approved standard. Besides, both of them are carried out through site inspection by assessors that have no any relationship with that particular project. Marks will be given after the assessment system is completed. Additionally, regardless of QLASSIC and CONQUAS, both of them are act as a benchmark for contractor to achieve and maintain the quality of construction work. Objective CONQUAS 21 was designed with three objectives while the QLASSIC was designed with five objectives. Those objectives was designed and developed for the users to achieve. QLASSIC (CIDB 2006) To standardize the level of quality of the construction industry in Malaysia; To measure the quality of workmanship of building project by implementing standard quality assessment system; To measure quality of workmanship of a building project based on approved standard; To appraise the performance of contractors based on quality of workmanship; and To collect data for statistical analysis CONQUAS 21 (BCA 2008) To have a standard quality assessment system to assess quality of workmanship for construction works To make quality assessment objective by Measuring constructed work against workmanship standard and specification Using a sampling approach to suitably represent the whole project To enable quality assessment to be carried out systematically within timeframe budget Comparison On the whole, most of the objectives between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC are same, just present in different wording. The similarity of the objectives between both quality assessment systems is having a standard quality assessment to evaluate the quality of workmanship and measure construction work against workmanship standard and specification. There are some differences between CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC. Firstly, one of the objectives of CONQUAS 21 is to enable quality assessment to be carried out systematically within time frame and budget. Secondly, QLASSIC is designed with another two objectives, they are to appraise the performance of contractors based on quality of workmanship and to collect data for statistical analysis. Scope In general, scope has been defined as the area or extent of an activity (Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary 2010). CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC have set out their scope or the covered area of the assessment. Therefore, both of the quality assessment systems set out the standards for various aspects of construction work (BCA 2008). Assessment on the quality of workmanship is carried out based on the various construction elements in the project and marks awarded are then summed up to give a total quality score for the building project (CIDB 2006). QLASSIC (CIDB 2006) Main elements to be covered in Quality Assessment System are as follows: Structural works Architectural works Mechanical Electrical works External works The above mentioned components can be further broken into different items such as internal finishes, external finishes, roof, sanitary work, electrical work and so on. However, the works such as piling, heavy foundation and sub-structure works which are heavily equipment-based and called under separate contracts or sub-contracts are excluded. Undoubtedly, assessment is primarily based on workmanship standard through site inspection and field testing. Therefore, assessment on structural work and ME works is carried out during the construction process, while for completed building project, assessment on architectural, ME fitting and external works is executed to measure the quality of workmanship. Other than site inspection, test on the material and the functional performance of selected services and installation also will be included in the assessment. Those tests can protect the interest of occupants in term of safety, comfort and aesthetic defects which will be surfaced only after some time. CONQUAS 21 (BCA 2008) Main components to be covered in CONQUAS are as follows: Structural works Architectural works Mechanical Electrical works The above mentioned components can be further broken into different item such as internal finishes, external finishes, roof, sanitary work, electrical work and so on. However, the works such as piling, heavy foundation and sub-structure works which are heavily equipment-based, buried or covered and called under separate contracts or sub-contracts are excluded. Undoubtedly, assessment is primarily based on workmanship standard through site inspection and field testing. Therefore, assessment on structural work and ME works is carried out during the construction process, while for completed building project, assessment is only carried out on architectural work to measure the quality of workmanship. Other than site inspection, test on the material and the functional performance of selected services and installation also will be included in the assessment. Those tests can protect the interest of occupants in term of safety, comfort and aesthetic defects which will be surfaced only after some time. Comparison It is obviously shown that there are four components covered in the QLASSIC while three components for the CONQUAS 21. The only difference between them is QLASSIC has an additional component, which is External works. In fact, the external work of CONQUAS 21 is grouped together with structural work. Due to the additional component of QLASSIC, there are slightly differences on the quality assessment. For better understanding, the following table shows the differences of the quality assessment between them. Table 2. Comparison of Components to be Tested Between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21 Components to be tested QLASSIC During Construction process Structural works and Mechanical Electrical works. Completed Building Architectural works, Mechanical Electrical works and External works. Components to be Assessed QLASSIC (CIDB 2006) For the QLASSIC, the assessment is divided into 4 components: Structural works Structural is always deemed as an importance element of whole building because it might incur big amount of failure and repair cost once it failure. Therefore, the assessment of structural work comprises: Site inspection of formwork, steel reinforcement, prefabricated or pre-cast elements, etc during construction. Laboratory testing of compressive strength of concrete and tensile strength of steel reinforcement. Non-destructive testing of the cover and the uniformity of hardened concrete. Architectural works Architectural works are mainly deal with the finishes. The quality and standards of workmanship can be showed obviously through the finishes. Floors, ceiling, window and door and internal wall, fittings and fixtures, external wall, roofs, driveway, apron and porch are works under architectural. Mechanical and Electrical (ME) works The quality of ME works is also important because it might impact the performance of the building once its failure and high cost is involve in rectification works and installation works as well. Electrical works, air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation works (ACMV), fire protection works, sanitary and plumbing works, lifts, escalator and other basic ME fittings are covered under the assessment. External works Lastly, the external works cover the general external works elements in building construction such as the link ways/shelter, drains, road works, car parks, footpaths, turfings, playgrounds, gates and fences, swimming pools, hardscapes and electrical substation. CONQUAS 21 (BCA 2008) For the CONQUAS 21, the assessment is divided into 4 components: Structural works Structural is always deemed as an importance element of whole building because it might incur big amount of failure and repair cost once it failure. Therefore, the assessment of structural work comprises: Site inspection of formwork, steel reinforcement, prefabricated or pre-cast elements, etc during construction. Laboratory testing of compressive strength of concrete and tensile strength of steel reinforcement. Non-destructive testing of the cover and the uniformity of hardened concrete. Architectural works Architectural works are mainly deal with the finishes. The quality and standards of workmanship can be showed obviously through the finishes. The assessment covers the following: Site inspection of floors, internal walls, ceiling, window and door, fittings, roof, external walls of the building. Material functional tests such as window water-tightness, wet area water-tightness and adhesion of internal wall tiles. Installation of waterproofing for internal wet areas also included in the process of assessment. Mechanical and Electrical (ME) works The quality of ME works is also important because it might impact the performance of the building once its failure and high cost is involve in rectification works and installation works as well. Electrical works, air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation works (ACMV), fire protection works, sanitary and plumbing works, lifts, escalator and other basic ME fittings are covered under the assessment. The stages of the assessment include: Site inspection of installed works before they are concealed such as the concealed pipes Site inspection of final installed works such as the Air-Handling units (AHU), cooling tower, fire alarm control panel, etc. Performance tests on selected works such as earthing test, dry riser test and water pressure test, etc. Comparison The components of CONQUAS 21 and QLASSIC are quite similar. However, there is only one difference, it is CONQUAS 21 does not have external works. In fact, the external works was grouped together with structural works. The following tables are the comparison of sub-components to be assessed between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21: Structural works Table 2. Comparison of Sub-Components to be Assessed between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21 (Structural Works) Sub components to be assessed QLASSIC CONQUAS 21 Part 1: Reinforced Concrete Structures Formwork à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Reinforcement (Cash in-situ and Precast) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Finished Concrete (Cash in-situ and Precast) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Precast Specific Requirements à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Structure Quality à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Non-Destructive Testing à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Part 2: Structural Steel Works Main Member/ Partial Assembled Component à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Metal Decking à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Erection Tolerances à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Corrosion and Fire Protection à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Welding Test Reports à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Part 3: Pre-Stressed Concrete Condition of Tendons Anchorages à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Installation of Sheathing à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Stressing Grouting Process à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Debondling à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (Source: CIDB 2006 and BCA 2008) Architectural works Table 2. Comparison of Sub-Components to be Assessed between QLASSIC and CONQUAS 21 (Architectural Works) Sub-components to be assessed QLASSIC CONQUAS