Digital Fortress Chapter 20

La Clinica de Salud Publica was actually a converted elementary school and didn't much resemble a hospital at all. It was a long, one-story brick building with huge windows and a rusted swing set out back. Becker headed up the crumbling steps. Inside, it was dark and noisy. The waiting room was a line of folding metal chairs that ran the entire length of a long narrow corridor. A cardboard sign on a sawhorse read oficina with an arrow pointing down the hall. Becker walked the dimly lit corridor. It was like some sort of eerie set conjured up for a Hollywood horror flick. The air smelled of urine. The lights at the far end were blown out, and the last forty or fifty feet revealed nothing but muted silhouettes. A bleeding woman†¦ a young couple crying†¦ a little girl praying†¦ Becker reached the end of the darkened hall. The door to his left was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open. It was entirely empty except for an old, withered woman naked on a cot struggling with her bedpan. Lovely. Becker groaned. He closed the door. Where the hell is the office? Around a small dog-leg in the hall, Becker heard voices. He followed the sound and arrived at a translucent glass door that sounded as if a brawl were going on behind it. Reluctantly, Becker pushed the door open. The office. Mayhem. Just as he'd feared. The line was about ten people deep, everyone pushing and shouting. Spain was not known for its efficiency, and Becker knew he could be there all night waiting for discharge info on the Canadian. There was only one secretary behind the desk, and she was fending off disgruntled patients. Becker stood in the doorway a moment and pondered his options. There was a better way. â€Å"Con permiso!† an orderly shouted. A fast-rolling gurney sailed by. Becker spun out of the way and called after the orderly. â€Å"?Donde esta el telefono?† Without breaking stride, the man pointed to a set of double doors and disappeared around the corner. Becker walked over to the doors and pushed his way through. The room before him was enormous-an old gymnasium. The floor was a pale green and seemed to swim in and out of focus under the hum of the fluorescent lights. On the wall, a basketball hoop hung limply from its backboard. Scattered across the floor were a few dozen patients on low cots. In the far corner, just beneath a burned-out scoreboard, was an old pay phone. Becker hoped it worked. As he strode across the floor, he fumbled in his pocket for a coin. He found 75 pesetas in cinco-duros coins, change from the taxi-just enough for two local calls. He smiled politely to an exiting nurse and made his way to the phone. Scooping up the receiver, Becker dialed Directory Assistance. Thirty seconds later he had the number for the clinic's main office. Regardless of the country, it seemed there was one universal truth when it came to offices: Nobody could stand the sound of an unanswered phone. It didn't matter how many customers were waiting to be helped, the secretary would always drop what she was doing to pick up the phone. Becker punched the six-digit exchange. In a moment he'd have the clinic's office. There would undoubtedly be only one Canadian admitted today with a broken wrist and a concussion; his file would be easy to find. Becker knew the office would be hesitant to give out the man's name and discharge address to a total stranger, but he had a plan. The phone began to ring. Becker guessed five rings was all it would take. It took nineteen. â€Å"Clinica de Salud Publica,† barked the frantic secretary. Becker spoke in Spanish with a thick Franco-American accent. â€Å"This is David Becker. I'm with the Canadian Embassy. One of our citizens was treated by you today. I'd like his information such that the embassy can arrange to pay his fees.† â€Å"Fine,† the woman said. â€Å"I'll send it to the embassy on Monday.† â€Å"Actually,† Becker pressed, â€Å"it's important I get it immediately.† â€Å"Impossible,† the woman snapped. â€Å"We're very busy.† Becker sounded as official as possible. â€Å"It is an urgent matter. The man had a broken wrist and a head injury. He was treated sometime this morning. His file should be right on top.† Becker thickened the accent in his Spanish-just clear enough to convey his needs, just confusing enough to be exasperating. People had a way of bending the rules when they were exasperated. Instead of bending the rules, however, the woman cursed self-important North Americans and slammed down the phone. Becker frowned and hung up. Strikeout. The thought of waiting hours in line didn't thrill him; the clock was ticking-the old Canadian could be anywhere by now. Maybe he had decided to go back to Canada. Maybe he would sell the ring. Becker didn't have hours to wait in line. With renewed determination, Becker snatched up the receiver and redialed. He pressed the phone to his ear and leaned back against the wall. It began to ring. Becker gazed out into the room. One ring†¦ two rings†¦ three – A sudden surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. Becker wheeled and slammed the receiver back down into its cradle. Then he turned and stared back into the room in stunned silence. There on a cot, directly in front of him, propped up on a pile of old pillows, lay an elderly man with a clean white cast on his right wrist. Chapter 21 The American on Tokugen Numataka's private line sounded anxious. â€Å"Mr. Numataka-I only have a moment.† â€Å"Fine. I trust you have both pass-keys.† â€Å"There will be a small delay,† the American answered. â€Å"Unacceptable,† Numataka hissed. â€Å"You said I would have them by the end of today!† â€Å"There is one loose end.† â€Å"Is Tankado dead?† â€Å"Yes,† the voice said. â€Å"My man killed Mr. Tankado, but he failed to get the pass-key. Tankado gave it away before he died. To a tourist.† â€Å"Outrageous!† Numataka bellowed. â€Å"Then how can you promise me exclusive-â€Å" â€Å"Relax,† the American soothed. â€Å"You will have exclusive rights. That is my guarantee. As soon as the missing pass-key is found, Digital Fortress will be yours.† â€Å"But the pass-key could be copied!† â€Å"Anyone who has seen the key will be eliminated.† There was a long silence. Finally Numataka spoke. â€Å"Where is the key now?† â€Å"All you need to know is that it will be found.† â€Å"How can you be so certain?† â€Å"Because I am not the only one looking for it. American Intelligence has caught wind of the missing key. For obvious reasons they would like to prevent the release of Digital Fortress. They have sent a man to locate the key. His name is David Becker.† â€Å"How do you know this?† â€Å"That is irrelevant.† Numataka paused. â€Å"And if Mr. Becker locates the key?† â€Å"My man will take it from him.† â€Å"And after that?† â€Å"You needn't be concerned,† the American said coldly. â€Å"When Mr. Becker finds the key, he will be properly rewarded.†

Demise of the Weimar Republic

The demise of the Weimar Republic did not occur due to one sole reason, but because of a number of short and long term factors. The economic, political and international pressure placed on the people of Germany ensured the loathing of the forced governmental rule. The immediate impact of the Great Depression of 1929, which has been debated and considered by most historians to be the dominant factor in the downfall of the ‘democratic experiment’ which subsequently led to continuous political instability ultimately saw the collapse of the first democratic government of Germany.Some historians generally blame the fall of the Republic on president von Hindenburg’s abuse of constitutional powers. Historian David Martin states that the â€Å"survival of democracy depended on his (Hindenburg’s) integrity and decisions. Unfortunately, his actions made a major contribution to its destruction†. More deadlocks within the Reichstag and civil unrest gave Hindenbu rg no choice but to give the people what they wanted, which was a strong leader in Adolf Hitler. The Weimar republic was not welcomed by Germany after her defeat in world war one in 1919.Germany had never had a democracy before and felt that the Allies had forced this treaty upon them. Even Prince Max of Beden did not want a democracy for Germany. Because this new government had signed the treaty they were now known as the ‘November Criminals’ and were loathed by everyone. According to Henig, ‘It was the acknowledgement of defeat.. which they found so hard to accept. ’ The historian Friedrich Meinecke observed that, for true Germans, loyalty to the ‘Fatherland required disloyalty to the republic’.In a sense the Weimar Republic was a â€Å"democracy without democrats† Treaty of Versailles The military defeat of Germany in November 1918 came as a genuine shock to most Germans, who had believed that Germany would be victorious in the war. W hen seeking armistice in the same month, Germans expected the peace settlement to be based on President Wilson’s 14 points and although they also did not expect a soft treaty, it was greater then imagined. The Treaty was a complete humiliation for Germany and was a dent to national pride.It had to be accepted however as the allies threatened To resume war again and still maintained a naval blockade so consequently on the 28th of June, 1919, the Treaty was signed. As a result of the Treaty, Germany lost all of its colonies including Alsace and Lorraine. The army was reduced to 100,000 men, with further restrictions placed on naval and air force. 33 million dollars of reparations had to be paid and these economic provisions of the treaty effectively weakened Germany’s capacity to pay by 1924.The Weimar Republic and the democracy were weakened because both were always associated with the Treaty of Versailles. This was a constant theme used by those who opposed the republi c and the democratic system. Because this new government had signed the treaty they were now known as the ‘November Criminals’ and were loathed by everyone. According to Henig, ‘It was the acknowledgement of defeat.. which they found so hard to accept. ’ Period of Hyperinflation Hyperinflation gave the people of Germany another reason to find fault in the democratic Weimar Government.Louis Snyder wrote that it was â€Å"these people who later turned to Adolf Hitler as the messiah to lead them out of financial chaos†. Immediately after the war, Germany had little capacity for economic recovery as key industrial resources had been lost in the Treaty and had little export trade and consequently unable to attract any major foreign investment loans. To get more finance, the German government’s response was to print more money so the value of German currency continued to fall. Before the US dollar has been 4. 2 marks, by 1920 it was worth 64. marks thus German taxation increased. Anyone with access to even a few pounds became a trillionaires over night. The losers of the hyperinflation were those with a fixed income, the working class, people living off their savings and wage earners. By June 1923, the government had lost control of the economy, as strikes swepped the country as workers protested about the rising unemployment and the failure of their wages to keep up with the cost of living. In August, the govenment finally fell, with President Ebert called or the leader of the German people party, Streseman, to form a new party. He formed the ‘great coalition’ which brought together left and right wing. In the next six years, German society picked up with the induction into the League of Nations, the Dawes plan of 1924 which provided foreign loans to Germany and the Young Plan which saw the reduction in Germany’s reparation figure by 95 million. The downside of Germany’s new economic prosperity mean t that society was living off borrowed money and was over-dependant on foreign loans and investment.The economic power was concentrated in the hands of influential industrialists and bankers and employment was still on the rise. Within these six years, the Weimar republic surprisingly enjoyed a period of relative political stability. President Ebert’s sudden death in 1925 followed President Hindenburg into the role. He’s election reconciled many in the army to support the republic goldern years– that â€Å"this was merely nothing more than depictive stability† d. packart. The Depression Historian W.M Simon wrote, â€Å"The depression had created a situation in which parliamentary government broke down, opening the way to presidential government by decree†¦The more openly the political parties became parliamentary pressure groups, the more the parliamentary process (and the democratic process) as a whole fell into discredit†. The great depressi on of 1929 occurred very suddenly and ended the period of relative affluence for Germany. The depression was the result of substantial amounts of investment from overseas and the high interest rates of 1928 which consequently left the economy with a reduction in economic activity and employment.Consequently social spending reduced and people were left without food and shelter which created overall bitterness. In response the government chose to follow a policy of deflation in which they cut expenditure and attempted to balance the budget. Throughout this extremely stressful time, the fear of communism had increased enormously. Membership of the Communist Party grew enormously and most feared that if a revolution occurred, German people would have their private property confiscated.Therefore, most were heartened by the strongly anti communist position taken by Hitler and his Nazi Party. â€Å"dependent on the American economy, made Germany vulnerable to the instabilities of the worl d markets† W. link 1970. Rise of the Extremists and Hitler/National Socialists – Failure of the German Democracy 1930-33 By 1930 Mullers government had failed to deal with the Depression. Bruning was appointed chancellor and in July his budget passed the Reichstag using article 48. At the same time the Nazi’s attacked the republic, critizing its weak parliamentary system.They promised to revitalize Germany with determination and conviction, offering hope to the middle class, small business operators and rural/farming population â€Å"The Depression put the wind into Hitler’s sails† (Taylor). In September 1930, the Reichstag Elections saw the Nazi’s win 107 seats in the Reichstag in which they previously held 12. the Reichstag became virtually unworkable as the Nazi’s, communists and Nationalist all opposed Bruning. Another critiscm of the Weimar constitution was Article 48 where in an emergency the president could override any laws, th e opinions of the Reichstag and the people.He could also have total control of the army to ‘restore order’. With the army on his side and the republic disregarded, the President would have total control. Evidently from the above paragraphs one can conclude that the Weimar Republic did not collapse due to one reason but was a process consisting of a number of long and short term events. The Republic was flawed and weak from its beginning in 1919 and it was a miracle that it survived until 1933 in a country that opposed the Republic as a whole.

What it means to be human Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What it means to be human - Essay Example quotes the words of Nietzsche: â€Å"He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.†(Foreword, ix) What he mentions in the book is no doubt important; but how he says, what he says is more important; about whom he says is still more important. He doesn’t tell the glorious stories of heroes and great men. He details the sufferings and mind-plays of the common folk, when imminent death challenged them; when they were face to face with the prospectus of death of the worst order. This book is considered as an important contribution to the psychiatric literature since Freud. Stories of other prisoners and prison staff are interwoven around the story of Frankl, about his imprisonment in Auschwitz and other concentration camps for a fairly long period of 5 years, and how he kept his inner spirit burning with the latent desire to live. In this aspect Frankl seems to surpass Freud, who propounds that sexual instincts and urges are the driving force in the life of a human being. Frankl thinks otherwise and argues about the nobler instincts that are more powerful. The core desire of a human being is to search for meaning and purpose of life. The worst was in store in the life of Frankl. Besides, Auschwitz, he had to go through the rigor of four different camps between 1942 and 1945. His parents, brother and pregnant wife perished. In a similar situation, an ordinary individual will develop suicidal tendencies, if not commit suicide. Frankl was a man of great grit and determination. Through his suffering he encourages others by arguing that one cannot avoid suffering when it has to come, when it falls in one’s lot, but it can be challenged, one can cope with it, find meaning and march forward in life with renewed determination. His theory is known as logotherapy. History produces stalwarts like Frankl whom it wants as the witness and to record its pages daubed in bloodshed and violence. To prove to humanity that brutal force will not produce any thing durable!

Treaty of Versailles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Treaty of Versailles - Essay Example The Elbe, the Oder, the Niemen and the Danube were declared as free international routes.The Versailles-Washington system has created a lot of large and small problems, which together led to war. So, East Prussia was cut off from the rest of Germany and had no train and motorway connections with it. The separate existence of the city of Danzig did not satisfy either Poland or Germany (German population totally prevailed in the city). USSR lost almost all bases of the Baltic Fleet. The Soviet fleet could be based only in Leningrad after the Treaty.Germany was unable to pay huge reparations to the Western countries. This was the reason why the French army occupied the Ruhr in 1923, which was the most developed industrial region of Germany. 10% of the German population lived in the Ruhr. It produced 40% of steel, 70% iron and 88% of coal were mined there. Occupation of the Ruhr only exacerbated the economic crisis in Germany.Many problems were not resolved during the Versailles Conferen ce and after signing the Treaty. The new treaties were called to deal with the unsolved challenges: Treaty of St. Germain(1919), which established the current borders of Austria; Treaty of Trianon (1920) of the victorious nations and Hungary; Washington Naval Conference (1921-1922), etc.The direct consequences of the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles were so-called small wars: Romania and Serbia against the Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919); Greco-Turkish War (1919-1921); Soviet-Polish War (1920).

Journal article summary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journal article summary - Research Paper Example the Limits of Multiculturalism in the Context of Globalization† from the International Journal of Communication published in 2012, she addresses cultural inequalities through exploring the limits of multiculturalism, arguing that multiculturalism is nation-bound in the Western Anglo American cultures (Shome, 2012). The article focuses on cultural identity as the primary concept that provides materials and information for discussions of multiculturalism and race. Shome explores western liberalism, transnationalism, and the concern whether multiculturalism is a signifier of modernity and exceptionalism. Shome goes at length in highlighting her points, providing relevant evidence and examples where appropriate. The article notes that multiculturalism provides a cultural basis and framework for securing and enhancing cultural inclusion of minorities and marginalized groups. Shome highlights the rare temporal and geopolitical assumptions by the US and UK government on multiculturalism (Shome, 2012). Shome concludes the article by noting the need to rethink the concepts in struggles and tensions in non-western modernities and transnationalism. She urges scholars in the communication studies to unsettle and shift epistemic vocabularies and temporalities that they engage in cultural and culture relation. From a personal perspective, she comes out strong with her opinion, and her arguments are solid. John Durham Peters is a professor (A. Craig Baird) for communication studies at University of Iowa and an American academic. His interests are in cultural history, media, communication and social theory, and legally, philosophically, technologically, and religiously understanding communication. He tutors at both undergraduates and graduate levels in classes like communication studies and media, society, critical theory, pragmatism, and transnational media among others. Peters has numerous articles and books, including â€Å"Space, Time, and Communication Theory† published

Government Intervention on the Market Assignment

Government Intervention on the Market - Assignment Example Cash dropped suddenly to zero levels and researchers when marketers left in 1962 because of significant finding by market specialists during that time (SEC, 2010). Therefore, prices were destroyed by sudden drop of cash because of strict government regulation. 3. The crash extremely damaged the assurance of stakeholders, who tendered nineteen billion from local equity resources during that time when the increased outflow of cash during the crisis of 2008. The financial challenge contributed to the current financial crisis affecting the economy. 4. The phrase â€Å"like a balloon† means that the flash crash in the market is similar to a balloon when squeezed from one point the problem emerges from another point (SEC, 2010). Therefore, as the congress tries to fix the system by adding more regulation, in turn will contribute to several problems instead of solving them (Kramer and Corcoran, 2010). Apart from this, the crash contributed to a expansion with potential long-term impact on economic markets. It also contributed to proposed ways of controlling future flash crash in the market prices using computerized procedures to control the stock markets. Such crashes happen abruptly and fast spread through the market affecting monetary flows. 5. Rules established by the government contributed to the flash crash. Several rules and regulation will make business persons become voracious marketers replaced by machines. This will make the situation worse by not having any support during increase of flash crash. Therefore, specialists noted that the society needed up creating a cheap price to unknown, difficult situation (Kramer and Corcoran, 2010). In reality, the crash complex the disintegration of market cash undermining the essential price innovation process for evident stocks. The last regulation had been presented to aid the events of large supply market contestants, as well as a lot of

Privacy of an Employee in the Workplace Assignment

Privacy of an Employee in the Workplace - Assignment Example The recent recession has actually increased the power of the employers and the employees suffered a lot because of that. Legal and ethical rights of the employees have been violated heavily by the corporate management in order to exploit the employees. This paper briefly analyses law, ethics and corporate governance at a workplace. An employee can expect reasonable privacy only when he was engaged in a work which needs accuracy, thoroughness and logic. For example, consider an artist or designer who is trying to make a new design for a product. The interference of others might distract his focus and he may take more time to complete the design. Even though America has a well defined legal system, the laws related to privacy of the employees at workplace seems to be weak. Each state has different privacy laws and the standardization of privacy laws across the country seems to be a distant dream. Some employers try to exert control over the worker’s life outside of the working hours (Halbert and Ingulli, 2008, p.79). For example, some workers smoke during their lunch break. Most of the organizations provide at least one or two hours lunch break. Employees often make use of this break for smoking or some enjoyment purpose. But some employers even restrict such things at the workplace which is not a good ide a. Employees should have the luxury of privacy at least at the break times. According to New York laws, it is illegal to fire an employee for engaging in off-hours sports, games, hobbies, exercise, reading, movie or TV watching (Halbert and Ingulli, 2008, p.80). Some organizations rate certain employee activities as legal or illegal based on the place and occasion when the action has been performed. For example, some organizations allow their workers to smoke in private places during their off-hours whereas smoking inside an enclosed office might be restricted. The activities of an employee should not cause any damage to the co-workers.  Ã‚  

Handling devices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Handling devices - Essay Example I would like to reduce the diameter of the rollers so that more of them can be installed. This would allow even smaller materials to be transported through it. 2. Wheel barrow: A wheel barrow is also used to shift materials. The capacity to place material is smaller than that in the roller conveyor. It requires manual work, though the lifting person does not have to bear the load of material. He/she only has to push the wheel barrow. 3. Cranes: A crane is used to lift very heavy materials. It is specifically used for lifting the materials up. It is used to lift such heavy items as precast slabs on the top of walls. These works can not be done manually. If offers the advantage of lifting very heavy materials in very little time without causing any damage. References: Material Handling Equipment Taxonomy. (1999). Material Handling Equipment. Retrieved from http://www.ise.ncsu.edu/kay/mhetax/TransEq/Conv/index.htm#Wheel conveyor.

Multiple Sclerosis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Multiple Sclerosis - Assignment Example The organization’s environment offers a friendly atmosphere, the shared value among all employees, which assists in easy assimilation of all levels of multiple sclerosis stages. The Jackson Center for Multiple Sclerosis has the assumption that all patients have the right to good health as upheld in the constitution. The behavioral character absorbed by the entire fraternity of employees assists their patients and families by offering openness from both parties, from the acquired information from the families and patients; offering education or furthering research is eased. This support offers a significant role in the lives of those living with multiple sclerosis and their families (Pakenham, 2007). The founders were catalyzed to this organizational culture from dissatisfaction from concern and existing services, losses encountered by patients and families in their lives’ prime resulting from multiple sclerosis. The Jackson Center for Multiple Sclerosis leads in the treatment and study of multiple sclerosis. The families a given a high priority by being offered the opportunities to share their multiple sclerosis experience with others who can identify and understand them (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2002). Gathering at this center upholds the organizational culture by ensuring a fun, positive and educational atmosphere; this is what makes it unique. The center enhances strategies to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and bring acceptance within the society. The Jackson Center for Multiple Sclerosis organizations environment puts patients and their families first by offering individual appointments, support groups, care givers and family sessions. In conclusion, this makes the center an icon and pillar in establishing strategies underwritten in their organization culture, improving the lives of multiple sclerosis patients and their

Go Greek Essay Example for Free

Go Greek Essay They make assumptions that are most likely not true. They make assumptions from hear say only. You need to experience it, before you judge. Lauren Border’s negative outlook on the Greek system is mistaken, because she overlooks the positives like sisterhood and brotherhood, scholarship, and leadership, and what they have to offer. In â€Å"Pledging to never rush: a criticism of Greek life at Tufts†, published in The Tufts Daily, student at Tufts University Lauren Border writes how she is against the Greek life establishment at Tufts. She doesn’t understand why people would want to join an establishment that gives you so many bad names, and separates women from men, and men from women. In the article she did want to make clear that she does not dislike the people in the Greek life establishment. She has nothing against them; she is just against the establishment. She doesn’t like how the sexes are separated. She doesn’t understand that women are still trying to make a step up in the world and become equal to men, but then they have these establishments that separate them. She is also very against the hazing aspect on both sides of the Greek system. Girls’ egos are shut down, and men have to prove something, just to be part of something. She is stating that you can feel belonged to something and not have to partake in any of these things. In the article she states, â€Å"I am convinced that Greek life usually does much more harm than good. † She wants a change at Tufts and she is hoping that this article will make people wake up and see that there are other options out there. Border’s opinion on he Greek system lacks credibility when she points out the flaws of the Greek system. For every point she makes, she does not have any proof to back it up with. Also Border makes all of her judgments based off of the Tuft University Greek Life, when in reality not all Greek Life is the same on every campus nationwide. She is judging without knowing. Unlike Border I am currently part of a Greek establishment and it is the best decision I have ever made. I have only been in the house for three months, and I have experienced things I don’t think I would have ever experienced if I didn’t join. I don’t know if it’s because I go to the University of Idaho, but some of the stuff she mentions are not true. For example, Border states in the article that girls have it way worse in the Greek system than guys, but here at the University of Idaho, it’s the complete opposite. Absolutely no hazing is allowed, and if the house gets caught it will be shut down. No exceptions what so ever. There are many benefits for joining a Greek establishment. Border only looks at all the negatives, and doesn’t even bother to consider the positives. One of the multiple benefits for joining a Greek establishment is friendship and sisterhood/brotherhood you gain. When joining a house you have the advantage of meeting people of various backgrounds with both different yet similar interests. The ideal of sisterhood/brotherhood is the principal foundation upon which each fraternity/ sorority is built and from which you will receive the greatest benefit. You will always have people pushing you to be the very best you can be, and will be there when the going gets tough. Another benefit for joining an establishment is the academic side of it. One of the main purposes of the fraternity or sorority community is to develop and encourage high scholastic achievement among the members. Within the house you have the opportunity to take advantage of peer tutoring, upperclassman counseling, and chapter study hours. Those chapter study hours give the newest members a good sense of the change of study habits they are going to have to become accustom to in order to be successful in college. Also, there is the fact that your brothers/sisters can offer all kinds of academic advice after their experiences. There are so many benefits in joining a house, but I am only going to mention one more. When you join a fraternity or sorority you will be offered the opportunity to take on a leadership position. Leadership positions range from president to vice president of finance all the way to purchase chairman. Everyone in a fraternity or sorority is a leader, whether you’re an officer, on a committee, or just a participant. You will learn by doing. You will learn how to manage a budget, run effective meetings, speak in public, and motivate others. These are skills that will help you not only within the university but throughout your life. These days it takes more than just a degree to get a job, it takes leadership experience. Being a part of something that has a lot of meaning behind everything is an amazing feeling. Being a part of a sorority/ fraternity and forming that sisterhood/ brotherhood is such an amazing thing. You know people have your back all the time, and you know you are not alone. Everyone is going through the same thing. Learning life skills while being part of a Greek establishment will help you so much later down the road. Whether you hear good or bad things about joining a house, give it a chance. You will never understand the meaning behind everything if you don’t give it a try. Lauren Borders negative outlook on the Greek system is mistaken, because she overlooks the positives of what it has to offer. Everything was based on hearsay and personal opinion. She had nothing to back up any of her points.

The purpose of cash budgets

The purpose of cash budgets Cash budget is an inflow and outflow of cash estimate prepared by management in a business for a specific period of time. It helps management in credit control and determines whether there is available fund for extending operations. The purpose of undertaking this report is to forecast a cash flow for the six months ending 30th June 2011, setting up healthy credit control system, and identifying the factors to be considered when planning to invest any forecasted surplus cash for Enron limited which currently faced financial difficulties in certain months of the year ending 31st December 2010. THE CASH BUDGET Cash budget is an estimation of a companys cash inflow and outflow, it is an accounting device used in monitoring and managing a business operating activities of immediate short term cash flow, a forecast of a businesss estimated cash receipts and payment over a period of time usually months and years. All budgets are related to the cash budget which is a forecast of the cash receipts and payments for the period, the importance of preparing a cash forecast cannot be over stressed for the availability of adequate cash resources is vital to successful business operation. Workers must be paid in cash, taxation liabilities must be settled in cash, suppliers may withhold materials unless paid promptly and so on. In most cases a monthly cash budget will be found adequate as settlements between debtors and creditors are conventionally made at the end of each calendar month (Joseph Baggott, 1973). PURPOSE OF CASH BUDGET In recent financial world, it is required by most business organisation to prepare cash budget prior to making expenditure related to any planned development or acquaintance of new assets. The cash budget determines firms ability settling its liabilities and expenses. secondly it helps in evading possible cash shortages and idle cash, thirdly it assist management in making decision in regards to its cash reserve for furthering its activities, fourthly it assist the management in achieving the objectives of the business in a specific period of time and lastly it enables the actual financial operation to be measured against the forecast of the business. LITERATURE REVIEW According to Garrison, Noreen and brewer 2006, most companies encounter problems when preparing their budget due to an increase in inflation rate, exchange rates of foreign currency, governmental policies and the economy situation while McCain 1999 states that most budgets are only provided for finances not the people and that finance alone is not enough in achieving improvements of company performance. Budget provides immediate control over the environment assists to master the financial phase of job and department and helps decipher problems prior to their occurrence (Ali Osman Gurbus, 2010). In light of the differences highlighted above, the company should try to provide room for any future inconveniences, human resource management and estimate future receipts and expenditure so as to be able to tackle problems before their occurrence. BUDGET COMMITTEE The budget committee consists of high level executives in charge of various functions (i.e. sales, production and purchasing). In financial procedure the functional head obtain an approval by presenting their budget to the committee, if the level of budget doesnt contain a reasonable performance, the functional head will required further changes in order to obtain an approval. The budget committee appoints a budget officer known as the accountant, whose take actions and coordinates the individual budgets of a company. (Colin Drury, 2000) The figure 1 chart below indicate the organization chart of a budget committee Figure 1 MASTER BUDGET This budget can be analyzed into operational budget and financial budget, it culminates and are summarized in a companys budgeted cash flow statement, budgeted profit and loss account and budgeted balance sheet statement of a business, it show the financial performance of a company and helps the manager to plan and achieve further for the future. The budgets are approved by the authority manager of a responsibility centre to carry out plans and then passed down through the company to the appropriate centres. (Willie Seal, Ray H. Garrison, Eric W. Noreen, 2006). Figure 2 below indicates the major parts of a master budget including the operating and the financial budget. Figure 2 PURPOSE OF MASTER BUDGET The master budget is used to integrate and coordinate the functional areas within a companys operating activities, provide a method of evaluating and controlling subsequently aspects of budget, and it serve as a communicative device in which the staff contribute effort to the overall goals within an organization process being inform of policies and plans, also helps motivates its employees to perform in line with the objectives. Master budget helps promote continuous performance of the companys business in planning process to supports the management to consider choices that reduce costs and improve value of customer. STAGES IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS The budget created and approved by the management move through set of procedure. In preparation of a budgeting process, the procedures in creating the budget differs from one organization to another and should be presented to the budget committee before it is finally agreed. Some important stages in the budgeting process are as follows: I. Communicating details of budget policy and guidelines : A long term planning process is the starting point in the preparation of a companys annual budget, the manager are responsible for preparing and communication of budget policy affected by the long term plans and provide important guidelines to the top manager to meet their objective. II. Determining the factors that restrict output: Company performance is restricted through limiting factors such as raw materials, labour and machine hour. The principal machine capacity of production restricts performance when the sales demand excess the available capacity and can be determined by the top management. III. Preparation of the sales budget: In many organizations the sale volumes and mix determine the level of operations that restricts a companys output, a sale forecast of a business has to be created before the sale budget can be prepared. IV. Initial preparation of budgets: The budgets are originated by the lower level of management and are coordinated by the higher level of management. The managers are responsible and participates in the preparation of meeting the performance of a companys budget and providing the top management for determining the content of budgets V. Negotiation of budgets: Once a budget has been prepared by the manager, it should be submitted to the superior to obtain an approval and acceptance. The budget should be agreed and negotiated by parties, the manager and the superior. This process is essential in the budgeting process as it determines whether or not a companys budget has effective tools of management. VI. Coordination of budgets: The budget is likely to be reviewed belonging to another which indicate and modify if the budget are out of balance, the chief accountant identify such disagreement and inform them to the managers attention and modifying such changes that should be made. During this revision process the manager ensure the budgeted profit and loss account, budgeted balance sheet statement and the cash budget are prepared to prove acceptance. VII. Final acceptance of the budget: After all the budgeted profit and loss account, budgeted balance sheet statement and the cash budget have been accepted , they are then summarized into the master budget to approve and then passed down through the company to the suitable responsibility centres. VIII. Budget review : The budgeting process does not stop until it have been agreed and on a regular basis there should be a comparison between the actual results and the budgeted results, which should be sent to the management for investigation of possible differences in reason. If the reasons of differences are within the areas of control of management, corrective measure should be taken and to ensure such inefficiencies not to occur in the future. FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN INVESTING FORECASTED CASH SURPLUS BUDGET In Appendix 1 Enron Ltd cash budget indicates that sales are lower in January till March and increased in April upward to June. The cash surplus occurs in January, February and March which it is the excess of cash receipts over payment, but the cash deficits occurs from April to June which indicate available funds cash payments exceed the cash receipts. Therefore an investment in cash surplus can be on a short term basis in risk free securities and bank deposits which can easily be transformed into cash to settle off debts. Such investment chosen are relied on involved risk, size of existing amount, offered yield and consequences for early withdrawal. Since the company has been having financial difficulties in the previous year ending 31st December 2010 for a period of short time, it might be obscurity in obtaining long term sources of investment CREDIT CONTROL SYSTEM Management of cash flow is an essential part of accounting procedure in business in which management should take notice of when planning budget. Good credit control system must be set by an organization in order to ensure prompt payment from customers so as to be able to meet short term obligations and avoid the risk of being bankrupt. The following are the steps in which firms should undertake in order to achieve an effective credit control system. I. Set up a detailed credit control system: It allows company to identify the invoices that has been raised, paid and sent to customers. Each individual customer have a separate file with details indicating their contact name, business name and address, contact number and postal address. II. Credit check customers: Enron limited should approach customers bank or counterpart suppliers for reference to check on potential debtor credit worthiness before trading. III. Decide on payment terms: Enron limited should clearly display their payment terms on their invoice and ensure that customers are aware company credit policy. IV. Post invoices promptly: The Firm should send out invoices to respective customer on same date goods dispatched and make sure it is delivered to the right person and address. V. Deciding on reminder procedure: The Company should flag all their invoices that are due and send customers statement of account to each customer through e-mail or post to serve as reminders. Telephone calls should also be used to chase payments. VI. Make a Stop list for late-paying debtors: This is a list which the firm should prepare and send to appropriate employee in order to stop goods being supplied to owing customers. Debtors should also be aware of the list. VII. Organizing a sufficient overdraft: The Company should have available funds to cover their cash flows and consider paying up percentage of invoices in return for commission ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING OVERDRAFT FINANCE As it is clearly stated above, Enron Limited experienced cash shortfall in certain months of the year from its past operations indicating that it needs to outsource income in order to continue its operation. Bank overdraft is one of the method in which a company use to overcome its deficits in terms of any cash shortage arousal. An overdrawn is said to be when the company withdraws more than what it has in its bank account. It has some advantages and disadvantages .The main advantages of using bank overdraft is its flexibility in financing daily business activities and interest are only be paid on the overdrawn amount while its disadvantages are, interest rates are higher than loans and bank can request for repayment from company at any point in time leaving the company with no contingency funds if regularly overdrawn. LIMITATION OF CASH BUDGET Cash budget if appropriately prepared and implemented is very helpful to the business, but there are number of limitation associated to it that must be taken into account. First and foremost is uncertainty, budgeting involves extensive amount of forecasting the future which is not easy to have near correct estimate of companys cash receipts and expenditure, it might lead to undesirable condition e.g. losing customers in terms strict payment policy if there is no flexibility in applying the cash budget by the finance manager. Also employees who do not agree in some part of the budget will feel not liable for any inconveniences which may arise in the future, and last but not the least is expensive as it require substantial amount of money, time and effort. INTERPRETATION AND RECOMMENDATION In light of the study performed above Enron Limited had cash surpluses from January to March while experienced cash shortages from April to June (Appendix 1). All sales made by the company are on credit and payments are received in the second month following the month of sale. The financial consultants recommend Enron limited to introduce cash discount sales in order to encourage cash sale and set a good credit control system in order to have prompt payment from debtors and avoid the risk of bad debt. Cash budget should be prepared by the company in order to anticipate future receipts and payments but flexibility should be attached to it where necessary in order to avoid losing customers. Enron limited cash surpluses should be invested in short term basis in order to regain cash easily when needed while its cash deficit should be conquered by bank overdraft in so as to be able to continue its operation as interest rate is only charged on the overdrawn amount.

hiroshima :: essays research papers

Hiroshima traces the experiences of six people who survived the atomic blast of August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am. The six people vary in age, education, financial status and employment. Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a personnel clerk; Dr. Masakazu Fuji, a physician; Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, a tailor's widow with three small children; Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a German missionary priest; Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, and the Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto are the six Hersey chose from dozens of people he interviewed. The book opens with what each person was doing moments before the blast and follows their next few hours, continuing through the next several days and then ending with their situation a year later. In the opening chapter, "A Noiseless Flash" he gives short scenarios of what each was doing moments before the blast and immediately after. At one point during the blast Dr. Sasaki says â€Å"Sasaki gambare!† which means be brave in English. The second chapter, "The Fire," picks up with each victim as they begin to realize their surroundings. All face a different sort of horror as they realize their lives have been spared yet the world as they knew it is gone. A quote by Miss Sasaki kind of sums up with this chapter is all about â€Å"I am lying here and I can’t move. My left leg is cut off.† "Details Are Being Investigated" is the title of the third chapter and as the title suggests, the people of Hiroshima are being bombarded with rumors about the bomb and eagerly await any official word. Information is scarce and the phrase "details are being investigated" is repeated throughout the city over word of mouth and other ways of communication. This chapter is the longest and talks about what is happening to the six as the day passes into night. At first I was confused by the title of the fourth chapter: "Panic Grass and Feverfew." But I later realized it was talking about the effect the bomb had on the growth of the wild flowers and plants around Hiroshima. Two of these plants that grew a lot around the ruins of the city were panic grass and Feverfew.

Women and Politics Essay -- Sarah Palin

Introduction (Literature Review) When females started entering the political scene in the United States in significant numbers in the latter parts of the 20th century, they were faced with a number of predicaments. One of these predicaments centered around the language they were to use in the political arena. As members of the â€Å"other† group, women were forced, in many ways, to adopt the speech patterns of their male counterparts. As Blankenship & Robson pointed out in their research, â€Å"Once women were allowed a modest entrà © [sic] onto the political playing field, they either had to speak the dominant language of power and prove themselves â€Å"tough enough† or remain forever the linguistic sissy† (354). Within the past couple of decades, however, the roles of women collectively in society and politics have changed drastically, prompting some to question whether feminine political discourse still exists – and if so, to what extent. Around the mid to late-1980s, literature on the topic of feminine discourse in politics first began to surface in abundance – possibly as a result of the Democratic Party’s nomination of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket in 1984. Originally, feminine discourse was merely a speech pattern characterized by â€Å"its personal tone, references to personal experience, inductive reasoning, the use of anecdotes and examples as evidence, audience participation, and identification between the speaker and audience† (Campbell, 1989, p. 13). Since that time, however, it has evolved tremendously. In fact, Dow and Tonn (1993) asserted through their study of Texas governor Ann Richard’s speeches that this new feminine speech was an â€Å"alternative political philosophy’’ ... ... is incredibly new and full of ambiguity. As mentioned before, there is a great deal of knowledge that has yet to be uncovered on the topic of gender and political discourse – particularly with regards to female candidates at the national level. As the scope of politics in America continues to change, and as more female politicians become figures on the national stage, the importance of research of this nature. However, through this particular study at hand, I intend to highlight the commonalities in female politicians’ performance of their feminine identities through discourse in hopes of coming to a conclusion of what â€Å"feminine† political discourse looks like in this decade. In doing so, I hope to establish the groundwork for future discussion on the evolution of discourse used by female candidates seeking political offices, a topic that is rarely discussed. â€Æ'

Essay --

Various religions and cultures throughout history venerated lightning as a symbol of power, yet the physics of this phenomenon remained an enigma until recent centuries. The hunt to understand began with Benjamin Franklin’s determination of lightning as a form of electricity in 1752, when he proved his hypothesis by flying a kite during a thunderstorm. Yes, Benjamin was right in proving that lightening was electricity, but the question is how is that electricity turned into lightning or how is it generated? There are three parts that play a big role in the creation of lightning; the first big one being the water cycle, the second one is the buildup of static electricity that occurs in a cloud and last is how the lightening is discharged. The formation of clouds play an extremely important part in the creation of lightning, but first one needs to understand how clouds are formed before understanding how lightning works. The water cycle has two main stages that are essential to the creation of clouds; the first one is condensation and the second one is evaporation. Firstly, evaporation occurs when water heats up and turns to vapor. The source of the heat is usually the sun. Water turns to vapor because when water heats up its molecules start moving rapidly. Due to the heat, water vapor will rise from the ground and as the vapor gets higher in the atmosphere it starts to cool down and condenses; the higher up in the atmosphere the cooler the temperature. The vapor condenses because it undergoes a process called condensation which is when water goes from a gas or vapor back into a liquid. The vapor turns into droplets of water high in the atmosphere and form clouds. The more condensed water the heavier and bigger the c loud will ... ... one would have to understand the components of atoms, the water cycle and how opposite electrical charges attract. Evaporation and condensation are what form the cloud and the constantly evaporation and condensation within the cloud that causes electrons to fall on the bottom of the cloud creating separation of charges. Once they cloud builds enough charges it starts to effect earth’s surface by pushing the entire negative charge back and leaving the surface with a positive charge. The strong electrical field forms a bridge from the cloud to the surface of earth by ionizing the air called step leaders. Once the upward streamers that are on earth’s surface connect with a step leader, a current is released and a flash of lightning is discharged. Following the flash of lightning a loud roar of sound that’s caused by air spreading rapidly due to heat is called thunder.

Ned Kelly-Hero or Villian

Ned Kelly is an iconic Australian legend who is known as one of the most famous outlaws in Australia. Some know of him as a villain, others know him as a hero. But what was he really? The 2003 film â€Å"Ned Kelly† featuring Heath Ledger as Ned, portrays the famous outlaw as a tragic hero rather than a murderer and a thief. By researching Ned’s events, accomplishments and endeavours, it tells us that Ned was in fact a villain rather than a hero. The following essay will highlight why it is that Ned Kelly is seen as both a villain and a hero.In 1854 Edward Kelly was born in Victoria to Irish parents, John (Red) Kelly and Ellen Quinn. He was the eldest of eight children and was brought up on rural property. A the age of 12 John Kelly died and Ned had to take responsibility for the man of the house. Having a large family with no financial income was tough for the Kelly family. Faced with poverty, many poor families just like the Kelly’s were forced to steal horse an d cattle from wealthy residents. Being Irish and having a father who was an ex-convict, the Kelly’s were seen as lower class folk and so work was hard to obtain.At just age 16, Ned was convicted of stealing cattle and horses and was sent to jail for three years. He was released in 1974. During this time his mother had re-married to a man named George King who Ned began to work with. However this â€Å"work† consisted of stealing horses. Ned’s way of living as a criminal was not because he necessailry wanted to, it was simply the only way he could provide for his family. This is the reason Kelly supporters see Ned as a hero as he stood up for his family and did all he could to keep them alive and safe. As Ned grew up he began to take on the role as an Australian criminal.At the age of 24 his actions towards the police, his family and the community allowed everyone to see that he was becoming a dangerous person. It was this point in time that Ned was accused of sh ooting a police officer in the wrist and his mother was sent to jail for 3 years. The accusations against Ned were false and it turned out he was never actually at the scene of the crime. However this did not stop Ned from feeling hatred towards the police, and naturally he wanted to rebel and stand up to them. He and his brother Dan escaped to the bush as they knew they were no longer welcome in their town.They were later joined by good friends, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart. The four were camping when they came across a police camp out at Stringy Bark Creek. It was here that Ned committed his first murder. From then on, Ned and his three friends were known as outlaws and had an eight thousand pound reward right on their heads. Being an outlaw meant that anyone was allowed to kill them or bring them in and in reward gain thousands of pounds. Ned and his gang however did have supporters. These supporters were mainly lower class folk who had also been treated badly by the police and could relate to Ned when it came to poverty.It was through these supporters that the Kelly gang remained out of reach from the police for almost two years. It was during these years that the gang robbed two banks and burnt a lot of the mortgages that the poor owed. It was actions like these that made some people see Ned as a hero. As Ned became known to the majority of Australia his actions became larger and more treacherous. In 1880 Ned launched a plan that would cause terror among the community at Glenrowan. At a local hotel the gang took in 60 hostages and had prepared for a special train to run off the tracks.The police became aware of the plan and the gang was surrounded. The hostages escaped and the building began to burn. Steve Hart, Joe Byrne and Dan Kelly all died in the burning building. Ned escaped but was shot 28 times until he surrendered. He was hung on the 11th of November 1880. Despite attempts to label Ned Kelly as a tragic hero, he was in reality a murder and a thief wh o caused harm and fear to many Australians. He is still called a legend, but not because he was a hero, it is because he did what no other Australian outlaw did.

Misconceptions Among Muslim Essay

This is the biggest misconception about Islam, no doubt resulting from the constant stereotyping and bashing the media gives Islam. When a gunman attacks a mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith. Never are these acts attributed to the religion of the perpetrators. Yet how many times have we heard the words ‘Islamic, Muslim fundamentalist, etc.’ linked with violence. Many people use the name of religions for their own purposes. One should consult the source of Islam and separate what the true religion of Islam says from what is portrayed in the media. Islam literally means ‘submission to Allah’ and is derived from a root word meaning ‘peace’. Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion doesn’t dominate everyday life in the West, whereas Islam is considered a ‘way of life’ for Muslims and they make no division between secular and sacred in their lives. Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in self-defence, in defence of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict rules of combat, which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock. Nowhere does Islam enjoin the killing of innocents. The Quran says: {Fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. Allah does not love transgressors} (Quran 2:190), {If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in Allah for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things} (Quran 8:61) War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The term ‘jihad’ literally means ‘struggle’. Muslims believe that there are two kinds of jihad. The other ‘jihad’ is the inner struggle of the soul, which everyone wages against egotistic desires for the sake of attaining inner peace.

Diet Food Industry

Serious illnesses or diseases and poor physical conditions that cause personal problems and difficulties are commonly attributed to the health and lifestyle of individuals, particularly the kind of food that they eat. For instance, obesity that is consequently known to lead to other major and fatal diseases such as heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, etc. , is not only caused by a sedentary lifestyle but also the unceasing consumption of unhealthy foods, particularly sweet and fatty ones.Most people are aware of this fact even without the aid of informational tools and activities. Due to the widespread occurrence of these illnesses or diseases, medical health professionals and health buffs have advocated for a â€Å"health and lifestyle revolution† that consists of a healthy diet and a fit lifestyle. With these changes, the diet food industry has also been established.The diet food industry operates internationally, with various organizations and establishments capitalizing on the strength of the industry’s market; thus, the influx of new groups or individuals who are willing to venture into the diet food industry especially within the international setting. However, groups and individuals who are highly interested in investing in the diet food industry need to go over various processes and succeeding stages in order to ensure their place and position within the corporate arena.The remainder of this paper will discuss these processes and stages, including the study of the global prospect, particularly for a planned restaurant that specializes in diet food meals, the current trends and practices in the diet food industry, available opportunities as well as probable risks and threats, the competition, and the nature and dimensions of the market situation. First, setting up a restaurant in some part of the world requires the study of worldwide acceptance and national or cultural responses to diet foods.(The International Food Information Council, 2 008) This particular process is a good way to start of establishing a business plan because it directly determines whether the targeted market in a particular place exist and is enough to fuel the success of the business in terms of sales and revenue. In addition, there are other considerations such as multicultural diversity, the availability of channels of distributions, the moral or ethical practices prevailing over a particular place, and the availability of resources.(Shay, 2007)Since the structures and dimensions of these factors and requirements differ for each place, there is a pressing need to conduct surveys and market researches in order to determine the best place to set up a restaurant that specializes in diet food. Perhaps, it should be developed in nations or localities that have high incidences of illnesses and diseases that are attributed to unhealthy diets and lifestyles, while considering the number of competition that exist within the area.Overall, the quality of the global prospect of establishing a diet food restaurant will depend on the results and outcomes of the survey and market research. Second, there is a need to review the current trends that fuel the diet food industry. Usually, they are backed up scientific breakthroughs in food or biological technology and the condition of the economy. For instance, the current global economic crisis will lead to the control and limitation of pricing strategies if the restaurant owner will expect the market to frequent the products and services provided by the establishment.(Heigl, 2008)According to the research conducted by MSN Health and Fitness (2008), individuals find it hard to maintain a healthy diet considering the price that they have to pay for each meal. In addition, there has been much discussion and recommendations on the consumption of organic foods – versus the widespread production of genetically modified organisms or GMOs and food products – as chief sources vitamin s and minerals needed by the body. Organic food has also been found out to be a good prevention measure to avoid illnesses and diseases brought about by GMOs.(Greene, 2008)With the reason aforementioned above – that is the alarming increase in the number of individuals who die or get stricken by major illnesses and diseases that are attributed to unhealthy diet and lifestyle as well as the growing importance directed by individuals to the physical and aesthetic condition of individuals – there are various opportunities open for existing business organization to expand or venture into the diet food industry.The continuous evolution of dietary constructs as brought about by the advancement of science and technology allow the diet food industry to reap the benefits of discoveries, developments, and improvements that fit the landscape of diet food restaurants. In addition, the existence of numerous dietary food plans or selections also build up opportunities for organizati ons or establishments to compete. For instance, there are restaurants that specialize on vegetarian meals, low-carbohydrate diets, low cholesterol diets, sugar-free food products, high fiber meals, etc.(â€Å"Special Dietary Needs,† 2008)Moreover, as time progresses, there will be other introductions to the diet food industry. On the other hand, the risks involved have something to do with the problems those organizations or establishments would have to encounter during the planning and implementation process. For instance, competition is always considered a risk, as well as the market acceptability and response of the market to diet food products and services.Moreover, the risks are great for restaurants in terms of how they will be able to handle the market saturation of organizations and establishments that specialize on the diet or special foods. For this reason, the restaurant should be able to offer something new and innovative to the market, set it on affordable prices as compared to other establishments, and ensure the quality and efficiency of the food products and services being offered for the benefit of the consumers.With the development of the diet food industry, organizations and establishments are slowly trying to get into the bandwagon by modifying or transforming their products and services in order to attract the bulk of the market that patronizes special and diet foods. For instance, various supermarkets have involved themselves in promoting healthy diet foods for their consumers by taking part in the implementation of various strategies in terms of consumer purchases of healthy foods. (Mhurchu, et. al., 2005)In addition, well-known restaurants such as Chili’s Grill & Bar, TGI Friday’s, Fresh Fit, etc. In addition, this valuable cause of promoting the health and well being of individuals is also backed up by city governments and private organizations that are concerned about health awareness and consciousness. (Barlyn, 2 008) For ideas on how to introduce healthy diet foods, restaurants should follow by example from the popular restaurants aforementioned. Fresh Fit offers meals that include a sandwich, yogurt, and a bottle of water which is known to be only 340 calories.Chili’s Grill & Bar offers the Guiltless Grill meals that are packed with a variety of vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and peppers. In addition, it also comes with a low-fat dressing. The Applebee’s Grill & Bar also offer meals that include various vegetables including low-calories steaks and beneficial seafood selections such as shrimps. All the healthy diet foods offered by Applebee’s, Chili’s, Romano’s Macaroni, Subway, and TGI Friday’s only amount from 300 to 400 calories per meal.

Political Crisis

The recent political crisis in Mali has something to do with the Tuareg people that live in this region and the general religion of the region. The Tuareg people are nomadic farmers. North Africa is primarily Muslim and is heavily influenced by what happens in the Muslim world. Muslim rebel groups like the Ansar Dine seek a nation that abides by Islamic Law. Others like the Islamic Movement for Azawad seek an independent state in Northern Mali and acknowledgement of that state by the world. Mali, like most of North Africa seeks an Islamic government.The NMLA (the National Movement for Liberation of Azawad) is a Tuareg lead group that is fighting for the rights of the nomadic Tuareg people. Mali’s government has never really had much power. In 1979 when the constitution was established Mali still remained under the heavy military control. Then when Mali was a democratic government citizens question the government’s legitimacy when president Toure won in a landslide elect ion in 2002. In 2012 Captain Amadou Sanogo lead a military that ousted president Toure. Also the government has had trouble dealing with rebel groups in the north.Rebel groups like the Ansar Dine and Mujao have taken control of many cities in North Mali. These rebel groups are growing stronger in the passing months, and the government has not been able to stop it. The citizens have had little say in Mali, there was a brief period from 1991 tot the present where the citizens have had a say in the government, the Malian government for the most part has been an authoritarian government. Civilian protest has had little effect on the government in place. The only groups that have been able to make any change are the extremist rebel groups that have taken control of the north.The Mali army is ill equipped to fight this rebel threat. Under president Amadou Toure, the government put their money and resources into fight the MNLA and had ignored the Islamic groups. This allowed the Islamic re bel groups to grow more powerful. Many of the rebels are veterans from Libyan revolution this past year, bringing expertise and powerful weapons into the fray the Captain Sanogo in 2012 promised to fight the Islamic rebels, but the ill-equipped under funded Mali army was no match for the rebel extremists and lost even more control of the North.There are people that have been victims of rebel attacks, some need medical attention, but the government is doing nothing to aid them. The penetration of government policy and laws to the local levels of government has been quite ineffective. Northern Mali is under heavy Islamic control and some parts have been known to follow Sharia law and other Islamic laws. There is a strict dress code on how women should dress.The National government has virtually no power in northern Mali. Mali is a once democratic nation under military influence. The nation is fighting strong resistance from their Mulism and Tuareg communities. It’s government i s losing control of the situation and has virtually lost it’s northern half to extremists. Mali’s government has problems distributing goods to its citizens. The Mali government will need international assistance to combat the resistance in the North.

The Next Industrial Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Next Industrial Revolution - Essay Example Realizing the current state of the environment, he has one consistent theme, ‘we need a new design’. He likens it to a building which was built in the past with no regard for its structural design, but in the present, buildings cannot be built without taking into consideration a lot of factors, one of which is the environment, because things have changed, and in most cases, for the worst. Sustainable design The challenge that William sought to meet was designing an economy that would be pedagogical in its design and maintenance. The Adam Joseph Lewis Centre For Environmental Studies is an example of such as it borrows its design concept from a tree which is self sustaining in its nature. The Adam Lewis Centre stands as the first of its kind because it sustains itself in every single activity; waste management to its own energy supply. The Herman Miller brand is another of its kind which relies on solar income to sustain the factory. It is called ‘The Green House Fa cility. It got the first ever ‘Good Design is Good Business’ Award from Business Week magazine. Even though it cost 15% more than a comparable building, energy cost decreased by 30% and performance rose dramatically. They produced twice as much with the same number of people. Over half of the employees maintained a 100% attendance record, which showed that it was a good working environment. Regulation-System Failure The majority of the companies despite heavily polluting the environment with their products and their waste, all hide behind the phrase, ‘it’s proprietary, it’s legal’. The current environmental laws do not stop pollution, they only slow it down. They do not realize that in their quest to achieve maximum profits in the shortest times; they are cutting short the lifespan of the environment, in effect shortening their lives. Companies that have embraced Sustainable Economy DESIGNTEX which is a leading designer and manufacturer of tex tiles for commercial interiors wanted to create a product both environmentally friendly and profitable. Its executive got in touch with William McDonough and Michael Braungart and decided to follow through with the company’s goal. The Swiss Chemical Giant CEBA-GEGY was convinced to work with them accepting that it was very risky. The McDonough Design Protocol tested 1600 dyes provided by CEDA-GEGY to determine whether they caused illnesses and found only 16 met the required standards. This was enough. They set out from day one with no compromise on aesthetics or performance. Profits increased, workers became contented and customers were satisfied. William went to Nike and asked them to incorporate sustainable design into their products. The question was whether Nike would take the financial risk after all the success they had had with their status quo. After intensive research, in May 2001, Nike introduced a new rubber sole free of harmful ingredients, which gelled with the c oncept of sustainable design. The new design also protects their workers’

The growth of suburbs and urban sprawl in the United States is a Essay

The growth of suburbs and urban sprawl in the United States is a problem, or just part of the natural growth of cities - Essay Example The move by the American government to push investments away from the central cities in the 19th century is a justification of a problematic scenario. An introduction of high housing tax rates proved homeownership as an alternative to wealthy Americans. â€Å"At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, housing prices in the United States rose rapidly during a period through which interest rates were low. Government tax policy made homeownership even more attractive† (Dahlman & William 393). The decision to retain a cultural practice is a factor of consideration in the suburb development and impact on the development of cities. The wealthy population developed a natural attraction to the rural environment influencing the growth of suburbs. This is a justification of a natural effect on the growth of metropolitans. The invention of the automobile industries acted as an immediate solution to the challenging city life. The wealthy opted to commute from th e suburbs to places of work as a way of evading city

Purpose of this assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Purpose of this assignment - Essay Example Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) brings about synergy and better use of communication funds and Balancing the 'push' and 'pull' strategies Improves the company's ability to reach the right consumer at the right place at the right time with the right message. There is also a lot more to developing and implementing a successful Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program. This assignment will focus on the rapidly evolving field of integrated marketing communications. The assignment will examine the evolving role of IMC, how it differs from traditional advertising and promotion, and provide insights into how to measure the effectiveness of IMC programs. IMC has an increasingly central role to play in today's market place, because if offers companies a way to strategically coordinate messages and establish a meaningful dialogue with customers. In short, IMC provides organisations with a strategic method for both establishing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders. And this is essential for marketing success in the twenty-first century The marketplace is changing. What was once a single audience has fragmented and companies have to establish and maintain brand relationships with a variety of groups of people-customers, as well as other stakeholders, such as employees, investors, suppliers and distributors, local communities, and the media. Organisations now have to communicate with these groups using a wide variety of media. Consequently there are more kinds of messages than ever before and inconsistency can become a company-wide problem. That is why IMC is also needed to coordinate communication consistency Because the mass media now have considerably less importance than they have had in the past, dialogue is becoming increasingly critical in this marketplace. That means that companies can no longer rely only on one-way communication targeted to large groups of customers. To be successful now, organizations must not only be able to target messages to individual customers, but also to listen and respond to all th eir stakeholders. That means they must know who these people are, and the key to that is database-driven communication. IMC is critical to brand relationship programs, because it provides the skills and new ways of thinking that are necessary if organizations are to create and successfully manage dialogue with customers and other key stakeholders. Integrated Marketing communication frame work Integrated Marketing Communications provides a framework for managing brand contacts. We all know the importance of branding out product or service, we also know the importance of maintaining a dialogue with our stakeholder relationship marketing, one-to-one, the voice of the customer, and most of us believe in communication consistency. However, these are only techniques that often fail to when practised without clear philosophy, or if not supported by integrated process. At a minimum, IMC provides and underlying model by: Identifying your StakeholdersIdentifying your Brand contacts Analysing Communications amongst Customers At Each Brand Contact Encouraging Dialogue At Each Brand Con

MHE507 - Bio-Terrorism Module 2 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MHE507 - Bio-Terrorism Module 2 SLP - Essay Example All the means of bioterrorism identified had been considered ‘harmful’ before the attacks issued. During and after the attacks had been identified, the public had blurred the distinction between the harmful and the safe. Nowadays, people fear that everything around them can be used against them. This philosophy has led to negative feedbacks that controlled experiments about weapons of mass destruction earned. The mass fears that (1) the researches would eventually lead to more dangerous weapons, (2) the research is done to further taunt them, and that (3) the scientists are working towards a malicious goal. Any attack, be is large or small, should be considered as a potential attack, bearing in mind that even the simplest attack can lead to more hazardous ones. As a preliminary precaution, the statistics and facts involving the nature of the attack should be studied, and correspondence should be kept at all costs. â€Å"A look at the facts surrounding the outbreak to determine if anything seems unusual or indicative of bioterrorism should suffice (Pavlin, 1999).† The probability of an attack leading to an outbreak should not be overlooked, and at the first sign of an attack all systems should already be ready for surveillance. There are endless cases of possible attacks, ranging from endemic disease outbreak, reemergence of an old disease, the creation of new diseases, laboratory misfortunes to international attack. The researchers involved in the identification of which of the above-mentioned is the case at a certain attack should be able to observe the symptoms of the attack as well as the events that led to it to determine possible cause of administration. According to Pavlin (1999): The cause of a disease or even the occurrence of something unusual may be very difficult to determine, especially if the initial cases are few. Surveillance needs to be more than routine. Not only

The evolutionary development of maize Research Paper

The evolutionary development of maize - Research Paper Example In support of this assertion, the findings of the 1980s showed that teosinte correlated with domesticated maize. Thus, the evident variation between maize and teosinte probably might have been as a result of hybridization which can be facilitated by human action. In connection with this, the paper will expound on how and why humans alter the evolution track of maize. The genetic diversity of maize is linked to the multiple domestication of maize. Domestication is one of the processes of evolution of maize where selectivity is employed in determining the final product of the crossing. In other words, species distributions of maize might have changed since the first time maize was domesticated. Due to demand of food, humans selected specific parents and crossed them in order to achieve high yield3. It was as a result of this evolution process of maize that the other evolution process of maize is very hard to determine. In tandem with this assertion, Zeder claims that the selective selection of a gene might have affected the promoter regions of genes in maize hampering with its evolution process4. Bonavia also argues that domestication of maize made man to play with the genetic plasticity of maize in order to achieve a desired grain size5. Additionally, Bonia argues that domestication strongly reduces the sequence of maize diversity in the genes as sociated with the traits that are of importance to man6. In connection with this, a strong selection drastically reduces the genetic diversity of maize. The evolution process of maize has changed significantly for the past few years. This is evidenced by the rapid evolution changes of maize when the human selection of the maize ear is strong. It is also evident that the evolution process of maize advances at a slow pace when the human selection of the ear is weak. Thus, the lack of explanation on the evolution process of maize is as a result of the

Catfish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Catfish - Essay Example If Yaniv wanted to see the story through ethically, he would have dealt with her with â€Å"full disclosure† right from the start that he already know and that Meg was Angela. He has to make a full disclosure of his intention because his intention was to see the story through and Angela’s role transformed from being a prospective girlfriend to a subject of research, albeit in a journalistic sense. Instead, they put Angela in a situation where she has to lie about Meg and in a way, mocking her for all her lies (Joost and Schulman). Ethical investigators or researchers do not do that. They treat their subject with respect and does not hide facts that could demean the person of their subjects even if the subject initially lied. The best ethical or philosophical standard that can be applied in the situation is the ethical standard that researchers have to follow in conducting research that involves human beings. This ethical standard or philosophy of ethical research involv ing human beings are enunciated in National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines for investigators involving human subjects that states they should follow the following philosophical principles; a. Respect for persons – meant that the subject of research which are persons should be treated as autonomous agents and persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to additional protections. In the case of Angela, they already know that she has psychological issues and they could have prevented from aggravating it by being truthful. b. Beneficence – persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also by making efforts to secure their well being. Such treatment falls under the principle of beneficience. To cover acts of kindness or charity that goes beyond strict oblication. c. Justice – requires that individuals and groups be treated fairly and equitably in terms of bearing the burdens and receiving t he benefits of research and this includes being truthful to the subject of research (NIH). With how Yaniv conducted his investigation to see the story through, the research became â€Å"stigmatizing† to the subject because letting Angela continue with her lie and later confronting it is in a way belittling or insulting her and such, considered unethical by investigators who follows the prescribed ethical standard in conducting research. 2. What is the significance of the film’s title, Catfish? Who is the â€Å"catfish† in the movie? Support your response with evidence from the film The film’s mirror’s our inner desire to be the person that we wanted to be. If we cannot be the ideal person that we wanted to be in our real lives, then at least we can have the satisfaction through another medium such as the internet. Angela admitted this when he was confronted by Yaniv that she made some mistakes in her life that made her feel not to be the person she wanted to be and Meg represented her ideal self. Angela was the catfish in the film because she fitted the description of of Vince when he talked to Yaniv about live cod that were shipped to Asia from North America. Catfish tend to have mushy flesh when they are inactive but when they placed together with other cods, they become active and do not emit the undesirable mushy flesh. Her life to a certain degree was inactive or dull and it only became exciting through the supposed

Operations Management and Loreal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Management and Loreal - Case Study Example The analysis of the report shows the absolute advantage of L'Oreal in terms of its sale and market share in the industry. To emphasise the competitiveness, the report presents a comparative study of L'Oreal with some of its rival companies. To a major extent the profit of a company depends how aptly the aforementioned tasks are carried out. If the effectiveness of the company in managing these operations is more then it will cost less and consequently it will reap a larger profit. And this entire mechanism once done helps a company to achieve a distinct competitive advantage with lower costs and better quality. This study is confined within the cosmetic industry since it is one of the burgeoning industries in today's world. The cosmetic industry today is a $29 billion business whose aggressive marketing and advertising efforts have forged a powerful trajectory of continued growth. According to the manufacturing census data on toilet items, "sales of cosmetics in 1900 stood at about $100,000." Thereafter, the cosmetic industry emerged and rapidly expanded, as "women's growing interest in beauty products coincided with their new sense of identity as consumers." Around mid-1920s, retail cosmetics sales were estimated at about $125,000,000 per year and about $150,000,000 in 1940. (Daum C.M.L., May 2006) The target company taken for analysis is the world's largest cosmetic company L'Oreal. With top cosmetic brands like Garnier, Maybelline, Lancme, Ralph Lauren, Cacharel and Matrix in its portfolio, L'Oreal stands as a notable brand. Its only hurdle was to penetrate in the Indian market where Lakme enjoyed a monopoly, but has managed to cross that hurdle with ease. Literature Review Operations management plays a key role in making an organisation's potential to grow evident in any industry. It is the area that is concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of the core operations of an organisation to support strategic goals of its business. Operations management also forms an important area in the academic field of business management. This field of study has been gaining tremendous attention and development for the last couple of decades. Supply chain management decisions constitute a crucial part of a company's. long run planning. Understanding of the domain and carrying out an analysis of a company, demands a brief literature review on supply chain management. Theories of Halldorsson, Ketchen and Lavassani on SCM provide a base for further research

History of education Essay Example for Free

History of education Essay Education has its downfalls. Students are only taught what society sees fit to teach them. This ideology has an astound effect when used as controlling propaganda. If a society doesnt want students to learn about a certain period of history, then it is not taught. Children might hear stories or tales from elders, but the majority is left in ignorance. In the United States, education is a tool to succeed in life. The quality of education that a student receives depends upon many issues. One of the biggest differences in education is between public and private schools. In a society that values money, such as ours, the rich are given a better  background in education than most people. For the general public, students are taught the same material, and excel at different rates than other students. The people that dont grasp the material usually fall behind and become the working class within our society. Those that excel become the backbone of our society, fueling our economy and developing ideas within our world. The difference in education is not only the skill that is provided, but also the attitude. The skills that are learned are definitely important, but the determination and attitude learned is priceless. The communists came up with the idea of equality for everyone. Every person gets the same schooling and education. This concept cannot possibly work. Every person is different, and some people lack the ability to work in a technical field. Everyone has a place in society, and some people will work hard physically all of their lives. Not everyone can be number 1. Inequalities definitely exist in education. The rich seem to get richer, and the poor seem to become poorer. A society consists of different classes of people, and each class is essential to the survival of all. The gap between the rich and the poor can never be eliminated, but by educating our people maybe it can become smaller.

Gloria Jeans Resarch Proposal Essay Example for Free

Gloria Jeans Resarch Proposal Essay Gloria Jeans started as a small coffee and gift shop in Chicago, USA in 1979. However, it wasn’t until 1995 that the company would become an Australian favourite, when the company was bought out by two Australian business men travelling in the USA. Today, Gloria Jeans operates over 1,000 coffee houses in 39 countries, but it is in Australia they are best known and loved, with over 460 coffee houses in Australia. Gloria Jeans has evolved from a simple coffee house into a specialty store, offering many different types of coffee, cakes and cold drinks. The market is highly competitive, and Gloria Jeans targets a younger demographic (peoples aged 18-25). Although successful, Gloria Jeans has been struck hard by giant competitors such as Starbucks and Au Bon Pain entering the Australian market, where Gloria Jeans has historically remained on top. Due to this, the company has decided to perform research to determine the preferences of their consumers, and to allow them to ensure their product mix is appropriate for their current customer base. Research Topic From the background information, the following research problem has been identified: To identify the types of customers that frequent Gloria Jeans coffee houses, to identify the types of products they purchase or are interested in purchasing, to determine the perceived quality of the products offered and to identify the patronage patterns of customers. The primary aim will be to determine the buying behaviour of Gloria Jeans customers, their perception of the products offered, if they prefer to drink coffee in house or take-away, and if the products offered are appropriate for the customers. As well as this, the company also wishes to determine the demographic features of its customers. Research Objectives The overall objective of the research is ‘to identify the consumption behaviour of Gloria Jeans’ customers’. This has been broken into the following three research objectives: 1) To determine the number of people who drink coffee, the frequency of their intake and whether do they prefer in-house or take-away coffee. 2) To identify whether the products available at Gloria Jeans are appropriate for the target market. 3) To examine customer attitude towards Gloria Jeans and its competitors in regards to product range, quality and comparability with competitors. These objectives aim to focus the research on the key areas identified and allow the development of a strategic research plan.

Measuring and Managing Absenteeism in the Workplace

Measuring and Managing Absenteeism in the Workplace Productivity loss due to absenteeism is a serious growing challenge. We live in an absenteeism culture. Talking a day off and calling in sick is supported and encouraged by the society. Many peoples attitude is The time is coming to us (Robert F.Allen and Michael Higgens- the Absenteeism Culture. Becoming attendance oriented.) Unscheduled absenteeism is on the rise and the rates of absenteeism are at their highest since 1999. The major concern is that almost two out of three employees who do not show up arent physically ill or have challenging issues. Absence measurement and management is an increasingly growing body of knowledge and experience that managers apply to control and reduce absenteeism and its accruing costs. To ensure that the issue of absenteeism is effectively addressed, managers and supervisors-armed with the required guidance and training, need to understand the circumstances and factors surrounding absenteeism in the workplace, and thus actively participate in the companys procedures and policies to effective curb absenteeism in the workplace. Employers attempt to cut down excessive employee absenteeism through tighter controls. They demand doctors report or use some other punitive mechanisms that targets symptoms of absenteeism rather than its causes. The problem will not go away unless the underlying root causes are removed. Building an attendance culture! How should absenteeism effectively be managed? Triggers or incentives? / Carrots or sticks? Introduction: Absenteeism from workplace has been on the increase and may be an indicative of poor morale, lack of motivation, sick building syndrome, poor organizational polities or mere indiscipline from the employees. However, many employers have introduced and implemented absence policies which make no distinction between absence for genuine reasons or illness and absence for inappropriate reasons. One of these policies is the calculation of the Bradford Factor, which only factors total number and frequency of individual absence into account, neglecting the kind of absence. 40 million days are lost each year in the UK, due to workplace absenteeism,93% of employees say cold and flu are the reason for being away from work, but research has shown that in reality, half of absenteeism in the workplace has nothing whatsoever to do with health. Workers decide to stay away from work for a host of other reasons relating to work and personal issues, which range from job de-motivation, low pay, lack of work life balance and occasional hangover. Absenteeism has been viewed traditionally as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer, as a management problem and has been framed in economic terms. This report will critically discuss the causes and effects of absenteeism in the workplace with the view to derive effective ways to measure and manage absenteeism. It will seek to understand absenteeism as an indicator of psychological, social adjustment to work. 1. What do we mean by Absenteeism? According to dictionary reference.com, Absenteeism can be defined as habitual failure to appear, especially for work and other regular duty. The rate occurrence of habitual absence from work or duty. Absenteeism can be viewed as re-occurring absence from work, duty and obligation, thought to reflect employee demoralization or dissatisfaction. This can also be viewed as a breach of the implicit contract that exists between the employer and the employed. Simply put, Failure to report to or stay at work when scheduled is tagged absenteeism. 1.1 Absenteeism can be grouped into two categories Involuntary/Innocent absenteeism: This is when absences are unavoidable and understandable. For instance Absences due to death in the family Pregnancy or Maternity issues Absences caused by illness or injury Car/ vehicle issues Other family related or personal issues Accidents and natural disasters Disability-related absenteeism- Human rights obligations Voluntary/Culpable Absenteeism: Voluntary absenteeism is an instance where an employee, out of his own freewill or laziness, chooses to stay off work. Absences in this case are avoidable. Missing work without advance notice, to go the cinema or watch football Making excuses for consistent late coming to work Deceitfully/fraudulently applying for sick leave or calling in sick Failure to report to work as scheduled or showing up late for no good reason 1.2 Causes of Absenteeism in the workplace There are various factors that could influence an employee to be absent at work. These factors are as follows Personal Factors: Personal Attitude: individuals posses different attitudes and bring these attitudes forth to the workplace. Employees with strong workplace ethics will respect their work and appreciate their contribution to the organisation and as such, will not take unscheduled off from the workplace. Conversely, employees with low or without work ethics are in- disciplined and have behavioural issues. Because they feel no obligation to the organisation, absenteeism comes easily to them. Age: The age of an employee often affects their attitude to work. The younger the employees are often restless, they want to have fun and be with friends rather than being tied down with responsibilities. This leads to lack of ownership and usually leads to unscheduled and unauthorised time off. Gender: Women are usually challenged with balancing their time between work and home. Their families are always the utmost priority, thus they would rather be absent from work to sort out family issues Workplace Factors: Organizational Culture: Every organisation is a culture with its own norms. An organisation with an embedded absenteeism culture, screen played by its management and supervisors lack of commitment would encourage further employee absenteeism Lack of Motivation and Rewards: The relationship between the organisation and its employees is influenced by what motives them to work and the rewards and fulfilment they derive from it. Inability of managers or employers to motivate employees and meet their extrinsic and intrinsic needs would lead to lack if motivation and commitment hence, absenteeism in the workplace Absence of learning culture: Learning means change, thus can affect organisations effectiveness. Employees love to work in an organisation where they would improve themselves and their career through organisational learning and knowledge management, which could be inculcated through coaching, mentoring, trainings and other explicit methods. In an organisation where a learning culture is absent, employees feel de-motivated, unsatisfied and feel their career growth is threatened. Hence they excuse themselves from work without authorisation in search for greater challenges and organisations where they would gain improve themselves. Stress at work: According to a report cited in Financial Times: Stress at work is the biggest problem in European companies Voluntary absenteeism takes place because employees are dissatisfied with their job; hence they feel stressed doing the work either because of the work load or unsuitable assigned roles. {Egs} wrongly assigning a customer service manager to manage treasury department, without adequate experience and training. Due to lack of adequate experience in the field and fixed timed deliverables and tasks, he feels stressed and harassed in the role and thus breaks down into stress or depression and seeks sick leave and abandons the job. Voluntary Absenteeism also takes place where the employees feel there is a strain on their psychological contract with the employer, this indirectly erupts lack of organizational commitment. This strain could develop to stress and impact on employee attendance to work. Leadership Style: An organizations, team or unit leadership style could impact on employee commitment, job satisfaction with improved or impaired participation and attendance to work. While Democratic and laissez fair leadership style encourages shared decision making, shared responsibility, creativity and participation and can be highly motivational, which enhances teamwork and interpersonal relations. Autocratic and paternalistic leadership styles could de-motivate and alienate employees. Employees might feel less important in the organisation, hence the need to avoid work. Work Routine and lack of Change: doing the same job or task over a long period of time can get monotonous. The employees get bored and thus might choose to take unauthorised time off to do something he considers interesting than going to work. Job Satisfaction: if employees do not find their work interesting, satisfying and challenging, they feel dissatisfied, which leads to increased absenteeism in the workplace Work life balance: Organisation who not factor employees roles and work life such that a balance is stroked with work and the individuals personal life commitments and family would experience increased employee absenteeism. Conflict in the workplace: ultimately increases chances of employee absenteeism. Lack of team spirit: A team that lacks unity, synergy and good interpersonal relationship amongst its members, will be a weak and unproductive. Such team members will lack team spirit-the spirit that bonds individuals in a team. This lack of team spirit can de-motivate team members, make them work in isolation, they would lack the sense of belonging, love and satisfaction. There would exist, fears of the unknown, lack of trust for team members. These feelings will encourage an employee to stay off work. Social Factors: factors such as difficult community circumstances like High crime and intimidation rates which constitutes fear in employees catalyses absenteeism in the workplace. Other social factors are Lack of transportation/transport facilities Poverty levels Malnutrition HIV/AIDS Labour Strikes 1.3 Effects of Absenteeism in the workplace When a company has an absentee problem, it has a profit problem. Absenteeism can take a deep financial toll on any business, whether a small or multinational company. There are also other significant effects associated with excessive absenteeism: Decreased Productivity: in a team of people doing interrelated tasks, if one persistent remains absent or fails to deliver, it creates a domino effect on productivity. It affects employee/team morale: this is due to the fact that additional stress are places on employees who act as replacements or assume additional tasks for absentees Absenteeism causes disruptions in the workplace and impacts on the SLAs It affects customer service levels, turnaround times, customer loyalty and satisfaction. It affect or disrupts effective team formation and operations It may create a perception of unfairness amongst employees It affects the bottom-line 2.0 Measuring Absenteeism 2.1 Why measure absenteeism? It is pertinent to measure the rate of absenteeism in the workplace. Measuring employees absenteeism is a good way to measure Overall Labour Effectiveness (OLE) in the workplace, which is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the utilization, performance and quality of the workforce and its impact on productivity. Monitoring staff absence rates helps to trace the pattern of employee attendance. To monitor and check dead times, in the workplace, to derive and measure resources and costs incurred due to employee absenteeism with the aim of devising effective methods to manage absenteeism in the workplace. In measuring absenteeism in the workplace, we derive the ratio of its administrative, financial and productivity cost to the organisation which will enable development of strategies to curb absenteeism while rechanneling resources more effectively to effect the bottom-line positively. Administrative costs of Absenteeism: Time consumed in controlling absenteeism Time consumed in sourcing replacements and re-assigning duties. Supervisors time Financial Costs: this are the costs accruing form Overtime costs Replacement employee costs Training costs Over staffing costs Productivity Costs: Replaced productivity and loss of output costs the costs of supporting replacement employees Costs accrued in training new or replacement staff/hiring temp staff Substandard production 2.2 Ways of Measuring Absenteeism The Total Tim lost: Number of person-days lost through job absence during period X 100 (Average number of employees) x (Number of Work days) This rate also can be based on number of hours instead of number of days. The individual frequency formula: This is calculated as thus : Individual frequency = (Num of Absent Employees/Average Number of Employees) x100 The Bradford Factor or Bradford Formula: According to the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development, the term was first coined due to its supposed connection with research undertaken by the Bradford University School of Management in the 1980s. It was developed as a way of highlighting the misappropriate level of disruption on an organisations performance that can be caused by short-term employee absence compared to incidences of prolonged absence. In contrast, it is considered short-sighted and unlikely to be successful which could lead to staff dissatisfaction and grievances. The Bradford factor can be calculated as follows: B= S2 x D where: B is the Bradford Factor score S is the total number of spells(instances) of absence of an individual over a set period D is the total number of days of absence of that individual over the same set period The set period is typically set as a rolling 52 week period. For example: 1 instance of absence with a duration of 15 days (1x 1 x 5)= 5 points 4 instances of absence; one of one, one of four and one of six days (4 x 4 x 5) =80 points 6 instances of absences ;each for two days (6 x 6 x 5) = 180 points However, the Bradford factor has been critiqued for its limited and short-sightedness in effectively measuring absenteeism, this is because it only factors total number and frequency of individual absence into account, neglecting the kind of absence. Again, the Bradford factor is a generic process and would be inappropriate to implement on disabled employees this is because certain disabilities require higher days of absence. Employers are bound by law e.g. The British Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 (DDA) to tailor their actions to the individual circumstances of disabled employees and failure to provide these reasonable adjustments by employers may lead to civil actions or breach of DDA in employment tribunal 3.0 Managing absenteeism: Absenteeism: A cultural problem Every organisation is a culture, with its own norms that constitute the expected, supported and accepted ways of behaving. These norms are most times unwritten and advice people on the code of conduct. The existing culture and norms influences everyones perception of the business, from the CEO to the newly hired employee. Managements behaviour has a special impact on organisational behaviour as relates to absenteeism, this is because of its modelling influence. Investigations have shown that absenteeism was/is directly traceable to the group norms established by leadership, the work environment and group expectations. Each group had similar illness records, it was the norms that dictated, and almost predictably, whether people showed up for work. Absenteeism is often symptoms of larger organisational problems and can be managed as thus: Leadership modelling and commitment: Managerial commitments and participatory culture have an important impact on attendance. E.g. in a retail company, a manager who demonstrated little commitment to attendance practices recorded one of the highest absenteeism rates in his organisation. Work motivation and rewards: Motivation in the work place is the driving force to achieve employee job satisfaction and commitment. This motivation could be Extrinsic or Intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation relates to the tangible rewards e.g. Salary, security, promotion and conditions of work. While, Intrinsic motivation relates to the psychological rewards which includes; a sense of challenge and achievement, participation and appreciation from the employer. According to Maslows hierarchy of needs; the expectancies of an employee from the employer are captured as thus- Motivated employees overcome obstacles to make it to work. The key to reducing employee absenteeism is to create a culture where employees want to come to work. Effective Groups and Team Building: groups and teams are essential features of the work pattern of organisations. These include formal and informal groups, project and virtual teams. Effective group and team building encourages inter personal relationships, fulfils the individuals psychological need of love and belonging, encourages organisational learning and communication while reducing conflicts in the organisation. This ultimately gives employees, sense of belonging and contribution, job satisfaction and an increased love for the job which will be evidenced in attendance rate. Recruitment and selection: Employers should recruit employees with good attendance records. This information should be included in references. Employee orientation and training: Attendance norms should be established the first day on the job. These norms are inculcated at inductions and orientation sessions. Performance Appraisal: this can boost employee attendance rates. Management should attach attendance rates to performance appraisals, if employees are aware that attendance would be a part of their appraisal, they would minimise unnecessary absence from work. Conclusion: Organisational culture is a key factor that affects the norms and modus operandi of an organisation. Thus the leaders and manager have a great job of making effective decisions and inculcation the required culture through policies and examples. Creating an attendance-oriented culture requires a complete corporate commitment to encourage attendance rather than manage absenteeism. This would be a significant shift because an absenteeism culture not only cost millions of pounds, but also impedes the development of human resources, reduces organisations competitive advantage and affects the bottom-line My case study illustrating the causes, effects and how to manage absenteeism is evidenced in my reflective writing. Reflective Writing: I would always wish I would not have to return to work the following day, I would call-in sick at the slightest headache. I disliked the new branch I was posted to be a team leader. Not having prior information or notice of my sudden inter-state transfer until a mail dropped in my mailbox, a Monday morning I just resumed from vacation, gave me the shock. I was to resume in the new branch with immediate effect. There was no communication whatever from my team leader that arrangement has been made for me to move to another state where i would lead the funds transfer team. This is a clear indication of communication gap and ineffective boss and subordinate relationship, where the team leader feels less need to have inter-personal relationship with team members. Her autocratic system of leadership in the workplace does not encourage participation, shared learning, sense of belonging and team spirit, which are among an employees intrinsic expectancies from the organisation/workplace This autocratic, non-participatory system of leadership and lack of effective communication and team spirit became a culture instilled by the branch leader. This holistically affected all team members. Demonization, fear, lack of commitment, ineffective communication that often caused conflicts, and absenteeism creped in. The feeling of betrayal, neglect and less regard filled my heart as i journeyed down the new branch. I lost motivation and commitment in the job. I lost the feeling of being part of the organisation. This was reflected in my re-occurring absenteeism and inability to deliver on deadlines The sudden relocation was pressuring and put me under stress. This further increased my absenteeism rate from work till the point I tendered my resignation. This situation highlights the importance and implication of the supervisory and managers roles in the work place as regards motivation, team building, eradicating conflicts and commitment. However, I feel sober, writing this coursework having realised through my research and the module learning, the cost and other implications of employee absenteeism in organisations. This also reflects why my recommendations for an effective management of employee absenteeism points to organisational culture, effective team and group building which encourages team participation and motivation, and leadership styles and modelling. A motivational team leader or mentor would encourage effective communication, build effective teams, build a culture of attendance and commitment through a democratic or participatory system of leadership where everyone contributes and feels the sense of responsibly and love. As a manager, having participated in this course module, I understand and appreciate my roles more. I have gained more insights on to build effective teams; manage conflicts, leadership by example and ultimately, how to manage individual differences and diversity in the workplace. Getting back into work, I would be a good leader, and inspire brilliance.