International Business & Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Business & Strategy - Essay Example Robert Walters as per the comparative analysis in the appendix India is the best target market alternative due to the prevailing macroeconomic environment in the nation. For a company that focuses on the recruitment of human resources for organizations, India is an important frontier due to the political, economic, social, technological, technological, legal and competitive factors that an investor is likely to derive from the nation. The external environment also affects Robert Walters and there is need to analyse the organization’s relationship with the environment as well as its business strategy. This can be analysed through the PESTLE analysis, which looks at the political, economic, social, technology, legal and environmental factors and how they affect the enterprise (Dransfield 2001, p.20). As a company that operates in an international market where there are several competitors, it is important to understand the macroeconomic environment that one intends to operate in and this determines the policies that the company decides to adopt in order to remain successful and profitable in a foreign market. Therefore, any company that intends to operate and maintain a competitive advantage over the others must consider the macroeconomic factors that prevail in that particular market. The political factors include the stability of the government, the taxation policies, foreign trade regulation as well as the social welfare policies, which greatly affects the operations of the business enterprise (Partridge 1999, p.76). Under the political factors, India is often referred to as the largest democracy in the world only followed by the United States and this has a profound effect on the success of any business that may be started or carried out in the nation. The political situation in India underscores the fact that all businesses within a nation must always operate within the confines of the political

Mary Parker Follett Essay Example for Free

Mary Parker Follett Essay The newest addition to the collection of books about Mary Parker Follett is a contribution by Joan C. Tonn entitled Mary P. Follett: Creating Democracy, Transforming Management (BUS stack HN57.T695 2003) The press release for this book is available here. Recently a new book about an older management theorist arrived in the Business Library. Published by the Harvard Business School Press, the contributors included Drucker, Mintzberg, Bennis and Kanter. Perhaps it was because the book was published by that press with comments by those people, that the subject attracted more attention than usual. The title of the book is Mary Parker Follett Prophet of Management: A Celebration of Writings from the 1920s (BUS stack HD31.M334 1995) and the subject is obviously Follett who was a social theorist earlier in this century. A considerable amount has been written about Follett and her theories concerning organizations and management. Since the material is scattered over a long period and across different academic disciplines, this brief introduction and bibliography is designed to help you quickly find material relating to the mother of management theory. Obviously the place to begin is with the new collection of her writings mentioned above. It also contains evaluations of her positions, a useful epilogue by Paul Lawrence and a bibliography of Folletts writings. For a brief biographical sketch see the appendix in Integrative Management: Creating Unity from Diversity, by Pauline Graham (HD 38.G68) as well as the essay by Graham in Mary Parker Follett Prophet of Management (BUS stack HD 31.M334) which she edited. For an earlier biographical piece see Vol. 4 of theInternational Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, Follett, Mary Parker (DBW reference H 41.I58). The University of Western Ontario has a solid collection of material by and about Follett and there have been some works about her that were produced on this campus. In 1992, David Hurst wrote an article for Business Quarterly with the title: Thoroughly Modern Mary Parker Follett (Vol. 56, No.4, Spring). Two masters theses have also originated here and they reflect the inter-disciplinary nature of Folletts work: Science and Service: M.P. Follett and the Profession of Educational Administration by A.M.H. van den Heuvel (EDU stack AS42.L85.V265) and Mary Parker Follett: An Application of Her Management Theories to Educational Administration by Lorraine Vanderkerckhove (EDU stack AS 42.L85.V29). WORKS BY MARY PARKER FOLLETT Creative Experience (BUS stack BF 57.F6 1951; DBW stack BF 408.R67 1970) Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett [electronic resource] (BUS stack HF 5547. F6). Weldon has an additional copy of the 1941 edition. Additional copies can be requested from storage, including 1 copy of the 1965 edition. Freedom Co-ordination: Lectures in Business Organization (BUS stack HD 57.7.F66 1987). This work contains 6 lectures: The Illusion of Final Authority; The Giving of Orders; The Basis of Authority; The Essentials of Leadership; Co-ordination and The Process of Control. The last essay is also found in another volume available here at Western: Papers on the Science of Administration, ed. by Gulick and Urwick, p.159 (JF 1351.G8). The New State Group Organization, the Solution for Popular Government (DBW stack JC336.F57 1918). The Speaker of the House of Representatives [electronic resource] (DBW stack JK 1411.F67 1896). For recent samples and discussions of Folletts works see: Management Theory: From Taylorism to Japanization (BUS stack HD31.S22); Writing About Business and Industry (DBW stack HF5718.3.W74 1995);Management and Gender: Issues and Attitudes (BUS stack HD6054.4.U6K37 1994); Management and Organizational Behavior Classics (BUS stack HD31.M2917 1993); Great Writers on Organizations (DBW stack HM131.P74 1993); International Management Handbook (HD62.4.T47) and Classics of Organization Theory (DBW stack HD31.C56 1992). SELECTED WORKS ABOUT MARY PARKER FOLLETT In addition to some of the sources noted above, articles about Follett may be found by searching electronic databases such as Proquest. Articles that pre-date the electronic databases may be found by searching a variety of print indexes; some articles are noted below and others may be found quickly by looking at the M.A. theses noted above. Follett has also been the subject of many doctoral dissertations and they may be quickly located by searching Proquests Dissertations Theses. Two dissertations that can be consulted are: Mary Parker Follett: Pioneer in Organizational Theory by Linda Brown (HD31.F667B76) and Scientific Management and Administrative Reform in Education by Kathleen Schwartz (HD 30.12.S39). Sibyl of a Modern Science, Business Week, Nov. 21, 1964, p.96 Mary Parker Follett, Civic Leader Dies, obituary, New York Times, Dec. 21, 1933, p.21, col.1 (DBWMFM AN 2.N5) Mary Parker Follett: The Enduring Contribution, Public Administration Review,Vol.28, No.6, 1968, p. 520 (DBWPER JK1.P85) No occupation can make a more worthy appeal to the imagination either from the point of view of service it can perform, or from the tremendous interest in the job itself, than business management. MPF. Mary Parker Follett Facts: Known for: pioneering ideas introducing human psychology and human relations into industrial management Occupation: social worker, management theory writer and speaker Dates: 1868-1933 Mary Parker Follett Biography: Modern management theory owes a lot to a nearly-forgotten woman writer, Mary Parker Follett. Mary Parker Follett was born in Quincy, Massachusetts. She studied at the Thayer Academy, Braintree, Massachusetts, where she credited one of her teachers with influencing many of her later ideas. In 1894, she used her inheritance to study at the Society for Collegiate Instruction of Women, sponsored by Harvard, going on to a year at Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1890. She studied on and off at Radcliffe as well, starting in the early 1890s. In 1898, Mary Parker Follett graduated summa cum laude from Radcliffe. Her research at Radcliffe was published in 1896 and again in 1909 as The Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mary Parker Follett began working in Roxbury as a voluntary social worker in 1900. In 1908 she became chair of the Womens Municipal League Committee on Extended Use of School Buildings. In 1911, she and others opened the East Boston High School Social Center. She also helped found other social centers in Boston. In 1917, Mary Parker Follett took on the vice-presidency of the National Community Center Association, and in 1918 published her book on community, democracy, and government, The New State. Mary Parker Follett published another book, Creative Experience, in 1924, with more of her ideas about the creative interaction of people in group process. In 1926, she moved to England to live and work, and to study at Oxford. In 1928, Follett consulted with the League of Nations and with the International Labor Organization in Geneva. She lived in London from 1929 with Dame Katharine Furse of the Red Cross. In her later years, Mary Parker Follett became a popular writer and lecturer in the business world. She was a lecturer at the London School of Economics from 1933. Mary Parker Follett advocated for a human relations emphasis equal to a mechanical or operational empha sis in management. Her work contrasted with the scientific management of Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915) and evolved by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, which stressed time and motion studies. Mary Parker Follett stressed the interactions of management and workers. She looks at management and leadership holistically, presaging modern systems approaches; she identifies a leader as someone who sees the whole rather than the particular. Follett was one of the first (and for a long time, one of the few) to integrate the idea of organizational conflict into management theory, and is sometimes considered the mother of conflict resolution. In a 1924 essay, Power, she coined the words power-over and power-with to differentiate coercive power from participative decision-making, showing how power-with can be greater than power-over. Do we not see now, she observed, that while there are many ways of gaining an external, an arbitrary power —- through brute strength, through manipulation, through diplomacy —- genuine power is always that which inheres in the situation? Mary Parker Follett died in 1933 on a visit to Boston. After her death, her papers and speeches were compiled and published in 1942 in Dynamic Administration, and in 1995, Pauline Graham edited a compilation of her writing in Mary Parker Follett: Prophet of Management. The New State was reissued in a new edition in 1998 with helpful additional material. Her work was mostly forgotten in America, and is still largely neglected in studies of the evolution of management theory, despite the accolades of more recent thinkers like Peter Drucker. Peter Drucker called her the prophet of management and his guru.

In Organic We Trust by Kip Pastor Essay -- Organic Foods vs. Non-organi

Check your supermarket, there could be lies on your food, telling you that what you are eating is organic and cared for but most of it is not. The documentary In Organic We Trust by Kip Pastor focuses on organic foods, what they are, how they are grown, and what makes them â€Å"organic†. What he finds is shocking and relevant to society today in every way possible. Pastor proves this to the audience by using a strong form of logos throughout the documentary. He conveys it to those watching by using pathos to play on their heart strings, but lacks via ethos to win over the rest of the audience. A great job is done in this film of convincing the audience that Pastor is on their side and fighting for the health of America, even questioning what â€Å"organic† actually is. The first example is ethos, meant to describe ones character through morals, ethics and ideals. Pastor questions the ethics of the corporations and the government for its involvement in the ordeal but never answers the question to show ethos. These large corporations are questioned as to what their involvement in the â€Å"organic† industry is and the extant but never having got an answer, all Pastor is left with is to question their motives. Pastor had the same problem when it came to the government, he could only speculate as to why they were even involved with the â€Å"organic† industry if they were subcontracting everything out. He never got a straight answer, so it would be hard to determine whether the government was sincere in wanting to regulate â€Å"organic† food or just wanting a piece of the money pie â€Å"organic† is made up of. Pastor did attempt to track down both of these giants which show his credibility in wanting to get both sides of the story, but he was shu... ...g statistics about the public’s health and make the future seem bleak, â€Å"the lifespan is shortening for new American children† (Pastor) and â€Å" one in three children born after the year 2010 will develop type II diabetes† (Pastor). Pastor says that he is shocked by the impact and wants to break away from the cycle created. In his closing statements he convinces the audience to break away from the cycle away as well, by drawing on the seeds he planted with pathos, ethos, and logos. The film was well made and addressed all the issues of â€Å"organic† food and well informed the audience of what is occurring. Next time, an audience member goes to the supermarket to buy food they will probably remember what their children will look like in twenty years if they don’t take a more â€Å"organic† approach to their lives. Works Cited In Organic We Trust. Kip Pastor. 2012. DVD.

Denim Finishing Company Case Essay

1. Mrs. Kelsey Bowser using the ABC method decided to use the number of garments as the cost driver of the change-over costs. Nevertheless, I argue that this was not the best possible choice. I will try to defend my point using the following example. Let’s assume that Guess Who Jeans demands 600, not 500 garments per shipment. Although the number of garments changes, the total change-over costs would stay the same, because no additional retooling of the machine would be necessary. The whole change-over process takes 3 hours regarding if the number of garments is 200, 500 or 800. Furthermore, let’s strictly theoretically assume that the company is able to achieve some extra capacity and one batch is now composed of 150 garments instead of 100 garments. Still, although the total number of garments would vastly increase, the change-over costs would be altered only partially. The opportunity cost measured as a lost contribution margin would slightly increase, but the out-of-po cket costs would stay the same, as the wages of the employees and supplies costs will not change. Thus, it is clear that the number of garments is not the proper cost driver for the change-over costs. In my opinion the number of shipments would be a much better cost driver for the change-over costs. Regarding the number of garments or the number of batches Guess Who Jeans demands every shipment requires the change-over costs to be incurred twice. For instance, if 99 shipments were made, the total change-over costs would equal $351 * 198 = $69,498, because two change-overs ($702) would not have to be undertaken. Thus, the number of shipments clearly drives the analyzed costs. Unlikely the previous example with the number of garments per batch increasing to 150, the number of shipments fully ‘drives’ the change-over costs. Every time the number of shipments rises or falls, the change-over costs change by the full amount of the two per-changeover costs which properly reflect the real situation. Using such a cost driver may be problematic when the allocation of the chang e-over costs is analyzed. Nevertheless, I argue that those cost should be solely allocated to the propriety denim finishing. The demand for the stonewashing services exceeds the company’s capacity. Thus, if the Guess Who Jeans’ offer was declined, the company would use the whole capacity for stonewashing. However, if the offer was accepted the stonewashing processes would be somehow ‘interrupted’ by the propriety denim finishing. Each ‘interruption’, and therefore each shipment would require incurring the change-over costs twice. No factor connected with stonewashing ‘drives’ those costs. Regarding the number of batches or garments used in the stonewashing process each shipment necessitates the cost of $702. Therefore, I believe this cost should be associated with every shipment done by Guess Who Jeans. In Appendix A I present the product profitability analysis using the number of shipment as the cost driver. Moreover, Mrs. Kelsey Bowser claims that the change-over costs should be treated as product-sustaining costs. Nevertheless, I believe her opinion is wrong. I believe these costs should be on the batch level in the cost hierarchy. Hence, I believe the initial analysis undertaken by Mrs. Bowser was correct, although the cost driver she selected was improper. Product-sustaining level costs could be defined as ‘activities that are needed to support an entire product line but are not performed every time a new unit or batch of products is produced’ [Hilton 2010]. Although the first part of the definition applies to the change-over costs, it is clearly not the case when the second part of the definition is concerned. The change-over costs have to be incurred every time the shipments is delivered and the propriety denim finishing has to be done. Therefore, I believe these costs should be rather placed as the batch-level costs in the cost hierarchy. Batch-level costs are believed to ‘arise from activities performed once for each batch or lot of products’ [Zimmerman 2011]. Since the change-over costs need to be incurred every shipment, placing them at this level in the hierarchy seems reasonable. 2. It is clear that before accepting the proposal several nonfinancial issues have to be considered in order to make a reasonable decision. First, the management should think how accepting the Gues Who offer would affect the relations with the other clients. Since Guess Who requires the Denim Finishing Company not to offer the particular type of finish to other customers, it is very likely that relations with other firms will worsen. The Denim Finishing Company has been cooperating with many companies for a long time. Therefore, those companies may dislike the fact that the new client receives the special treatment, while such benefits could not be observed in their case, even though they have been the customers for ages. Consequently, the Denim Finishing Company’s reputation may shrink and furthermore the firm may lose some of its customers that it had long term relations established with. Accepting the Guess Who offer, as mentioned before, would require the Denim Finishing Company to offer the certain time of finish exclusively to Guess Who. Hence, the firm would be prohibited from providing other companies with this service. Before making the decision it should be analyzed if that could lead to potential losses in the future. For instance, although cooperating with Guess Who may be beneficial, the potential gains from offering that type of finish to other clients could be higher. If so, the Denim Finishing Company should rather provide the service to other firms. Naturally, before making such a decision it has to be determined if other firms would require the Denim Finishing Company to offer the service exclusively to them, like it is the case for Guess Who. Offering exclusive service to one company may result in other companies’ (not only potential clients as mentioned in the previous paragraph, but also current ones) demands for exclusive treatment. If other clients, especially those who have been cooperating with the Denim Finishing Company for a long time, realize that it is possible to receive such a special treatment, they would likely claim for it too, as it could give them a competitive advantage over other firms in their industry. Thus, the Denim Finishing Company would undoubtedly face a big problem. It theoretically could increase the prices for the firms that demand exclusive service, but it could lead to losing those clients. Accepting or declining the Guess Who offer may also result in potential conflicts within the firm that have to be considered. For instance, Bruce Farrand who is against the offer may be so determined in defending his point of view that if the offer is accepted, he will decide to terminate his employment. However, he might be so valuable for the company that the gains from the cooperation with Guess Who would not compensate for the value added by Mr. Farrand. Moreover, some other conflicts could arise in the company after deciding either. Before making the decision it would also be recommended to analyze the potential influence the service offered to Guess Who could have on the machine. Since providing the finish would require constant and often retooling of the machine, it could negatively affect the lifetime of the machine. What is more, it is possible that the quality of services done by the machine would shrink because of those often changes. Hence, the satisfaction among clients could diminish and the high cost of purchasing new machine would have to be incurred soon. It also cannot be forgotten that the current demand exceeds the firm’s capacity and some of its clients already use services provided by other companies. Thus, if the Denim Finishing Company’s has even less time for stonewashing, these clients can shift to competitors. Finally, it should be estimated what potential nonfinancial benefits could cooperating with Guess Who bring to the Denim Finishing Company. Guess Who is considered to be a company that offers innovative and premium products. Thus, being an important business partner of such a firm could have a positive impact on the Denim Finishing Company’s reputation. Consequently, it could attract new clients and encourage more companies to cooperate with the Denim Finishing Company. Moreover, successful cooperation with Guess Who Jeans could lead to extending the business relations with that company. For instance, it could outsource more of its production to the Denim Finishing Company. 3. If I were Tom Corcoran, I would undoubtedly have a few questions for the controller. First, I would ask about all the problems mentioned in the two previous questions. As mentioned before, I believe that Mrs. Bowser did not place the change-over costs at the right level in the cost hierarchy. Hence, I would like to get to know why she decided to treat them as product-sustaining costs, while there are a lot of arguments supporting the idea to treat them as batch-level costs. Furthermore, the cost driver chosen by Mrs. Bowser is highly doubtful. I would require the explanation how and to what extent in her opinion the number of garments ‘drives’ the change-over costs. Since I believe the number of garments is not the right cost driver, I would ask Mrs. Bowser for some other type of profitability analysis, such as the analysis presented in Appendix A. The analysis presented at the meeting by the controller could be misleading. Both Exhibit 3 and Exhibit 4 present data that is in my opinion inaccurate. Moreover, as it was analyzed in the second question accepting or declining the offer could lead to multiple nonfinancial outcomes that may play a significant role on the company’s profitability. Hence, I would ask if such factors have been analyzed and if so, what possible impact they may have. I also believe that Tom Corcoran would be most interested in the total profit his company would have under both scenarios. Analyses presented at the meeting, as valuable as they might be, do not contain such information. For instance, they do not include the facility-sustaining costs that the Denim Finishing Company has to incur. Hence, it would be recommended to present Tom Corcoran with the yearly profit the firm may earn. Moreover, I would ask Mrs. Bowser about the accuracy of her assumptions in Exhibit 4. She estimates that the costs of the proprietary process, as well as the price paid by Guess Who Jeans will not change during the year. However, it may not necessarily be the case. The analysis relies on historical costs that may not be appropriate for the future estimations. Thus, I would like to know if Mrs. Bowser took that aspect into account. Another question would regard the overhead rates of the batch- and unit-level costs. The rates were estimated when only stonewashing was done. However, accepting the offer from Guess Who Jeans would require retaining from using the machine for 600 hours. This could likely result in different overhead costs and consequently different overhead rates. The batch-level utility cost can be particularly problematic. It is ‘driven’ by the machine hours and as previously mentioned the machine is not used for 3 hours before and 3 hours after the shipment. Furthermore, the case makes it unclear whether drying is also performed by the Unit #4. The per-garment utilities cost includes 3 hours for washing and 3 hours for drying. However, when the change-over is undertaken, the washing is not performed, because the machine cannot be used. Therefore, during the change-over the utilities cost is possibly lower. This is especially important for the opportunity cost analysis. Since the case is lacking information explaining the problem, if I were Tom Corcoran I would like to clarify it. Finally, I strongly believe that it would also be necessary to ask Mrs. Bowser about the facility-sustaining costs. Such costs are ignored in the controller’s analysis. Nevertheless, they still affect the company’s profitability. Hence, I would like to get to know how big those costs are. Moreover, the facility-sustaining costs could also be somehow influenced by the possible cooperation with Guess Who Jeans. For instance, the security or insurance costs could rise, since the service is supposed to be offered exclusively to that particular client. Therefore, the analysis of the capacity-sustaining costs would also be useful. To sum up, if I were Tom Corcoran I would have many doubts about the controller’s analysis. I would probably ask her to prepare yet another presentation that includes my suggestions. However, if I were to make the decision, I probably would accept the Guess Who Jeans’ offer. The analysis in the Appendix A, although it does not include nonfinancial factors and may not properly reflect all the costs, clearly shows that such a scenario leads to increased profits. 4. Activity-based costing is undoubtedly a useful tool that could help the management to make the optimal decision. It is much more accurate that the traditional costing systems. Distinguishing various activities and determining cost drivers relating to them helps to more precisely allocate the costs. Using one cost driver for all the amount of the overhead could create the situation where the indirect costs are not really ‘driven’ by the particular cost. For instance, although direct labor hours might to some extent determine the value of the overhead, the influence may only be partial, especially regarding certain products. Using various cost drivers for various activities largely eliminates this problem. What is more, selecting particular cost drivers for respective activities enables ‘taxing’ certain activities. This internal tax system gives an incentive to reduce certain costs and therefore improve the company’s efficiency. For instance, if machine labor hours are chosen as a driver for the production activity there is an impulse to lower the number of machine labor hours which consequently results in decreased value of overhead, lower costs and higher profits. Under Activity-Based Costing the share of costs allocated directly to the products increases. Thus, the company better understand where its overhead costs go to. It enables the firm to identify the products that are not profitable and undertake relevant actions, such as decreasing costs, raising the price or withdrawing the product. However, the cost hierarchy helps to make such decision regarding not only particular products, but also batches and product lines. This undoubtedly allows making decisions that are more profit-maximizing. Moreover, in the ABC the practical capacity is used. Therefore, it is possible to determine the unused capacity. Diminishing the unused capacity is definitely helpful in maximizing the profits of the company. Hence, Activity-Based Costing provides the management with the information necessary to make optimal decisions. To compare, the traditional costing systems do not give such a possibility. However, the ABC method also has some flaws that may result in making a non-optimal production decision. Some of those disadvantages could be observed in the previous questions. First, the system is believed to be complicated. As noticeable in the first question choosing the proper cost driver for the particular activity might be problematic. Selecting the wrong driver could lead to biased results and consequently the decision that is not profit-maximizing. Furthermore, trying to maintain the cost hierarchy may also be difficult, as shown in the example of Mrs. Bowser from the Denim Finish Company. The results when the costs were determined as the batch-level where completely different than when they were analyzed to be product-level. Thus, such easily made mistakes could result in a non-optimal decision. Furthermore, as it could be seen in the second question Activity-Based Costing does not include any nonfinancial measures. Thus, even though pure financial values may show that a particular decision is profit-maximizing, it might not necessarily be the case. Other factors, such as e.g. loss of reputation could actually result in decreased profits. Finally, the ABC method requires gathering data from the whole company, often through interviews. Hence, there is a relatively big possibility that collected data is not perfectly accurate. To sum up, the Activity-Based Costing method is quite reliable tool in making optimal production decisions, especially compared to the traditional costing systems. However, the system has to be carefully planned and implemented, because any mistakes could lead to inaccurate results. Choosing the wrong cost driver and improper assignment of the costs in the cost hierarchy may result in undesired errors. Furthermore, as useful as the ABC is, the management cannot rely solely on financial values provided by the method. Before making the decision all nonfinancial factors have to be considered. Only such a consideration combined with the information supplied by the properly designed and applied Activity-Based Costing system can lead to the optimal production decision.

Destiny

Have you ever heard of the word â€Å"destiny†. Well, of course you could’ve red that word somewhere. Three-year-olds have heard of that too. So, what is it? There are just certain thoughts when you hear words like that. For kids, they would say it’s all about Cinderella and Ariel and any Disney princesses and cartoons that make people fantasize and believe that dreams do come true, right? But let’s have it the other way around. No child play, just plain serious and sensible talk. Destiny is something not played, it would play with you and you’ll never like what happens next. Its mere existence depends on people’s variations. Destiny. Come on! Destiny? It is not planned, it is never a coincidence. Ever heard of this quote: â€Å"There are no coincidences in this world, it could’ve been destiny playing along with people†. I don’t know who said that nor I even care on his biography†¦ but whoever thought of that plain statement is a sworn genius. Now, let’s have some talk about deeper sense. Fiction novels no matter how great of a fantasy it is have roots coming from reality. They say that those two realms clash, but I don’t think so. Every single character described by the author has his/her basis on people around him/her. Now, where on earth can we relate this thing to destiny? Simple! Many books have plots revolving on this word—mostly, romance novels of course. When the guy meets the girl and the guy is the long lost son of the girl’s stepmother, or something like the guy was once an assassin and killed the parents of the girl he loves the most. Is that plain coincidence? I believe it’s not. Not yet convinced how destiny is real? Let’s say it’s a fantasy book. Destiny comes from the word ‘destined’. There are just people no matter what race they are, what kind of monsters they are, or just things like that are just destined to be together no matter what. Let’s take it from the children’s heroes. Familiar with the movie little mermaid? Yeah, the prince? And the mermaid? Remember? Two lovers whose origins were from a high land and the deepest of the seas, respectively. But the two met, by accident? Nope. It was the plot created by destiny. Same goes with real life. You shouldn’t expect what happens next, unless you have a special power to predict.

Free Essays on Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper As I reflect over my past writings, I’m amazed by how little I knew about the writing process. English is one of the most complex languages on the planet. The ground rules are very significant and must be followed correctly to achieve the best results. In writing an essay paper, the proper placement of the topic sentence is important. The correct use of sentence structure is equally important in writing an essay. Proper grammar is an important element in writing an acceptable paper. A topic sentence is used to state the subject of an essay paper. I have had great difficulty with the proper placement of a topic sentence. One inaccuracy that I made was to use a body main idea as the topic statement. Another mistreatment that I have preformed was to omit the topic sentence from the introductory paragraph. My most recent error, the topic sentence was absent in the conclusion paragraph. Learning to write well takes time and practice. Good writing skills are essential for effective communication. Sentence structure is an independent grammatical unit that has a subject and predicate. The complexity of correct sentence structure has been a challenging process for me to learn. The comma is used to indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. The use of a comma is one of my big trouble areas. I create comma splices, as well as, I forget to use a comma in front of the word â€Å"and† when joining three or more items. A sentence that lacks a subject, a verb, or doesn’t complete an understandable thought is a sentence fragment. I have an extensive problem with fragmented sentences. I start a new sentence that builds on or adds to the previous sentence, and I overlook the fact that the new sentence does not have a subject. The fragment can be fixed by combining it with another sentence, or by changing the fragment into a sentence. A run-on sentence happens when two sen... Free Essays on Reflection Paper Free Essays on Reflection Paper Reflection Paper As I reflect over my past writings, I’m amazed by how little I knew about the writing process. English is one of the most complex languages on the planet. The ground rules are very significant and must be followed correctly to achieve the best results. In writing an essay paper, the proper placement of the topic sentence is important. The correct use of sentence structure is equally important in writing an essay. Proper grammar is an important element in writing an acceptable paper. A topic sentence is used to state the subject of an essay paper. I have had great difficulty with the proper placement of a topic sentence. One inaccuracy that I made was to use a body main idea as the topic statement. Another mistreatment that I have preformed was to omit the topic sentence from the introductory paragraph. My most recent error, the topic sentence was absent in the conclusion paragraph. Learning to write well takes time and practice. Good writing skills are essential for effective communication. Sentence structure is an independent grammatical unit that has a subject and predicate. The complexity of correct sentence structure has been a challenging process for me to learn. The comma is used to indicate a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence. The use of a comma is one of my big trouble areas. I create comma splices, as well as, I forget to use a comma in front of the word â€Å"and† when joining three or more items. A sentence that lacks a subject, a verb, or doesn’t complete an understandable thought is a sentence fragment. I have an extensive problem with fragmented sentences. I start a new sentence that builds on or adds to the previous sentence, and I overlook the fact that the new sentence does not have a subject. The fragment can be fixed by combining it with another sentence, or by changing the fragment into a sentence. A run-on sentence happens when two sen...

The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Essays

The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Essays The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Paper The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay Paper Essay Topic: The Things They Carried The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis Essay In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien uses many short stories to describe his experience in Vietnam. The story that captured many aspects of writing was â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† because it acts as a guide to writing a true story. O’Brien uses many different rhetorical strategies, narrative techniques, and establishes a theme in this story to help develop his characters and story line. Tim O’Brien uses several rhetorical strategies in this story. A strategy that is easily found in the story is imagery. He uses a lot of sensory details to help the reader know what it feels like in a certain situation. â€Å"Except for the laughter things were quiet,† (67) and â€Å"You hear stuff nobody should ever hear,† (69) are some quotes that describes the sounds the soldiers are hearing. O’Brien uses sight as a big component for setting up the setting and describing what the soldiers saw. â€Å"A handsome kid, really. Sharp grey eyes, lean and narrow-waisted†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (67), â€Å"A deep pinkish red spilled out on the river, which moved with no sound†¦(68). Another rhetorical strategy that O’Brien uses is motif. The motif that he uses is â€Å"†¦true war story†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He uses this phrase throughout the story to help the reader understand how to write a story. â€Å"A true war story is never moral. †(65). This quote is basically saying that a true war story tells it how it is; it doesn’t try to make things easier for the reader to digest. â€Å"You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. (65) This quote is saying if you don’t want the offensive words or phrases then you don’t want the truth of the story. â€Å"In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. †(68) The last strategy that O’Brien uses in this story is irony. There are many places in this story when O’Brien’s ideas contradict themselves. Whe n Curt Lemon dies, O’Brien describes it as beautiful. â€Å"†¦when he died it was almost beautiful, the way the sunlight came around him and lifted him up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (67) Most people wouldn’t associate death with beauty, especially the way the Curt Lemon died. Another place where he displays irony is in the beginning of the story he says that Curt Lemon died when he was playing a game with Rat Kiley but later on, after he’s given some advice on how to write a true war story, he tells the reader how Curt Lemon actually died. This is ironic because he is giving advice on how to write a story but he didn’t take his own advice. The last place of irony is when O’Brien says that this story was actually a love story. When most people think of death and war they think of sadness and tragedy. And these war stories, according to O’Brien, were love stories. Tim O’Brien uses two narrative techniques in â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story†. First he splits the story into three different sections. The first part being Rat Kiley writing his letter to Curt Lemon’s sister about the relationship they had. The next section is describing the correct way of writing a â€Å"true war story†. And the last is O’Brien looking back on stories and his story telling techniques. O’Brien separates the story into three different parts to give the reader an example of a story that is â€Å"true†. The next section would about the truth about writing a true story and the last section is his personal reflection on the whole situation. The other narrative technique is that O’Brien retells certain events. He retells how Curt Lemon died, he retells Mitchell Sanders telling a story, and he retells how women react when you tell them stories about the war. Tim O’Brien retells stories and events to make his own story more believable. O’Brien gives the main character his own name and naming all of the other soldiers which makes it difficult to label the book as fact or fiction. The theme of â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† is that everything is not what it seems. The truth is often ugly. When most people want to tell a story about war they will try to sugar coat it so the reader or listener will understand it better. But to truly understand something you need to get the full aspect of it. O’Brien gives many ideas as to ways to tell whether a story is true but most people don’t want to hear it or even understand. That is why some storytellers don’t tell the whole truth when writing, to make their work more appealing. The real purpose of stories is to relate the truth of experience, not to create false emotions in their audiences. â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story† has aspects that help the story become more connect. O’Brien uses many rhetorical strategies like irony, imagery, and motifs that get the reader thinking. Imagery helps develop the setting and the characters. Motifs helped tie the whole story together, and irony brings an unexpected twist to the story. He also retells events and splits the story into three sections. And he reveals the overall theme of the story which is the truth may be ugly but it needs to be known.

George Rogers Clark in the American Revolution

George Rogers Clark in the American Revolution A notable officer during the American Revolution (1775-1783), Brigadier General George Rogers Clark earned fame for his exploits against the British and Native Americans in the Old Northwest. Born in Virginia, he trained as a surveyor before becoming involved with the militia during Lord Dunmores War in 1774. As the war with the British commenced and attacks on American settlers along the frontier intensified, Clark obtained permission to lead a force west into present-day Indiana and Illinois to eliminate British bases in the region.   Moving out in 1778, Clarks men conducted a daring campaign that saw them take control of key posts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. The last was captured following the Battle of Vincennes which saw the Clark use trickery to aid in compelling the British to surrender. Dubbed the Conqueror of the Old Northwest, his successes significantly weakened British influence in the area.   Early Life George Rogers Clark was born November 19, 1752, at Charlottesville, VA. The son of John and Ann Clark, he was the second of ten children. His youngest brother, William, would later gain fame as the co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Around 1756, with the intensification of the French Indian War, the family left the frontier for Caroline County, VA. Though largely educated at home, Clark did briefly attend Donald Robertsons school along with James Madison. Trained as a surveyor by his grandfather, he first traveled into western Virginia in 1771. A year later, Clark pressed further west and made his first trip to Kentucky. Surveyor Arriving via the Ohio River, he spent the next two years surveying the area around Kanawha River and educating himself on the regions Native American population and its customs. During his time in Kentucky, Clark saw the area changing as the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix had opened it to settlement. This influx of settlers led to increasing tensions with the Native Americans as many tribes from north of the Ohio River used Kentucky as a hunting ground. Made a captain in the Virginia militia in 1774, Clark was preparing for an expedition to Kentucky when fighting erupted between the Shawnee and settlers on the Kanawha. These hostilities ultimately evolved into Lord Dunmores War. Taking part, Clark was present at the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774, which ended the conflict in the colonists favor. With the end of the fighting, Clark resumed his surveying activities. Becoming a Leader As the American Revolution began in the east, Kentucky faced a crisis of its own. In 1775, land speculator Richard Henderson concluded the illegal Treaty of Watauga by which he purchased much of western Kentucky from the Native Americans. In doing so, he hoped to form a separate colony known as Transylvania. This was opposed by many of the settlers in the area and in June 1776, Clark and John G. Jones were dispatched to Williamsburg, VA to seek aid from the Virginia legislature. The two men hoped to convince Virginia to formally extend its boundaries west to include the settlements in Kentucky. Meeting with Governor Patrick Henry, they convinced him to create Kentucky County, VA and received military supplies to defend the settlements. Before departing, Clark was appointed a major in the Virginia militia. The American Revolution Moves West Returning home, Clark saw fighting intensify between the settlers and Native Americans. The latter were encouraged in their efforts by the Lieutenant Governor of Canada, Henry Hamilton, who provided arms and supplies. As the Continental Army lacked the resources to protect the region or mount an invasion of the Northwest, defense of Kentucky was left to the settlers. Believing that the only way to halt Native American raids into Kentucky was to attack British forts north of the Ohio River, specifically Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and Cahokia,   Clark requested permission from Henry to lead an expedition against enemy posts in the Illinois Country. This was granted and Clark was promoted to lieutenant colonel and directed to raise troops for the mission. Authorized to recruit a force of 350 men, Clark and his officers sought to pull men from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. These efforts provided difficult due to competing manpower needs and a larger debate regarding whether Kentucky should be defended or evacuated. Kaskaskia Gathering men at Redstone Old Fort on the Monongahela River, Clark ultimately embarked with 175 men in mid-1778. Moving down the Ohio River, they captured Fort Massac at the mouth of the Tennessee River before moving overland to Kaskaskia (Illinois). Taking the residents by surprise, Kaskaskia fell without a shot fired on July 4. Cahokia was captured five days later by a detachment led by Captain Joseph Bowman as Clark moved back east and a force was sent ahead to occupy Vincennes on the Wabash River. Concerned by Clarks progress, Hamilton departed Fort Detroit with 500 men to defeat the Americans. Moving down the Wabash, he easily retook Vincennes which was renamed Fort Sackville. Back to Vincennes With winter approaching, Hamilton released many of his men and settled in with a garrison of 90. Learning that Vincennes had fallen from Francis Vigo, an Italian fur trader, Clark decided that urgent action was required lest the British be in a position to reclaim the Illinois Country in the spring. Clark embarked on a daring winter campaign to retake the outpost. Marching with around 170 men, they endured severe rains and flooding during the 180-mile march. As an added precaution, Clark also dispatched a force of 40 men in a row galley to prevent a British escape down the Wabash River. Victory at Fort Sackville Arriving at Fort Sackville on February 23, 1780, Clark divided his force in two giving command of the other column to Bowman. Using terrain and maneuver to trick the British into believing their force numbered around 1,000 men, the two Americans secured the town and built an entrenchment in front of the forts gates. Opening fire on the fort, they compelled Hamilton to surrender the next day. Clarks victory was celebrated throughout the colonies and he was hailed as the conqueror of the Northwest. Capitalizing on Clarks success, Virginia immediately laid claim to the entire region dubbing it Illinois County, VA. Continued Fighting Understanding that the threat to Kentucky could only be eliminated by the capture of Fort Detroit, Clark lobbied for an attack on the post. His efforts failed when he was unable to raise enough men for the mission. Seeking to regain the ground lost to Clark, a mixed British-Native American force led by Captain Henry Bird raided south in June 1780. This was followed in August by a retaliatory raid north by Clark which struck Shawnee villages in Ohio. Promoted to brigadier general in 1781, Clark again attempted to mount an attack on Detroit, but reinforcements sent to him for the mission were defeated en route. Later Service In one of the final actions of the war, Kentucky militia was badly beaten at the Battle of Blue Licks in August 1782. As the senior military officer in the region, Clark was criticized for the defeat despite the fact he had not been present at the battle. Again retaliating, Clark attacked the Shawnee along the Great Miami River and won the Battle of Piqua. With the end of the war, Clark was appointed superintendent-surveyor and charged with surveying land grants given to Virginian veterans. He also worked to help negotiate the Treaties of Fort McIntosh (1785) and Finney (1786) with the tribes north of the Ohio River. Despite these diplomatic efforts, tensions between the settlers and Native Americans in the region continued to escalate leading to the Northwest Indian War. Tasked with leading an force of 1,200 men against the Native Americans in 1786, Clark had to abandon the effort due to a shortage of supplies and the mutiny of 300 men. In the wake of this failed effort, rumors circulated that Clark had been drinking heavily during the campaign. Incensed, he demanded that an official inquiry be made to repudiate these rumors. This request was declined by the Virginia government and he was instead rebuked for his actions. Final Years Departing Kentucky, Clark settled in Indiana near present-day Clarksville. Following his move, he was plagued by financial difficulties as he had financed many of his military campaigns with loans. Though he sought reimbursement from Virginia and the federal government, his claims were declined because insufficient records existed to substantiate his claims. For his wartime services Clark had been awarded large land grants, many of which he was ultimately forced to transfer to family and friends to prevent seizure by his creditors. With few remaining options, Clark offered his services to Edmond-Charles Genà ªt, the ambassador of revolutionary France, in February 1793. Appointed a major general by Genà ªt, he was ordered to form an expedition for drive the Spanish from the Mississippi Valley. After personally financing the expeditions supplies, Clark was forced to abandon the effort in 1794 when President George Washington forbade American citizens from violating the nations neutrality. Aware of Clarks plans, he threatened to dispatch US troops under Major General Anthony Wayne to block it. With little choice but to abandon the mission, Clark returned to Indiana where his creditors deprived him of all but a small plot of land. For remainder of his life, Clark spent much of his time operating a gristmill. Suffering a severe stroke in 1809, he fell into a fire and badly burned his leg necessitating its amputation. Unable to care for himself, he moved in with his brother-in-law, Major William Croghan, who was a planter near Louisville, KY. In 1812, Virginia finally recognized Clarks services during the war and granted him a pension and ceremonial sword. On February 13, 1818, Clark suffered another stroke and died. Initially buried at Locus Grove Cemetery, Clarks body and those of his family were moved to Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville in 1869.

Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge - Essay Example Tall towers, long and thick cables, and the largest underwater foundation piers ever to be built were all part of the construction requirements for the bridge. There were many who considered this task impossible in the violent open seawater conditions in which the construction was to take place (Hemenway, 2009). In those days the fatality average in such constructions was one fatality for every million dollars spent and $35 million was spent on the construction, meaning that in these conditions the fatalities should have been more than 35 constructions workers. Yet, the bridge opened on time, with a much lower fatality rate (Hemenway, 2009). This was the result of safety precautions taken in the form of strict rules preventing dangerous behavior at the construction site and the use of protective head gear. However the stand out precautionary measure was the use of a safety net that was strung out underneath the bridge floor from one end of the bridge to the other, and was the safety lesson learnt from the construction of the bridge. In the first three years of the construction only one fatality occurred, and more importantly the utility of the safety net was demonstrated, when nineteen men accidentally fell during construction onto the safety net and survived the normally fatal fall. These men later came to be known as the Halfway to Hell Club.

How true is that the United States have a responsibility to protect Essay

How true is that the United States have a responsibility to protect human rights in other countries - Essay Example The United Nations A number of culturally diverse countries make up the world. To ensure that these countries will be protected against any unjust and unfair treatment by each other, there is a need for a global or international community that will stand as a world government. The United Nation is one of the major organizations that make up the international community. It is an â€Å"international organization designed to make the enforcement of international law, security, economic development, social progress, and human rights easier for countries around the world† (Briney, 2011). According to Briney (2011), this international organization is composed of 193 member countries and its head office can be found in New York. The fundamental purpose of United Nations includes saving future generations from war, protect human rights and establish equality for all persons (Briney, 2011). In Briney’s (2011) article entitled The United Nations, other principles of this international organization include upholding justice, freedom and social progress for all the citizens of all the member states. Thus it can be said that this international organization is one of the best that created or established in the world community. With the goals or purposes that the United Nations aim to do, the world is protected against any harm or threat from any countries. ... Thus economic progress can also be achieved by ensuring that all member states comply with the rules and regulations especially about fair competition and trade responsibilities. Aside from this, each person is granted the protection of his rights in the national and international level. Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights or UNDHR is described as the â€Å"foundation of international human rights law, the first universal statement on the basic principles of inalienable human rights, and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations† (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: a Living Document, 2007). The Preamble of the UNDHR includes the following: Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which h ave outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger

Chapter Four Reading Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter Four Reading Response - Assignment Example t of Egypt whereas Ashoka fought for power and control in India in addition to devotion in Buddhism and imperial religion (Wilkins, Schultz and Linduff 94). I responded negatively to the Arch of Titus, Rome. This was marble over concrete core commissioned by Titus (Wilkins, Schultz and Linduff 95). Additionally, I responded negatively to Flora from the Villa of Arianna at Castellammare di Stabia. This is given that, they both symbolize inconsequential meanings, for example, the Flora signified silk garments that men should not define themselves with and the Arch of Titus represented the suppression of the Jewish movement and flattering control over Jerusalem. I would like to learn more about the Buddhist Monument specifically the Great Stupa at Sanchi. This is considering that I admired the extensive value of this piece of art and its religious significance. I find it simply out of the ordinary piece of arts. How was it possible to preserve the religious value of the Great Stupa at Sanchi from the prehistoric times in early Buddhism to the present day? Finding answers to this question, entails carrying out research which include, consulting art experts and searching the library data base of ancient arts and

You Tube as a Cultural Form Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

You Tube as a Cultural Form - Essay Example Understanding effects of media in the changing world and engaging in media study require â€Å"illustrating the dynamic symmetries† of various media like the press, radio, or television. (McLuhan 172). It is relevant to understand the repercussions of the Internet as a new form of a public sphere and to understand how the networked future might be different from what we have known about the new mode of public interaction and opinion making. YouTube remains an interesting study in marketing a consumer internet service in the changing scenario of mass media. Its reach, ubiquity, and sheer volume of content, everything from dumb home movies to glossy commercial calling cards, make it â€Å"easily dismissible as merely the latest purveyor of trivial, banal, repetitious distractions for an eagerly narcotized booboisie† (Cloud). In this context, it is essential to examine whether YouTube, as a socio-cultural medium, appropriates and exploits other media or not. All social changes contain elements of continuity and assertion of novelty is always a tricky enterprise. Our speech, print, and audio-visual media have always constituted the structures and frameworks for the objective of social setup, as these media act as a powerful instrument capable of imposing its assumptions on our modes of perception. In the electronic age understanding the effect of media in social change involve shaping and transfer of opinion and illustrating the dynamic symmetries of their operation on man and society.

The Cypriot financial crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Cypriot financial crisis - Essay Example The paper tells that the European economic crisis is an ongoing economic crisis that has made it hard or impossible for some nations in the euro region to re-finance or repay their government debt devoid of the help from third parties. Clerides and Stephanou noted that Cyprus was considered as a tax haven, thus becoming an epicenter for corruption and money laundering. This made the banking sector to be larger than the nation’s economy. Therefore, when there was an increase in public and private debt, the country went into recession with the economy shrinking by 1.67 % in 2009. This marked the beginning of the Cypriot economic crisis. Over the last decade, the Greek government has borrowed greatly from international markets in order to pay for its trade deficits and budget. Investors became nervous that the public debt was soaring high, which drove up Greece’s borrowing costs. With the banking systems in Cyprus were experiencing intense pressure; they amassed â‚ ¬22 billion of Greek private sector debt. This increase in public and private debt reduced economic growth plunging the country into a crisis. This market concerns is what initiated the study to examine how public and private debt contributed to the Cypriot Euro zone crisis. The Cyprus banking crisis was attributed to Cypriot banks investing heavily in Greek government bonds. The Cyprus banks came under intense financial pressure as the bad ratios escalated. Laiki bank reported that the bank was probably insolvent as early as 2008. This was even before Cyprus plunged into the Eurozone crisis.

You Tube as a Cultural Form Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

You Tube as a Cultural Form - Essay Example Understanding effects of media in the changing world and engaging in media study require â€Å"illustrating the dynamic symmetries† of various media like the press, radio, or television. (McLuhan 172). It is relevant to understand the repercussions of the Internet as a new form of a public sphere and to understand how the networked future might be different from what we have known about the new mode of public interaction and opinion making. YouTube remains an interesting study in marketing a consumer internet service in the changing scenario of mass media. Its reach, ubiquity, and sheer volume of content, everything from dumb home movies to glossy commercial calling cards, make it â€Å"easily dismissible as merely the latest purveyor of trivial, banal, repetitious distractions for an eagerly narcotized booboisie† (Cloud). In this context, it is essential to examine whether YouTube, as a socio-cultural medium, appropriates and exploits other media or not. All social changes contain elements of continuity and assertion of novelty is always a tricky enterprise. Our speech, print, and audio-visual media have always constituted the structures and frameworks for the objective of social setup, as these media act as a powerful instrument capable of imposing its assumptions on our modes of perception. In the electronic age understanding the effect of media in social change involve shaping and transfer of opinion and illustrating the dynamic symmetries of their operation on man and society.

Buddhism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Buddhism - Research Paper Example Siddhartha got distressed by all the sufferings around him and decided to leave his family and all the material comforts he possessed, and set out on a wondering life. It was in this journey that he sat under the Bodhi tree and staunchly decided not to move until he got enlightenment (Harvey 45). Buddha decided to leave the palace at the age of 29 on four different occasions to explore. During his first visit outside the palace, he witnessed an old man who was bent over and had problems walking when Siddhartha passed by; the man faced him, his red eyes squinting from his terribly wrinkled old face. In his second trip, he saw a sick man, crying in pain. On his third outing, Siddhartha came upon a corpse. He was saddened by these sights of sickness, old age and death. On his fourth outing, he met a monk who inspired him to leave the palace and all his mundane possessions, including his wife and son (Harvey 46). He sought to understand more about life and why human beings suffer, and ho w he would help in ending suffering in the world. During his enlightenment, he found the power to observe his former life, the power to see the rebirth of all forms, power to see death as well as the realization that he had left all the desires and ignorance that he had possessed. He had by all ways become a Buddha, meaning the â€Å"awakened one†. ... The Basic Tenets of Buddhism Reincarnation According to Buddhism, human beings possess the ability to get free from sufferings by observing, meditation and cultivating a lifestyle as prescribed by Buddha. Buddha gave a number of teachings known as Dharma. The wheel is a distinguished symbol in Buddhism since it depicts the perpetual cycle of life and death. According to Buddhism, after human beings die, they are born in a new form. They could either take the form of a deity, a human being, a ghost, an animal or even an inhabitant of hell. It is the belief that all the positive thoughts and people’s actions bring good karma, and may direct an individual into getting reborn in a higher form. The consequences caused by a person’s negative deeds, or evil karma, may lead to rebirth in a lower form (Gethin 22). Buddhism as a religion does not agree with the existence of a permanent self that will reincarnate from this life to the next. The assumption of an existing self gets created by the following five aggregates: Skandha, that suffers from a constant becoming and possesses a functional cause-effect relation; the body is the material form. Feeling, or Vedanta, is the sensation that develops from the sense organs in the body. Cognition, or sanna, is the process of classifying and labeling of experiences. Mental constructions, or Sankara, are the states that initiate action. Consciousness, or vijnana, is the awareness of a mental or sensory object. These five elements become impermanent, pass constant transformation, and have no abiding principle or the self. All human beings think that they got a self because of the consciousness. However, consciousness by being in a constant process of becoming and

Admissions Essay Essay Example for Free

Admissions Essay Essay The realization that education is a critical component of my professional and personal success has been a gradual realization for me. However, I believe that with my current conviction about the importance of education, I will be able to achieve great success in Central Washington University’s MBA program. As a teenager I did not always understand the importance of education in regard to my professional and personal development. During my high school years and early college years, I cared more about sports and hanging out with my friends, than getting good grades. As a result, my grades suffered and I did not benefit as much from my classes as I could have when I was younger. Throughout these years, my Dad encouraged me and tried to motivate me to put more effort into my studies. It was through his positive encouragement and an accounting class that I took with Ms. Smith that finally changed my entire outlook on education. Not only did Ms. See more: Is the Importance of being earnest a satirical play essay Smith pull me aside and tell me that I was not working up to my potential, but she made me see that what we were studying really mattered to my life. I realized that if I was going to be successful in life I would have to apply myself and master the material I was learning in my classes. Since I came to this realization, I have been working harder in all of my classes to become more knowledgeable and educated person. Currently I am working to ensure my academic success by working hard in my classes and preparing to get a masters degree in business administration. I now put my classes as top priority in my life and also use my free time to better myself as well. As a younger kid I gave very little thought to what I did in my free time, and thus spent the majority of my free time playing video games and hanging out with friends. However, as I have come to my realization that education and knowledge are critical to my personal and professional success, I now prefer to read books and other publications about all sorts of topics to develop my understanding of the world I live in. Furthermore, I have taken a variety of math and business classes as an undergraduate student to better prepare myself for my career goals. To ensures my success in these classes, I have consistently taken advantage of professors’ office hours and tutoring sessions whenever I need extra help in a certain area. My primary goal is to get a Masters Degree in business administration in order to gain the knowledge and experience I need to start my own business. I am extremely eager to learn as much as possible about succeeding in the business world, and I believe that Central Washington University will feed my thirst for knowledge with quality classes and knowledgeable professors. I hope that this program will help me accomplish my goals by teaching me the leadership skills, strategic planning skills, as well as the general knowledge I would need to be successful businessman. I also believe that both the students and faculty at CWU will be people I can relate to and learn from. I have also heard that this specific program at CWU strives to give its students as much hands-on experience as possible to better prepare them for the real-world. This educational philosophy is aligned with my needs as a student, and it will help me to turn my ambitions into a reality. I believe that the combination of hands-on-experience, motivated peers, newfound skills will help me to achieve my lofty goals once I finish this program.

Economic Development In The Uae Economics Essay

Economic Development In The Uae Economics Essay UAE United Arab Emirates as we call it has managed to become the regional trading hub of the middle-east along with being an enormously growing business capital. The country is also referred to as the wealthiest in the Region with the GDP per capital income of around $49500 (forecast 2011). The credit for much of the development goes to the oil and gas reserves of the country because the UAE has the third largest reserves of the OPEC. Even though the UAE is fairly dependent on oil as it comprises of 20% of the international GDP, yet the diversification measures are constantly taken to shift the economy away from being highly dependent on the Oil prices. This diversified economy of The UAE is definitely a success and a role model for the all the other economies in the GCC to follow. The vision of UAE is to become the best country in the world by 2021. (GCC) UAE VISION 2021 The vision of UAE is to be among the best countries on the world by 2021. They aspire to be united in knowledge, prosperity, destiny and responsibility. The vision 2021 portrays some of the responsibilities of the UAE government. UAE will introduce high quality global standard infrastructure, government services and recreational environments. Emiratis will benefit highly from customer oriented government services offered at the best quality. Excellent communication infrastructure will promote business networking and give them a leading edge when they interact with the world UAE Government Strategy 2011-2013 UAE government strategy highlights the main priorities of the government in the coming two years covering the period of 2011-2013. The strategy will act as a benchmark for federal entities to develop and their strategic plans. The strategy lays the foundation for the vision of 2021. The strategy is basically divided in to 7 general principles Enhance the role of national entities and in carrying out operative regulations and cohesive policies by successful planning and implementation. Enhance coordination and cooperation among National entities and local government. Focus totally on delivering high class, customer oriented and integrated government services. Spend in human resource competences and create and polish leaders. Encourage efficient resource management within the national entities and leverage the dynamic partnerships. Implement a culture of brilliance through strategic thinking, uninterrupted performance improvement and excellent results Encourage transparency and enhance the accountability mechanisms of the government throughout the federal entities. UAE is the second largest economy in the Arab gulf and it is consistently ranked among the fastest growing economies of the world. During the past 40 years GDP of UAE has grown tremendously from $6.5 billion in 1971 to a massive total of $1248 billion in 2011.which is roughly a 192x increase (The glorious four decades of the UAE). The per capita GDP of Dubai has increased from 100000 dirhams (1975) to 174000 dirhams in (2011). This outstanding performance has forced international organizations to rank Dubai among the top emerging markets in the world along with china, Turkey, India, Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and Brazil. The strategy for the diversification of income resources has proved successful. According to local and international report the steady economic growth has not solely resulted from energy production and exports of oil, as the case with other oil economies, it has resulted from diversifying sources of income and minimization on the reliance of oil. Many sectors such a s the financial services, logistics, tourism and other strategic sectors in the economy have not been favored by the government for the provision of oil. According to recent statistics oil contribution tom the GDP has decreased from 70% in 1971 to 29% in 2010. This approach portrays a massive achievement of the country in the area of economics because it portrays great contribution towards the stability of the national economy. According to the recent forecast by (IMF), the GDP growth of UAE is prone to rise from 3.3% in 2011 to 3.8% in 2012. It is also expected that the UAE will maintain a double figure surplus of around 10.3% in 2012. Environment has been rated as a potential component of The UAE development strategy, UAE has never overlooked the environment factor and has always regarded environment protection as a major goal of its sustainable development strategy. The government has addressed harsh desertification and developed water resources for increasing greenery. Agriculture has also been addressed thoroughly by the government of UAE, and the government has been successful in achieving goals despite the problem of scarcity and desertification. The main goal for the development and growth of agriculture sector has been the provision of food to the local economy. This is because the government regards it as being an element of national security. The industrial sector has also boomed a lot on the 21st century with investment in this sector amounting to DH101.12 billion in 2010 (IMF). Around 4960 industries have been established and the total number of workers employed has increased dramatically. This clearly portrays the vision of federal and local government to modify and develop the Industrial sector. Over the years UAE has managed to establish a modern infrastructure which solidly addresses the needs of public services for citizens and businesses. The infrastructure not only includes roads, power and bridges but also transcends to include, specialized and economic free zones. The free zones are more than 30 in number and are widely spread all over the emirates. The real estate sector at the Abu Dhabi and Dubai contributed heavily towards the transformation of the country (GCC). The real estate in these states has been referred to as the world renowned real estate front with new and modified concepts and green building. The tourism sector has also improved tremendously over the years. It was the record high in 2010 with the number of tourists reaching over 10 million. What majorly contributed to the tourism sector has been the strategic location and domestic flow of local and foreign investments in the sector. The investment size associated with tourism and infrastructure has been 47 billion Dh on average over the last 10 years. Presently the Dubai Airport is ranked as the fourth best Airport of the world. Conferring to the Travel and tourism competitiveness report of 2011 published by the world economic forum (IMF), the UAE was ranked 30 among the lot of 139 countries and was ranked first in the middle -east as the most progressive country in tourism and travel with the score of 4.78. The foreign trade accounts for 70% of the UAE Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country has a wide network of trading partners around the world and it enjoys bilateral trade relations all of them. It is forecasted that the foreign trade will grow in excess of 25% after 2011, because of the massive improvements in the economic environment of the UAE (Trade). The UAE is among the largest exporter and importer countries of the world with exports of $235 billion and imports of $170 billion. The exports comprise of 2% of the total world exports whereas the imports comprise of 1.4% of the total world imports. The massive balance of payment surplus has benefitted the economy of UAE tremendously. Non-oil exports of the country have increased form Dh 2 billion in 1981 to Dh 27.4 billion in 2010. Dubai standard for 82% of the total nonoil exports of the UAE in 2010. Abu Dhabi comprised of 14% and Ras-Al-Khaimah comprised of 2.5% of the total nonoil exports in the UAE. The financial services sector (UAE) has also witnessed rapid growth in the past few years. An important role was played by the commercial and specialized banks of the UAE in sponsoring economic activity and trade in the country. Fifty one banks are currently operating in the country including 23 national banks. Financial markets have also contributed heavily in mobilization of domestic savings; the Abu Dhabi securities market and the Dubai financial market are figured as the main financial markets of the country. Dubai International financial market was also established to become the free zone for the most important financial centers in North Africa and the Middle-East. The government also invested its accumulated surpluses in international institutions such as the Abu Dhabi investment authority, and this contributed heavily to the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s domestic wealth (Suwaidi). When it comes down to competition UAE has achieved record figures in Arab and the international competitiveness field. UAE regards competitiveness as its most strategic direction. For the sake of this the government has established a council known as the Emirates competitiveness Council. The aim of this council is to improve the performance of the key sectors of the country and to ensure the wellbeing and good quality life for its citizens. The economic council of Dubai also setup the Dubai competitiveness center. The aim of this center is to kind Dubai as the utmost competitive city in the world. Abu Dhabi department of economic development has also established a competitive office. All these bodies work together for the national economy which is taking a lot of strides to include UAE among the best economies of UAE till the year 2021. UAE is now ranked among the top in the competitive group. It is ranked third in the Arabs world and twenty seventh worldwide (Jones). The main competitors of UAE in the Arab world have been Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Egypt to say the least. The global competitiveness report has allotted high rank to the UAE for the past three years (2011-2012). UAE leads the list of emerging markets that includes India, China, Russia and Brazil. E-Government in the UAE. The federal egovernment project started in the UAE in the year 2001 when the ministry of finance carried out the edirham. It was the first eservice that helped the electronic payment for accessing the federal government services (Interact).Since then, many of the federal and local level entities have launched eservices that have proven to be time efficient and cost efficient and the government is also experiencing reduced operational costs and increased efficiency In offering the services. The egovernment strategy was then setup in 2003. IBM helped to conduct an evaluation study for the development of the executive plan. The ministry of finance started an operational plan for e-government in 2004. The memorandum of understanding was signed between Etisalat and the government to provide infrastructure for e-government in March 2005. Then finally in june 2008 the TRA passed a resolution to develop a plan for IT in the federal government. Federal E-GOVERNMENT Plan 2012-2014 The vision of the federal government of the UAE 2012-2014 plan is to maximize the competitiveness of the UAE by the provision of world class practices in all the areas of E-government. The federal E-Government plan development is dependent upon a strategic framework consisting of three dimensions. The dimensions include E-Services, E-readiness and the ICT environment (Interact) E-Government has been successfully launched in the UAE and is operating at local levels as well. six out of seven emirates including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, and Ras Al Khaimah. All of them have launched their official portals. E-COMMERCE in the UAE The E-Commerce is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the E-commerce Law and the services of certification in the UAE. It promotes adherence to the regulations and laws which enables safe and secure E-commerce transactions. The ultimate mission and target of E-commerce department is to promote economic development and technological advancement and innovation within the defined limits of a just e-commerce regulatory regime totally in line with the global standards (Aya). It also aims to establish a regulatory and licensing regime that will be responsible for providing optimal development and encourage innovation, growth, competition and massive investment in the UAE ICT and the ecommerce sector, via implementation of the best global practices and standards while responding to the market needs and local consumers. THREATS TO THE UAE ECONOMY UAE economy is not perfect as yet and is still not the number one economy of middle-east. It has to strive hard in order to be more competitive in the region. The economy of UAE is facing heavy competition from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil reserves and many seaports for international trade. The competition is intense. UAE has just managed to pass both Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the UAE (Abdul Basit) but it is still not enough to get a comprehensive lead in the economic standing of the region. Some of the recent threats to the UAE economy has include the recent Euro Crisis in Europe. IMF has issued a warning to the UAE that it could be hit by the worsening situation in Europe after the recent news of Spain seeking a 100 billion euros bail out. Other threats to the UAE economy include the heavy government subsidies by the government in the UAE and its agriculture sector. The obsolete tax system is ranked as a potential threat as well because it is very different from the tax system around the world. Job cuts in the Expanding UAE economy have also been listed as a potential threat to the economy as a whole (Bundhun). Diminishing Oil reserves in Dubai is also an issue that needs to be taken into account. Although UAE has been pretty successful in shifting from oil to nonoil exports, yet the focus should be on decreasing the oil exports further to create a provision for diminishing oil reserves. The emerging economic world powers in the world include China, India, Turkey, Russia, Brazil to name a few. UAE is a trading partner to china and the importance of trading partners is every high because china is also among the fastest growing emerging economies today. USA is going through a a bad patch right now because of its deteriorating economic conditions, but it is a strategic partner of UAE in trade and infrastructure. American goods and services discover a ready market here provided they bring a technological superiority or a new feature. Along with that US is also among the biggest competitor of UAE because of its high quality products with latest technology and after sales service. The competition is intensely high and UAE will have to focus on the quality and after sales service to compete effectively in the future (Interact). CONCLUSION Looking at all the recent developments and the achievements of UAE, it is true to say that UAE has been acting like a champion in the past decade with constant innovations and increased international trade. The introduction of E government and E commerce has helped the domestic economy lot in everyday life (Aya). The main focus of this system by UAE was to accelerate continuous in the economy. The International standing OF UAE has also improved a lot and it is now ranked 27th in the world and third in the UAE (Jones) which is no less than a milestone for them. The dependency on oil exports has increased and non-oil exports now comprise of more than 70% of the total exports, Dubai being the highest contributor in the non-oil exports sector. This will also prove to be an Asset for UAE in the times of oil crisis. The manufacturing sector of the economy is also booming and is now ranked as the number one manufacturing sector in the UAE. With all these milestones and achievements it is no t hard to believe that UAE will be among the best economies of the world till 2021.

Suffering :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In many places throughout the world and almost every person on the planet people go through or witness suffering and death everyday. I have experience and lived through suffering. Many people have different explanations for the reason of these terrible things but could this happen to benefit us. Martin Luther king say’s suffering is creative and redemptive but not in the original meanings we think.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The meaning I associate with suffering is an uncomfortable state for an amount of time. This is not the text book definition the real definition is To feel pain or distress; sustain loss, injury, harm, or punishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In many things I have witnessed is my Great-grand mother dying. However she was very old naturally it was and is very hard. How ever I believe the creative aspect must have been when she was dying and repeatedly told me about the miraculous hills and flowers. I believe the hardest thing about accepting and fearing your own death is the lack of knowledge of the after life and I believe because she gave me this wonderful description it wont be as hard for me to accept her death along with other peoples and my own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another type creative suffering I have see is with in my friends family. His father suffers from a self inflicted disease called alcoholism. I believe because of his higher percentage to become and alcoholic himself by seeing such a hard suffering could teach him not to do it and maybe even help his offspring by informing them. This is another way I believe this suffering of one person can help so many others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Overall the term of death that strikes me the most the come about Jesus’ death is the fact that Jesus was ransom for all of us and he didn’t care he willingly was a sacrifice for us and all of our sins and this is surely a creative death. He was here to help us and release us of our sins. With out him It is possible we could not be here today. This is how it connects to human nature but his sacrifice is his life which is not of a normal person he is special.

What it Means to become a Teacher

I used to think that the best part of being a teacher was the brightly colored bulletin boards, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the Crayola Crayons, and the endless supply of organized office supplies neatly placed on the teacher’s desk.I spent countless summers of my childhood assisting my mother, a third grade teacher, with the annual set up of her classroom. On those hot summer days, I admired the creativity, organization, and enthusiasm my mother holds for her profession. It inspired me so much that I decided I too wanted to be a teacher. I’ve come a long way in my initial reason of why I want to me an educator. With my experiences and education in ED109, the reading requirements, class discussions and interview, I now know that teaching is much more fulfilling than what I first observed so many years ago. It takes dedication, willingness to learn, thoughtfulness and compassion to thrive and survive in this profession.The following paper will explore my obse rvations of this experience. I’ll begin with my interview with my mother, a third grade teacher for the past fifteen years, in a low socioeconomic school district. I sat down with her and asked her to share her insight that might help me continue my journey as an up and coming educator. I asked her, ‘what is the best part of being a teacher?’ She responded, ‘every day you feel that you have made a difference in a child’s life. Whether it is teaching them to read, enhancing their social skills or celebrating their achievements – you know that you mattered. When it’s the end of the day and kids say ‘I want to stay here in school – it’s so much fun!’ you know you are the one that got them to love to learn.’When discussing this with my mother is made me look back at my experiences and helped me to anticipate the fulfillment of student success and the joy of learning. This made me understand the importance o f teaching and how teachers impact students every day. I went on to ask her about the challenges she faces in the teaching profession. My mother explained that it can be the work outside working and teaching students. She gave me examples of the paper work involved in keeping accurate scores and grading papers, bus duty, and at times endless school meetings that could be done more efficiently.She explained that is comes with the profession, but definitely not a favorite amongst teachers. When reading the chapters in Pearl Rock Kane’s book My First Year as a Teacher, I  saw other challenges teachers face. For example in chapter two, Ms. Nehemiah struggles to get her class on topic. The book states â€Å"I wanted to discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of metaphor in The Great Gatsby. They wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room†(Kane 1991). This shows me that it is difficult to control a classroom as a first year teacher and how f irst year teachers need to come up with effective strategies to be in control. Ms. Nehemiah figures out strategies by communicating with her peers and other teachers that have the experience she doesn’t.This helped her realize her strengths and weaknesses. Her ability to take constructive criticism and reflect on herself is why she is still a teacher today. When interviewing my mother and reflecting on my readings, I was able to gain a better understanding of challenges in a classroom and what I can do to surpass the challenges to be the most effective educator. I wanted to know what she felt new educators needed to know before entering the profession.My mom clearly stated that â€Å"if you are not going to give it your all, don’t do it.† She reflected on a poor experience she had with a student teacher placement she had several years ago. She explained that the student teacher’s heart and passion just wasn’t there and the students and staff could feel it. I gathered from my mom’s response that a strong work ethic, passion for the profession, and willingness to reflect is what is needed to be an effective educator. Her response went along activities on pursuing the profession of teaching.During the class discussions and activities, I learned that there are multiple steps to become a teacher, such as in the state of Massachusetts, you are required to take the MTEL tests for you area of study to become a licensed teacher. Also, you have to maintain a master’s degree in art or science. I would not have had the knowledge of this if I wasn’t in this education class. This class has provided me with a deeper understanding on what it takes to become a teacher and what life as a teacher will be like. Later in the interview, I asked what do colleges need to so in order to prepare new teachers for the profession? My mother’s response was that all colleges and their education students need to dissect and inter pret the new Common Core Standards.I gathered from our conversation that new educators will be required to know the standards and will have to develop instruction accordingly. Principals and school districts will search out new educators that are experienced and  familiar with the Common Core. This conversation about the Common Core Standards made me realize that although we have not explored this topic in ED109, as I delve deeper into the education classes at Lasell College, I will look for opportunities to grasp these standards. Finally, I asked what can I expect if I become a teacher? She said ‘Expect that you will lose sleep at night thinking about how you will help Johnny read or that Mary needs a winter coat for recess.You will get out of bed and search your closets for a coat for Mary. You will finally get Johnny to read and when he does, you will celebrate on your car ride home with the radio blasting. You will celebrate and get discouraged. Your patience will be tes ted, but your heart will be filled. You will have to manage your time and give it your all every day.’ Her response can be connected to the reading and the discussions in class.I remember in class Jess stated something along the lines of ‘You worry about your students even though you aren’t in the classroom. You will lose sleep thinking about lesson plans and you will be stressed out. You can’t let the students see you crumbling if something doesn’t work out exactly as planned, because many things do not go perfectly in a classroom.’ This really stuck with me after being in the class, because it shows the passion and heart you have to have for the profession and if you don’t have that heart and passion you will not survive in the classroom. As for the readings, they connected to my mother’s response, especially in chapter six of My First Year as a Teacher by Pearl Rock Kane because it explains that this teacher worries about her students even after she has taught them.Ms. McClurg says â€Å"And I wonder if any of the students who shared in that fourth-period class remember the long dark winter that turned into spring and how they changed the life of a friendless boy named Leo – and the life of an inexperienced teacher†(Kane 1991). When reading this quote it really shows that a teacher really thinks and reflects about every student they have and had over the years. My thinking about education has developed over the course of the semester.I’ve been able to integrate the class discussions/activities, readings and experiences to develop a deeper, more meaningful understanding of what it takes to become an educator and why I belong in this profession. I plan to further investigate the best teaching practices and skills needed for teaching right here at Lasell College. I will utilize what I learned and now know I too  will make a difference in a child’s life.

A Health and Fitness Company Essay

You are a top executive in your corporation. After careful consideration, you were selected to work on a project to use MIS to change the way business is run. In a group of 5, you will be responsible for researching the practices in your industry, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the industry, and make an innovative plan to use MIS to improve on current practices. Finally, you will be required to submit a typed report and deliver an oral presentation to the board of directors following these guidelines: Your report MUST include the following side headings: 1. History and Background (provide detailed information about the industry, past and present business model/practices, the industry’s strengths and weaknesses) 2. Target Customer (identify the target customer in terms of age, gender, income, location, needs†¦etc. Have your customers’ needs changed over the years? Are all their needs fulfilled? Is there a gap between customers’ needs and market offerings?) 3. Competition (who is your competition? What are your plans to ensure that you are steps ahead of your competition and how will you respond to changes in the competitive environment?) 4. Survey and Results (you are required to design a survey to help you with your project. Be sure to include a copy of your survey questions, sample size, summary of results, and recommendations) 5. Proposed Use of MIS (explain how MIS will benefit your industry/corporation. Provide details of the benefits and challenges of using MIS in your industry/corporation) 6. Implications (what are the implications of the suggested use of MIS on the industry?) 7. Financial Benefits (what are the costs and financial benefits of using your proposed plan? Explain the impact on revenue, fixed costs, variable costs, initial investment, training, implementation, customer acquisition, customer retention, and customer satisfaction) 8. The Future (what changes do you foresee in the future of your industry/corporation? How will you respond to changes in technology, processes, competitive environment, customers’ taste/needs, economic environment†¦etc.?) The purpose of your research is to a) provide you with an opportunity to learn more about a specific industry and the current processes used b) Identify opportunities to use MIS to change how business is run and improve on current business practices. All group members must participate in the preparation of the written report and delivery of the oral presentation. Do not read directly from your report (you may use index cards to remind yourself of important points), face the audience when presenting. Allow time for questions from the audience and be prepared to answer them. Audience members must be prepared to ask questions also. Your report must be TYPED, double-spaced, use Times New Roman size 12 font for body of report. Include a cover page (with all group members’ names, title (Industry/corporation), date, presented to: Prof. Eshra) and a correctly formatted references page (APA) for all sources used (minimum of 5 different sources). Prepare a minimum of 10 PowerPoint slides to use when presenting your report. Before your due date, you are required to submit a printed copy as well as an electronic copy of: 1. Your report (10 pages minimum excluding cover page/table of contents/references) April 6, 2013 2. PowerPoint presentation (minimum 10 slides)-Submit on the day you present Be as creative as you can to capture the attention of your audience (use of multimedia, original digital pictures, short videos is encouraged).