Monday, September 30, 2019

Nhs Database Administrator Criteria and Job Description

? On of the tree jobs I chose to research is as an NHS Database Administration in this page I will explain some of the tasks that a Database Administrator will do and how many files need updating. And why the job role is available and what skills I would need to have to apply for this job. The role of a database administrator is to: Ensure patient medical records are correctly updated Make appointments Check in arriving patients using an internal database system Problem solving skillsTelephone work both internally and externally Administration Support In this job there are a large number of files that need to be updated because they have incorrect information included in them. This problem is solved by the database administrator who investigates the files and resolves any issues that crop up so that the information in these files is completely correct and filed correctly. Part of the reason this job is available is because clients have a back log to get through.Database Management Sy stem and DataI think this job would be good for me because it is a temporary ongoing position that requires the person that gets this job to be flexible in the tasks asked of them. The skills I would need for this job are as follows: Experience working within the NHS. Minimum of 1 year of administration experience. Good IT skills using Microsoft word and excel. I would need to be able to work towards meeting and meet the agreed deadlines. And I would need good communication skills.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Memorial Health System Essay

In going through the case study of the Memorial Health System CPOE Implementation it is apparent that the direction of the implementation was developing trouble from the onset of the proposal and the evaluation (Wager, Glaser, 2009). The first problem that is apparent is the lack of belief in the project. When the board approved the CPOE initiative and appointed the champions of the project the CEO Fred Dryer and CIO Joe Roberts there was already opposition from some of the stakeholders about this project. The physician believed the CPOE system would create more workload for them as well as this system reducing the physician to secretaries. To minimize the effect of this indicator a physician would have been appointed as a champion of this project to serve as an advocate of the system (Wager, Glaser, 2009). To gain buy-in from other physicians and user of the new system to ensure they have adequate input into the decision- making process (Wager, Glaser, 2009). The lack of clarity of purpose is apparent in this implementation. The project does not determine the scope and expectations clearly the board approved a multimillion dollar initiative to install an enterprise-wide clinician provider order entry system to reduce medical errors. To minimize this indicator the implementation team must determine the scope of the project and what the organization hopes the project will achieve (Wager, Glaser, 2009). A senior health care executive should meet with the implementation team to set the tone and communicate how the project relates to the organization’s strategic goals (Wager, Glaser, 2009). The team will determine the scope, establish expectations, and institute a project plan to minimize this indicator (Wager, Glaser, 2009). Insufficient leadership support is another indicator that played a part in the failure of this implementation. When leadership wants to hear positive communication about a project and not the negatives the project will fail. To minimize this  indicator clear and concise communication on the progress of the project is necessary the leader involve in the project should make time for reports on the progress of the implementation to handle any issues that may occur that could hinder the progress of the project (Wager, Glaser, 2009). Appointing people who believe and committed to the project into leadership position to lead the team and make time for communication from team and other leadership (Wager, Glaser, 2009). Another issue that was an indicator of failure to this project was the requirements analysis was rushed several key workflow and system integration issues were missed. To minimize this indicator a thorough requirement analysis is done to ensure that all workflow analysis to support the change in workflow and the system requirements analysis to ensure the requirements needed for the system to work are aligned with the strategic goals of the organization (Wager, Glaser, 2009). Budget cut to the project was a big indicator the would lead to failure of this project because in the status review meeting it was presented that the project was on scope, on schedule, and on budget led to leadership taking resources from the CPOE project. It is important the present a true picture of how the project is going not just what someone wants to hear (Wager, Glaser, 2009). Present a clear picture of how the budget is spent and what the project will continue to spend as the implementation goes to completion, such as training, or a newer version of the software (Wager, Glaser, 2009). Showing an account of the budget can help to minimize this indicator (Wager, Glaser, 2009). This project was doom from the beginning there was not a clear scope or the expectation of the project. Analysis were not done there was not a detail project plan plus and unrealistic time line for the project to be implemented. Leadership did not communicate enough to persuade the stakeholders who were against the project to change their thoughts and so on. However, for the project to work the objectives of the initiatives are clear and communicating these objectives and initiative, and test the degree to which the organizational members have brought into them. Dividing the project into manageable pieces address the complexity and test the evidence that the project may be at risk from trying to do too much all at once. Reference Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2009). Health Care Information System: A practical approach for health care management (2nd ed.). San Frncisco, CA: Jossey-Bas.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Model Answer for Busniess Inovation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Model Answer for Busniess Inovation - Coursework Example According to the CEO Andy Harrison "EasyJet is now the UKs National airline. Passengers have clearly voted with their feet, boarding EasyJets aircraft more than any other airline. In a harsh economic environment, EasyJet’s continuous resilient performance is evidence to the superiority of its business model. Europe’s premier air transport network, strong customer proposition and service execution are associated to an extremely efficient operating model that is based on simplicity and low cost. Having to face an uncertain business climate such as severe completion, weak consumer confidence and with the hike in fuel and the volatility of currency, EasyJet is one of the few airlines globally to remain profitable during these harsh times. According to the Non Executive Interim Chairman Sir David Michels, these results were driven primarily through good revenue performance offsetting the  £86 million unit increase in fuel costs and  £31 million reduction in interest income. Easyjet’s marketing strategy took advantage of capacity cuts by other carriers to advance their position in the European short-haul market, capturing shares in important markets such as Milan, Paris, Madrid and London Gatwick and increasing our slot portfolio at congested airports by over 10%. Easyjet has plans to deliver growth of around 7.5% per annum over the coming five year. Easyjet looks to take advantage of the commercial opportunities apparent in European short-haul aviation, whilst delivering positive cash generation beyond the period of the higher than normal capital expenditure associated with the replacement of the more expensive Boeing subfleet. Easy Jet has a unique marketing strategy, rather than targeting leisure passengers, Easy Jet’s main target market are the business passengers who are more regular customers than leisure passengers as they fly more than leisure passengers. Easy Jet has also now focused more on internet marketing which is a lot cheaper than

Friday, September 27, 2019

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

HRM - Essay Example Job analysis enables to document the requirements of job and the work that need to be executed (Levine, Ash, Hall & Sistrunk, 1983). There are numerous methods of job analysis that managers can use for collecting information i.e. interviews, questionnaire survey, observation and focus group among others. Often managers use combination of these methods on the basis of situation of the organization (Franklin, 2005). Job Description Job description is a brief account of job responsibilities and necessities. It provides the purpose of a particular job which suits the company’s structure. Job description is divided into four major sections which are job summary, job function, job requirement and other information. Job summary represents a brief outline of the job position and the key roles associated with it. Job function is the thorough description about the duties and the responsibilities of a particular job. Job requirements section provides the educational necessities, document ations and other vital experiences essential for applying for a particular job. Furthermore, job description enables to ensure that an organization is well aware of the employee requirements in order to fulfill a vacant position (Mader-Clark, 2008). Job Description ABC Ltd. Job Position: Marketing and Sales Manager Location: United States of America Major Job Responsibilities: Planning and managing marketing operations and handling employees Job Status: Full-time employment Main Objectives: Accomplishing sales target, administering business improvement and supervising employees Duties and Responsibilities Managing online recruitment services exclusively for sales and marketing position Developing marketing plan in collaboration with the sales, production and finance departments Creating budget for marketing activities through forecasting demands and allocating expenditures Managing advertisement and distribution Managing all promotional programs in a timely way Directing subordinate s regarding spending money according to the budget Motivating team members for effective performance Providing training and coaching to the employees Developing marketing strategy and performing in conjunction with other departments Arranging scheduled meetings with other managers Accomplishing appropriate organizational performance through providing required information to the customers, recognizing customers’ trends and resolving any marketing issue Skill and Aptitudes Good communication skill Ability to manage numerous tasks simultaneously through utilizing personal knowledge Ability to maintain good relationship with major stakeholders Ability to ensure that organizational marketing strategies are practiced appropriately Ability to plan, assess and observe performance of subordinates and to ensure that constant improvement is in progress Relationship Internally demonstrate strong collaboration with every worker in the organization Develop trust among staffs and other mana gers and valuing them respectively Maintain professional relationship with the employees and the customers Maintain strong team association and support other departments Experience Requirement Minimum 4 to 6 years sales and marketing experience in the other company Experience in accounting and computer software solution Experience in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Managing People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing People - Essay Example Therefore culture is defined as ‘the way we do things around here’. Analysis Corporate culture is usually described as ‘the way we do things around here’. It is considered as a set of rules that each and everyone in the organisation learns to follow and thereby influences the behaviour of the employees. Corporate culture often determines the behaviour of the people within business and also the level of motivation within its employees. The culture of the organisation can influence how traditional or forward thinking is the way the company operates (Dooley, 2005, p.139). It is the feel of the organisation which is quickly picked up the new members. Culture is ‘the way we do things around here’. It is a powerful tool and is likely to become more visible when organisations implements new strategies. Thus its human nature to resist change in the way they do things and similarly its nature of the human to change the culture in which they work and live (Carroll, 2009, p.95). The key drivers of ‘the way we do things around here’ are multiple. The behaviour of the management is one of the major drivers of culture as the people observe the behaviour of the management rather than on what they say. ... 31-33). Organisational culture or corporate culture is set of values, beliefs and assumptions which is shared by member of an organisation and also teaches the new member of the organisation to think feel and act in the right way. The cultural perspective of every organisation believes that every organisation develop a unique mixture of standards, values, practise and presumptions of how things should be conducted which later becomes habit (Ashman & Hull, 2011, p.134). Organisational culture comprises of two important components, shared values and assumptions. Values are defined as a conscious perception of what is good and bad or what is right or wrong, values implies what is ought to do. It refers to as a moral compass which directly motivates the decision. Values that exist within organisation are referred to as shared values. These are the values that employees have in common and within the organisation. Assumptions are beliefs or perception that have worked for the organisation in the past and are considered to be correct way to think and act towards any problems and opportunities. These assumptions are taken for granted and are difficult to change (Mcshane, 2008, p. 492). Organisational culture is the outcome of set of dynamics and also acts as an influence of those dynamics. The jargon, ‘the way we do things around here’ is a powerful insight in a company’s culture (Stanford, 2011, pp. 1). Understanding the concept of culture is important for a manager in order to adapt more easily to their new surroundings. Thus managers should learn how to adapt to an environment so that the manager can work effectively. But despite of the manager’s strong desire to understand and adopt

Investment and Fund Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Investment and Fund Management - Essay Example The current difficulty that the members of Fortunes are facing now is regarding the portfolio of pension provision. According to the current provisions, the members will be paid lump sum based upon individual contributions. But a careful analysis of the pension fund portfolio reveals that it was built up in an undisciplined manner. Hence, the current portfolio is considered inappropriate since the global markets are facing downturns. The objective of the study is to carefully analyse the current portfolio and recommend suitable adjustments so that Fortunes Inc. can meets its pension provision in the coming years. Analysis of Current Portfolio Tottenham Hotspur Fortunes Inc. has bought 2000 ordinary shares of Tottenham Hotspur plc which was founded in 1882 and it owns Tottenham Hotspur FC. It falls under entertainment sector. The total revenue of the company at the end of 2011 was ?261.90 million. The company has experienced a growth rate of over 45% during one year. BAE Systems BAE s ystems plc is multinational British defence aerospace and Security Company. It is the world’s largest defence contractor and third biggest in terms of revenue. It falls under aviation sector. The total revenue at the end of 2012 was ?17.84 billion with net profit over ?1billion. Tesco Tesco plc is a multinational British general merchandise and grocery retailer and is the third largest retailer in the world. It falls under consumer goods sector. The total revenue of the company for the year ending 2012 was over ?65.5 billion with net profit over ?3.9 billion. Whitbread Whitbread plc operates in hotels and restaurant business. As of 2012, the company has over 619 hotels and over 385 restaurants. The total revenue of the company for the year ending 2012 was GBP 1.9 billion with a net profit of GBP 281 million. Barclays Bank Barclays plc is a leading banking and financial services providing multinational company which is headquartered in London, UK. It is public limited company and is traded as BARC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It falls under banking and financial services sector. For the year ending 2012, the company reported total revenue over ?24 billion with bottom line about ?235 million. The company specialises in Investment banking, corporate banking and Wealth banking. Helical Bar Helical Bar plc is a holding company operating in property investments and development. It falls under the realty sector. The company leases or owns land and properties for the purpose of trading and selling. The company booked profits of over GBP 7.65 million from a total revenue over 65.85 million. Cable and Wireless Communication It is a global telecom service provider that offers broadband, mobile, television, and fixed lines to customers. It falls under the entertainment sector. In October 2011 the company has sold its 50% interest to Mauritius based Telecom Company known as Vanuatu ltd. In the year 2012, it sold 49% stake to Fiji and formed an amalgamated ent ity known as Fintel. In April 2013, it announced the sale of majority stake to Monaco & Islands division. For the year ending 2012, the company suffered a net loss of GBP 55.49 million. Flybe Group It is UK based domestic airline company and it falls under aviation sector. As on 2012, the company reported to own 19 aircrafts but it suffered a net loss of GBP 22.30 million. Lazard UK Alpha Retail Inc Fund The fund does not charge any initial fee currently

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Business - Essay Example The product to be marketed is a wide range of cosmetics (100%Vegetarian) especially lipsticks, and it would be launched in the Indian market by the name: To enter into a new market firstly a Market Research has to be done and thus, I have prepared a questionnaire for the females between 16-55 yr as a part of my Primary Market Research analysis. Also I have applied Porter’s Five Forces Model i.e. the threat of substitute products, the threat of the entry of new competitors, the intensity of competitive rivalry, the bargaining power of customers, and the bargaining power of suppliers. Culture is the manner in which things are performed within a society, community or nation. Culture is not a trait that comes with birth but it is learnt over a span of several years. The major things that can be observed amongst Indian culture are as follows:- The Terpstra and Sarathy Cultural Framework helps marketing managers to assess the cultural nature of an international market. The Eight categories are Language, Religion, Values and Attitudes, Education, Social Organizations, Technology and Material Culture, Law and Politics and Aesthetics. 1. Language: - There are as many as 22 official languages in India. The national language of the country is Hindi and most of the people in the country are quite well versed with English as well owning to the British rule in the country for around 200 years. 2. Religion: India is considered to be a land of unity in diversity. Many religions are practiced in the country including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islamism, Sikhism, Christianity etc. The cow is considered sacred in Hinduism. She is the one who should be worshipped for the various graces she bestows on humanity. 40% of the total population is Vegetarian. 3. Values and Attitude:- Generally people in India have a high regard for their elders. Although traditional roles are changing, especially in urban areas, there

Monday, September 23, 2019

Biodiversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Biodiversity - Essay Example A more diverse portfolio in making policies helps in reduction of risks the County and its people have to incur in case there is investment only in some few sectors of the economy. According to biological researches, more than 40% of the global economy and 80% of the poor peoples needs comes from biological resources. Thus, the rich biodiversity in Indiana increases opportunities for improvement in life through medical discoveries from nature and response to challenges like climate change (Gamfeldt, Hillebrand, and Jonsson, pp. 1223). The livelihood of the people of Indiana highly depends and has thrived on biodiversity in the area. The presence of a variety of plant and animal species in the area provides an opportunity for consumption of different components of the diet. Consumption of diet that is derived from different plant and animal sources is significant for the prevention of nutrition-related conditions like obesity, thus helps in reduction of the health burden in the area. The industrial sector in Indiana has equally thrived from biodiversity in the country. Industries working in lines like wood industry, fiber industry, oil production dyes and the like have thrived due to existence of readily available resources for their operation in the area thus improving the economic status of the County (Emmett Duffy, pp.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Learning basics about religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning basics about religion - Essay Example Critically, the research documents about the Jewish practice of particularism and universalism by identifying and exhorting various fundamentals from the historical texts despite their geographical distribution across the globe (Donin, 1991). The study criticizes the book written to establish the cornerstones of Judaism to relate the author’s successful evaluation of the main subject of discussion. The book identifies that there exists many groups of Jews born to the eleven tribes of Israel other than Judah. The careful identification of these groups of Jews emphasizes on the existence of skeptical Jews in the religion. Further, the author succeeds in the identification of the ideal population of Jews as the descendants of Judah. It is vital to identify the group as the devout Jews. Arguably, the identification of the religion’s profession to particular pinnacles in their worshipping and social practices asserts that the group embraces covenant relationship with God. Secondly, the chapter instills knowledge that Jews abide and honor the â€Å"Ten Commandments† that were given to Moses during their Exodus from Egypt. The Hebrew Bible identifies monotheism as meant to represent the religion’s belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and Elijah. The researcher establishes an overall history of the Jewish community across the world as they critically evaluate the ideological history of the religion (Donin, 1991). In support of the author, it is evident that the religion devotes its religious beliefs to the four cornerstones namely; the covenant between God and their father, Abraham, the implemented notions of monotheism, the dedication to honor the â€Å"Ten Commandments†, and Israel (the Promised Land). Despite the political and religious changes that have threatened the Jewish community from the past, the author identifies that the group remains strong and devoted to its religious foundations. For example, chronological

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Write the Short Essay on Places of Interest in Your Town Essay Example for Free

Write the Short Essay on Places of Interest in Your Town Essay The population of Kuala Lumpur is a unique and evenly balanced mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian and sundry ethnicities. Conversations, manners and food throughout the city as well as the patience and insouciance to which travellers are exposed contain healthy doses of this cultural amalgamation. Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur is located approximately 11 kilometres to the north of Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves is a limestone hill comprising three major caves and a number of smaller ones. Considered one of Kuala Lumpur’s most frequented tourist attractions, this 100-year-old temple features idols and statues erected inside the main caves and around it. Incorporated with interior limestone formations said to be around 400 million years old, the temple is considered an important religious landmark by Hindus. Central Market Kuala Lumpur located along Jalan Hang Kasturi – only a few minutes away from Petaling Street – is the renowned Central Market. Also known as Pasar Seni, this market is one of Kuala Lumpur’s most familiar landmarks as well as a popular tourist attraction. In the past it was a simple wet market yet today it is a permanent structure that houses all sorts of traders – you can find an assortment of merchandise here that ranges from handicrafts and souvenirs to authentic Malaysian batik prints. Chow Kit Market located at the northern end of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Chow Kit is acknowledged as one of Malaysia’s most infamous landmarks. Even though it may not be as well known by tourists in comparison to its starlet cousin, Petaling Street – which is located within the same area – it is definitely exciting although not for the faint hearted. Chow Kit is divided into two fairly detached halves. The first half is home to some of KL’s most sordid avenues while the other part plays host to a bazaar that is perhaps KL’s most popular. Istana Budaya is Malaysia’s National Theatre. Also known as The Palace of Culture, it towers over the National Art Gallery on Jalan Tun Razak. Built in 1999, it is the country’s main venue for local and international music, dance and drama performances, including operettas, classical concerts and more.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Business Plan Of Castle Family Restaurant

Business Plan Of Castle Family Restaurant This is the business plan of Castles Family Restaurant located in the north California. It has the eight branches in different location. Total 340 employees are working in the restaurant. There is part time as well as full time employees working in it so the need for recruitment and hiring on continual basis required by restaurant. The manager operations and HR manager Jay Morgan need to face the problem related to HRM related to visit in all branches on weekly basis, managing the large number of employees of different branches, managing their payroll system, scheduling and their queries with out delay of time and in cost effective way. HR consultant is hired to coop with all these HR issues of the restaurant. The business plan includes different HR reforms in order to problem resolution. HRIS is considered the key towards the accomplishment of restaurant goals and to meet the HR requirements. Different types of HRIS are identified and the important types of HRIS that fit on the scen ario and can help to resolve the HR issues at is facing by Restaurant is analyzed and methodology of its proper implementation is suggested. Comparison of different types shows that restaurant needs to implement the payroll and employee self support management software in order to coop with daily basis HR issues. Ascentis software Vendor Company is recommended in order to install the successful implementation of HRIS in the restaurant in order to meet the HR needs of the company and provide the successful implementation of solution to the HR manager of restaurant. Introduction The paper is related to the business plan of Castle family restaurant, which is the restaurant situated in the North California. It is the family owned restaurant and it has multiple branches in different locations. The business plan represent the document summarize the Castle family restaurant current business operations related to HR functionality of restaurants manager Jay Morgan who is the operation manager of his branch and carry out the Hr functions of other multiplication branches. I as the HR consultant of Jay Morgan is required to present the business plan to identified the HR problems that currently restaurant is facing, important HRM system need to be installed in order to meet the HR requirement of the company, comparison of different HR techniques in order to identify the best technique for the restaurant and sought out the current issues related to HR functions of Castle family Restaurant. The most important thing here is the implementation of information system to effe ctively carry out the HR activities of the restaurant. Company Review Castles Family Restaurant is basically medium sized company. It is a family owned restaurant. Total Eight branches are there located in different location naming Dunsmuir Avenue, Eureka, Parkview Redding-Shasta County, and Yreka-Siskiyou County. Castles Family Restaurant is providing services to the larger numbers of customers. The restaurant carries out their working in different areas and integrates the system of food chain and employees through its manager Jay Morgan who has performed dual responsibilities, one is the responsibility of operation manager and the other one is HR manager. Morgan has to closely manage the HR operations of various branches of restaurant with close consideration and integration of employees working in different branches. Almost 340 employees are working in the restaurant with 40 % of employees are full time weather the remaining are part time employees. The need for the part time is increasing so the recruitment and hiring of part time employees is the issue on regular basis. In the reality the tasks to manage the HR functions of various branches without the implementation of technological advance system is difficult and to some extend impossible to perform in effective manner. HR Problems The basic problem that restaurant have to face is the management of Human resources in multiple location. The HR manager has to visit the various branches to handle the work schedules of employees in different branches and to manage of their work place issues, discuss if any problem they have. Tasks related to recruitment and hiring of employees, management of benefit programs for them and to analyze their performance as well. The manager needs to handle the payroll system and Information is stored in an Excel spreadsheet and checks are printed from his computer. All these HR activities of different branches are difficult to manage effectively with increasing transportation charges of gasoline in the world and the much time will also consumed because of the timely visits to different locations on weekly or daily basis that will be hectic for the manager to manage and cover the routine tasks of the restaurant. Industry Analysis The Castles Family Restaurant is concerned with the service industry. The trend of service industry is growing day by day. Service is some thing intangible. The restaurant industry has the growing trend world wide as the people are now more interested in the fast food and the food from outside. Increasing number of population increase the demand for the restaurant and the most of the people relate to either sex now considered as working class because of lack of time they have to cook the food. Adults and kids are also a major target market for restaurant industry as they are the lover of different variety of food. Restaurant Industry Sales Trend (Duff Phelps, 2011) The figure shows the increasing trend of American restaurant industry with a major pitfall in 2009. The increasing trend can be seen in 2011 with the revenue of 604 million. The restaurant industry is contributing 10% in American sales. (Trends in Fine Dining, 2011a). Industrial Trend and Restaurant Performance The industry wide transformation starts with the increasing trend of informational technology in the world wide industry. Technological advancement in the world turns the world towards the global advancement and pushes the industries towards the globalization. Information technology gives the support not only to the It industry but it become the backbone for each and every industry world wide, including manufacturing industry as well as for the service industry. Service institutes like, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, colleges, universities, hotels and restaurants all these sectors need to implement the technological advancement system in order to accomplish their goals and to meet the growth criteria. The expansion and growth of business in multiple locations is not possible to run effectively without the successful implementation of information system. To manage the HR tasks in the multi dimensional firm is very easy with the informational technology as the system make the fir m able to provide the integrate system of communication and collaboration in the organization trough which operations of multiple locations and departments can be strongly collaborate and information can be transferred and share in effective way that provide the ease to link the activities of different department with in an organization as well as the activities of different branches which are located outside the geographical boundaries. The Castle Family restaurant need a close consideration towards managing the company with the change industry trend as the in competition is very fast and the trend of food service industry is upgrading time to time so to meet the competition efficient and modern HR system must need to implement with the advanced information technology aid to flourish in the food industry. Business Analysis Castle Family Restaurant has eight branches in multiple locations. The HR activities are still cooped with traditional HR methodologies. The recording and managing data on Excel spreadsheet with complex analysis employees performance by visiting the location of their operations is the difficult to manage. HRM system of the restaurant needs the improvement in order to meet the HR needs of the company. From The basic business change that Restaurant HR manager need to analyze is the updating of its system in order to accomplish its employees management in better way. Restaurant manager currently needed to measure the employees performance, their schedules and the problems after visiting the location. That is hectic, time taking and many communication lags can be occur because of lack of direct communication. Modern technological advancement emphasize on the implementation of Human Resource Information System (HRIS). This is the merger of human resource management and information system that supports the company to manage their human resource with advance technology and information system. Castles Family Restaurant need to implement HRIS in order to meet the current HR needs and to move with equal pace in the world to compete in industry and to expand it business in fast pace. Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is an automated system that provides the online solution to the HR problems of the company. This system automate the data entry about the important staff based information, pay roll management, accounting functions, tracking of data, performance measurement of employees through on line software that records data relate to the employee activities in benefit programs etc. HR manager currently relied on the maximum manual tasks to record and manage the information. Traditional methods of data recording and pay roll system are followed by the manager. No mean of direct communication are there to discuss and to coop with the issues that employees will face and employees performance is also measured on the bases of their personal observations by the HR manger that is time consuming because it is difficult for manager to visits the number of different locations where the restaurants are located at a time so delay also bears cost. The HRIS provides the softwares with the automated system for the solution of maximum problems that is facing by the manager. The Human Resource Information System provides the administrative control in different systems. Some are given below; Payroll System Scheduling Absenteeism management Time and performance records Recruitment Learning management Employee self service module Many types of HRIS are there to provide the benefits of information technology and advancement. Castle Family Restaurant need to implement HRIS in order to track the employees through automated system with out the physical visit of the management and measure their performance through the online performance record, electronic recruitment and learning of an able applicant, measure their absenteeism rate, answer the employees query etc. HRIS Type HRIS provides the different benefits regarding HR tasks. What the Castles family restaurant needs is to choose the program of its need. The basic HR types that Castle Family Restaurant is recommended to install in order to get cost effective way to coop with its Hr issues are following. 1-Payroll Module It is an effective part of HRIS that helps to generate the automated payroll checks of employees with the recorded time and attendance of the employees that will provides the relaxation to the manager of the restaurant to not follow the traditional pay roll system of keeping the records in excel spreadsheet and issue computerized checks. 2-Applicant tracking System This is the tracking software which used to track the applicant through online resumes and job applications received by the company and match it with the required qualification and experience. Through proper matching the required candidates will be identified. This will help the HR manager of restaurant to identify the proper candidate for part time as well as for full time employees and save time to physical efforts that are much more time consuming. 3-Employee Self Service Module It is the system to generate the answers of employee queries automatically. The employees can get solve their issues through the automated system. E.g. if employees want to confirm its attendance record or paid days it can generate information using the system with out disturbing the HR personals. It will be generate the answers of queries through data recorded in the system. Morgan can receive large number of benefits from his HRIS type as it do not need to visit the work stations in order to answer the questioning of employees on daily basis. 4-HRM module This covers the large number of HR activities starting from application of employees to the retirement. It records the data related to demographic, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, records of compensations and benefits and other related activities. The leading HRM systems are providing the ability to read applications and then enter the relevant data in the application database fields, notify employers and provide management and control. Comparison HRIS is the system to automate the HR activities. Large numbers of sub software are used in HRIS and the restaurant needs to install the system according to their needs. As the system is costly to install but once it has installed and star it working it will provides the advantages in large extend as compare to cost associated with it. The four HRIS types are have key importance for the Castles restaurants for the effective improvement in its HR functional advancement. For the current HR issues the restaurant need a close focus on the payroll module and employees self service module because of its demand as HR manager do not need to get tensed with the employee daily base queries in the present of employees self service module and to manage the payroll system in the presence of payroll module as it keep the record and manage payroll checks automatically as compare to others. Applicant track system, HRM module and other are also important for the effective management in different times but can be compromised for the present time HRIS Vendor Recommendation Large number of vendors is present in the industry to provide the HRIS package to their customers in order to meet their Hr demands. They are providing the either the software to handle the specific problems like payroll management module or applicant tracking system for the recruitment of employees etc, while some are providing the complete package of software with performing variety of functions. As an HR consultant of the Castles Family Restaurant some important vendors names are recommended. These are following. 1- Epicor Software It is one of the leading Hr Management software provider and covers three different sectors including manufacturing, construction and service industry. It can be a better option for the Castle family restaurant because of its application including salary and compensation administration and other large number of services can be a beneficial tool for the HR department of Castle family restaurant. (Epicor HCM) 2- Ascentis The company is founded in 1994. It offers an easy-to-use suite of applications for small and mid-sized organizations that integrates and automates critical HR and payroll processes. The company is providing the HRIS variety of payroll, HR management software and its logo is Simplifies your life that also clear it objective and goal of providing the clear solution to HR issues and simplify one life by using the software. 3- Apex business software It is providing HR software, leave and time management software, absent management software and many user alerts. Like other vendors it is also providing basic HR tools to provide ease in Hr functionality in the organization. ( Apex business software) Recommendations It is very difficult to justify with one best vendor when there are large number of vendors are there in the industry and when there is less difference in the services and applications providing by these vendors. After sale services and customer satisfaction from them is an important tool to reach at the conclusion. As the HR consultant it is recommended to implement system software service of Ascentis. The Ascentis will be the better option for the Castles Family Restaurant because its first positive point is its experience in providing HRIS. Ascentis delivers the comprehensive HR services supported by the latest Microsoft technologies. The restaurant can implement the latest Hr system in order to meet the HR requirements of the company. The basic reason to recommend this one is that it is providing specialized services to the service industry and its major focus in on the small and medium size of companies as castles family restaurant is the medium size of organization with average employees working in it so the company match the requirement of restaurant very well n order to meet the HR demands of the Restaurant. Asentis provides the effective payroll management system that will prove beneficial one for the restaurant. The payroll system includes tax filing, direct deposit and check printing. This will be the automated system and manager not need to face any issue in it. The vendor is providing the comprehensive payroll system to their customers. The Castles restaurant can utilized with outsource service of Ascentis with easy to use customer interface and the real time payroll system as well. Conclusion HRIS is the fast growing phenomena and its successful implementation in the restaurant industry make it able to sought out the HR related issues in effective manner. The restaurant is expanding its operation in vast territory so the implementation of proper HRIS type in the area where Hr functions need to be improved is important to consider. The Hr manager issue of reducing the cost of the restaurant by substituting the effective method in order to coop with the cost barriers which restaurant is currently facing in the form of transportation expenses and time which need to be save, the automated payroll, and HRM software should be installed to meet the future cost. As the implementation of HRIS successful will be the one time investment that has the potential to provide wide range of benefits in the future and the best vendor for HRIS is the one which can provides the user friendly HR system in cost effective way.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Leaning Pine Arboretum Essays -- Place Essays

Leaning Pine Arboretum The Leaning Pine Arboretum, named for a tree which blew down during a storm several years ago, is a tranquil horticultural display garden on the outskirts of the Cal Poly campus. The main purpose of the five-acre arboretum is to educate students about different species of plants in their natural settings. This arboretum emphasizes Cal Poly’s motto of â€Å"Learn by doing.† Students in the Horticulture and Crop Science Department are the force behind the garden and keep it functioning year-round. The horticulture unit was built in the 1970’s when it only included a lawn and some trees. Two decades later, work was underway to create an arboretum showcasing plants from the five mediterranean regions of the world. These regions are: the Mediterranean basin, southwestern Australia, southwestern South Africa, much of California, and much of Chile. A mediterranean region is defined as a region with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Only two percent of the world’s landform can be characterized as mediterranean. The plants at the arboretum flourish in California’s central coast weather. The Leaning Pine Arboretum is entirely student-managed. Six student workers work at the arboretum ten hours per week and there is one garden manager. Each of the six students has their own garden to maintain. They water, weed, and plant in their garden as well as make decisions on what plants will be planted there next. This gives the students a sense of pride and ownership in the arboretum. The arboretum is located at the north end of campus, past the beef unit and across the street from the equine unit on Via Carta Road. It may be difficult to locate since a visitor needs... ...use the arboretum as their classroom. Several students choose to conduct their senior projects at the arboretum as well. Rock walls and benches, wooden decks, and the gazebo were all created by senior students. The Leaning Pine Arboretum remains one of Cal Poly’s best-keep secrets. It is an isolated, unique, and diverse oasis far away from the commotion of the main campus. It is an excellent place to learn about flora, conduct a school-sponsored activity, or simply to relax and stroll through the gardens admiring nature’s beauty. The horticulture and crop science students feel a huge sense of pride and accomplishment when they see others enjoying their student-run sanctuary. While the arboretum is just one distinctive element of Cal Poly land, it is one that can be enjoyed by every member of the community and it helps make Cal Poly a superb institution.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Essay --

Revised Bernice Bobs Her Hair F Scott Fitzgerald 3 February, 2014 Kaley Witwer A) As the title already tell the reader, Bernice is the protagonist. She can be very unappealing at times, most because she’s a really boring and predictable character especially when most of her conversations with others lead to talking about the weather, she is also very naive because she doesn’t understand why she is unpopular with people or why boys don’t like her. At the end other the story though we like her because she seeks revenge on her cousin and sticks to her word even though it turns into a disaster. Marjorie, the cousin, at first is looked at as an antagonist because she talks bad about Bernice behind her back (which Bernice overhears), but then she is seen as a foil because she helps Bernice learn the ways to become popular, only to then regret this decision and takes it upon herself to tell everyone that Bernice didn’t actually bob her hair like she said. She then becomes the antagonist again. This shows that Majorie is self-centered becaus e she doesn’t want Bernice to take the ‘limelight’...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Adolf Eichmann :: essays research papers fc

ADOLF EICHMANN The Holocaust was one of the greatest tragedies the world has ever known. There were many key people who participated in this outrageous genocide however some get more attention then others. Adolf Eichmann is a classic example. Eichmann was a self-proclaimed â€Å"Jewish Specialist† and head of the Gestapo Department. Eichmann was responsible for keeping every train rolling right into the stations of the concentration and death camps during the holocaust. Now we will take a look into Eichmann’s childhood, life experiences, and his later actions to see what shaped into a man of hatred towards the Jewish race. Eichmann was born on March 19, 1906 near Cologne, Germany, into a middle class Protestant family. His family moved to Austria following the death of young Adolf''s mother. He spent his youth in Linz, Austria, which had also been Hitler's hometown. As a boy, Eichmann was teased about his looks and dark complexion and was nicknamed "the little Jew" by classmates. After failing to complete his engineering studies, Eichmann had various jobs including working as a laborer in his father's small mining company, working in sales for an electrical construction company and also worked as a traveling salesman for an American oil company. In 1932 at age 26 he joined the growing Austrian Nazi Party at the suggestion of his friend Ernst Kaltenbrunner. Eichmann then became a member of the SS and in 1934 served as an SS corporal at Dachau concentration camp. In September 1934 Eichmann found relief from the monotony of that assignment by getting a job in Heydrich's SD, the powerful SS security service. Eichmann started out as a filing clerk cataloging information about Freemasons. He was then assigned to the Jewish section, which was busy collecting information on all prominent Jews. This marked the beginning of Eichmann's interest in the Jews. He studied all aspects of Jewish culture, attended Jewish meetings and often visited Jewish sections of cities while taking volumes of notes. He became familiar with the issue of Zionism, studied Hebrew and could even speak a bit of Yiddish. He gradually became the acknowledged 'Jewish specialist,' realizing this could have positive implications for his career in the SS. He soon attracted the attention of Heydrich and SS Reichsfà ¼hrer Heinrich Himmler who appointed Eichmann to head a newly created SD Scientific Museum of Jewish Affairs. Eichmann was then assigned to investigate possible "solutions to the Jewish question.

The Extent of Fidel Castro’s Achievement of His Aims

To what extent was Fidel Castro able to achieve his aims between 1959 and 1979, and what prevented him from achieving more? During Fulgencio Batista’s reign in Cuba, Fidel Castro had insistently professed his dissatisfaction with the government, and when he finally took over in 1959, he effected a government that formed the basis from which the criticism of many historians today derives. To a minimal extent, Fidel Castro was able to achieve his aims between 1959 and 1979. Revealed in the 26th of July Movement’s doctrine, Castro’s goals called for Cuba to become fully independent and purely democratic while having a just society.Castro’s goals were hindered not only by the dependence on the U. S. , but also on the Soviet Union after relations with the U. S. intensified. By the end of his reign, Castro had not upheld his initial revolutionary ideology; therefore, he did not achieve his aims for Cuba to the greater extent. In one of his aims, Castro hoped to see Cuba become independent. In order to become less dependent on foreign countries, Castro implemented an economic reform that would allow Cuba to become less dependent on the foreign countries. He wanted to create a more centralized economy by confiscating businesses, many of which were American-owned.The U. S. saw this attempt of nationalization as a direct challenge to their interests, thus they removed the sugar quota placed an embargo on Cuba, threatening to destroy the base of the Cuban economy. Cuba had now become independent from U. S. trade, but with no means self-sufficiency, Cuba turned to another group–the socialist/communist nations in the eastern hemisphere. Cuba had increased their sugar production tremendously because of Castro’s speech, â€Å"The Year of Decisive Endeavor,† in 1963 which set a production goal of 10 million tons of sugar by 1970 so that Cuba could industrialize and become more self-reliant.USSR began buying this Cuban sugar in r eturn for industrial equipment and machinery which allowed Castro to develop their countries as allies. Germany also agreed to sell the industrial necessities needed by Cuba. During these early 1960 years, Cuba quickly lost nearly all economic dependence on the U. S. , but any progress toward self-sufficiency was undermined by the developing relationship with the Soviet Union. Unlike the U. S. , the Soviet Union was not hostile to the idea of an independent Cuba and was willing to defend Cuban interest.In reality, Castro might have professed his devotion to socialism in his Marxist-Leninist speech only for the benefit of siding with the world’s socialist superpowers for military and economic support. Castro’s favoring paid off because the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962; however, this caused U. S. -Soviet tensions to peak when the U. S. made the threat of invading Cuba. Castro also attempted to establish Cuba’s independence by making the cha nge to a Communist state, which began distinguished officially in 1965.Although the changes were small in the early 1960s, it was not until 1976 that Cuba created a new constitution. Another aspect proving Cuban independence was the buildup of a strong military force from foreign intervention and internal opposition. Castro suspected the U. S. of military action because of their discontent with his socialist policies. Nearing the end of the first decade of his reign, Castro revealed that Cuba did not meet the 10 million ton harvest, but welcomed the shame and criticism that the failure would bring about.Throughout the years of Castro’s reign, he strived to assert Cuba as an independent nation, as demonstrated with the victory in the Bay of Pigs Invasion; however, he never fully accomplished this aim, continuing to depend on their monoculture and export-oriented economy. Castro's objective for Cuba was to uphold an uncorrupted, democratic nation. However many of his actions pr ove his ideology wrong. Within the early months after he overthrew Batista, Castro made a decision with other revolutionaries to pass the Fundamental Law of the Republic in February of 1959.By passing this legislature he gave himself more legislative power as executive of the country, adding to his power to veto due to his rank as Executive of Army. Jose Cardona was replaced from his job as Head of Legislature which allowed Castro to basically become a dictator–the opposite of a democracy. The people of Cuba lost their freedoms that citizens should have in a democracy. The government began redistributing income from the urban to the rural working class. Although it created successes such as a raise in wages, a raise in purchasing power, and a decrease in unemployment, incomes were still not all equal.Land became another freedom of the people that the government decided to take away and redistribute. Large plantation estates called Latifundios were outlawed and limited to 995 acres with the Agrarian Reform Law. The INRA enforced the ARL which hurt large American owned companies like Coca Cola and Hershey’s, contributing more animosity from the U. S. Along with the Second Law of Agrarian Reform in 1963, both reforms created an agricultural system that did not produce the same amount of crop as they did pre-1959 until the late 1960s.After forming the Constitution in 1976, Castro made a government that was not very efficient and could silence any complaint with the â€Å"red tape† effect. By reorganizing the government into the military, executive committee, and communist party, the constitution made the Cuban bureaucracies contributing to a more authoritarian-like government. More and more, Castro nationalized Cuba in every aspect and Castro, having achieved an economic stability, made a Communistic dictatorship; therefore, he did not achieve his goal for a democracy in Cuba since his own regime was corrupt.Another goal that Castro had for Cu ba from 1959 to 1979 was to create a just society. One way Castro made this society was by targeting the needs of the people and providing them with an education and healthcare system. One of the biggest issues during Castro’s reign was the country’s lack of educated revolutionaries because most of the trained workers and professionals emigrated from the island. In his 1961 speech Castro proclaimed that this year would be the â€Å"Year of Education. † To some extent he did achieve this aspect of providing immediate literacy which rose from 76% to 94% in 1979.Other improvements occurred up through this first decade of Castro’s reign such as recruiting 100,000 students, the tripling of teachers, and quadrupling of schools. However, Castro did create a curriculum that would not only provide an education limited to only basic reading and writing but also indoctrinate students with the loyalty and morals of Communism. Vilma Espin, the head of The Cuban Womenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Federation, advocated for literacy rates in the female population while also pushing for education and healthcare as well. Through Espin’s work, Castro realized that it was larger issue, thus he passed the Family Code.This law mandated equality in marriage and legitimized divorce. This law was never really enforced but women were generally happy with the gain. Gender and racial equality was an issue with which no other country in Latin America had dealt. Castro also stressed the need for a healthcare system in Cuban society in order to create a just society. His system would implement a method that trained doctors in universities around the country. Because of forming of education and healthcare systems, Castro’s aim for social justice in Cuba was achieved to some extent.Castro was not able to uphold his ideology because limited reasons. The chief reason that may have hindered him from achieving more is the on-going tensions with the U. S. and the economic con sequences from this. If the U. S. did not have the discontent toward Cuba’s regime, Cuba would have developed the revolutionized economy that they sought. If Castro had developed relations with the U. S. and given up the socialist policies, Cuba would have avoided severe U. S. tensions and the embargo altogether. The U. S. embargo on Cuba was a major influence that hindered economic prosperity and diversified agriculture.Castro focused on manipulate Cuba from his revolutionary political aims in the 26th of July Movement. Initially, he attempts to create Cuba in the ideology of a system of social justice within the broadest concept of democracy, of freedom and of human rights. Throughout his reign Castro enacted laws and promoted policies in order to create this fully independent and democratic Cuba with a just society. To the least extent, Castro fulfilled this vision during the first two decades of the revolution, and on-going tensions with the U. S. prevented Castro from ex tending his revolutionary aim.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Organization Evaluation

The organization that I will describe today is where I work, at Applause's. Here we have a vertical structure that consists of the owner, general manager, four managers, and all employees directly below them. The owner has complete control and say over everything that goes on in the restaurant. The general manager receives information on how to run and operate from the owner and relay that information down to the four members of management directly below him. Their Jobs are to collect information from the general manager and use that to complete their tasks and engage the employees under them.Each member of management has their own crew that they run, create schedules for, and help when problems arise. There is the kitchen manager who runs the kitchen crew and oversees the kitchen employees schedules, the food prep, and cleaning. There is also the bar manager who creates bartender schedules and training, as well as liquor costs and control. The staff manager creates schedules for the hosts and servers, controls the flow of the seating and dining experience, and ensures that the customers are happy.Finally the fourth anger is the assistant manager who can help out all managers with their duties and has basically the same responsibilities as the others but without a direct pool of employees. If business gets poor he will be able to assist every area of the restaurant. This form of organization varies from a horizontal structure because, although there are several managers on one level and all employees on one level, all employees report to a separate manager who resolves any issues, problems, or conflicts.There is no confusion as to who to report to and information is kept organized and accurate because there is only one person to report to. A horizontal structure in my company would have several managers for each section of the restaurant. There would be two or more kitchen managers, staff managers, bar managers and assistant managers. Although the assistant man ager helps out with everything in the restaurant, there is still only one manager for each area of the restaurant.Another form of organization would be a functional form of organization where the organizations â€Å"are specialized and grouped according to business unction's and the skills they require: production, marketing, human resources, research and development, finance, accounting, and so forth† (Bateman & Snell, 2011). The company I work for is similar to this form because all areas of the restaurant are separated into several areas where one person runs, maintains and regulates what goes on in that area.The only real downside of this type of organization is if it were in a very large company. Information and workloads may become too great for one person to handle. In this case, information can get lost and radioactivity can slow because of management becoming over worked. As the book states, â€Å"this type of structure may be most appropriate in smaller business se ttings and if the business becomes fragmented it may have difficulty bringing new products to customers and responding quickly to customer needs† (Bateman & Snell, 2011).I do not feel like the marketing department has anything to do with how the company's organizational structure because it is a chain restaurant. Therefore marketing is done at another location and does not interfere with how this branch is run. The name goes for the finance area, although they are pretty tight on the financial aspect so I feel like a vertical structure was chosen to save money. If they had a horizontal structure they would need to spend additional money on extra employees and or managers.Human resources' is also an area I feel is not affecting how the structure of our branch is run. However operations do affect how the structure is set up. Our shifts and workload is directly affected by the business that comes in. If there is a lot of business we will all have plenty of shifts and be able to w ork enough to make accessory money. If business gets poor enough all employees will be cut and management will take over and do our Jobs. I always hear the managers' talk about labor costs to sales and when sales are low people are asked to leave to save money.I think that by having a vertical structure the restaurant saves the most money because people and managers not only have one division of employees but are crossed trained in order to save money when needed. When looking at geographic, organizational, customer based, product, marketing channels, and personalization organizational design, these help determine which structure best suits the company I work for because we base the work we do (how much and for how long) entirely on sales and revenue that the company brings in.When you get into the human recourse and marketing area of the company the Jobs are stable and not reliant on sales. The organizational structure that we have is based off of customers. The larger part of the company would have maybe a horizontal structure when we get into marketing and there might be several managers controlling this rear because the demand for new food, advertisements, and ways to save money are a never-ending need which means that many brains are needed and that they will pay more people to work these Jobs which means the need creates the organizational structure of a horizontal structure.Because the actual restaurant is also customer based it means that based on sales, the structure is determined by the customer. If sales are high we can have more people on shift. If sales are low they have to ask people to leave and cut shifts so a vertical organization is ideal because each anger knows how to perform the employee tasks and can take over if necessary.Also by having a vertical organization the company is saving money on the restaurant level because they do not have to hire multiple people to do one Job. In the end the company I work for, on the restaurant level has a dopted a vertical form of organization which I feel is the best option because it saves money by adapting to a customer needs based environment. One manager monitors and controls many employees.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Paper cut

Dynasty, paper cuts have a close relationship with the custom activities and the drama (#5). People are likely to watch drama so that there are lots of dramas in that period of time. For instance, â€Å"The Romance of The West Chamber† Rid) is one of the drama in Yuan dynasty. People usually cut red paper into different characters with background according to the drama for different uses, they may sell them or use as decoration. During Mining and King Dynasty, paper cuts become common among ordinary people, paper cuts are common to see in different festivals such as autumn festivals and drama.On the other hand, paper cuts are widely used in decorating the indoor part of the palace. The paper cuts designs include Dragon, Phoenix, and Bat, and these designs are used to decorate the ceilings of the hall and the walls of the corridors . Up to now, paper cuts is losing its status in the society, people are unwilling to participate in the inheritance of paper cuts. People therefore have fewer opportunities to reach this kind of folk art but they still can find paper cuts at old laces and some traditional buildings.Traditionally, women and girls in the countryside have to take in charge of making embroidery, let alone, the paper cuts. This is used to be a craft that every women must know how to do in their life. It even uses this craft to distinguish whether the bride is good or bad. Every year, they usually take part in the making embroidery after the harvest period, while they have spare time, they will start doing paper cuttings in order to do preparation for the coming year. These paper cuts are used to decorate the windows

Saturday, September 14, 2019

How Language Transformed Humanity Essay

The evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel states, in his speech, that language is the most powerful, risky and revolutionary characteristic of the human being ever evolved. The purpose of the speaker is to inform about the great and potent features of this trait. Pagel explains to us that when we talk, we are able to transfer thoughts in someone else’s mind and vice-versa using such a form of telemetry. In other words this process is similar to what happens between TV remote control and television. According to this biologist language is one of the most subversive means that we can use to express ourselves. One very representative example is the censorship and the awareness that we have to pay attention to when we say or write anything. Going on, Mr Pagel poses two important questions: he asks the reason why language evolves itself, and why it evolved in our species and not in others. The answer is that only human beings have a special feature named â€Å"social learning†, which lets us improve ourselves by watching and copying the actions that someone else did. Such a revolutionary characteristic could also prevent us from making the same mistakes and allows us to do the same action better than before. So we make progresses, whereas the smarter animals remain doing some activities over and over again, without big advancements. As a result of the social learning or, as anthropologists call it, cumulative cultural adaptation we can make stuff, and all the things that surround us are consequences of this process. Now we are moving towards a critical point, which is: â€Å"Why do we have language? †. First, Mr. Pagel states that social learning is visual theft. We can learn stealing ideas and benefit from the best qualities of someone else, without working on something or persevering on it. Secondly he reveals us that when human beings discovered this aspect of social learning (thousands of years ago) arose a dilemma: â€Å"How can we preserve our best ideas and avoid that others steal them? †. Our ancestors could have behaved in the following ways: concentrating themselves in small groups so as to bequeath the acquired information to offspring. But the result would have been isolation and a slight improvement. Or they could have created a system of communication to start cooperating with one another and share everything useful. Obviously they had chosen the second option and in this way language was born. So the solution to the previous dilemma is communication. Then Mr. Pagel points out how peculiar the fact is that we have 8000 different languages spoken on Earth. More surprising is that the greatest density is located in the smallest areas such as islands. This is related to the tendency of people to isolate in small groups in order to protect identities and cultures. On the other side nowadays we communicate a lot more than in the past. But our modern world founded on connectivity and cooperation is limited by the variety of languages. This raises the question: â€Å"is it possible in our globalized and standardized world to have all these different languages? †. Mr. Pagel has no answer but it seems inevitable that our destiny might be a one language world.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Feminism in Anne Bradstreets Poems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Feminism in Anne Bradstreets Poems - Essay Example Through poems, poets express their deepest feelings and thoughts, about the personal, social and political situations of their times. In the past, it was considered that only men are capable of writing poetry, as it takes guts and courage to express the bold and revolutionary thoughts, ideas and feelings openly. Hence, when a woman living in the 17th century, used poetry as a medium to express her deepest and the darkest fears, agonies, hopes and dreams, then it left an unforgettable mark in the history of poetry. The woman who left an indelible mark in the world of literature through her poems which mirrored her deep sentiments and protest against the Puritan ways that restricted women from living a free and respectable life, was Anne Bradstreet (Martin, â€Å"An American† 5). When Anne Bradstreet’s poems were reclaimed by American woman writer in 1960’s, then her free thinking and her feelings about woman’s position in the society, made her to be known a s a feminist poet (Frost 117). However, feminism in Anne Bradstreet’s poetry was not expressed boldly and ‘loudly’, but was visible in a subtle way through language that was socially acceptable, polished and pious in nature. Even though Anne Bradstreet was a free thinker and believed in equality of women, it can be said that in initial part of her life, feminism was visible more in her intellectual curiosity about God and her bold spiritual quest (which was not expected of women in her time), than through an outright reference to women’s freedom and equality in her poems. However, when she sensed rejection and suppression of her art by people, due to her being a female, then the feminist in her was awakened. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that it was the love and passion of her art that awakened the feminist in Anne Bradstreet, and made her to revolt against the Puritan restrictions and limitations forced on women in her time. Feminist At Heart Wom en who are well aware of their rights and fight against the cruel and selfish behavior of men towards them are called as feminists. However, rather than showing her opposition and revolt in her actions and poetry, Anne Bradstreet chose to express her true feelings in mild ways which were in sync with the Puritan America and social standards of her time (Frost 117). Hence, feminism in Anne Bradstreet’s poetry was expressed in subtle ways initially. Rather than writing about her experience of the external world and what she felt and knew about it, Anne Bradstreet’s poetry was a way of escapism from the reality of her life (Rich xiv). She avoided using her personal life experiences as a subject of her poems. It was not common for women of her time (Puritan) to think of anything apart from her limited world of her family, husband, children, household chores and duties (Rich xiv). ‘Independence’ of women was considered a ‘prideful monster’ in the P uritan doctrines (Martin, â€Å"Shakespeare’s Sisters† 19). However, Anne Bradstreet was an educated and very well read woman (Rich xi). She was intellectually aware and gained knowledge about the subjects like theology, history and literature (Rich xi). This made her to show curiosity about the topics which were considered the domain of men and hence, she got the reputation of being a modern woman who had spirit to go beyond the limited world that was forced on women of her time (Rich xvi). Hence, her thinking ability and the spirit to go

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Auditing - Essay Example Adverse views are those that auditors believe to bear misleading information and are therefore unreliable. Those that lack sufficient evidence to enable judgement are the disclaimers. The Hawke’s Bay Cultural Trust is one of the firms that received a non-standard audit opinion on the year beginning on April 1st 2004 and ending on March 31st 2005. It got a full adverse opinion on 30th June 2004. The purpose of receiving this stance is the trust failed to recognize the whole value of its compendium of assets. It also had no idea of the concomitant expense in depreciation in its financial records. These misdoings go against the third standard of financial reporting i.e. accounting for plant, equipment and property. It expects business entities to recognize the asset collections not achieved before to be recognized at reasonable value without forgetting to depreciate it (Audit Guidance Statement 14). The Trust is a corporation that specializes in the management of all issues concerning heritage, culture and arts on an assimilated region. Its role is to provide services in the fields of heritage, culture as well as art and related programs to those residing in Hawkes’s Bay. It also provides education and information to the Hastings District community in its areas of specialty among other roles Attached is a copy of the audit report to the readers of the Hasting’s community for the year that ended on thirtieth June two thousand and four. The company received a disclaimer because the liquidity levels were much higher than expected, resulting from an increase in surplus coupled with the degree of labor brought forward to the year 2004/05. Secondly, the present portion of term indebtedness of two million U. S dollars exceeded the long-term financial strategy budget. There were capsizing finances as a consequence of the decision to utilize internal borrowing to avoid the creation of more sinking funds (Audit Guidance Statement

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example With this emerged various schools of thoughts which promoted specific theories of brain functioning and psyche. One of them is functionalism. Functionalism Functionalism in philosophy of mind is a school of thought that states: â€Å"†¦a physical or abstract entity is identified by its causal or operational role† (Floridi). It is a doctrine that negates the idea of internal causes and constitutions of various mental states. It rejects the idea of unseen and abstract, even structural causes for these states and believes that every mental state has a separate and distinctive function or role in its respective system. As far as the origin of this doctrine is concerned, its roots lie back to Greek civilization. The concept of soul projected by Aristotle seems to offer the elementary base for functionalism whose antecedent goes back to Hobbes’s idea of human mind as a mere ‘calculating machine’. However, this particular school had got fame in the last quart er of twentieth century. Moreover, functionalism is not merely restricted to the philosophy only; it is rather involved in almost every natural and physical field of science including psychology, sociology, even education. Functionalism in Psychology Psychology emerged as a science in the late 19th century and functionalism proved to be an important mile stone in its wider acceptance and visionary exposure. It rose as a protest against structuralism and added various functional aspects of human brain along with the structural ones that shapes the humanistic behavior. According to Coon, it is â€Å"†¦concerned with how behaviour and mental abilities help people adapt to their environments†, and in this way it defines the function of various psychological and mental states Invalid source specified.. Functionalism offers an alternative to behaviourism and identity theory of mind: one regards every mental activity as a particular behaviour formed as a habit through continuou s practice; the other divides them into types that are further correlated to the physical events occurring within the brain. Functionalism projects that every mental activity that takes place in the mind performs a particular function in the physical systems. These mental states are realized on multiple levels each of which offers a complete separate system. Thus, human mind behaves like a computational machine which directs external behaviours of the man (Jaworski). Putnam’s Philosophy of Mind Hilary Putnam was an American computer expert, mathematician and philosopher who had caught special attention in philosophy of mind in around 1960’s when he had put forward his hypothesis of ‘multiple realizability’ (Figure 1). He argues that all living beings can feel pain, yet their reasons of pain are not the same. With the help of the example of animals, he further elaborates that every creature cannot have the same brain structure, and therefore same mental eve nts (like pain, emotions, desires, sensations, etc.) cannot happen in everyone. Thus, he tries to imply that mental realizability differs from creature to creature as a result of which feelings and sensations differ, and this is so because each sensation is due to a physical property that differs. Figure 1 Putnam’s Philosophy of Multiple Realizability Moreover, he has also put forward the first formulation of this functionalist theory in the form of ‘machine-state functionalism’. It was based on the analogy between human mind and the Turing machine that can calculate any

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

How can the HR Management sustain the motivation of the employees Dissertation

How can the HR Management sustain the motivation of the employees during a period of company downsizingAn approach of HR practi - Dissertation Example Some did achieve short-term benefits in terms of cost savings but in the long-run organizations paid for it in terms of loss of human capital. The neglect of human capital resulted in low employee morale which adversely impacted the post-downsizing productivity. Employee motivation is currently the major issue facing businesses today. The role of HR has changed from being mere personnel management to strategic human resources management. HR managers could play a vital role in sustaining motivation of employees that are retained with the organization after downsizing. While downsizing affects both the leavers and those that remain, the scope of the study is limited to focusing on the motivation of those that remain with the organization. Thus, with the aim to evaluate the role of HR in sustaining employee motivation during downsizing, three objectives and four research questions were set. After extensive literature review, the study adopted qualitative method for research based purely on secondary data. The study finds that motivation is disrupted which is evident from increase in political behaviors such as anger, fear, and antagonism. This in turn manifests in adversely impacting customer satisfaction, organizational efficiency, and productivity. Employee motivation is invariably affected in downsizing firms regardless of the downsizing strategy adopted. The attention during downsizing is focused on the process and also in trying to avert negative publicity. As a result human capital is neglected, which results in lowered motivation to work and lowered commitment, loyalty and inefficiencies. Various downsizing strategies have been reviewed and the study finds that a proactive approach to downsizing can avert neglect of human capital. This requires the involvement of HR managers right from the beginning in designing and implementing the downsizing process. The study recommends the role that HR should adopt in sustaining the motivation of employees during all th e stages of the downsizing process. Table of Contents Chapter I Introduction 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Rationale for Research 5 1.3 Research Aims and Objectives 8 1.4 Research Questions 9 1.5 Scope of the Study 9 1.6 Structure of the Study 9 Chapter II Literature Review 2.1 Chapter Overview 11 2.2 Definitions 11 2.3 The Growth of Downsizing 15 2.4 Rationale for Downsizing 16 2.5 Downsizing methods 20 2.6 Impact of downsizing 21 2.7 Downsizing management by organization and its implications 25 2.8 Downsizing implementation 26 2.9 Downsizing Models 30 2.10 Trust and Empowerment in downsizing 33 2.11 HR practices during Downsizing 36 2.12 Strategies to manage the Survivors 37 2.13 Chapter Summary 38 Chapter III Methodology 3.1 Research Philosophy 39 3.2 Research Phenomenon 39 3.3 Research Design 39 3.4 Choice of Method 40 3.5 Research Approach 41 3.6 Data Collection Strategy 43 3.7 Data Analysis 45 3.8 Validity and Reliability 45 3.9 Ethical concerns 45 Chapter IV Findings & Discussions 4.1 Chapter Overview 46 4.2 Findings 46 4.3 Analysis and Discussion 56 Chapter V Conclusion & Recommendations 5.1 Conclusion 63 5.2 Recommendations on the role of HR during downsizing 67 5.3 Limitations of the Study 70 5.4 Recommendation for further research 71 5.5 Personal reflection 71 References 74 Tables and Charts Table 2.1 Different Ways of describing Downsizing 13 Table 2.2 Reasons for Downsizing by Firms 19 Table 2.3 Downsizing Strategy 28

Monday, September 9, 2019

Marketing Case Problem Solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Case Problem Solving - Essay Example The dips are marketed along with the Frito Lay’s Brand name which is household to other various salty snack foods and is nationally recognised. There are a variety of dip flavours and these account for various percentage sales depending on their popularity. Vegetable dips are popular and are located everywhere in the supermarkets. On the other hand, popularity of cheese dips for instance was in response to growth of Mexican food phenomenon spreading across the country. A close analysis of the case study reveals that the current strategy used for marketing dips is a joint effort where they are promoted under the umbrella of Frito Lay’s brand name which is known across the spectrum and is very popular with the consumers. The dips are not marketed as single entities since these often play an accompaniment role to other meals. The majority of Frito Lay’s dips were sold in supermarkets though a smaller percentage was sold through small grocery stores, service stations as well as other different private institutions. Their current sales and distribution strategy is time consuming where the sales person/distributor will perform all the tasks from unloading to packing the shelve as well as approving in store merchandising. The marketing strategy was product oriented which was also innovative. The merchandising location next to salty snacks is another marketing strategy that is employed by Frito Lay’s Dips. For most part, dips are jointly promoted together with Frito Lay snacks as these are complimentary products. In most cases, dips are not consumed alone but they often go along with another meal or as desert after a meal. Aggressive marketing of these as single entities can be costly and can result in the loss of customers since they may end up being confused as a result of the numerous varieties of dips on offer. Whilst it cannot be ascertained which is more popular between chip and vegetable

Sunday, September 8, 2019

An Evaluation of the Teacher Certification Process Research Paper

An Evaluation of the Teacher Certification Process - Research Paper Example In this paper, I will endeavor to discuss the traditional route for attaining a teaching certificate, and the alternative routes available to becoming a teacher. Certification, from the very essence of the word, pertains to the process wherein students receive a professional credit from their colleges or universities for completing all the requirements of their curriculum and for being a graduate of their program. Normally, students receive a professional certification through engaging in a four-year college or university degree, which is basically the same for the standard teacher certification route. In the standard route, also called traditional certification process, students have to take a four-year college or university bachelor’s degree (for instance education courses), complete all the requirements from different subjects, serve as a student teacher for a certain number of months under the guidance of a certified classroom teacher, and take the state mandated teaching certification test to obtain a teaching license (Steeley, 2010). The standard certification route requires students to complete a bachelor’s degree with a carefully planned coursework, which means that there are obligatory subjects that students have to take each year of their studies (Teachers Support, 2011). For example, during the first year of their studies students are required to take fundamental courses in English, science, math, and history, or sometimes categorized as the general education courses. In the second year, the students have to take major courses in education, or courses which are more centered on the subject of education, for instance theories in teaching, psychology of teaching, and others. Teaching methods will then be the focus of the students’ third and fourth years, and two of the most critical parts of these teaching methods are the teacher training program and the supervised student teaching. After the completion of all the bachelor degreeâ €™s requirements, the students are expected to take and pass the state mandated standard teaching certification examination. The traditional route for obtaining a teaching certificate is perceived to be most suitable for students who just graduated high school and are pursuing a college education in teaching (Watts, 2008). Since this type of teacher certification sets the highest requirements for teachers, this route is basically appropriate for those students who have the time and financial capabilities to support their studies. On the other hand, the alternative, or non-traditional, routes for obtaining a teacher certification is designed for those individuals who have not completed a four-year bachelor’s degree in education through a university or college but are interested in attaining a certificate in teaching. It might be that these individuals who are seeking for alternative route teaching certificate have already completed a bachelor’s or master’s de gree in a different field, or career changers (Teachers Support, 2011). Furthermore, the alternative routes to certification suit those people who lack the time and money to go through the traditional certification process. The various alternative routes for obtaining a teaching certificate have surfaced due to the alleged shortage of teachers (Steeley, 2010). Due to the highly competitive standards set

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Why men's basketball is better than women's basketball Essay

Why men's basketball is better than women's basketball - Essay Example This paper analyses the above preposition from three different writers, and considers their perception and the rhetorical tools they have used to drive their points and how effective the tools are in accomplishing the writer’s objective. The first article written by Josh Kramer posits that by comparison, men’s basketball is better than that of the women in more than one way. In this sense, the writer employed the use of strategies in order to communicate and deliver his arguments and views. Where as he acknowledges that every ones opinion matters in this assessment, he also asserts that there are some inherent things with men’s basketball that makes it much cherished compared to that of the women (Kramer). He considers the airtime that the two are given and explains that men are given more than women and the situation makes it possible for men to dominate the game than women. On the other hand, the author also posits that in women basketball, there is no overall excitement as compared to that of men. These among other thing like the predictability of the women game makes it too boring to attend to and watch. In order to drive his point home, the author has used rhetorical tools to channel the same, for example.

A Study of the Cultural Imperialism Theory Essay Example for Free

A Study of the Cultural Imperialism Theory Essay ABSTRACT This paper explores the validity of the Cultural Imperialism Theory which says the Western culture has dominated the cultures of developing Nations. It examines to what extent and how the Western world in the real sense has dominated the developing countries. The study further examined the means through which the developing countries are being dominated culturally by the Western culture. The paper further looked at both the negative and the positive effects of cultural imperialism. It concluded that though the western world is succeeding in eroding the culture of developing countries and Nigeria as a study, Nigeria as a Nation should put on some safety belt in safeguarding our heritage. INTRODUCTION Culture is the way of life of a set of people. It encompasses the knowledge, ideas, beliefs, values, standards, and sentiments prevalent in the group. According to Charles A. Ellwood, an American Sociologist, culture is the â€Å"collective name for all behavior patterns socially acquired and socially transmitted by means of symbols†. Dare A., defines Culture as the collectivity of human activities and general principles that tend to guide ideas of a group of people with shared traditions (general acceptability), which are passed on, instilled into generation (socialization) and reinvigorated by members of the group (sustainability) while Imperialism as defined by The Dictionary of Human Geography is the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination The Theorist of Cultural Imperialism theory, Herb Schiller postulated that Western nations dominate the media around the world which in return has a powerful effect on Third World Cultures by means of imposing on them, western views thereby destroying their native cultures Western Civilization produces the majority of the media (film, news, comics, etc.) because they have the money to do so. The rest of the world purchases those productions because it is cheaper for them to do so rather than produce their own. Therefore, Third World countries are watching media filled with the Western worlds way of living, believing, and thinking. The third world cultures then start to want and do the same things in their countries and destroy their own culture. In cultural Imperialism theory, the key words are culture and imperialism. According to Anaeto G., Onabajo, O. and Osifeso, J. (2008), they wrote that â€Å"the western countries are technologically developed in television and motion programmes and developing countries that are not technologically developed depend on the programmes from the developed countries. This means that the programmes from the developed counties which portray their culture will be imbibed by the developing nations. This western culture now dominates our local culture simply because we are consuming their mass media messages†. The assumptions of the theory according to Schiller, H., are classified into three namely 1. Ontological Assumptions 2. Epistemological Assumptions 3. Axiological Assumptions 1. Ontological Assumptions This theory says that humans do not have the free will to chose how they feel, act, think, and live. They react to what they see on television because there is nothing else to compare it to besides their own lives, usually portrayed as less than what it should be. 2. Epistemological Assumptions This theory explains that there is one truth and no matter what that truth never going to change. As long as Third World countries continue to air Western Civilizations programs then the third world countries will always believe they should act, feel, think, and live as Western Civilizations act, feel, think, and live. 3. Axiological Assumptions This theory is value-neutral and objective. It does not matter what beliefs the people of Third World may already hold, the television programs from the Western World will communicate the same message and affect them in the same way. CRITIQUES OF THEORY The critiques of the Cultural Imperialism theory came up with scientific theory which counter-argued the theory with the following responses: Explanatory Power: It explains what happens when one group of people with their own ideas sends messages through the media to a different group of people. Predictive Power: It predicts that Third World countries culture will be destroyed and the people will identify with Western views. Parsimony: We can see a direct linear path from sender to receiver through the media channels and then watch the effects. Falsifiability: The theory could be proved false should the Third World countries not be affected by Western media and they do not lose their culture. E.G â€Å"Under the intriguing title Seducing the French (1993), Richard F.Kuisel concedes that the French underwent a process of Americanization. But at the same time, they succeeded in defending their Frenchness. French consumers found some American products appealing but they also continued to cherish and idealize French national identity, notably the idea of a superior French high culture.† Internal Consistency: There is a logical flow of events and consequences within the theory. Heuristic Provocativeness: This theory could lead to new hypotheses such as which cultures are affected more than others (if any) or whether low context differ in the reception of messages compared top high context cultures? Organizing Power: This fits with what we already know about differences between Western civilization and Third World countries. Another example the critique stated is that â€Å"if an International Broadcast station shows a video depicting Nigerians as corrupt, dangerous and malnourished, should someone in Nigeria watch this the Western stereotype of Nigerians, and not affected by it, the theory have been proved false†. John, T., further argues that Cultural imperialism consists of the spread of modernity. It is a process of cultural loss and not of cultural expansion. There never were groups of conspirators who attempted to spread any particular culture. Instead, global technological and economic progress and integration reduced the importance of national culture. Therefore, it is misleading to put the blame for a global development on any one culture. The notion of imperialism that is, purposeful cultural conquest is irrelevant; instead, all countries, regardless of whether they are located in the northern or southern hemisphere, are victims of a worldwide cultural change MODES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Tracing world history all through the era of colonialism, there have been histories of cultural imperialism which will seem the only way to explain the popularity of the very-British game cricket in all countries that once served as British colonies. Invasion of a country most often doesnt end with an invasion of the geographical territories within the political boundaries alone. Religious and cultural invasion are often inseparable parts of a political conquest. It’s much easier to rule if your subjects share the same religious and cultural platforms as the invaders? The cultural imperialism theory is founded upon the premises of imposing the influences and beliefs of the stronger culture (the invaders) upon the weaker or more submissive culture (the invaded). How does this cultural Imperialism take place? Dare A., states that Cultural imperialism takes place when one culture overtakes another in such a way that the latter ends up following a significant number of values, traditions, beliefs and influences of the former either completely or in a way merges the influences of the dominating culture with those of its own. Such a cultural invasion can either be active or passive. In its active form, the dominant culture forcefully imposes its cultural influences upon the dominated culture. This is a dynamic phenomenon where the subordinate culture is compelled to adopt the ways of the invaders. The passive form is when one culture (not necessarily subordinate) voluntarily embraces the influences and traditions of another culture. Here, the dominant culture makes little or no forceful efforts in imposing its cultural ideals upon another but the latter gets influenced as a consequence of its receptivity to the formers cultural impacts. The passive form of cultural imperialism is what largely takes place today. Cultural imperialism can also occur due to the significant commercial relations between two countries. A country heavily importing products and services of another country may get significantly influenced by the exporting countrys lifestyle attributes and social values. We can see this phenomenon in the form of Westernization of a number of Eastern countries. This is a type of passive cultural imperialism as the receiving culture adopts the foreign values without perceiving the fact that they are, in fact, becoming slaves of a foreign culture. WORLD EXAMPLES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM English Cultural Imperialism English cultural imperialism has been rife in the history of cultural imperialism. Latin which has the Churchs official language to popularizing its national game all across its colonies was changed to English. The British Empire left no stone unturned to make sure that its subjects adhered to its cultural idiosyncrasies even decades after ceasing to be its subjects. The fact that Cricket is among the top ten most popular sports around the world with an estimated 3 billion fan following, especially in countries like Australia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, New Zealand and certain African and Caribbean countries proves the strength of the English cultural imperialism. It is also a known fact that English is the third most spoken language after Mandarin and Spanish. Decades of dominion and repressive policies towards Tibet, Taiwan and various other neighboring regions by China has had a significant influence upon the religion and culture of these regions. The aggressive promotion of a standardized Chinese language across Mainland China and Taiwan indicates towards an attempted cultural imperialism aimed at overtaking regional dialects in these areas. Also, the fact that most traditional aspects of the Chinese culture pertaining to religious beliefs, festivals and social norms significantly inundate the socio cultural edifices of various Oriental countries indicate towards strongly existing cultural imperialism. The most widespread and still continuing instance of cultural imperialism can be seen in the form of Americanization. This is mostly due to the multitudes of commercial relationships the United States holds with a large number of countries in all parts of the world. This is definitely passive cultural imperialism and the countries that are most affected are those that have voluntarily adopted the stereotyped American lifestyle values and specific cultural aspects CULTURAL IMPERIALISM IN NIGERIA The Issue of Sagging Sagging has become the latest phenomenon among the male youths today in Nigeria. It is what is in vogue; if you have not exposed the lower part of your private, you belong to the old school system. What is sagging and where did it come from? According to Greg, M., sagging was adopted from the United States prison system where belts are prohibited. Belts are sometimes prohibited to keep prisoners from using them as weapons or in committing suicide by hanging themselves. The style was later popularized by hip-hop artists in the 1990s. It has since become a symbol of freedom and cultural awareness among some youths or a symbol of their rejection of the values of mainstream society. Jails are typically state run institutions. What usually happens is the state will order a set number of inmate uniforms. These uniforms are usually in general sizes like small, medium and large; making them ill-fitting for most inmates. When a medium sized inmate comes in and there are no remaining medium uniforms this inmate will receive a large instead. Prisoners are not allowed to have shoe laces or belts for fear they’d use them to kill themselves (by way of strangulation or hanging), or as weapons to kill or injure other inmates. The combination of over sized clothing and lack of fastening devices created the perfect storm for falling pants. Many street hungry rappers latched on the dress of their incarcerated friends and family and brought the style to the masses. Thus a new trend was born and Nigerians have fallen into this trend Linguistic Imperialism Language is one of the principal elements in identifying a particular culture and the absence of it makes a culture unidentifiable. It is vital for cultural transmission and preservation. With the gradual loss of our indigenous languages in Nigeria, what culture are we then preserving? Ogwu, M., Agbanu, N. and Ofordile, J. describes Linguistic Imperialism as â€Å"People who can relate with each other only through the medium of communication foisted on them by a former colonist are victims of a peculiar kind of Schizophrenia†. The use of our language is declining in Africa especially Nigeria because we are compelled to embrace Western culture and civilization as Western language. Western language has created a division between an elite and mass of our people who still cannot do business with foreign language. It causes alienation for people who cannot speak English or French. Language is a vehicle of culture; we are in a very serious problem. e.g. â€Å"Professor Babafunwa project on local language as a basic tool of teaching in Nigeria was aborted because of the nature of our country.† Parents also do not encourage their children or wards to speak in their local language as they belief it causes setback in their education. Fashion imperialism You hardly find few of our men, women and the youths who still embrace our cultural mode of dressing. Our people are going ‘gaga’ with the western way of dressing thereby losing their root of African way of dressing. It’s quite unfortunate that when expatriates and tourist who come to Nigeria appreciate our native attire while the owners of the heritage has seen it as something of old school and fashion. Tattoos have also become a common phenomenon. Both the young and old are stamping themselves all over the body with symbolic ‘devilish’ tattoos. Religious Imperialism Most churches in Nigeria today have gone the western way. When you go to some churches today, you marvel at the way some our ladies apparel. The custom of covering of hair has been eroded by the western way; all kinds of dressing are acceptable. The men or young male adults put on all sort of jewels and dress ‘haggardly’. The sense of going to commune with God is lost. EFFECTS OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Moral Decadency Through the float of western culture into Nigeria through the advent of technology and globalization, there has been obvious moral decline in Africa and in Nigeria in particular. This moral decadence has permeated almost all spheres of our culture. Moral consciousness has been equated with awkward and odd life styles. According to Oshafu, H., in his article â€Å"Cultural Imperialism†, this resulted due to Africa’s carelessness and failure to hold their culture with high esteem. He added that the moral excellence of African society has over night transformed into moral decay. Elders are no longer respected, our rapid festivals and ceremonies are now seen as â€Å"old school† and we now have children of single parents, a phenomenon that is identifiable with America. People no longer communalize, nobody wants to be anybody’s brother’s keeper. Our mode of dressing has been totally distorted by western civilization through foreign films and media conten t. Today we seem not to have any cultural attire. Our people now prefer to go naked on the streets as against our culture, micro minis with handless tops has this to show. The acculturation of â€Å"blue jean and hamburger† has gradually found it way into young people in African society. The issue of dress code has led to controversies in our high institute in today. Cases of immoral dressing have also gave way to rapid sexual harassment among students and lecturers, bosses and their employees. Raping in our society today came as a result of reckless dressing code by ladies The traditional notion of chastity and virginity have been rendered absurd by pornographic and sleazy materials displayed on screens, distorting sexuality and condoning promiscuity, which has given rise to active homosexuality and lesbianism in our society today. These cases of reckless sex have led to the rapid spread of STD’s particularly, HIV/AIDs in our society today. Innocent children are dying of this disease. They paid dearly for the offence committed by their parents. This is immoral evil militating against the dignity of human person. Increase in Crime Rate With exposure to the western way of life, increase in crime rate is on high. Most of the films we watch on the television set are crime oriented thereby leading to increase in crime rate. In as much as there is positive impact of the television set, the negative aspect outweighs the good part, as the western world is teaching modern ways to crime though the kind of programmes being disseminated, which includes kidnapping, serial killing etc. Look for more points We have scholars who however belief that Cultural Imperialism theory regardless of its negative effect has its positive side. Cultural imperialism they say is not entirely bad as it increases the pace of development in Nigeria and other less developed countries. For example, in the giving away of media products free of charge or selling them at a very low price to these developing nations, the US actually accelerates the growth of the media industry and the advancement in technology, hence increasing the knowledge and skills of the people there. Their actions not only add on to actual growth; the subsequent increase in human capital further boosts potential growth, which is essential for the actual growth to be sustained in the long run. This investment in human capital goes a long way and benefits the country as it strengthens the competitive edge and increases productivity of the workforce. Economic growth is also achieved Even more so, being a developing nation, Nigeria would not have had the latest technology available to produce media products; it is only through the provision of the American companies that they are able to obtain state-of-the-art equipment. The advocacy of production of local-helmed programs would thus further enhance American influence on the nation. Despite government efforts to hinder cultural imperialism, they cannot completely eliminate the impacts of this influence as American media products have already found their way into the market and become a part of Nigeria’s media production efforts. They need such â€Å"interference† in order to keep their media industry alive WAY FORWARD Long Term Investment in the Development of our Mass Media One way cultural imperialism spreads is through the mass media. The local media imports foreign materials because it is cheaper than having to produce local indigenous content. An example of this issue is that indigenous journalists have to learn to transcribe and rewrite news by foreign news agencies rather than source for their own stories. Sometimes even rewriting local stories covered by the foreign news agencies. Our government and private investors should invest heavily in our local media and encourage the development of indigenous content that will reflect our culture, values, promote our languages etc. Media products like movies, news, music, advertising etc should be regulated to avoid the influx of foreign content. This is where organizations like the Nigerian Broadcasting Service come in. They should develop stronger laws and be strict in its enforcement of the laws such as the 60/40% rule (60% indigenous, 40% foreign). If the indigenous media products are of high quality, the citizens will be encouraged to consume them. This is so because a lot of people give the low quality of the products (movies, music, adverts, news etc) as reasons for not consuming them. If Nigerians consume indigenous media products, it will reflect in every area of our lives (culturally that is). An example is what is happening in the Nigerian music industry,. Because of the increase in local content in our music, it is now becoming acceptable and even encouraged to sing in our indigenous languages(Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo etc), dress in our native attires most especially Ankara and wear our national colors. There has been a rise in the popularity of Pidgin English as opposed to just speaking plain English. Also the teaching of our indigenous languages should be encouraged in our schools. All primary and secondary schools should be encouraged to teach at least one Nigerian language at all classes especially in the minority regions of the country where the minority languages are in danger of becoming extinct. Parents should further speak their native dialect with their wards or children to aid them to be conversant in their local dialect. Young adults today see it as a taboo or as inferiority complex speaking in their local dialect; it does not sound ‘tush’ rather local parents more importantly should be more watchful and observant in the kind of foreign stations their children tune to for their programmes as media has become the primary means by which many of us experience or learn about many aspects of the world around us Stanley and Dennis, 5th edition,p.200). With the presence of technology, access to International broadcast station is at the tip of the hand, we have cables surrounding us and with just a remote control, you can be anywhere in the world learning and assimilating what is been impressed on you. As such supervision is needed to regulate what is been watched. Parents should devout time for their children while they are still young as most of the western values tend to catch them while they are still young just as the catch them young phrase. Another solution is to try to export our own culture as this will help in boosting tourism in Nigeria. We should conscious try to sell and promote our media products to the rest of the world. This will improve our image globally and help foreigners understand our culture, values, cuisine better. I would like to say at this point that we should not consume wholly indiginous media products. A little foreign content is still advisable as there has been some good aspects of cultural imperialism such as technological and educational advancement, political structure (democracy), eradication of some harmful practices like the killing of twins etc. We should take a balanced approach, like an 80 (indigenous))/20% (foreign). CONLUSION As a result of globalization and technological advancement, the western world has succeeded in dominating the third world countries. This notwithstanding should not be an excuse for Nigerians and other third world countries to be subjugated by the western world. Nigerian as a nation should fight cultural imperialism and fight back for our lost culture. One way by which this could be done is through Long Term Investment in the Development of our Mass Media as it is the major means by which cultural imperialism spreads. The local media imports foreign materials because it is cheaper than having to produce local indigenous content. An example of this issue is that indigenous journalists have to learn to transcribe and rewrite news by foreign news agencies rather than source for their own stories. Sometimes even rewriting local stories covered by the foreign news agencies. Our government and private investors should invest heavily in our local media and encourage the development of indigenous content that will reflect our culture, values, promote our languages etc. REFERENCES Anaeto, S. G., Onabajo, O. S. and Osifeso, J. B. (2008). Models and Theories of Communication. African Renaissance Books Incorporated. Dare, A., (2010). The Effects of Western Civilization and Culture on Africa. Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences (1/1) Quarter IV Grifin, E. (2000). A first look at communication theory. (4th edition). Boston, MA: McGraw- Hill Littlejohn, S. W. (1999). Theories of human communication (6th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Oshafu H. U. Cultural Imperialism. Accessed from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/culturalimperialism-examples.html on 12/11/2012. Ogwu, M., Agbanu, N., and Ofordile, J. (December, 2010). â€Å"Sustaining Cultural Values Through the Promotion of Indigenous Languages in Nigeria† Journal of Communication and Culture: International Perspective. (1/3), pp 76 Schiller, H. I. (1976). Communication and Cultural Domination. Armonk, NY: International Arts and Sciences Press. Accessed online on 29/10/2012. Critics of cultural imperialism theory. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation available Accessed at http://www.americanforeignrelations.com on 29/10/2012