The impact of E-commerce on the auditing standards Dissertation

The impact of E-commerce on the auditing standards - Dissertation Example Continuous innovation in the information world has drastically changed the nature of works of business organization as well as of individuals. Substantial dependence on information system has also enhanced individuals’ innovative power. Today people can not only dream about some spectacular thing, but they can actually give a realistic shape to their dreams with the implementation of information system. For example, a few decades ago it was even beyond imagination that people can get the opportunities to enroll themselves in any foreign universities without making any physical presence. But continuous and spectacular innovations in the field of information technology have made people dream about distant learning where they can be in continuous touch with their tutors and college administration without making there physical presence in college campuses. Thus information system not only revolutionized they way people do their works, but also the way people think. In this age of highly improved information age ecommerce has become a very popular term. E-commerce can be defined as â€Å"the use of electronic transmission medium (telecommunication) to engage in the exchange, including buying and selling of products and services requiring transportation either physically or digitally from location to location. Introduction of ecommerce has been found to have produced some positive effects on economic performance of a country. It offers innovative ways of selling, delivering and receiving of goods and services and affects almost every industry and all aspects of business mechanisms and in this process dramatically contributes to productivity enhancement of the industries. In the field of auditing, ecommerce has been taking its place at very fast pace. However, it would be The proposed study will consider a particular set of widely used auditing standards in order to evaluate the effects of ecommerce on that set of auditing standards. For the purpose of the pro posed study, the impacts of ecommerce on US GAAS (US Generally Accepted Auditing Standards) will be studied. Thus the theme of the study can be written as follows: Effects of e-commerce on a particular set of auditing standards, i.e. US GAAS, in terms of the application of US GAAS and the outcomes. However, before proposing research questions and relevant research methods, it is very necessary to look into the findings of existing literatures in the relevant field of study. Given the research theme stated above, a number of research questions and corresponding hypotheses should be postulated in order to asses the impact of ecommerce. Now, one thing should be mentioned at this juncture in order to understand the next section that a number of factors are associates with the application of a particular set of auditing standards. The most vital factors are audit planning and implementation of audit plan. The research questions that should be presented later in this proposal should take into account all these facts. Apart form these, some parameters relating audit plan and implementation of audit plan should be taken into account in this research in order to measure the effect ecommerce on these variables. The literature review section should explain all the issue relating to impact of ecommerce on auditing, issues concerning audit planning and issues relating to proper implementation of audit plan. All these will provide required explanations of the research questions to be postulated after the literature revi

Gender stereotypes in the media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender stereotypes in the media - Essay Example When analyzing several commercials from Gender Stereotype (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSIEXtDElOM), specific roles can be seen that are based on expectations of each gender. The first set of gender stereotypes presented in the first commercial show a distinct difference between the masculine and feminine roles. The male is seen working at a computer, which implies the function that men are supposed to have in society. When the woman comes into the room, she immediately begins undressing and getting into lingerie. Throughout the commercial, the woman represents the sex object that is able to entice men. Even though she walks in with a business suit, it becomes secondary to the lingerie. The masculine role is furthered by this when the sexual representation of the woman is able to interrupt the work that the man is doing in the commercial. More importantly, other men that see this on the webcam show the appeal to the sex object and the concept of men is based on the corporate and work figure. The second commercial that is used implies the same concepts about gender stereotype. The female figure is again seen as a sexual object through the lack of actions that she takes. She is seen bathing in the sun with a skimpy bikini and is unaware of what is occurring around her. The male is in the background with a fake lawn mower, which he is using to watch the woman. The gender role of the woman is based on creating a specific sexual object and figure, while the male looking at the female implies a working man that can easily be distracted or changed by watching the opposite sex. The third commercial holds to the same gender stereotypes that are incorporated in the media. There are several women that are seen throughout the commercial. Each are wearing shorter dresses, even with the work clothes that they are wearing. The size and figure of each of the women is a skinnier look, with

Cost Leadership Business Strategy

Cost Leadership Business Strategy Cost leadership is a business strategy developed by Michael Porter. It helps the organization create competitive advantage. Cost leadership refers to provide lowest cost of operation in the industry and it is different from price leadership. Its often driven by organization efficiency, size, scale, scope, technology and experience. A cost leadership strategy use to exploit scale of production, producing highly standardized products by using high technology. An organization could be the lowest cost producer, but not offer the lowest-priced products or services to customer. Therefore the organization would have a higher than average profitability. However, cost leader organization will compete on price and are very effective at such a form of competition, having a low cost structure and management.   The organizations can increase the market share by appealing price-sensitive customers. This is achieved by having the lowest prices in the target market segment to appealing price-sensitive customer while the organization still profitability and a high return on investment. The organization must be able to operate at a lower cost than its rivals. Organization can achieves this by achieving a high asset turnover, low direct and indirect operating costs, and control over the supply/procurement chain to ensure low costs. The company choose are London Biscuits Berhad Group, Oriental Food Industries Sdn Bhd and Apollo Food Industries Sdn Bhd. London Biscuits Berhad Group is a manufacturing and marketing cakes and snack food which score high in terms of product safety and quality based in Malaysia. It is listed in the main market of Bursa Malaysia. The reason our group chosen this company is in the annual report 2010 the company outlook and prospect mention about the cost effective. Besides, the company strategy for go also show they march toward cost leadership. It relate to assignment topic which is compete on a cost leadership strategy. Oriental Food Industries Sdn Bhd is the food manufacturing industry, today holding the leading position in the snack food and confectionery industry in Malaysia. It also listed in the main market of Bursa Malaysia. One of the aim for research and development team is to reduce cost and wastage while increasing productivity and maintaining standards. This strategy shows the company trying to achieve cost leadership. Apollo Food Industries Sdn Bhd is the manufacturing compound chocolate confectionery products and layer cakes based in Malaysia. The company also listed in the main market of Bursa Malaysia. One of the company strategies is implementing and maintains the quality management system and continually improves its effectiveness. This strategy shows the company is towards to cost leadership. Body London Biscuits Berhad The first company is London Biscuits Berhad. From annual report, they mention that the company is toward cost efficiency by few strategies. The first and foremost, London Biscuits Berhad have implement the low cost in the main raw material. The company bought Lay Hong Berhad to assure has a continuous and adequate supply of quality liquid eggs at reasonable price. Liquid egg is one of the main raw materials in manufacturing of cake product. After, the company have take up a controlling stake in TPC PLUS BERHAD( TPC) at a reasonably cheap entry cost. TPC is a company also listed in the main market of Bursa Malaysia, mainly involved in producing chicken eggs for industry, commercial and consumer use. TPC is also a supplier of London Biscuit Berhad. The action help the company have own supplier of egg with assured quality and cost-effective to the company. The second strategy they implement is mass production, it can help the company to reduce the average cost. The reason is that, mass production can reduce the wastage in raw material as well as achieve cost-effective at long range perspective. In the annual report, they mention they are commissioning of new cake production line which to be the single biggest production line in South East Asia. The line wills more than double of the company existing production capacity. The third strategy implement is upgrade technology to improve production efficiencies, reduce wastage and reduce manpower requirement. In annual report, the company mention about older machines and facilities in snack manufacturing division are upgrading to custom design and built machines. For long term, this will help the company save production cost and lead to cost leadership in the industry. The last strategy implement is directors training. In annual report, the company mentions certain directors have attended training and seminar whether in-house or external in various areas to enhance their skills to contribute more effectively to the company. This action will help the company running with more efficiency, implement useful strategy and reduce the mistake in decision making by director. Oriental Food Industries Sdn Bhd The Second Company is Oriental Food Industries Sdn Bhd. From the annual report, the groups pre-tax profit grew faster at 37.5%. Its driven principally by a better sales mix as well as a more efficient cost structure. From the statement, we can know the company is a cost leadership company. The first strategy the company use to achieve cost leadership is directors training, it can find in the group annual reports. This will improve the ability and efficiency of the director in making decision. This will reduce the wrong decision making, indirect reduce the loss in making a wrong decision. Besides, in the annual report mention the company provide on-job-training and external courses for relevant departments to ensure the sufficiently skilled to perform effectively and efficiently. This strategy can help the company reduce the manpower require and save cost pay for Over Time. The second strategy implement is reducing cost and wastage and increasing productivity. From the company websites, the RD team engages in various research methods in order to improve the production process to achieve the strategy. This will lead the company to cost leadership. The third strategy implement is technology. From the company website, they mention the company abreast with the latest technology developments. The company produces the products with modern machinery for increase the productivity and efficiency to achieve economic of scale. It also can help the company reduce the manpower using. The forth strategy implement is the relationship with suppliers and customer. In the annual report, the company mentions Mr. Son Chen Chuan as a Managing Director in the company, he had close relationship with the supplier and customer. With the relationship with supplier they can get the material with quality and lower price. This will reduce the cost for the company. Apollo Food Industries Sdn Bhd The third company is Apollo Food Industries Sdn Bhd. From the annual report, all the director have completed the Mandatory Accreditation Programmed (MAP). The aim of this training is to enhance their skills and knowledge. It can help the directors in decision making to reduce the error and risk. When wrong decision making, the risk and cost for the company is high, it can help the company save cost. The second strategy implement is training provide to employee. From the annual report, the company mention the employees are provided with necessary training in various job related organized by external parties to enhance the skill and knowledge. This will help the company reduce the manpower and pay for Over Time. The third strategy implement is reducing wastage. From the annual report, the company mention operation and office resources are been utilized without much wastage and recycling are being encourage at all time. This strategy will save the cost for the company and lead the company towards cost leadership. The forth strategy implement is continuous improve in production planning. From the annual report, the company invests on newer and modern production machineries to increase the production and reduce the cost. These companies have implemented several similar strategies such as mass production, upgrade the technology and director and employee training. These strategies will help the companies to achieve economic of scale, reduce the manpower and other expenses in order to achieve cost leadership in the industry. Besides, these companies also have implement different strategies to leads the industry. The London Biscuits buying their supplier to reduce the raw material cost and insure the quality of raw material. This strategy not implement by the two companies, it become superiority for London Biscuit Berhad. The Oriental Food Industries Sdn Bhd implement different strategies but the same aim is to get the material at reasonable price. This company achieves this by having a good relationship with the supplier to increase the bargaining power to supplier. 3.0 Conclusion The three companies uses to research are from the same industries that compete with each other in the same market. These three companies use their cost leadership strategies in the confection industry in order to reduce the cost and keep their price low to compete with others and increase the market share to survive. Most of the strategy are similar but implement in different ways to achieve cost leadership strategies. Besides, there are some different strategies use are different from others. These help company have superiority when compete with other.

The Devil And Tom Walker, by Washington Irving Essay -- The Devil And

The Devil And Tom Walker, by Washington Irving Washington Irving the author of The Devil and Tom Walker uses the setting of the story to convey that things with a good appearance can be deceiving and be putrid on the inside. He also creates the right atmosphere for the story, and gives precise details to the audience so they can predict the topic and how it will develop. In addition, he describes each character in a manner that the readers can infer who they are, their personal characteristics, and the decisions that they might make throughout the development of the story. Moreover, he provides a background for each character in order to understand their actions and their ending. This tall tale occurs near Boston, Massachusetts that as recorded in history was the place that held the witch hangings in 1692. Moreover he wrote â€Å"†¦there is a deep inlet, winding several miles into the interior of the country from Charles Bay, and terminating in a thickly wooded swamp or morass.† The mentioned description and information gives an overview that the tale may contain supernatural situations and smuggling – or related situations- because it provides the perfect sinister and gloomy environment. As equally important when Irving describes the swamp, where most of the story take place, he gives details such as â€Å"On one side of this inlet is a beautiful dark grove; on the opposite side the land rises abruptly from the waters’ edge into a high ridge†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He also says â€Å"It was full of pits...

Zappos-Amazon Acquisition

Amazon’s Acquisition of Zappos Acquisition regarding Amazon and Zappos Companies that want to be among the elite competitors in their particular fields have to be able to adapt and evolve in an always changing market place. In order to do so many large companies initiate mergers or acquisitions with smaller or similarly sized companies. They believe they can leverage and collaborate with each other in order to create more company value.The main difference between a merger and an acquisition is a merger is a situation in which two firms agree to unite as one single company rather than remain two separately operating firms owned by one company. The firms are usually the same size, and both companies’ stocks are surrendered creating new company stock issued in its’ place. An acquisition is when one company completely buys out the selling companies stock and makes itself the new owner of the company. Legally the selling company still exists as an independent legal en tity, but overall control is in the hands of the parent company.In July 2009 CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieht made the announcement of Amazon’s acquiring of Zappos. In a lengthy e-mail Tony eloquently explains the future of Zappos and what will take place in the near future at Zappos. Throughout Amazon’s reign as online shopping powerhouse, they have been consistent in one of the most important aspects–growing and developing as a long-term contender in the online shopping world. Amazon has adapted and involved in the always changing markets by expanding market share through acquisitions.In 1998 Amazon expanded itself into new markets with three key acquisitions. Two of the acquired companies, Bookpages and Telebook, were bought to expand Amazon’s market share into Europe; and the third acquisition, The Internet Movie Database (IMD), was bought to expand Amazon into a new developing market of online video sales. Amazon has always stressed customer service and cu stomer ease as a main objective throughout their development. Zappos is a company known to be a customer service company since its inception.In fact, Tony Hsieh stated in a Harvard business review article that he does not think of Zappos as a shoe company, but rather a customer service company. On the surface this acquisition seemed like a good fit for both parties, but the reality of high failure rates of acquisitions signifies there are many things to think about when considering acquiring a company. Our team will give a brief analysis on pre-acquisition activity within both companies, analysis of the acquisition itself, and give an overview of the success or failure of the acquisition.The key aspects to consider in this acquisition are as follows: the simplest and most underestimated factor is what are the specific goals of each company in regards to a possible acquisition, can the two separate companies effectively leverage each other’s strengths to create a greater compa ny value, and do these two companies align with one another in order to carry out their objectives and grow long-term. A History Of Zappos Zappos is an online selling shoe company founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn, Alfred Lin, and Tony Hsieh.The company’s key concept is that they are in the customer service business, not a shoe company. Customer service is Zappos’ main asset. They do everything a little bit differently than any other company. Tony Hsieh encourages company culture which is the core of the company allowing them to be so successful. Before the acquisition, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh had to make sure that the company will remain unchanged. Many people thought it would be end of Zappos and their culture after Amazon bought them. Amazon took over Zappos, but allowed them to run separately, keeping their company name and culture.Zappos’s goal for the future is to deliver happiness to their customers and acquisition by Amazon allowing them to leverage each ot her’s strengths. Now with the merger Zappos has much better cash flow than before. Now they can refund people’s credit cards much faster than they could before and improve their customer service even more. With the acquisition they also gained lot of experience from senior staff of Amazon and vice versa. Prior to the acquisition, Zappos had to discuss their independence with Amazon.Zappos tried to stay unchanged by the acquisition as much as possible while keeping all the benefits from the acquisition as long as they could. Zappos had big plans before the acquisition, and now with Amazon they are still focusing on their goals, but with resources from Amazon they can achieve them much faster. Zappos’ net sales in the first quarter of 2010 were almost 50% higher than the same quarter of the previous year. To ensure Zappos can grow at this fast pace they had to hire the right people. Zappos’s way to make sure that their employees really want to work at the f irm is quite nontraditional.After few weeks of training they offer their trainees money to leave. This price constantly raises and after the acquisition it was at $3000 not to take the job. Zappos didn’t change immediately after the acquisition, but now few years later we see some changes happening, but Zappos still keeps their culture untouched. The biggest change that happened in Zappos was handing over their Kentucky warehouse to Amazon. Tony Hsieh explained it as necessary move due to legal obligations. Zappos employees in Kentucky had to be transformed under Amazon with all their benefits changing.Usually during acquisition many people will get laid off due to efficiency for both firms. Zappos has actually grown since the acquisition and no one lost their job as a result of it. It was a risky move for Tony Hsieh, because in one interview he admitted that Amazon can technically sell Zappos at any time. Some of their agreement works on mutual trust and so far it works for both Amazon and Zappos. A History of Amazon Amazon. com Inc. sells just about everything, and lots of it. What drives Amazon is the desire to enhance the consumer experience, whether it's shipping or product availability or price.Over the past decade, Amazon has moved from strictly retail to both selling goods and then executing the orders, for itself and for third parties. Amazon, as much as people like to think of it as an e-commerce provider, is becoming a direct-to-consumer fulfillment company. How did Amazon become so successful so quickly? Strategy! Investing in the right plans at the right time and staying the course. Amazon embraced what is known as a â€Å"design school model† of strategy development. Despite the title, the model is simple to understand and can be highly effective.It is the one used most by professors and consulting organizations. Organizations often struggle in finding a compelling competitive position. Successful organization can begin to drift awa y and total fail at what it takes to be successful. This tool can begin to help an organization get into the game. The design school model calls for both external and internal appraisals. An external appraisal helps an organization to understand threats and opportunities that are out there in the market. The internal assessment helps the organization to understand its strengths and weaknesses. The â€Å"Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats† (SWOT) tool is one that most people are familiar with and stems from the design school model. Amazon conducted the external analysis using the following analysis frameworks: PESTEL Analysis, Industry and Competitor Analysis, Competitor Analysis, Global Internet Trends and GE Matrix. The â€Å"PESTEL† framework helped Amazon to identify trends that could impact them in six key areas: (P) Political factors: areas to focus on include political direction, taxes, trade restrictions. (E) Economic factors: includes GDP, inflatio n, interest rates, exchange rates and other macro and micro economic factors. S) Social factors: includes social trends, population growth rate, age distribution, career expectations, etc. (T) Technology factors: includes equipment, information technology, R;D. (E) Environmental factors: Includes weather and climate. (L) Legal factors: include health, safety, employment, discrimination, consumer and antitrust laws. Political, economic, social, technological progress indicates an increasing and attractive market? to be exploited by Amazon. com. The external appraisal includes Amazon looking at its competitive position to determine opportunities and risks and where it should focus.To do this, they used Porter’s 5-force tool that helped them to understand the strengths and weakness of its competitive position, and where they might consider moving forward. The competitive rivalry amongst the e-retailing industry is intense. From some of the largest to the smallest companies, dotc om businesses are abundant, making? competition intense. Amazon. com competes directly with big firms such as Barnes and? Noble and Ebay. In simplest terms, the model looks assumes there are five important forces that determine competitive power. Amazon has hundreds of competitors.The challenge is what ones to focus on. They focused on large-scale Internet retailers that offer a broad range of products. This exercise helped Amazon to better understand who their competition is. Ebay and Wal-Mart are examples. Global Internet Trends The Internet is Amazon’s key channel. The 20 top countries in Internet usage, and grow patterns were identified. A GE Matrix has been used to identify the attractiveness and competitive position of the? markets that Amazon. com operates in. GE Matrix: This is a matrix used to screen portfolios of business units.Both the attractiveness of the industry and the strength of each business unit within the industry are plotted. Industry attractiveness is d etermined by the following factors: Growth rate, Size, Demand, Competition, Profitability and Global opportunities. Business unit strength is determined by: Market share, Market share growth, Brand, Distribution channels, Production capacity and Profit margin comparisons. Knowing, constructing, and fully leveraging strengths in the best manner possible is an important key to creating long-term competitive advantage.Amazon is a great, leading-edge company that has successfully developed and implemented compelling strategies that we can learn from. Most large organizations conduct strategic planning, but in many cases real â€Å"strategy† and â€Å"planning† are missing. Instead too many strategic planning exercises are nothing more than budget positioning exercises. Not so with Amazon. Amazon has developed common sense as an organization. Becoming clear as to what will provide you a competitive advantage is paramount. We chase after the hot new industries where the risk is highest. The key is to sustained focus on smart strategies.There are three simple tools that Amazon focuses on as part of its internal appraisal process. They include: Value Chain, Resources Based View and Financial Analysis. Amazon developed a value chain of itself to internal it can operationally best add value and maintain a competitive advantage. The value chain analysis undertaken examines the operational effectiveness of activities that? enable Amazon. com to perform better than its competitors; i. e. the distinctive value chain activities that are difficult to imitate. This analysis focuses on ‘value creation’ and ‘transaction cost economies’; where Amazon. om? configures its value chain activities to create unique value for customers, reduce its costs of? carrying out these activities and reduce the cost of its customers’ transactions. Some of Amazon’s competitive advantages from a value chain perspective include: Strong technologi cal infrastructure with a single platform, High investments in technology development (e. g. , Kindle) to best leverage digital products, Great product forecasting system, Print on demand, Constantly soliciting suggestions on new products, Easy and fast payment system, 24 hour operations and Free returns within 30 days.The resource based view helps an organization to determine where to invest in critical resources to have a competitive advantage. The more valuable and rare the right resources are in the right places, the more likely the firm may have a long-term advantage over its competition. A firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage. The organization’s resources and capabilities combined together constitute its distinctive competencies. Amazon successfully identified the right resources and developed its capabilities in key target areas.These investments resulted in: Sophisticated online retailing technologies, Personalization features for customers on its websites, Reliable and easily scalable IT systems all one platform, New products (100 different products in seven major geographic markets), Top customer relationship system, State of the art warehousing, New products (100 different products in seven major geographic markets). Gearing, Debt and Capital Structure Amazon’s investments are paying off. Their net sales continue to grow, their cost of goods decreases as a % of sales and their net income continues to increase.And, they continue to invest in initiatives that provide them a longer-term competitive advantage. Goals: The acquisition of Zappos by Amazon is equally beneficial in the long run for the two companies. Zappos’ goals after the acquisition are mainly focused on its own growth internally and externally. As their own independent firm they want to pursue their vision of delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors; and now they will be able to get their much faster.Amazon h as the capacity to help them grow at a pace they would not be able to by themselves. Zappos is going to remain its own independent entity and it will be run by the same owners the way they see fit. This is beneficial because one of Zappos’ best qualities is its unique culture and brand. Financially, Zappos wanted a shareholder and partner that thinks long term and will also do what is best for their existing shareholders. Amazon’s goals for Zappos are very similar to what Zappos themselves want. They like Zappos because they have a lot of growth potential.Zappos is very popular, however they are not as large nor do they have the capacity for shipping, storage, or personnel that Amazon does and they want to leverage their capabilities to help Zappos grow. Amazon wants to leverage the intangible assets that Zappos possesses; the people and the culture of the company. The Culture of Zappos is one of its best qualities that no other company can easily replicate; working to gether the companies can share and learn from one another to improve the workplace culture in both companies.Customer service is what Zappos hangs its hat on and Amazon can learn from them about their policies and even help them to provide better service. Metrics: It will take some time for Amazon and Zappos to be able to measure the effectiveness of the acquisition mainly because both firms emphasize the long term. The main focus for both sides is to grow the Zappos brand and their effectiveness in their goal to help customers. Zappos should see increased sales, more efficient distribution, and faster response times when customers have issues. Methods: Aligning the two companies and leveraging each company’s strengths to better each other.Amazon has resources, technology, and operational experience that Zappos does not. Zappos can leverage all of these to make their own operations faster and more efficient by bringing people in from Amazon and learning from them. Amazons imp roved technology will help Zappos fill orders faster and improve logistics. Zappos has a very large distribution center in Kentucky fairly close to the UPS shipping hub. Amazon now has a very important strategic advantage with access. They can now move product faster and easier making their own distribution faster and less expensive.Post- Acquisition Turnout On Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. com, emailed all of his employees to share the great news of their acquisition with Amazon. His board approved and signed a definitive agreement, in which all of the existing shareholders and investors of Zappos will be exchanging their Zappos stock for Amazon stock. After the exchange took place, Amazon became the sole shareholder of Zappos stock. Post-acquisition, Zappos continued to run their operations the same, doing what they believe is best for their brand, their culture, and their business.By leveraging each other’s strengths, Zappos reached their visio n even faster—delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors. By merging with Amazon, Zappos was able to accelerate the growth of their brand and culture. Amazon supports Zappos in continuing to grow their vision as an independent entity, under the Zappos brand with their unique culture. Hsieh also aligned his company with a shareholder and partner that think long term, just like Zappos. Zappos continued to run as an independent entity. In legal terminology, they became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.Therefore, all of their jobs were as secure as they were pre-acquisition. The Zappos brand continued to be separate from the Amazon brand. Although they now have access to many of Amazon’s resources, they continued to build their brand and their culture just as they always have. Zappos has continued to grow their headquarters out of Las Vegas, attracting the right talent for each of their departments. After acquiring Zappos, Amazon has seen more profitabili ty, more market share, greater growth and revenue, and most importantly, a better brand image.By encompassing the unique customer service aspect of Zappos, Amazon has become one of, if not the biggest, online company. Amazon has seen substantial growth in net revenue since acquiring Zappos in 2009. Online business is a growing industry—the percentage of households with at least one computer has gone up from 64% in 2004 to 87% present day. In 2009, Amazon’s revenue was $24. 5 billion. This past year, they finished with total revenue of $61. 09 billion. In 2009, Amazon’s cost of goods sold was $18. 97 billion. This past year, it has grown to $45. 97 billion, a growth of $27 billion in just three years.In 2009, before the acquisition of Zappos, Amazon’s gross profit was $5. 5 billion. Three years later, it has escalated to a staggering $15. 1 billion. Although debt as a percent of total capital increased at Amazon. com Inc. over the last fiscal year to 34. 8 7%, it is still in-line with the Internet and Catalog Retail industry's norm. Additionally, even though there are not enough liquid assets to satisfy current obligations, operating profits are more than adequate to service the debt. Accounts Receivable is typical for the industry, with 17. 78 days worth of sales outstanding.Last, inventory levels, relative to its Cost of Goods Sold, are typical for the industry and have shown a consistent decrease during the last 4 years. This implies that management is becoming more efficient. Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos was clearly a smart move on both ends. Zappos and its employees were compensated fairly, and Amazon has seen a steady increase on the balance sheet and income statement. There is no limit to Amazon’s potential, now that they have acquired the amazing and unique company that is Zappos. Closing Remarks It is clear from our analysis that Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos is a good fit for both parties.Each company ’s goals of the acquisition were made clear through pre-acquisition negotiations. Zappos wanted to expand their operations through the use of Amazon’s large market share and also be able to use Amazon’s large array of assets to create a better costumer experience. Amazon wanted to learn the intangible and effective costumer service methods that have proven to be Zappos competitive edge. So far, each company has been able to effectively leverage each other’s strengths to achieve their goals. Furthermore, these companies align with each other in moving forward to achieve long-term growth.

Mary Rowlandson’s “The Captive” Essay

In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries of America, many settlers and colonists were taken captive by the Native Americans, commonly known as Indians. The Native Americans had many reasons and motives for capturing the settlers or colonists. Captives were often taken to be traded, ransomed, or â€Å"adopted,† which Native Americans did to replace tribal members who had passed or who had been killed. Two very famous captivity narratives are those of James Smith and Mary Rowlandson, whose stories are very different due to their captors, gender, and religion. James Smith was 18 years old when he was captured by the Indians just miles above Bedford. Smith was captured by three Indians, one was a Canasatauga and the two others were Delawares. With the exception of being flogged, Smith’s experiences with the Indians were not terrible. He was essentially treated as an Indian. This stems from the fact that he was adopted by the Natives. James Smith was given man y freedoms. Smith was very trusted by the Indians. They allowed him to hunt with them or on his own, they expected him to act as an Indian, and they also trusted him to take care of them when needed. Smith also had the option to leave whenever he pleased. He did not have to remain with the Indians for the four years, 1755-1759, that he did. These experiences are very different compared to those of Mary Rowlandson. Mary Rowlandson’s hometown of Lancaster, Massachusetts was destroyed by the Indians in King Philip’s War and she was taken captive during the destruction. Mary Rowlandson was captured in 1676 and remained a captive for three months before the requested ransom was paid. Rowlandson had very different experiences from James Smith with the Indians. At her capture, she witnessed the Indians killing or harming many in her family. Rowlandson, herself, suffered a gunshot wound. James Smith was also harmed when first captured by the Indians; however, he had been aided by French doctors. Mary Rowlandson dealt with her gunshot wound on her own. She also had to carry her sick child for six days before the child passed away. Rowlandson was not able to read freely in front of the Indians, she was not given a fair share of th e food, and was often forced to find other Indian tribes to spend the night with, or to receive food from. Rowlandson was sometimes allowed to go and meet with family members who were with neighboring tribes. Compared to James Smith’s experiences, Mary Rowlandson had it tough when she was a captive of the Indians. Gender had a major effect on how the captives were treated. Native Americans often captured women because they were easier to capture, could bring in more ransom, and the Indians also believed that the women would be easier to control. Mary Rowlandson had to make clothes for others in order to either trade with them or to get money that she could then use to obtain food with. James Smith, on the other hand, was able to go out and hunt for the food he needed. The food that he and his fellow Indians gathered was evenly divided amongst the tribe. Rowlandson, however, was treated better by some tribes than the one she was being held captive in. Some Indians from other tribes would offer her food or opportunities to get money or goods that she needed. This was likely due to the fact that women had more powers and were more respected in some Indian tribes. Smith was expected to help and fend for himself while Rowlandson was often provided with food, though it was not a fair share and was often not of the same value that Smith’s was. Overall, Mary Rowlandson was treated disrespectfully, unfairly, and as though she was inferior. Rowlandson had to fight harder to live, as her food was often stolen and her religion, her greatest hope and strength, was frowned upon during her captivity. Religiously, Mary Rowlandson was affected more than James Smith. Mary Rowlandson was very religious. Rowlandson was married to a minister of Lancaster. Mary Rowlandson’s faith and religion were the only things that kept her going during her captivity. The only thing she had to look forward to was reading her bible, though she had to do it secretly because once, her mistress caught her reading it, grabbed it out of her hands, and threw it ou tside. Rowlandson recovered her bible, but from then on she read it more secretly. Mary Rowlandson believed that all of the trials that she survived and the blessings that she received were from God. Rowlandson wrote of leaving her captivity, â€Å"I have been in the midst of those roaring lions and savage bears that feared neither God nor man nor the devil, by night and day, alone and in company, sleeping all sorts together, and yet not one of them ever offered the least abuse of unchastity to me in word or action; though some are ready to say I speak it for my own credit; but I speak it in the presence of God, and to His glory. God’s power is as great now as it was to furnace. Especially that I should come away in the midst of so many hundreds of enemies and not a dog move his tongue.† Mary Rowlandson often quoted bible verses, one being Psalsms 27: â€Å"Wait on the Lord.† Rowlandson used this particular verse to persuade another captive against trying to escape and run away. and metaphorically related her experiences to stories of the bible .Mary Rowlandson depended upon her religion to survive her captivity. Without, her faith, religion, and God, Mary Rowlandson would have had no hope, no reason to go on, or no encouragement to persevere through her captivity. James Smith was not extremely religious. Unlike Mary Rowlandson, James Smith did not depend upon religion to survive his captivity with the Indians. The Indians that Smith was with did not mind him practicing his own religion and they did not force their religion upon him. James Smith was, towards the end of his captivity, traveling with an Indian by the name of Tecaughretanego and his son Nunganey. After Smith laughed at Tecaughretanego’s religious ceremonies, Tecaughretanego said to him, â€Å"Brother,–I have somewhat to say to you, and I hope you will not be offended when I tell you of your faults. You know that when you were reading your books in town I would not let the boys or any one disturb you; but now, when I was praying, I saw you laughing. I do not think that you look upon praying as a foolish thing; I believe you pray yourself. But perhaps you may think my mode or manner of praying foolish; if so, you ought in a friendly manner to instruct me, and not make sport of sacred things.† Smith learned a lot about the Indians’ religion through his experiences with them and learned to respect their beliefs. Though the experiences of James Smith and Mary Rowlandson were very different, neither story will ever be forgotten. Perhaps that was their purpose for recording their exploits. The differences in their stories can be attributed to their sex, religion, and captors. Had Mary Rowlandson not been female, religious, or captured by the Indians she was, her story may have been very different. Also, for James Smith, had he not been male or taken by the Indians he was his story would have been completely altered. The qualities, beliefs, and characteristics of Mary Rowlandson and James Smith were essentially what saved their lives.

Ethics on Our Nation essays

Ethics on Our Nation essays The atrocious deeds taken against Germany in the first World War can only be described as unacceptable. It is clear to me that from the beginning of the war the United States undeniably favored Great Britain and France over Germany. The Germans were much more considerate than the British and would have been a great potential ally for the United States. Shortly after war broke out in Europe, Great Britain, unable to beat Germanys dominant ground forces, took a different approach to the war. The British navy, known for being one of the finest, blockaded the German coast and prevented all goods from coming in. American ships trying to make trade with Germany were sunk or confiscated. No trouble was ever given to the British for such actions. When Germany responded to the blockade with a blockade of their own, American ships that were sunk or confiscated were thought of as being dealt an immoral act. When the war on the land was at a stalemate and blockading enemy ports was no longer affective, the vast powers of Europe came up with an alternative plan. Britain was the first to enact such an unbearable alternative. A War zone was Britains answer to their problem. A mass of the Atlantic Ocean was taken by the British and was declared as prohibited for any ships to travel through. The ocean mass was strewn with mines that if any ship dared to travel through it, it would suffer heavy damage. The British allowed only one day for this war zone to come into effect. When Germany reacted to the prohibited zone with one of their own, they allowed fifteen days for all ships to steer clear of their zone. They even issued a warning stating that neutral ships entering the war zone were vulnerable to getting sunk. Both war zones were responsible for sinking American ships and shedding American blood. Only Germanys actions were publicized. The last irrational action taken by the United States was actually de...

Understanding Si Clauses in French

Understanding 'Si' Clauses in French Si clauses or conditionals produce conditional sentences, with one clause stating a condition or possibility and a second clause naming a result produced by that condition. In English, such sentences are called if/then constructions. The French si, of course, means if in English. There is no equivalent for then per se in French conditional sentences. There are different types of si clauses, but they all have two things in common: The English result clause might be preceded by then, but there is no equivalent word preceding the French result clause. Si tu conduis, je paierai. If you drive, (then) Ill pay. The clauses can be in one of two orders: Either the  si clause is followed by the result clause, or the result clause is followed by the  si clause. Both work as long as the verb forms are paired correctly and si  is placed in front of the condition. Je paierai si tu conduis. Ill pay if you drive. Types of Si  Clauses Si  clauses are divided into types based on the likeliness of what is stated in the result clause: what does, will, would, or would have happened if....The first verb form listed for each type names the condition upon which the result depends; the result is indicated by the second verb form. First conditional: Likely / Potentiel   Present or present perfect present, future  or imperativeSecond conditional: Unlikely / Irrà ©el du prà ©sent Imperfect conditionalThird conditional: Impossible / Irrà ©el du passà © Pluperfect conditional perfect  Ã‚   These verb pairings are very specific: for example, in the second conditional, you can only use the imperfect in the si clause and the conditional in the result clause. Memorizing these pairings is probably the most difficult part of si clauses. Its important to memorize  the rules concerning the sequence of tenses. The term conditional here refers to the condition being named; it does not mean that the conditional mood is necessarily used in the conditional sentence. As shown above, the conditional mood is not used in the first conditional, and even in the second and third conditional, the conditional mood does not name the condition, but rather the result. First Conditional The first conditional refers to an if-then clause that names a likely situation and the result dependent upon it: something that happens or will happen if something else happens. The term conditional here refers to the condition being named; it does not mean that the  conditional mood  is necessarily used in the conditional sentence.  The conditional mood is not used in the first conditional. The first conditional is formed with the  present tense  or  present perfect  in the  si  clause, and one of three verb forms- present,  future, or  imperative- in the result clause.   Present Present This construction is used for things that happen regularly. The  si  in these sentences could probably be replaced by  quand  (when) with little or no difference in meaning. Sil pleut, nous ne sortons pas. / Nous ne sortons pas sil pleut. If it rains, we dont go out. / We dont go out if it rains.Si je ne veux pas lire, je regarde la tà ©là ©. / Je regarde la tà ©là © si je ne veux pas lire. If I dont want to read, I watch TV. / I watch TV if I dont want to read. Present Future The present future construction is used for events that are likely to occur. The present tense follows  si; it is the situation that is required before the other action will take place. Si jai  le temps, je le ferai. / Je le ferai si jai le temps. If I have time, I will do it. / I will do it if I have time.Si tu à ©tudies, tu rà ©ussiras lexamen. / Tu rà ©ussiras lexamen si tu à ©tudies. If you study, you will pass the test. / Youll pass the test if you study. Present Imperative This construction is used to give an order, assuming that the condition is met. The present tense follows  si; it is the situation that is required before the other action becomes a command. Si tu peux, viens me voir. / Viens me voir si tu peux. If you can, come see me. / Come see me if you can. (If you cant, then dont worry about it.)Si  vous  avez  de  largent,  payez  la facture. / Payez la facture si  vous  avez  de  largent. If you have money, pay the bill. / Pay the bill if you have money. (If you dont have any money, someone else will take care of it.) Passà © composà © Present, Future, or Imperative Si  clauses may also use the  passà © composà ©Ã‚  followed by the present, future, or imperative. These constructions are basically the same as above; the difference is that the condition is in the present perfect rather than the simple present. Si tu as fini, tu peux partir. / Tu peux partir si tu as fini. If you have finished, you can leave.Si tu nas pas fini, tu me le diras. / Tu me le diras si tu nas pas fini. If you havent finished, [you will] tell me.Si tu nas pas fini, dis-le-moi. / Dis-le-moi si tu nas pas fini. If you havent finished, tell me. Second Conditional   The second conditional* expresses something that is contrary to present fact or unlikely to occur: something that would  happen,  if something else happened. The term conditional here refers to the condition being named, not the  conditional mood. In the second conditional, the conditional mood is not used to name the condition itself, but rather the result. For the second conditional, use  si  Ã‚  imperfect  (stating the condition)   conditional  (stating what would happen). Si javais le temps, je le ferais. / Je le ferais si javais le temps. If I had time, I would do it. / I would do it if I had time. (Fact: I dont have time, but if I did [contrary to  fact], I would do it.)Si tu à ©tudiais,  tu  rà ©ussirais   lexamen. / Tu rà ©ussirais   lexamen  si  tu  Ãƒ ©tudiais. If you studied, you would pass the test. / You would pass the test if you studied. (Fact: You dont study, but if you did [unlikely to occur], you would pass the test.) Si  elle  vous  voyait,  elle  vous  aiderait./ Elle  vous  aiderait  si  elle  vous  voyait. If she saw you, she would help you. / She would help you if she saw you. (Fact: She doesnt see you so she isnt helping you [but if you get her attention, she will].) Third Conditional The third conditional* is a conditional sentence that expresses a hypothetical situation that is contrary to past fact: something that would have happened if something else had happened. The term conditional here refers to the condition being named, not the  conditional mood. In the third conditional, the conditional mood is not used to name the condition itself, but rather the result. To form the third conditional, use  si  Ã‚  pluperfect  (to explain what would have had to occur)   conditional perfect  (what would have been possible). Si javais eu le temps, je laurais fait. / Je laurais fait si javais eu le temps. If I had had time, I would have done it. / I would have done it if I had had time. (Fact: I didnt have time, so I didnt do it.)Si tu  avais  Ãƒ ©tudià ©,  tu  aurais  rà ©ussi   lexamen. / Tu  aurais  rà ©ussi   lexamen  si  tu  avais  Ãƒ ©tudià ©. If you had studied, you would have passed the test. / You would have passed the test if you had studied. (Fact: You didnt study, so you didnt pass the test.)Si  elle  vous  avait  vu,  elle  vous  aurait  aidà ©. / Elle  vous  aurait  aidà © si  elle  vous  avait  vu. If she had seen you, she would have helped you. / She would have helped you if she had seen you. (Fact: She didnt see you, so she didnt help you.) Literary Third Conditional In  literary  or other very formal French, both verbs in the pluperfect conditional perfect construction are replaced by the  second form of the conditional perfect. Si jeusse eu le temps, je leusse fait. / Je leusse fait si jeusse eu le temps. If I had had time, I would have done it.Si vous eussiez à ©tudià ©, vous eussiez rà ©ussi lexamen. / Vous eussiez rà ©ussi lexamen si vous eussiez à ©tudià ©. If you had studied, you would have passed the test.

Causes of crime in Trinidad

There are several causes of crime in Trinidad and Tobago but this essay will analyse four of these causes of crime in Trinidad and Tobago.Firstly I will analyse the laxity with which the government has been dealing with the crime situation; It will also be discussed that a nation that forgets God will sin in this way; The eroding morals of society is another ;and the impact of the media on people’s lives. Ð ¡auses of crime And the raison detre successive governments have been unable and unsuccessful in dealing with this problem is primarily because they have all adopted a Euro-centric approach instead of an Afri-centric approach. The Euro-centric approach focuses on the results/effects of a problem while the Afri-centric deals with the causes. This writer strongly contends that the endemic causes of crime in Trinidad and Tobago are three-fold, viz, the 18th century imposed Euro-centric British education system, the abolition of corporal punishment in schools in February 2001 and the subliminal Americanisation of all aspects of life in Trinidad and Tobago, 24/7 365 days a year. The fact of the matter is that the current Euro-centric education system produces young people who are unemployable, devoid of the vital life-survival- empowerment skills and any sense of direction plus low esteem. As a result of all this societal baggage on their shoulders, these young people have no other choice but to resort to a life of crime to survive, And this mind-set makes sense to them, period. The Euro-centric education system continues to imbue in these young people a sense of worthlessness, nothingness and unpreparedness. At the end of their matriculation, these young people seriously and disgracefully lack the 3Rs— Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. They are doomed, period. They are totally convinced (rightly or wrongly) that society, as in the System, has failed them. They feel betrayed by society. Ipso facto, they not only internalise their accepted truism that they are failures but more self-destructively, they also publicly act out Bob Marleys lyrical dictum that the Babylon system is a vampire. Ergo, they are now totally convinced that they have the right to turn on society—crime, therefore, becomes their magnetic force just to survive. On the thorny issue of corporal punishment, this writer vociferously rejects the Euro-centric notion that the decision to abolish was based on research carried out in North America and Europe. Thats the problem. Again, this is exactly what the renowned Euro-centric psychologist Sigmund Freud did centuries ago, namely, using the European behaviour/experience as the norm, standard and model for all people ( including governments) to accept and follow—total, unabashed rejection by this Afri-centric scholar/professor, period. This decision not only represents a direct correlation with but also a very dangerous embrace of the Euro-centric world view and policy-making modus operandi. And thats the problem with solving crime in Trinidad and Tobago. The stark reality is that the historical experience/behaviour of the European coloniser is totally different from that of the colonised. Ergo, what is good and works for the European coloniser is not necessarily good and works for the colonised. That must be clearly understood by public policy-makers in Trinidad and Tobago. The truth be told: As a direct result of the Euro-centric decision made in 2001, today (2012) the chickens (have finally) come home to roost in Trinidad and Tobago, period. The subliminal Americanisation of life in Trinidad and Tobago is overtly reflected in the proclivity for crass materialism, instant gratification, 50 Cent philosophy, disgusting ghetto attire, slangs, body antics and mannerisms of young people, gang turf warfare, just to cite a few. Indeed, judging the daily attire of young, mature and older Trinbagonians one can correctly conclude that just maybe Trinidad and Tobago has been re-assigned. albeit re-located, from the tropical (hot) zone to the temperate (cold) zone. The truth be told: The failed Euro-centric education system in Trinidad and Tobago compels young people to gravitate and mimic only the most self-destructive aspects of American ghetto life styles. In the final analysis, this writer offers the following Afri-centric solutions to deal with crime — (i) radical surgery on the current dependency Euro-centric education system (ii) re-introduction of corporal punishment in schools so that young people will respect/obey adult authority/discipline and (iii) immediate deletion of the BET and BET J channels on Trinidad and Tobagos daily television schedule.

Business (stratergy) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business (stratergy) - Essay Example The paper has explored Terranoba's views on free labour and discussed how she explained the new concept of new world of information. Tiziana Terranova's Network Culture is written at a post-dot.com conjuncture, at what time e-mail, discussion groups, e-zines, and blogs are daily informational tools used en masse. In an era of email lists and discussion groups, e-zines and weblogs, bringing together users, consumers, workers and activists from around the globe, what kinds of political subjectivity are rising What kinds of politics turn out to be possible in a time of information overload and media saturation What structures of power and control operate over a self-organising system like the Internet There have been many books written in the consequences of the dot.com crash that have reinterpreted the crippling economic fall down with critical hindsight. Such manuscripts tend to re-evaluate the overjoyed energies that built Silicon Alley and Valley and re-situate the utopian visions of the new economy in an endeavour to comprehend what went wrong. Terranova's book explains how the politics of the Information Age will break down all barriers. Cyber-politics prediction reached its height between the period of 1995 and 2000. Information technology is no longer in fashion, as it was just a few years ago, to gush eagerly about politics in the age of the Internet. During the last period of 1990s, many commentators were influenced that a new day had dawned in the life of our republic. Some people were of the view that direct democracy was just around the corner, as tens of millions of British people in "chat rooms" would form, in one author's words, "a committee of the whole, made up of all citizens online." Others saw enormous increases in voter contribution, the increase of a more informed and active population, and a decline in the significance of money in politics. It seemed for a moment as though the whole thing was about to change, and for the better. That moment has passed, and the subject seems to have been dropped. It may b e too soon to pick it up again in full. The influence of IT on our politics has not been playing out as anyone fairly expected, and to say that we now know the shape of the future would be to repeat the error of earlier prognosticators. The forecasts of a new world of cyber-politics were not entirely unreasonable. After all, IT makes information more widely available and communication easier, and almost the whole thing in politics has to do with information and communication. A functioning democracy requires an informed electorate, and it seems rational that a new means of providing access to information might very much help citizens stay informed. An election movement aims to convey ideas and arguments, and it seems only sensible that a new and more well-organized way to communicate might radically reshape campaigning. Empowered by the information technology with the help of Internet and the personal computer, citizens could now know more, participate more, and influence the system more directly and efficiently. Terranova is not worried with any one historical happening; Terranova is not engaged in an analysis of a singular juncture in the history of

You decide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

You decide - Essay Example not all will be able to use communication as a tool to improve one ’s self professionally, it is used in everyday living and is crucial to more important things. For instance, a relationship may be ruined if there is no proper communication or if there is a lack of it, or misunderstandings occur when one is not so articulate as to get the message through. One of the most important parts of communication probably is persuasive speaking. This is so considered due to the fact that people have the need to be understood and have other people agreeing or supporting one’s opinions. I consider this the most interesting part of our lesson because I think it is does not just involve the use of words but of emotion, logic and credibility. This is a truly challenging part of communication because it could show how much a speaker is informed about something and may reveal how a person processes information. I think it is also used daily in many forms because as mentioned earlier, people have the need to be understood and have their opinions supported by others. Therefore, a good reputation may help a lot for a speaker to be heard and believed. No one would definitely listen to a carpenter speaking about medicine but people will rely on information brought by a specialist known to have spent years of study in his field. Moreover, a display of emotion in persuasive speaking helps a lot. For instance, a scientist calls for support for a program that would help deter global warming; he might need to use emotions to convince listeners the need for the promotion. What is most interesting to me about persuasive speaking is the logic used behind it. During the process, a speaker should remember that his listeners do not believe the same things he does and it is his job to convince them and have them agree with him. One cannot just manipulate people to believe things as another person does or to agree with every word a speaker says but, through words and the display of

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Research Paper Example Bauerlein claims, â€Å"The digital age stupefies young Americans while at the same time jeopardizing their future† because of the technological advancements they have adopted (Bauerlein 3). In his book, Bauerlein argues that what the teachers are offering and the available information on internet not sufficient. This makes him refer to it as the dumbest generation, with allegation that their overdependence on media technology has them less intellect compared to generations before them. Bauerlein’s argument, however, is not true because what the teachers are offering and the available information on internet is sufficient for the generation under 30 years. In his book, Bauerlein accuses the teenagers for their lack of knowledge and intelligence, poor scholastic-effort and lack of ability to be attentive unless stimulated constantly. The author presents arguments, which are rich in disappointment, emotion, and despair to express the negativities associated with technological advancements towards the young generation. Bauerlein clearly presents his arguments to prove his point that this generation has been affected to an extent that it cannot understand that it is dumb. He tries to convince the adults that the young generation should agree that they are the dumbest generation. Basing argument from Bauerlein’s school of thought, it is clear that he does not acknowledge the intelligence and knowledge that the generation under 30 is obtaining from use of technology. Bauerlein has not focused his attention on the behaviors, attitudes, and moralities of the young Americans and the things they have engaged themselves into. He also does not focus on the contributions of technology to the lives of the young generation. This is a clear indication that Bauerlein lacks sufficient evidence to support his claim that the information on the internet is making the dumbest generation less

DP CH 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

DP CH 2 - Essay Example The chapter also deals with the theoretical framework in order to deal with the diabetes issue among South Asian women. For this purpose, Precede Proceed Model will be discussed in length in order to form a systematic approach that will further help in identifying ways of mitigating the impact of diabetes among South Asian women in a rationale manner. There is no doubt that social, cultural, economic, and political factors affect the well being of individuals and the chapter will analyse the impact and influence of all these factors in a critical manner. This will further help in ascertaining the impact and influence of internal and external factors in a systematic manner. Data for this purpose will be collected mainly from, Nutrition journals, American Journal of Epidemiology, Diabetes Care journals, and Pub Med. The main concept for data search is based on ascertaining the rise of diabetes among South Asian women, internal and external factors affecting diabetes, socio-economic fac tors, cultural factors, and genetic and biological factors. The researcher believes that analyzing and assessing the above mentioned literatures will help in dealing with the research topic in a systematic and critical manner. Moreover, this will help in accomplishing the purposed major goals and objectives of the research in a significant manner. Overall, it can be believed that assessing social, demographic, cultural, and political factors through relevant literature will help in dealing with the research topic in a rationale and succinct manner. The next part of the discussion presents the theoretical framework that will further define the use of Precede Proceed Model in dealing with diabetes issue. Theoretical Framework The theory that has been used for analyzing the rise of diabetes among South Asian women is Precede Proceed Model. Precede Proceed Model is a health framework that helps policy makers, health planners, and healthcare professionals to analyze and design health car e programs in an effective and efficient manner. This model helps in analyzing the quality of life and assessing healthcare needs in a rationale manner. The most important and fundamental assumption of this model is the active participation of audience in terms of defining their issues along with ascertaining short and long term solutions in a significant manner. This model states that health behaviour is determined by individual and environmental factors and thus educational and ecological diagnosis is conducted in a systematic manner. Educational diagnosis in the form of Precede includes, predisposing, reinforcing, enabling constructs, educational diagnosis, and evaluation while ecological diagnosis in the form of Proceed includes policy, regulatory, organizational constructs in educational and environmental development. The Precede framework was firstly introduced in early 70s with a view that treatment plan is dependent on the educational diagnosis of the health problem to devel op intervention programs. The model is based on the notion that predisposing factors like knowledge, attitude, beliefs, self efficacy, and personal preferences in order to achieve personal desired healthcare goals and objectives. Precede Proceed Model gained immense popularity in the healthcare industry helping in developing intervention programs to deal with wide arrays of healthcare issues and problems. In the context of diabetes, it can be believed that the Precede Proceed Model has been proved as of great utility and importance in taking

Campaign Finance Reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Campaign Finance Reform - Essay Example Most of these campaigns use the money to fund the campaign secretariat, advertisements, produce banners and paraphernalia with the candidates’ name, rent premises, motor vehicles and other apparatus required for campaigning, as well as fund those who present themselves to some of the campaign avenues (Milyo, 2008). Three main reforms suggested include voting with dollars, clean elections, and matching funds. Of these proposals, the clean elections proposals will be the best to implement. This is because though people have termed politics as a dirty game, it is very important that the elections become leveled to allow everyone with the will to participate. This means that the candidates will be willing to use what they have to make good use of their benefits and expenditures to represent the people who elect them. The chances of having corrupt officials will be minimized (Milyo, 2008). The citizens’ united decision allowed the people to limit the government’s interference with the non-corporation expenditures in political campaigns. This is not a good precedence because the political parties could become avenues of corruption and manipulation by the non-governmental companies that make huge donations to support candidates. That limits the transparency of campaigns (Milyo,

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Research Paper Example Bauerlein claims, â€Å"The digital age stupefies young Americans while at the same time jeopardizing their future† because of the technological advancements they have adopted (Bauerlein 3). In his book, Bauerlein argues that what the teachers are offering and the available information on internet not sufficient. This makes him refer to it as the dumbest generation, with allegation that their overdependence on media technology has them less intellect compared to generations before them. Bauerlein’s argument, however, is not true because what the teachers are offering and the available information on internet is sufficient for the generation under 30 years. In his book, Bauerlein accuses the teenagers for their lack of knowledge and intelligence, poor scholastic-effort and lack of ability to be attentive unless stimulated constantly. The author presents arguments, which are rich in disappointment, emotion, and despair to express the negativities associated with technological advancements towards the young generation. Bauerlein clearly presents his arguments to prove his point that this generation has been affected to an extent that it cannot understand that it is dumb. He tries to convince the adults that the young generation should agree that they are the dumbest generation. Basing argument from Bauerlein’s school of thought, it is clear that he does not acknowledge the intelligence and knowledge that the generation under 30 is obtaining from use of technology. Bauerlein has not focused his attention on the behaviors, attitudes, and moralities of the young Americans and the things they have engaged themselves into. He also does not focus on the contributions of technology to the lives of the young generation. This is a clear indication that Bauerlein lacks sufficient evidence to support his claim that the information on the internet is making the dumbest generation less

Campaign Finance Reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Campaign Finance Reform - Essay Example Most of these campaigns use the money to fund the campaign secretariat, advertisements, produce banners and paraphernalia with the candidates’ name, rent premises, motor vehicles and other apparatus required for campaigning, as well as fund those who present themselves to some of the campaign avenues (Milyo, 2008). Three main reforms suggested include voting with dollars, clean elections, and matching funds. Of these proposals, the clean elections proposals will be the best to implement. This is because though people have termed politics as a dirty game, it is very important that the elections become leveled to allow everyone with the will to participate. This means that the candidates will be willing to use what they have to make good use of their benefits and expenditures to represent the people who elect them. The chances of having corrupt officials will be minimized (Milyo, 2008). The citizens’ united decision allowed the people to limit the government’s interference with the non-corporation expenditures in political campaigns. This is not a good precedence because the political parties could become avenues of corruption and manipulation by the non-governmental companies that make huge donations to support candidates. That limits the transparency of campaigns (Milyo,

Psychodynamic Counselling Concept Essay Example for Free

Psychodynamic Counselling Concept Essay In this essay I mainly discuss the theory and concepts behind psychodynamic counselling, followed by brief discussions of the practice and skills involved in working as a psychodynamic counsellor, and the client’s experience of counselling. Theory/concepts Psychodynamic counselling is mainly concerned with unconscious processes; it takes for granted that humans possess a largely unconscious inner world. Freud argued that while the conscious mind is governed by logic, the unconscious mind is not, and functions in a very literal way, motivated only to experience pleasure, unable to delay gratification. Although Psychodynamic counselling works with the conscious mind, it mainly focuses on unconscious processes. We have key figures in our lives – e.g. parents, carers, and partners are referred to as ‘objects’, and relationships with them termed ‘object relationships’. The phrase ‘object’ refers to the Freudian concept of the target, or object of the instinct. Object relationships embody not only actual relationships but also the ways that the conscious mind distorts them. The unconscious is viewed as dynamic and purposeful, having huge impact on emotions and behaviour. Psychodynamic theory posits that humans are driven by a need to remain unaware of uncomfortable truths that emerge from the unconscious, experiencing many conflicting needs and demands, e.g. between one’s own wishes and those of others. To deal with conflicts people develop ‘defences’, these include ‘repression’, a form of forgetting, ‘denial’, claiming that something is not upsetting when really it is, and ‘rationalisation’, where a story is created to account for that which feels uncomfortable. ‘Projection’ involves attributing to others characteristics unacceptable to the self, making assumptions about them based on the need to avoid threat. Psychodynamic counselling encourages the client to recognise and accept the troubling attribute, a process called ‘reintrojection’. To engage in projection a defence mechanism called, ‘splitting’, is used when one is finding it too  threatening to accept two opposing traits, such as being capable of both love and hate. It is natural to develop defences, but problems come with their overuse, e.g. using denial so often that problems are not faced. Applying defences too rigidly causes difficulties, and it’s when they start to disintegrate that individuals might seek counselling. Psychodynamic counselling holds that psychological symptoms emerge from the inner world. e.g., developmental problems or conflict may lead to anxiety or self-harm. The psychodynamic approach seeks to address these issues at their roots, as well as alleviating symptoms. Psychodynamic counselling is based on developmental theory, and asserts that childhood experiences affect adult personality. It is understood that episodic memory is physically unavailable to children under three, but that implicit memory and body memory function from an earlier age. Neuroscience now supports the concept that early emotional experiences influence brain development; the psychodynamic approach posits that the client-counsellor relationship is crucial to the process of change. This is considered in terms of three concepts, the first being transference: â€Å"All those impulses experienced by the patient in relation with the analyst which are not newly created by the objective analytic situation but have their source in early – indeed, the very earliest – object relations†. The counsellor may become aware of feelings in him/herself indicating issues that the client is unable to express; this is ‘counter transference’. The ‘real relationship’ is that which is free of the previous two dynamics. Within the client-counsellor relationship, elements of the client’s inner world can be revealed and become available for healing (Howard, 2011, p.22-25) Practice/skills Psychodynamic counselling employs a number of basic skills that are common to other approaches. It shares the core values of the Rogerian approach: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. The ability to listen is of course crucial. Summarising and reflecting back to the client what s/he has said are necessary skills, as well as being able to say things that the client will find difficult to hear. The following are skills specific to Psychodynamic counselling; Gaining informed consent involves informing the client of the nature, risks and benefits of counselling at the appropriate time; not so soon as to scare him/her away, but in good time. For this purpose it is advisable for the counsellor to be aware of when the assessment phase is concluding, as this is the best time to invite informed consent. The counsellor’s attention to the client is one element that facilitates change. The counsellor must alternate between close listening to the client and attention to how s/he will respond, alert to transference and counter transference. To be aware of both the conscious and unconscious elements of the client’s communication, the counsellor must practice ‘evenly suspended attention’. The counsellor must listen to unconscious communication as well as the explicit information the client is presenting. This includes being able to consider why the client is behaving and speaking as they are, linking this to issues arising in transference, and being able to raise such issues with the client. The counsellor will also make interpretations based on ‘extra transference’ – grasping connections between events, thoughts and behaviour unrelated to the client-counsellor relationship. The client’s experience Initially a client experiences the formal behaviour of the counsellor, sessions have boundaries of time, space, and confidentiality and these factors contribute to a sense of safety and predictability. The client should come to feel ‘held’ by the counselling experience, enabling him/her to feel able to explore painful issues and memories: â€Å"a safe space to lower one’s defences, be vulnerable and be held together.† Receiving a counsellor’s undivided attention contributes to this; Dibs In Search of Self illustrates an emotionally deprived child’s first experiences of undivided and non-judgemental attention, enabling him to blossom in self-discovery. A client goes through a process of developing informed consent, the transference relationship begins once enough trust is established, as it may be experienced as threatening. The client develops an attachment to the counsellor as someone who can help and care for them, and thus may become fearful both of their own needs and of being let down .The ending of the relationship can be painful for the client, and the counsellor should allow plenty of time to deal with issues around this. In conclusion, psychodynamic counselling functions to bring to awareness of the unconscious processes that govern the client’s inner life. A variety of practices are employed in order to supply a client with a sense of security as well as a source of challenge in order to facilitate positive change. References AXLINE, V. M., 1990. Dibs, In Search of Self. London: Penguin FREUD, A., 1937. The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence. London: Hogarth HOWARD, S., 2011. Psychodynamic Counselling in a Nutshell. 2nd edition. London: Sage. HOWE, D., 1993. On Being a Client. London: Sage

International Management Competencies |Reflection

International Management Competencies |Reflection INTRODUCTION MSc International Management was my chosen area in which to study after my BA honors in International business management at Oxford Brookes and I was given the opportunity to complete a Masters Degree in the same line of study. The semester classes started on the 28th of September 2009, where I was to take part in International Management Competencies. The sessions would give me the possible additional prospect of becoming a first-class international business manager. To be involved in a global business concerning mixed cultures, overall integration and examination for changes that affects globalization by interacting cross-culturally. (Thomas, 2008). The class in which I took part in included 23 students from 17 different countries of origin, which meant I would be having contact with individuals that have the same interest of subject with different backgrounds and experiences to offers with diverse cultures which most certainly could give me an insight into different ethnicity and cross-cultural factors. These could potentially overlap between each other while interacting. With this in mind, understanding culture it is to be associated with the aim to define common human problems which are shared between groups. (Schneider, 1997). The module itself would also give me the unique opportunity to enhance my mangerial skills by learning form my experiences and taking part into the activities that would bring further education in developing my fundamental process of learning. I began to understand that the classes would give me a vast ability to develop my skills on a weekly basis by interacting with all the members of my class and group that I was placed in, also while working on the reading material and keeping a weekly diary (see Appendix A) it seemed to be appealing and would most definitely exceed my knowledge on the subject in question, to understand that International managers hold the responsibility towards an organisations success by managing with their hu man resources which are related to their cultural differences and backgrounds (Groseschl, Doherty, 2000). REFLECTIVE STATEMENT EXPERIENCES The most important task that I had to undertake this semester was associated with a mixed group of individuals form the same division to then explore the core case study given by our module leader, â€Å"The case of the Floundering Expatriate†, in which it involved diversity in cross-cultural groups concerning an organization that tries to manage these mixtures effectively to try accomplish great performance and success. The role for the project would be to analyse Bert Donaldson‘s managerial practices and to address the key issues with his team, and actions he could take in his own cultural development. The final results would then to be presented to the peers in weeks 8 (trial mock, see diary Appendix A, week 8) and week 10 (final assesed, see Appendix A week, 10), with also a group report showing all the content and understanding of the case. The group i got allocated to consisted of 5 people from different countries with mixed culture backrounds, knowledge and experiences to offer (Appendix A,week 2-3), of which Shirley came form Venezuela, Konstantin from Bulgaria, Judith form Germany, Moses from Denmark, and me from Italy. The process in which all these events happened has been recorded in diary format shown in the appendix (Development through the weeks of the semester) showing overall actions taken during the initial process in which it began, where i had to change to another team (Appe ndix A, week 2 and 3). The group was given the chance to be fully independent, and we had the power to decide when to schedule as there was no pattern or organised structure to follow, therefore we could procede as best as we could, to optimize the procedure, which would be critical for the result. As described by Robert Harris, (2004) the synergy within a team has to be promoted by improving strategy that creates enhanced quality of work, autonomy control, improved communication, which then results in higher performance, productivity and more research and development. On initial startup there was a lack of organization and indeciciveness to whome should be the leader, to find a comprimise to work consistenely, but then Shirley proved to be up to the part and showed great ability to commence and organize a programme to follow (see Appendix B) related to meeting times and place, and a leader was found, persuing the role as the motivator and director of the operation by applying her h uman resource skills and direction of the generic scope which are crutial for a successful leader by creating a sense of purpose structure and clear defenition of purpose (Emirates Center, 2002)(Appendix A week 5 to 6). The role in which i could represent myself would be as a team worker and finisher ,a relevant role that would have to be skilled over the weeks to come. As mentioned by Harris, 1998, a team worker has the main priority to put people on top of his list, concerning feelings, needs, and has a strong observing power of the strengths and weaknesses of the group. Additionally he plays as a facilitator minimising any possible frictions that may arise. FEELINGS I was very content to be in the assigned group and ready to combine all our ideas together to then put them into practice. By using different prespectives on cultures and leadership which are essential to be able to learn the basic skills for managing its organization successfully and create a working environment that can develop its skills and training through time. Managers are faced with one of the biggest tasks to motivate and lead individuals to different cultures by understanding their behaviors, as motivation has the need to achieve and dominate in its class (Mc Clelands, 1981). I had an amazing feeling that the overall experience would bring me insight into team working and learning other cultures by having the possibility to integrate and develop skills needed in working life environment, involving decison making process, solving problems, and being able to carry out required tasks. Furtermore an absolute importance to the way in which you present your skills and ideas is cr utial for the success and undestanding you bring across. As explained by Tjosvold et al (2003), cross cultural management is increasing due to expatriation and international trade, meaning that people from diverse cultures must work together in the global marketplace. Societies differ in characteristic ways of thinking, feelings and acting through effective approaches derived from their values which portrays stereotypes and expectations that come from these specific situations. Finally by examining my teams diversity there were some disadvantages towards lack of cohesion(Appendix A week 7-8), and misscomunication through language as none of us were native spakers, but there were several advantages thatour mixed creativity gave a wide range of prespectives, better ideas and less groupthink, that resulted in better problem definition in regards to finding solutions for productivity. THOUGHTS As our first meeting started on the 16th of October many thoughts ran through my head and I was thinking if the group would be able to interact, merge developing ideas and fuse past experiences (work related and life events) with knowledge to minimize any potential cross-cultural issues that may arise. During the meeting everyone knew their role (Appendix A, weeks 3-6). I was motivated to extend and widen my thoughts by analyzing the situation in hand for the development plan needed. I was beginning to feel very relaxed and was pleased to share my opinions and ideologies of the case, by describing as best as I could what I thought we should include for the report to analyze it according to the prerequisites. I stared to realize that I was changing as time passed on, as I understood that my preferences where towards working with others and accepting ideas and mixing concepts to reach an evaluated criteria for fluency. I began to apprehend that I function perfectly as a team worker by constructing a working structure with appropriate skills and resources as suggested by West (2004), but there was a necessary need for change towards the way I express myself and come up with ideas. I would have to be more assertive and confident in myself. As for being an expatriate from Italy it brought additional challenges for working in a new cultural environment. Haour-knipe (2001), argued that in order to be successful during the integration of a new society there needs to be an adaption towards learning the new language, making new friends and getting occustomed to the the new surroundings and local culture. Nonetheless I saw different insights into peoples different styles and ways of achieving a process where I could take into account additional practices to develop myself towards diversity and the power that a team can generate, as mentioned by Essed (1996), diversity can be understood by experiencing events that are in common with the individuals from the team, where the se beliefs, principles and theories have an important impact on the opportunities for success. Not only would this be developed through practice but also the assigned reading would help me to expand the ideas and understand further ways to think globally and express myself. REFLECTION Through team working I understood different aspects of behaviors towards work commitments and endless encounters that would affect the work process. With this in mind i can understand that culture influences behavior as its a process about people or events they carry out, by looking towards cultural norms (acceptable behavior and influences of past experiences, Francesco, 2005) shared in a group, with selective perception, stereotypes, expectations, social dominance and different attributes for reaction (Usunier, 1998). A good example illustrating this could be the existence within the group members of both low and high context cultures of which everyone except for me was low context. Meaning that there explanations are done through words or verbalization instead of context, while I was the only one of high context mainly the opposite of them. Therefore by looking towards my experience i have noticed the various advantages that brought me to seek my role, not only that i knew what i wanted to do but also it was confirmed by Belbins self awareness questionnaire (Appendix C) that i was an implementor and team worker. These implications are the essential attributes for my team, that are in need for improvement towards my communication practice and presentation style that would have to be fully prepared to describe content coherently and right to the point. By developing these aspects it brings me a step closer to becoming a successfull specialist in the field of international business as Brooke (1996) described the process of becoming a successful by 3 stages involving observation, experience and theory, thereon analysing them to understand the relevance of each to learn the theoretical side. THEORY INTO PRACTICE The potential cross-cultural problems related to the topic of the session were plentiful, where there were issues concerning team roles, working skills, and decision making. There were also differences in communication style (verbal and non-verbal) and performing practices among cultures. Moreover there are diverse preferences towards leadership performance (skills), decision styles, and expectations with a need of cross cultural adjustment towards a new environment. Consequently it is necessary to know ones skills to be assertive; portraying what you may offer when entering in United Kingdom to show all the benefits you may bring to future career. SUMMARY Managers need to able to take into account all the concerning circumstances mentioned above to lead Individuals form their team towards working as a unit to increase overall performance to reach targets (Thakur, 1993).What needs to be understood is that globalization is a major factor affecting cultures all around the world, where everyone has to work closely together and need each others support to build up to required expectations and competencies. This factor involves the rapid growth of a market in relation to social, economic and technological problems (Kavous, 2009). This module gave me the chance to question, analyze and improve my managerial skills, while the reflective statement and diaries give a broad outline of the experiences passed. Furthermore the professional development plan below will outline future areas for development .The overall project gave me an opportunity to discover my interpersonal skills as well as weaknesses that I need to overcome to develop sufficient international managerial competencies, the most important of which are communication, decision-making, leadership, presentation skills and team working. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ardalan, Kavous. (2009) â€Å"Globalization and culture: four paradigmatic views†, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 513-534. Danielle Medina Walker, Thomas D. Walker, Joerg Schmitz, Terence Brake. (2003) Doing business internationally: the guide to cross-cultural success. McGraw-hill pages 33-36 Culture. Dean Tjosvold, Kwok Leung. (2003) Cross-cultural management: foundations and future. Ashgate publishing company, pp. 1-6. Francesco, A.M. and Gold, B.A. (2005) International Organizational Behavior, Upper Saddler River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc., pp. 159, 161,175, 204, 205. Groseschl, Stefan, Doherty, Liz. (2000) â€Å"Conceptualising Culture†, Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 2-3. Jean-Claude Usunier. (1998) International and cross-cultural management research. Sage publications. pp. 31-35. Mary Haour-Knipe. (2001) Moving families: expatriation, stress and coping. Routledge publisher, pp. 90-92. Michael A. West. (2004) Effective teamwork: practical lessons from organizational research. Malden Oxford. Pp. 75-85. Michael Z. Brooke. (1996) International management: a review of strategies and operations. Stanley Thornes Ltd. Pp. 3 -21. Philip R. Harris. (1998) The New Work Culture: Hrd Strategies for Transformational Management Publisher HRD Pres, Team working pp. 520-526. Philip Robert Harris, Robert T. Moran, Sarah Virgilia Moran (2004) Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for the 21st century. Elsiver, Oxford ,sixth edition PP.150 -156 Cultural differences. Philomena Essed. (1996) Diversity: gender, color, and culture. Library of Congress, A challenge towards diversity pp. 135-137. Schneider, S. (1997) Managing Across Cultures, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. (2002) Leadership and management in the information age pages 12-22. Thomas, D.C. (2008) Cross-Cultural Management Essential Concepts, 2nd Edition, Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp: 49, 50, 59,131-137, 187, 223, 234. APPENDIX A WEEK 1 DATE: 29th of September 2009 EVENT/ACTIVITY: Introduction of the Module and Key Competencies of an International Manager. Discussion of a Case Study, Exercise 3 â€Å"Spanning the globe†. EXPERIENCE: This was my first class where a brief presentation was given on how the module would turn out to be and what was expected form us with course objectives and learning outcomes. During this class we were given a specific task to work on, the case study â€Å"Spanning the globe†, to be worked on as a team with people that were assigned together to work sitting on the same table during the lecture break that was give to us. During the given time the whole group decided we should read the case study individually and then discuss and go through the question given, therefore everyone had a specific task and to combine ideas together. The overall outcome of the task was to see how everybody would react to team work under a strict time management and to combine personal ideas with other members of the team. FEELINGS: My initial feelings of the task were orientated toward overall successful performance to achieve what was asked from me, I thought the group was well organized and prepared to come the exercise to come up with combined answers and ideas. Time management was also dived in 3 sections, the first towards reading the case study, secondly reviews opinions of members and finally to write notes down for a final answers. THOUGHTS: During the whole experience I felt I was learning throughout and getting to know different people and other ways of working as a group which made me happy and motivated to continue with the module introduced to us, where I realized that I would learn a great deal from this module that would most definitely improve me as a potential fine manager. REFLECTION: What I could learn from the first group discussion was that all individuals are different and that everyone has a different way of performing and achieving a process, therefore we have to accept to learn to work together and combine all ideas and conflicts to create something unique and to use individuals strengths to help the process. Also I had a rough look at the content of the module and understood that a wide range of reading material had to be studied, also by using as core text book Cross-Cultural Management essential concepts by David C. Thomas 2nd edition, and others similar to this. THEORY INTO PRACTICE: The potential cross-cultural problems related to the topic of the session are the following: Time pressure (35 min) Different understanding of the content Different opinions about approach Different perspectives of case study Working together effectively (constraints) General discussions to agree on a certain point In order to enhance these potential threats it has to be noted that individual competencies of members need to be worked on in order to be a successful manager and improve cross cultural team work by accepting different skills and behaviors that might come into practice. WEEK 2 DATE: 6th of October 2009 EVENT/ACTIVITY: International Team Working. Work group vs. Team. Division into groups for Assignment 1, Discussion of the Case Study 0.1 â€Å"The Thames Pump Valve Company† and different activities about team working guidelines, reflections about advantages and disadvantages of working in groups, improving long-term performance of leaders of a multicultural team and personal awareness and skills exercise. The group that I was in included me, Julius, Roman, and Pimita, but one member was missing as she did not attend the class. (Of which we were assigned to be group 2). EXPERIENCE: During this class our team explored the performance and potential of multicultural teams and the key barriers to achieve high performance and which strategies to consider to address these issues. The first discussion was about the case study of â€Å"The Thames Pump Valve Company†. This case study was part of our homework for the day and the discussion in my group was productive in the end. During the class we experience even other activities such as the exercise about team working guidelines where different cultural background proved even different ranking of the list of provisional guidelines. The second activity consisted in establishing advantages and disadvantages of working in groups and the other one was about improving the performance of leaders of a multicultural team in the long-term. During the session we discussed on conclusion of the role of self assessment to find each members preference and role within the group by completing Belbins team role task to see each other differences. Finally we were given the case study of â€Å"The case of the Floundering Expatriate† of which we would be analyzing with a group for the rest of the module to then give an oral presentation of the findings and solutions asked for. FEELINGS: I felt very happy to get to know my team members and see if we would work efficiently together, understand there different ways of doing and achieving a method, our group consisted of members from Germany (Julius), Russia (Roman), Italy (Eugenio), Pimpta (Thailand). So there were certainly potential for different cultural issues and idea generation. Overall there was a feeling of excitement for the beginning of a new relationship. THOUGHTS: While we were getting to know each other I was thinking what kind of benefits they would bring to the team and what could I learn from this experience and give towards making the group work. With this in mind previous weeks task for homework help me understand potential preferences that I might be involved in, I assessed myself development by completing the questionnaire given to us to correspond towards qualities for an effective manager where my strong points found were towards: Relevant professional knowledge and understanding Proactivity, inclination to respond purposefully to event Social skills and abilities Secondly I looked towards personal awareness and skills exercise between the roles that an international manger takes into account, by organizing the most important roles that comply with you to be successful, the most important ones for me where: Team leader/ Judge/ Challenger/ and Innovator REFLECTION: While attending the session I learned that I would most definitely be a team worker as I got along with my members and I was motivated to bring great ideas and completing the task assigned to us. At this moment in time there was no evident leader so positions still needed to be assigned. Finally we all decided to meet the following Monday to discuss the case study of â€Å"The floundering Expatriate†, for a general review. Finally I was also reviewing the material that had to be red, the initial chapters of the core text book and others suggested by the module leader. THEORY INTO PRACTICE: The cross cultural factor that were influenced in this session were that there could have been a language restrain between each other and that clear ideas didnt seem to flow at times , therefore a better organization was needed. WEEK 3 Date: 16th of October 2009 Event/Activity: Culture and Values and Managing diversity. I started to feel ill, which resulted in getting the flu. Therefore I could not attend the First group meeting as I was unable to for health reasons and I was therefore moved to group number 1, as another member form group 2 attended and course leader suggested I move to the other group as they were already agreed to work together. Experience: During this week I got a temperature resulting in getting the flu and I was in bed for a few days. On Wednesday we had the first group meeting and one of my group mates was really kind to send me an e-mail with all the details discussed during the meeting. On Thursday I tried to recover from this by taking medicine and resting for a few days which put my back on track, unfortunately I felt badly that I could not attend the meeting and felt very frustrated; also I had to interact with my new group and set up new meeting and roles that would be taken FEELINGS: I was very happy to meet the other members of my group and was ready to work with them on the case study of â€Å"The floundering expatriate†, I wanted to see how we would socialize and combine all our ideas and put them into practice, but as I was ill I could do that, so it made me sad that I let the team down, and I had to tell them that I couldnt attend. The group I was now assigned to consist from Shirley (Venezuela), Konstantin (Bulgaria), Moses (Denmark), Judith (Germany) and me (Italy), a nicely balanced group from different origins. THOUGHTS: During the time I didnt spend with my group I though what I could offer my team, and I started to think towards my potential assets that they could benefit from. One task that helped me realize what I could offer involved in completing Belbins team roles self assessment by looking toward contribution, shortcoming events, involvement in projects, characteristic approach towards work, satisfaction, difficulties that may arise, and problems that can be dealt with. With all this taken into consideration, the final verdict showed that I exceeded towards being an implementer and team worker. Another way in which I understood that I was starting a general development of my life towards a working life was due to understanding wide-ranging points of view and concepts of cross-cultural management from Francesco and Gold, Thomas books that gave me a great deals to think about how my performance would affect the group and how I would interact with fellow members. REFLECTION: Unfortunately I couldnt learn anything from the group meeting as I was absent, but I read the case study and was ready to share my views and opinion on how to come about answering the questions that were given to us. Also I was informed form other member to meet my new group on the following Monday to review question 1 and 2 of the case study, to bring my ideas and thoughts to the next session. THEORY INTO PRACTICE: The cross cultural factor that were influenced in this session were that the group might have thought that I was unorganized and not willing to work as I did not attend and hoping that this would not happen again. Additionally by being and implementer it meant that I would be reliable , disciplined, conservative and efficient and mainly to turn ideas into practical actions and work successful in a team with a smooth flow, knowing that I could bring these positive attributes to my team the following week and for the rest of the semester to complete the task given to perform a presentation on possible ways of developing the case study of â€Å"The Floundering Expatriate† by looking towards the: Cross cultural issues that arise Action plan to develop Berts Team Steps in which Bert need to take into account to develop his interaction skills Finally followed by our groups performance in completing the task WEEK 4 Date: 19th of October 2009 Event/Activity: Second group meeting: Presentation of task 1 and 2 Experience: The group decided to review question 1 and 2 on Monday at 12.00 with a meeting point in the library in Wheatley campus, so we could discuss and review the work done the week before for the tasks and see if any progress was made since their last meeting. SECOND Experience: 22nd of October This weeks class of IMC was divided in two parts; the first one had a guest lecture who talked about coaching and mentoring and the second one was about leadership. During the first part we did a test called ‘International Coach Federation Professional Coaching core Competencies to get a view about our coaching abilities. Also an article about coaching was distributed in class, titled â€Å" Accessing cultural orientations: the online Cultural Orientations Framework Assessment as a tool for coaching† by Gilbert and Rosinski (2007). The second part was about Manager as a leader where we discussed the characteristics of global business leadership and cultural influence on leadership in different counties. FEELINGS: I was happy this week to learn about mentoring across cultures and leadership which are essential needs for an international manager to learn the basic skills for managing its organization successfully and create a working environment that can develop its skills and training through time, as managers are faced with one of the biggest tasks to motivate and lead individuals to different cultures by understanding their behaviors, as motivation has the need to achieve and dominate in its class (Mc Clelands, 1981). While on the other hand leadership has the ability to inspire individuals to influence organizations members towards goals and targets that need to meet. THOUGHTS: As the lesson progressed I was thinking what kind of role would I seek to pursue during a managerial task, and when reflecting I was brought to understand that I would have a great ability to be a leader by having the ability to see members potential assets for the team and task in hand and by leading them to enhance their skills gradually by making them feel comfortable with what their achieving. REFLECTION: After the past experiences I started to realize that I might want to develop my leadership skills in my team, but as time progressed we noticed that Shirley took the role of leader right from the start by organizing schedules and giving out tasks to perform on a weekly basis and found myself in the situation to comply with her demands as she was very organized and everyone had the opportunity to collect and deliver any ideas that may be relevant for the case study. Also during the lectures I learned all the different styles that a manager can adopt or operate on, that can bring a wide variety of solutions. THEORY INTO PRACTICE: The cross cultural factors affected form this session and that concerned me the most were: A leader was found and had to deal with the of being a team worker Time constraint arose and found ourselves to rush through some of the work First sessions were formal and members from the group felt discomfort We need to establish a greater bond to flow in an organized way Different styles for expressing their ideas Different approaches to understanding and exploring ideas WEEK 5 DATE: 26th of October 2009 EVENT/ACTIVITY: On Monday we had our third group meeting. On Tuesday, IMC class, where we had a guest lecture about International Careers and Development. EXPERIENCE: This group meeting took place at the same time and place as organized and decided, were it was productive and we kept on expanding our ideas and development for the project and started to become more organized and coherent. WEEK 5 DATE: 29th of November 2009 EVENT/ACTIVITY: On Monday we had our forth group and on Tuesdays we had IMC class where we discussed â€Å"Problem analysis and decision making in an international environment†. EXPERIENCE: As every Monday we had our usual group meeting in the library the difference this week was that I was the only one to show up on time. During this class we discussed a case study â€Å"Pinpoint executive toys; the culture is important and can be said to be structured!† where we should put ourselves as managers of this organization and make some crucial decisions. While we were discussing the case study and try to find a solution to all the questions we found ourselves to work perfectly and in harmony together. FEELINGS: The guest lecturer gave me more insight into what my future plans would be and preferably were I would like to take my knowledge and skills into which sector of work, this gave me an insight into thinking more deeply into where I would like to work, where to stay in England or go abroad, working in an organization or company, and also what sectors would I be interested in. THOUGHTS: This week I was slightly de-motivated as I felt that I had to catch up with other modules and the work started to load on me, therefore I noticed that I was lacking towards generating new ideas and completing tasks, but I found the will and strength to study more, which showed I was gaining more insight into enhancing my personal skills as I wanted to achieve greater benefits to apply in future jobs or personal