My Educational Experience Essay

My education began in first grade in 1974. My state didn’t mandate kindergarten, so my parents didn’t send me, even though my brothers and sister went. It wasn’t easy for me, because school was the first place I ever got to interact with other people, mainly children, as an equal. Before school started, I was pretty much kept indoors, and not allowed to have contact with other people, except for members of my own family. Being the youngest, I was looked down upon as being inferior, a lower class citizen, and basically, a big joke. During the first 5 years of my life, I figured that was all I was entitled to, and even though I hated it, I lived with it. In first grade, I had to interact with other kids for the first time, which wasn’t easy. I did eventually learn that I could be an equal to them, and soon settled down into school. The quality of education that first year wasn’t bad, I learned a lot and grew a lot during that year. I had great teachers too, who really gave me the help I needed. Second grade at that school was a different story though, I had a different teacher, who wasn’t very good, and seldom offered the help I needed. I was also treated like I was lower than the rest of the students. I don’t know what her problem with me was, but it set me back a great deal, both academically and emotionally. When I needed help, it wasn’t given and I was often ignored. She felt that it wasn’t worth it to help those students who needed it. Fortunately, my parents saw this and intervened, first trying to negotiate, then after that broke down, transferred me to another school. The new school was very different, being more structured than the first, and being a boys’ school. When I started, I was behind in many ways due to the problems of my previous school, but I had a dedicated teacher who helped me catch up the best she could in a short time. I remember having difficulties with cursive writing, which my new teacher helped me with, but giving me a crash course in it for a few weeks at recess every day. I did learn it, but never learned it well, and always got poor marks in penmanship as a result. I don’t fault her for that because she did the best she could under the circumstances. In other areas, I began to excel, often being on the honor roll, being one of the top students in the class. In fact, my teacher was very surprised at how I had started the school behind, and had caught up and excelled. It was nice to be appreciated, both at home and school because I did so well, and it really felt good to accomplish something. I stayed at that school for over 2 years, and had one day hoped to walk across the stage and graduate from there. It never happened because while I was in fourth grade, for some unexplained reason, my parents, who had always respected this school, began to despise it. Among their complaints were I was always doing homework, the school is a â€Å"playhouse,† and â€Å"they don’t do anything,† which I meant they offered few extracurricular activities, which was a true statement, but in my opinion, wasn’t a problem. On one occasion, I was even picked on about the khaki uniforms we had to wear, which had been worn by my brothers at different schools with no complaints at all from my parents. They constantly harassed me knocking everything about the school and eventually, I gave in and agreed to go to another school, the same school my sister was attending. This new school was totally different from the previous school. It was coed, the classes were larger, and seemed to put academics in lower regard than I was used to. I was also introduced to the concept of â€Å"school spirit,† the mindless blind following and support of your school regardless of what they do. I also learned that being a boy who was not athletic was a serious strike against me, since they valued football and other sports over everything else. At my other school, we had always had textbooks that were current and up to date. At this new school, the books were often old and falling apart, if we were lucky enough to get one. During the second and last year I was there, fifth grade, I was basically forced to support my sister in her school band activities, in order to show â€Å"school spirit,† something I had no interest in. I was dragged to every single football game, which I didn’t enjoy at all, and even worse, my parents often tried to make me praise her and tell her how much I enjoyed it, which I didn’t. I would rather have stayed home taking it easy, than sitting in the cold stands being blasted with wind and rain, as we sometimes had to endure. I was also dragged to parades she marched in, and often had to listen to her complain about having to do it. My view was to exercise a little free will and not worry about it, but was told, â€Å"it’s a school activity.† She made a choice to play in the band, why not live with the consequences. One other new experience I had there was being used for slave labor. Since I wasn’t an athlete, I often spent P.E. periods picking up trash on the grounds, which many times, made me miss afternoon classes. In spite of my parents’ complaints, this practice continued. Fortunately, I was taken out of that school, not because of my difficulties, but because of the poor teachers my sister was forced to endure. Sixth grade was my first and only year in Catholic school. What was really strange was we wore khaki uniforms, the same design I had worn only a year and a half before, that my mother said were â€Å"awful looking.† I was also a hard year partially because of the previous summer, which was spent not doing things I liked, but having to go into the swimming pool everyday on my sister and mother’s command. That summer was so humiliating that I often couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, because I felt like a puppet, dancing on my mothers’ and my sisters’ strings. That year was difficult because many of the students didn’t accept me, because I was a transfer student, and I often felt like less of a person because of the humiliating summer I spent before. I also had a hard time going to my parents, since the previous summer had showed me they didn’t’ really care about how I felt or if I had a problem, but instead about forced conformity. It also seemed like my parents had something to prove to this school, which I don’t understand. In one instance, I had to write about what I had done that day, and my mother was determined I would put no TV on that piece, because she wanted to show I didn’t watch TV, which wasn’t true. She does often lie to get what she wants and even when caught sees no problem with it, but will not tolerate anyone else lying to get their way. At the end of the school year, my mother asked me if I wanted to have a swimming party for my class, to which I responded no. She went to my teacher and set one up anyway, which showed me how little my feelings meant to her. I didn’t know how to swim, and had no interest in it, yet she would do anything to force me to swim, enjoy it, and even devote my entire life to it. I honestly believe her goal was to eliminate everything from my life excluding school and swimming, a life I couldn’t have survived. Seventh grade was another school I was sent to because of my sister, she was going there so I had to go there. I did not at all fit in, mainly because most of the students in my class had been expelled from other schools, and I hadn’t. I also had incompetent teachers, many of whom were employed there solely, by the principal’s own admission, worked cheap. I was very unhappy there, not only for these reasons, but because I was discriminated against not only at school, but at home as well. At school, our class was banned from many events, because of a few problem students. That didn’t bother me much, but I also got discrimination at home. My sister would often brag to people about how I spent my summers as her slave because I had to drop anything I wanted to do when she wanted to swim, and often had other students call me â€Å"Igor† after the hunchback assistant in the old horror movies. If I ever said anything derogatory to or about my sister, I would be punished, yet she did all of these things to me, and even admitted to our parents she had done it, but was never punished. In fact, they often said that it was impossible for a girl to be bad, that only boys are bad. The school seemed to preach the same thing, in fact, she was once in a fight and there were no consequences, I was and was punished at school and at home. She should have been punished too but instead she was able to brag to my parents and everyone else about fighting, with no consequences. Another incident of discrimination was with my sister’s English class and my Math class. We both had to deal with incompetent teachers, who were neither certified nor held degrees. The classes were impossible and we learned little. What our parents did was to go down to the school and arrange for her to get special treatment, meaning the principal would teach her personally, while I got nothing. I felt if she got out, why shouldn’t I? When I said this, I got no answer, no discussion, other than â€Å"That’s just the way it is.† Fortunately, I only stayed one year at this school, which was more than enough. However, I wasn’t out of the woods, I had to spend another summer of forced swimming with my sister, which again, made my life miserable. Eighth grade was my first and only year in public school. My mother made numerous promises to me about how it would be better than anything else, but it wasn’t. I was basically harassed again, for being a transfer student, and because my voice had changed before everyone else’s. A lot of the students constantly grunted at me to make fun of my voice, and nobody would do anything about it. My parents said it had nothing to do with my voice, but instead, was because I â€Å"act goofy,† yet would never explain to me what I did that was so bad. I was very miserable, I didn’t know what to do, and suffered day in and day out, and many times, wanted to end my life. What finally brought down my life there was I didn’t participate in an optional project for the science class, and as a result, my science teacher, the only teacher out of six, wouldn’t recommend me for a gifted program, something my parents took very hard. Ever since, even now 18 years la ter, they call me uncooperative. I was also punished for the entire summer, being barred from TV, music, reading, and any other activity I found pleasurable, being allowed nothing but swimming when my sister wanted me to because â€Å"getting in that pool everyday will build you up until you are a human being again.† My sister in the mean time attended public school, and also refused to activities she didn’t want to do. She was downgraded by her English teacher for not doing some optional projects as well but was she punished, or course not. Our parents simply went to the school board, and got her grades changed, from C to A, and was given me as a swimming slave for the summer. I didn’t understand this, she gets a reward for her behavior, and I get punished. I guess my parents don’t believe in punishing girls, I don’t know. My sister went to college, but I ended up in another so-called Christian school. During my first year, I refused to be put through â€Å"Freshman Hell Week,† in which senior students are allowed to humiliate freshman for a whole week. To me, that sort of behavior had no business in school, and was far from the strict environment my parents told me it would be. What added insult to injury that year was when my parents saw the yearbook and pictures of Hell Week, my mother actually said â€Å"You should have gotten together with them and acted goofy.† First I’m accused for allegedly â€Å"acting goofy,† and them I’m criticized for not â€Å"acting goofy.† This makes absolutely no sense. My high school years weren’t very happy. My grades were ok, but I didn’t like it at all. I was often picked on because I didn’t do extracurricular activities, I didn’t date, and basically thought there was a world beyond football, proms, and cheerleaders. The worst came my junior year, I was turned down for the honor society, and my parents at first, thought it was politics, then turned against me condemning me for having no personality, not being nice enough, participating in no activities, and not being â€Å"glib,† which has been an obsession of theirs ever since. They often condemned me for believing that school grades are based on work, instead of personality, something I never understood, since I was nice and didn’t make any trouble for anyone. My senior year was uneventful, thank goodness, and I was glad to be out of that place. Many people complain about the ineptness of our public schools and want vouchers and other initiatives to privatize education. My experiences tell me this will not work. Many of the private schools I went to were no better and even worse than public schools. The public school I attended had textbooks for each student; I can’t say that about a few of the private schools I was associated with. In addition, the excellent school I went to between second and forth grade is now closed, due to lack of enrollment, while the football school continues to stay in operation. My school years were very painful for me, not only for what I went through at school, for what I went through at home, where it was often preached, â€Å"nothing matters but school and swimming.† If I made poor grades, I was punished, but if my sister did the same thing, it was the school’s fault. One day, I know I will completely heal of it all, but now, I’m just working towards that day. The answer is out there; I just have to find it. Amen.

Becoming a Servant Leader Essay

â€Å"Becoming a Servant Leader: The Personal Development Path† Servant leadership places the development and growth of subordinates and the broader organization over and above the leader’s opportunities for personal gain and self-promotion. A servant leader realizes that the true effectiveness of any manager is in giving each subordinate the guidance necessary to achieve their total potential, contribute both to the organizations goals, and attain their personal goals at the same time. A servant leader puts these developmental goals and objectives for each subordinate above their own, choosing first to serve and grow others they are responsible for. In this sense, a servant leader is also a steward, or a person who looks out for the welfare of all those they are responsible for over their own self-ambitions. The ultimate goal of the servant leader is to guide, develop, nurture and provide the necessary foundations of support for each subordinate so they can attain their potentials while at the same time growing in the responsibilities of their jobs. This developmental nature of servant leaders is the most effective when these unique leaders look for the intersection of a jobs needs and the abilities of the people working for them to excel at those specific jobs. I am learning that being a leader entails, not only leading others, but also guiding them and then stepping back and letting them excel. In which the leader is exceling, too. I felt that the reading is helpful to those that are open to that type of leadership skills. For others this type of skill may be the wrong method for them. The ones who are open to leadership this way not only help in the â€Å"now† but also are helping themselves in the end with dedicated and devoted employees who are happy to work with you because of the guidance and support that has been given to them in the past.

Miller-Urey Experiment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Miller-Urey Experiment - Essay Example There is no denying the fact that this experiment till date is regarded to be a classic experiment pertaining to the origins of life. This experiment was carried on by Harold C Urey and Stanley L Miller at the University of Chicago in the year 1953. The scientific community was in doubt about the chemical components that constituted the atmosphere of the early earth. Thereby in their experiment, Miller and Urey selected Water, Hydrogen, Ammonia and Methane, considering them to be the salient components constituting the atmosphere of the early earth, when the life was still not there (Willis, 2000). These chemicals were made to circulate in an array of flasks and glass tubes which were completely sterilized. These glass tubes and flasks were connected together in a loop as is shown in the above figure. One of the flasks was half filled with water, while the other flask in this loop was fitted with electrodes. The water in the half filled flask was heated to create water vapors in the loop and the gases so created were circulated through the loop to simulate the atmosphere of early earth. The water vapor so produced represented the water in the lakes and rivers on the early earth which eventually evaporated and consequently precipitated down as rain. The electrodes in the other flask were intermittently fired to create lightening storm like effect, which was believed to be pervasive on early earth (Willis, 2000). After carrying on the experiment for one full week, Miller and Urey found out that that almost 10 to 15 percent of the carbon existent in the system they contrived in their experiment had turned to organic compounds (Willis, 2000). They also discovered that nearly 2 percent of the carbon now constituted 13 of the 22 amino acids that went into the making of proteins in living cells (Willis, 2000). Glycine was found to be the most abundant amino acid in this protein soup (Willis, 2000). No doubt the

Graffiti as a Spatial Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Graffiti as a Spatial Practice - Essay Example This is the type of people who air their views through graffiti and put them up in strategic places in the city. Taking a tour around suburbs this can be confirmed for sure. Besides putting up encouraging words or even passing across messages graffiti can be used to comfort people who tend to know where they come from and who relate to it. Speech does not necessarily mean word of mouth in this case thus can be used manipulatively to achieve the main goal of communication. A symbol is a giant tool when it comes to relaying messages because they can easily be interpreted and require a short time to come up with. In a way, graffiti conveys most sensitive information by putting up symbols and images for the purpose. Names point out without necessarily having meaning they too tend to ring a bell to the readers. Graffiti cannot be related to a given group of people because it’s universally applicable across the globe. Relating graffiti with an interpretation of de Certeau wouldn’t be deemed wrong because all in all graffiti as sure as any other functional tool qualifies to be a spatial practice that needs to be allocated.  

The Impact of Apple's Branding Strategies on Customer Satisfaction and Essay

The Impact of Apple's Branding Strategies on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty - Essay Example The paper analyzed the concept of branding by examining its models and the impact of branding strategies on customer satisfaction. Primary data was collected by conducting questionnaire research with Apple's customers. A total of 100 questionnaires were carried out with Apple's customers. The conclusions of this study are that Apple's brandings strategies play an important role in customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Apple's branding strategies have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. It is Apple's branding strategies that have contributed to generating value for customers, generating trust amongst customers and developing strong relationships between Apple and its customers. Apple's branding strategies have narrowed the gap between Apple and its customers. They have helped in improving the performance of the company. They have helped in generating positive attitudes about Apple's products amongst its customers. This study seeks to critically analy ze the branding strategies of the company Apple. Apple has been selected as it is a leading global telecommunications company whose branding strategies have been successful in getting the right message across to customers. Apple designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. In 2014, Apple's market share was 20.4% in the global smartphone market. Apple was the market leader. It left behind its competitors, Samsung who had a market share of 19.9%, Lenovo whose market share was 6.6%. Apples competitors are Dell Inc., Fujitsu Limited, Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Research In Motion Limited, Microsoft Corporation, Acer Inc, LG Electronics, Inc., Google Inc, Merch ant Customer Exchange LLC, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, Xiaomi Inc.

How Roman Empire lived on , even though it died 476ad Essay

How Roman Empire lived on , even though it died 476ad - Essay Example pire, deposed the Emperor Romulus, who lived in Italy’s Ravenna in a bloodless coup in 476ad; but Emperor Zeno continued to live and rule in Constantinople, whose authority was acknowledged by Odoacer himself. Roman power continued in the East, under rulers of Constantinople and a ‘fall’ was not particularly noticed. East Roman Emperors considered themselves as the real Roman Emperors, right heirs to Augustus. Byzantine was part of Roman history and 476ad was more of a Western point of view it was the continuation of Roman empire and the fall of Western empire was simply ignored and the division of the two was not particularly glorified because there was no such formal division and they remain. Even the promulgated rules applied to the entire territory, because in spite of two empires, the empire remained one for a very long time. Hence, there was a change in the region and the empire no doubt lost some of its glitz; but there was no fall. The Byzantine flourished diplomatically with many countries. It became the centre of literature, culture, religion and architecture. Roman Catholic Church continued to exist and it represented the lost empire with very little change while Byzantine survived for another thousand years. In a way it was a glorious period under Justinian like rulers. Religion was becoming more and more prominent; but the emperors retained their authority fully. In latter fifth century, the emperor estranged himself from Roman Pope by declaring himself Monophysite, which was discarded by Justin, an action that gained Pope’s support. Byzantine Christianity was slightly different from the Latin Christianity and culture. They thought ecclesiastical and theological authority vested in the Emperor and not with Pope and his minions. But adoption of strict traditional ways made it an absolutely static religion. The Empire pursued classical and intellectual traditions of education, philosophy, composition , literature, history. Women were well

Social Enterprise Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Social Enterprise - Literature review Example Although studies acknowledge the existence of tensions between social goals and business ventures there is inadequate systematic analysis. The paper addresses the issue by considering tensions arising from social mission and commerce ventures by highlighting their prevalence and differences. The paper also explores the way organizational theories provide insight into tensions; and goes ahead to develop schedule for future research by expanding on the phenomenon. Research in social enterprise has increased because several years ago only a limited number of colleagues recommended scholars to consider social enterprises seriously (Nyssens, Adam & Johnson, 2006). Social enterprises aim at attaining the common good through use of business disciplines and power within the marketplace in advancing social, environmental and human justice (Hines, 2005). Social enterprises are distinguished by the ability to directly address intractable social needs in serving the common good with commercial activity being its strong revenue driver. Although the notion of social enterprises arouse obvious appeal in many, their ultimate influence within the, market place has not yet been established. There are challenges that emerge preventing the concept from attaining its full potential like the bleak economic outlook that decreased availability of investors and credit as well as donors and customers. Although currently there is no comprehensive guidance mechanism f or linking social concerns with capitalism in order to enhance social welfare, the paper establishes a framework of duality by analysing social actions within organizations. The paper begins by grounding the concept within social enterprises; however, the emerging complexity in organizational response to social concerns increases marketplace confusion and unpredictability (Massetti, 2012). Even though the meaning regarding social enterprise is contested, many

People in middleast don't want to workout to get in shape so they look Essay

People in middleast don't want to workout to get in shape so they look for easy ways - Essay Example ks on weight loss, and more gymnasiums have opened more than ever before, but the number of people losing weight around the world is not adding up to an appropriate number who should be fit due to the technology. For this paper, I will go by the thesis statement that people in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia do use alternative methods of losing weight rather than working out. Residents of the Middle East do not want to work out to get in shape, so they look for easy ways. According to the World Health Organization, obesity in the Middle East is a notable health issue. WHO results showed that approximately 1.6 billion people were overweight, and 400 million residents were obese. According to probability statistics, by the year 2015, 700 million individuals will be obese, and 2.3 billion people will be overweight; this number includes both adolescent and adults (World Health Organization 60). The spread of the Western lifestyle usually defined as the consumption of attractive energy dense meals with undesirable composition, elevated consumption of animal fats and sugars and decreased or non- consumption of dietary fiber, along with a lack of sufficient physical activity- is one of the principal origins of obesity and overweight problems in the Middle East (Roya 439). In as much as there are great numbers of individuals in the US who are obese, it is not bizarre to see people working out to get in shape. In the US, most people take exercise seriously and they exercise extensively and religiously as opposed to people in the Middle East especially Saudi Arabia (Al-Hazzaa 663-670). The difference in culture could be the reason as to why people in the US work out as opposed to those in Saudi Arabia. People do not necessarily work out in a gymnasium, but they run around their neighborhoods in the morning or afternoon. This routine makes the obesity situation in the US better than that of the Saudi Arabia. It is almost impossible to see people in the Middle East working

Business 499 The Customer Perspective card slp 01 Essay

Business 499 The Customer Perspective card slp 01 - Essay Example According to a source, Wal-Mart envisions itself ‘to become the worldwide leader in retailing’ (University of Wisconsin - Stout). This statement basically describes in broad sense what the organization wants itself to be in future. Wal-Mart has a very unique style of expanding its stores. This is basically their strategy of being on top. It starts with building one or two stores in an area. Once this venture is successful, it constructs a distribution centre near to the stores which will help in expansion of Wal-Mart in those areas in future. Next, more stores are built nearby the distribution centre. Another strategy of Wal-Mart is its management procedure. Their workers are called ‘associates’ and these associates along with the management set up goals for themselves. This increases the motivation of the employees to strive and achieve those goals. Other strategies include paying attention to the society and customers in particular. Wal-Mart, as mentioned above, is a very customer oriented organization. It makes the customers feel special and by indulging in activities such as education and conversation of natural resources for generations to come makes, it makes the society feel that it is resp onsible (Walmart Stores, 2008). The first objective of Wal-Mart is opening more stores in United States and other countries it operates in (Walmart Stores, 2008). It is evident that this objective is in line with the mission, vision and strategy of the organization. More stores will ease the customers and will help customers live better which is one component of Wal-Mart’s Mission statement. Next, this objective will also help it fulfill its vision of becoming the leading retailing store and lastly, this objective concentrates towards expansion hence, it aligns with the company’s strategy. The second objective is to provide the best prices (University of Wisconsin – Stout, 2008). This clearly relates to the mission statement as

I Believe Essay Example for Free

I Believe Essay Traveling to â€Å"land of opportunities† for future studies is a dream of many people as standards and quality of education is the best in the world. I am one of those lucky people who wished to study in America and finally landed in United States for this purpose. But it was not an easy task as rules and regulation for obtaining a student’s visa is hard. But troubles do not end with getting a student visa as after coming to United States, one finds himself entangled in other difficult rules. I myself experienced all these difficulties and hardships before arrival and after arrival in United States. When I applied at the United States consulate in my native country, I had to produce certain security documents in addition to my I-20 Form (Admission letter from my institute), funding document and passport. Although these security documents were necessary to clear the security conditions but it took me many days to get these from local authorities. Additionally, I wanted to come to America thirty days prior to the start of my course date in order to accommodate myself in the American environment and learn the culture and values of Americans. But again it was not a simple thing as I have to get a visitor visa first and it was also required to register with Department of Homeland Security office upon my arrival in United States. After one month, before beginning any studies, I must obtain a change of classification through Form I-539 (application for Change of Nonimmigrant Status). As these rules were hard to understand and were harder to follw, so I decided to end this venture. I believe that these procedures are cumbersome and forces one not to apply for a visa thirty days prior to the corse start date. I also believe that student must come earlier (more than thirty days) to United States to get an acquintance with the local customs, traditions and environment. There is another condition for F-1 visa that students must be enrolled as a full-time student at the institution. But sometime Institute does offer long duration courses in Language Proficiency but does not give it full time course status to these courses. This creates a lot of problem in getting student visa and students in this case only gets visit visa. I think that Language courses must also be included in the category of full time courses or the Visa rule about these courses should be relaxed and a student visa should be issued for these. There is another part of the visa application process; an interview at the embassy consular section is required for visa applicants. I believe that this interview process is an extra thing as students waits a lot to be called for interview. Again a communication barrier is another problem because students can not convey the real information due to language inability. He can not understand the questions of the Visa Clearance Office in the right context. This results in the failure of getting a visa. The immigration rules related to medical check-up and vaccinations is another problem that students face. I myself have to undergo a lot of difficult procedures. I believe that vaccination is necessary and United States has the right to allow only the healthy person to enter in its territory but these procedures must be simplified. Another hard rule is related to employment. According to the F-1 rules, maximum of 20 hours/week is allowed while the studies are in progress whereas during annual break periods one can work up to 40 hours a week. I believe that students must be given more time so that they can earn enough to partially support their non-curricular activities. It does not mean that their studies should be sacrificed but they should be allowed according heir spare time. Students should use this money to visit various parts of America and to get knowledge of American culture and geography. Another employment rule is related to on-campus job. One can not take jobs outside the college or institute premises. I think that this regulation is unfair as only few jobs are available on the campus. Furthermore, every international student tries to get job on the premises. This makes the situation difficult. So it is not possible for every student to get a job on his/her own campus. I think that this rule should be relaxed and students should b allowed to work in the surroundings of the university or institute. Again after one year, students are allowed to work off-campus bit it needs the approval of the institute. I believe that this procedure again creates difficulties for the students. Although jobs in the local surroundings are not rare but they are processed so quickly that after getting an approval from institute, they remain no more available. Although I suffered from only a few of these hard rules but most of the prospective students become a victim of one or more of these rules. So I think that these rules should be altered in order to take care of the students’ needs. Government must take initiative to accommodate the students and their genuine requirements.

The Inditex-Zara case

The Inditex-Zara case INTRODUCTION In todays highly competitive and global marketplace, the pressure on organizations to find new ways to create and deliver value to the customers grows even stronger. Market development combined with new sources of global competition has led to over-capacity in many industries. Putting an incredible pressure on price, as often is the critical competitive variable. This leads to the need of more effectiveness and efficiency inside a business. It is against these new conditions that the use of supply chain management has moved to the centre stage over the last two decades (Christopher, 2004). To manage the supply chain better, is to serve the customers more effectively and yet reduce the cost of providing that service. There has been a growing recognition that it is through this kind of management that it can be achieved a twin goal of cost reduction and service improvement. Even if the concept of integration within the business and between businesses is not new, the acceptance of its validity by managers is. According to Chris Zook managing the supply chain is not an easy task (Zook, 2001). Most companies do not manage to achieve their intended goals. Nevertheless, those which are doing well today have on average low odds to be doing so in the next five to ten years. An important key to do well is to understand why some companies succeed and others do not. This to avoid common pitfalls and instead of spending time recovering from previous mistakes, the company can focus on the future. With this in mind, this coursework will look into how businesses manage their supply chain. This by looking into the supply chain of the fastest growing clothing brand in Europe and the world today, Zara, and highlight the main characteristics of the supply chain management as well as its application ( market chain). If the chances are small to succeed, what do successful companies do right that others do wrong? COMPANY PROFILE Zara is the flagship chain store of Inditex group owned by Spanish tycoon Amancio Ortega. Zara is the most internationalized of Inditex ´s chains. The group is headquartered in A Coruà ±a, Spain, where the first Zara store opened in 1975. Now Inditex, the holding group that includes the Zara brand, has over 1300 stores in 39 countries with sales of over â‚ ¬3 billion. (Zara 2009) The Zara brand accounts for over 75 per cent of the group ´s total retail sales, and is still based in northwest Spain. By 2003 it had become the world ´s fastest-growing volume garment retailer. The Inditex group also has several other branded chains, including Pull and Bear, and Massimo Dutti. In total it employs almost 40,000 people in a business that is known for a high degree of vertical integration compared with most fast fashion companies.(Cowe, et.al.2008:271) It is claimed that Zara needs just two weeks to develop a new product and get it to the stores, compared with a six month industry average, and launches around 40,000 new designs each year. Zara has resisted the industry-wide trend towards transferring fast fashion production to low-cost countries. While it spent little on ads, it spent heavily on stores. Zara is a vertically integrated retailer. Unlike similar apparel retailers, Zara controls most of the steps on the supply-chain: It designs, produces and distributes itself. The business system that had resulted was particularly distinctive in that Zara manufactured its most fashion-sensitive products internally. Zara did not produce classics, clothes that would always be in style. In fact, the company intended its clothes to have fairly short life spans, both within stores and in customers ´ closets. LITERATURE REVIEW Value Chain The idea of the value chain is based on the process view of organizations, the idea of seeing a manufacturing (or service) organization as a system, made up of subsystems each with inputs, transformation processes and outputs. Inputs, transformation processes, and outputs involve the acquisition and consumption of resources-money, labor, materials, equipment, buildings, land, administration and management. How value chain activities are carried out determines costs and affects profits. Most organizations engage in hundreds, even thousands, of activities in the process of converting inputs to outputs. These activities can be classified generally as either primary or support activities that all businesses must undertake in some form. (Cowe et al.2008:81). The outlined process of Porter ´s value chains is presented in see Figure 1. According to Porter (1985), the primary activities are: Inbound Logistics: involve relationships with suppliers and include all the activities required to receive, store, and disseminate inputs. Operations: are all the activities required to transform inputs into outputs (products and services). Outbound Logistics: include all the activities required to collect, store, and distribute the output. Marketing and Sales: activities inform buyers about products and services, induce buyers to purchase them, and facilitate their purchase. Service: includes all the activities required to keep the product or service working effectively for the buyer after it is sold and delivered. Support activities are: Procurement: is the acquisition of inputs, or resources, for the firm. Human Resource management: consists of all activities involved in recruiting, hiring, training, developing, compensating and (if necessary) dismissing or laying off personnel. Technological Development: pertains to the equipment, hardware, software, procedures and technical knowledge brought to bear in the firms transformation of inputs into outputs. Infrastructure: serves the companys needs and ties its various parts together, it consists of functions or departments such as accounting, legal, finance, planning, public affairs. Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of the relationships and flows between the string of operations and processes that produce value in the form of products and services to the ultimate consumer. It is a holistic approach to managing across the boundaries of companies and of processes. Technically, supply chains are different from supply networks. A supply network is all the operations that linked together so as to provide goods and services through to end customers. In large supply network there can be many hundreds of supply chains of linked operations passing through a single operations. Internal supply network, and supply chain, management concerns flow between processes or departments. Confusingly, the terms supply network and supply chain management are often used interchangeably. (Cowe, et.al.2008:244) It is worth emphasizing again that the supply chain concept applies to internal process networks as well as external supply networks. Many of the ideas discussed in the context of the operation-to-operation supply chain also apply to the process-to-process internal supply chain. It is also worth nothing that the flows in supply chains are not restricted to the downstream flow products and services from suppliers through to the customers. Although the most obvious failure in supply chain management occurs when downstream flow fails to meet customer requirements, the root cause may be a failure in the upstream flow of information. Modern supply chain management is as much concerned with managing information flows (upstream and downstream) as it is with managing the flow of products and services. (See Figure 2) Information System Management In the current competition of the modern world, information relating to inputs, the transformation process and outputs is the vital resource organization owns to add value. An information system management is a planned system of the collecting, processing, storing and disseminating data in the form of information needed to carry out the functions of management. (Kotler 2006) The development of an ISM is nowadays greatly facilitated by the increasing sophistication and affordability of powerful personal computers and various other aspects of information technology (IT). Thus, technology is improving the speed and reliability with which information is passed not only around the individual organization but also around the globe, and `dramatic reductions in the cost of obtaining, processing and transmitting information are changing the way we do business (Porter and Millar, 1991). Porters value chain (Porter, 1980, 1985) was developed as a method for analyzing the sources of competitive advantage available to a firm. IS assumes that competitive advantage results from a combination of the many different activities a firm pursues during the course of its business, rather than coming from one individual source. CASE STUDY ZARA Operation Management Different organisations have to target customers in order to offer some services or product that someone is willing to pay for it. Operation management is pretty much involved with making this possible. Operation management is the activity of managing the resources and processes that produce goods and services and more specifically operation management examines how the operations function of a business produces products and services for external customers. (Cowe, et.al.2008:204). The general transformation process model (Figure 4) shows an arrangement of resources that transforms inputs into outputs that satisfy customer needs. In the case of Zara (Figure 5) the inputs of the organization are comprised of the raw materials, such as the fabrics that after design and manufacturing-retailing will produce the garments, information such as products protocol, human resources such as the designers that has the skills and knowledge to produce the garments. The transformation process consists of the manufacturing and services operations that are necessary to transform input into output, which are spitted into three basic product divisions: mens and womens and kids apparel, such as lower garment, upper garment, shoes, boots, bags, cosmetique and complements. All processes differ in some way, so, to some extent all processes need to be managed differently. In addition processes also differ in terms of the nature of their demand that is why we have to take into account those next four characteristics, which indicate how process need to be managed: Volume, variety, variation and visibility. In the case of Zara the operations process is unique and envied throughout the world: Volume: In terms of volume Zara is high. Although there is a high degree of systemization of the process to produce garments, due to the turnover in each shop is replaced every two weeks is a unique case. Variety: In terms of variety Zara is as high as the volume is. It has a wide range of products for men, women and children such as cosmetiques, suits and sport clothes respectively for each one. Variation: The variation in demand is quite high; because the demand is unpredictable and cannot be planned in advanced, extra resources will have to be designed into the process to provide a mechanism which can absorb unexpected demand. Zara will have to cope with the general seasonality of the garment market together with the uncertainty of whether particular styles may or may not prove popular. Visibility: In terms of visibility of the process is to the customer is low as they are simply presented with the final product to try on and finally purchase. All the above are summarized in Figure 6. Due to the high volume and variety involved in the process the key process choice is the batch process. A high volume of identical Items are produced together hence the flow is intermittent as each batch although requiring the same basic skills requires different variety and expertise in detail. The lay out type is undoubtedly the product layout type. Once the goods have been produced on the factory floor they are moved to store houses and quickly shipped to the high streets. Hence we can say the fit between the layout and the process type is correct as product based processes are used for high volume processes in general. Supply Chain Management Supply chain management is the management of the interconnection of organizations that relate to each other through upstream and downstream linkages between the processes that produce value to the ultimate consumer in the form of products and services. (MacKerron, G. (2009) Lectures slides for MBA) Zara operates using a vertical supply chain, which is a unique strategy in the fashion industry. Vertically integrated business undertakes a variety of activities from designing, manufacturing, sourcing, and distribution to retail stores around the world. They choose to handle design, production, and distribution in-house and concentrate the whole production close to their headquarters in Spain. By integrating the entire process, Zara can react much faster than its competitors do to both the ephemeral trends in the world of fashion and the capricious tastes of its customers. At the end of every working day the manager of a Zara store reports exactly what has been sold to headquarters. This information is quickly relayed to the design department where product lines can be altered, supplanted or created in a matter of days. This gives the company total business management. (See Figure 7) In an interview with CNN, Jose Maria Castellano, chief executive at Inditex, talked about Zaras supply chain and indicated its unusual structure by saying: Investment banks used to say that this model did not work, but we have shown that it gives us more flexibility in production, sales and stock management, (Zara Who we are, 2001) The Zara  ´supply chain management operation leads to customer visit the store over four times more frequently than other stores. Spontaneous design, just-in time production and rapid turnover of merchandise lead to a higher level of fashionable clothes. Even though the labor cost in Europe is higher, the efficiency of this system allows Zara to keep costs down by spending less cost on transportation and keeping inventories low refer. (Figure 7) Design Zara emphasize the importance of design in this market, its design functions are organized in a different way from those of most similar companies. Conventionally, the design input come from three separate functions: the designers themselves, market specialists, and buyers who place orders on to suppliers. At Zara the design stage is split into three product areas: women ´s, men ´s and children ´s garments. In each area, designers, market specialists, and buyers are co-located in designs halls that also contain small workshops for trying out prototype designs. The market specialists in all three design halls are in regular contact with Zara retail stores, discussing customer reaction to new designs. In this way, the retail stores are not the end of the whole supply chain but the beginning of the design stage of the chain. Zara ´s around 300 designers, whose average age is 26, produce approximately 40,000 items per year of which about 10,000 go into production. The retailer company has moved away from the traditional industry practice of offering two collections a year, for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Their seasonless cycle involves the continual introduction of new products on a rolling basis throughout the year. This allows designers to learn from customers reactions to their new products and incorporate them quickly into more new products. In the case of Zara the garment is designed; a batch is manufactured and pulsed through the supply chain. Often the design is never repeated; it may be modified and another batch produced, but there is no design as such. (Cowe, et.al.2008:271) Manufacturing In the fickle world of fashion, even seemingly well-targeted designs could go out of favor in the months it takes to get plans to contract manufacturers, tool up production, then ship items to warehouses and eventually to retail locations. But getting locally targeted designs quickly onto store shelves is where Zara really excels. The average time for a Zara concept to go from idea to appearance in store is 15 days vs. rivals who receive new styles once or twice a season. Smaller tweaks arrive even faster. If enough customers come in and ask for, say a round neck instead of a v neck, a new version can be in stores with in just 10 days (Tagliabue, 2003). To put that in perspective, Zara is twelve times faster than Gap (its direct competitor), despite offering roughly ten times more unique products. (Helft, 2002) Nearly 60% of Zaras merchandise is produced in-house, with an eye on leveraging technology in those areas that speed up complex tasks, lower cycle time, and reduce error. Profits from this clothing retailer come from blending math with its data-driven fashion sense. Inventory optimization models help the firm determine how many of which items in which sizes should be delivered to stores during twice-a-week shipments, ensuring stores are stocked with just what they need(Gentry, 2007). Outside the distribution center in La Coruà ±a, fabric is cut and dyed by robots in 23 highly automated factories. Zara is so vertically integrated, the firm makes 40 percent of its own fabric and purchases most of its dyes from its own subsidiary. Most Zara factories and their sub-contrators work on a single-shift system to retain some voume flexibility. (Tokatli, 2007) Distribution Zara has invested in highly automated warehouses, close to their main production centres that store, pack and assemble individual orders for their retail networks. These automated warehouses represent a major investment for both companies. In 2001, Zara caused some press comment by announcing that it would open a second automated warehouse even though, by its own calculations, it was only using about half its existing warehouse capacity. Zara is able to deliver the new design apparel from the drawing board to the stores in one or two weeks and therefore can respond very quickly to fast-changing tastes of their young urban customers (Walker et al., 2000). Retail All Zara stores (average size, 800 square metres) are owned and run solely by Inditex. Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of Zara stores is that garments rarely stay for longer than two weeks. Because product designs are often not repeated and are produced In relatively small batches, the range of garments displayed in the store can change radically every two or three weeks. This encourages customers to avoid delaying a purchase and to revisit the store frequently. Below is a diagram that shows the cycle how a product is made. The companys success is because of the total control in every aspect of the business, from designing, to production, and to distribution. By having total control of the entire process, the company can quickly react to the fast changing fashion trend and customer taste, this provides the company an idea of the latest fashion trend. Having total control in all business activities allows Zara to produce and release new design in a short span of time. Key success factors of Zara SCM Zara concentrates the perfect success formula pretty much based on: Short Lead Time = More fashionable clothes Lower quantities = Scarce supply More styles = More choice, and more chances of hitting it Firstly, by focusing on shorter response times, the company ensures that its stores are able to carry clothes that the consumers want at that time. Zara can move from identifying a trend to having clothes in its stores within 30 days, this means that Zara can quickly identify and catch a winning fashion trend, while its competitors are struggling to catch up. Catching fashion while it is hot is a clear recipe for better margins with more sales happening at full prices and fewer discounts. In comparison, most retailers of comparable size or even smaller, work on timelines that stretch into 4-12 months. Thus, most retailers try to forecast what and how much its customers might buy many months in the future, while Zara moves in step with its customers. Trend identification comes through constant research not just traditional consumer market research, but a daily stream of emails and phone calls from the stores to head office. Unlike other retailers, Zaras machinery can react to the repo rt immediately and produce a response in terms of a new style or a modification within 2-4 weeks. Many other retailers have such long supply chain lead times that for them it would seem a lost cause for them to even try and respond to a sales report. Secondly, by reducing the quantity manufactured in each style, Zara not only reduces its exposure to any single product but also creates an artificial scarcity. As with all things fashionable, the less its availability, the more desirable the object becomes. The added benefit of lower quantities is that if a style does not work well, there is not much to be disposed during the season-end sale. The result of this is that Zara discounts only about 18 percent of its production, roughly half the levels of competitors. Thirdly, instead of more quantities per style, Zara produces more styles, roughly 12,000 a year. Thus, even if a style sells out very quickly, there are new styles already waiting to take up the space. Zara can offer more choices in more current fashions than many of its competitors. It delivers merchandise to its stores twice a week, and since re-orders are rare the stores look fresh every 3-4 days. Fresh produce, moving in step with the fashion trend and updated frequently the ingredients are just right to create the sweet smell of success. Now, the question is how does Zara achieve its three key success factors which would be a nightmare for most other retailers to achieve in such short time spans? So, let us look at the mechanisms that enable Zara to deliver on these parameters as well as some unique aspects of the retailers business model on figure 7 Supply Chain Objectives The objective of an effective supply chain management is to meet the requirements of end customers by supplying appropriate products and services when they are needed, at a competitive cost. Doing this requires the supply chain to achieve appropriate levels of the five operations performance objectives: quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. (Cowe, et.al.2008:249) The quality objective: Zara brand name is synonymous with quality and the right price. Stores are located on emblematic streets likeOxford Street and5th avenue; the highest standards of products are demanded in these areas. 65% of products sold in Europe are produced in European plants where quality controls are higher and easier to manage. Flawed clothing items would erode the brand name eventually. The speed objective: hectic changes in fashion and high street tastes imply a need for logistic speed. Goods can be designed and delivered to the shelf within 6 weeks. In fact items spend so little time in the warehouse that they are already sold before they have to be paid for to their suppliers. The flexibility objective: demand for different types of clothing will changes and Zara must react accordingly. Sizes, color, quality and quality will change continuously. The customer has an active role from the start of the chain and is the drive for its business model. Customer requests are considered by the commercial and design team. The dependability objective: delivering on time to stores in a must. Customers have come to expect new items on a weekly basis on the shelves. The cost objective: affordability is vital to Zaras strategy however only 35% of goods are produced in Asia. This implies that operations management must be at its leanest as they operate within Europe where the cost structure is much higher. Zara ´s senior managers seem to comprehend intuitively the nonlinear relationship between capacity utilization, demand variability, and responsiveness. This relationship is well demonstrated by queuing theory which explains that a as capacity utilization begins to increase form low levels, waiting times increase gradually. But at some point, as the systems uses more of the available capacity, waiting times accelerates rapidly. As demand becomes ever more variable, this acceleration starts at lower and lower levels of capacity utilization. (Figure ) Information System Management of Zara Information and communications technology is at the heart of Zaras business. Zara is careful about the way it deploys the latest information technology tools to facilitate these informal exchanges. The company undertake different devices in order to increase the speed which basically gives them the competitive advantage over its competitors. The information system management of Zara are the followings: Collecting information on consumer needs; customized handheld computers support the connection between the retail stores and La Coruà ±a. These PDAs supplement regular, often weekly, phone conversations between the store managers and the market specialists assigned to them. Through the PDAs and telephone conversations, stores transmit all kinds of information to La Coruà ±a, such hard data as orders and sales trends and such soft data as customer reactions and the buzz around a new style. While any company can use PDAs to communicate, Zaras flat organization ensures that important conversations do not fall through the bureaucratic cracks. PDAs are also linked to the stores point-of-sale (POS) system, showing how garments rank by sales. In less than an hour, managers can send updates that combine the hard data captured at the cash register combined with insights on what customers would like to see. All of this valuable data allows the firm to plan styles and issue re-buy orders base d on feedback rather than hunches and guesswork. The goal is to improve the frequency and quality of sense making for the design planning teams. In this way, Zara avoids costly overproduction and the subsequent sales and discounting prevalent in the industry. (Rohwedder and Johnson, 2008) Standardization of product information different or incomplete specifications and varying product information availability typically add several weeks to a typical retailers product design and approval process, but Zara warehouses the product information with common definitions, allowing it to quickly and accurately prepare designs, with clear cut manufacturing instructions. Product information and inventory management being able to manage thousands of fabric and trim specifications, design specifications as well as their physical inventory, gives Zaras team the capability to design a garment with available stocks, rather than having to order and wait for the material to come in. Distribution management: its State-of-the-art distribution facility functions with minimal human intervention. Approximately 200 kilometers of underground tracks move merchandise from Zaras manufacturing plants to the 400 chutes that ensure each order reaches its right destination. Optical reading devices sort out and distribute more than 60,000 items of clothing an hour. Zaras merchandise does not waste time waiting for human sorting. CONCLUSION Zara has an unordinary supply chain, which gives them a highly competitive advantage. In a time of globalisation and a constant search for lower cost, Zara is a notable exception. They choose to handle design, production, and distribution in-house and concentrate the whole production close to their headquarters in Spain. By integrating the entire process, Zara can react much faster than its competitors do to both the ephemeral trends in the world of fashion and the capricious tastes of its customers. At the end of every working day the manager of a Zara store reports exactly what has been sold to headquarters. This information is quickly relayed to the design department where product lines can be altered, supplanted or created in a matter of days. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cowe, A., Mackerron G. And Milliken, A. (2008) Creating Competitive Advantage, Harlow, Pearson Education Linited Institute of Personnel Management. Echikson, W.,(200) The Mark of Zara, BusinessWeek Gentry, C., (2007) European Fashion Stores Edge Past U.S. Counterparts, Chain Store Age Heller, R. (2001), Inside ZARA, Forbes, New York, NY. Helft, M. (2002) Fashion Fast Forward, Business 2.0. MacKerron, G. (2009) Lectures slides for MBA students of Napier University. Porter, M. E. and Millar, V. E. (1991) `How information gives you competitive advantage, in M. E.Porter (ed.) (1991) On Competition and Strategy. Harvard Business Review Paperback No. 90079. M. Christopher (2004), Logistics and Supply Change Management. Pearson Education, Great Britain. Porter, M. E. (1980) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Free Press, New York. Zook, C. (2001), Profit from the Core. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Porter, Michael E., Competitive Advantage. 1985, Ch. 1, pp 11-15. The Free Press. New York. Rowe, Mason, Dickel, Mann, Mockler; Strategic Management: a methodological approach. 4th Edition, 1994. Addison-Wesley. Reading Mass. Rohwedder, C., and Johnson, K., Pace-Setting Zara Seeks More Speed to Fight Its Rising Cheap-Chic Rivals, The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 20, 2008. Tagliabue, J., (2003) A Rival to Gap that Operates like Dell, The New York Times. Tagliabue, J. (2003), Spanish fashion chain Zara rivals Gap by operating like Dell', New York Times, 9 June. The Economist, (2005) The Future of Fast Fashion Tokatli, N.,(2007) Global sourcing: insights from the global clothing industry the case of Zara, a fast fashion retailer, Journal of Economic Geography. Kotler, Philip; Keller, Kevin Lane (2006). Marketing Management (12 ed.).Pearson Education. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, No.11, November 2004. INDITEX (2008) Who we are Walker, B., Bovet, D. and Martha, J. (2000), Unlocking the supply chain to build competitive advantage, Journal of Logistic Management, Vol. 11 No. 2.

America Online :: essays research papers

Mission Statement "To become the world’s most respected and valued company by connecting, informing and entertaining people everywhere in innovative ways that will enrich their lives." Introduction America On-line (AOL), the largest commercial on-line service provider in the US, has been presented with a daunting task. Remaining a viable competitor in an increasingly crowded, fast- changing and competitive market. . Consumer services are entering a highly contested market that is expected to be even more competitive with the arrival of telephone and cable television giants in the months to come. For example, AT&T dealt a devastating blow for AOL as well as hundreds of other Internet providers by offering five hours per month free Internet usage to its approximately 90 million customers, 20 million of whom already have personal computers. AOL, the largest commercial on-line service, offers their customers more than access to the Internet. AOL features include chat rooms, electronic magazines, software and entertainment services. Analysts believe that such content makes these services less vulnerable in the short run to AT&T's offerings. A value-added feature of AOL is its proprietary system that it provides users access to proprietary content. For AOL, that which makes them unique (proprietary system), also makes them most vulnerable. AOL has aggressively marketed to the mass media of on-line users. Marketing efforts have focused on selling the idea of AOL as an easy-to-use, fun, interactive, "community" with a lot of content exclusively provided to its members. AOL distributes their software via direct mailings, inserts of diskettes as well as request forms for disks/CDs in magazines, downloadable web sites, OEM bundling agreements, media partnerships and retail sales. In 1995 AOL increased their level of direct marketing. As previously stated, AOL hopes to capture up to 97 million users, as well as expanding internationally. America On-Line: Customer Value & Satisfaction America On-Line it has delivered customer value and satisfaction by its narrow focus on average consumers, and its determination to make using its services simple and clear. AOL is known for providing the most convenient and easiest-to-use interactive service available. The company pioneered technologies such as keywords for simple navigation and the buddy-list feature to enable instant messaging by displaying member’s contacts who are online As the internet becomes more central to consumers daily lives, people are increasingly demanding ways, in addition to the PC, to access- anytime, any place- features and content they rely on.

Important Formative Experience That Made Me The Adult I Am Today :: essays research papers

Important Formative Experience I have had many theater-related experiences. Every chapter that I have read in my theater book has allowed me to make a connection to my past experiences with theater performances. I have also seen many plays and could relate to things an audience sees by reading the book. My first theater experience ever is when I was in the Nutcracker. We did a ballet performance for this play. I was very young when I did this, but I remember my instructor always saying that we must make contact with our audience through movements. Since in ballet you can not talk, you have to express the emotions that you are feeling to the audience through movement. This was very difficult. I must say that acting with words is a lot easier than acting through dance. In chapter one of my theater book, I was able to make the connection of "theater" is "work" to my experience of work in a theater with school plays. I know that I did not work as hard as professionals do, but I did work hard. For three months, we practiced everyday except for Saturday and Sunday, from 3:30 to 6:30. I helped with a lot of the choreography, so that made my days even longer and harder. However, this was also an enjoyable work experience for me. While reading the passage, I was able to relate with some of the "theater times" because of my play director. My high school director was very talented in directing plays. He would talk to us as if we were professionals and made us put more into what we were doing. That would be impersonation. When the passage talked about art, I thought of my art teacher who would always design all of the sets and made them look so lifelike. When the passage said that there are more behind the stage workers than on stage workers, I knew that that is very true. We had the front and backlighting, the designing people, who cleared the sets and put on new ones, the directing and the building crews. I was able to relate most of the passage through my own past experiences. Chapter 3 talks about "the actor". I found this chapter very interesting. I found out that actors had to go to college too. I also found it compelling to learn that in the passage on page 76, under the picture, it talks about how playing "ordinary people" in a realistic play is often the biggest challenge for an actor.

Helping Children with Cerebral Palsy: Locomotor Treadmill Training or S

INTRODUCTION Cerebral Palsy is a condition that involves the brain and nervous system which results in disorders in movement, learning, hearing, seeing and thinking. There has been a rise on the number of children who are diagnosed with CP since the 1960’s (Mattern-Baxter, 2010). After a child has been diagnosed with CP, it is important to help them regain their ability to walk. Cerebral palsy is a permanent but not unchanging condition that requires the help of medical professionals, the children and their families (Mattern-Baxter, 2010). Since the recent increase of the number of children diagnosed with CP, researchers has emphasized the importance of intensive intervention at an early stage (Prosser, Lee, VanSant, Barbe, & Lauer, 2010). Ways to help improve the gait kinematics of children with CP are through locomotor treadmill training (LTT) or strength training. There are advantages and disadvantages with both methods. There are also different cases of CP so the effects of these metho ds vary between the children. A disadvantage for locomotor treadmill training is that it is less effective on children with CP less than 4 years old (Mattern-Baxter, 2010). Strength training may improve walking function to some patients but may cause no change or undesired outcomes to others (Damiano, Arnold, Steele & Delp, 2010). It is important to look at the best method that can help improve ambulation in children with CP since the number of children diagnosed with this condition is becoming more frequent. The purpose of this paper is to compare the different studies and determine which strategy is more effective for children with cerebral palsy, treadmill training, or strength training. METHODS In searching for references, the sea... ...aining and which will not. The research on muscle activating pattern should be helpful in determining why strength training helps some patients and not others. Researchers should also include more participants for these studies. REFERENCES Damiano, D., Arnold, A., Steele, K., & Delp, S. (2010). Can Strength Training Predictably Improve Gait Kinematics? A Pilot Study on the Effects of Hip and Knee Extensor Strengthening on Lower- Extremity Alignment in Cerebral Palsy. Physical Therapy, 90(2), 269-279. Mattern-Baxter, K.. (2010). Locomotor Treadmill Training for Children With Cerebral Palsy. Orthopaedic Nursing, 29(3), 169-175. Prosser, L., Lee, S., VanSant, A., Barbe, M., & Lauer, R. (2010). Trunk and Hip Muscle Activation Patterns Are Different During Walking in Young Children With and Without Cerebral Palsy. Physical Therapy, 90(7), 986-997.

Article Review of Organizational Culture Essay

It was not expected that the hierarchical model would be dominant given the previous attempt to change the culture. The altruistic values of those surveyed indicated they are committed to social development and public interests and are most comfortable with a hierarchical dominate culture. The sample size of 530 participants obtained from the Public Sector Directory was an adequate size. All of the executives in the directory were included in the survey, which suggests a less than random selection process for the final candidates. However, the six varied departments selected represented central coordination, infrastructure provision and social services. Although an almost two to one ratio of male to female employee responses were utilized, none of the demographic variables collected in section C of the three part survey affected the perceptions of the current culture. Sections A and B of the survey gathered information on character, managers, cohesion, emphases and rewards. Results indicated that Departments A – D preferred the internal process or group culture. Department E preferred the internal process model, but it was equally comfortable with rational goal model indicating goal fulfillment was a requirement. Department F results indicated a comfort level with the rational goal model most likely due to their interactive responsibilities with other departments. Forcing change from a formalized, rules and rewards based culture to a more flexible, decentralized culture could create individual-organization value conflict resulting in stress. Of the population surveyed only 191, 36%, was usable and the male respondents outnumbered the female respondents nearly 3 to 1. The survey, divided into three sections dealing with perceptions of the current culture, respondent ideal culture, and demographic information. The survey reviled 4 out of 6 public sector departments in the study held to the traditional model. The findings also suggest organizational culture is driven at the non-managerial employee level and the deeply embedded cultural values can’t be forced any form of management. The article mentions the constant state of transition is the Queensland government over a twenty year period; employees may value the stability and predictability of the traditional bureaucratic model. Base on the research and finding in the article, culture change must target the organization at the non-managerial level in order for the culture change to be effective. In order for Queensland traditionally bureaucratic organizations to embrace high performing teams, the change must address the needs of the driving force of the traditional model culture; the non-managerial employees. In forming high performing teams for the Queensland public sector, it is important to investigate the factors/components of those teams. Also, because most teams are unique in their goals and focus, there is no â€Å"off the shelf† solution for all teams (Davenport, 2001) and that â€Å"there is no singular, uniform measure of performance effectiveness for groups† (Guzzo and Dickson, 1996. p. 309). By creating a customized plan for transitioning, Queensland public sector can move from a control hierarchical organizational culture to a culture of change, flexibility, and productivity. The Queensland public sector was managed for so many decades using the top down management that the culture of the organizations productivity depended on it. The results of the study can be supported by the need for stability which can only be changed by small adjustment to small changes (Bhide 2010). The culture of the organization is controlled by political authority, so it was not surprising that a hierarchical process model was so deeply rooted in to the essence of the government employees who understood the leadership values (Goodwin and Neck, 1998). Organizations lack of understanding of their members caused employees to be less adaptable to change, and with that less productive. Employees will move to do only their specific functions and only respond to the tasks directed by their manager, which is contradicting to the desired results of flexibility, and supports the article results (Miller S 2009). â€Å"Beyond top-down and bottom-up work redesign†, explains â€Å"Authority is traditionally conceptualized as hierarchical†, but the informal authority operates day to day work of organizations. This proved to be true for the Queensland public sector with few exceptions such as a high commitment to the rules and the attention to details. These changes have also been achieved on a federal level with similar setbacks who still managed to overcome the existing dominant culture (189). Just because the organization is not dominated by the â€Å"new managerialist thinking† as stated in â€Å"Organisational culture in the public sector† article, Sting and Loch explain that this does not mean that there is not a need for a â€Å"bottom-up participation† which was part of the work environment before the values of the employees were, in a way, forced to be changed for unexplained reasons to them. As a result of such, this did cause setbacks in the cultural change that was attempted. Changing the value of a large group of people within the company is next to impossible when it’s so closely tied to their private beliefs such as the members of the Queensland public sector. In order to move from a hierarchical process model of an organization to a more flexible and change oriented one, organizations must first understand their employees preferred organizational structure, and then create a corporate culture which employees can slowly get accustom to. In the case of six organizations in the Queensland public sector, the transformation required a culture change from the â€Å"Mechanistic† to ‘Organic† organizational structure and this should have been done very slowly only after understanding the values of those involved. One easy way to get this information is to have employees perform a self-assessment. Because â€Å"a corporate culture is influenced by the industry in which the organization operates†, outside factors such as political control have to be considered in a path taken to change employees assumptions, values, and artifacts (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002-2009). Before an organization can move from a hierarchical process to a more flexible one employees must understand the benefits of shifting their culture from â€Å"control† to â€Å"performance†, where their input is valued. Through our research and critical analysis of the six organizations in the Queensland public sector, it is evident to us that the paradigm public organizations are functioning in will not change easily. Though the employees have to be able to accept change and shift, employers must understand that the need to create an environment that fosters a corporate cultural environment is vital. Change is inevitable but a positive response to the change is not. Without the strategic planning of organizational leaders, we will continue to see results like we saw with the six organizations in Queensland; the entire organization has to be a part of the implementation, intimately, in order for it to be effective. Unfortunately, when employees of any organization settle for the â€Å"norm,† they will not only resist change but they will fear it.

Dickenson’s Hard Times

As I analyze the first character that was presented in the book Hard times by Charles Dickens, Thomas Gradgrind is one of the central figures through whom the author weaves a web of intricately connected characters and plotlines. His character is used with most central feature of his monotone attitude and appearance that is mechanized. Mr. Gradrinds opening speech to a group of young students during the opening scene embodies his dryness and the hard fact that he crams into his student’s heads.Gradrind is best described as â€Å"square coat, square legs, square shoulders,† (Dickens, 1981) by the narrator which merely suggest Gradrind’s unrelenting rigidity. During the first few chapters, he expounds his philosophy of calculating his rational self interest. Human nature can be governed by complete rational rules according to his belief. He is also ready to weight and measure any parcel of human nature and be able to tell what it comes to. By this philosophy he was able to triumph financially and socially. His fortune as a hardware merchant which is a trade that deals in hard material reality.He also became a member of the Parliament and this position allows him to indulge his interest tabulating data about people from England. Though he is not a factory owner, he evinces the spirit of Industrial revolution as he treats people like machines that can be reduced to a number of principles of science. The narrator describes Gradrind ironically but he also undergo significant change in the novel which later catches the narrator’s sympathy. This is when Louisa confessed to him that something really important is missing in her life and that she is unhappy and disappointed with her marriage.This gave a realization to Gradrind that the education system that he has is not perfect. This is proven when he learned that Tom robbed the bank of Bounderby. and since he was faced by these failures, he admits to himself that â€Å"The ground on which I stand has ceased to be solid under my feet. † (Dickens, 1981)The dilemmas of his children made him feel and learn love, compassion and sorrow. He later became a humble man and making his facts and figures in greater connection with the virtues of faith, hope and charity.

Porsche Cayenne Case Study Essay

1. Why is Porsche launching the Cayenne product? a. To leverage its brand across a wide range of product categories 2. What are the benefits and risks of the Cayenne launch? a. Risks i. Cayenne would join a competitive and crowded SUV market ii. Potential for new entrants threatens sustainability of Porsche’s sales forecasts iii. Launching a luxury SUV was an expensive bet for Porsche iv. SUVs were under attack in the U.S. by cultural critics v. Potentially damage Porsche brand and turn away loyal customers b. Benefits i. Will diversify Porsche products for protection against potential declines in sports car market ii. Will combine traditional Porsche styling and performance with off-road driving capability and spacious interior iii. Expected to sell 20,000 units per year iv. Will lead to future growth potential in sales, turnover, and earnings v. Open the way to future product diversification for Porsche 3. Does the Cayenne launch change the overall meaning of the Porsche brand? a. Yes; Suburban soccer mom connotation conflicts with Porsche cool factor b. VW responsible for major aspects of production, with only final assembly to be conducted by Porsche c. Assembly in Leipzig put into question its â€Å"Made in Germany† moniker 4. Who are the Porsche consumers? How would you characterize them? What do they want? a. Upper-class drivers who appreciate and desire stylish cars that are fun to drive 5. Should Porsche engage with the online brand community? Why or why not? a. Porsche should take the valuable information provided by the online brand community into consideration to a certain extent b. However, Porsche should not engage with online brand community because it is a home for Porsche  users, not Porsche makers, and this sense of community contributes to Porsche brand c. For example, a college administration engaging with a fraternity interferes with the sense of brotherhood) 6. What can executives learn from Cayenne that could be planned to future new products? a. Remain closer to traditional Porsche ideals when expanding product line (greater involvement of Porsche in assembly and assembly location)

Right to Counsel

Right to Counsel CJA/364 October 9, 2011 Right to Counsel Every individual is afforded the right to counsel in criminal proceedings. It is the liability of the government to provide every defendant facing criminal charges with legal representation that also is considered sufficient (2011). The Sixth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution guarantees every individual the right to a swift and public trial from an unbiased jury of his or her peers in the state or district in which the crime was committed in (1995-2011). The district should have been beforehand established by law, and to be educated of the nature and reason for the charge, the right to face the eyewitness in opposition of him or her, to have necessary process for gathering eyewitnesses in his or her support (1995-2011). Last, the Sixth Amendment affords and individual the right to have the aid of an attorney for his or her defense (1995-2011). The last statement of the Sixth Amendments establishes that every individual has a right to counsel from the very second he or she is placed in police confinement (2011). The judgments of the U. S. Supreme Court also indicates that the Right to Counsel be provided to any individual who is insolvent or penniless and that the individual is guaranteed the right to the attendance of a court-appointed counsel at a crucial point in the criminal trial (2011). The crucial points of these proceedings are composed of custodial questioning, pre-charge lineups, preliminary examinations, arraignment, trial, punishment, and the first appeal of guilty verdict (2011). The Right to Counsel was initiated as a response to the English custom of refusing the aid of counsel in severe criminal proceedings that forces individuals to be present in court and represent his or herself in his or her own words (2011). An example of the strictness of the practice to deny counsel is evident in the trial of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots in 1568 (2011). Queen Mary was indicted for treason for supposedly plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth I (2011). Queen Mary requested the aid of an attorney on the basis that the laws and statutes of England were unfamiliar to her, she was without an attorney and no one would stand up and speak for her (2011). Queen Mary was eventually found guilty of her crimes and sentenced to death by beheading (2011). The creators of the U. S. Constitution deemed the denial of an attorney revolting to the fundamental ideology of criminal justice (2011). The creators of the U. S. Constitution ascertained that the aid of an attorney was an important factor in sustaining an accusatorial method of justice (2011). The accusatorial method of justice leaves the problem on the state to determine the guiltiness of the defendant (2011). The accusatorial method is in disagreement with the inquisitorial method in which fault or blamelessness is established through questioning of the defendant (2011). The Supreme Court also has interpreted the Sixth Amendment to mean that a defendant is entitled to an attorney that the attorney must also be effective in representing the defendant (2011). The Supreme Court interpreted this to mean that the representation must be diligent and significant (2011). The Supreme Court established that if a defendant is not provided with effective counsel during court proceedings, the conviction could be overturned (2011). The Supreme Court has also established that although the Sixth Amendment guarantees an individual the right to have an attorney, whether the attorney is hired or delegated by the courts that an individual may also represent his or herself (2004-2011). Any individual has the right to represent his or herself in court but a judge may refuse the individual that right to be his or her own counsel if the judge deems the individual lacks the capability to exercise a knowing or competent dismissal of an attorney (2004-2011). The judge may also deny an individual the right to represent his or herself if the representation is in any way disorderly of normal court proceedings (2004-2001). The right for an individaul to represent his or herself is granted only at normal court proceedings and is not available when a case is before the courts on appeal (2004-2011). If a person is granted the right to represent his or herself in court, that individual cannot later state the quality of his or her defense deprived him or her of sufficient aid to an attorney (2004-2011). The crucial components of right to an attorney is highlighted in the case of McKaskle v. Wiggins that detailed the self-represented defendants rights vis-a-vis â€Å"standby counsel† delegated by the trial court (2004-2011). If the defendant is representing his or herself, he or she has the power of how information is presented to the jurors (2004-2011). Even if there is an attorney on standby, the attorney’s presence should in no way alter the jury’s assessment that the individual is representing his or herself (2004-2011). But involvement of a standby attorney in the company of the jury and despite the protest of the defendant does not infringe on the defendants constitutional rights afforded by the Sixth Amendment when the aid is in agreement with normal courtroom principles and practices that alleviates the trail judge of these responsibilites (2004-2011). Some defendants may think it is wise to represent his or herself but if the individual is not well versed in the law he or she could make major mistakes that may cause him or her to lose his or her freedom. It is said that a person who represents his or herself has a fool for a client. An attorney is a delegate of citizens, an officer of the criminal justice system and the public that has an accountability to ensure justice is dispensed (1995-199). The role of an attorney has many facets; a consultant, promoter, delegate, mediator, and an assessor (1995-1999). As a consultant an attorney notifies his or her client with knowledge of his or her constitutional rights and responsibilites and clarifies his or her realistic suggestions (1995-1999). As a promoter an attorney feverously emphasizes the client’s point under the standards of the adversary method (1995-1999). As a delegate an attorney searches for an outcome beneficial to the client but uniform with the necessities of truthful dealings with others (1995-1999). As a mediator among clients an attorney searches to settle his or her conflicting interest (1995-1999). As an assessor an attorney researches his or her client’s legal dealings and informs the client or others of the legal dealings (1995-1999). In criminal court proceedings the prosecutor who works for the state, and the defense attorney who can also work for the state but is there to aid the defendant. The U. S. Supreme Court established in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright that the basic role of applies in a just criminal justice system (2011). The Justices collectively determined that the states possess a legal responsibility afforded within the Sixth and 14th Amendments to offer counsel to any individual who cannot afford one (2011). The judgment emphasized that a penniless individual in a criminal proceeding is guaranteed the aid of an attorney as a basic civil right necessary to ensure a just trial, a client’s trial and sentence deprived of an attorney is an infringement of the 14th Amendment (2011). The privilege to have an ttorney is the most basic bureaucratic safety measure to ensure a just trial in which the government and the defendant stand alike in the eyes of the law (2011). As stated earlier, the Supreme Court established that if a defendant is not provided with effective counsel during court proceedings, the conviction could be overturned (2011). References Right to Counsel 2011 http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/right+to+counsel Retrieved October 9, The Exclusionary Rule January 16, 1999 The United States Constitution 1995-2011 U. S. Constitution Online http://www. usconstitution. net/const. html#Am1 Retrieved October 9, 2011 Self Representation 2004-2011 http://supreme. justia. com/constitution/amendment-06/16-self-representation. html Retrieved October 9, 2011 Preamble: A Lawyer’s Responsibilites 1995-1999 Touch N’ Go Systems http://touchngo. com/lglcntr/ctrules/profcon/profcon. htm Retrieved October 9, 2011 National Committee on the Right to Counsel 2011 National Legal Aid and Defender Associaton http://www. nlada. org/Defender/Defender_Kit/NCRC Retrieved October 9, 2011

Research controversy surrounding the constitutionality of using civil Paper

Controversy surrounding the constitutionality of using civil junctions against gangs - Research Paper Example Law enforcement department simply requires to present concrete and enough evidence associating the person to the named gang. The law enforcement agency should provide the identity of people they hang out with, the color of clothes they wear and the tattoos on their body. Due to this, gang injunctions in the US have elicited a heated debate and controversy. Civil rights lobbyists argue that the strategy and the system is not effective and that it violates human rights. They assert that it is unconstitutionally wrong to allow gangs to operate legally. This according to the civil rights movement motivates racial profiling and suppressive policing. Further, they assert that it criminalizes young individuals who may never have done or committed some crimes (O'Deane 48). Wearing wrong colors or a minor mistake or being spotted conversing with a known gang member can be sufficient to get you listed as a gang member. Once an individual is on the list, it is difficult to get a job and difficu lt to escape the area that funnels you into a gang. Law enforcement agents have used injunctions for a long time in fighting gang violence in California. It was first used in Los Angeles in the 1980s; the strategy has proved ineffective in fighting gang violence. ... Supporters of gang injunctions have asserted that the various limitations and threat of penalties act as a deterrent to criminal activities. Nevertheless, in case the reason injunctions are successful has nothing to do with the penalties and limitations that draw the attention of civil rights lawyers. The answer centers on what happens to the gang members when police officers give them evidence they possess of their criminal activities. Traditionally, police officers conceal the information before letting the case to proceed to trial. The law enforcers assume that informing the criminals or gang members about the evidence they have collected against them only assists them defend themselves during trial. However, the success of the gang injunctions is psychological in that by informing the criminals know that they are being monitored, they eventually change and modify their actions and behaviors (Grogger 77). Civil gang injunctions emerged out of extreme anxiety. In the early 190s, th e Los Angeles law enforcers were finding it to control and manage the gangs and these gangs were almost taking control of the city. Assault, homicide, and robbery rates were increasing rapidly. The drug business seemed to be increasing. The gang fights and shooting happened in daylight in public areas. Due to these heinous and criminal activities, gang injunctions were introduced as a strategy for the law enforcement agencies to control the gang activities in the city. Police officers and other law enforcers got a civil court injunction forbidding gang activity in some cities such as Pomona, West Covina, and Santa Ana in Los Angeles. The civil injunctions saw police officers address gang members as a group

Monsoon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Monsoon - Essay Example Whereas buyers have a specific role in ensuring that there are productive relationships with suppliers besides negotiating on various important details that includes prices, exclusivity, and well as the distribution channels. On the other merchandisers are usually responsible for ensuring that an organization’s stock performs well within the market. Nonetheless, both merchandisers and buyers perform different functions in respect to organizations. The following discussion aims to develop a critical understanding of the various roles and responsibilities of buyers and merchandisers. The breath of activities that the buying & merchandising function undertake in delivering this requirement successfully is explored in this paper that comprises two parts (Jackson & Shaw, 2001). The paper also creates an understanding of development, creation, supply, and delivery of a fashion product range in respect to buyers and merchandisers (Goworek, 2007). Buyers and merchandisers play a significant roles and responsibilities towards ensuring that there is a fashion product range capable of meeting the demands, tastes, and preferences of consumers (Goworek, 2007). Firms involves in fashion development have to create effective product range that will definitely take care of all the existing and potential customers. The following are some of the functions of buyers and merchandisers in respect to fashion industry. A typical buyer has various roles and responsibilities in ensuring that there is a good fashion product range that meets the demand, tastes, preferences, and needs of the consumers (Goworek, 2007). One of the functions of buyers within buying and merchandizing involve monitoring and maintaining of the gross margin plans through engaging in controlling markups, shortages, stock levels, markdowns, and turnovers. A fashion buyer has the

Do you think that Crito is being a good friend to Socrates by trying Research Paper

Do you think that Crito is being a good friend to Socrates by trying to convince him to escapeThe focus on your reflection should be the nature of friendship.What does it mean to be a good friend - Research Paper Example 196). This statement would have us believe that Crito was not really interested in the philosophy of Socrates and thus does not qualify as a friend at all. However, in real life, friends may not understand our attitudes Critics have also pointed out to the role of Crito in the financial affairs of Socrates, which they use as a point to accuse Crito of false friendship. â€Å"Crito suspects that people will say that he had cared more for his money than for his friend†¦most scholars, failing to understand the depth of Crito’s concern, have picked out this argument to dismiss Crito as caring only for appearances† (West 71). Crito’s concern for his friend, has however been proved beyond doubt by his subsequent questions to Socrates. These questions include ones where he enquires of Socrates whether his refusal was because of the risks that he would run; â€Å"justice demands that friends run such risks† (West 73). That the concern that Crito expresses for Socrates is thus that which would be expressed by any true friend is evident from this. From the above analysis, it is fairly evident that the actions of Crito were totally selfless. His inability to completely understand the philosophy of his friend should not be held against him, since such instances are very rare where two friends are of the same intellectual