Toyota individual essay Essays

Toyota individual essay Essays Toyota individual essay Essay Toyota individual essay Essay If you sign the declaration below and it is found that the work submitted is not your own work, the University may impose penalties. Declaration: I declare that this assignment is my individual work, have not copied from any other students work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by another person. If this assignment is submitted after the due date, I understand that it will incur a penalty for lateness unless I have previously had an extension of time proved and have attached the written confirmation of this extension. Signature of Student GHz,Wang Date 201 3/119 DUE DATE RECEIVED DATE Individual essay Introduction: The global automobile industry had reached 1,640 billion dollars in 201 0, and the market value is forecasted to increase 49. 3% since 2010 to 2,449. 2 billion dollars in 201 5 (Marketing, 2011 Toyota, which takes up 6. 8% of global industry value, has just experienced its recall crisis from September 29th 2009 to January 27th 2010. More than 9 million cars and trucks around the world in the whole world were recalled by Toyota (Chris, P. Roger, W. , G. , 2010). Toyota was immersed in trough because of these faults and bad luck, and the public image is also seriously damaged. At present, Toyota is been returning on track gradually, and according to the report from Toyota Motor Sales, SACS, Inc. , its sales increased 17. 2% to 161 ,695 units in November 2012 because Toyota only sold 137,960 units in November of 2011 (Marketing 2012). These bad luck and breakdowns are very serious to any company which would encounter, so Toyota expressed its professional skills and abilities to handle these crises which are advanced in the automobile industry. New CEO of Toyota, Kaki Toyota, brought some improvements to companys operations and supply chain strategy. This critique will focus on three aspects of these changes, namely quality management, new product development and cost reduction, respectively, and in addition, some academic theories will be applied to explain these strategies Discussion: Quality management: The core competitive advantage of Toyota in the past was the high quality, and the main cause of the recall crisis was also quality problem. Nearly all firms pay much effort to quality improvement to achieve goals like cost deduction, higher customer satisfaction, more loyalty from customer, and better performance from financial and market aspects (Versa, R, Borer, K. K. , 2010). In general, costs of company are from internal failure costs, external failure costs, assurance costs and prevention costs. Quality control system reduces some costs such as internal costs but the accompanying results are higher assurance costs and prevention costs. In the wrong cost reduction program taken by Toyota, the less spend in assurance costs and prevention cost made Toyota move quality from the first principle replaced by outputs, aid by Kaki Toyota. Total quality management (TTS), six sigma and many other quality improvement approaches are depended on customer feedback (Paned, p. S. , Caving, R. R. , Neumann, R. P. , 2000), and the system taken by Toyota which called Toyota production system has the same characteristic. Another approach for quality improvement comes from employee feedback, In Toyota, quality circle (ICQ) and the concept of Kamikaze are required (Deeming,W. , 1970), and however, these essential operation elements have risk of gradually missing in the rapid expansion. In order to save the deteriorating profits brought by trade conflicts and the revaluation of yen, Toyota increased its overseas productions steadily. In the period between 2000 and 2009, overseas production of Toyota increased by more than 10 percent annually, higher than the increase of Honda and Ionians (Gang, 2010). As a result, it is difficult to implement tacit knowledge in abroad production bases to ensure quality control and efficiency in manufacturing. According to annual report in 201 0, CEO of Toyota, Kaki Toyota put forward some improvements in operation and supply chain strategy to improve laity management.. 1. Toyota establishes new quality assurance system in order to ensure security and safety based on the perspectives of customers. 2. Set up a Special Committee General Overview of Quality Issues for global quality (Figure 1 3. Some specific measures to improve quality and safety, which include three aspects: A) Strengthen the monitoring functions including better information gathering function, more technical offices, assisting root cause analysis by using Remote Communications Functions (RCA) and onboard event data recorders (DARED), better information analysis ND better safety decision-making process. B) Enhancing information disclosure to regain trust from customers C) Establishing five Customer First Training Center to develop Toasts human resource and maintain quality. New product development: New product development is also the soul of Toasts value network so Kaki Toyota enhanced and improved this process. New products may fail in the fierce competition, and this has been proved in many industries. However, the mass benefits brought by new products can always push enterprises to take this process, either the Toyota. Firstly, these new products are always the resources of competitive advantage, and if enterprises take the leading role in the emerging product categories the effects will be more obvious. In the automobile industry, new energy cars are the new development direction, and according to the report from Lei and Line (2011), Toyota will develop 10 kinds of cars in this field. Secondly, firms which develop new products will enhance their corporate image and Brand name. Further, Toyota wants to satisfy the needs from customers worldwide when provide clean and safe products, so Toyota put tremendous efforts to RD activities which are regarded to improve the quality of people (Toyota, 2012). With the help from outsides experts, Toyota regularly reviewed research issues like energy, information technology, materials to achieve the goal of efficient cost control (Toyota, 2010). Cost Reduction: The third aspect is the cost reduction which needs enterprises implement changes on both operation and logistic structure. Since the revaluation of the yen, adding the price rise of raw materials and human resource in Japan especially after the big earthquake in 2011. The cost of production in Japan as jumped dramatically, so Toyota pays more efforts to localization production to implement cost reduction (including maintain RD process quality with less expense) which can be analyzed from the annual reports from 2009 to 2012 (Figure 2). Conclusion: In Summary, by applying some strong improvements in quality management, Toyota recovers its quality crisis quickly and restores confidence from customer about automobile quality which was the core competitive advantage of Toyota. New products development helps Toyota improve its competitive ability and enhance its corporate image and brand name.

Bernard Montgomery, World War II Field Marshal

Bernard Montgomery, World War II Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (November 17, 1887–March 24, 1976) was a British soldier who rose through the ranks to become one of the most important military leaders of World War II. Known to be difficult to work with, Monty was nevertheless exceptionally popular with the British public. He was rewarded for his service with promotions to Field Marshal, Bridgadier General, and Viscount. Fast Facts: Bernard Montgomery Known For: Top military commander during World War IIAlso Known As: MontyBorn: November 17, 1887 in London, England Parents: The Reverend Henry Montgomery, Maud MontgomeryDied: March 24, 1976 in Hampshire, EnglandEducation: St. Paul’s School, London, and the Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst)Awards and Honors: Distinguished Service Order (after being wounded in WWI); after WWII, he received the Knight of the Garter and was created 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein in 1946Spouse: Elizabeth CarverChildren: John and Dick (stepsons) and DavidNotable Quote: Every soldier must know, before he goes into battle, how the little battle he is to fight fits into the larger picture, and how the success of his fighting will influence the battle as a whole. Early Life Born in Kennington, London in 1887, Bernard Montgomery was the son of Reverend Henry Montgomery and his wife Maud, and the grandson of noted colonial administrator Sir Robert Montgomery. One of nine children, Montgomery spent his early years at the familys ancestral home of New Park in Northern Ireland before his father was made Bishop of Tasmania in 1889. While living in the remote colony, he endured a harsh childhood that included beatings by his mother. Largely educated by tutors, Montgomery seldom saw his father, who frequently traveled due to his post. The family returned to Britain in 1901 when Henry Montgomery became secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Back in London, the younger Montgomery attended St. Pauls School before entering the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. While at the academy, he struggled with discipline issues and was nearly expelled for rowdiness. Graduating in 1908, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. World War I Sent to India, Montgomery was promoted to lieutenant in 1910. Back in Britain, he received an appointment as battalion adjutant at the Shorncliffe Army Camp in Kent. With the outbreak of World War I, Montgomery deployed to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Assigned to Lieutenant General Thomas Snows 4th Division, his regiment took part in the fighting at Le Cateau on August 26, 1914. Continuing to see action during the retreat from Mons, Montgomery was badly wounded during a counterattack near Mà ©teren on October 13, 1914. He was hit through the right lung by a sniper before another round struck him in the knee. Awarded the Distinguished Service Order, he was appointed as a brigade major in the 112th and 104th Brigades. Returning to France in early 1916, Montgomery served as a  staff officer with the 33rd Division during the Battle of Arras. The following year, he took part in the Battle of Passchendaele as a staff officer with IX Corps. During this time he became known as a meticulous planner who worked tirelessly to integrate the operations of the infantry, engineers, and artillery. As the war concluded in November 1918, Montgomery held the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel and was serving as chief of staff for the 47th Division. Interwar Years After commanding the 17th  (Service) Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army of the Rhine during the occupation, Montgomery reverted to the rank of captain in November 1919. Seeking to attend the Staff College, he persuaded Field Marshal Sir William Robertson to approve his admission. Completing the course, he was again made a brigade major and assigned to the 17th Infantry Brigade in January 1921. Stationed in Ireland, he took part in counter-insurgency operations during the Irish War of Independence and advocated taking a hard line with the rebels. In 1927, Montgomery married Elizabeth Carver and the couple had a son, David, the following year. Moving through a variety of peacetime postings, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1931 and rejoined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment for service in the Middle East and India. Returning home in 1937, he was given command of the 9th Infantry Brigade with the temporary rank of brigadier. A short time later, tragedy struck when Elizabeth died from septicemia following an amputation caused by an infected insect bite. Grief-stricken, Montgomery coped by withdrawing into his work. A year later, he organized a massive amphibious training exercise that was praised by his superiors, which led to his promotion to major general. Given command of the 8th Infantry Division in Palestine, he put down an Arab revolt in 1939 before being transferred to Britain to lead the 3rd Infantry Division. With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, his division was deployed to France as part of the BEF. Fearing a disaster similar to 1914, he relentlessly trained his men in defensive maneuvers and fighting. In France Serving in General Alan Brookes II Corps, Montgomery earned his superiors praise. With the German invasion of the Low Countries, the 3rd Division performed well and, following the collapse of the Allied position, was evacuated through Dunkirk. During the final days of the campaign, Montgomery led II Corps as Brooke had been recalled to London. Arriving back in Britain, Montgomery became an outspoken critic of the BEFs high command and began a feud with the commander of Southern Command, Lieutenant General Sir Claude Auchinleck. Over the next year, he held several posts responsible for the defense of southeastern Britain. North Africa In August 1942, Montgomery, now a lieutenant general, was appointed to command the Eighth Army in Egypt following the death of Lieutenant-General William Gott. Serving under General Sir Harold Alexander, Montgomery took command on August 13 and began a rapid reorganization of his forces and worked to reinforce the defenses at El Alamein. Making numerous visits to the front lines, he diligently endeavored to raise morale. In addition, he sought to unite land, naval, and air units into an effective combined arms team. Anticipating that Field Marshal Erwin Rommel would attempt to turn his left flank, he strengthened this area and defeated the noted German commander at the Battle of Alam Halfa in early September. Under pressure to mount an offensive, Montgomery began extensive planning for striking at Rommel. Opening the Second Battle of El Alamein in late October, Montgomery shattered Rommels lines and sent him reeling east. Knighted and promoted to general for the victory, he maintained pressure on Axis forces and turned them out of successive defensive positions, including the Mareth Line in March 1943. Sicily and Italy With the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa, planning began for the Allied invasion of Sicily. Landing in July 1943 in conjunction with Lieutenant General George S. Pattons U.S. Seventh Army, Montgomerys Eighth Army came ashore near Syracuse. While the campaign was a success, Montgomerys boastful style ignited a rivalry with his flamboyant American counterpart. On September 3, the Eighth Army opened the campaign in Italy by landing in Calabria. Joined by Lieutenant General Mark Clarks U.S. Fifth Army, which landed at Salerno, Montgomery began a slow, grinding advance up the Italian peninsula. D-Day On December 23, 1943, Montgomery was ordered to Britain to take command of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all of the ground forces assigned to the invasion of Normandy. Playing a key role in the planning process for D-Day, he oversaw the Battle of Normandy after Allied forces began landing on June 6. During this period, he was criticized by Patton and General Omar Bradley for his initial inability to capture the city of Caen. Once taken, the city was used as the pivot point for the Allied breakout and crushing of German forces in the Falaise pocket. Push to Germany As most of the Allied troops in Western Europe rapidly became American, political forces prevented Montgomery from remaining Ground Forces Commander. This title was assumed by the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, while Montgomery was permitted to retain the 21st Army Group. In compensation, Prime Minister Winston Churchill had Montgomery promoted to field marshal. In the weeks following Normandy, Montgomery succeeded in convincing Eisenhower to approve Operation Market-Garden, which called for a direct thrust toward the Rhine and Ruhr Valley utilizing large numbers of airborne troops. Uncharacteristically daring for Montgomery, the operation was also poorly planned, with key intelligence about the enemys strength overlooked. As a result, the operation was only partially successful and resulted in the destruction of the 1st British Airborne Division. In the wake of this effort, Montgomery was directed to clear the Scheldt so that the port of Antwerp could be opened to Allied shipping. On December 16, the Germans opened the Battle of the Bulge with a massive offensive. With German troops breaking through the American lines, Montgomery was ordered to take command of U.S. forces north of the penetration to stabilize the situation. He was effective in this role and was ordered to counterattack in conjunction with Pattons Third Army on January 1, with the goal of encircling the Germans. Not believing his men were ready, he delayed two days, which allowed many of the Germans to escape. Pressing on to the Rhine, his men crossed the river in March and helped encircle German forces in the Ruhr. Driving across northern Germany, Montgomery occupied Hamburg and Rostock before accepting a German surrender on May 4. Death After the war, Montgomery was made commander of the British occupation forces and served on the Allied Control Council. In 1946, he was elevated to Viscount Montgomery of Alamein for his accomplishments. Serving as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1946 to 1948, he struggled with the political aspects of the post. Beginning in 1951, he served as deputy commander of NATOs European forces and remained in that position until his retirement in 1958. Increasingly known for his outspoken views on a variety of topics, his postwar memoirs were severely critical of his contemporaries. Montgomery died on March 24, 1976, and was buried at Binsted.

How Different Leadership Styles Affect Workspace Performance Essay

How Different Leadership Styles Affect Workspace Performance - Essay Example It is quite difficult for one person to manage a large group without having to deal with the factors mentioned above. However, the path-goal theory sets a fair basis for ensuring that every member of the group gets a chance at performing to the best of their ability and receiving the rewards for it. Also, the environment in which the nurses work is very task-based and has a formal authority system that suits the path-goal style. The leader can lead by directing, supporting, setting goals or promoting participation amongst the members of the team, depending on the subordinates' needs. In turn, the subordinates gain experience and satisfaction in their work. This leadership style is commanding uses force. Cook would be giving orders to the subordinates and expecting them to follow these orders closely and act upon them immediately. The tone that Cook would use is upper-handed and she could be heard demanding "to do what I tell you to do". Cook would monitor the subordinates work performance very closely. In her opinion, the subordinates do not make informed decisions. The conversations and interactions are cold, brief and mostly work-related. This style instills fear in the subordinates and Cook would motivate them through threatening ways. Authoritative Leadership Style Although this style may seem very negative, it has a positive approach because the style allows the subordinates to explore and discover ways to achieve the goals. It motivates the employees. Cook would lead by good examples and she could be heard confidently saying, "come with me". In her opinion, the subordinates are individuals with a passion to achieve goals. The conversations and interactions are encouraging and motivating. Cook would motivate the employees by encouraging them to perform better. Affiliative Leadership Style Cook would encourage the team by having team-building efforts to create harmony. In Cooks opinion, "people come first". However, if used excessively, Cook could turn a blind eye to the mistakes that the subordinates make. The communications and interactions are friendly and go beyond work issues. In a way, the subordinates are motivated through the harmony and sense of belonging that the leadership style creates.  

Persuasive synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Persuasive synthesis - Essay Example They are treated as interesting subjects for study and they are not considered human beings anymore, but rather subjects for research. According to the guidelines set by Papadimos and his colleagues, patient care in the movie, â€Å"Wit† (2001), was partially effectively given because Dr. Kelekian discussed the treatment with the patient and was frank with her about the possible results of the extremely aggressive treatment that was presented. However, the doctors did not discuss with the patient her end-of-life plan. Although with Vivian Bearing’s wit, she was able to read between the lines and understand that the treatment was not working because the cancer cells were just spreading in other parts of the patient’s body, the doctors did not directly discuss things with her. Moreover, it took the courage of a nurse to consult with the patient about the issue of the patient’s dying for her to think about what she would choose the doctors to do in case her h eart stops. Since Dr. Kelekian and his partner were very interested in studying the patient’s case, one cannot help but question their interest in not discussing the patient’s end-of-life plan. Moreover, the doctors failed to recognize dying symptoms such as extreme agony. In one of the doctor’s visit to the patient’s room who was obviously in torment, the physician asked Ms. Bearing if she was in pain and the patient found it ridiculous. Nevertheless, the nurse observed such flaws of the doctors and did her best to provide the patient with the care that she deserved as a human being. Byrne claims that metaphors are also used not only in literature but also in understanding what patients go through. Since not all people go through the same circumstances, not everyone would be able to understand what patients would be going through. However, with the use of metaphors, one could perhaps have a glimpse of the agonies of sicknesses and therefore understand wh at the patient longs for. Henceforth, the caregiver could effectively provide the necessary care and understanding to the patient. On the other hand, metaphor can also be used by doctors to explain the jargons of the medical world to the patient. In the aforementioned movie, Dr. Jason easily used metaphors to explain Ms. Bearing’s health conditions to her and being a literary scholar, the patient was quick to understand the explanation. As a result, there was a point wherein the doctor and the patient had an intellectual sharing about their own professions which gave Bearing new perspectives. Pope Benedict in his speech in 2007 stressed that more palliative care centers are needed to â€Å"provide integral care, offering the sick the human assistance and spiritual accompaniment they need†. Indeed, hospitals should not be just a place where patients are admitted and studied like animals. Rather, they should be treated with all their dignity intact despite the possibilit ies of recovering or dying. In the movie, doctors were careless about the rights of the patient to be treated well because she was not give the care and spiritual assistance a human being needs. This made the patient look back to the times when she was strong and full of health. Like the doctors, she lacked sensitivity to human needs. She was disciplined in her manners and demanded the same from her students. She regretted how she treated other people and wished she would have been a little kinder to them. Eventually, this helped

Casey Anthony Essay Example for Free

Casey Anthony Essay Courtroom trials are very interesting to me and I really enjoyed clerking for judges and being able to watch everything from beginning to end. The case I have chosen is a jury trial and that jury ends up being seven women and five men. The criminal laws that were violated were many starting with Child Neglect, making false official statements and obstructing an investigation. Forging checks, fraudulent use of identification and petty theft, first degree murder, aggravated child abuse aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to law enforcement. Heading the prosecution was the District Attorney of Orange County Florida with several of the Assistant District Attorney’s. The defense has Jose Baez and what they were calling a ‘team’ of defense counsel, which actually ended up only being 3. Judge Belvin Perry was on the bench and all of the witnesses that were on both the states list of witnesses to call but the defense as well. The outcome of this trial rocked the nation as the verdict was read live which were Not Guilty of Aggravated Murder, Aggravated Child Abuse and Aggravated Manslaughter. The defendant was found guilty on 4 counts of the forgery of checks and was credited for time served, then released from jail. Casey Anthony made national news for several days and remained the top story. She had been charged and arrested with murdering her two year old daughter, Caylee Anthony. Casey denied ever knowing anything to the police of her whereabouts and told law enforcement that her nanny had taken Caylee by force and she had been looking for her in different avenues, to supposedly protect the child. Also stating she should have contacted police sooner than 31 days prior, but she was in fear for her daughter’s life was the story she stuck to. After being jailed and held without bond pictures of the young mother were posted all over My Space portraying Casey Anthony as nothing but a party girl. It wasnt until the actual trial started and the story took a huge flip and George Anthony who is Caseys father and grandfather of little Caylee, was being accused of sexually molesting his daughter since she was 8 years old and covering up the truth about the whereabouts of the two year old. Since Casey had been a child, she had been taught to cover up and lie about certain situations if it was going to cause embarrassment to the family. It was George who had found the lifeless body of Caylee Anthony, lying face down in their pool and the cover-up began. George Anthony did not want it to get out that the family was irresponsible and left the ladder out to get into the pool. Which the story reads, little Caylee climbed up that ladder and got in the pool herself, due to no supervision and drowned. Skeletal remains of a small child were found 3 months later within a mile of the Anthony home. The body had been discarded like a piece of trash, and her remains had been duct taped in a black garbage bag and tossed into the woods. It became media frenzy and, Orlando, Florida became the busiest it had ever been since the child had gone missing. It was in fact the remains of Caylee Anthony and to this day, the young mother sticks to her story and accuses her own father of covering the death of her child up and forced Casey to go along with it. She had been taught to obey her father and did not want to go against his strictness and allowed George Anthony to dispose of the body. The trial that began on May 24, 2011 went to the jury on July 3rd 2011. Deliberations were suspended over the 4th of July holiday and resumed July 5th. During its deliberations, the jurors did not ask to review any of the 400 exhibits, request any clarifications of the law or ask for any of the trial testimony to be read back. After deliberating for 10 hours and 40 minutes, the foreperson informed the court that the jury had reached a unanimous verdict that afternoon. More often than not when a jury returns a verdict that quickly and without asking for any type of assistance from the court, it bodes ill for the defendant. This jury, however, was about to prove the old maxim that juries are unpredictable despite what all the talking heads predicted it would conclude. The jury found her not guilty of murder, aggravated child abuse and manslaughter. She was however, convicted of four counts of lying to police officers. Judge Perry sentenced Casey to one year in jail and $1,000. 00 in fines for each of the providing false information counts. She was released from jail on July 17, 2011due to time already served. While Casey had been acquitted in her daughter’s death, Casey’s problems were not at an end. The defamation suit of Zenaida Gonzalez who Casey accused of kidnapping her daughter (one of the false statements) is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. Gonzalez states she lost her job as a result of Casey’s allegations which led to the loss of her apartment by eviction and she and her 6 children continue to be harassed and threatened. (Kumar) It has changed how society works today by taking more child missing stories more serious and not to the facts of the case, but the simple fact that the 12 person jury could not convict her due to lack of evidence. The State of Florida had not proved their case and she was walking free except with a few misdemeanor charges of lying to law enforcement. How could this have happened, with all the circumstantial evidence of her guilt was obvious, the jury stood by the law? The evidence did not prove that Casey had been involved at all without finding any DNA or any other minute evidence. At almost the end of the trial, Casey asked to be evaluated by Psychologist and Psychiatrist to see if she was mentally capable to continue with the trial. She was found competent and the trial continued til the end finding her not guilty. All of America disagreed with the verdict except the defendant and the defense counsel and still held her responsible for her daughters death. Society even went to the extreme as to calling the jury idiots I believe Casey Anthony led a not so great life, but was also a spoiled brat who always got her way. So with the news that she was walking free didnt surprise me, as I couldn’t see any physical evidence either. Sad but true, she is out living her life without her daughter and it does not seem to bother her a bit. Casey is in hiding though as of today and knows there are people out there who hate her. She has started to learn and recognize her lies and what they did to people, and has told friends she has a lot of regards. Other sources say she plans to receive psychological counseling. She is young and optimistic and realizes she can’t change the past but she can move forward.

The Red Symbol in The Handmaids Tale Essay -- Literature, Margaret At

In the dystopian novel, "The Handmaid's Tale" written by Margaret Atwood, the color red is a reoccurring, significant symbol throughout the book. The dominant color of the novel, the color red is paired with the Handmaids. The Handmaids are always seen in their red uniform, even down to their red shoes and red gloves. From the opening pages of the novel we are informed that they are trained at the â€Å"Red Centre,† and we are introduced to the importance of the red imagery as Offred, the narrator and protagonist of the novel, describes herself getting dressed: â€Å"The red gloves are lying on the bed. Everything except the wings around my face is red.† Which reveals to us how the handmaid’s are required to wear all red, representative of the way they are visually defined, and therefore confined within their role in the caste system as sexual servants to their Commanders. Red is worn only by the handmaids; the color red indicates sexuality, fertility and childbirth, accordingly outlining their function as a sexual object; their sole purpose being to bear children for their Commanders. One of the most reoccurring symbols throughout the novel, red is interrelated with all things female (the Handmaids.) Inversely, red is furthermore a symbol of death, violence and blood, which Offred portrays as a color which â€Å"defines us.† The reoccurring appearance of the color red creates a thought-provoking parallel between femininity and power, as it signifies the religious â€Å"sinfulness† of promiscuous sex between the handmaid’s and their â€Å"married† commander. Offred later states: â€Å"I never looked good in red, it’s not my color,† implying the sacrifice of her individuality due to the roles Gilead has forced her into. It is not their intellige... ...ed tulips in place and keeping them alive, there are human beings under the white bags, but Offred is beginning to neglect what is under her red dress. Offred aches to reminisce about the life she once knew, yet now images are enforced into her mind and she understands them how her cult/society now requires her to perceive this different world. Red is a scandalous and dishonorable color, outlining the Handmaids as such. Everything correlated with the handmaids is red; Offred’s own name, for instance, which so distressingly epitomizes dualism can be read as "Of Fred," signifying her ownership to her commander-yet furthermore can be read as "Off Red,† suggesting off with the red dress, symbolizing her yearning for nonconformity from the red dress and all the afflictions correlated with red in her life- blood, death and violence, which have come to â€Å"define† her.

Deviant Behavior Emergence Essay

Deviancy has been defined as the actual shift from a standard-norm conforming behavior towards a direct behavior alteration that is not accepted by society or viewed as unacceptable by the minor cultures. People who engage in defying acts are seen as having low self-control. They engage in many conventional behaviors, but due to low self-control, they are predisposed to committing deviancy if opportunities arise. This explanation explains all types of deviant behavior (Hunter & Dantzker, 2005 p. 53). Deviant behaviors are deemed to arise out of environmental etiologies that stimulates the intrinsic character of an individual, which in the end, results to behavioral deviation. Such scenario is evident in specific events in life that most of the time due to adaptation and societal strain implicated in these deviating individuals (Holmes, Maahs & Vito, 2007 p. 67). Discussion Adaptation is one of man’s greatest capacity and need in order to survive the ever-changing structure of the society. Such change causes strains through events or environmental stressors that facilitate as an alarm for adaptation to begin, which, consequently, cause deviancies (Hunter & Dantzker, 2005 p. 153; Holmes, Maahs & Vito, 2007 p. 77). Such causation is better explained by the theoretical angles of strain theory, which connotes the contribution of societal strain and pressure. The socio-cultural domain of every individual recognizes the absolute need to adapt to strains in order to progress to success or conditions of fulfillment (Siegel & Senna, 2004 p. 14). Strain theory talks about the causation of crimes not directly because of strain but due to failure in tolerating these kinds of stimuli. They are both result of negative impregnation of environmental pressures that in the end leads the client vulnerable to breakdown (Holmes, Maahs & Vito, 2007 p. 67-68). The theory suggests that a person performs acts of deviancy not because of attachments or relationships but rather because of the pressuring strain. In criminological perspective, the crime rates, according to this theory, justify the increased criminal persona in places wherein financial depression or extreme difficulties are present (Siegel & Senna, 2004 p. 314). The last resort of the individuals is nothing but to commit crimes. In an example given, a person is ready to kill just to get the material possession that the person wants to acquire (Holmes, Maahs & Vito, 2007 p. 67). In all cases, the behavior emerges from a sequence of structural conduciveness, structural strain, generalized beliefs, precipitating factors, mobilization for action, and the breakdown of social control. Structural strain is loosely defined as ambiguities, deprivations, conflicts, and discrepancies in social structure. If in case strain does provoke collective behavior (e. g. panic, crazes and fads) in the context of other determinants, deviant behaviors result, which involves a short-circuiting of levels of social action that gives it a crude, excessive, eccentric, or impatient quality (Snow, Soule and Kriesi, 2004 p. 50). Structural strain theory traces the origins of deviance to the tensions caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have to achieve these goals. In society, culture establishes goals for people; social structures provide, or fail to provide, the means for people to achieve those goals. If the means to achieve goals are out of balance, deviant behavior is the result (Andersen and Taylor, 2006 p. 174) In the United States, most people place a high value on the culturally valued goal of economic success and social mobility. Americans tend to believe that anyone can achieve success-that is, they believe that all people, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, can achieve affluence and stature (Ferrante and Wallace, p. 37). In the case wherein, a depressed community is surrounding a person, significantly full of drug addicts and negative and influencers, a person still strives to obtain moral life in spite of community pressures and sociological influence. Let us say that this person has been given a good working opportunity as well as good family relationships, the person might still withstand the implicating strain imposed by the negative environment and progress to success (Kendall, 2006 p. 213). The driving force utilized by the individual is the positive reinforcement obtained from the home environment and/or the natural desire of the individual to succeed. It is very much justified by the state of mind involved and utilized by the individual, which provides the driving force and enables adaptation to stress (Holmes, Maahs & Vito, 2007 p. 67; Kendall, 2006 p. 213). However, if the positive reinforcements break down and add up to strain, which consequently causes failure to succeed and adapt on the goals imposed, deviancy arise due to structural strain manifested in collective behaviors. Conclusion Every society presents every individual with varying stress, which involves internal and external stressors. Such conditions facilitate stress and act as the primary strain, which implicates the need for adaptation towards the implicating societal pressures. The study concludes that deviant behavioral patterns arise if such adaptive goals are not meant due to structural strain, which is evident among American society.

Port Aventura

————————————————- CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM To:| Fernando Aldecoa| From:| | Date:| | Re:| Port aventura| ————————————————- ————————————————- Executive Summary Port Aventura was launched in 1995 and since that time has transformed from a theme park to an all-encompassing resort. Due to this change, management now requires the ability to identify and target individual customers, as opposed to statistical averages of broad groups. One-to-one communication will allow for customized marketing packages and the ability to maximize revenues.However, information management systems currently in place are not capable of tracking customers to the degree needed to supp ort a one-to-one marketing approach. Therefore, it is the recommendation of Nielsen consulting that Port Aventura implements a data warehouse to facilitate the required analytics to determine who their customer is. ————————————————- Problem Identification Port Aventura is poised with the problem of having insufficient information and data on their individual customers.Seeing as the customer base is comprised of vastly different groups, it is imperative that Port Aventura take the time to identify who their customers are and what their individual profiles look like in an attempt to not only better serve customer requests, but also maximize park profits. Accurate and detailed information such as favorite restaurants, spending patterns, hotel stays and park activity preferences will allow Port Aventura to market to individual customers wants and needs on a one-to-one basis. T he lack of customer information is due to inadequate information management processes and systems.Port Aventura does not currently have the infrastructure needed to properly collect and manage large amounts of customer data or the ability to strategically analyze that information. Multiple small information systems are collecting high level data, but these systems are not integrated nor do they provide the level of detail required for successful one-to-one customer marketing. ————————————————- Evaluative Criteria Collect Individual Customer Preferences The desired solution must be able to present a concise snapshot of individual customers preferences based on past behaviours.Examples of required information include: * Frequency, seasonality, and duration of a customer’s visit * Did the customer stay in one of the hotels, and if so which one and what type of room * I s the customer visiting for business or pleasure or a combination of the two * Which park activities did the customer partake in; golf, amusement rides, beach club, shows, water park, corporate events * How much does the customer spend and what are the funds being spent on * What is the social-economic attributes of the customer: age, gender, family members, annual income, geographical location This type of detailed information will allow Port Aventura to intimately know each of its customers and provide the opportunity to understand consumer value preferences. Searchable and Scalable for Data Mining The solution must be conducive to analytical queries and provide the ability to turn raw data not only into customer information, but customer knowledge. This knowledge will then translate into business intelligence which will provide the basis for data mining.Port Aventura needs the ability to extract the relevant information to identify opportunities, strategies, and predictive behavi ours on its customers. Additionally, historical data must be stored and easily accessible while maintaining data integrity. Ease of Implementation and Ease of Use The optimal solution must be one that can be implemented quickly and without considerable disruption to the work flow within Port Aventura. Employees must be educated on the data collection processes to ensure the information management system is usable and accurate. Therefore, training must be thorough, concise, and cost effective. System maintenance and sustainability must also be possible through the use of the Information Systems Department employees. CostTotal cost to implement, train employees, and maintain the infrastructure needs to be kept in mind when determining the optimal solution. ————————————————- Alternatives Data Warehouse A date warehouse would allow Port Aventura to leverage the information man agement processes currently in place and provide a precise means of tracking individual customers. * Collect Individual Customer Preferences – The implementation of a loyalty rewards program and unique customer ID will allow the existing management systems to feed the required information into the data warehouse. * Searchable and Scalable for Data Mining – A data warehouse will provide a central storage from which customizable reporting tools can be made. Ease of Implementation and Ease of Use – A data warehouse will require the hiring of a project manager and take approximately 3 months to implement. Training for end user staff in both data entry and reporting will be minimal as there is already familiarity with the existing systems. IT staff will be trained on the data warehouse in order to ensure ongoing support and maintenance. * Cost – Cost for the implementation of a data warehouse is estimated at $250,000. New Integrated Information System Port Ave ntura could retire all of the existing information management processes and implement a new fully integrated information system to tie all aspects of the business together and track individual customer behaviour. Collect Individual Customer Preferences – A new integrated system will be designed for optimal information gathering and tracking. * Searchable and Scalable for Data Mining – Custom reporting will enable identification and tracking of all individual customer behaviours. * Ease of Implementation and Ease of Use – A new integrated system will require the hiring of a project team to scope, tender, and organize the undertaking. Implementation will take approximately 1 year. Systems will be required to run in parallel for some time to ensure functionality of the new system. End user and IT staff will be required to undergo extensive training to familiarize themselves with the new system. Cost – Cost for a new integrated information system is estimated at $1,000,000. See Exhibit 1 for the Decision Matrix for the above two alternatives. ————————————————- Implementation The optimal solution for Port Aventura is the implementation and integration of a data warehouse. Seeing as the existing infrastructure can be modified to provide the required data tracking elements, a data warehouse will be the timeliest, most cost effective, and efficient means of implementing one-to-one marketing to customers. Action Plan In securing the data warehouse for Port Aventura the following action items are recommended: * Hire an independent project manager.The total duration of the project is mapped to last 3 months; therefore the total cost of the project manager will be approximately $25,000. Start date for the project manager is June 15, 2009. * The project manager will meet with the principal owners of the data warehouse project to gather requirements. * Fernando Aldecoa – Director of Finance * Robert Magi – Director of IS * Mercedes de Pablo – Managing Director of Port Aventura Additionally, the project manager will meet with end users of the existing management systems to understand processes and procedures as well as current functionality. * Users of the Prestige Hospitality Management Tool Users of the Presence system – contact center operators * Users of Store Flow system * Users of the Concept Golf System Interviews and requirements gathering is mapped to last 2 weeks. * Issue a RFP for a data warehouse vendor. The duration of the tender is mapped to require 1 month. Selection of the data warehouse vendor will be based on the above pre-determined criteria. Cost for the data warehouse is estimated at $250,000. * The Marketing Department will design a loyalty rewards program whereby unique customer ID’s will be created as a means of tracking individual customers behaviour. The project manager will be responsible for implementing the unique customer ID entity into the existing information management systems.The marketing department will be responsible for rolling out the loyalty rewards program in conjunction with the implementation of the data warehouse. Total cost for implementation and marketing of the loyalty rewards program is estimated at $100,000. * Implementation of the data warehouse is mapped to require 1. 5 months. During this time, IT staff will be trained on the functionality of the data warehouse and end users will be trained on the new data inputs as well as the data mining capabilities of the data warehouse. * The go-live date is mapped to be September 15, 2009. Ongoing support and maintenance will be provided by Port Aventura IT staff. Reporting functionalities are then to be used by the marketing department to implement one-to-one communication with customers. Summary The implementation of the data warehouse is expected to last 3 months a nd requires $375,000 in capital (including the implementation of the loyalty rewards program). Ongoing support and maintenance of the data warehouse is estimated at $25,000 per year. This cost is minimal compared to the expected revenue from one-to-one marketing to consumers. ————————————————- Exhibit 1: Decision Matrix | Weight| Data Warehouse| New Integrated System| | | Raw| Weighted| Raw| Weighted| Individual Customer Preference| 30%| 8| 2. 4| 9| 2. 7|Data Mining| 20%| 8| 1. 6| 8| 1. 6| Implementation and Use| 20%| 7| 1. 4| 1| 0. 2| Cost| 30%| 8| 2. 4| 2| 0. 6| Score| | | 7. 8| | 5. 1| Raw Data is out of 10 with a score of 10 being the best option ————————————————- Exhibit 2: Data Warehouse Data Warehouse Data Warehouse Extract Transform Load Extract Transform Load Extract Transform Load Extract Transform Load Sales Sales HR HR SAP R3 SAP R3 Purchasing Purchasing Finance Finance Fix Assets Fix Assets Presence Presence Website Fans Website Fans Survey Results Survey Results Storeflow Storeflow Clients Club Clients Club Concept Golf Concept Golf Galaxy Galaxy Prestige Prestige

Benefits of Differentiated Curriculum in the Gifted Classroom

Benefits of Differentiated Curriculum in the Gifted Classroom Gifted education refers to the special measures, theories, and practices that are used to educate students who are brilliant in special ways. It is a way of educating students who are gifted in special talents.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Benefits of Differentiated Curriculum in the Gifted Classroom specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To educate these students, differentiation is applied where the curriculum is modified to meet the special needs of a gifted student. The teacher modifies the content and the process of learning in order to get the product. This article shows the benefits of a differentiated curriculum in the classroom of gifted students. Differentiated curriculum has a lot of benefits to the student. It is student centered and it is the role of the instructor to determine the students’ interest, readiness, and learning profile. The instructions are individualized and this enables students to learn according to their abilities. This helps the students to perfect their talents. The instructors create individualized learning programs depending on the needs of students. They set the goals and objectives to be achieved during the class work. The instructors in a differentiated curriculum provide an opportunity for the students to be involved in the learning process. This is important for students to participate fully without being left behind. The differentiated curriculum gives the students a challenge to involve themselves in the new ways of learning. It helps the students to engage in classroom activities and thus they do not compete with each other. It also prevents underachievement for it gives many choices to process the information given where the students are involved in activities (Gardener Whittaker, 2006). The content is organized according to student’s interests and it motivates critical thinking. The content can be enriched depending on the students†™ rate of understanding. Affective curriculum is used to educate gifted students on ethics, emotions and social development. Gifted students can also be put in heterogeneous group to allow them mix with students with different talents. This encourages them to appreciate each other’s talent. They can also be grouped depending on their talent. This means students with the same talent grouped together. This allows them to receive all instructions during class time and they can learn from the students with the same talent in order to furnish their talent.Advertising Looking for article on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The barriers that can be encountered in teaching gifted students include; some students not being interested in other learning activities or they may not respond properly to differential curriculum. In such the individualization program is applied to educate students specifically on th eir talents (Sriraman Dahl, 2007). Enriching and accelerating the deferential curriculum depends on the rate of student to learn. In enriching, the student receives extra activities to challenge him. This includes extra assignments which do not replace the normal class assignments. It may include taking extra courses or extra curriculum activities. In acceleration, students are upgraded to the next level or they might skip some grades and finishing the normal curriculum in a shorter period. This assists in advancing a student in one field as it is a flexible way of education. Acceleration is beneficial academically and socially as a student finish schooling early and specializes in area best in. Grouping is putting students with the same talent in the same class. The teachers apply differentiation and this encourages acceleration and enrichment. The students are also exposed to critical thinking (Rogers Karen, 2002). Differentiated curriculum addresses individualized student needs and it is specialized depending on student experience and skills. Students are free to make choices on how they will engage themselves in classroom. The differentiated curriculum also provides opportunity for students to involve themselves in extra curriculum activities and this makes learning enjoyable. It also connects learning with everyday life and this makes learning meaningful. The students are able to interact with each other and they use their learning styles to access information and demonstrate what they have learnt. Differentiated curriculum provides students with multiple choices of learning and taking information depending on their understanding. It caters for all the students in a diverse classroom. No student is left behind for learning in individualized and based on experience. Differentiated curriculum allows the instructors and teachers to be more flexible thus limiting the barriers that may hinder learning among gifted students. Students are able to access inform ation and learning materials (Sriraman Dahl, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Benefits of Differentiated Curriculum in the Gifted Classroom specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Differentiated curriculum is beneficial to the twice exceptional students. These are students who have disabilities and are also gifted. They may undergo some problems like discrimination by other students but differentiated curriculum allows the instructor to individually teach them. These boost their self esteem for they get to perfect their talents and feel they are like the other students. The instructor can apply affective curriculum to cater for their emotions and ethics. This makes sure the students are not left behind and they perfect their talents despite their disability (Rogers Karen, 2002). Reference List Garderen, D., Whittaker, C. (2006). Planning Differentiated, Multicultural Instruction For Secondary Inclusive Classroom s; Teaching Exceptional Children. New York: Great potential press. Rogers, J., Karen, B. (2002). Re-forming Gifted Education: How Parents and Teachers Can Match the Program to the Child. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press. Sriraman, B., Dahl, (2007). On Bringing Interdisciplinary Ideas To Gifted Education. In Press In L.V. Shavinina (Ed). The International Handbook Of Giftedness. New York: Springer Science

10 New Years Resolutions for Career Success in 2017

10 New Years Resolutions for Career Success in 2017 It’s hard to believe, but 2017 is right around the corner. This can be a great time to take stock and press the reset button, making positive resolutions for the future. These are often focused on personal improvement goals or hobbies, but could just as easily be a chance to buckle down, focus, and advance your career. This year, consider tailoring your resolutions to maximize career success, making sure to choose realistic goals that you can meet in any given year, rather than having the same goals end up on your resolutions list year in and year out without anything coming of it.Here are 10 of the best New Year’s resolutions for career advancement and success.1. Get PromotedSit down and take yourself through an evaluation of your career. What’s working well? What areas need attention? Then come up with a game plan for what your next step should be- be that a raise or a promotion. Figure out what you’d have to do to make either of those things happen, the n set about doing just that. You can’t always control the outcome, but you can control putting yourself in the best possible position.2. Acquire a SkillIt’s never too late to learn something new- and it’s always a great way to beef up your resume. Pick something that will fill a gap in your hiring profile, or that will really help you move to the next stage. Above all, pick something that interests you so you’ll be sure to follow through.3.  Become an Industry ExpertMake a resolution to keep a better eye on industry news and trends. Read blogs or newsletters or news sites that are relevant to your career and do it daily. With your morning coffee, perhaps. Being informed is an asset, and you’ll be surprised at how knowledgeable you become- and how valuable you’ll make yourself.4. Organize Your LifeBeing more organized is always an ongoing project. But this year pick one or a few things that you can be more proactive about. Separate your per sonal and professional social media spheres. Clean out your email inbox and come up with a system to keep it clean, starting fresh every day at 0 unread messages. Tidy your desk. Make a to-do list. Figure out a way to keep yourself efficient and productive all year long.5. SchmoozeWe could all always be doing more networking. Take your connection-making goals off the back burner and start building your network. Get active online, on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter, attend more industry events, ask a contact out for an informational coffee. Try doing at least one networking thing a month, then build to two or even one a week.6. Get HealthyYou’ll be surprised at how much difference a little extra sleep and some healthy eating can make. Cut back on alcohol or sugar. Exercise more. Quit smoking. You’ll live longer, have more energy, and find yourself much more motivated overall to reach your other goals.7. Learn How to Take CriticismHow we handle criticism is important. Train yourself to seek out constructive criticism and to be less defensive when hearing what you could be doing better. Feedback like this can be a great way to locate places where you ought to focus more. Free career advice!8. Quit If You Have ToIf your job is a dead-end, or you know you should have left long ago, consider making this the year you take the leap. Make sure you have a safety net and plan in place, but make turning your career around a priority.  9. Say Yes to What Scares YouIf someone offers you an opportunity or a challenge, take it. Don’t just demure because it would require more work or energy or is a bit risky. Leap at the big chances and see how far you can run.10. Find BalanceWork-life balance is a term so often thrown around these days. Take a minute to see where your particular balance falls out of whack, and figure out a solid plan on how to correct that imbalance. Remember, when you’re healthy and happy, you’ll work harder and achieve more.

Research pROPOSAL Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Proposal Example The problem becomes all the more significant because, as evidence suggests, â€Å"biological, psychological and social factors are all important in understanding the causes of eating disorders† (Keel & Levitt 58). This paper attempts to identify this problem as a major and widespread health concern in the US and will also try to examine various measures to counter the problem. The research will be conducted on the premise that eating disorders are a widespread health issue in the American society and it will focus on the following research questions: Eating disorders are a widespread problem in the US and in order to contain this menace authorities should attempt to create awareness among the citizens about its causes and effects as well as preventive measures. The researcher proposes to conduct the research mainly using secondary sources, in terms of available literature on the topic. The research will be conducted within the campus, using library resources, internet etc. In addition, wherever feasible, the researcher will also attempt to gain some primary data from within the community sources by interviewing a sample population of a few patients ailing with the problem. Besides, the researcher will also explore the possibility of obtaining information from healthcare professionals including dieticians. The paper, towards the end of the introduction, will contain the thesis statement that â€Å"Eating disorders are a widespread problem in the US and in order to contain this menace authorities should attempt to create awareness in the citizens about its causes and effects as well as preventive measures.† Concepts about beauty in the modern day require people to become thin and thus young females and males ignore the need for balanced diet in the hope to become leaner and thereby develop eating disorders. In order to attain a